Simon Power is at it again, engaging in US type defense counsel bashing. He insists on Law Society reform to deal with unidentified lawyers who are supposedly rorting the system but Power and the Government have the very simple and effective tool of tearing up the contract the Legal Services Agency has with any errant lawyer. No reform is necessary if what he says is true.
Been bashing and lawyer bashing for political advantage, how predictable.
One further comment, no mention of the Roy Morgan poll in the Herald or Stuff as far as I can see. How surprising …
This sounds a little familiar. It won’t surprise many of us that research by California-based Oakland Institute shows that the foriegn land grabs in Africa do not benefit the countries that US unis and other interests are investing in:
Researchers say foreign investors are profiting from “land grabs” that often fail to deliver the promised benefits of jobs and economic development, and can lead to environmental and social problems in the poorest countries in the world.
Harvard is one of the US unis named as being major participants in these African landgrabs, and Harvard also already has endowment investments in NZ land:
Potential bidders reported to have shown an interest include Chinese dairy giant Bright Dairy, which last year invested $82 million in struggling South Island milk processor Synlait; a pastoral fund owned by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group; British private equity firm Terra Firma; US private equity firm Carlyle Group; and the Harvard Endowment Fund, which already owns a swag of forests and farmland in this country.
Basic English seems to be a problem for our leaders.
First Key and now Barnett – (captains of industry some would say).
A small point but why do these people murder the language.
…”There’s lots of things happening … There’s plenty of differing views…”
Perhaps Delorus Umbridge could apply some of her standards and advise her mates.
They’re not alone though – I’ve noticed it a lot with MBAs during public interviews.
I just about spat my porridge across the breakfast table this morning on reading Minister of Fisheries Phil Heatley’s plans for paua takes post-election.
He said that in order to counter poaching the rules would be changed to make that poaching legal. Then voila! No more poaching and the government gets a return.
Seriously. That is what he said.
Now lets apply that reasoning to say, speeding, tax evasion, … um …. (insert any crime).
It is the most shallow and poor drivel just about ever. What a fuckwit.
He said that in order to counter poaching the rules would be changed to make that poaching legal. Then voila! No more poaching and the government gets a return.
He’s pretty on the money about the dirty tricks being used in this beat up. But I suspect nobody in the parliamentary press gallery is going to rat out Bennett as an abuser of power because they’d rather have a stream of pre-written ‘news’ stories from her PR team that can be cut and pasted under their own bye-lines in a minute or two. A bloody sight easier doing that than actually doing journalism.
ak – I like logie97’s latest inventive name Petulant Bean, I thought of Paua Bennie but can’t think of a good caption for it, so it’s a bit lacking. It seems that name-calling is all one can do with her, she has no shame, and is a favoured MP doing exactly what the NACTs want and making squids in pay doing something that she apparently enjoys.
The RW love a female who puts on jackboots and whips the lower orders. Margaret Thatcher, for instance and Ruth Richardson was being questioned as over the top in a 1991 newspaper sheet I have. Jim Bolger had to defend giving her the position of Finance Minister. Incidentally it is interesting to see the similar state of political matters seen for 1991 repeated in 2011.
In 1991 SWMinister Jenny Shipley could not rule out office closures after departmental review. Kindergartens face funding crisis, Wellington doctors declare crisis, Treasury approves its own pay rise, Government wins oil field fight (Ngaere land issue in Taranaki), a television poll showed 55% against benefit cuts, the Prime Minister Jim Bolger ‘failed to spell out government growth strategies but instead continued to focus on cutting the deficit’. Welfare system under attack -meeting of 300 people discussing the Employment Contracts Bill.
The National Party announced for 1990 general election that to vote for them would give –
1 Real Growth 2 More Jobs 3 Better Pay, NZ Banks face tighter lending limits after DFC collapse Dr Don Brash, Reserve Bank governor states. Australian Wool Corporation hopes to raise hundreds of millions with bonds which would be government guaranteed, Fruit giant Chiquita Brands goes to NZ government over NZ Kiwifruit Marketing Board refusal to allow it to sell 20 million trays on world markets and wants second-exporter status.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. If you don’t know the meaning of that you coulf have learned French at night school if Anne Tolley wasn’t hostile to anyone learning more than she knows.
ak – I like logie97′s latest inventive name Petulant Bean,
Point of order, that was mine! I posted it in the middle of the night one insomniac weekend… it’s from an anagram generator I had discovered… I am young enough and neuro-typical enough to be a bit off-piste that he started using it, even in a post in which he attacked me, without acknowledging that it my name for Bennett in the first place!
Good on ya Vicky32 – as you grow up you will learn that “immitation is the highest form of flattery”. In future every time Petulant Bean is used (and as you quite rightly observed was apt), I will ensure that I acknowledge you as the originator if that relaxes you. As for your other comment that I attacked you – I should be interested in the link where I “attacked you”. But then you quote ak when it would appear to be “prism” who is making reference so your accuracy and recall are somewhat questionable.
In the meantime, feel free to use Joky Hen and Professor Delorus Umbridge as often as you like – perhaps then we can make them part of the vernacular and everyone will know who we are referring to.
Good on ya Vicky32 – as you grow up you will learn that “immitation is the highest form of flattery”. In future every time Petulant Bean is used (and as you quite rightly observed was apt), I will ensure that I acknowledge you as the originator if that relaxes you.
Please, don’t be so childish! Acknowledgement the first time you took credit for it, would have been nice, but then if 97 is your birthdate, then I suppose you can’t help the ‘childish’ bit… 🙂
As for your other comment that I attacked you – I should be interested in the link where I “attacked you”.
I am not hunting for a link.. you can find it as well as I can. It was when you accused me of supporting Bennett in her use of of the “toolkt’ when all I wanted to say is that I knew Ian and Mary Grant, and they weren’t the fascistic fundies everyone was claiming them to be.
In the meantime, feel free to use Joky Hen and Professor Delorus Umbridge as often as you like – perhaps then we can make them part of the vernacular and everyone will know who we are referring to.
The first would appear to be John Key, the second, who? Tolley? If you’re the originator of those, congrats, but as to the 2nd, I rather think J K Rowling might have something to say…
Got to love you Vicky32. But for your information I have never entered into any correspondence on this site regarding the Petulant Bean and the Grant’s toolkit.
Clearly, my dear, your insomnia has affected your memory badly.
I have never ever claimed naming rights for any or all of these alternative names for these politicians – just think they are apt and enjoy using them. Congratulations once again on finding the Petulant Bean.
As for Delores Umbridge – she attempted at Hogwarts what Tolley is attempting here. (Read the Order of the Phoenix).
As for Delores Umbridge – she attempted at Hogwarts what Tolley is attempting here. (Read the Order of the Phoenix).
Er – that would be re-read for the nth time, which is why I said if you were laying claim to the name, Rowling might have something to say. Please, just leave it alone, you’ve made your point, and now you’re being – dare I say it, petulant? 😀
BTW, I am not your ‘dear’, don’t be a sarcastic patronising berk. Thanks in advance.
Glad you’re a Potter Fan. No room for berks in that community.
Trust we can now direct our efforts collectively to keep the Petulant Bean, Joky Hen and Professor Umbridge honest.
and the poor Lisa Blakie’s convicted murderer Taylor.
Rob Pope resigned when he realised the public has cottoned onto his deadly and evil ways and the politicians didn’t want a bar of him. He is one of NZ’s most crooked cops imo.
Page 1 New Zealand Journal of History, 33,2 (1999)
The Devil You Know: NEW ZEALAND’S RECOGNITION POLICY TOWARDSCAMBODIA
FROM 1978-1990 [1]
by ANTHONY SMITH
THIS ARTICLE looks at New Zealand’s policy of recognition towards Cambodia (or Kampuchea [2]) between 1978 and 1990. New Zealand policymakers had to make the difficult decision as to which political entity to recognize, if any at all, after the Vietnamese invaded and installed a puppet government in Kampuchea in 1978. The Vietnamese army’s removal of the genocidal Khmer Rouge, or Democratic Kampuchea (DK), led by Pol Pot, provoked mixed reactions from the international community. There was universal relief at Pol Pot’s removal, but the Association of South East AsianNations (ASEAN), China and the United States expressed the concern that a Soviet-sponsored Vietnam was attempting to achieve sub-regional hegemony.These nations all
supported the anti-Vietnamese resistance forces.Controversially, New Zealand also opted to give diplomatic recognition to the ousted Khmer Rouge regime-in-exile as the legitimate representatives of the Cambodian people.
What emerges about New Zealand foreign-policy decision-making over this issue is that it contained a great deal of ambivalence. ……
Read the rest of this apologetic and biased, but revealing article HERE…
I’m told that TV one’s Sunday program is leading with a damning report on safety standards at Pike River which is going to raise the possibility that some miners survived the initial blast but were left to die by the company.
Exellent. This is the exact direction many of us have been hollering about for some time. Others keep saying shut up and let the Royal Commission of Inquiry do it all – to which I say get stuffed. There is absolutely no requirement whatsoever to so shut up. Lives have been lost here and I have contended since dot that it is human and corporate and govt culpability. It was not an accident. It was gross negligence at several levels. Heads must roll.
Local councils that amalgamate into a larger body can exert more influence on central government but are unlikely to make any cost savings or lower rates, according to a trans-Tasman report out this week.
That bits actually fairly obvious when you think about it. All the work still needs to be done which is why Auckland is having to get in contractors now – the ATA went and fired over a thousand people and left Auckland without the people needed to do the jobs that they were doing.
There were few robust examples of such savings being achieved, yet many in central government and some in local government “still cling to the belief that substantial savings can and should be made”.
Yep, politicians, especially the ones on the right of the political spectrum, seem to make decisions that affect all of us on their beliefs rather than on the facts. This really needs to change as it hurting us.
Concerns about loss of democracy resulting from less representation were “muted”, suggesting the issue was being managed well or that it was not a major factor for communities, the report says.
So, does “managed” mean that it’s been kept out of the public eye because the MSM are ignoring it because if they actually reported it people would begin to question the governance?
But getting rid of people and/or making them re-apply for their old jobs can be used to drive down the cost of wages in the long term ie, employing more people to do the jobs that were axed, but offering them a lower salary.
This weekend is Bilderberg weekend.
For those of you who have never heard about this illustrious group: the Bilderberg group named after the hotel were the first meeting was held with our the Dutch/German Nazi prince Bernhard (the father of the current Dutch queen) in attendance consists of the most powerful Money men, Corporate CEO’s combined with Political leaders such as Hillary Clinton and New Zealand’s own Globalist and current Ambassador to the US Michael Moore who was an invite to the meeting in 2000 (Just in case you’re wondering who John Key’s handlers are.)
Here is the one and only (And yes, he does rant a bit) Alex Jones reporting on it.
For those of you who still think that Alex Jones only represents the fringe; the man gets about 24 million listeners a month and is the fastest growing info talk show in the world.
I don’t think Jones represents the fringe, Ev, though his personal politics (libertarian) are obviously of appeal only to a minority. That’s the same in NZ where ACT, the LibertariaNZ and the various offshoots thankfully struggle to get support from more than a handful of Kiwi voters.
However, rabid right wingers such as Jones and Beck have a huge following in the States for their various media outlets because their shows bash easy targets and appeal to ignorance, fear and bigotry. There’s no substance, of course, just innuendo, exaggeration and froth, but it sells well to people who know they are being ripped off, but don’t know who by.
As long as the likes of Jones say it’s the gummint, the illuminati, the New World Order, or whatever the fantasy of the day is, the real truth will alway remain hidden from his audience. And that truth is that it’s capitalism’s fault. But, as capitalism is making Jones rich, he’s not going to rock that particular boat, eh?
Interesting! So for clarity what is right wing in your view? Or more precise what is rabid right wing? Do they hate blacks, women, Arabs, peaceniks and other scary leftists for example? Is a clan member rabidly right wing? Is an Obama hater guaranteed right wing?
I am honestly curious as four years ago I would have agreed with you for more than 100 % but now I look at it totally different.
So for the sake of civilised debate (promise) give me your ideas about what defines rabid right wing.
Anything that supports the exploitation of the many by the few is right wing in my estimation. I look at things from a marxist perspective, so my default position is to support things that benefit the majority.
Jones is a libertarian, which is a subset of the right. Broadly speaking, I see communists, socialists and social democrats as the left. Liberals (including our Green party) I see as being inclined to the left, but also capable of going to the right if it suits their temporary interests. The right I see as mainly made up of the petit bourgious, the monarchists and, of course, the established capitalists.
Oddly, the right really only represent the interests of a small minority and it always amazes me that they manage to keep a reletive political balance despite this fact. Having most of the money must help!
Shit, I wrote this whole thingy already and now I have to start again in order to respond properly to your comment.
Again four years ago I would have concurred totally with your but things have changed for me to a point that none of what I used to take for granted as my reality is there any more so bear with me. OK?
Coming from Europe and believe it or not from a socialist/Communist background it took me a while to come to the conclusion that while the socialist ideal of sharing was a grand one it just did not happen that way. Not in the East block at any rate.
I have come to the conclusion that any “ism” including the current US state of Capitalism is a totalitarian system.
I don’t think there is a “system” that will solve all our problems and that no matter what the balance between individual needs and those of the community at large will sometimes conflict and that it will always be a tight rope act to prevent disintegration of society as we find out which is more important at what time. I’ve once found this nice schematic of this and it was the mature individual or component of the group which makes this possible. i.e. Childish narcissistic, me me me is one side of the equation and the overbearing parental attitude of rules and sharing and group thinking is the other side. The mature individual or the mature individuals in a group will try to balance their own needs and those of others making it acceptable to live in that group as an individual.
So I don’t have a problem with liberals flicking from right to left or whatever their self interest dictates because if they are mature individuals they will take others needs into account. That is one part of my response.
Now how about this pertains to Alex Jones whom I regard to be hugely different from the likes of Glenn Beck and other shock jocks in the right wing spectrum.
For instance of all the radio hosts in the US he is the only one who will interview someone like Cynthia McKinney. She is a high profile black female politician who once served in the senate and who is currently the leader of the Green party and presidential candidate for this party and who is currently living in Tripoli Libya to endure with the local population the incessant bombardments perpetrated by the NATO and US.
