“Why John, it’s not like you to ring up in the middle of a working day. Is anything wrong?”
“Yes, Bronagh, there is something wrong. There’s been a massive leak of confidential papers from one of those law firms in Panama. You know what I mean, they arrange safe places for millions of dollars to avoid paying tax.”
“Of course I know what you mean. Are we exposed?”
“That’s just it, I’m not sure. You know what my memory is! Look, I can’t do this from here, will you give _____________ (a lawyer) a ring just to make sure we didn’t have any dealings with Mossack Fonesca.”
“We have had no dealings with Mossack Fonesca at all.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I can take the moral high ground here without lying and without fear of our name coming to light.”
“Yes, you do that so well, dearest. But Johnny, what about members of your cabinet?”
“Heh, heh, that’s a thought. I wonder if ‘Crusher’ is involved?”
“But Johnny, it won’t look good, will it.”
“No, as usual, you’re right, Bronagh. Well, nothing to see here, move on folks, eh? New Zealand is not a tax haven, hey? Just deny it until the fuss dies down.”
“We found pedophiles in the data, people, bad people, really bad people. We found mafia figures. Not just from Italy, but from Japan from America from everywhere, and they were convicted people.”
“In Uganda a company that wanted to sell a prospective oil field, paid Mossback Fonseca to help it avoid $400 million in taxes. It was simple paperwork. The company’s address was changed from one tax haven to another.
In a country where one in three people live on less than a dollar twenty-five a day, $400 million dollars represents more than the government’s annual health budget.
Uganda spent years in court trying to force the company to pay its taxes, meanwhile a hospital in the shadow of the oil field lacked funds for even the most basic equipment. Patients slept on floors, they were asked to bring their own medical supplies, like sterile gloves and cotton balls…..”
I wonder; If this is the same oil company “owned” by the shell company that is registered in New Zealand, which is implicated in fixing and bribery for the oil companies?
“Unaoil bribery scandal: New Zealand shell company linked to Unaoil scandal”
In a perfect world, we’d all walk 10,000 steps a day.
Probably not actually. Excessive exercise is bad for you.
“About a year ago we were both in New York City and we noticed that many insurance companies were advertising new programs where they would offer their customers discounts if they wore a Fitbit that was freely provided, and if they logged a certain amount of steps per day,” Ms Brain said.
Witness the fitness
“Usually the aim is to do 10,000 steps per day. And this would get you a few hundred dollars off your annual insurance bill.”
Ms Brain and her colleague found this concerning.
Very concerning. Both for peoples health and their privacy. These sorts of policies by health insurers will push more of this:
Often, compulsive exercise starts with healthy intentions. One exercises for pleasure, or stress relief, or the endorphin rush, or just to feel better. Over time, one has to do more to get the same positive boost. Before long, it’s never enough. Exercise starts ruling life.
With Saudi and Russian ties, Clinton machine’s tentacles are far reaching, according to Panama Papers
The Podesta Group, a lobbying firm headed by Clinton operatives, has made a pretty penny working for Saudi & Russia
There had previously been two petroleum conferences, one hosted by the government and one by the industry. That was not practical, so they had been combined – and the government agreed to subsidise the industry conference. “So the Government has probably decreased it’s funding for these conferences,” Madgwick said.
The new combined conference allowed a meeting of the minds for both industry and government to discuss regulations and possible improvements, he said.
Mainstream U.S. journalism has completely lost its way, especially in dealing with foreign policy issues where bias now overwhelms any commitment to facts, a dangerous development, writes Robert Parry.
Article and comments very good. Something Guyon and Susie from Morning Report should read re their question over why ppl don’t trust the media anymore.
In my view, there are a number of issues relating to Auckland Council’s purchase of the ASB building which are scandalous, and help reinforce what a disaster this Auckland ‘Supercity’ has been for the majority of Auckland citizens and ratepayers.
When were the public ever consulted on Auckland Council’s purchase of the ASB building?
What was wrong with the ‘custom built’ Auckland Council Civic Building for Council staff?
(What’s happened to the Auckland Council Civic Building – my understanding is that it is sitting there empty, and has been for some months?)
Where is the evidence of the ‘due diligence’ carried out before the purchase of the ASB building?
Who carried out the ‘due diligence’?
Who actually made the decision to purchase the ASB building?
For what reason(s)?
Were there any ‘conflicts of interest’ between those involved in purchasing the ASB and those who owned the ASB building?
How does the purchase of the ASB building, represent the much-vaunted ‘efficiency’ savings / ‘economies of scale’ that was purportedly a major reason used to ‘sell’ this ‘Supercity’ (for the 1%)?
Upon whom can the public rely for a full, thorough and independent inquiry into these matters?
“The cost of cladding repairs at Auckland Council’s Albert St headquarters has blown out from $4 million to an estimated $31m, according to a confidential report.
The huge bill for essential repairs to heavy granite slabs on the 31-storey building will be discussed by councillors behind closed doors on Tuesday.
Ratepayers have already paid $128.5m to buy and fit out the 25-year-old building, described as robust and structurally sound with good bones when it was bought in 2012.
About $4m was set aside for stonework issues picked up during due diligence. A report by the engineering firm GHD in November found there was no definitive evidence of imminent collapse, but clearly cause for concern and a high potential risk of a stone panel falling from height.
……”
____________________
What does Corin Dann do on a Sunday morning? Hit the snooze alarm as few times, crawl out of bed, leisurely turn up to work and ask questions prepared for him by TVNZ staffers?
