Finally the REAA has been dragged kicking and screaming to the table to address corruption in its industry.
Agents who fail to disclose to a vendor any links with future buyers can face misconduct charges and lose their licence.
Incredible that an industry watchdog didn’t have the will to clean up corruption like this, in a market under such inflationary stress, until the media highlighted it for the umpteenth time.
> Faced with a series of controversial on-sales cases highlighted by the Herald, REAA chief executive Kevin Lampen-Smith said yesterday his organisation was becoming more proactive in its monitoring of wrong-doing.
Massive reason for the Auckland haves to vote out the do-nothing National government. They can’t get teachers for their rich kids.
Education Minister Hekia Parata has ruled out subsidised housing – and says one problem is a reluctance from Auckland schools to hire younger teachers on permanent contracts.
“Only the older teachers live close to schools, but the young teachers have to live miles away (two-hour commutes!) and this has a significant impact on their ability to be engaged with the school.”
So Parata blames schools (of course, it’s in the National Party manual) for not hiring young teachers but it turns out young teachers can’t afford to live near the places they work. Parata might have missed it’s because of her own government’s inaction on housing and infrastructure, and its addiction to immigration, that we have arrived at this point.
Correct, no salary addition.
Many years ago -in the country there were houses provided at low rent for teachers to teach in country schools.
There was also a salary step you could not progress beyond until country service was completed.
Hey we seem to be getting into unnecessary semantics on TS more and more. Wrangling over points, stranded on a rock or a high point like some cattle, while the river or the landslide goes on around them.
Save your energies so you’ve got some left for the next wave of malfeasance I say. There is too much worrying and wrangling, both in the Brit and USA meaning. A bit of semantics from me?
“Hey we seem to be getting into unnecessary semantics on TS more and more.”
Ain’t that the frikken truth! And the more it continues – destination IRRELEVANCE, and simply a place in the boudoir to look at oneself and shadows in the mirror, all moderated and peachy keen by the backlight that makes the contributor in favour look their best, whilst fading to black those that don’t present themselves at their ideological best.
“…Harrison, also known as Joanne Sidebottom and Joanne Sharp, stole by using fake invoices to bill fake companies when she worked at the Ministry of Transport.
In Manukau District Court today, Judge Sanjay Patel sentenced her to 43 months imprisonment on three charges to which she pleaded guilty.
And it’s not the first time Harrison had committed fraud.
“Ms Harrison has previous convictions for similar offending. In July 2007 she was sentenced to undertake 300 hours of community work,” Judge Patel said.
Martin Matthews, now the Auditor-General, was the Ministry of Transport’s chief executive who hired Harrison.
…”
__________________________
I heard an item on rnz that the protest against rape culture to be held outside Wellington college is to moved because of threats of violence by the students. That’s appalling! And just proves the point of the protest!
The young woman leading the protest thinks the guys are probably joking. But jokes can lead to the threats being taken seriously. Makes the young protesters feel unsafe.
And this shows that the male students making such threats, joking or not, must have some pretty poor roles models among men older than them.
I have read the comments – I think they are more trolling as opposed to real threats – however the comments are, simply put, disgusting and need to be addressed by the school and the parents.
I’d be really pissed if that was my son making comments like that.
It would be nice if the school/parents publicly came out and said that any threats toward the protest would be met with punishment and that they are supportive of the protest action.
Indeed. If they disagree with the protest – they could protest the protest. But as for threats – 100% the need to know they will be held to account and should be publicly warned.
I think they should be suspended. There should be zero tolerance of threats of grievous bodily harm irrespective of who is joking or not.
This shit has gamergate written all over it. Go look up what happens eventually to women who speak out.
There is a whole cultural sanctioning of misogyny, including sexual assault, and then harassment of women who speak out about it, and it’s bizarre beyond belief that there is even any debate about how to deal with this. But hey, Roastbusters.
Yep and shows why this cancerous rape culture has to be eradicated. But it won’t easily imo because too much priviledge and vested interest. Seriously this is really prevalent and it is disgusting and everywhere. I have heard some other stories about rape culture and sexism today and they make my fucken blood boil.
Big ups to the youth organising it. Kia kaha. The protest has been moved to 4:30 at parliament grounds. Us grown ups should be there to support them. Show how the community supports them.
Winston Peters has challenged Minister for Women, Paula Bennett, to ensure the Public Service leads the way in equal pay for women.
Mr Peters says the Crown Law office has a 39 percent gender pay gap, the Social Services Commission 27 percent and the Ministry of Education 26 percent.
Across the Public Service the gap is 14 percent, he says.
The official gender pay gap is 12 percent.
The Green Party has put up a bill it believes would close the gap but Ms Bennett says legislation isn’t the way forward at this stage.
Hey don’t call orangutans rabid, they are actually very peaceful and healthy living, and shouldn’t be bad mouthed. They are pretty close to us and if we had a more stable nature without so much deviousness in our ways we would have had a happier world instead of our destructive one. They are among the apes that people have studied and are beginning to ask for personhood for.