Alex Jones is the only radio host who from day one called the wars started after 911 illegal and criminal and who calls out the “good ole boys” for believing the propaganda and dehumanisation of Muslims.
He hosts Black and Hispanic political activists and rappers and allows them plenty of air time.
He called George Bush a war criminal as much as he calls Obama a war criminal (And seeing as he has expanded the drone attacks on Pakistan, started the war in Libya which even you must see is not the humanitarian action they claimed it to be and expanded the military action in Afghanistan when he won the election on a promise to pull out).
You argued that Alex Jones is getting rich of his program but I leave you with this to ponder.
First of all the ads he runs are not the high end corporate big money spinners. In fact he attacks those with a vengeance.
He puts all his films, radio shows and documentaries on your tube in low res for all to see for free.
Rather than claiming copy right and limited viewing he actively encourages people to copy and spread his material around for free and as a member I can give my password to his site to 5 other people without any repercussion.
Alex Jones believes in the Capitalism free trade system but claims that the US is not a free trade system but corporatism/fascism with the big corporations monopolising their money spinners and while I don’t agree with some of his political points of view I do agree with him on that but his generosity with regards to the fruits of his labour tells me he belongs in may ways to that mature part of the population I like to relate to and that makes him in many ways OK with me.
What am I doing wrong. My comments end up in moderation?
[lprent: Nothing that I can see from the filters. Just random from the anti-spam would be my guess (I haven’t released them so I’m not sure which comments you’re referring to). It will eventually correct itself. ]
I ended up in moderation the other night, no ant-spam issue as I was logged in, so what gives? Have I been declared a RWNJ cause I’m black? “religious’? 😀 (Before QoT nuts off at me, I’ll remind him/her of Ali G)…
[lprent: Nope. The anti spam checking operates on ALL comments except for editors and above. Login just means that the system will not ask you for a antispam word. ]
Mind you, the TV versions of Bruno and Borat were funny. And Borat (the movie) was funny for a while, until you realize just what a disgusting individual Baron Cohen is. He really is Borat.
There are many smart British comedians—Jack Dee, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, and scores more. But Sasha Baron Cohen, like Madonna, gets there not through talent but an implacable work ethic.
Really, I agree. Baron Cohen is desperately unfunny, and a rather nasty individual… What happens is that things I am about to say remind me of other things, and sometimes I just burble! 😀
Don’t feel bad about quoting or referencing him, Vicky. He is funny, on one level. You weren’t burbling; I just saw the opportunity to have a blast at someone I despise.
The Following story emerged after completion of Baron Cohen’s film Bruno:
“A Palestinian grocer from Bethlehem filed suit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Monday for the sum total of $115 million in libel damages over his film Bruno…..According to the Daily Mail, the Palestinian, Ayman Abu Aita, who is also a Christian peace activist, said that Baron’s depiction of him as a Lebanese Islamic Terrorist in his recently-released and controversial movie has ruined his life…..He has also filed suit against NBC, Universal Studios and famed American talk show host David Letterman for being part of the film which tricked him into meeting Cohen under the false pretext that Cohen was a German producing a film about the Palestinian cause…..Abu Aita told the Daily Mail that since the film was released to cinemas this summer, he has received several death threats despite the fact that he is a firm opponent of terrorists…..During the scene, Abu Aita was depicted as a leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, according to the film’s caption which referred to him as ‘Terrorist Group Leader, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.’
But more than this, when promoting the film on Letterman, Baron Cohen stuck rigidly to the fiction that Abu Aita was indeed a Lebanese Terrorist tracked down by the CIA and that the filming had taken place at “a secret location”. Subsequently, journalists discovered that Baron Cohen’s “interview” with Abu Aita had, in fact, taken place directly across from an Israeli military compound (in Occupied Palestinian territory).
Baron Cohen was a very active member of Zionist Youth Organisations in the UK during his teenage years.
Figured out the problem with the auto-moderation. When akismet is unable to get an answer to a query about a comment from the main server immediately, it pops the comment into moderation and waits a while before retrying it.
A present we’re seeing about a 10 fold increase in spam comment attempts in the past few days, and it looks like many many other sites are having the same attack going on. So the main akismet server is obviously failingto handle every comment in a timely fashion, but does so soon afterwards. Explains why I never saw any of these moderated messages.
The battle in the net appears to be starting to subside from our spam comment rate – got up nearly a thousand per day and is now about 700. Normal service is resuming. The war will continue…
I really don’t want to get into a scrap about this, I’ll just say that up front, and there is much of what he says that is appealing to people from all over the spectrum (or rather, to radicals on various fringes of the spectrum). But trying to put him in a non-US context is a mistake.
He opposes many things that various leftists oppose. As you outline. Going back before GWB he opposed Clinton and Bush the elder. He was right into the whole Ruby Ridge and Branch Davidian stories in the nineties, and consequently with the black helicopters, militias/posse comitatus/sovereign citizen movement.
All I’m saying by that, is that just as he will interview Cynthia McKinney, he’s interviewed all sorts of people who were deep in to the whole ZOG NWO scene, (where the US govt is ZOG, Zionist Occupied Government), As a taste of how that stuff was going, Jones maintained that one of the space shuttles that exploded was an inside job. I forget the details, but it was to do with there being an Israeli on board. The space shuttle explosion was a false flag operation somehow aimed at sparking a war to benefit Israel.
But what I’m getting at with all this at is that to view Jones in his context, you are right to ignore left right divisions as they are more broadly understood. He has to be understood in a USian context.
Right throughout US history the big division hasn’t been Capital vs Labour, or any of the other left/right fights that we see elsewhere. Right from the beginning the fight has been between the federalists and the anti-federalists. Jones is with the latter, and that’s where all his stuff starts to makes sense. Viewing him through any other lense he becomes incoherent.
I agree. I listen to him with a great many reservations and indeed from the point of view that he is very much a US based entity.
I think though that it is interesting to listen to him and his attempts at shining light on the secretive meetings of the ultra powerful and whether you believe all the things he says or not that is up to the individual.
There is one thing I don’t agree with you in this and that is his “anti Zionist” stance as he is very careful to avoid this controversy. In fact among the more extreme his avoidance of the subject has let ot speculations as to whether he could be a “Zionist” agent. LOL.
In fact he only recently spoke about Israel and his opinion on the matter. He is an equal opportunity anti war activist though. His opinion with regards to Libya, Syria, Yemen and Israel is simple; Why are we not bombing the shit out of Israel which has ignored every single UN resolution since ’67 while we have no compunction about doing the same with Libya to name one country? In his opinion we should not be involved in wars with any of the country’s the US is currently bombing. Not Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen or Pakistan but if we are we should be even in our response to all countries killing peacefully demonstrating. That includes Israel, Bahrein and other countries serving the interest of the US currenly getting a free pass for their torture, abuse and indiscriminate killing.
I tend to agree.
His opinion with regards to Libya, Syria, Yemen and Israel is simple; Why are we not bombing the shit out of Israel which has ignored every single UN resolution since ’67 while we have no compunction about doing the same with Libya to name one country? In his opinion we should not be involved in wars with any of the country’s the US is currently bombing.
Well sure. But that rhetorical question is an interesting one if that’s the way he framed it. One answer to why the US federal government isn’t bombing Israel is ZOG.
And he was always careful about his interviews with militia types even in the nineties, he’d always ‘just be giving them a platform to speak’, because the federal government silences it’s critics; he doesn’t endorse, he’s just fightin for these folks civil liberties.
But the theme is almost always that the federal government is the enemy of the people. That’s why the wars are bad. It’s the damnable federal government usurping power and using fear to control the populace and maintain it’s tyrannical rule.
People who hinted that maybe a domestic war against the federal government wouldn’t get the ‘war criminal’ treatment.
What’s his current line on state level government civil violations? He always used to be pretty quiet on that score.
On immigration, (‘illegals’) for example, they were a threat to state governments and the federal government ignored the problem deliberately, probably hoping for internal grassroots reaction that they could use as a pretext to steal everyone’s guns and lock folks up in FEMA camps.
The moderation happened to me too. I thought maybe I used a bad word like, er, liberal.
My take on Jones is that he is a traditional Republican, as opposed to the Reagan generation that lead the GOP now. He leans to the armed rebellion end of right wing politics, who believe the Government is a conspiracy against the People. Jones is not a dry righty, totally focussed on the bottom line, so I’m pleased to hear that he gives a bit back, but with the numbers you suggest (24 million listeners a month) he can afford to. I’d imagine the Tshirt sales alone would be huge, eh.
The thing with American politics is that there are a hell of a lot of very specific beliefs that enjoy levels of support at a state, regional or national level that never get beyond single digit support, federally. These groupings coalesce in either the democrat or republican parties.
Jones represents a particular strain of thought that is shared by maybe only 1% of Americans, but shares enough similarities with other fringe beliefs to generate that 24 million listenership and also a voice within the republican party.
I agree that the US is not best practice when it comes to free trade, by the way. Pork barrel politics, special interest lobbying and the pandering to farming interests has always meant that the US talks the talk, but has never walked the walk when it comes to genuine free trade.
Genuine free trade has never been promulgated by any of the major western powers.
In fact, its highly likely that true “free trade” only exists as an academic theory which was then used by commercial powers to humiliate the sovereignty of foreign countries and their markets.
I’ve once found this nice schematic of this and it was the mature individual or component of the group which makes this possible. i.e. Childish narcissistic, me me me is one side of the equation and the overbearing parental attitude of rules and sharing and group thinking is the other side. The mature individual or the mature individuals in a group will try to balance their own needs and those of others making it acceptable to live in that group as an individual.
That sounds like transactional analysis with a scheme of dividing behaviour into three – it arises from the parent, the adult or the child state. I think it is an excellent shorthand for getting a fast understanding of one’s and others’ mindsets.
Yes it seriously amazes me that Farrar is taken seriously by others. He chooses the subject of the day most likely to fire up his cretins (like something taniwha, something Clark, something sexist) and lets them go. It is like the most disgusting and ignorant of talkback radio writ large.
I have a bash over there sometimes but it always immediately degenerates into a stinking shithole screamfest.
It is worse that The Penguin gets comfort from Jim Mora as a panelist on Afternoons on national radio. Mora bills his guest as a leading blogger and mentions the name of the notorious blog as well. Just perhaps, Mora never reads beyond the Penguin’s posts – Farrar, however, is responsible for what he allows to be appended to his blog.
Why do you call those fools “rednecks”? That implies they work hard in the sun like honest farmers and labourers. I wonder how much manual work the likes of Farrar, Slater, Hooton, Leighton Smith, and Paul Holmes actually do.
What lies behind this trans-Atlantic policy paralysis? I’m increasingly convinced that it’s a response to interest-group pressure. Consciously or not, policy makers are catering almost exclusively to the interests of rentiers — those who derive lots of income from assets, who lent large sums of money in the past, often unwisely, but are now being protected from loss at everyone else’s expense.
Sounds a lot like what’s happening in NZ as well. The rich are protected (SCF, AMI, farmers subsidies via the ETS) from their bad decisions and everyone else pays for them. Especially the small businesses.
On the back of the National Government ordering that the entire Christchurch unemployed population not be included in recent welfare statistics, comes another blatant attempt by National to trick the public into believing unemployment rates have fallen. The difference between the cons is that one completely disregards a large sector of unemployed and the other ensures that more people are not eligible or do not reapply for their benefits because of harsh new criteria imposed by WINZ.
What’s the new hoop jumping UB’s have to do to reapply?
If the reapplying thing is merely policy (that’s not in statute) then it should be challengeable. 5,000 is a very large number of people to not have an income all of a sudden. I’d like to see an analysis of that number.
An analysis of that number? In a recent article it was reported that only 1400 out of the some 5000 removed from the unemployment benefit said they had found work, with over 1000 no longer eligible according to the harsh rules leaving 2600 unaccounted for. Or perhaps you mean an analysis to see what has actually happened to the 2600? Like how many have committed suicide and left for Australia for instance. I’d be interested in seeing those figures as it would be proper way to glean the effectiveness of the policy change.
According to the WINZ website:
When you re-apply, you’ll also need to complete a Comprehensive Work Assessment.
Work obligations include things like:
attending scheduled job interviews
actively looking for a job
taking a suitable job that’s offered to you
attending work experience, training or workshops that Work and Income think would be helpful.
The first time you don’t meet your work obligations, your main benefit will be reduced by 50%. You’ll continue to receive any supplementary assistance that you’re entitled to.
The second time you don’t comply, your benefit and supplementary assistance will be suspended.
The third time you don’t comply all your benefits will be cancelled.
Failing to complete the 52 week reapplication process If a client reapplies before their expiry date but does not complete the reapplication process on or before the expiry date, their benefit will stop.
If a client reapplies after their expiry date and does not have an exceptional circumstance for not reapplying on or before the expiry date, their benefit must be manually cancelled from the expiry date.
Note if a client does not complete the reapplication process within 20 working days after the expiry date the benefit will automatically be cancelled.
Client still wants to apply for benefit
Clients who fail to complete the 52 week reapplication process but want to continue to receive a benefit must be advised to reapply for a benefit as a new applicant. The client will be subject to the normal commencement date rules, including initial stand-downs.
Note if the client advises they want to reapply you can use their reapplication form as their application.
If a client does not want to reapply for a benefit, they should be advised to apply as a non-beneficiary for supplementary assistance (such as Accommodation Supplement).
For more information:
One thing I would like to note is that this is the Policy that WINZ is meant to follow. It is likely that Paula Bennett has instructed WINZ employees to utilize any means to remove people from the unemployment benefit. It is the application of the new rules that is ultimately the problem. Because beneficiaries are not being informed about their rights, they are being taken advantage of, which is not acceptable in a democracy.
Jackal
“Or perhaps you mean an analysis to see what has actually happened to the 2600? Like how many have committed suicide and left for Australia for instance. I’d be interested in seeing those figures as it would be proper way to glean the effectiveness of the policy change.”
I too wondered what had happened to the 2600. Does anyone apart from us care?
The government certainly appears not to care by publishing the fact as a ‘win’.