The interview with Winston Peters was appalling. It’s not as though information isn’t out there about the Panama Papers – a search of youtube finds docos by France 24, Australian 4 Corners, ICIJ, BBC, US PBS. Foreign news outlets that have been involved in this for a year describe us as a tax haven. There is more going on than Key/English are admitting to. Quoting Key soundbites to Peter’s was just sloppy.
Ffs, if he had just bothered to watch yesterday’s The Nation’s interview with Peter Bale, chief executive of the Center for Public Integrity / ICIJ, he would know that NZ has only been given the once over in the latest releases but there is more in depth shit coming down the pipe.
Why did he do such a bad job given he had interviewed John Christianson who said NZ was a shady dealer in this? Why did he insist on Winston Peters putting up the evidence saying he was holding Winston to account? Who us holding Dann to account? Why does not not just do his job?
Congrats The Nation, at least you bothered to go out wide and avoid the wide boys in mid-field and go to the ICIJ direct.
Surely these are rhetorical questions that you are asking William or did you hope that a National Party sock puppet was actually going to be unbiased and deliver an impartial and professional interview?
Appalling interview by Dann.
Just another compromised, owned puppet of the corporates.
He is not a journalist.
He is a tool of the establishment.
Hope all that money helps ease his conscience.
FJK is relaxed about the use of secret trusts because many people crooks and money launderers use trusts for all manner of things.
The Paris-based club of mostly rich nations is developing a global transparency initiative to crack down on tax haven secrecy. Most havens have agreed to participate and from 2017 will start to share financial data automatically so that each can tax its taxpayers appropriately. But there are recalcitrants. Panama is refusing to participate seriously. Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD tax chief, calls it a jurisdiction “that welcomes crooks and money launderers”.
More people using trusts for all manner of things.
/
The documents also pull back the curtain on hundreds of details about how former CIA gun-runners and contractors use offshore companies for personal and private gain. Further, they illuminate the workings of a host of other characters who used offshore companies during or after their work as spy chiefs, secret agents or operatives for the CIA and other intelligence agencies.
Wyoming makes it 7 in a row and 8 out of the last 9 for Sanders.
Even the Guardian, that just the other day had a vid of Sanders challenging Clinton’s qualification for President sans all fucking context, is now publishing articles that aren’t complete hatchet jobs. I mean, it’s an opinion piece rather than a piece of reportage following editorial lines, but still – it’s a start.
I follow it pretty closely and the methods they use are blatantly obvious once you start looking for them. For instance Sanders will win a primary, but is lucky to get one sentence while the rest of the article gushes on about Trump and Clinton.
Or they’ll run ‘poison the well’ opinion articles that look like they’re about Sanders, but are really used to damn with faint praise, derail, or dismiss in a slightly sneering tone all the ‘fanatics’ who support him.
Same tactics used on Corbyn.
The good news is that judging from their comments sections a lot more people are awake to these tricks. They’ve been way over-exposed.
In this eye-opening talk, veteran investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson shows how astroturf, or fake grassroots movements funded by political, corporate, or other special interests very effectively manipulate and distort media messages.
Some small consolation insofar as it’s the least reliable of the major polls but whichever way you slice and dice it the Colmar Brunton is a shocker.
Anybody still think Labour pondering incoherently about a policy as complex as UBI and then letting the government dump on it from a great height is a great idea?
1. The MSM doesn’t inform the NZ people. Ask your average NZers about many current events stories and they are woefully ignorant about what’s going on in their own country and the world.
2. 30 years of neo-liberal poison has done a lot of damage and a lot of people only care for themselves. They only realise the benefit of society when it’s too late and they’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.
3. The NZ Labour Party does not offer an alternative to neo-liberalism. Read my lips, Labour Party. “We apologise unreservedly for the damage we wrought on New Zealand working people when we unleashed neo-liberalism on the country. We are a socialist party and will go back to representing our people.”
I agree – I think they are trying to change hearts slowly, It doesn’t work like that – they need to apologise just as you say.
If my long term partner, whom I trusted, goes reeling off and has an affair with some sex pot who turns out to be all fur coat and no knickers, am I going to accept him just sliding back into my life as though it didn’t happen? Abject apology is definitely called for, and then the rebuilding of trust, if that’s possible
I think they need to be pushing not pondering the UBI for the next 18 months, voters need to have their heads around it by the next election. Young and old will be interested in voting for it. It may be that economic conditions just aren’t bad enough for it to take hold in the middle classes though, Labour might have been a bit early on it.
30 years of neo-liberal poison has done a lot of damage and a lot of people only care for themselves. They only realise the benefit of society when it’s too late and they’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.
Labour gains nothing from National’s increasing weakness. In the new politics, people want real alternatives to what the incumbents are proposing. Not me too acts.
Labour could open up real ground between themselves and National very easily. Too bad they are preoccupied with trying to convince a neoliberal press that they will be a credible (neoliberal) government in waiting.
There is only one poll which actually matters. Until then its clear that either the polls are biased against Labour. Or the reporting of the polls are biased against Labour. Or both.
Clearly thats the real problem here, because Labour’s actual support in the community is definitely much higher than this. We all know it is.
This poll has got nothing to doe with labour voters, it has got to do with
a. what question were asked
b. who was asked
b1. what age groups
b2. Gender breakdown
b3. Location – rural vs urban
c. likely voter
c1. voted previously
c2. will vote again
d. income group
e. property owner
all of these things would put the result into context.
You are boring CV. So very very boring.