Trump on the other hand – is he actually a person, or a cartoon impersonation?
I agree comparing Trump to healthy orangutans is defamation of orangutans. Admittedly I’m extrapolating what an orangutan in the final throes of a rabies infection might be like, but I have seen other other rabid animals (and left the area quickly) and it seems likely to be a fair comparison.
“Whatever we are facing now we need to have a root system embedded in weather patterns, the presences of animals, our dreams, and the ones who came before us. Myth is insistent that when there is a crisis, genius lives on the margins not the centre. If we are constantly using the language of politics to combat the language of politics at some point the soul grows weary and turns its head away because we are not allowing it into the conversation, and by denying soul we are ignoring what the Mexicans call the river beneath the river. We’re not listening to the thoughts of the world. We’re only listening to our own neurosis and our own anxiety.”
“Some $16.3 billion in profits and investment income left this country in the year to March 2016, and Dr Rosenberg said over the past decade this had averaged more than the combined dairy and forest product exports.
More than $2 out of every $5 – $6.8bn – went to the mainly Australian owners of New Zealand’s banks.”
Woah that’s interesting. Imagine if we had solely a state bank (kiwibank) controlling our money supply instead of aussie owned private banks. The Government has $6.8 billion extra to play with each and every year and all of a sudden New Zealand looks like it did back in the 1950s – healthy state housing, healthy numbers of jobs, Universal Basic Incomes for everyone, healthy people and education systems.
If NZ unilaterally puts an extra tax on financial transaction, it would simply feed into higher interest costs. The banks would simply see this as an additional cost of doing business in NZ compared to say Australia. In short borrowers would pay the tax.
Hey, Wayne housing problem solved as our houses stop going up! Especially if we stop foreign investment and foreign ownership at the same time, and stop lazy immigration so that we are not outcompeted by cheap interest rates and NZ tax havens our government has so thoughfully put in place to help the rest of the world get on the property ladder in NZ. sarc.
No, they would keep going up, with the tax on as well. A tax isn’t going to stop anything. I don’t understand why everyone thinks this is the case. It might slow it down slightly, that’s about it.
FTT is a minor small tax which brings in a lot because of volume. Stop bringing up old textbook answers to questions Wayne. Time that you got some new ideas instead of offering rote learning that was probably wrong when you learned it.
The claim is private enterprise can do everything better. Can it?
I have a small urgent parcel coming from New York. It has taken 2 days to get from New York to Auckland. It arrived yesterday.
When I phoned and asked when would I expect delivery I was told not before Tuesday if I am lucky
A good bit of private enterprise that, 2 days from New York and 6 DAYS from Auckland to where I live not far from Auckland.
Now back in the BAD days when the government run the socialistic parcel service called Road Services not known for their efficiency if I phoned for goods from an Auckland company before 3.00 pm I would be able to collect them at 8.0 am the following morning from their local depot. If it missed the morning run it would definitely be there in the afternoon. In those days if that happened everyone would winge how inefficient they all were and private enterprise would be so much better.
Also no doubt the truck bringing the parcels from Auckland would have been driven by a New Zealander on a reasonable wage so he didn’t have to live in a cardboard box instead of the migrant labour we seem to have these days no doubt on the minimum wage.
So the shit about private enterprise can do everything better is nothing but crap, because they don’t.
Matt Nippert is doing an excellent job researching the involvement of Peter Thiel in NZ and surveillance in NZ. This Herald article was posted last night. I have the feeling there could be more to come.
New Zealand spy agencies and our elite Special Air Service soldiers have long-standing commercial links with a controversial big-data company founded by surprise Kiwi Peter Thiel, the Herald can reveal.
An investigation into Thiel’s links to New Zealand has found his firm Palantir Technologies has counted the New Zealand Defence Force, the Security Intelligence Service and the Government Communications and Security Bureau as clients with contracts dating back to at least 2012.
Thiel’s NZ citizenship should be revoked on the grounds he obtained it by highly questionable means.
If this story grows legs – and I think it will – then if enough NZers rise up and say essentially “get rid of him” then an incoming government will have the mandate to do exactly that?
What I would like to know is whether the agencies mentioned were “instructed” by the Key-led government to purchase the Palantir software in the first place?
And was the shenanagens around the granting of that citizenship and the purchase of the Palantir equipment a reason why Ian Fletcher suddenly upped and resigned before his tenure expired?
I agree that his citizenship should be revoked but it is actually quite difficult to do apparently.
As you will recall, l I have been thumping the table here from time to time over the years about Palantir so it good that it is finally coming to light – not just in NZ but also in the US.
If you are interested in recent media articles in the US on Thiel, Palantir, Trump and US regulatory/intelligency agency connections, that reply contains links to some of these plus other replies with further links to US articles. Convoluted !
I look forward to further revelations from Matt Nippert (with help from David Fisher apparently).