What has happened to humanity under neoliberal ideology. Oh I remember, from the merry 80s and 90s -we have been economically quantified and there is no such thing as society which – makes it easier to forget people exist and think only of that lovely money. Why on earth do they still call Ms.Bennett’s department Social Development-from these shocking facts it should be called the Society Nihilation department. Such a name would really cheer the Right Wing exploiters of humanity up.
How could John Key say National’s ways were closer to Destiny Church. Destiny Curch is meant to be Christian and Christ spoke against most of what National enforces.”Love thy neighbour as thyself,”said he.John key needs to get a Bible.
Just heard on the news that apparently the outpatient departments in New Zealand hospitals are not geared to cope with drunken idiots. WTF. When was a festival of sport a license to be drunk and disorderly?
The worst of this is that we have a Prime Minister who has countenanced “Party Central” (in other words unbridled piss up time). Now take away the involvement of international rugby, and what would the reaction be to a mob of drunken louts roaming the streets.
Try to imagine foreigners in such places as France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong et cetera, being drunk and disorderly in the streets – doesn’t bear thinking about.
But given the inevitability of this, who is going to have to stump up for the cost of this behaviour and treatment? I bet it won’t be the RFU – they are already staring down the barrel of massive debt.
We could have strategically placed billboards at every international terminal advising rugby fans that there will be a zero tolerance of abuse of alcohol. That may be an approach…
F#ck the World Cup, if it is going to mean streams of urine in our gutters…
Watching the second round of Nkii kaye vs Jacinda Ardern on Citizen A with Bomber on Stratos. This time, Jacinda & Bomber are not letting Nikki get away with so much interuptions…. although she did that just now. Kaye has claimed poverty grew under the 9 years of the Clark government…. is that correct?
This time Kaye has ditched the repetitive “Let me be clear” and is instead repeating “The reality is” or “the point is”.
Yes! Poverty did increase under the last Labour Government. Another indicator was the comparison with Australia (GDP, Cost of living ect), which also worsened under Labour. However the gap between rich and poor has increased at twice that rate under National with a similar doubling of the disparity with Australia compared to New Zealand under a John Key led Government. Labour is just the lesser of two evils in my opinion. Perhaps they’ve changed but we wont know until they’re able to form a Government. Where is Phil Goff anyway?
Was a good debate. Just wish Bomber the egotist would get the damn audio sorted.
When you look at the levels of benefits compared to the average weekly wage, the last Labour Govt did little to bring them back to pre-Ruthanasia ratios.
Of course, under Labour, unemployment and youth unemployment were far far lower and so this affected fewer people. What Labour didn’t get is that on the downslope of the economic cycle, it would end up affecting a hell of a lot of people.
So what they did instead of increasing benefit levels to livable ratios, was to increase the minimum wage and to focus on tax breaks to couples with children (what about everyone else in this country?!).
Problem is of course that income tax breaks and increases in the minimum wage only mean something if you have work.
Best laugh of the day: a comment on the NZ Herald to Farrar’s weekly column:
“David – my advice would be to take your own advice, except the only difference would be that I for one would prefer you didn’t come back in a couple of years. Actually I would prefer that you never came back at all.
While you are at it – take John Key with you. I would recommend Gerry Brownlee as well but I sincerely doubt you can afford the cost of the excess baggage.”
OMV has indefinitely suspended its oil exploration campaign off Taranaki: The future of offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand in doubt after OMV announced today it is postponing drilling its Maui-8 exploration well indefinitely due to the Covid-19 crisis. The COSL Prospector rig, which is contracted to ...
. . April 9: Day 15 of living in lock-down… The news is great! Sunday: 89 new cases Monday: 67 Tuesday: 54 Wednesday: 50 Today: 29 If these numbers are correct and there’s no unknown “hot spot(s)” around the country, we have demonstrated with great clarity what can be ...
Sure, we’re all entitled to put our hand out for government support in times of need. No question about that. But THESE GUYS*? What a joke. (Except it’s real. Check for yourself: COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Employer Search) – P * We’ve discussed them before, here, a little bit. ...
A Fluoride Action Network (FAN) propaganda video where Paul Connett urges listeners to consider only four studies when considering the possible harmful effects of fluoridation. Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), now claims “You only have to read four studies…” to come to the ...
Being A Dick: Ignoring the restrictions of Level-4 is a way of signalling one's membership of the vast idiot fraternity of “You can’t tell me what to do!” More than that, however, it is a way of working out the fear of the Covid-19 virus that these men feel, but ...
The pandemic has shown us how effective our public service is. They've pulled together a massive policy response, from a lockdown to economic support to healthcare to planning how to keep everything running when this is over, and done it in next to no time. They are heroes, who have ...
New Zealand is now officially halfway through its first 4-week lockdown period. The good news is that it seems to be working - people staying at home has reduced the potential for the virus to spread, and we've had steadily decreasing numbers of new cases over the last few days ...
In 1968 Canadian sociologist Laurence Peter coined the phrase “Peter Principle” as a contribution to the sociology of organisations. It explains that in complex organizations people rise to the level of their own incompetence. That is, they get promoted so long as they meet or exceed the specified criteria for ...
The practice and business of music has been one of the sectors most gravely impacted by the virus sweeping the world. The emphatic nature of our government's response, necessary as it was, has slammed the industry and the people who work in it.There are New Zealand artists – Nadia Reid, ...
. . April 8: Day 14 of living in lock-down… The good news first: the downward trajectory of new cases appears to be a real thing. In the last four days, since Sunday, new infections have been dropping: Sunday: 89 new cases Monday: 67 Tuesday: 54 Today (Wednesday): 50 The ...
The anti-fluoride movement wants to restrict your reading to “just four studies.” They actively ignore or attempt to discredit other relevant studies. Image credit:Censorship in media. For earlier articles in this series see: ...
Not Now, Not Ever, Never! The problem with Labour's leading activists is that there is never a good time for democratic socialism. Never. They are like Saint Augustine who prayed to the Almighty: “Lord, give me chastity and self-control – but not yet.” In the case of Labour "junior officers", however, ...
We are seeing what has been termed “a greater challenge than the crash of 2008” by a growing number of economists and more rational, sane commentators, because whilst that was a shocking exposure of the levels to which hubris had sunk, right down to the blank cheque given those who ...
I am a Kiwi living in Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City is the second-largest city in the state and is located directly across the Hudson River from downtown Manhattan. Locals call it New York’s sixth borough. More than 350,000 New Jersey citizens, including myself, commute to New York daily ...
It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon, we need to get out of the house, and so our bubble sets off on a bike ride around our local neighbourhood, Cambridge Park. The bikes come out of the garage, and, being really certain we have a front door key, close the garage door ...
. . April 7: Day 13 of living in lock-down… and unlucky for those who are superstitious. A day when there was a ray of sunshine from an otherwise bleak day of worrying signs. Today, as RNZ reported; Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reported 54 new confirmed and probable cases ...
So far, universal basic income policies, which see people given a regular income without any conditions, have been trailed only on a small scale. But now, Spain is introducing one nationwide as a response to the pandemic: Spain is to roll out a universal basic income (UBI) “as soon as ...
Paul Connet, head of the anti-fluoride propaganda group, Fluoride Action Network, claims that the IQ of children bottle-fed in fluoridated areas drops by 9 points. But he misrepresented the research. There is no observable effect. For earlier articles in this series see: Part 1: Anti-fluoridation propaganda now relies on only ...
The Queen’s coronavirus broadcast, with its overtones of Winston Churchill and Vera Lynn, prompted me to reflect on the tribulations my parents’ generation suffered during the Second World War – and I imagine that those parallels, given her own wartime experience, were very much in the Queen’s mind as she ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Dr Christina Schädel Across vast swaths of the northern hemisphere’s higher reaches, frozen ground holds billions of tonnes of carbon. As global temperatures rise, this “permafrost” land is at increasing risk of thawing out, potentially releasing its long-held carbon into the atmosphere. Abrupt permafrost ...
Back in February, the Marlborough District Council increased the mount it charges for LGOIMA requests. I used the LGOIMA to poke into this, and it seems the case for increased charges is unjustified: the supposed increase in request volumes it rests on is an artefact of the Council suddenly deciding ...
. . April 6: Day 12 of living in lock-down… Another day of a near-empty Park N Ride carpark; . . And another day of near-empty Wellington streets; . . . Light traffic on the motorway. No apparent increase in volume. Commercial vehicles sighted; a gravel-hauling truck; McAuley’s Transport; a ...
Imagination By-Pass: Had the Communications Minister, Kris Faafoi (above) taken a firm stand with Bauer, reminding them of their obligations to both their staff and the wider New Zealand public, then a much more favourable outcome may well have ensued. He should have made it clear to the Bauer board ...
We all know that Simon Bridges has, at the best of times, an intermittent relationship with the truth. However you would think that during a pandemic and economic crisis the current opposition leader would pull his head in and start to do the right thing.Obviously leading by example should be ...
Connett promotes Riddell et al (2019) as one of the only four studies one needs to read about fluoridation. But he misunderstands and misrepresents the findings of this study. Image credit: Fluoride Action ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Dr. Richard Wood and Dr. Laura Jackson Generally, we think of climate change as a gradual process: the more greenhouse gases that humans emit, the more the climate will change. But are there any “points of no return” that commit us to irreversible ...
Last month I wrote my blog on covid-19 pointing out the in our pre Alert Level 4 days that a subject no one had heard here months ago was now dominating the media. An amazing feature of this crisis is how quickly it has swept every other issue aside worldwide. ...
Nick Wilson,1 Ayesha Verrall,1,2 Len Cook,3 Alistair Gray,3 Amanda Kvalsvig,1 Michael Baker,1 (1epidemiologists, 2infectious disease physician, 3statisticians)In this blog, we raise ideas for how New Zealand might optimise testing to both identify cases in the community as part of the COVID-19 elimination strategy, and to confirm when the virus ...
Maybe you’ve seen the graph that says those countries where everyone wears a mask are the ones that have managed to keep Covid-19 under control? The first thing to say about that claim is that those countries also did lots of other things, too – they acted fast, with intense ...
Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... North Atlantic's capacity to absorb CO2 overestimated, study suggestsResearch into ocean’s plankton likely to lead to ...
The Treaty on Open Skies is one of the most effective mechanisms for preventing war curently in force. By letting countries make surveillance flights over each others' territory, it eliminates fears that they are secretly preparing for war. So naturally, the US is planning to withdraw from it: The Trump ...
. . April 5: Day eleven of living in lock-down… My one day of rest for the week, and an opportunity to mow my lawns – which I’d been delaying for about three weeks. (On the plus side, the damp micro-climate in my back yard yielded three lovely fresh mushrooms ...
As far as anyone can say, New Zeaand still has a general election scheduled for September 19 this year. The election will be accompanied by two referenda, one of which will ask voters:Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?The official campaign period for the cannabis referendum begins ...
The vast majority of tributes to the Listener hearken back to its glory days, with little reflection on the magazine as it was at its end.I wrote for it, for half the Listener’s life; I have known personally all the editors except the first (mythical) three. From 1978 to 2014 ...
As the world economy slides rapidly towards deep recession there are growing calls for a Universal Benefit coming from some leftists and rightists. Now Finance Minister Grant Robertson is saying it is on the table. This article by a French party Workers Struggle provides analysis of various forms of universal ...
This is the advice from the very top of the anti-fluoride movement – Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Don’t worry about reading up on all the scientific information “You only have ...
. . April 4: Day 10 of living in lock-down… I wake up to a fine Saturday morning which normally would be like an early Christmas. But it’s Day 10 of Level 4 Lock Down. What will my fellow New Zealanders be doing on a day like this – staying ...
Some time during the night we went over the 850,000 views mark. We might have had our millionth view by the end of this year – certainly by early next year. Most of the people involved in Redline spent years and years producing various small left-wing papers and selling them ...
Comfortably, in the very first round, with an impressive 56% of the votes.I wonder, did members of the Shadow Cabinet start tweeting their resignations during Starmer's victory speech, or is that only a trick the right pull?It is odd how all the talk of how the next leader "needs to ...
One of the key voices in this extraordinary time in which we live is that of University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Philip Matthews did an an excellent job this weekend of capturing the way he became the man for this moment in a profile for The Press.But one ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the nation today about the decline in daylight New Zealand has been experiencing over the previous few months. She said “As many of you will notice, our attempts to stem the dwindling of the daylight over the last few months have been completely ...
Redline received this article from the KOE a Marxist party in Greece Our friends in the KOE describe here the mounting crisis in Greece and tensions on the Turkish border. As desperate people flee from their homelands which have been ruined after decades of imperialist wars and interventions the people ...
As the first week of Level Four lockdown unfolded, mounting questions grew as to just what was (and was not) allowed under its “rules”. Partly these were driven by some apparently contradictory messagesfrom different authority figures and explanations carried in the media. Partly they reflected a somewhat sketchy legal basis ...
. . April 3: Day 9 of living in lock-down… Another late-start to my work day. Everything is temporarily upended as clients are shuffled around so we can minimise our “bubble” by reducing the number of people we help. One of my colleagues has been removed from his clients; his ...
In order to meet our 2050 carbon target and do our bit to avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, New Zealand needs to decarbonise our economy, replacing fossil fuels with electricity in the energy, industrial and transport sectors. The good news is that it will mean cheaper power for all of ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of a pretty flower, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a cute animal video. . . . =fs= ...
. . April 2: Day eight of living in lock-down… Today, my work day starts late. Our rosters and clients have been dramatically changed, lessening (theoretically) the number of people in our work “bubble”. If just one of us catches covid19 the impact could be considerable as Grey Base Hospital ...
As Aotearoa enters week two of lockdown, it’s clear we’re all still working out what our “bubbles” look like and how to stay in them to stop the spread of Covid-19. New to the government’s Covid-19 website is some good guidance for people living in apartment blocks. Recent decades have ...
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Lenin Don’t we all know that feeling now.
Prospect Magazine alerted me to this particularly apt quote. It is a much more evocative quote than Hemingway’s “gradually then suddenly” which is also doing ...