For a PM who is so embarrassing, who is clearly a sleazebag with women/girls, who has done NOTHING for the ordinary New Zealander, who just loves to play around with the big wealthy VIPs, and who deals in corrupt behaviours, and who has started to get booed in public, there must be something screwed in the way the questions of polls are asked, for his seemingly continuing “popularity”.
actually yes it is.
Polls are meaningless if you can’t figure out how the result was achieved.
I don’t care much about polls generally speaking, but if they are used to uphold a result i would like to know how that result was achieved.
example.
100 National voters are asked and 50% say the PM is good as and 50% say Labour sucks. Is that a good result for the PM? Is it a bad result for Labour?
50 National voters are asked and 50 other voters are asked and 50% say the PM is good, and a further 30% say Labour sucks. is that a good result for the PM is it a bad result for Labour?
How the result was achieved in important. And i don’t actually care who wins in these polls, as our estimed CV said upstairs only one poll that matters and that would be the voting booth. But in the meantime, i would like a bit more meat with my polls. Thank eew/
Colmar Brunton are by far the most open about their methodology. Much better than the other main Public Pollsters. They produce a full report in a way that the others don’t.
The question Colmar Brunton ask (after a brief intro outlining the two votes under MMP) is: “Firstly, thinking about the Party Vote, which is for a political party – Which political Party would you vote for ? (If the reply is Don’t Know then they ask the follow-up question: “Which one would you be most likely to vote for ?” That pushes those mildly leaning one way to make a definite choice, with the remainder becoming the true Undecideds).
All Pollsters weight their data to align with NZ’s demographics (via Statistics New Zealand). Those respondents who indicate (in an initial question) that they’re either fairly or very unlikely to vote are excluded from the final results as are the Undecideds and those who Refuse to answer.
“But there are plenty of challenges for Mr Little who after more than a year in the job is now going backwards.”
So what can little do to stop his backward slide? Does he have anything or do you think he’s just hoping Key slips up on something? (Which isn’t working too well for him so far).
No, offering an alternative is what is necessary.
Look at the following 5 examples:
Spain, Greece, Scotland, England (since Corbyn) and the support for Sanders in the US.
People are hungry for an alternative to neo-liberalism which has screwed them for 30 years.
Now I am prepared to be generous and assume that you are unaware of these 5 examples, In which case, please read up on the events that have transpired there.
However, I have a nagging feeling you are simply a troll who is running the predictable and dull meme that there is no alternative to neo-liberalism and that all Labour have to do is to copy Key and adopt even more tenets of neo-liberal ideology. If so, I cannot be bothered wasting . Shilling for the 1% is a contemptible act.
Mind you, heading into the recent Canadian Federal election many of the commentators had written off Justin Trudeau (his trajectory in the polls was not that dissimilar to Little’s) and were casting around for the next Liberal Leader. Look what happened there?
Yes, massive political turnarounds do happen. But in this case, what would be the point? And I think the electorate has figured that out as well. Why vote light blue when you can have the real thing.
that would seem to be politics 101. But in the Thorndon Bubble professional political set, its still all about the narcissism of minor (miniscule) differences and waiting for the ‘tide to turn.’
this is a political crew who sincerely believes that voters have forgiven/forgotten Rogernomics. That middle class swing voters in households earning $80K to $120K pa are the most important voters in the nation.
I take your word for it and am completely amazed they are so out of touch. More and more people are suffering from the effects of neo-liberalism ( also known as ‘Rogernomics in NZ). Indeed, we have also endured disaster capitalism in Christchurch, as outlined by Naomi Klein in ‘Shock Doctrine.’
The country has been sold.
Our jobs have been off shored.
Large corporate ship of billions of untaxed profits annually.
We are over $100 billion in debt.
Despite 8 years of extreme right wing economic prescriptions, the political party supposedly representing the workers of the country refuses to offer a coherent alternative vision.
they disowned the workers of the country a long time ago. The workers, who used to give Labour a membership roll in the hundreds of thousands, have long returned the favour.
We need a party ready to face the challenges of the 21st century by cooperating not competing, secondly by working together, not fighting each other and thirdly by living in balance with the Earth, not exploiting it.
Or another way of looking at it: where is Australia and New Zealand’s equivalent of Corbyn or Sanders?
Actually let me drill into that deeper. Here in Aus Labour is polling slightly ahead of the Coalition. And that is with Bill Shorten as Leader. And I’d suggest that the space between Shorten and Little isn’t so very much. So why is the NZLP trailing the US, Canadian, UK and Aus experience so very badly?
One answer is the ongoing failure of the NZLP to bury the ghost of the 4th Lab govt. For people of my generation it’s still a live issue.
Another is our god-awful media. I’ll say it again, even here in Aus the difference is remarkable. Here I can read a balanced picture in a way that is utterly missing from the public space in NZ.
Another is that we’ve been importing lots of wealthy people who vote National.
Another is simply that we no longer really believe in ourselves as a nation anymore. We’ve been persuaded to stop believing in our better selves.
Another is the withdrawal of the left from the internationalist, global space. More than any other Western nation, we’ve been run over by the neo-liberal world order.
And finally the left in NZ remains divided. Until the Greens and Labour start behaving like they could actually run a proper govt together, then no-one is going to give them the chance.
Excellent synopsis.
And just as an example, here is how both countries looked at the Panama Papers.
Here there has been no proper journalism, while Australia ran this story.
Yes I watched that the other night. Look at the depth of research in it, and how much time and travel budget was given to this; over many months at least.
Compare and contrast with our sniveling hacks who weren’t even allowed a sniff of the story.
” we no longer really believe in ourselves as a nation anymore. We’ve been persuaded to stop believing in our better selves.”
This.