Great investigative journalists both of them – even if the work for the Herald!
I will look at those links veutoviper but my primary interest is what was going on in NZ vis a vis Palantir and Thiel.
For instance, I wonder how the time-lines pan out re-Ian Fletcher being head-hunted to take over the GCSB at what now looks to have been a critical period. I refer to the installation of Palantir products into the GCSB and elsewhere. (Bear in mind Fletcher had technical experience in both the public and private sectors) Then he suddenly decides to piss off before his time is up. And how does it all fit in with the “brief” visits by Thiel apparently (we’re told) to set himself up for citizenship which he obtained without going through any of the hoops everyone else has to, and in record time. And what about John Key? He definitely fits in otherwise why did he lie about Ian Fletcher’s appointment process in the first place.
JK probably was telling the truth when he said he was stepping down as PM because he had “run out of steam” but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t another reason as well…. such as the knowledge some shit was going to hit the fan within months?
I wish “karol” was still around because she was brilliant at the research stuff and joining all the dots but I’ll have a go when I get the time and inclination.
Further to my earlier reply advising that Karol did a detailed post and I also did a number of detailed comments back then on the NZ aspects you talk about, discussion on Palantir in NZ and Key are in my comment on 29 January 2017 here:
Links to Karol’s post and the Q time questioning of Key re Thiel and Palantir
are in my comment.
My focus has been mainly on the NZ aspects; the US articles etc tend tp confirm the concerns etc re Thiel’s real motives and Palantir’s interests here.
Myself, I’m also waiting to see what Nippert will say in part two – he expects to be writing more articles when the rest of the OIAs he submitted throw up some more info. He’s the maestro at sifting through spreadsheets and other documentation, and drawing out the most significant bits, and then matching up info from different places.
I haven’t started the time-lining (might not get a chance until after the week-end), but from the little bit I’ve read and recalled… I’ll stick my neck out and state the following:
NZ was being used as an unwitting repository for international political machinations which was never about – or in the interest of – New Zealand. (Yes, our country too). It was all about the preservation of a very wealthy and powerful elite (the 1%) across the planet and they are solely responsible for the dire economic and environmental circumstances the entire world is currently experiencing.
It is sickening that John Key and his cronies ( in particular this Peter Thiel character) were the witting facilitators of NZ’s involvement. I will go further and say: this is almost certainly the reason John Key was handed a safe National seat on a plate… and created leader and PM at the earliest opportunity. One wonders what he has been promised by way of gratitude once the “mission” was completed. We’ll find out soon enough methinks.
Now watch the rwnjs come running to this site screaming conspiracy, conspiracy, conspiracy.
“Labour’s new leadership team had their first ever public debut on Thursday – and it revealed Jacinda Ardern maybe isn’t as popular as everyone thinks.
Even in the left-wing safe zone of Victoria University’s Kelburn campus, hardly any students knew who she was.”
I hope this clears up the little meme that you are trying over the last couple of days. Starting flame wars is stupid – and that is the only thing I can see you trying to do since your comment had nothing to do with anything being discussed.
You didn’t do it? But now, you support smacking children?
Is that since you embraced the Act Party ideology? What made you this way, James? Will you smack your grandchildren?
Would you like to have a go at defining the difference between smacking and hitting?
Just so as you know, the Cambridge English dictionary defines smacking thus: “smack meaning, definition, what is smack: to hit someone or something forcefully with the flat inside part of your hand”
It would appear they would see ‘hit as a synonym – interesting, that!
JanM is saying (I think) that smacking and hitting are synonymous by definition. Your view on the difference between smacking and hitting would be interesting, James; like to give it a go?
A smack is a hit with the open palm of the hand. Hit is a more general term. A smack will never be as forceful as a punch (a hit with a closed fist) but all these hits can be powerful enough to damage a small child, and I agree with the anti-smacking law.
Stop pretending that a smack can do no harm. Brutally delivered, it can. And when it is brutally delivered, prosecution is justified.
James, oh James. I followed your link and read the piece:
“Leader Andrew Little on the other hand, was recognised by almost everyone.”, says the journalist, “But don’t get me wrong – from what I saw today, I believe the pair will be a force to be reckoned with when the campaign ramps up.”
James, James, James. Please get your Act together.
Great to see National’s flagship Land and Water Forum fall apart.
In the last few days the following have left:
– Forest and Bird Society
– Federated Mountain Clubs
– Fish and Game
Forest and Bird society are pretty well known to be fully oppositional to this government, and are gearing up to further humiliate them in the Supreme Court about Ruataniwha Dam proposal. Fair to say they have tens of thousands of members, and so far as I know them, almost all of them vote.
Federated Mountain Clubs is a very large conglomeration of all sorts of tramping clubs. All the way from alpine ski clubs to the Catholic Tramping Clubs.
Fish and Game have a statutory role in licensing hunting and fishing, but have become increasingly outspoken against this government.