Yesterday was the day the consequences of the lockdown suddenly got very real for many. Firms have been closing and laying people off since the outset of the quarantine but this has mostly been happening out of the public eye. The mass closure of a number of iconic New Zealand ...
Brian Williamson1, Prof Nick Wilson2 (1Economic consultant, UK; 2University of Otago Wellington)In this blog, we outline how a win-win social contract could be forged to address the major dimensions of response to the COVID-19 pandemic when using a mitigation strategy: the particular need to protect older people from high ...
Resuming Normal Service: The Republican Party's nominee for in 1920, Warren Harding, promised the American people: “not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration”. If she wishes to remain our prime minister, then Jacinda Ardern will offer New Zealanders the same.HOW EDUCATED AMERICA snickered when the ...
No Free Society Without A Free And Functioning News Media: If we are to surrender our civil rights to the broader cause of defeating Covid-19, then foreign corporations must, likewise, surrender their right to inflict immense economic and cultural harm on New Zealanders simply because it improves their bottom line.I’M ...
by Daphna Whitmore A third of the world is under lockdown and a clear assessment of this measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 is urgently needed. With any high-stakes decisions it has to be asked what are we dealing with here? Are the measures warranted? Will they achieve their ...
I haven’t done a huge amount in the last few days. I’m reading The Poppy War and I’ve sort of poked at a couple of games – I started SOMA but I’m a wimp and I quit while in the first room after the brain scan. I might try it ...
The swan politicians may be gliding on the water, occasionally snapping at one another. Meanwhile, as the Covid19 crisis illustrates, the officials are desperately paddling below providing the real locomotion. One of the most fatuous recent grandstanding comments (of about a week ago), adding to the public’s anxieties, was ...
Much has been written about the importance of discretion in an emergency situation, and the concerns raised by the potential for it to be exercised arbitrarily. Given the quality of the discussion, there seemed little point in adding to it at any length. In particular, I point to the evidence ...
Today has felt surreal. I was all set to touch base online with my science communication students when a colleague shared the news that Bauer Media would be shutting down its publications immediately. The first link I saw implied it was Woman’s Weekly affected, and even that shocked me. But ...
Bogeymen, Real And Imagined: Is the number of psychopathic and sociopathic individuals in any given society truly as vanishingly small as we like to tell ourselves? Isn’t it more likely that the mass-shooters and serial-killers filling the headlines represent only the tip of a much, much larger iceberg of frightfulness? ...
Outgoing Police Commissioner Mike Bush appeared before the Epidemic Response Committee today, who asked him for the rules police are using to enforce the lockdown. He refused:Police Commissioner Mike Bush has admitted the advice given to Kiwis about what they're able to do during the lockdown hasn't been clear enough. ...
For those folk who find my other Lock-Down Diary versions too “negative” or otherwise unpalatable… Here’s a photo of my cat, . . Better? Tomorrow’s Sanitised Version: a pretty flower. . . . =fs= ...
. . April 1: Day seven of living in lock-down… This morning I had a brief chat with one of my neighbours, “D” (social distance between us, a good three or four metres). I learned he had resigned from his previous job and had been hired by another company – ...
Funnily enough, my thought as I start this post is whether it will be well written enough. Or should that be well enough written? Because so much of what I know about good writing came from my two stints at The Listener, which this morning was shut down due to ...
With normal democratic procedures in abeyance, there were two ways to go. First, it was open for the government to dissolve itself and invite the National Party to join a ministry of national salvation. That would have lessened the democratic deficit of the times by having a team of rivals without ...
Dr Kirsty Ross Children and young people can respond differently in times of distress. This also varies by age and developmental stage, with younger children having more magical and imaginative thinking, and older children having more awareness and knowledge of the issues our communities are facing (which brings up ...
Hungary has been a virtual dictatorship for a decade now, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has gradually eroded its democracy. But now, its official, with the passage of an indefinite emergency law allowing rule by decree:Hungary’s parliament has passed a new set of coronavirus measures that includes jail terms for ...
While the economy is on pause under lockdown, the government is beginning to plan how to cope with the post-lockdown, post-tourism, post-export education world we will eventually find ourselves in. They're planning a lot of infrastructure spending as economic stimulus, and have asked for proposals which can start the moment ...
It's my distraction, setting up tiny scenes to photograph. I've got stuck on the Babushka dolls for now. Something about their bubble shape. Something about their never changing, smiling features, suggesting persistent equanimity. Can we get through everything that is being thrown at us and keep at least a tiny ...
. . March 31: Day six of living in lock-down… This time I managed to sleep a little longer and the alarm woke me at the pre-set time: 6.55am. Then remembered I was working a later shift and could’ve slept in. Oh well, there are things to do at home. ...
Image credit:Diamond Harbour School Blogs I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or ...
While New Zealand is at Alert Level 4, we're making sure that New Zealanders are kept informed and up to date with all the latest developments of the Government's COVID-19 response. It's been a shortened week because of Easter, so we're bringing you our weekly wrap a day early. ...
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister informed the nation that the Easter Bunny (and the Tooth Fairy!) were deemed essential workers. However, she made it clear that, due to the restrictions we are all facing at COVID-19 Alert Level 4, the Easter Bunny may find it tricky to get to ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Ron Mark, Minister of Defence Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark today announced that New Zealand will provide a further package of assistance to Vanuatu, to support the response to Tropical Cyclone Harold. “Tropical ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that New Zealand will enter into transit arrangements with a range of countries to make it easier for each other’s citizens to get home. “There are millions of people around the world stranded ...
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has striven to provide calm, clear and consistent communication, including daily press conference updates from the Prime Minister. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says getting New Zealanders back home and other travellers out of the country is "a nightmare for our embassies, consuls, and staff around the world".Speaking to NewstalkZB's Mike Hosking, the Foreign Minister said that he gave a clear message to people travelling overseas that they ...
The domestic travel ban has been lifted for stranded foreign tourists trying to get to international airports to fly home, after the Coalition Government announced a plan to help the tens of thousands of foreigners stranded here. Foreign Minister Rt. Hon. Winston Peters spoke with RNZ's Susie Ferguson said foreign ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters believes the country is rediscovering its resilience and self-reliance through its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.He says he is heartened that the mass majority of New Zealanders are following lockdown rules and that the government looking at the future, including paying to keep much ...
New Zealand can emulate the success of the US after the Great Depression by exploiting our own resources to turn the economy around quickly, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. Mr. Peters told Magic Talk that New Zealand has an opportunity to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic a "superior, ...
All 45 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel are either on their way back to New Zealand, or already in the country, according to Defence Minister Ron Mark."Twenty-eight personnel arrived back in New Zealand last week and are in isolation at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base in ...
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
We know people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
The Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson has announced that urgent maintenance of turf and care for plants in non-plantation nurseries will soon be able to go ahead under Level 4 restrictions. “The Government has agreed that urgent upkeep and maintenance of biological assets will be able to go ahead ...
E tangi ana a Taranaki iwi, e tangi ana te ao Māori, otirā e tangi ana te motu. Mōu katoa ngā roimata e riringi whānui ana, mōu katoa ngā mihi. E te kaikōkiri i te reo Māori, e Te Huirangi, takoto mai. Takoto mai me te mōhio ko ngā ...
Today is day 15 of Alert Level 4 lockdown. And at the halfway mark I have no hesitation in saying, that what New Zealanders have done over the last two weeks is huge. In the face of the greatest threat to human health we have seen in over a century, ...
All driver licences, WoFs, CoFs, and some vehicle certifications, that expired on or after 1 January 2020 will be valid for up to six months from 10 April 2020, Transport Minister Phil Twyford has announced. “People shouldn’t have to worry about getting fined for having an expired document if driving ...
The Government has today released the report from the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission chaired by Dame Silvia Cartwright. Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission Grant Robertson says the Government wants to learn from people’s experiences following the Canterbury earthquakes and other recent natural disasters. “Dame Silvia’s report documents ...
The Government has extended by two weeks till April 27 the amount of time priority groups, such as health workers and those aged over 65, have to get their flu vaccine before it is made available to the wider public. This year’s vaccination campaign is a key component of the ...
Communities stepping up to help New Zealanders stay at home to break the transmission of COVID-19 and save lives have received Government support, said Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. “Delivering groceries for the elderly who can’t shop online, providing data packs for low income families to keep them connected, and being ...
Across New Zealand 120 sites are taking samples to be tested for COVID-19. 68 community based assessment centres (CBACs) have been established to take samples from people with COVID-19 symptoms. Alongside this, 52 other centres including designated general practices, swabbing centres, and mobile clinics are now testing people for ...
The Ministry of Education is working with partners to develop a package of options so that students can learn at home when Term 2 begins on 15 April, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. Supports are also being prepared for households with children under five, to help parents and whānau ...
Māori Television to begin educational te reo programmes Ki te Ao Mārama – a new online learning space Thousands of hard copy learning packs ready for distribution Helpdesk and advice service for kōhanga, kura and wharekura Television, the internet and hard copy learning packs are some of the ways whānau ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced an initial package of support to help the people and the Government of Vanuatu respond to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Harold. “Our Pacific neighbours have been hit by a Category 5 Cyclone at the same time as dealing with the economic impacts ...
Tourism New Zealand to lead work reimagining the way tourism operates in post-COVID-19 world. Ministers to review International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy investment plan. The Government, industry and business are working together to develop a plan for how tourism will operate in a post-COVID-19 world, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis ...
More New Zealanders are taking up the chance to work in horticulture as the sector keeps New Zealanders fed and in jobs during the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our ...
The Provincial Development Unit is working through applications and projects to see where Provincial Growth Fund money can be repurposed for initiatives deemed more critical to fighting the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “We need to be throwing everything we have at ...
The Government’s wage subsidy to protect jobs and keep workers and businesses connected during the lockdown has now supported over a million New Zealanders, with $6.6 billion already paid out. “We’re supporting businesses to pay wages, and stay connected with their workers so that we are all in a better ...
The Government is stepping up efforts to help protect New Zealand’s Pacific communities in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet has agreed that $17 million will be allocated to support a COVID-19 Pacific Response Package, which will: Support Pacific health and disability services facing increased demand; Ramp up public health messaging ...
“Yesterday evening the Health Minister advised me of his trip to a beach during the lockdown and offered his resignation,” Jacinda Ardern said. “Under normal conditions I would sack the Minister of Health. What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses. “But right now, my priority is our ...
Last night as part of my preparation for the Epidemic Response Committee, I provided the Prime Minister with a complete picture of my activity outside my home during Alert Level 4. That included the fact that on the first weekend of the Alert Level 4 lockdown I drove my family ...
A range of support is being rolled out across New Zealand to help people look after their mental health during COVID-19 Health Minister David Clark said this morning. “COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty into our lives and many of us will be feeling some level of distress or ...
The New Zealand Government has made arrangements to charter a flight for New Zealanders stranded in Peru to depart the country, following agreement with the Chilean government to allow the necessary transit through Chile, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. “Like many travellers around the world at the moment, ...
Hospital preparations for COVID-19 are well advanced says Health Minister David Clark. “Hospitals across New Zealand are repurposing buildings and training staff to get ready for COVID-19 patients. This gives me confidence that we are well prepared for any potential increase in COVID-19 patients needing hospital level care,” said David ...
The Government will be introducing legislation to make changes to the Companies Act to help companies facing insolvency due to COVID-19 to remain viable and keep New Zealanders in jobs. The temporary changes include: Giving directors of companies facing significant liquidity problems because of COVID-19 a ‘safe harbour’ from insolvency ...
The Government’s plan to cushion the blow of COVID-19 by supporting incomes, jobs and businesses, and position the economy to recover has been backed by another international report. International credit rating agency Moody’s today reaffirmed its highest Aaa credit rating on New Zealand, saying the economy is expected to remain ...
The Government has stepped in to support vital air links to our offshore islands, the Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Island and Motiti Island, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. “As part of our $600 million support package to minimise the impacts of COVID-19 on the aviation sector, the Government has ...
National sports organisations have been given certainty of funding to ensure they can remain viable through the COVID-19 pandemic, Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson announced today. “The global spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on sport and recreation in New Zealand, including the cancellation or postponement of ...
Changes have been made to allow butchers to process pork, only for supply to supermarkets or other processors or retailers that are open, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has announced. “We carefully weighed the risk of allowing butchers to open their shops for retail customers, but the risk of spreading COVID-19 ...
Essential workers who take leave from work to comply with public health guidance are being supported with a leave scheme to ensure they will continue to receive income, say the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Iain Lees-Galloway and Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni. A number of essential businesses ...
A Government WhatsApp channel has been launched to help make information more easily accessible and shareable in the fight against COVID-19. Govt.NZ, which is free to use on any mobile device, will carry information and news for the public, businesses, healthcare providers, not for profits and local government. It can ...
The Government has announced a plan to enable the safe, orderly exit of tens of thousands of stranded foreign nationals from New Zealand during the current COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said. “When we moved into lockdown a week ago, the ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says the Government is delivering on its commitment to support general practice doctors and nurses, and pharmacies on the front-line of our fight against COVID-19. "For us to overcome COVID-19, we need community health services such as general practice and community pharmacy to step up ...
Justice Susan Thomas has been appointed Chief High Court Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. She replaces Justice Geoffrey Venning who has resigned from the position. David Parker paid tribute to Justice Venning, who he said had stewarded the High Court very capably over the last five years. “On behalf ...
Businesses can start applying to their banks for loans under the Business Finance Guarantee Scheme set up to support the New Zealand economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re moving quickly to protect New Zealand businesses, jobs and the economy during this unprecedented global economic shock,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. ...
Work is underway looking at measures to speed up consents for development and infrastructure projects during the recovery from COVID 19, to provide jobs and stimulate our economy. Environment Minister David Parker said the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis that will have a wide ranging and lasting impact ...
Advance payments will be made to transport construction industry contractors to retain the workforce and ensure it is ready to quickly gear up to build projects which will be vital to New Zealand’s COVID-19 economic recovery, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. He said keeping the workforce required to build ...
The Government has tasked a group of industry leaders to seek out infrastructure projects that are ready to start as soon as the construction industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones say. The Infrastructure ...