And not in a false flag patriotism kind of way. In a way that makes sense of our belonging with a group of human beings in a society first, rather than primarily as subjects in a win or lose economy.
When Farrar blogs it the moment it comes out … you just know it aint gonna be great news for Labour !
First time since May 2015 that the Govt’s led the Oppo in a Colmar Brunton. (Starkly contrasts with the latest March 2016 Roy Morgan which bucked its usual Govt-friendly results by giving the Oppo a rare lead).
Colmar Brunton
………………………Oppo…………Govt…………Diff
July 2015……………53……………..48…………..+ 5 Sep 2015………… …51…………….48…………..+ 3 Oct 2015…………….52…………….48……………+ 4 Feb 2016…………….50…………….48……………+ 2 April 2016…………..47…………….52…………….- 5
One and only bright spot ? Key down slightly in Preferred PM to 39% (Equal Lowest rating in a Colmar Brunton since becoming PM … but not much compensation – esp with Little down too)
* 2 point rise in the Undecideds – but that’s nowhere near enough to account for the swing.
Labour MP Su’a William Sio’s Climate Change Taskforce tour of Tuvalu and Kiribati
“In Kiribati and Tuvalu, the future is now,” Su’a William Sio
Mr Sio’s trip is an interesting move by Labour which has been accused of taking the Pacific vote for granted.
But it also points up what is a growing foreign policy concern for New Zealand which has taken to underpinning its foreign policy, particularly its role at the United Nations, with a sort of self-appointed role as a voice for small island developing states.
Mr Sio believes that there is some unease among Pacific nations about New Zealand’s initial reluctance to commit to tougher greenhouse gas emission targets at last year’s Paris conference on climate change and also its apparent reluctance to confront the impact of rising sea levels here. RICHARD HARMAN
Labour MP Sua William Sio is calling on the Government to review its immigration policies for people from Tuvalu and Kiritbati as rising sea levels are already forcing people in both island groups to flea outlying islands for the main island….
…..Currently New Zealand has an immigration quota of 75 for Tuvalu and Kiribati.
(Compare this to the unlimited access granted by New Zealand to the majority white, settler country of Australia.)
“On Tuvalu there’s a total population of 12,000 and 6000 of them live on Funafuti (the main island) and there’s just not enough room,” SU’A WILLIAM SIO.
“Notwithstanding that, I think that for a future Government which wants to stand and support the Pacific, you have to plan for that emergency and that disaster, but hoping that the disaster doesn’t happen and allow for the gradual movement of people.” SU’A WILLIAM SIO
A new Web portal developed by NASA, gives researchers, decision makers and the public a resource to stay up to date with the latest developments and scientific findings on sea level rise.
NASA projections for sea level rise forecast the disappearance of the Tuvalu and Kiribati beneath the waves by 2100.
Within our grandchildren’s life times these island nations will be gone.
….the median projection of the SEMs, (semi-empirical models) is about 0.75 meters by century’s end, and about one meter for scenario RCP 8.5. At the high end of the confidence intervals (95%), sea level reaches above 1.5 meters for the latter scenario, mostly based on the works of Rahmstorf and of Jevrejeva. Another study of modeling reliability, in which Rahmstorf et al. performed an extensive analysis of their SEMs [ [Rahmstorf et al., 2012], concluded that a rise of about one meter, produced by a warming of 1.8 degrees Celsius, represented a robust result, derived from published data and their model.
Since the publication of AR5, newer ice-sheet observations also are suggestive of the higher values for sea level rise.
But this is not the full story and these nations could go under water even sooner.
NASA studies measure mean and average global sea level rise. But the sea is not flat, and there are regional and seasonal differences that can either magnify or lessen these global effects from one season to another, and even from one decade to another, and in one region and another.
The tropical Pacific Ocean isn’t flat like a pond. Instead, it regularly has a high side and a low side. Natural cycles such as El Niño and La Niña events cause this sea level seesaw to tip back and forth, with the ocean near Asia on one end and the ocean near the Americas on the other. But over the last 30 years, the seesaw’s wobbles have been more extreme, causing variations in sea levels up to three times higher than those observed in the previous 30 years….
A new NASA/university study has found the differing alignments of two separate climate cycles could be causing these intensifying swings, which occur on top of a global rise in sea level due to melting ice sheets and warming oceans….
From 1990 to 2000, the magnitude of these sea level swings averaged about 6 inches (16 centimeters) – five times the height of global sea level rise* during the same period. Asia is currently on the high side of the sea level seesaw, while coastlines in the Americas as far north as Southern California are benefiting from a lower sea level….
Why are Tuvalu and Kiribati’s very reasonable message calling for emigration to New Zealand on grounds of climate change, and conveyed to us by Su’a William Sio on their behalf, being ignored?
And why was Su’a William Sio’s Climate Change Taskforce mission ignored by virtually all media outlets and political parties?
My feeling is that to allow the people of Tuvalu and Kiribati to immigrate to New Zealand on climate change grounds, would be to recognise that there is a problem.
Recognising climate refugees ,would mean recognising the reality and the full threat posed by climate change itself.
Interesting column up from Vernon Small on Stuff – sledging Little – it’s only been up a few hours and the comment balance is unrealistically extreme right – comments are closed of course.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
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. ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
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. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 8 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Satire to start Sunday morning.
“John here, darling.”
“Why John, it’s not like you to ring up in the middle of a working day. Is anything wrong?”
“Yes, Bronagh, there is something wrong. There’s been a massive leak of confidential papers from one of those law firms in Panama. You know what I mean, they arrange safe places for millions of dollars to avoid paying tax.”