This Land and Water Forum has been the flagship for Jackie Blue, led within shrinking walls by Rob Salmon, and 100% pushed by Nick Smith. In short, the primary blue-green machine for this government.
As the real impact of these national fresh water quality standards hits home to the broader public, and the new RMA bill heads to Parliament, this Forum will be seen clearly for what it is now: a front for Federated Farmers and NZ Big Ag Inc to screw our land once more.
I talked with Guy long ago about the collaborative model he’d experienced in Norway (I think it was). It was a good one, but National have not followed that model, as I believe Guy suspected all those years ago (20? 25? Can’t remember exactly). This abandonment by the significant environmental lobby is indicative, appalling, and sad. And utterly predictable and predicted. My council has heard my views about this ad nauseum and are getting them again today, as the result of this latest development. Local government is being “encouraged” to adopt the Government’s practice and many councils, such as mine, have fallen, imo, for the spin.
The Tump peace dividend exceeds all expectations.
/
After a week of punishing airstrikes loosed on al Qaeda in Yemen that saw 40 targets go up in flames and smoke, American pilots took a breather the past two nights, watching the dust settle.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
Now, having seen the trump regime for a couple of months, do we think that this bombing intensity reflects a more responsive command and control system that enables the US to fight its enemies more effectively?
Or do we think that it simply reflects poor impulse control?
Interesting piece talking about the economy. But right in the middle of this an interesting piece on what the labour party in G.B will do if elected. Goes some way to explain the people who have been attacking Corbyn. Democracy has broken out inside the labour party, and it must be quashed at any cost.
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
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Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
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With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
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There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
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Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
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The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
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In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
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A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Finally the REAA has been dragged kicking and screaming to the table to address corruption in its industry.
Incredible that an industry watchdog didn’t have the will to clean up corruption like this, in a market under such inflationary stress, until the media highlighted it for the umpteenth time.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11815330
Slow clap for the REAA, everyone.
> Faced with a series of controversial on-sales cases highlighted by the Herald, REAA chief executive Kevin Lampen-Smith said yesterday his organisation was becoming more proactive in its monitoring of wrong-doing.
Hehe go KL-S! (I know him from some time ago)
A.
Massive reason for the Auckland haves to vote out the do-nothing National government. They can’t get teachers for their rich kids.
So Parata blames schools (of course, it’s in the National Party manual) for not hiring young teachers but it turns out young teachers can’t afford to live near the places they work. Parata might have missed it’s because of her own government’s inaction on housing and infrastructure, and its addiction to immigration, that we have arrived at this point.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11815312
No wonder they sacked her.
So schools in Auckland don’t get more money for staffing, in order to compensate for the higher cost of living? (Genuine question)
A.
Correct, no salary addition.
Many years ago -in the country there were houses provided at low rent for teachers to teach in country schools.
There was also a salary step you could not progress beyond until country service was completed.
Is the same true of other public sector professions?
In the private sector I suppose most would want more money to work in Auckland.
A.
Don’t know, suspect Nurses are the same.
An entertaining rant from a frustrated liberal fed up with those voting against their interests by voting Repug and Trump.
https://newrepublic.com/article/140948/bluexit-blue-states-exit-trump-red-america
According to Antoine, this isn’t corruption.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/326267/call-to-investigate-if-fraudster-forced-out-whistleblowers
Probably not, but fraud and gross incompetence, yes? I in no way defend it.
A.
You just feebly attempt to minimise it instead. Does your flavour of bullshit impress people at Cabinet Club, because it doesn’t work here.
Hehe
I must confess I am not a Cabinet Club habitue
A.
Just has more common sense than most here.
Common sense isn’t and it’s almost always wrong anyway.
Fraud is corruption you moron.
Hey we seem to be getting into unnecessary semantics on TS more and more. Wrangling over points, stranded on a rock or a high point like some cattle, while the river or the landslide goes on around them.
Save your energies so you’ve got some left for the next wave of malfeasance I say. There is too much worrying and wrangling, both in the Brit and USA meaning. A bit of semantics from me?
“Hey we seem to be getting into unnecessary semantics on TS more and more.”
Ain’t that the frikken truth! And the more it continues – destination IRRELEVANCE, and simply a place in the boudoir to look at oneself and shadows in the mirror, all moderated and peachy keen by the backlight that makes the contributor in favour look their best, whilst fading to black those that don’t present themselves at their ideological best.
How is the new Auditor-General Martin Mathews ‘fit for duty’?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/boss-hired-ministry-transport-726-000-fraudster-not-embarrassed
“…Harrison, also known as Joanne Sidebottom and Joanne Sharp, stole by using fake invoices to bill fake companies when she worked at the Ministry of Transport.
In Manukau District Court today, Judge Sanjay Patel sentenced her to 43 months imprisonment on three charges to which she pleaded guilty.
And it’s not the first time Harrison had committed fraud.
“Ms Harrison has previous convictions for similar offending. In July 2007 she was sentenced to undertake 300 hours of community work,” Judge Patel said.
