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.
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Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
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There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
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:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EluxCgnQVzg
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