“Of course I know what you mean. Are we exposed?”
“That’s just it, I’m not sure. You know what my memory is! Look, I can’t do this from here, will you give _____________ (a lawyer) a ring just to make sure we didn’t have any dealings with Mossack Fonesca.”
—————————————————————————————————
“Bronagh here, John.”
“Yes, yes, I know it’s you. What did you find?”
“We have had no dealings with Mossack Fonesca at all.”
“Well, that’s a relief. I can take the moral high ground here without lying and without fear of our name coming to light.”
“Yes, you do that so well, dearest. But Johnny, what about members of your cabinet?”
“Heh, heh, that’s a thought. I wonder if ‘Crusher’ is involved?”
“But Johnny, it won’t look good, will it.”
“No, as usual, you’re right, Bronagh. Well, nothing to see here, move on folks, eh? New Zealand is not a tax haven, hey? Just deny it until the fuss dies down.”
“Yes, that’s the line to take.”
Good one Tony.
Hilarious
‘
John Key’s real legacy
Radio NZ
New Zealand a very nice place for rich criminals
@4:55 Minutes:
@02:07 Minutes:
I wonder; If this is the same oil company “owned” by the shell company that is registered in New Zealand, which is implicated in fixing and bribery for the oil companies?
+100 Jenny
National: Making New Zealand a protected sanctuary for Mossack Fonesca and Unaoil
The party that has the following screen shot on their election hoardings, will win the election for the opposition.
http://img.newstalkzb.co.nz/media/9255884/planet-key-screenshot-supplied.jpg?mode=crop&width=675&height=379&quality=80&scale=both
Unfit Bits: How to hack your fitness data
Probably not actually. Excessive exercise is bad for you.
Very concerning. Both for peoples health and their privacy. These sorts of policies by health insurers will push more of this:
With Saudi and Russian ties, Clinton machine’s tentacles are far reaching, according to Panama Papers
The Podesta Group, a lobbying firm headed by Clinton operatives, has made a pretty penny working for Saudi & Russia
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/08/with_saudi_and_russian_ties_clinton_machines_tentacles_are_far_reaching_according_to_panama_papers/
Government dishes out big bucks to ‘struggling’ petroleum industry for conference
Oh, great, the governments paying to be lobbied.
No wonder we’re going to hell in a hand-basket.
All this corporate welfare, and more, ensures that Per capita, New Zealand is the world leader in subsidising fossil fuel companies.
Corporate welfare and international corporate tax fraud, as well as inaction on climate change are this government’s weak points.
The opposition need to take advantage of these weak points and go in for the kill.
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/04/07/a-media-unmoored-from-facts/
Mainstream U.S. journalism has completely lost its way, especially in dealing with foreign policy issues where bias now overwhelms any commitment to facts, a dangerous development, writes Robert Parry.
Article and comments very good. Something Guyon and Susie from Morning Report should read re their question over why ppl don’t trust the media anymore.
Yea – Mihi’s back!!
In my view, there are a number of issues relating to Auckland Council’s purchase of the ASB building which are scandalous, and help reinforce what a disaster this Auckland ‘Supercity’ has been for the majority of Auckland citizens and ratepayers.
When were the public ever consulted on Auckland Council’s purchase of the ASB building?
What was wrong with the ‘custom built’ Auckland Council Civic Building for Council staff?
(What’s happened to the Auckland Council Civic Building – my understanding is that it is sitting there empty, and has been for some months?)
Where is the evidence of the ‘due diligence’ carried out before the purchase of the ASB building?
Who carried out the ‘due diligence’?
Who actually made the decision to purchase the ASB building?
For what reason(s)?
Were there any ‘conflicts of interest’ between those involved in purchasing the ASB and those who owned the ASB building?
How does the purchase of the ASB building, represent the much-vaunted ‘efficiency’ savings / ‘economies of scale’ that was purportedly a major reason used to ‘sell’ this ‘Supercity’ (for the 1%)?
Upon whom can the public rely for a full, thorough and independent inquiry into these matters?
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11619820
“The cost of cladding repairs at Auckland Council’s Albert St headquarters has blown out from $4 million to an estimated $31m, according to a confidential report.
The huge bill for essential repairs to heavy granite slabs on the 31-storey building will be discussed by councillors behind closed doors on Tuesday.
Ratepayers have already paid $128.5m to buy and fit out the 25-year-old building, described as robust and structurally sound with good bones when it was bought in 2012.
About $4m was set aside for stonework issues picked up during due diligence. A report by the engineering firm GHD in November found there was no definitive evidence of imminent collapse, but clearly cause for concern and a high potential risk of a stone panel falling from height.
……”
____________________
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
What does Corin Dann do on a Sunday morning? Hit the snooze alarm as few times, crawl out of bed, leisurely turn up to work and ask questions prepared for him by TVNZ staffers?
The interview with Winston Peters was appalling. It’s not as though information isn’t out there about the Panama Papers – a search of youtube finds docos by France 24, Australian 4 Corners, ICIJ, BBC, US PBS. Foreign news outlets that have been involved in this for a year describe us as a tax haven. There is more going on than Key/English are admitting to. Quoting Key soundbites to Peter’s was just sloppy.
Ffs, if he had just bothered to watch yesterday’s The Nation’s interview with Peter Bale, chief executive of the Center for Public Integrity / ICIJ, he would know that NZ has only been given the once over in the latest releases but there is more in depth shit coming down the pipe.
Why did he do such a bad job given he had interviewed John Christianson who said NZ was a shady dealer in this? Why did he insist on Winston Peters putting up the evidence saying he was holding Winston to account? Who us holding Dann to account? Why does not not just do his job?