Martin Matthews, now the Auditor-General, was the Ministry of Transport’s chief executive who hired Harrison.
…”
__________________________
I heard an item on rnz that the protest against rape culture to be held outside Wellington college is to moved because of threats of violence by the students. That’s appalling! And just proves the point of the protest!
Apparently the threats were from Wellington College boys using social media. School (and perhaps police) should come down on them like a ton of bricks
A.
Article about it on RNZ website:
The young woman leading the protest thinks the guys are probably joking. But jokes can lead to the threats being taken seriously. Makes the young protesters feel unsafe.
And this shows that the male students making such threats, joking or not, must have some pretty poor roles models among men older than them.
I have read the comments – I think they are more trolling as opposed to real threats – however the comments are, simply put, disgusting and need to be addressed by the school and the parents.
I’d be really pissed if that was my son making comments like that.
It would be nice if the school/parents publicly came out and said that any threats toward the protest would be met with punishment and that they are supportive of the protest action.
Indeed. If they disagree with the protest – they could protest the protest. But as for threats – 100% the need to know they will be held to account and should be publicly warned.
I think they should be suspended. There should be zero tolerance of threats of grievous bodily harm irrespective of who is joking or not.
This shit has gamergate written all over it. Go look up what happens eventually to women who speak out.
There is a whole cultural sanctioning of misogyny, including sexual assault, and then harassment of women who speak out about it, and it’s bizarre beyond belief that there is even any debate about how to deal with this. But hey, Roastbusters.
Oh, and look, the principal of the boys school is a rape apologist, what a surprise.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/326072/wellington-students-encourage-taking-advantage-of-'drunk-girls‘
Yep and shows why this cancerous rape culture has to be eradicated. But it won’t easily imo because too much priviledge and vested interest. Seriously this is really prevalent and it is disgusting and everywhere. I have heard some other stories about rape culture and sexism today and they make my fucken blood boil.
I would argue that suspension is the minimum they should see.
Expulsion would prove that they are not WBC …
Big ups to the youth organising it. Kia kaha. The protest has been moved to 4:30 at parliament grounds. Us grown ups should be there to support them. Show how the community supports them.
Winston Peters has challenged Minister for Women, Paula Bennett, to ensure the Public Service leads the way in equal pay for women.
Mr Peters says the Crown Law office has a 39 percent gender pay gap, the Social Services Commission 27 percent and the Ministry of Education 26 percent.
Across the Public Service the gap is 14 percent, he says.
The official gender pay gap is 12 percent.
The Green Party has put up a bill it believes would close the gap but Ms Bennett says legislation isn’t the way forward at this stage.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/03/paula-bennett-s-job-to-fix-gender-pay-gap-winston-peters.html
National will always say that legislation isn’t the way forward. They like it that their immoral actions are still legal.
It will be interesting to see if public and media pressure forces Bennett to take up the challenge.
If Bennett can’t sort out the public sector what hope is there of her ever sorting out the private sector?
Can National afford to lose the female vote?
Labour should be hammering this home.
Where’s Ruth Dyson on this?
Lost in her own Dyson sphere.
Labour should be capitalizing off of this.
Are you aware that the proposed Bill is only to provide transparency about men’s vs women’s pay, not actually to mandate that they get the same.
A.
Regardless, it doesn’t look like National plan to do anything.
Labour should put forward and campaign on a policy mandating an end to gender inequality within the public sector.
Bet they won’t
Doing so will put more pressure on Bennett to act.
Looks like they won’t need a wall. Just having a rabid orangutan in the White House is enough to scare people off trying to get to the US.
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/9/14869194/trump-border-secure-illegal-immigration
Hey don’t call orangutans rabid, they are actually very peaceful and healthy living, and shouldn’t be bad mouthed. They are pretty close to us and if we had a more stable nature without so much deviousness in our ways we would have had a happier world instead of our destructive one. They are among the apes that people have studied and are beginning to ask for personhood for.
Trump on the other hand – is he actually a person, or a cartoon impersonation?
I agree comparing Trump to healthy orangutans is defamation of orangutans. Admittedly I’m extrapolating what an orangutan in the final throes of a rabies infection might be like, but I have seen other other rabid animals (and left the area quickly) and it seems likely to be a fair comparison.
Aren’t orangutan hands rather large, though?
Uncolonizing our imagination (bold mine)
“Whatever we are facing now we need to have a root system embedded in weather patterns, the presences of animals, our dreams, and the ones who came before us. Myth is insistent that when there is a crisis, genius lives on the margins not the centre. If we are constantly using the language of politics to combat the language of politics at some point the soul grows weary and turns its head away because we are not allowing it into the conversation, and by denying soul we are ignoring what the Mexicans call the river beneath the river. We’re not listening to the thoughts of the world. We’re only listening to our own neurosis and our own anxiety.”
http://dark-mountain.net/blog/the-mythos-we-live-by-uncolonising-our-imagination/
That’s good. Any thoughts on how that might work here?