Work to scale up the health system in preparation for COVID-19 was today outlined by Health Minister David Clark, as he reported back to the new Epidemic Response Committee. “We are well placed to contain the spread of COVID-19. We have taken early and decisive action at our borders, and ...
The Government is refining its COVID-19 essential business guidance to include the distribution of news publications for communities which are hard to reach. The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Kris Faafoi, said the move was in recognition of the importance for New Zealanders who might be harder to ...
The Government is ensuring supermarkets can open on Easter Sunday so we can buy groceries, but stay closed on Good Friday allowing workers to take a break. This provides a balanced approach and ensures we avoid large queues that two days closure may cause. “Supermarkets will be able to open ...
Following the successful conclusion of the Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission at Taji, New Zealand defence personnel are returning to New Zealand from Iraq, in accordance with the Cabinet decision made in June 2019, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. “New Zealand is very ...
The State of National Emergency to help stop the spread of COVID-19 has been extended for a further seven days, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said. The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary. “Since we went into isolation ...
The Ministry of Health called an unscheduled Good Friday press conference to announce the news that a second Kiwi has succumbed to the illness. A second New Zealander has died from Covid-19, a woman in her 90s who had been treated at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch. Dr Caroline McElnay, the Director ...
Sam Brooks takes a look at new American streaming service Quibi, and asks what sets it apart from all the rest.So what is Quibi and what makes it different?Quibi is a new streaming service based out of the US with one twist: you can only watch it on your phone. ...
Today New Zealand begins two desolate days without updates from Ashley Bloomfield. Here’s something to soften the blow.The daily briefings from Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the director general of health, have become a staple in many people’s lives, especially under lockdown. He’s hardly missed a day, but this Easter weekend is ...
By Made Anthony Iswara in Jakarta The Covid-19 pandemic, which is spreading like wildfire in Indonesia, has taken not just lives but also the earnings of millions of workers, one month after the government announced Indonesia’s first two confirmed cases of the virus. Jumari, a 61-year-old who works in ...
A tape recording in a brown paper bag recently landed in Emily Writes’ letterbox. After thoroughly disinfecting it she was shocked to discover what it contained. Today was a normal day, day 8271 of the lockdown, and I saw there was a parcel in the letterbox. Knowing a trip to ...
In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, the New Zealand Parliament’s Health Select Committee is continuing to progress its mandate to regulate vaping and prevent young people from using vaping products. RELX Technology, Asia’s leading independent ...
A new poem by Vincent O’Sullivan. Once Once in my life I’ve been fishing. A brother-in-law assured, ‘You don’t need to talk out there,’ so we didn’t. After an hour or so he liftedthis reluctant silvery strip from its hook and walloped its head againstthe ridge of the dinghy we sat in for those aeons ...
Friday, April 10: Austrian oil giant OMV has announced today that it’s indefinitely postponing its last remaining oil and gas exploration plans in the Taranaki Basin. Greenpeace is claiming "a win of generational significance" that signals ...
Analysis - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is preparing the country for a marathon recovery and life under "the new normal" is starting to take shape, writes Peter Wilson. ...
Misinformation, disinformation and just plain lies about Covid-19 are boiling up on the Internet and spilling over into real life. Peter Bale explains how some powerful forces use the chaos and trolling for their own reasons. Christchurch man Raymond Coombs, 38, thought it would be hilarious to pretend he had Covid-19 and cough over fellow shoppers ...
Tara Ward talks to Spencer Stoner, the producer of Go Further South, the slow TV sensation that hits our screens this Easter. Let’s change Good Friday’s name to “Great Friday”, or maybe “Even Better Friday”, because Prime is giving us the television tonic every lockdown needs. Go Further South, the ...
This versatile ingredient is brilliant for roasting and frying, and it’s a great way to extend the shelf life of butter. It’s also super easy to whip up at home. Until about a year ago I religiously used olive oil to fry and roast with. I preferred using this oil over ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Children and Technology, Western Sydney University COVID-19 has left parents grappling with the challenges of online learning, entertainment and work. It’s natural the amount of time children spend using screens will now increase. But that’s OK. Screen time recommendations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Sanderson, Professor and Inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture, UNSW The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned coronavirus poses “an existential threat to our continent”. Evidence from past crises shows not everyone is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gillian Triggs, Emeritus Professor, University of Melbourne Grandmothers as social activists? What a radical idea … but one that is increasingly true of today’s generation of grandmothers. Witness the determination and courage of Karen Nettleton in pulling out all the stops to ...
Holiday towns around the country have been on edge, fearing Easter visits from city folk going to their baches. But in one instance, the fears might have been over-stated. Tim Murphy reports. Truth is the first casualty of war, and we keep getting told we are in a war against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer Sport Management, Western Sydney University Against a global backdrop of cancelled sports leagues, and as part of their season opening, National Rugby League (NRL) fans recently packed the stands of Townsville’s new Queensland Country Bank Stadium. Fortunately, professional ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dianne McGrath, Environmental Engineering PhD candidate; sustainability and food waste expertise, RMIT University As a food waste researcher, I’m interested in how humans prepare food, eat and manage leftovers. This interest is not just confined to Earth – it extends to other ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
Kayne Peters leaves his Auckland home to spend the lockdown in his whanau bubble in the King Country and help look after those most in need. Ka mate kainga tahi. Ka ora kainga rua. “One dwelling place is overcome, but the second is secure” This whakatauki or proverb well describes ...
The natural isolation of small Pacific islands set in the huge Pacific Ocean could prove to be the defining factor if these vulnerable nations manage to remain free of Covid-19. There is every reason to be optimistic if these small nations can keep rigid restrictions in place. Of course, the ...
How will we know when we’ve been successful in stopping Covid-19 within New Zealand? Farah Hancock reports. As the country moves into its third week of lockdown and the daily number of cases continues to drop, how can we be certain it's safe to move levels and how will we ...
Are we nearly in the clear? It's too early to tell and we can't take anything for granted, says Professor Nicholas Agar of Victoria University of Wellington. Our nation’s fight against Covid-19 seems to be going well. As a Kiwi, I’m enjoying the global applause for our “go hard and ...
The government yesterday announced it would step up its arrivals policy to mandate hotel quarantine or ‘managed self-isolation’ for all returning New Zealanders – people like Andrew Todd, who describes what it’s like to live in a Covid-19 quarantine zone.Four weeks ago, I was living in Canada, earning a meagre ...
Although New Zealand-based e-commerce companies like TradeMe are toeing the line on non-essential sales, Facebook Marketplace remains a wild west where buying and selling hasn't stopped, Marc Daalder reports Want a pair of high-heeled Converse shoes to wear during lockdown? How about a cashmere scarf or new jigsaw puzzle? You're ...
Halfway through the lockdown, government restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus seem to be taking hold. But the latest suite of measures show the Prime Minister is awake to the dangers of overconfidence, Sam Sachdeva writes “This is going to be a marathon.” Jacinda Ardern’s choice of metaphor to ...
Christchurch’s arterial routes, and the air around them, are being transformed by the lockdown. David Williams takes a look As the days shorten, the nightly commute comes ever closer to sunset. That would normally mean thousands of cars lining up at busy Christchurch intersections, sending plumes of carbon monoxide into ...
A doctor's note from novelist Eileen Merriman, a haematologist at North Shore hospital. At the hospital where I work is a critically ill patient infected with Covid-19 in our intensive care unit – younger than me, with no pre-existing medical conditions. And today I overhead a couple of doctors discussing ...
Every Friday of lockdown, LockerRoom shares posts from Kiwi sportswomen who've caught our eye with novel ways of keeping on top of their game. This week, gymnasts put their own spin on the toilet paper challenge, the Black Sticks captain gets her pet in on lockdown training, and a triathlete ...
If you’re out on the road this weekend, be prepared to be stopped – and not just by the police. Kayne Peters reports on the official and unofficial roadblocks springing up all over the motu. Iwi across the country have stepped up efforts to secure their borders ahead of Easter ...
The Covid-19 challenge for disabled people is two-fold: keeping them safe, and ensuring disability support continues to be available to them. What's the plan for this? asks Samuel Murray. While we are rightfully focused on eliminating Covid-19, we need a specific plan that addresses the needs of both the disability ...
Responding to sudden, shocking change requires a double lens, writes Fiona Farrell.Read more from the Lockdown letters here.My granddaughter has been making a newspaper. The Daily Chirp. It’s very small, as befits a newspaper designed for birds, but it contains news (a worrying rise in Tweet-19), “Adds” for birdseed medicine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Education Minister Dan Tehan has warned non-government schools that if they fail to open for the next term they will face losing funding. He said on Thursday that “as part of the funding requirement” a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Remember how last year’s Easter felt bizarre because the country was in election-mode? How normal that seems, now everything is surreal, with the nation “holidaying” in this peculiar, unpleasant limbo. As we contemplate the grimness ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan talks with MPs Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Victoria), Fiona Martin (Reid, NSW), Clare O’Neil (Hotham, Victoria) and Helen Haines (Indi, Victoria) about how they do their job during the pandemic. They discuss the operation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Geard, Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne; Senior Research Fellow, Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne Following the emergence and rapid spread of COVID-19, several countries have succeeded in bringing local outbreaks under ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin Today’s chart shows the per capita level of testing performed in a number of countries. While the highest testing rate shown is Norway, we should note that Iceland has tested over eight percent of its population; too high to show on this chart. A ...
By RNZ News New Zealand has recorded just 29 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, but the prime minister says a decision on changing the alert level will only be made two days before the lockdown ends. It is the fourth day in a row there ...
The Guardian’s Pacific Project disaster video.By the Pacific Project Tropical Cyclone Harold lashed the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, ripping off roofs and downing telecommunications, before moving towards Fiji and Tonga. The powerful cyclone made landfall on Monday in Sana province, an island north of Vanuatu’s capital Port ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elyse Methven, Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney The message to everyone during the coronavirus pandemic is to stay at home and only leave if you really need to for, say, food, health care or exercise. Police now have powers to ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Pat MacFie from Manaaki.This week we have another special podcast highlighting some of ...
NZ First leader Winston Peters today said he wants the election held on November 21, Radio NZ reported. He says he believes the health system would be under the pump in September with the winter flu season and the country potentially still dealing with the impacts of Covid-19. Prime Minister ...
New Zealand Rock Lobster (crayfish) are once again heading to China with the first small consignment being airfreighted last week. It was one of the first primary industry sectors in New Zealand to be affected by Covid-19, and as we now know, the sledgehammer that hit this industry was just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Bloomfield, Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia Lockdown measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 should actually help cut the cases of flu this year. That’s because keeping people apart to reduce the spread of coronavirus ...
New modelling from Te Pūnaha Matatini projects the impact of the lockdown, and what our next steps could be, Marc Daalder reports New figures from a team of mathematicians and scientists modelling the way Covid-19 could affect New Zealand indicate the lockdown has significantly dampened the spread of the virus. ...
Bernard Hickey talks to Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr about the latest retail spending data and the Reserve Bank's call for banks to step up as market-makers for corporate and local government bonds. In their latest daily 'Bernard Zooms out to lunch with Jarrod' video, Bernard Hickey and Jarrod ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgie Russell, Senior Lecturer, Deakin University This Easter will be especially challenging, with family isolation and many parents under financial strain, or other stressors. So, many parents will be looking to restore some sense of “normality” by welcoming the Easter bunny into ...
The Beths’ live-streamed concert yesterday showed that even in lockdown, music isn’t dead. Here’s why it worked, and where you can see Kiwis live streaming for the next week.Yesterday at 9am, Liz Stokes put a giant pineapple mask over her head and played the Animal Crossing theme on a trumpet ...
New Conservative Leader Leighton Baker has lived in and around the Waimakariri district since 1992 and is revelling in the opportunity to represent the electorate in Parliament after the 2020 general election. “Waimakariri is a diverse district with a strong ...
“Hard-hit councils, who oversee half this country’s public infrastructure, require financial support from central government that is tied to shared priorities through Urban Growth Partnerships,” says Paul Blair CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand. ...
Airways may close seven of its regional air traffic control towers because of a collapse in traveller numbers. The services under review are provided at Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Invercargill Airport as well as the airfield flight information services provided at Kapiti Coast Airport and Milford Sound ...
Proposals to expand the role of local councils into climate change mitigation under the Resource Management Act would add confusion, complexity and duplication, according to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) and ...
As New Zealand enters its third week of Covid-19 lockdown, a just released set of modelling provides a flare of light at the end of the tunnel, reports Toby Manhire.On a day that the active case number decreased, it finds that “While New Zealand case numbers remain low, tracing, testing, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael L. Brown, Director of the Centre for Philosophy of the Sciences and Lecturer at the School of Philosophy, Australian National University As they released the modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic behind Australia’s social isolation policies this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison ...
The latest in our new series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall.This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff MembersThese posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in the early ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Tognolini, Director, Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment, University of Sydney Following a meeting with states and territories, federal education minister, Dan Tehan said year 12 students were a priority, and were being sent a clear signal: “There will be no ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) is calling for an equal extension to all licencing regimes, following the Government’s announcement today offering motorists a six-month licencing grace period. COLFO says that like motorists, licenced ...
Dear Minister Jones, Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Adrian. I am an employee in the forestry industry, a Future Forester, a graduate of Canterbury University and, albeit very small, a forest owner. ...
As countries in Europe plan a tightrope walk back out of lockdown, the World Health Organisation warns it is too early to relax strict suppression measures in the fight against Covid-19, writes Peter Bale Two weeks into New Zealand's aggressive and early lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19, voices ...
Consumers dramatically changed their spending patterns last month because of Covid-19 and the government ordered lockdown. Official numbers show overall retail spending using electronic cards fell a record seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent on the previous month. Stats NZ senior manager Sue Chapman said spending on eating out and accommodation plunged ...
A new $200,000 business subsidy package is being launched in Christchurch to help those affected by Covid-19. The ChristchurchNZ business support subsidy will offer eligible businesses up to $1000 each to seek professional advice. The scheme - funded by ChristchurchNZ, the city's economic development agency, will support small to medium ...