Congrats The Nation, at least you bothered to go out wide and avoid the wide boys in mid-field and go to the ICIJ direct.
Surely these are rhetorical questions that you are asking William or did you hope that a National Party sock puppet was actually going to be unbiased and deliver an impartial and professional interview?
Appalling interview by Dann.
Just another compromised, owned puppet of the corporates.
He is not a journalist.
He is a tool of the establishment.
Hope all that money helps ease his conscience.
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-shifty-business
want to observe rising sealevels as viewed from space.
well now you can.
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/
thanks Nasa.
FJK is relaxed about the use of secret trusts because
many peoplecrooks and money launderers use trusts for all manner of things.The Paris-based club of mostly rich nations is developing a global transparency initiative to crack down on tax haven secrecy. Most havens have agreed to participate and from 2017 will start to share financial data automatically so that each can tax its taxpayers appropriately. But there are recalcitrants. Panama is refusing to participate seriously. Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD tax chief, calls it a jurisdiction “that welcomes crooks and money launderers”.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d01062a0-fa71-11e5-8f41-df5bda8beb40.html#axzz45NWMpFFf
More people using trusts for all manner of things.
/
The documents also pull back the curtain on hundreds of details about how former CIA gun-runners and contractors use offshore companies for personal and private gain. Further, they illuminate the workings of a host of other characters who used offshore companies during or after their work as spy chiefs, secret agents or operatives for the CIA and other intelligence agencies.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/world/article70044452.html
That ABC bootboy and bag carrier Clayton Cosgrove is not standing for Parliament again.
Good riddance to a nasty piece of work.
Who will Grant Robertson use now to scurry around the Press Gallery bad mouthing colleagues?
Now, that is good news 🙂
Quite a few other relics of neo-liberalism still in the party.
Wyoming makes it 7 in a row and 8 out of the last 9 for Sanders.
Even the Guardian, that just the other day had a vid of Sanders challenging Clinton’s qualification for President sans all fucking context, is now publishing articles that aren’t complete hatchet jobs. I mean, it’s an opinion piece rather than a piece of reportage following editorial lines, but still – it’s a start.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/09/bernie-sanders-wins-wyoming-seventh-state-unstoppable-new-york-primary-next
The Guardian Gatekeeper.
I follow it pretty closely and the methods they use are blatantly obvious once you start looking for them. For instance Sanders will win a primary, but is lucky to get one sentence while the rest of the article gushes on about Trump and Clinton.
Or they’ll run ‘poison the well’ opinion articles that look like they’re about Sanders, but are really used to damn with faint praise, derail, or dismiss in a slightly sneering tone all the ‘fanatics’ who support him.
Same tactics used on Corbyn.
The good news is that judging from their comments sections a lot more people are awake to these tricks. They’ve been way over-exposed.
Well yeah. The editorial piece that shows up next to the opinion piece I linked is headed (short version) “Sanders wins, but…”
Comments sections on newspaper after newspaper are flying in the face of the reporting on Sanders and Clinton.
And yes, the Guardian will always side with the establishment in the final analysis. Always.
The Guardian is just part of the establishment’s system.
In this eye-opening talk, veteran investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson shows how astroturf, or fake grassroots movements funded by political, corporate, or other special interests very effectively manipulate and distort media messages.
Some small consolation insofar as it’s the least reliable of the major polls but whichever way you slice and dice it the Colmar Brunton is a shocker.
Anybody still think Labour pondering incoherently about a policy as complex as UBI and then letting the government dump on it from a great height is a great idea?
It’s no wonder….
1. The MSM doesn’t inform the NZ people. Ask your average NZers about many current events stories and they are woefully ignorant about what’s going on in their own country and the world.
2. 30 years of neo-liberal poison has done a lot of damage and a lot of people only care for themselves. They only realise the benefit of society when it’s too late and they’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.
3. The NZ Labour Party does not offer an alternative to neo-liberalism. Read my lips, Labour Party. “We apologise unreservedly for the damage we wrought on New Zealand working people when we unleashed neo-liberalism on the country. We are a socialist party and will go back to representing our people.”
I agree – I think they are trying to change hearts slowly, It doesn’t work like that – they need to apologise just as you say.
If my long term partner, whom I trusted, goes reeling off and has an affair with some sex pot who turns out to be all fur coat and no knickers, am I going to accept him just sliding back into my life as though it didn’t happen? Abject apology is definitely called for, and then the rebuilding of trust, if that’s possible
I think they need to be pushing not pondering the UBI for the next 18 months, voters need to have their heads around it by the next election. Young and old will be interested in voting for it. It may be that economic conditions just aren’t bad enough for it to take hold in the middle classes though, Labour might have been a bit early on it.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/poll-flag-flop-fails-dent-governments-popularity
Labour and little take a hammering in the latest poll.
Winston will be happy however – he has over taken little in the preferred pm figures.
I’m guessing a lot on here thought that the flag loss was going to hurt key. Seems like many read that wrong as well.
National continue to head towards another term.
30 years of neo-liberal poison has done a lot of damage and a lot of people only care for themselves. They only realise the benefit of society when it’s too late and they’ve been thrown on the scrapheap.
I sense you are one of these Galt-like creatures.
So Key is on 37% preferred now. Wasn’t he up in the 50-60% lastime. A bit sad if the people are getting a bit tired of him..
Labour gains nothing from National’s increasing weakness. In the new politics, people want real alternatives to what the incumbents are proposing. Not me too acts.