“Some $16.3 billion in profits and investment income left this country in the year to March 2016, and Dr Rosenberg said over the past decade this had averaged more than the combined dairy and forest product exports.
More than $2 out of every $5 – $6.8bn – went to the mainly Australian owners of New Zealand’s banks.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/326190/foreign-ownership-nears-50-percent
Time to talk about a financial transaction tax!!
No, time to talk about a ban on offshore ownership.
Woah that’s interesting. Imagine if we had solely a state bank (kiwibank) controlling our money supply instead of aussie owned private banks. The Government has $6.8 billion extra to play with each and every year and all of a sudden New Zealand looks like it did back in the 1950s – healthy state housing, healthy numbers of jobs, Universal Basic Incomes for everyone, healthy people and education systems.
saveNZ,
If NZ unilaterally puts an extra tax on financial transaction, it would simply feed into higher interest costs. The banks would simply see this as an additional cost of doing business in NZ compared to say Australia. In short borrowers would pay the tax.
Hey, Wayne housing problem solved as our houses stop going up! Especially if we stop foreign investment and foreign ownership at the same time, and stop lazy immigration so that we are not outcompeted by cheap interest rates and NZ tax havens our government has so thoughfully put in place to help the rest of the world get on the property ladder in NZ. sarc.
The banks already put an extra tax onto financial transactions.
0.5% to 3.5% of every card transaction.
Maybe we need an FTT, and competition! between banks to let the market work?
Better still. Use Kiwibank properly to keep them honest. And banking profits in New Zealand. See North Dakota.
At the moment all our tourist and dairy farming TURNOVER are exceeded by offshore profit taking.
Capitalism at work. If Australian banks found NZ too costly to do business in, there is an opportunity for some local entrepreneurs.
No, they would keep going up, with the tax on as well. A tax isn’t going to stop anything. I don’t understand why everyone thinks this is the case. It might slow it down slightly, that’s about it.
And a RWNJ comes in to tell us that Nothing Can Be Done and that it should all Just Remain The Same.
Or we could make zero interest loans available from Kiwibank.
FTT is a minor small tax which brings in a lot because of volume. Stop bringing up old textbook answers to questions Wayne. Time that you got some new ideas instead of offering rote learning that was probably wrong when you learned it.
The claim is private enterprise can do everything better. Can it?
I have a small urgent parcel coming from New York. It has taken 2 days to get from New York to Auckland. It arrived yesterday.
When I phoned and asked when would I expect delivery I was told not before Tuesday if I am lucky
A good bit of private enterprise that, 2 days from New York and 6 DAYS from Auckland to where I live not far from Auckland.
Now back in the BAD days when the government run the socialistic parcel service called Road Services not known for their efficiency if I phoned for goods from an Auckland company before 3.00 pm I would be able to collect them at 8.0 am the following morning from their local depot. If it missed the morning run it would definitely be there in the afternoon. In those days if that happened everyone would winge how inefficient they all were and private enterprise would be so much better.
Also no doubt the truck bringing the parcels from Auckland would have been driven by a New Zealander on a reasonable wage so he didn’t have to live in a cardboard box instead of the migrant labour we seem to have these days no doubt on the minimum wage.
So the shit about private enterprise can do everything better is nothing but crap, because they don’t.
You’re comment is worth your weight in gold, halfcrown. True in my experience.
@halfcrown (13) … you got it so damn right there. Spot on.
Matt Nippert is doing an excellent job researching the involvement of Peter Thiel in NZ and surveillance in NZ. This Herald article was posted last night. I have the feeling there could be more to come.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11814904
Good heads up Tautoko MM.
Thiel’s NZ citizenship should be revoked on the grounds he obtained it by highly questionable means.
If this story grows legs – and I think it will – then if enough NZers rise up and say essentially “get rid of him” then an incoming government will have the mandate to do exactly that?
What I would like to know is whether the agencies mentioned were “instructed” by the Key-led government to purchase the Palantir software in the first place?
And was the shenanagens around the granting of that citizenship and the purchase of the Palantir equipment a reason why Ian Fletcher suddenly upped and resigned before his tenure expired?
I agree that his citizenship should be revoked but it is actually quite difficult to do apparently.
As you will recall, l I have been thumping the table here from time to time over the years about Palantir so it good that it is finally coming to light – not just in NZ but also in the US.
Earlier this morning I actually replied to a comment on last night’s Daily Review re Matt Nippert’s last article on Thiel and Palantir.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-09032017/#comment-1308274
If you are interested in recent media articles in the US on Thiel, Palantir, Trump and US regulatory/intelligency agency connections, that reply contains links to some of these plus other replies with further links to US articles. Convoluted !
I look forward to further revelations from Matt Nippert (with help from David Fisher apparently).
Great investigative journalists both of them – even if the work for the Herald!