Large retailers have been quick to apply for government wage subsidies during the Covid-19 lockdown. The Warehouse has received $67.7 million to cover the labour costs of the shutdown of its Red Shed, Torpedo, Noel Leeming, and Warehouse Stationery chains, which between them employ about 11,000 staff. "The receipt of ...
A new report Quantifying the wellbeing costs of Covid-19 by the New Zealand Initiative shows how an economic hit of about 6.1% of GDP would be justified if it meant saving 33,600 lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. The figures, compiled by research fellow ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dougal Sutherland, Clinical Psychologist, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to live under strict lockdown conditions, but the psychology of human behaviour predicts they will find it harder to stick to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Smillie, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne The coronavirus pandemic has caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world and pushed major economies into a tailspin. Beyond those impacts, almost all of us will face psychological challenges – trying to maintain ...
We asked Tony Baird, of Newsroom foundation supporter Vodafone NZ, to provide some insights into how New Zealanders have been using online and their smartphones during the first fortnight of lockdown. At Vodafone NZ, we entered new territory in this lockdown as New Zealanders have been turning to their smartphones and devices ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has launched a new campaign to temporarily reduce the remuneration of politicians, senior bureaucrats, and council bosses to match those voluntary and involuntary efforts in the private sector where pay is being ...
Analysis by Keith RankinWhat is Mercantilism?Keith Rankin. Mercantilism is the form of public policy that was dominant in Europe – especially Northern Europe – in the ‘early modern’ period; meaning in the period loosely between 1500 and 1800 (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries). In a political sense it ...
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says legislative changes to driver licensing and vehicle certification requirements coming into effect tomorrow (10 April) will help drivers and vehicle owners safely navigate through the COVID-19 lockdown period and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Woolaston, Lawyer, Queensland University of Technology Never before have we seen how the human use of wildlife can yield such catastrophe, as we have with COVID-19. The current available evidence indicates COVID-19 was first transmitted in a wildlife market in Wuhan. ...
In a week alone there was an increase of about 10,000 people now relying on welfare to get by. As the number of benefit recipients rapidly increases as a result of COVID-19, Auckland Action Against Poverty is calling on the Government to urgently lift benefits ...
CEAC stands alongside Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, WWF-New Zealand, Generation Zero, EDS and Ecologic letter to Jacinda Ardern calling on the Government to transform the New Zealand economy to tackle climate change, save native species, improve freshwater ...
Better Public Media welcomes the announcement that the Ministry of Education will fund Television New Zealand and Māori Television to provide up to six hours daily of educational content for our children and students, beginning next week. It is ...
It’s OK if you don’t come out of lockdown with abs.We are living through the worst global pandemic since the Spanish Flu in 1918 and the beginning of an economic calamity that has already claimed the jobs of millions of workers the world over. Hospitals are full, schools are closed and many countries are in ...
Open mike 10/06/2011 
OMV has indefinitely suspended its oil exploration campaign off Taranaki: The future of offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand in doubt after OMV announced today it is postponing drilling its Maui-8 exploration well indefinitely due to the Covid-19 crisis. The COSL Prospector rig, which is contracted to ...2 hours ago
. . April 9: Day 15 of living in lock-down… The news is great! Sunday: 89 new cases Monday: 67 Tuesday: 54 Wednesday: 50 Today: 29 If these numbers are correct and there’s no unknown “hot spot(s)” around the country, we have demonstrated with great clarity what can be ...2 hours ago
Sure, we’re all entitled to put our hand out for government support in times of need. No question about that. But THESE GUYS*? What a joke. (Except it’s real. Check for yourself: COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Employer Search) – P * We’ve discussed them before, here, a little bit. ...3 hours ago
A Fluoride Action Network (FAN) propaganda video where Paul Connett urges listeners to consider only four studies when considering the possible harmful effects of fluoridation. Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), now claims “You only have to read four studies…” to come to the ...5 hours ago
7 hours ago
In 1968 Canadian sociologist Laurence Peter coined the phrase “Peter Principle” as a contribution to the sociology of organisations. It explains that in complex organizations people rise to the level of their own incompetence. That is, they get promoted so long as they meet or exceed the specified criteria for ...22 hours ago
The practice and business of music has been one of the sectors most gravely impacted by the virus sweeping the world. The emphatic nature of our government's response, necessary as it was, has slammed the industry and the people who work in it.There are New Zealand artists – Nadia Reid, ...23 hours ago
The anti-fluoride movement wants to restrict your reading to “just four studies.” They actively ignore or attempt to discredit other relevant studies. Image credit: Censorship in media. For earlier articles in this series see: ... 1 day ago
52 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects Sensitivity of ice flow to uncertainty in flow law parameters in an idealized one-dimensional geometry (open access) Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Will heat stress take its toll on milk production in China? Uncoupled El Niño ...1 day ago
We are seeing what has been termed “a greater challenge than the crash of 2008” by a growing number of economists and more rational, sane commentators, because whilst that was a shocking exposure of the levels to which hubris had sunk, right down to the blank cheque given those who ...2 days ago
It’s a beautiful autumn afternoon, we need to get out of the house, and so our bubble sets off on a bike ride around our local neighbourhood, Cambridge Park. The bikes come out of the garage, and, being really certain we have a front door key, close the garage door ...2 days ago
The Queen’s coronavirus broadcast, with its overtones of Winston Churchill and Vera Lynn, prompted me to reflect on the tribulations my parents’ generation suffered during the Second World War – and I imagine that those parallels, given her own wartime experience, were very much in the Queen’s mind as she ...2 days ago
We all know that Simon Bridges has, at the best of times, an intermittent relationship with the truth. However you would think that during a pandemic and economic crisis the current opposition leader would pull his head in and start to do the right thing.Obviously leading by example should be ...3 days ago
Connett promotes Riddell et al (2019) as one of the only four studies one needs to read about fluoridation. But he misunderstands and misrepresents the findings of this study. Image credit: Fluoride Action ... 3 days ago
Last month I wrote my blog on covid-19 pointing out the in our pre Alert Level 4 days that a subject no one had heard here months ago was now dominating the media. An amazing feature of this crisis is how quickly it has swept every other issue aside worldwide. ...4 days ago
As the world economy slides rapidly towards deep recession there are growing calls for a Universal Benefit coming from some leftists and rightists. Now Finance Minister Grant Robertson is saying it is on the table. This article by a French party Workers Struggle provides analysis of various forms of universal ...5 days ago
This is the advice from the very top of the anti-fluoride movement – Paul Connett, director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Don’t worry about reading up on all the scientific information “You only have ... 5 days ago
Comfortably, in the very first round, with an impressive 56% of the votes.I wonder, did members of the Shadow Cabinet start tweeting their resignations during Starmer's victory speech, or is that only a trick the right pull?It is odd how all the talk of how the next leader "needs to ...5 days ago
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the nation today about the decline in daylight New Zealand has been experiencing over the previous few months. She said “As many of you will notice, our attempts to stem the dwindling of the daylight over the last few months have been completely ...6 days ago
We must root out the traitors among us! ...7 days ago
I haven’t done a huge amount in the last few days. I’m reading The Poppy War and I’ve sort of poked at a couple of games – I started SOMA but I’m a wimp and I quit while in the first room after the brain scan. I might try it ...1 week ago
Image credit: Diamond Harbour School Blogs I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or ... 1 week ago
While New Zealand is at Alert Level 4, we're making sure that New Zealanders are kept informed and up to date with all the latest developments of the Government's COVID-19 response. It's been a shortened week because of Easter, so we're bringing you our weekly wrap a day early. ...20 hours ago
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Ron Mark, Minister of Defence Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron Mark today announced that New Zealand will provide a further package of assistance to Vanuatu, to support the response to Tropical Cyclone Harold. “Tropical ...24 hours ago
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...2 weeks ago
The Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson has announced that urgent maintenance of turf and care for plants in non-plantation nurseries will soon be able to go ahead under Level 4 restrictions. “The Government has agreed that urgent upkeep and maintenance of biological assets will be able to go ahead ...22 hours ago
The Ministry of Health called an unscheduled Good Friday press conference to announce the news that a second Kiwi has succumbed to the illness. A second New Zealander has died from Covid-19, a woman in her 90s who had been treated at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch. Dr Caroline McElnay, the Director ...59 mins ago
Sam Brooks takes a look at new American streaming service Quibi, and asks what sets it apart from all the rest.So what is Quibi and what makes it different?Quibi is a new streaming service based out of the US with one twist: you can only watch it on your phone. ...1 hour ago
By Made Anthony Iswara in Jakarta The Covid-19 pandemic, which is spreading like wildfire in Indonesia, has taken not just lives but also the earnings of millions of workers, one month after the government announced Indonesia’s first two confirmed cases of the virus. Jumari, a 61-year-old who works in ...2 hours ago
In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, the New Zealand Parliament’s Health Select Committee is continuing to progress its mandate to regulate vaping and prevent young people from using vaping products. RELX Technology, Asia’s leading independent ...3 hours ago
Analysis - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is preparing the country for a marathon recovery and life under "the new normal" is starting to take shape, writes Peter Wilson. ...5 hours ago
Misinformation, disinformation and just plain lies about Covid-19 are boiling up on the Internet and spilling over into real life. Peter Bale explains how some powerful forces use the chaos and trolling for their own reasons. Christchurch man Raymond Coombs, 38, thought it would be hilarious to pretend he had Covid-19 and cough over fellow shoppers ...5 hours ago
Holiday towns around the country have been on edge, fearing Easter visits from city folk going to their baches. But in one instance, the fears might have been over-stated. Tim Murphy reports. Truth is the first casualty of war, and we keep getting told we are in a war against ...6 hours ago
Kayne Peters leaves his Auckland home to spend the lockdown in his whanau bubble in the King Country and help look after those most in need. Ka mate kainga tahi. Ka ora kainga rua. “One dwelling place is overcome, but the second is secure” This whakatauki or proverb well describes ...8 hours ago
The natural isolation of small Pacific islands set in the huge Pacific Ocean could prove to be the defining factor if these vulnerable nations manage to remain free of Covid-19. There is every reason to be optimistic if these small nations can keep rigid restrictions in place. Of course, the ...9 hours ago
How will we know when we’ve been successful in stopping Covid-19 within New Zealand? Farah Hancock reports. As the country moves into its third week of lockdown and the daily number of cases continues to drop, how can we be certain it's safe to move levels and how will we ...9 hours ago
Are we nearly in the clear? It's too early to tell and we can't take anything for granted, says Professor Nicholas Agar of Victoria University of Wellington. Our nation’s fight against Covid-19 seems to be going well. As a Kiwi, I’m enjoying the global applause for our “go hard and ...9 hours ago
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Simon Power is at it again, engaging in US type defense counsel bashing. He insists on Law Society reform to deal with unidentified lawyers who are supposedly rorting the system but Power and the Government have the very simple and effective tool of tearing up the contract the Legal Services Agency has with any errant lawyer. No reform is necessary if what he says is true.
Been bashing and lawyer bashing for political advantage, how predictable.
One further comment, no mention of the Roy Morgan poll in the Herald or Stuff as far as I can see. How surprising …
This sounds a little familiar. It won’t surprise many of us that research by California-based Oakland Institute shows that the foriegn land grabs in Africa do not benefit the countries that US unis and other interests are investing in:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/08/us-universities-africa-land-grab
Harvard is one of the US unis named as being major participants in these African landgrabs, and Harvard also already has endowment investments in NZ land:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/markets/news/article.cfm?c_id=62&objectid=10728265
Basic English seems to be a problem for our leaders.
First Key and now Barnett – (captains of industry some would say).
A small point but why do these people murder the language.
…”There’s lots of things happening … There’s plenty of differing views…”
Perhaps Delorus Umbridge could apply some of her standards and advise her mates.
They’re not alone though – I’ve noticed it a lot with MBAs during public interviews.
They use sloppy meaningless language as it suits their purposes of obfuscation and distraction perfectly.
i.e. it is usually deliberate.
Apart from that NAT MP who had no idea about internet copy protection, that was simple thickness.
I just about spat my porridge across the breakfast table this morning on reading Minister of Fisheries Phil Heatley’s plans for paua takes post-election.
He said that in order to counter poaching the rules would be changed to make that poaching legal. Then voila! No more poaching and the government gets a return.
Seriously. That is what he said.
Now lets apply that reasoning to say, speeding, tax evasion, … um …. (insert any crime).
It is the most shallow and poor drivel just about ever. What a fuckwit.
My giddy aunt! You’d think it was satire…
Pagani claims Bennett has been at it again.
Deliberately leaking private details of a beneficiary for political gain (SBW’s punchbag) – just before announcing a crackdown on the weak.
Disgusting if true. Well worth following up.
John’s site here.
He’s pretty on the money about the dirty tricks being used in this beat up. But I suspect nobody in the parliamentary press gallery is going to rat out Bennett as an abuser of power because they’d rather have a stream of pre-written ‘news’ stories from her PR team that can be cut and pasted under their own bye-lines in a minute or two. A bloody sight easier doing that than actually doing journalism.
ak – I like logie97’s latest inventive name Petulant Bean, I thought of Paua Bennie but can’t think of a good caption for it, so it’s a bit lacking. It seems that name-calling is all one can do with her, she has no shame, and is a favoured MP doing exactly what the NACTs want and making squids in pay doing something that she apparently enjoys.
The RW love a female who puts on jackboots and whips the lower orders. Margaret Thatcher, for instance and Ruth Richardson was being questioned as over the top in a 1991 newspaper sheet I have. Jim Bolger had to defend giving her the position of Finance Minister. Incidentally it is interesting to see the similar state of political matters seen for 1991 repeated in 2011.
In 1991 SWMinister Jenny Shipley could not rule out office closures after departmental review. Kindergartens face funding crisis, Wellington doctors declare crisis, Treasury approves its own pay rise, Government wins oil field fight (Ngaere land issue in Taranaki), a television poll showed 55% against benefit cuts, the Prime Minister Jim Bolger ‘failed to spell out government growth strategies but instead continued to focus on cutting the deficit’. Welfare system under attack -meeting of 300 people discussing the Employment Contracts Bill.