Labour could open up real ground between themselves and National very easily. Too bad they are preoccupied with trying to convince a neoliberal press that they will be a credible (neoliberal) government in waiting.
could you link to the actual poll and the question asked and the people polled?
who was asked
% of likely voter
% of members of either party
% of age groups
% of rural vs urban
really the blerb in the fishwrap is pretty meaningless if it actually does not show how an who was polled.
There is only one poll which actually matters. Until then its clear that either the polls are biased against Labour. Or the reporting of the polls are biased against Labour. Or both.
Clearly thats the real problem here, because Labour’s actual support in the community is definitely much higher than this. We all know it is.
Haha. You nearly had me for a moment.
This poll has got nothing to doe with labour voters, it has got to do with
a. what question were asked
b. who was asked
b1. what age groups
b2. Gender breakdown
b3. Location – rural vs urban
c. likely voter
c1. voted previously
c2. will vote again
d. income group
e. property owner
all of these things would put the result into context.
You are boring CV. So very very boring.
Totally agree with you, Sabine.
For a PM who is so embarrassing, who is clearly a sleazebag with women/girls, who has done NOTHING for the ordinary New Zealander, who just loves to play around with the big wealthy VIPs, and who deals in corrupt behaviours, and who has started to get booed in public, there must be something screwed in the way the questions of polls are asked, for his seemingly continuing “popularity”.
Polling methodology is not the problem here.
actually yes it is.
Polls are meaningless if you can’t figure out how the result was achieved.
I don’t care much about polls generally speaking, but if they are used to uphold a result i would like to know how that result was achieved.
example.
100 National voters are asked and 50% say the PM is good as and 50% say Labour sucks. Is that a good result for the PM? Is it a bad result for Labour?
50 National voters are asked and 50 other voters are asked and 50% say the PM is good, and a further 30% say Labour sucks. is that a good result for the PM is it a bad result for Labour?
How the result was achieved in important. And i don’t actually care who wins in these polls, as our estimed CV said upstairs only one poll that matters and that would be the voting booth. But in the meantime, i would like a bit more meat with my polls. Thank eew/
Colmar Brunton are by far the most open about their methodology. Much better than the other main Public Pollsters. They produce a full report in a way that the others don’t.
The question Colmar Brunton ask (after a brief intro outlining the two votes under MMP) is: “Firstly, thinking about the Party Vote, which is for a political party – Which political Party would you vote for ? (If the reply is Don’t Know then they ask the follow-up question: “Which one would you be most likely to vote for ?” That pushes those mildly leaning one way to make a definite choice, with the remainder becoming the true Undecideds).
All Pollsters weight their data to align with NZ’s demographics (via Statistics New Zealand). Those respondents who indicate (in an initial question) that they’re either fairly or very unlikely to vote are excluded from the final results as are the Undecideds and those who Refuse to answer.
sabine is convinced that bad polling methodology is at the core of Labour’s low numbers.
Please don’t disabuse her of that truth.
“But there are plenty of challenges for Mr Little who after more than a year in the job is now going backwards.”
So what can little do to stop his backward slide? Does he have anything or do you think he’s just hoping Key slips up on something? (Which isn’t working too well for him so far).
You don’t care, so stop pretending.
Fool.
so Paul. I take it you have no idea then?
Read my comment at 15.1
Your suggested apology would drop labour under 20 %
Still, would love them to take you up on it.
No, offering an alternative is what is necessary.
Look at the following 5 examples:
Spain, Greece, Scotland, England (since Corbyn) and the support for Sanders in the US.
People are hungry for an alternative to neo-liberalism which has screwed them for 30 years.
Now I am prepared to be generous and assume that you are unaware of these 5 examples, In which case, please read up on the events that have transpired there.
However, I have a nagging feeling you are simply a troll who is running the predictable and dull meme that there is no alternative to neo-liberalism and that all Labour have to do is to copy Key and adopt even more tenets of neo-liberal ideology. If so, I cannot be bothered wasting . Shilling for the 1% is a contemptible act.
What happens when you offer an alternative.
Jeremy Corbyn more popular than David Cameron for first time, new poll reveals.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/new-poll-shows-cameron-less-popular-than-corbyn-for-first-time-a6974891.html
The SNP now have a 39 point poll lead over Labour.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/snp-poll-leader-labour-holyrood-2016-elections-may-date-a6905316.html
Spain’s election will be felt across the whole continent
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/18/spain-election-podemos-austerity-syriza-greece
Paul has a solution: blame the people.
GR2020. It’s a foregone conclusion now.
You may be right.
Mind you, heading into the recent Canadian Federal election many of the commentators had written off Justin Trudeau (his trajectory in the polls was not that dissimilar to Little’s) and were casting around for the next Liberal Leader. Look what happened there?
Yes, massive political turnarounds do happen. But in this case, what would be the point? And I think the electorate has figured that out as well. Why vote light blue when you can have the real thing.
Offering a real alternative is what is necessary.
that would seem to be politics 101. But in the Thorndon Bubble professional political set, its still all about the narcissism of minor (miniscule) differences and waiting for the ‘tide to turn.’
Do they not see what happened to the Scottish Labour Party when it just copied Cameron’s austerity?
this is a political crew who sincerely believes that voters have forgiven/forgotten Rogernomics. That middle class swing voters in households earning $80K to $120K pa are the most important voters in the nation.
I take your word for it and am completely amazed they are so out of touch. More and more people are suffering from the effects of neo-liberalism ( also known as ‘Rogernomics in NZ). Indeed, we have also endured disaster capitalism in Christchurch, as outlined by Naomi Klein in ‘Shock Doctrine.’