I will look at those links veutoviper but my primary interest is what was going on in NZ vis a vis Palantir and Thiel.
For instance, I wonder how the time-lines pan out re-Ian Fletcher being head-hunted to take over the GCSB at what now looks to have been a critical period. I refer to the installation of Palantir products into the GCSB and elsewhere. (Bear in mind Fletcher had technical experience in both the public and private sectors) Then he suddenly decides to piss off before his time is up. And how does it all fit in with the “brief” visits by Thiel apparently (we’re told) to set himself up for citizenship which he obtained without going through any of the hoops everyone else has to, and in record time. And what about John Key? He definitely fits in otherwise why did he lie about Ian Fletcher’s appointment process in the first place.
JK probably was telling the truth when he said he was stepping down as PM because he had “run out of steam” but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t another reason as well…. such as the knowledge some shit was going to hit the fan within months?
I wish “karol” was still around because she was brilliant at the research stuff and joining all the dots but I’ll have a go when I get the time and inclination.
Karol already didresearch and an excellent post. I also did a lot of research, replies etc back then.
About to go out, but will search it all out because I should be able to find it through my replies etc.
Here’s some links to get you started.
Karol puts Thiel’s involvement as beginning in 2009
https://thestandard.org.nz/networks-of-influence-key-peter-thiel-the-gcsb/
Russel Norman raised questions about it in 2013:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890189
https://www.nbr.co.nz/palantir-prism-ck
Hamish Fletcher wrote in 2011 about Thiel in NZ
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10702787
Then further questions raised about Thiel in NZ at the beginning of February 2017
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/88843382/peter-thiel-citizenship-details-revealed
Thanks Carolyn nth. That should get me going. 🙂
Further to my earlier reply advising that Karol did a detailed post and I also did a number of detailed comments back then on the NZ aspects you talk about, discussion on Palantir in NZ and Key are in my comment on 29 January 2017 here:
https://thestandard.org.nz/peter-thiels-citizenship-and-consequent-questions-of-corruption/#comment-1293097
Links to Karol’s post and the Q time questioning of Key re Thiel and Palantir
are in my comment.
My focus has been mainly on the NZ aspects; the US articles etc tend tp confirm the concerns etc re Thiel’s real motives and Palantir’s interests here.
Also see TMM’s comment on last night’s Daily Review thread on the subject.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-09032017/#comment-1308379
Must go out. Probably more back further. Will try to find time to dig out but it will not be today.
Cheers
Thanks.
Myself, I’m also waiting to see what Nippert will say in part two – he expects to be writing more articles when the rest of the OIAs he submitted throw up some more info. He’s the maestro at sifting through spreadsheets and other documentation, and drawing out the most significant bits, and then matching up info from different places.
I haven’t started the time-lining (might not get a chance until after the week-end), but from the little bit I’ve read and recalled… I’ll stick my neck out and state the following:
NZ was being used as an unwitting repository for international political machinations which was never about – or in the interest of – New Zealand. (Yes, our country too). It was all about the preservation of a very wealthy and powerful elite (the 1%) across the planet and they are solely responsible for the dire economic and environmental circumstances the entire world is currently experiencing.
It is sickening that John Key and his cronies ( in particular this Peter Thiel character) were the witting facilitators of NZ’s involvement. I will go further and say: this is almost certainly the reason John Key was handed a safe National seat on a plate… and created leader and PM at the earliest opportunity. One wonders what he has been promised by way of gratitude once the “mission” was completed. We’ll find out soon enough methinks.
Now watch the rwnjs come running to this site screaming conspiracy, conspiracy, conspiracy.
To be honest this Emory bloke is a little….. out there, but his site does cover Thiel.
http://spitfirelist.com/tag/peter-thiel/
Thiel’s book, “Zero to One” ..
gsl.mit.edu/media/programs/south-africa-summer-2015/…/0to1.pdf
Raf Manji of the Christchurch City Council on a Universal Basic Income:
First it was a first world city without power, now they are running out of water.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/aucklanders-told-cut-water-usage-20-litres-per-person-week-after-treatment-plant-hit-storm
Jacinda Who?
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/03/lloyd-burr-jacinda-who-labour-s-new-duo-debuts-at-victoria-university.html
“Labour’s new leadership team had their first ever public debut on Thursday – and it revealed Jacinda Ardern maybe isn’t as popular as everyone thinks.
Even in the left-wing safe zone of Victoria University’s Kelburn campus, hardly any students knew who she was.”
And this is right in her “target market”.
In comparison, Victoria University students turned up in their hundreds on Tuesday night to listen to Winston Peters.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/90166384/winston-peters-draws-big-crowd-of-university-students-to-hammer-home-nz-first-policy
James? The same James that’s been crowing that Jacinda’s popularity will eclipse that of Andrew Little and collapse the Labour Party?
James?
the cognitive dissonance is strong in James…
Well james supports the hitting children, so what do you expect…
smacking children, yes – hitting no.