The National Party announced for 1990 general election that to vote for them would give –
1 Real Growth 2 More Jobs 3 Better Pay, NZ Banks face tighter lending limits after DFC collapse Dr Don Brash, Reserve Bank governor states. Australian Wool Corporation hopes to raise hundreds of millions with bonds which would be government guaranteed, Fruit giant Chiquita Brands goes to NZ government over NZ Kiwifruit Marketing Board refusal to allow it to sell 20 million trays on world markets and wants second-exporter status.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. If you don’t know the meaning of that you coulf have learned French at night school if Anne Tolley wasn’t hostile to anyone learning more than she knows.
One big difference is that in 1991 kiwis took the the streets and protested.
Point of order, that was mine! I posted it in the middle of the night one insomniac weekend… it’s from an anagram generator I had discovered… I am young enough and neuro-typical enough to be a bit off-piste that he started using it, even in a post in which he attacked me, without acknowledging that it my name for Bennett in the first place!
Good on ya Vicky32 – as you grow up you will learn that “immitation is the highest form of flattery”. In future every time Petulant Bean is used (and as you quite rightly observed was apt), I will ensure that I acknowledge you as the originator if that relaxes you. As for your other comment that I attacked you – I should be interested in the link where I “attacked you”. But then you quote ak when it would appear to be “prism” who is making reference so your accuracy and recall are somewhat questionable.
In the meantime, feel free to use Joky Hen and Professor Delorus Umbridge as often as you like – perhaps then we can make them part of the vernacular and everyone will know who we are referring to.
Please, don’t be so childish! Acknowledgement the first time you took credit for it, would have been nice, but then if 97 is your birthdate, then I suppose you can’t help the ‘childish’ bit… 🙂
I am not hunting for a link.. you can find it as well as I can. It was when you accused me of supporting Bennett in her use of of the “toolkt’ when all I wanted to say is that I knew Ian and Mary Grant, and they weren’t the fascistic fundies everyone was claiming them to be.
The first would appear to be John Key, the second, who? Tolley? If you’re the originator of those, congrats, but as to the 2nd, I rather think J K Rowling might have something to say…
Got to love you Vicky32. But for your information I have never entered into any correspondence on this site regarding the Petulant Bean and the Grant’s toolkit.
Clearly, my dear, your insomnia has affected your memory badly.
I have never ever claimed naming rights for any or all of these alternative names for these politicians – just think they are apt and enjoy using them. Congratulations once again on finding the Petulant Bean.
As for Delores Umbridge – she attempted at Hogwarts what Tolley is attempting here. (Read the Order of the Phoenix).
Er – that would be re-read for the nth time, which is why I said if you were laying claim to the name, Rowling might have something to say. Please, just leave it alone, you’ve made your point, and now you’re being – dare I say it, petulant? 😀
BTW, I am not your ‘dear’, don’t be a sarcastic patronising berk. Thanks in advance.
Glad you’re a Potter Fan. No room for berks in that community.
Trust we can now direct our efforts collectively to keep the Petulant Bean, Joky Hen and Professor Umbridge honest.
There are lots of things bothering me:
What a cheek – letting Rob Pope retire before doing something about the Scott Watson debacle
How come Treasury can produce a fantasy document like the Budget and NOT be called to task? Like you’d want that one on your cv
What happened to the Pansy Wong investigation? How come her husband could spend $75,000 in domestic travel and not have that investigated.
…letting Rob Pope retire before doing something about the Scott Watson debacle
Pope was also involved in the persecution and jailing of Peter Ellis.
and the poor Lisa Blakie’s convicted murderer Taylor.
Rob Pope resigned when he realised the public has cottoned onto his deadly and evil ways and the politicians didn’t want a bar of him. He is one of NZ’s most crooked cops imo.
New Zealand governments supported the Khmer Rouge from 1978 to 1990
http://www.nzjh.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1999/NZJH_33_2_05.pdf.
Page 1
New Zealand Journal of History, 33,2 (1999)
The Devil You Know: NEW ZEALAND’S RECOGNITION POLICY TOWARDSCAMBODIA
FROM 1978-1990 [1]
by ANTHONY SMITH
THIS ARTICLE looks at New Zealand’s policy of recognition towards Cambodia (or Kampuchea [2]) between 1978 and 1990. New Zealand policymakers had to make the difficult decision as to which political entity to recognize, if any at all, after the Vietnamese invaded and installed a puppet government in Kampuchea in 1978. The Vietnamese army’s removal of the genocidal Khmer Rouge, or Democratic Kampuchea (DK), led by Pol Pot, provoked mixed reactions from the international community. There was universal relief at Pol Pot’s removal, but the Association of South East AsianNations (ASEAN), China and the United States expressed the concern that a Soviet-sponsored Vietnam was attempting to achieve sub-regional hegemony.These nations all
supported the anti-Vietnamese resistance forces.Controversially, New Zealand also opted to give diplomatic recognition to the ousted Khmer Rouge regime-in-exile as the legitimate representatives of the Cambodian people.
What emerges about New Zealand foreign-policy decision-making over this issue is that it contained a great deal of ambivalence. ……
Read the rest of this apologetic and biased, but revealing article HERE…
I’m told that TV one’s Sunday program is leading with a damning report on safety standards at Pike River which is going to raise the possibility that some miners survived the initial blast but were left to die by the company.
Could be interesting viewing.
Exellent. This is the exact direction many of us have been hollering about for some time. Others keep saying shut up and let the Royal Commission of Inquiry do it all – to which I say get stuffed. There is absolutely no requirement whatsoever to so shut up. Lives have been lost here and I have contended since dot that it is human and corporate and govt culpability. It was not an accident. It was gross negligence at several levels. Heads must roll.
The powers that be will be scrambling right now to get the show pulled. Just wait and see.
Bigger councils ‘stronger but not cheaper ‘
That bits actually fairly obvious when you think about it. All the work still needs to be done which is why Auckland is having to get in contractors now – the ATA went and fired over a thousand people and left Auckland without the people needed to do the jobs that they were doing.
Yep, politicians, especially the ones on the right of the political spectrum, seem to make decisions that affect all of us on their beliefs rather than on the facts. This really needs to change as it hurting us.
So, does “managed” mean that it’s been kept out of the public eye because the MSM are ignoring it because if they actually reported it people would begin to question the governance?
But getting rid of people and/or making them re-apply for their old jobs can be used to drive down the cost of wages in the long term ie, employing more people to do the jobs that were axed, but offering them a lower salary.
This weekend is Bilderberg weekend.
For those of you who have never heard about this illustrious group: the Bilderberg group named after the hotel were the first meeting was held with our the Dutch/German Nazi prince Bernhard (the father of the current Dutch queen) in attendance consists of the most powerful Money men, Corporate CEO’s combined with Political leaders such as Hillary Clinton and New Zealand’s own Globalist and current Ambassador to the US Michael Moore who was an invite to the meeting in 2000 (Just in case you’re wondering who John Key’s handlers are.)
Here is the one and only (And yes, he does rant a bit) Alex Jones reporting on it.
For those of you who still think that Alex Jones only represents the fringe; the man gets about 24 million listeners a month and is the fastest growing info talk show in the world.
I don’t think Jones represents the fringe, Ev, though his personal politics (libertarian) are obviously of appeal only to a minority. That’s the same in NZ where ACT, the LibertariaNZ and the various offshoots thankfully struggle to get support from more than a handful of Kiwi voters.
However, rabid right wingers such as Jones and Beck have a huge following in the States for their various media outlets because their shows bash easy targets and appeal to ignorance, fear and bigotry. There’s no substance, of course, just innuendo, exaggeration and froth, but it sells well to people who know they are being ripped off, but don’t know who by.
As long as the likes of Jones say it’s the gummint, the illuminati, the New World Order, or whatever the fantasy of the day is, the real truth will alway remain hidden from his audience. And that truth is that it’s capitalism’s fault. But, as capitalism is making Jones rich, he’s not going to rock that particular boat, eh?
Interesting! So for clarity what is right wing in your view? Or more precise what is rabid right wing? Do they hate blacks, women, Arabs, peaceniks and other scary leftists for example? Is a clan member rabidly right wing? Is an Obama hater guaranteed right wing?
I am honestly curious as four years ago I would have agreed with you for more than 100 % but now I look at it totally different.
So for the sake of civilised debate (promise) give me your ideas about what defines rabid right wing.
Anything that supports the exploitation of the many by the few is right wing in my estimation. I look at things from a marxist perspective, so my default position is to support things that benefit the majority.
Jones is a libertarian, which is a subset of the right. Broadly speaking, I see communists, socialists and social democrats as the left. Liberals (including our Green party) I see as being inclined to the left, but also capable of going to the right if it suits their temporary interests. The right I see as mainly made up of the petit bourgious, the monarchists and, of course, the established capitalists.
Oddly, the right really only represent the interests of a small minority and it always amazes me that they manage to keep a reletive political balance despite this fact. Having most of the money must help!
Shit, I wrote this whole thingy already and now I have to start again in order to respond properly to your comment.
Again four years ago I would have concurred totally with your but things have changed for me to a point that none of what I used to take for granted as my reality is there any more so bear with me. OK?
Coming from Europe and believe it or not from a socialist/Communist background it took me a while to come to the conclusion that while the socialist ideal of sharing was a grand one it just did not happen that way. Not in the East block at any rate.
I have come to the conclusion that any “ism” including the current US state of Capitalism is a totalitarian system.
I don’t think there is a “system” that will solve all our problems and that no matter what the balance between individual needs and those of the community at large will sometimes conflict and that it will always be a tight rope act to prevent disintegration of society as we find out which is more important at what time. I’ve once found this nice schematic of this and it was the mature individual or component of the group which makes this possible. i.e. Childish narcissistic, me me me is one side of the equation and the overbearing parental attitude of rules and sharing and group thinking is the other side. The mature individual or the mature individuals in a group will try to balance their own needs and those of others making it acceptable to live in that group as an individual.
So I don’t have a problem with liberals flicking from right to left or whatever their self interest dictates because if they are mature individuals they will take others needs into account. That is one part of my response.
Now how about this pertains to Alex Jones whom I regard to be hugely different from the likes of Glenn Beck and other shock jocks in the right wing spectrum.
For instance of all the radio hosts in the US he is the only one who will interview someone like Cynthia McKinney. She is a high profile black female politician who once served in the senate and who is currently the leader of the Green party and presidential candidate for this party and who is currently living in Tripoli Libya to endure with the local population the incessant bombardments perpetrated by the NATO and US.
Alex Jones is the only radio host who from day one called the wars started after 911 illegal and criminal and who calls out the “good ole boys” for believing the propaganda and dehumanisation of Muslims.
He hosts Black and Hispanic political activists and rappers and allows them plenty of air time.
He called George Bush a war criminal as much as he calls Obama a war criminal (And seeing as he has expanded the drone attacks on Pakistan, started the war in Libya which even you must see is not the humanitarian action they claimed it to be and expanded the military action in Afghanistan when he won the election on a promise to pull out).
You argued that Alex Jones is getting rich of his program but I leave you with this to ponder.
First of all the ads he runs are not the high end corporate big money spinners. In fact he attacks those with a vengeance.
He puts all his films, radio shows and documentaries on your tube in low res for all to see for free.
Rather than claiming copy right and limited viewing he actively encourages people to copy and spread his material around for free and as a member I can give my password to his site to 5 other people without any repercussion.
Alex Jones believes in the Capitalism free trade system but claims that the US is not a free trade system but corporatism/fascism with the big corporations monopolising their money spinners and while I don’t agree with some of his political points of view I do agree with him on that but his generosity with regards to the fruits of his labour tells me he belongs in may ways to that mature part of the population I like to relate to and that makes him in many ways OK with me.
What am I doing wrong. My comments end up in moderation?
[lprent: Nothing that I can see from the filters. Just random from the anti-spam would be my guess (I haven’t released them so I’m not sure which comments you’re referring to). It will eventually correct itself. ]
No worries
I ended up in moderation the other night, no ant-spam issue as I was logged in, so what gives? Have I been declared a RWNJ cause I’m black? “religious’? 😀 (Before QoT nuts off at me, I’ll remind him/her of Ali G)…
[lprent: Nope. The anti spam checking operates on ALL comments except for editors and above. Login just means that the system will not ask you for a antispam word. ]
Ali G? Unfunny, unfunny, unfunny.
Almost as dismally unfunny as Bruno.
Mind you, the TV versions of Bruno and Borat were funny. And Borat (the movie) was funny for a while, until you realize just what a disgusting individual Baron Cohen is. He really is Borat.
There are many smart British comedians—Jack Dee, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, and scores more. But Sasha Baron Cohen, like Madonna, gets there not through talent but an implacable work ethic.
Really, I agree. Baron Cohen is desperately unfunny, and a rather nasty individual… What happens is that things I am about to say remind me of other things, and sometimes I just burble! 😀
Don’t feel bad about quoting or referencing him, Vicky. He is funny, on one level. You weren’t burbling; I just saw the opportunity to have a blast at someone I despise.
I’ll tell you what, the guy’s a Fucking Creep.
The Following story emerged after completion of Baron Cohen’s film Bruno:
“A Palestinian grocer from Bethlehem filed suit against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Monday for the sum total of $115 million in libel damages over his film Bruno…..According to the Daily Mail, the Palestinian, Ayman Abu Aita, who is also a Christian peace activist, said that Baron’s depiction of him as a Lebanese Islamic Terrorist in his recently-released and controversial movie has ruined his life…..He has also filed suit against NBC, Universal Studios and famed American talk show host David Letterman for being part of the film which tricked him into meeting Cohen under the false pretext that Cohen was a German producing a film about the Palestinian cause…..Abu Aita told the Daily Mail that since the film was released to cinemas this summer, he has received several death threats despite the fact that he is a firm opponent of terrorists…..During the scene, Abu Aita was depicted as a leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, according to the film’s caption which referred to him as ‘Terrorist Group Leader, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.’
But more than this, when promoting the film on Letterman, Baron Cohen stuck rigidly to the fiction that Abu Aita was indeed a Lebanese Terrorist tracked down by the CIA and that the filming had taken place at “a secret location”. Subsequently, journalists discovered that Baron Cohen’s “interview” with Abu Aita had, in fact, taken place directly across from an Israeli military compound (in Occupied Palestinian territory).