The country has been sold.
Our jobs have been off shored.
Large corporate ship of billions of untaxed profits annually.
We are over $100 billion in debt.
Despite 8 years of extreme right wing economic prescriptions, the political party supposedly representing the workers of the country refuses to offer a coherent alternative vision.
they disowned the workers of the country a long time ago. The workers, who used to give Labour a membership roll in the hundreds of thousands, have long returned the favour.
We need a new socialist party.
Although it provides some vital stepping stones, socialism is not prepared for the demanding and unique requirements of the 21st century situation .
We need a party ready to face the challenges of the 21st century by cooperating not competing, secondly by working together, not fighting each other and thirdly by living in balance with the Earth, not exploiting it.
Exactly.
Or another way of looking at it: where is Australia and New Zealand’s equivalent of Corbyn or Sanders?
Actually let me drill into that deeper. Here in Aus Labour is polling slightly ahead of the Coalition. And that is with Bill Shorten as Leader. And I’d suggest that the space between Shorten and Little isn’t so very much. So why is the NZLP trailing the US, Canadian, UK and Aus experience so very badly?
One answer is the ongoing failure of the NZLP to bury the ghost of the 4th Lab govt. For people of my generation it’s still a live issue.
Another is our god-awful media. I’ll say it again, even here in Aus the difference is remarkable. Here I can read a balanced picture in a way that is utterly missing from the public space in NZ.
Another is that we’ve been importing lots of wealthy people who vote National.
Another is simply that we no longer really believe in ourselves as a nation anymore. We’ve been persuaded to stop believing in our better selves.
Another is the withdrawal of the left from the internationalist, global space. More than any other Western nation, we’ve been run over by the neo-liberal world order.
And finally the left in NZ remains divided. Until the Greens and Labour start behaving like they could actually run a proper govt together, then no-one is going to give them the chance.
Excellent synopsis.
And just as an example, here is how both countries looked at the Panama Papers.
Here there has been no proper journalism, while Australia ran this story.
Yes I watched that the other night. Look at the depth of research in it, and how much time and travel budget was given to this; over many months at least.
Compare and contrast with our sniveling hacks who weren’t even allowed a sniff of the story.
” we no longer really believe in ourselves as a nation anymore. We’ve been persuaded to stop believing in our better selves.”
This.
And not in a false flag patriotism kind of way. In a way that makes sense of our belonging with a group of human beings in a society first, rather than primarily as subjects in a win or lose economy.
When Farrar blogs it the moment it comes out … you just know it aint gonna be great news for Labour !
First time since May 2015 that the Govt’s led the Oppo in a Colmar Brunton. (Starkly contrasts with the latest March 2016 Roy Morgan which bucked its usual Govt-friendly results by giving the Oppo a rare lead).
Colmar Brunton
………………………Oppo…………Govt…………Diff
July 2015……………53……………..48…………..+ 5
Sep 2015………… …51…………….48…………..+ 3
Oct 2015…………….52…………….48……………+ 4
Feb 2016…………….50…………….48……………+ 2
April 2016…………..47…………….52…………….- 5
One and only bright spot ? Key down slightly in Preferred PM to 39% (Equal Lowest rating in a Colmar Brunton since becoming PM … but not much compensation – esp with Little down too)
* 2 point rise in the Undecideds – but that’s nowhere near enough to account for the swing.
Labour MP Su’a William Sio’s Climate Change Taskforce tour of Tuvalu and Kiribati
“In Kiribati and Tuvalu, the future is now,” Su’a William Sio
A new Web portal developed by NASA, gives researchers, decision makers and the public a resource to stay up to date with the latest developments and scientific findings on sea level rise.
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/news/40
NASA projections for sea level rise forecast the disappearance of the Tuvalu and Kiribati beneath the waves by 2100.
Within our grandchildren’s life times these island nations will be gone.
But this is not the full story and these nations could go under water even sooner.
NASA studies measure mean and average global sea level rise. But the sea is not flat, and there are regional and seasonal differences that can either magnify or lessen these global effects from one season to another, and even from one decade to another, and in one region and another.
*My emphasis, Jenny.
Why are Tuvalu and Kiribati’s very reasonable message calling for emigration to New Zealand on grounds of climate change, and conveyed to us by Su’a William Sio on their behalf, being ignored?
And why was Su’a William Sio’s Climate Change Taskforce mission ignored by virtually all media outlets and political parties?
My feeling is that to allow the people of Tuvalu and Kiribati to immigrate to New Zealand on climate change grounds, would be to recognise that there is a problem.
Recognising climate refugees ,would mean recognising the reality and the full threat posed by climate change itself.
The French stand up for their rights.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/nuit-debout-protesters-occupy-french-cities-in-a-revolutionary-call-for-change
Interesting column up from Vernon Small on Stuff – sledging Little – it’s only been up a few hours and the comment balance is unrealistically extreme right – comments are closed of course.
Link?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/78754432/national-support-hits-50-per-cent-labour-and-little-fall-in-new-poll
Ta.
FJK could eat a pony in public and the commenters would still vote for the prick.
Yeah – but this looked fake – almost no regular commenters and many round numbers of up/down votes.
Comments closed in less than 3 hours – but 100s of votes for nothing special comments = fakery.
Documents released so far.
https://www.documentcloud.org/public/search/Source:%20%22Internal%20documents%20from%20Mossack%20Fonseca%20%28Panama%20Papers%29%22
First NZ mention.
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2779708-Hinojosa-Juan-Armandodoc1.html