I hope this clears up the little meme that you are trying over the last couple of days. Starting flame wars is stupid – and that is the only thing I can see you trying to do since your comment had nothing to do with anything being discussed.
Oh, Lord! A child-smacker!
No – i said I supported smacking – not that I did it. For starters my kids are all way to old.
You didn’t do it? But now, you support smacking children?
Is that since you embraced the Act Party ideology? What made you this way, James? Will you smack your grandchildren?
Trust me, if I give you a smack you will call the cops. Now explain why I didn’t assault you.
I’m more a smack back guy. But whatever.
Your ability to predict my actions seems about as qualified as a lot of our other comments (it’s not).
So you agree that (in this theoretical smacking context) I assaulted you.
Thanks for making my point.
Would you like to have a go at defining the difference between smacking and hitting?
Just so as you know, the Cambridge English dictionary defines smacking thus: “smack meaning, definition, what is smack: to hit someone or something forcefully with the flat inside part of your hand”
It would appear they would see ‘hit as a synonym – interesting, that!
If you cannot work the difference out then I guess you won’t understand an argument about it.
JanM is saying (I think) that smacking and hitting are synonymous by definition. Your view on the difference between smacking and hitting would be interesting, James; like to give it a go?
Yes thanks Robert, that is exactly what I was saying
James?
The “difference” is in the eye of the smackee.
Not the smacker. Take a moment to think about that.
Not eye, I hope – rump, perhaps, but even then, you are right.
The difference is that some adults hit children, and they are weak and pathetic next to other adults.
A smack is a hit with the open palm of the hand. Hit is a more general term. A smack will never be as forceful as a punch (a hit with a closed fist) but all these hits can be powerful enough to damage a small child, and I agree with the anti-smacking law.
Stop pretending that a smack can do no harm. Brutally delivered, it can. And when it is brutally delivered, prosecution is justified.
Yep – I still think that *might* happen – but I may well have been wrong in my initial view. Time will tell on that.
James, oh James. I followed your link and read the piece:
“Leader Andrew Little on the other hand, was recognised by almost everyone.”, says the journalist, “But don’t get me wrong – from what I saw today, I believe the pair will be a force to be reckoned with when the campaign ramps up.”
James, James, James. Please get your Act together.
David Seymour *might* win “Dick of the Year” this year (and it’s only March!)
Great to see National’s flagship Land and Water Forum fall apart.
In the last few days the following have left:
– Forest and Bird Society
– Federated Mountain Clubs
– Fish and Game
Forest and Bird society are pretty well known to be fully oppositional to this government, and are gearing up to further humiliate them in the Supreme Court about Ruataniwha Dam proposal. Fair to say they have tens of thousands of members, and so far as I know them, almost all of them vote.
Federated Mountain Clubs is a very large conglomeration of all sorts of tramping clubs. All the way from alpine ski clubs to the Catholic Tramping Clubs.
Fish and Game have a statutory role in licensing hunting and fishing, but have become increasingly outspoken against this government.
This Land and Water Forum has been the flagship for Jackie Blue, led within shrinking walls by Rob Salmon, and 100% pushed by Nick Smith. In short, the primary blue-green machine for this government.
As the real impact of these national fresh water quality standards hits home to the broader public, and the new RMA bill heads to Parliament, this Forum will be seen clearly for what it is now: a front for Federated Farmers and NZ Big Ag Inc to screw our land once more.
Thanks for that. That comment would be a good post.
Guy?
Of course; Guy. And my abjects to both.
I talked with Guy long ago about the collaborative model he’d experienced in Norway (I think it was). It was a good one, but National have not followed that model, as I believe Guy suspected all those years ago (20? 25? Can’t remember exactly). This abandonment by the significant environmental lobby is indicative, appalling, and sad. And utterly predictable and predicted. My council has heard my views about this ad nauseum and are getting them again today, as the result of this latest development. Local government is being “encouraged” to adopt the Government’s practice and many councils, such as mine, have fallen, imo, for the spin.
“Fallen for the spin”
Who authors the spin that they “fall” for?
Why, they do. Malice is a thing, eh.
The Tump peace dividend exceeds all expectations.
/
After a week of punishing airstrikes loosed on al Qaeda in Yemen that saw 40 targets go up in flames and smoke, American pilots took a breather the past two nights, watching the dust settle.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/09/trumps-ramped-up-bombing-in-yemen-signals-more-aggressive-use-of-military/?
Not a real war so it doesn’t count.
Now, having seen the trump regime for a couple of months, do we think that this bombing intensity reflects a more responsive command and control system that enables the US to fight its enemies more effectively?
Or do we think that it simply reflects poor impulse control?
I think the odds are in the latter.
Interesting piece talking about the economy. But right in the middle of this an interesting piece on what the labour party in G.B will do if elected. Goes some way to explain the people who have been attacking Corbyn. Democracy has broken out inside the labour party, and it must be quashed at any cost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozt5uGbTBm0