Baron Cohen was a very active member of Zionist Youth Organisations in the UK during his teenage years.
I saw that interview with the official government jester Letterman, and transcribed it. Would you like to see it?
I hadn’t heard that (about Baron Cohen). But it simply confirms my opinion… What a creep!
Figured out the problem with the auto-moderation. When akismet is unable to get an answer to a query about a comment from the main server immediately, it pops the comment into moderation and waits a while before retrying it.
A present we’re seeing about a 10 fold increase in spam comment attempts in the past few days, and it looks like many many other sites are having the same attack going on. So the main akismet server is obviously failingto handle every comment in a timely fashion, but does so soon afterwards. Explains why I never saw any of these moderated messages.
The battle in the net appears to be starting to subside from our spam comment rate – got up nearly a thousand per day and is now about 700. Normal service is resuming. The war will continue…
I really don’t want to get into a scrap about this, I’ll just say that up front, and there is much of what he says that is appealing to people from all over the spectrum (or rather, to radicals on various fringes of the spectrum). But trying to put him in a non-US context is a mistake.
He opposes many things that various leftists oppose. As you outline. Going back before GWB he opposed Clinton and Bush the elder. He was right into the whole Ruby Ridge and Branch Davidian stories in the nineties, and consequently with the black helicopters, militias/posse comitatus/sovereign citizen movement.
All I’m saying by that, is that just as he will interview Cynthia McKinney, he’s interviewed all sorts of people who were deep in to the whole ZOG NWO scene, (where the US govt is ZOG, Zionist Occupied Government), As a taste of how that stuff was going, Jones maintained that one of the space shuttles that exploded was an inside job. I forget the details, but it was to do with there being an Israeli on board. The space shuttle explosion was a false flag operation somehow aimed at sparking a war to benefit Israel.
there are echos of it in this thread:
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=201697.0
But what I’m getting at with all this at is that to view Jones in his context, you are right to ignore left right divisions as they are more broadly understood. He has to be understood in a USian context.
Right throughout US history the big division hasn’t been Capital vs Labour, or any of the other left/right fights that we see elsewhere. Right from the beginning the fight has been between the federalists and the anti-federalists. Jones is with the latter, and that’s where all his stuff starts to makes sense. Viewing him through any other lense he becomes incoherent.
Thanks, Pascal’s bookie for your contribution.
I agree. I listen to him with a great many reservations and indeed from the point of view that he is very much a US based entity.
I think though that it is interesting to listen to him and his attempts at shining light on the secretive meetings of the ultra powerful and whether you believe all the things he says or not that is up to the individual.
There is one thing I don’t agree with you in this and that is his “anti Zionist” stance as he is very careful to avoid this controversy. In fact among the more extreme his avoidance of the subject has let ot speculations as to whether he could be a “Zionist” agent. LOL.
In fact he only recently spoke about Israel and his opinion on the matter. He is an equal opportunity anti war activist though. His opinion with regards to Libya, Syria, Yemen and Israel is simple; Why are we not bombing the shit out of Israel which has ignored every single UN resolution since ’67 while we have no compunction about doing the same with Libya to name one country? In his opinion we should not be involved in wars with any of the country’s the US is currently bombing. Not Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen or Pakistan but if we are we should be even in our response to all countries killing peacefully demonstrating. That includes Israel, Bahrein and other countries serving the interest of the US currenly getting a free pass for their torture, abuse and indiscriminate killing.
I tend to agree.
His opinion with regards to Libya, Syria, Yemen and Israel is simple; Why are we not bombing the shit out of Israel which has ignored every single UN resolution since ’67 while we have no compunction about doing the same with Libya to name one country? In his opinion we should not be involved in wars with any of the country’s the US is currently bombing.
Well sure. But that rhetorical question is an interesting one if that’s the way he framed it. One answer to why the US federal government isn’t bombing Israel is ZOG.
And he was always careful about his interviews with militia types even in the nineties, he’d always ‘just be giving them a platform to speak’, because the federal government silences it’s critics; he doesn’t endorse, he’s just fightin for these folks civil liberties.
But the theme is almost always that the federal government is the enemy of the people. That’s why the wars are bad. It’s the damnable federal government usurping power and using fear to control the populace and maintain it’s tyrannical rule.
People who hinted that maybe a domestic war against the federal government wouldn’t get the ‘war criminal’ treatment.
What’s his current line on state level government civil violations? He always used to be pretty quiet on that score.
On immigration, (‘illegals’) for example, they were a threat to state governments and the federal government ignored the problem deliberately, probably hoping for internal grassroots reaction that they could use as a pretext to steal everyone’s guns and lock folks up in FEMA camps.
The moderation happened to me too. I thought maybe I used a bad word like, er, liberal.
My take on Jones is that he is a traditional Republican, as opposed to the Reagan generation that lead the GOP now. He leans to the armed rebellion end of right wing politics, who believe the Government is a conspiracy against the People. Jones is not a dry righty, totally focussed on the bottom line, so I’m pleased to hear that he gives a bit back, but with the numbers you suggest (24 million listeners a month) he can afford to. I’d imagine the Tshirt sales alone would be huge, eh.
The thing with American politics is that there are a hell of a lot of very specific beliefs that enjoy levels of support at a state, regional or national level that never get beyond single digit support, federally. These groupings coalesce in either the democrat or republican parties.
Jones represents a particular strain of thought that is shared by maybe only 1% of Americans, but shares enough similarities with other fringe beliefs to generate that 24 million listenership and also a voice within the republican party.
I agree that the US is not best practice when it comes to free trade, by the way. Pork barrel politics, special interest lobbying and the pandering to farming interests has always meant that the US talks the talk, but has never walked the walk when it comes to genuine free trade.
Genuine free trade has never been promulgated by any of the major western powers.
In fact, its highly likely that true “free trade” only exists as an academic theory which was then used by commercial powers to humiliate the sovereignty of foreign countries and their markets.
Love all the comments. Will be back tomorrow. Knackered now.
travelrev –
That sounds like transactional analysis with a scheme of dividing behaviour into three – it arises from the parent, the adult or the child state. I think it is an excellent shorthand for getting a fast understanding of one’s and others’ mindsets.
Lance a festering racist boil on the red neck of kkkiwiblog and watch all the pus filled motherfuckers reveal their true colours.
priceless
Yep. Read a few of the comments on Darren Hughes. Sick people over there. Wonder if David Farrar enjoys the spleens?
Yes it seriously amazes me that Farrar is taken seriously by others. He chooses the subject of the day most likely to fire up his cretins (like something taniwha, something Clark, something sexist) and lets them go. It is like the most disgusting and ignorant of talkback radio writ large.
I have a bash over there sometimes but it always immediately degenerates into a stinking shithole screamfest.
Shouldn’t be allowed…
I’m thankful you have to register for comments and that I’m so damn lazy about such things.
Allow it to the fullest i say.
What better way to show them the error of their ways than to hold a mirror up in public for all to see 🙂
They still won’t see the error of their ways – but everyone else will.
It is worse that The Penguin gets comfort from Jim Mora as a panelist on Afternoons on national radio. Mora bills his guest as a leading blogger and mentions the name of the notorious blog as well. Just perhaps, Mora never reads beyond the Penguin’s posts – Farrar, however, is responsible for what he allows to be appended to his blog.
…the red neck of kkkiwiblog
Why do you call those fools “rednecks”? That implies they work hard in the sun like honest farmers and labourers. I wonder how much manual work the likes of Farrar, Slater, Hooton, Leighton Smith, and Paul Holmes actually do.
I guess you call them “peasants” too?
Rule by the Rentiers
Sounds a lot like what’s happening in NZ as well. The rich are protected (SCF, AMI, farmers subsidies via the ETS) from their bad decisions and everyone else pays for them. Especially the small businesses.
Fudging Welfare Figures
On the back of the National Government ordering that the entire Christchurch unemployed population not be included in recent welfare statistics, comes another blatant attempt by National to trick the public into believing unemployment rates have fallen. The difference between the cons is that one completely disregards a large sector of unemployed and the other ensures that more people are not eligible or do not reapply for their benefits because of harsh new criteria imposed by WINZ.
What’s the new hoop jumping UB’s have to do to reapply?
If the reapplying thing is merely policy (that’s not in statute) then it should be challengeable. 5,000 is a very large number of people to not have an income all of a sudden. I’d like to see an analysis of that number.
An analysis of that number? In a recent article it was reported that only 1400 out of the some 5000 removed from the unemployment benefit said they had found work, with over 1000 no longer eligible according to the harsh rules leaving 2600 unaccounted for. Or perhaps you mean an analysis to see what has actually happened to the 2600? Like how many have committed suicide and left for Australia for instance. I’d be interested in seeing those figures as it would be proper way to glean the effectiveness of the policy change.
According to the WINZ website:
When you re-apply, you’ll also need to complete a Comprehensive Work Assessment.
Work obligations include things like:
attending scheduled job interviews
actively looking for a job
taking a suitable job that’s offered to you
attending work experience, training or workshops that Work and Income think would be helpful.
The first time you don’t meet your work obligations, your main benefit will be reduced by 50%. You’ll continue to receive any supplementary assistance that you’re entitled to.
The second time you don’t comply, your benefit and supplementary assistance will be suspended.
The third time you don’t comply all your benefits will be cancelled.
Failing to complete the 52 week reapplication process
If a client reapplies before their expiry date but does not complete the reapplication process on or before the expiry date, their benefit will stop.
If a client reapplies after their expiry date and does not have an exceptional circumstance for not reapplying on or before the expiry date, their benefit must be manually cancelled from the expiry date.
Note if a client does not complete the reapplication process within 20 working days after the expiry date the benefit will automatically be cancelled.
Client still wants to apply for benefit
Clients who fail to complete the 52 week reapplication process but want to continue to receive a benefit must be advised to reapply for a benefit as a new applicant. The client will be subject to the normal commencement date rules, including initial stand-downs.
Note if the client advises they want to reapply you can use their reapplication form as their application.
If a client does not want to reapply for a benefit, they should be advised to apply as a non-beneficiary for supplementary assistance (such as Accommodation Supplement).
For more information:
One thing I would like to note is that this is the Policy that WINZ is meant to follow. It is likely that Paula Bennett has instructed WINZ employees to utilize any means to remove people from the unemployment benefit. It is the application of the new rules that is ultimately the problem. Because beneficiaries are not being informed about their rights, they are being taken advantage of, which is not acceptable in a democracy.
Here’s a run down of the WINZ sanctions:
Jackal
“Or perhaps you mean an analysis to see what has actually happened to the 2600? Like how many have committed suicide and left for Australia for instance. I’d be interested in seeing those figures as it would be proper way to glean the effectiveness of the policy change.”
I too wondered what had happened to the 2600. Does anyone apart from us care?
The government certainly appears not to care by publishing the fact as a ‘win’.
What has happened to humanity under neoliberal ideology. Oh I remember, from the merry 80s and 90s -we have been economically quantified and there is no such thing as society which – makes it easier to forget people exist and think only of that lovely money. Why on earth do they still call Ms.Bennett’s department Social Development-from these shocking facts it should be called the Society Nihilation department. Such a name would really cheer the Right Wing exploiters of humanity up.
How could John Key say National’s ways were closer to Destiny Church. Destiny Curch is meant to be Christian and Christ spoke against most of what National enforces.”Love thy neighbour as thyself,”said he.John key needs to get a Bible.
Federal Reserve, European Central Bank willing to destroy Greek sovereignty and Greek workers to prop up large Investment Banks
Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert are on to it .
Watch and weep peeps
CV,
I’ll raise you Keiser’s GIABO 154 – interesting take on copyright and how ridiculous the time period is:
🙂
More videos to watch.
Just heard on the news that apparently the outpatient departments in New Zealand hospitals are not geared to cope with drunken idiots. WTF. When was a festival of sport a license to be drunk and disorderly?
The worst of this is that we have a Prime Minister who has countenanced “Party Central” (in other words unbridled piss up time). Now take away the involvement of international rugby, and what would the reaction be to a mob of drunken louts roaming the streets.
Try to imagine foreigners in such places as France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong et cetera, being drunk and disorderly in the streets – doesn’t bear thinking about.
But given the inevitability of this, who is going to have to stump up for the cost of this behaviour and treatment? I bet it won’t be the RFU – they are already staring down the barrel of massive debt.
We could have strategically placed billboards at every international terminal advising rugby fans that there will be a zero tolerance of abuse of alcohol. That may be an approach…
F#ck the World Cup, if it is going to mean streams of urine in our gutters…
Watching the second round of Nkii kaye vs Jacinda Ardern on Citizen A with Bomber on Stratos. This time, Jacinda & Bomber are not letting Nikki get away with so much interuptions…. although she did that just now. Kaye has claimed poverty grew under the 9 years of the Clark government…. is that correct?
This time Kaye has ditched the repetitive “Let me be clear” and is instead repeating “The reality is” or “the point is”.
Yes! Poverty did increase under the last Labour Government. Another indicator was the comparison with Australia (GDP, Cost of living ect), which also worsened under Labour. However the gap between rich and poor has increased at twice that rate under National with a similar doubling of the disparity with Australia compared to New Zealand under a John Key led Government. Labour is just the lesser of two evils in my opinion. Perhaps they’ve changed but we wont know until they’re able to form a Government. Where is Phil Goff anyway?
Was a good debate. Just wish Bomber the egotist would get the damn audio sorted.
When you look at the levels of benefits compared to the average weekly wage, the last Labour Govt did little to bring them back to pre-Ruthanasia ratios.
Of course, under Labour, unemployment and youth unemployment were far far lower and so this affected fewer people. What Labour didn’t get is that on the downslope of the economic cycle, it would end up affecting a hell of a lot of people.
So what they did instead of increasing benefit levels to livable ratios, was to increase the minimum wage and to focus on tax breaks to couples with children (what about everyone else in this country?!).
Problem is of course that income tax breaks and increases in the minimum wage only mean something if you have work.
Best laugh of the day: a comment on the NZ Herald to Farrar’s weekly column: