Open mike 10/08/2016
Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, August 10th, 2016 - 205 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
205 comments on “Open mike 10/08/2016 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
CommentsOpinions
Recent Comments
FeedsPartyGovtMedia
- The 1 Good Thing Left In Journalism
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...3 hours ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Monday, December 23
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...4 hours ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #51
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...12 hours ago - Dance Magic
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...24 hours ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...24 hours ago - Fact brief – Are we heading into an ‘ice age’?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...2 days ago
- As Our Power Lessens: Published
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...2 days ago - By Any Other Name.
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...2 days ago - Bernard’s last Saturday Soliloquy for 2024
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...2 days ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Saturday, December 21
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...2 days ago - 2024 OIA stats
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...3 days ago - Climate Change: A perverse incentive
The government published its first Biennial Transparency Report under the Paris Agreement yesterday, and the media has correctly noted that it is missing any plan to actually meet our target. While it hypes domestic emissions reductions so far - which have been good, but will likely get worse thanks to ...3 days ago
- Economic Bulletin December 2024
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...3 days ago - NZCTU make submission in opposition to Treaty Principles Bill
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...3 days ago
- ZB’s Power Couple
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...3 days ago - Austerity thumps GDP most since 1991
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...3 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 20-December-2024
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...3 days ago - The Hoon around the year to December 20, 2024
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...3 days ago
- The baby-boomers’ last gasp
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #51 2024
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment: Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...4 days ago
- Join us at 5pm for 2024’s last Hoon
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...4 days ago - Christmas Gifts: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...4 days ago
- GDP Figures No Christmas Present for New Zealand
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...4 days ago
- Cheeseburgers and Stunt Monkeys
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...4 days ago - MSD rejecting 220 pleas for food grants each day
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...4 days ago
- The Wing Parties’ Economic Policies.
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...4 days ago - Back on Track
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...4 days ago - Book Review: How Big Things Get Done
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner Want to know how to do something big? Ask someone who has done it before! Professor Bent Flyvbjerg has spent his career studying megaprojects. In 2023, ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On Why We Can’t Survive Two More Years Of This
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...4 days ago - Dragging our way towards the finish line, the end of this year can’t come soon enough for many…
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...5 days ago - Handling Democracy.
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...5 days ago
- Open letter to the Minister of Dwindling Finances
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...5 days ago - Open Government: The joke ends
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...5 days ago
- An unusual sort of press conference
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...5 days ago - This substack has talked about this government’s seeming corruption & pro-corporate issues...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...5 days ago - NZCTU: Minister needs to listen to the evidence on engineered stone ban
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...5 days ago
- Wednesday 18 December
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...5 days ago
- Can the government change its mind on the ferries?
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...5 days ago
- Notes from Afar: Will Luxon Attend Waitangi Day? And Opposition Calls Out Nicola Willis for “C...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...5 days ago - Member’s morning
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...5 days ago
- Going Backwards
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...5 days ago - Blaming Treasury & Labour, Willis looks for even more Austerity
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...5 days ago
- December-24 AT Board Meeting
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...5 days ago
- The Making of a Mental Health Rockstar
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...5 days ago - It could have been worse
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...5 days ago
- The Deep Divisions of Local Government
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...5 days ago - Willis’ austerity strategy just isn’t working
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...6 days ago
- Sabin 33 #7 – Are solar projects hurting farmers and rural communities?
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...6 days ago
- Join us for a pop-up Hoon at 5pm on HYEFU
6 days ago - ‘Ideas Worth Saving’: A Call for Papers
Some years ago, I found myself pondering the power of literature to endure. Or at least the power of some of it to endure, while the rest vanishes in mere decades: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty-and-despair-the-literary-future/. I have similarly had fun with the subject in some of my short stories, such as Another Alexandria ...6 days ago - Corrections is torturing prisoners again
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...6 days ago
- HYEFU and BPS data shows New Zealand is way off track
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...6 days ago
- “Better economic management”
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...6 days ago
- Shameless, clueless
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...6 days ago - Minimum wage ‘increase’ is an effective cut
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...6 days ago
- Crazy ’bout a Sharp-dressed Man
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...6 days ago - How much should you worry about a collapse of the Atlantic conveyor belt?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson In this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...6 days ago
- 8% ACT Party Creates One Ring To Rule Them All
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...6 days ago - When austerity worsens public debt & cuts GDP
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...6 days ago
- Govt to double number of toll roads
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...6 days ago
- Luxon’s pre-emptive strike
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Coalition’s Empty Gestures, And Abortion Refusal As The New Slavery
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...6 days ago
- More public service contempt of parliament
Back in 2023 the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties raised concerns about the inherent conflict of interest involved in public service agencies supporting parliamentary select committees. Our parliament is run on a shoestring, so depends on the public service for advice. But public service agencies work for Ministers, not ...7 days ago
- If There Is A God
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...7 days ago - A Lipstick Government
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...7 days ago - NZCTU open letter to Treasury on undue restrictions on restricted briefings
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...7 days ago
- Why you won’t hear me advocate for electric cars
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate. I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...1 week ago
- Coalition forced to back down on tolling Pahiatua track
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...1 week ago
- Thank You
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...1 week ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...1 week ago
- Making Gravy
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...1 week ago - Nothing here but the shadows
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...1 week ago - The United Right: the FSU’s Continued Efforts to Undermine Academia
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...1 week ago
- Showing the Americans how to do it
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...1 week ago
- 2 Men, 1 Haircut
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...1 week ago
- National’s Greatest Misses 2023-4
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...3 days ago - Release: Minister’s plan for tertiary sector a backwards step
Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...3 days ago
- Release: National buries 1019 planned homes
It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
- Release: Rule-Czar bill a right-wing power grab
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...3 days ago
- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...4 days ago
- Govt’s ‘free speech’ legislation stokes fear, not freedom
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...4 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...5 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...5 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...6 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...6 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...6 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...6 days ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...7 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...7 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
- Greyhound racing industry ban marks new era for animal welfare
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...2 weeks ago
- Rangatahi voices must be centred in Government’s Relationship and Sexuality Education refresh
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt introduces archaic anti-worker legislation
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters – Kinleith Mill Speech
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...2 weeks ago - Swarbrick calls on Auckland Mayor to end delay of revival of St James Theatre
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...2 weeks ago
- He Ara Anamata: Greens launch Emissions Reduction Plan
Today, the Green Party of Aotearoa proudly unveils its new Emissions Reduction Plan–He Ara Anamata–a blueprint reimagining our collective future. ...2 weeks ago
- Internationally-trained doctors jump at chance to boost health workforce
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...1 day ago - PM appoints business leader to APEC Business Advisory Council
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...3 days ago
- New intelligence oversight appointments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...3 days ago
- New housing developments able to progress more quickly
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...3 days ago
- Actions to speed up air travel delivering results
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...3 days ago
- Ending contracted emergency housing in Rotorua
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...3 days ago
- Vocational education and training decisions support return to regions
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...3 days ago
- Reducing the environmental impact of synthetic refrigerants
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...3 days ago
- Ngāruawāhia section of Waikato Expressway back to 4 lanes for Christmas
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...3 days ago
- Appointments to the ENZ board
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...4 days ago
- Government to celebrate Waitangi Day around NZ
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...4 days ago
- More gangs added to Gangs Act list
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...4 days ago
- Judicial appointment announced
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...4 days ago
- GDP data highlights importance of growth
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...4 days ago
- Strengthening Free Speech in Universities
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...4 days ago
- Launch of Emergency Cellular Priority Service
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...4 days ago
- Minister reopens Mangamuka Gorge
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...4 days ago
- Funding confirmed for second Ashburton Bridge
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...4 days ago
- Government boosts support for avian influenza response
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...4 days ago
- Levelling the playing field for media advertising
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...5 days ago
- Inspector-General of Defence appointed
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...5 days ago
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand final levy rates confirmed
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...5 days ago
- More AML relief on the way for Kiwi businesses
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...5 days ago
- Hawke’s Bay Expressway moving at pace
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...5 days ago
- Government seeks partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned-land
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...5 days ago
- Wide ranging legislation to make justice system more efficient
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...5 days ago
- Diverse skills in community trust appointments
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...5 days ago
- Torture redress for survivors of the Lake Alice Unit
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...5 days ago
- A busy year in the House
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...5 days ago
- Consultation opens on working with engineered stone
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...5 days ago
- Greater reporting on Treaty settlement commitments
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...5 days ago
- New appointments to the Charities Registration Board
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...5 days ago
- Building consent processing times improve
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...5 days ago
- Faster access to support through Innovation Fund
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...5 days ago
- New Zealand to assist Vanuatu on earthquake response
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...5 days ago
- Government takes steps to reduce card fees for Kiwis
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...5 days ago
- Review recommends ECE regulation shakeup
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...5 days ago
- Offshore Renewable Energy Bill passes first reading
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...6 days ago
- Local Government (Water Services) Bill passes first reading
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...6 days ago
- Gene Technology Bill passes first reading
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...6 days ago
- How was Maddi Wesche’s final shot put throw not over 20m? A Spinoff investigation
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...50 minutes ago - Yes, reindeer actually can have red noses – and other fascinating facts about this Christmas icon
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...58 minutes ago - Looking for a summer or longer-term job? Here’s how to find one and avoid being exploited
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...58 minutes ago
- Switching off from work can be difficult but taking a proper break is good for your health
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ty Ferguson, Research associate in exercise, nutrition and activity, University of South Australia Peera_Stockfoto/Shutterstock It’s never been easier to stay connected to work. Even when we’re on leave, our phones and laptops keep us tethered. Many of us promise ourselves we ...58 minutes ago
- NZ Media Council upholds complaint against The Spinoff article on Palestine exhibition
The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...1 hour ago
- From smaller homes to screen time, backyard cricket is facing challenges in modern Australia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...1 hour ago
- Hitting the beach? Here are some dangers to watch out for – plus 10 essentials for your first aid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...1 hour ago
- You could be stress eating these holidays – or eating your way to stress. 5 tips for the table
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...1 hour ago
- I was asked to come up with my top 5 Aussie films of 2024. It was a difficult task
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...1 hour ago
- Interactive: What Earth’s 4.54 billion-year history would look like in a single year
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...2 hours ago
- Public service cuts: ‘Rough’ months ahead for those out of work
Laid-off public servants have been slogging it out on a months-long job hunt, and for some that will continue into 2025. ...3 hours ago - Māori ‘under siege’ in 2024, must fight back in 2025 – Ngarewa-Packer
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...4 hours ago - The real story behind the Government’s maths narrative
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...4 hours ago
- Pretty much every common nut in Aotearoa, reviewed and ranked
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...5 hours ago
- What it’s like to be made redundant by the Ministry of Education
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...5 hours ago
- Why can’t I pick up my own dropped phone on a plane?
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...5 hours ago
- Juggernaut: The ghosts of 1984
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...5 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 hours ago
- Govt walks away from infrastructure alliance
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...5 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 23 December
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...5 hours ago
- Vanuatu quake: Warnings as bad weather threat looms for Port Vila
By , New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...11 hours ago
- Signs of the hīkoi: More than just ‘words on cardboard’
The placards seen at the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti conveyed "huge kōrero with immediacy", expert says: "People know the power of the word." ...20 hours ago
- A final Ode to .. King Luxon
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...1 day ago
- A hater and an enthusiast review The Royal Free by Carl Shuker
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...1 day ago
- Survive to 25 (December, that is)
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...1 day ago
- All I want for Christmas is modern day slavery legislation
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...1 day ago
- Israeli-American historian describes attacks on Gaza as ‘war of annihilation’
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...1 day ago
- NZ govt plans to make ‘heavy handed’ change to free speech rules for universities
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...1 day ago
- Caitlin Johnstone: Where does the aggression really begin?
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...1 day ago
- OECD Report Highlights That More Is Needed
This report reflects that gap in our dealings overseas, and it shows that legislators, the public sector and businesses need to walk the talk. ...2 days ago - Government quietly scraps waste minimisation policies
The government has quietly cancelled plans to improve recycling and roll out a kerbside food scraps composting scheme. ...2 days ago
- MEAA welcomes News MAP funding ‘leg up’ for Australian journalism
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...2 days ago
- Transmission Gully partnership breakdown will not hurt future public-private partnerships, Infrastru...
The roads partnership unravelled under a confidential settlement this week, meaning NZTA will now finish off what it had said was incomplete work. ...2 days ago
- Funding cuts to charity particularly felt over Christmas period
The number of people seeking help from Lifeline is expected to increase by 10 to 20 percent over Christmas. ...2 days ago
- Nelson Hospital conditions ‘unbearable’ – staff
One worker says the building is decrepit and falling down around them. ...2 days ago
- Stand by for cricket’s Smash Palace
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...2 days ago
- Early-onset dementia under the microscope
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...2 days ago
- Keeping the pirates at bay: Should the Australian ‘Blocking Order’ case prompt a discussion in N...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...2 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Luxon at Xmas
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...2 days ago
- ‘We were as famous as Tom Cruise’: Craig Parker on 90s Shortland St fandom
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...2 days ago
Looks like Canada has some of the same issues as us.
Out of control house prices.
Capital flight from China.
https://news.vice.com/article/canada-is-seizing-more-suspect-money-from-chinese-travellers-than-ever-before
Anyone feel like some sleuthing? I’ve been trying to figure out how rents are calculated in the CPI and hit a bit of a dead end. Reason for asking is the CPI numbers have never looked right to me and I’d like to know which is wrong – my intuition or the CPI
Background;
The CPI index for rents has gone from a base of 1000 in June 2006 to 1240 in June 2016. That’s an increase in rents of 24% over ten years. In inflation terms that’s annual rent inflation of about 2.2%. (That just isn’t believable to me, it’s too low.)
The Household Economic Survey also reports rents and those figures say rents have increased by 39% in only eight years (from 2007 to 2015) That’s annual rent inflation of about 4.2%. (That’s a little more believable.)
This link here explains rented dwellings in the CPI;
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/CPI_inflation/rented-dwellings-in-the-cpi.aspx
What I can’t work out is the bit about state housing. It seems to be saying they’re using income-related rents to calculate rent inflation on state houses and that surely can’t be right. Any clues?
Source data here;
http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/HouseholdEconomicSurvey/HOTPYeJun15/hesi-yejun15-tables.xls
http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/ConsumersPriceIndex/HOTPJun16qtr/cpi-jun16-all-tables.xls
Will this help?
Housing Restructuring (Income-Related Rents) Amendment Act 2000
See Section 46: Calculating income-related rents, but it’s a swamp of clauses.
Thanks but not really. It’s how state housing is affecting the CPI that I’m trying to work out. I understand income related rents, I just don’t understand its context in the CPI.
It’s kind of a paradox;
People in state houses pay rent as a (calculated) percentage of their income. If their income doesn’t go up then their rent doesn’t go up either.
Wages & benefits are linked to inflation. If rents don’t go up, because incomes haven’t gone up, then CPI inflation will be lower and therefore wages & benefits won’t go up much either.
I’m idly wondering if the inclusion of state housing is dragging down the CPI figures to paint a misleading picture of rent inflation.
with only around 68000 state rentals the feedback impact on CPI (which is weighted I believe) will be negligible….and thats assuming state rentals are included in the CPI.
Could be Pat, I looked for the weightings and they don’t have it there so I don’t know.
68,000 is 10-15% of the rental stock I believe so it would make a difference even with weightings applied. The thing is, state houses should not be included in the CPI at all and I wonder why they are.
around 12% (assuming 100% occupancy) but if the rents are only increasing in that stock by the rate of CPI then the impact is negligible….the movement in private rentals will be the driving stat for the following rental CPI
State house rents aren’t increasing by the CPI Pat, they’re set by income not inflation. Real inflation on income related rents would be close to zero so that 12% could drag down rent CPI by up to 12%.. if they are using income related rents to calculate the CPI there.
It will not drag it down by 12% absolutely though DH. Pat is right by saying that the State Housing impact is negligible.
Ie state housing rent does not increase at all 0% (12% of market)
Other housing increases by 33% (88% of market)
Overall increase in rent CPI = 29.04%
Yeah you’re right and it’s not enough of an anomaly to explain why the CPI is reporting half the inflation the household income survey is.
The HES report for 2009 says this;
“Results from the Household Economic Survey (Income) (HES (Income)) for the year ended June 2009 show no overall change in average weekly expenditure on housing costs from the previous year, Statistics New Zealand said today. This result was made up of an increase across all households in average weekly property and ground rent payments (up 8.1 percent), offset by decreases in average mortgage principal repayments (down 7.1 percent) and average mortgage interest payments (down 2.8 percent).
For those making rent payments, median (half pay more, half pay less) weekly rent payments increased from $220 in 2007/08 to $241 in 2008/09 (up 9.5 percent). ”
CPI for year ended June 2009 says rent inflation was 1.7%. So how does the HES get 8.1% and the CPI only 1.7% ?
SNAFU, probably. It’s still worth asking the question. An OIA request for the formula?
The CPI used to include every house sale in the country – I know because I used to have to count it up and work out the average house price to 7 significant figures ( that was in 1967). There were no adding machines or computers available either. We converted the CPI from Pounds shillings and pence to dollars and cents manually. One electric calculator to the office of 12 was all there was. All done with pencil and paper. Standard deviations worked out to 7 sig figs. And not a word spoken the whole day! Muldoon would ring up and ask what would be the effect on the CPI if he raised the price of bread by 1 penny.
The govt decided (around 2000) to remove house prices from the CPI for the reason that people didn’t buy a house every year. (i.e. they wanted “underlying inflation”) – it also meant that the CPI increase would not be so great so incomes based on CPI increases (i.e. benefits and pensions) would not be affected so much……
well of course shooting the opponent is always an option.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-clinton-shoot_us_57aa2f6de4b0ba7ed23dd652?vvtsl5nxgzmyujtt9
Ahhh, the hysterical, irrational left.
If it was truly believed that Trump was inciting violence against Clinton, his own Secret Service detail would arrest him and take him down.
yes the hysterically irrational left indeed
https://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/763098548271546368
https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/763102524584792064
https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/763110016152928258
https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status/763096598238883840
frankly i think it is time that you go into your time out corner and start thinking about what you are actually standing for.
OK I’ll wait for the Secret Service to arrest Trump for threatening a confirmed Presidential Candidate. When do you think it will happen, today or tomorrow?
Yes Mummy, whatever you say.
Haven’t we already established that the elites aren’t treated the same way as the peasants, eg Hillary got away with her email system without charge?
If it’s good enough for HIllary to avoid a charge, then surely it’s good enough for Trump.
Good point Lanthanide.
Lanth, Hillary was actually guilty of committing multiple National Security felonies over a long period of time. You equating that to what Trump may or may not have meant in an offhand quip is ludicrous.
And Adam, you’re smarter than that.
sooooo – as a billionaire committing a more minor offence, wouldn’t trump be less likely to be arrested than Clinton?
“Hillary was actually guilty of committing multiple National Security felonies over a long period of time”
when does she get out of jail – oh that’s right…
And then there’s Hillary taking vast $$$$$ from Russians and Saudis when she was Sec State signing off on Russian and Saudi business deals.
Pretty sure there are national security implications all through that.
yep. Incitement to kill a candidate seems trivial compared to all that. Not a chance the secret service will arrest him.
“Pretty sure there are national security implications all through that.”
yeahnah
your ‘pretty sure’ ain’t sure or even near sure – just a guess from an outsider reading the net.
hey marty mars, turn your brain back on: if the Sec State is receiving massive monetary sums from foreign donors she is totally compromised.
is that what the websites you follow are saying – I’m surprised you can regurgitate it with a straight face and pretend it is some original thought or insight from you.
You’re just a modern-day TV watcher – “look it is on the news it must be true” – so gullible – your thinking is in freefall and breaking the laws of physics bubby
So it seems that it was where he said it is what prevents the police from arresting him. Even so – such dog whistling is highly irresponsible – and can you imagine how he and Rodrigo Duterte would get along?
The finest, truest, leftiest CV still trumpeting away for his finest, truest, leftiest Donald Trump I note. Sounds like there’s something wickedly wrong with your wiring CV. And as to your ‘if this’ and ‘if that’ the Secret Service ‘would do such’…….what master of the universe blow arse is that ? Excuse me for paralleling you with BM and Fisiani.
Not interested in having your approval North. Sneer away.
The problem with you supporting trump Colonial Viper and his oblique use of violence as a political tool is that you would be one of his victims. How long do you have to wait – till you turn around, and there is no one to support you? Think leftist, disabled, gypsies, gays, nonconformists, free thinkers, artist, poets, pacifist, pasifika, and asian. It’s a list because that is what facists do, they go down lists. Till there is no one left to oppose them.
How long will it be before trump comes for the Chinese, especially if he is elected and not doing well at home. How long before internment camps, so american chinese can be protected? How much pressure would it take for the same to happen here?
A fascist is a fascist. And I’m not seeing many left or right disagreeing trump is a fascist.
Yes h.r.c is a bloody awful alternative.
Guess what – you have a choice, Vote Green, and organise.
But supporting a fascist, come on, take a step back and do self interest for one bloody minute. Think of your family and friends who are leftist, disabled, gypsies, gays, nonconformists, free thinkers, artist, poets, pacifist, pasifika, and asian – and ask how long before they go under the economic bus which is fascism.
Because you are showing a serious lack of understanding how fascist economics works.
Go away Adam. Under both Bush’s and continuing under Obama, universities throughout the USA have been rapidly closing down liberal arts, humanities and fine arts programmes, as well as destroying the free press and investigative journalism; don’t presume to lecture me about how far the high finance corporate-government meld has progressed in the USA.
As for Trump coming after the Chinese and after other races, go ahead and buy into the Clinton establishment propaganda. Trump is very clear that he employs and supports LEGAL immigrants in the USA.
Pretty clear statement from the Donny. No doubt he’ll run like a coward from it when he is cornered.
How come Trump hasn’t been arrested by Clinton’s secret service detail then?
So he didn’t say it – shit this is fucken big – hope the MiB are onto it.
edit:
The Secret Service is also aware of what Trump had for lunch. Will be waiting for the arrest.
Compulsive liar isn’t sure because he hasn’t heard this question….backpedals….
This is what the Trumpkins heard –
edit: they’re fucking lapping it up
https://storify.com/5thCircAppeals/on-trump-just-joking
“How come Trump hasn’t been arrested by Clinton’s secret service detail then?”
For obvious reasons the threshhold for legal action against someone inciting violence is relatively high. I’m pretty sure Trump and his team know how to pitch dog whistles just below that.
Interesting that you would defend Trump on this, although I guess the elite are legit targets.
I’m not so much defending Trump as much as I am not falling for his year long tactic of trolling the liberal media with an ongoing stream of outrageous bullshit, everything from Megyn Kelly’s periods to this.
I am however totally mystified as to why Trump’s campaign has not changed gears into a serious fullbore general election campaign. As far as I can tell, he is still acting and speaking as if he is still running for the Republican Primaries in Texas and South Dakota.
“I am however totally mystified as to why Trump’s campaign has not changed gears into a serious fullbore general election campaign. As far as I can tell, he is still acting and speaking as if he is still running for the Republican Primaries in Texas and South Dakota.”
He has. This is what his ‘fullbore general election campaign’ looks like.
Just now realising that you’re backing a dud?
Hi Lanth, I’m not afraid to back candidates that others see as political losers. And, I still see a clear Trump win come November despite the latest polls having Trump 10 pts behind Hillary 🙂
So you’re unskewing the polls?
The outrageous bullshit comes from trump – he keeps saying stuff – he wont stop either cos he is terrific at listening to his own viice.
“I’m not so much defending Trump as much as I am not falling for his year long tactic of trolling the liberal media with an ongoing stream of outrageous bullshit, everything from Megyn Kelly’s periods to this.”
Yeah, nah, I don’t think he is so stupid as to think that some of his constituents won’t hear the ralling cry to fight back. Or maybe he is and truly doesn’t see the potential for people to act on the call. That would make for a great Prez. You can call it trolling if you want, but it’s clear he has no regard for civil order and will undermine it to achieve his aims.
Obama has just approved the sale of $1.5B in armaments to misogynist Islamic extremist terror exporting dictatorial Saudi Arabia.
Thats the real way you keep law and order in the world.
God that’s just sick. I just managed to get through the re-showing of Fahrenheit 9-11 on tv last night.
Even if only one thing about it is true in the film, backing the Saudis in anything let alone armaments is just sick no matter who is doing it as US President.
Come on now, they gave the Clintons $US100m. They only gotb what they paid for!
Saudis have been either the biggest or second biggest donors to the Clinton Foundation over the years.
Neither main US party comes out clean in their dealings with the Saudis, over many decades.
nice deflection from Trump’s latest offence. Nobody noticed. Fuck you’re awesome.
0oh but you know that Trump will save the world and of course not do anything like it.
and here, have a pony
I support Trump ahead of Clinton because Trump won’t be seeking military confrontation with Russia and China in the Pacific, and because Trump will be shit canning the TPP asap.
You support Clinton because – who the fuck knows. Because she raised way more money from the financial sector and from Saudi ruling interests I guess.
“You support Clinton because – who the fuck knows. ”
Because the next POTUS is likely to appoint 2-3 supreme court justices, and if Trump gets in, he will appoint conservative ones that set back social progress in the US for decades to come.
“Because the next POTUS is likely to appoint 2-3 supreme court justices, and if Trump gets in, he will appoint conservative ones that set back social progress in the US for decades to come.”
So you are prepared to sacrifice the future of the world for…..identity politics?
Must be an amazingly large dead rat.
Because she doesn’t see nuclear proliferation as a substitute for US military expenditure.
Because she knows the difference between bombing a city and nuking it.
Because she doesn’t think “I’ve been very successful” is a “sacrifice” comparable to having a child die in military service.
Because she can see the problem with government databases of everyone who is of a particular religion.
Everyone just take a look at who has donated millions to the Clinton Foundation in the last 10 years, and who is donating millions to her campaign every day now.
Just as a quick summary, which of those donors have demanded that South Korea and Japan build their own nuclear weapons?
Even someone who wishes to preserve the status quo (not that Clinton necessarily does) is better than someone whose impulsive idiocy would result in more fingers on nuclear triggers in potential global flashpoints.
Get real. Both Japan and South Korea already have nuclear break out times measured in single digit months.
Well, assuming their fuel refining equipment can be easily recalibrated to producing sufficient quantities of weapons-grade materials in that timeframe (and that you’re not just parroting important-sounding jargon that you’ve read on RT), it’s still a fuckload more stable than having a launch time measured in moments.
That’s assuming that NK won’t pre-emptively launch within that timeframe, of course. Because even the mention of nuclear proliferation in that region gives a narrow timeframe before the penalty for diplomatic failure dramatically increases. Trump is the sort of dickhead who goes on a jaunt through downtown Sarajevo in an open-top car. 10 million dead later…
NATO and the US wanted Yugoslavia dismembered and ‘balkanized’ in their determination to move western military bases eastwards. They got their wish.
You can say thank you to Bill Clinton.
Here is a link to RT’s youtube page. RT is youtube’s most popular news channel by far.
https://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday
RT is as trustworthy as Fox
All very interesting CV, but completely irrelevant to South Korea or Japan’s potential nuclear capabilities, the destabilising effects of development of those potential capabilities, and whether you are simply parroting important-sounding words with no real understanding of what they mean.
When you calculated the “nuclear break out times” for Japan and South Korea, were you factoring current stockpiles of various grades of enriched uranium as well as current enrichment capacity?
Just in time for the new air offensive in Yemen.
France has also just signed a deal for €1 billion with Kuwait for 30 Airbus Caracal Helicopters.
Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia with the most advanced, most expensive military technology on the planet.
Yet, notice how the Sauds have failed to lock Yemen down…those Yemeni tribesmen are like the Fremen from Arrakis.
@CV
Yes – some of the Gulf States are withdrawing forces from the Coalition. It doesn’t get a lot of attention in the West but it is a nasty little war.
I should also add the UK is up to it’s neck supplying weapons to the Saudis – £3.3 billion last year and £500 million in Q1 so far this year.
http://oneworld.org/2016/07/27/uk-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-top-33bn-in-year-of-yemen-bombing/
Blair was (is) a big champion of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
This is doubly interesting as Saudi Arabia is the very well funded base of wahhabi extremism.
Tony Schwartz, the guy who wrote [Trump’s book] The Art of the Deal, says Trump never jokes.
“I fear that an unbalanced person hears that in this inflamed environment and, God forbid, thinks that was a threat. I certainly take it as a threat, I really do, and Trump needs to apologise.”
Trump’s perfectly aware that he’s shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theatre.
Exactly rhinocrates@11.05am, because Trump is nothing more than a showman. Heaven save us from such nitwits.
And I thought choosing a B grade movie actor was bizarre in times past.
Speaking of murder
http://christiantimesnewspaper.com/breaking-murdered-dnc-staffer-was-wikileaks-source-assange-admits-in-interview/
i would like to know when Assange will leak Trumps Tax Returns. 🙂
So no comment on the previous hero of the left virtually accusing the DNC of murdering a staffer who leaked the DNC emails? Also, Wikileaks offerring a reward for information leading to his killer?
Selective – much?
Geeezus. Recently, a prominent anti-Clinton former UN official was found dead with his throat crushed in a “gym training accident.”
Now Clinton (or her team on her behalf) are murdering people.
No offence, but you’re fucked in the head right?
One death is a random. Two deaths is a coincidence.
all the journalists and opposition politicians dropping dead in Russia must be bloody bad luck…
Russia has an extremely vibrant pro-Kremlin and anti-Kremlin news media and mass media.
However these days, even the anti-Putin crowd has to admit that the west has it in for Russia.
What McFlock said.
I’m sure RT is telling you about how rosy it is to be in opposition in Russia at the moment.
Putin and May discuss normalising future relations.
https://www.rt.com/news/355335-putin-may-meeting-relations/
You might as well cite Fox News. RT is pure propaganda
Boris Johnson’s sister reveals his history as a Kibbutz volunteer
https://www.rt.com/uk/355223-boris-johnson-kibbutz-israel/
UK Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson says the party membership has been taken over by pro-Corbyn revolutionary Trotskyites who do not wish Labour well.
https://www.rt.com/uk/355279-watson-labour-trotsky-corbyn/
@ CV re Watson
I read his comments in The Guardian yesterday.
Talk about playing the “Reds under the Bed” card! Coupled with his insufferable arrogance saying the Millibands leadership election reforms (one of the few decent things Milliband did for Labour) should be done away with and their should be a return to the Electoral College system of the Blairite New Labour Party.
Apparently he no longer talks to Corbyn except by exchange of texts! A right little Iago (who will knife Owen Smith as Leader within 2 years I would predict).
Now that you mention it
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/another-clinton-associate-found-dead-bill-hillarys-body-count-increases/
her supporters are showing their real colours too…Trump may be a loose lips and a loud mouth and a menace …but Hillary and her advisers are f…king scarey
‘Kill Russians and Iranians, threaten Assad,’ says ex-CIA chief backing Clinton
https://www.rt.com/usa/355291-morrell-kill-russians-clinton/
and from Zero Hedge
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-05/lead-attorney-anti-clinton-dnc-fraud-case-mysteriously-found-dead
Why we say TPPA No Way
Court rules for Chevron against Ecuadorians in $9bn rainforest damage case
https://www.rt.com/usa/355161-court-chevron-ecudorians-rainforest/
Also on that link a video with
Gulf of Mexico suffers third oil spill in two weeks
+100 save nz…exactly why we need to oppose the TPPA!
Lucky this poor tourist did not get his wallet stollen in Australia… no one would care in Nauru…
Chinese tourist who lost wallet in Germany ends up in refugee shelter
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/08/chinese-tourist-who-lost-wallet-in-germany-ends-up-in-refugee-shelter
oh my goodness the poor man. When it comes to bureaucracy only France is better then Germany.
Keiser Report: USA reduced to a one party state of the elites with corporates; bankers and billionaires lining up behind Hillary Clinton
Max Keiser and his partner Stacey Herbert do one of the best political economic shows anywhere, and its available on RT’s youtube channel.
Their latest show is a knock out.
– Warnings in 2007/2008 that opposing banker bailouts for the rich would lead to economic collapse, is now causing political collapse.
– Massive funds have been transferred from savers and pension funds to billionaire speculators.
– The Washington elite from billionaires to military industrial complex and neocon Republicans are all lining up to support Clinton.
– Corporate media a tool of the Washington elite to mock ‘ignorant’, ‘lazy’, ‘red neck’, ‘racists’.
– 16% of the 43M Americans with student debt are in long term default: ignoring letters, phone calls and debt collectors. This is one basis of political revolution.
– Clinton campaign recently raised US$120M from the financial sector. Trump campaign received $19,000.
– Putin now widely blamed for the political, economic and refugee woes of the west similar to Cold War days.
nothing to do with the republicans turning into a party of fuckwits, forced birthers, anti science and religious nuts.
ey, nothing to do at all…..never saw that one coming ey?
Hi Sabine, thanks for expressing the hatefulness and disdain of the elite well educated intellectual classes.
thanks for stereotyping criticising of Republicans, and so patronisingly too! ;-p
She forgot racists. I read an analysis a while back about during the Civil Rights era, the racists left the Democratic Party and joined the Republicans, which consolidated active racism there and changed the culture of the party. That some parts of the non-elite vote for the Republicans for a range of reasons doesn’t mean that the GOP doesn’t have serious bigotry issues.
I doubt they are any more serious than the bigotry issues of the Democrats and their billionaire hedgefund backers.
They’re different bigotry issues though, and we should look at them in the respective parties, not try and pretend they don’t exist or aren’t important.
That’s exactly right. US politics is incredibly polarised. The constant is that the bottom 50% or more of people socioeconomically are totally disenfranchised by the establishment machine, whether that machine is wearing an elephant sticker or a donkey sticker.
And this is of course where Trump gets leverage.
There is a long time to go until November and I am still picking a clear win by Trump.
And in the meantime the lefties you despise will keep naming bigotry because it’s the right thing to do.
Of course we should pull up bigotry weka.
Does that mean we should not criticise h.r.c? I know some commentators here have fallen for the juvenile rhetoric that a criticism of of h.r.c. – is to support trump.
The politics of fear, is the politics of fear, both trump and h.r.c are engaged in it. If anything both help each other in that game.
We should not play, especially in NZ.
national are going to pull out the fear card at some stage, my guess over the green/labour memorandum, then terrorism of some sort, or some other schmuck lies and finally b.s. — all to put fear into the voting population.
I say vote morally, then fear won’t cloud your vision.
I guess the problem that you have there adam is that CV would actually vote for Trump.
I wouldn’t see myself or Sabine (who responded in this thread) as saying that Clinton is above criticism. That’s would just be weird.
I did not mean you or Sabine by my comment, not my intent.
I agree on C.V though he needs to get his head around what a fascist is. Which trump is.
He also needs to realise any totalitarian be they left or right is somthing to be opposed, not voted for.
Obama has overseen the largest expansion of the security surveillance state and has just approved another US$1.5B of big corporate made military arms to be sold to the world’s leading misogynist, terrorist exporting, 9/11 facilitating dictatorial state, Saudi Arabia.
Clinton would continue the same track just on neocon steroids.
So keep preaching about fascism, you guys have no idea what it is.
Pull your head in CV I know very well what fascism is, I can list off my family members who died fighting it if you like. Or how about the German and Polish part of my family that was wiped out by the fascists. Or family and friends who lived and died through Franco’s fascist state.
It’s you who has no bloody idea, by supporting a fascist – because trump is one.I know a lot of liberals put proto in front because they can’t bear to think about it. But all my American friends left and right agree trump is a fascist. He want to suspend habeas corpus, and look at his last economic speech – that is handing power to the corporations. He may oppose the TPP but he will push through somthing worse.
Fascism has only one way to make an economy work – war external or internal – and he’s two damn steps away from that. Bombing ISIS to the stone age. Attacking Mexicans.
He is not an isolationist, you’re kidding yourself if you think he is.
And again there is an alternative – organise with americans and encourage them to vote Green and keep building a movement. Which by the way will be crushed if trump gets to power.
tautoko that adam, thanks for the context.
Fucking hell Adam, with the US plea bargaining system as it has been misused for over a decade now habeas corpus has been nothing more effective than theatre.
As for war, Killary Clinton is your neocon war master. She destroyed Libya, and cackled about it on TV, and then helped funnel arms to Islamists in Syria to take down Assad. She is in with the regime changing Russia/China sabre rattling neocon crowd up to her eye balls.
Forget it mate, I hope you get your dream, go organise for the US Greens and gift Killary, whom you seem to see as the lesser of two evils, the Oval Office.
Come on CV you know I’m no fan of h.r.c. but must see trump is not an option either.
h.r.c is evil and terrible, trump is evil and terrible for the love of God man. It’s two evils and I won’t support either.
I’m worried you seem to think it is OK to support one of them.
to quote Jeff Davies “well, civilisation it’s had a good run…”
Wait, Viper is actually a Trump supporter? Really? Wow. I thought s/he was a leftie.
I’m definitely not a warmongering bankster paid for neocon Clinton supporter like you appear to be.
Wow. Really?
Not liking Trump =/= supporting Clinton.
I have never made a supporting comment about Clinton anywhere. What do you base my “support” of Clinton on?
Are you so thin-skinned regarding your support of Trump that you sneer “Boo! Clinton Shill!” to anyone who questions it?
Just returning your snide BS with the same mate, don’t take it personally.
Errr I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything snide or otherwise. Nor did I say anything that could be considered “BS” as I was asking a question, not making a statement.
You weren’t asking a question. You were being a smartarse.
Ahhh no, I was asking a question because as I am a new commentator I had assumed you were, like most of us, a left winger. Then I saw you stumping for Trump so wanted to know if I had got my initial impression wrong and perhaps you were in fact in the same league as Pukish Rouge or Srylands.
Jesus man, you are thin-skinned.
Yeah, a snide shit, as I thought.
Unbelievable
Further, if you had a sincere bone in your body you would have directed your original question towards me and I would have answered you matter of factly.
The establishment left is utterly obsolete and irrelevant now. Only a radical departure from status quo economics will provide us with any genuine hope.
So Trump is the answer? You seriously think Trump will deviate from the current status quo? Please…have you seen his ‘economic’ plan which gives billions of tax breaks to the top earners?
You’re no left winger (or right winger). At least both left and right wingers have principles. Stumping for a misoginistic, racist, pig thick con-man because you hate Clinton with such a passion makes you all things trump is.
Begone stupid fellow. You’re wasting everyone’s time.
Insincere and snide. With a foul mouthed mind as well. Read you right up front.
From now on I can only assume you’re as racist nd misoginistic as Trump.
Poor form.
Ahhh, a Thorndon Bubble type.
Sorry, you’ve lost me, racist
Use your Thorndon Bubble Labourite sneers all you want.
[Adding Thorndon Bubble to the spam filter. Abusive language is not welcome here. Lift your game CV. TRP]
I’m sorry, I’m not sure as to what you’re referring to. Thorndon? Labour? Huh?
I’m guessing you also think woman should be punished for having abortions and that the US should build a huge wall to keep the Mexicans out. Is that right, racist?
*Shrug* Keep it up. I figured you out from your very first comment.
Completely lost me I’m afraid. Racist.
Wow! I’m really glad that I’ve stopped drinking and take my fluoxetine these days!
“Then I saw you stumping for Trump so wanted to know if I had got my initial impression wrong and perhaps you were in fact in the same league as Pukish Rouge or Srylands.”
_________
What? I have never made any comment on Trump. For the record, Trump is a maniac.
I ask that you withdraw and apologise.
I meant it as in “not left wing” rather than “pro Trump”
i am not talking about the 60’s, i am talking about the current lot of republicans of the year 2016.
Am i that off?
Is Rubio not a forced birther by saying that he would not allow for an abortion should a women carry a baby with microcephaly and not letting a women take this decision with her husband/partner and her doctor?
Is Pence who introduces himself as a ‘Christian’ not anti-science and a religious nut when refusing to do the simplest thing in order to prevent a health crisis in the State that he runs?
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/under-pences-leadership-response-to-heroin-epidemic-criticized-as-ineffective-226759
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/07/marco-rubio-zika-virus-abortions-florida
is kasich not someone who fits the description of a bit of a sexits?
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/22/politics/john-kasich-women-kitchen/
or cruz? Not a bit of a wanker here with this statement?
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/04/25/cruz-indicates-trans-women-should-only-use-bathroom-at-home/
i don’t think i am out of order when saying that the republican party has only itself to blame for the issues it currently has.
Sabine is completely correct.
It’s only a 1 party state, because the Republicans have, over the last 3 decades, deliberately lied to their supporters and kept them like mushrooms. This has culminated in the flawed candidate that their base rabidly support, while the party leaders themselves are aghast.
They’re reaping their own whirlwind.
Not quite correct. What we see is a revolt by the faithful republican voters against the party elite. Trump’s message resonates with the American worker who has seen jobs destroyed by outsourcing to foreign countries. The Republican Party is becoming the “worker’s party” and the Democrats that of the banksters and monied elite. Quite a swap of position on the political spectrum.
The Left has split into “workers and jobs” to Trump and the “identity crowd” to Clinton.
And that’s what the American elites and MSM can’t tolerate.
Yeah, nah.
Well, yes, it appears so.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/a-republican-workers-party-w433295
Thanks grumpy, that summarises it nicely.
and yet…
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-class-support/?ex_cid=story-twitter
The working class vote being bigoted, reactionary groupthink has a similar ring ‘truthiness’ to it as much of the Brexit analysis
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/07/north-poor-brexit-myths
For goodness sake, give people some credit for being able to think about the wider implications of their vote, despite their lack of income, and choose accordingly.
thanx CV…must watch!
welcome welcome
Are you now or have you ever been a right winger!
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/labour-mps-forbidden-from-associating-with-right-ring-wellington-mayoral-candidate/
Comrade Little says NO to any right wing fraternization.
There is a whole post on that, http://thestandard.org.nz/leggett-in-parkins-pocket/
and it’s called party discipline somthing both you and BM have criticised labour for not having.
Apart from Shearer attending that is 😉
Which puts a bit of a kibosh on you first argument 🙂
No surprise there. Shearer has ‘crossed the floor’ once already this year.
Labours a broad church remember…or is it! 🙂
that is a really stupid comment.
if someone changes their political views over the years, and that can happen, it would behoove that person to leave the party that no longer represents them.
in Shearers case it seems that he is only at the Labour Party in order to pay his bills, this should not be good enough for anyone.
Leave, join National or Act, and get elected again on this platform. IF he can’t do that, I think it is fair of the Leader of the Party to ask to a. tow the line or b. get the heck outta dodge.
Labour is a big tent, and this past Saturday it was nice to see just how big a tent it is during our local little 100 year celebration. A nice cross section of the part of the country we live in. But we don’t need to keep people in that only stay to shit the bed but then refuse to wash the linnen.
Oh please theres any number of politicians, both left and right, that are just hanging on for a paycheck
yes, and they should all be told to go and retire, irrespective of party affiliation.
Well on that I do agree
he could leave the Labour Party and join National or Act. No biggie. Free choice and shit.
The membership might not be particularly impressed with his use of their franchise.
Naah that’s ok you can keep him 🙂
He ain’t one of mine.
This looks promising.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/labours-plan-to-wipe-student-debt-2016081010#axzz4GsOdPvez
Jesus! This, a day after a Reid poll showed that 60% of people think too many are coming in.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/310591/nz-visa-numbers-reach-'staggering'-record-high
Immigrants aren’t the problem so the lefties keep saying on this site.
I’m with Winston, time to chop back immigration numbers by at least 90%.
Really??
No problem at all?
https://news.vice.com/article/canada-is-seizing-more-suspect-money-from-chinese-travellers-than-ever-before
That’s what I’m saying. We need to severely cut back immigration, as well as banning foreign ownership of NZ property. Including existing ownership.
It must be the heat here – but I sort of agree with CV.
According to a Westpac study many of the new migrants are international students who are looking to stay after completing their studies.
” The student boom began in late 2013, shortly after visa rules were relaxed to make it easier for foreign students to work. And study has historically been a popular first step on the path to settlement for Indian migrants, most of whom first arrive in New Zealand as international students.”
You have to wonder how many are genuine students and how many are using the “student” status to come in under the wire.
90% cut sounds about right – for a net of about 6-10,000 (with about 2000 of those places for refugees). Harsh but necessary.
This. Yet Blinglish today continues his line that student return home after studying.
It’s now well known that foreign ‘students’ are using our lax laws as a back door into the country for their families so why won’t the opposition call him on this bullshit?
I have no issues with increasing refugee numbers by 1000 to 2000 for every 10,000 standard immigrant numbers slashed.
Fuck you is what I say. I am a leftie and I am against cutting immigration numbers – although I would drastically change the criteria to be able to immigrate AND I think that refugee numbers should double and double again.
And guess what colonic biter I KNOW a lot of lefties and most nzers disagree with me on all or some of those points.
YOU have no issues – what a laugh – you are a nobody who gleans his massive insight via videos – clap. clap. clap.
You are a bullshit artist and not even very good at that
[Marty, I think the phrase ‘do not feed the troll’ is appropriate here. CV is a sad, bitter person with obvious anger issues towards pretty much the entire human race. However, ‘Fuck you’ isn’t the best response and comes pretty close to pointless abuse, which is not acceptable. The rest of your comment is spot on. TRP]
I would be happy with your tightening up immigration criteria, as long as the end result is a massive slashing of immigration numbers.
???
I don’t want to reduce immigration numbers but would like to adjust the criteria for being an immigrant.
Oh look, TRP’s moderation of personal abuse itself includes personal abuse. So classy.
[Challenging moderation. Take a week off. TRP]
“Immigrants aren’t the problem so the lefties keep saying on this site.”
Enough with the lies CV, you’re way past what is ok here.
Really? In that case, feel free to tell me straight up your view on this weka.
Are too many immigrants part of the problem that Auckland is facing?
IMO the answer is yes – and I think Winston’s proposals to reduce immigration numbers by 90% plus are one way to sort this out.
So what say you?
I agree with you and Winston CV…but not weka
Really? In that case, feel free to tell me straight up your view on this weka.
Are too many immigrants part of the problem that Auckland is facing?
IMO the answer is yes – and I think Winston’s proposals to reduce immigration numbers by 90% plus are one way to sort this out.
So what say you?
I can’t comment on Auckland because I don’t know enough about it, but I’d guess yes that immigration is an issue. I know it certainly is in the South Island (worker visas being the main problem, but also permanent immigration from the UK and the US on good exchange rates and higher wages having bumped up land prices).
No idea what the reduction in numbers should be (90% seems over the top, and it depends on what kind of immigration we are talking about). I’d like to see big changes to the immigration criteria.
So in general, I’d say I’m a leftie who says immigrants aren’t the problem, but our immigration policy most definitely is. The only regular commenters I’ve seen who argue for open borders are marty and Bill. I would say that many commenters here are concerned about the impacts of the current immigration policy. Both Labour and the Greens have talked this year about reducing numbers.
That btw is not a new position from me, and I’ve said similar on ts in the past.
http://www.wvi.org/pressrelease/update-statement-world-vision-international-ceo-wake-staff-arrest
Well, well , well
Surprise surprise, Hamas have their very own sayanim.
/
I was a little surprised to see the Australian government suspend aid so fast after this matter was announced. Reminds me of the effective blacklisting of CORSO internationally for their work in the Philippines during the leftist uprisings of the late 1970s when they were accused of supporting insurrection. Cheap unsubstantiated shots that continue to enable the status quo of suffering.
I am a strong Israel supporter, but I cannot for the life of me see what the point is of shutting out the last remaining dogged aid organizations who are still in there making a positive difference to suffering people.
Moshe Feiglin, former Likud MKN –
Subsequent to the elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. This will also serve to ease the housing crisis in Israel.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15326
I’m going to go with embarrassment causing the Aussies to suspend aid so quickly
https://donaldelley.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/the-jewish-press-world-vision-rejected-our-warnings-about-funding-hamas-terrorism/
“For the past four years, Tel Aviv based civil rights center Shurat HaDin has been warning that funds provided to Gaza by the world’s largest evangelical charity World Vision were being utilized for terrorism, the organization said in a statement Thursday, following the indictment by Israel of Mohammed El Halabi, a Hamas terrorist and senior WV employee who is accused of transferring as much as $50 million in charity funds to support Hamas terrorist activities.”
“In 2012, Shurat HaDin notified the Australian government that its aid money administrated by World Vision was being transferred to front charities of Palestinian terror groups in Gaza. Both the Australian government and WV rejected Shurat HaDin’s warning.”
“In 2015, Shurat HaDin again cautioned the Australian government that WV was operating as an active arm of the PFLP and other terror groups. WV chief executive Tim Costello vehemently denied the charges and claimed that WV had “no interest in supporting terrorism.”
history, repeating itself my be the answer
Australian authorities were no doubt already well briefed before the allegations were made public.
hmmmmmmm,
Quote” World Vision’s cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately US$22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to US$50 million being diverted hard to reconcile. Mohammad El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Vision’s accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000.
” Quote end.
oh well
Well World Visions donations are about to dry up to a trickle I’d suggest
nothing else to add?
hmm, i might just have to donate.
If you want to donate and you specifically want to donate to World Vision then maybe wait and see what happens with the allegations
Or donate to another charity instead
nah, after all i am donating in your name 🙂
Hey its your money and you can spend it any way you like
Well World Visions donations are about to dry up to a trickle I’d suggest
Oh, please – like the people likely to give a shit about this would have been happy to give money for aid to Gaza anyway. If anything will dry up World Vision’s donations from right-wingers, it’s the news that they’ve been helping people in Gaza.
http://blackboxvoting.org/fraction-magic-1/
Everything is rigged!
The woman writing that claims to be in possession of the source code. If so, she should release it.
Since she has failed to do so, I can’t take her claims seriously.
The default assumption SHOULD be that it IS happening with onus on the developers/controllers/auditors of the electronic vote systems to prove that it is impossible
Far as I can tell there is years worth of experts breaking into and manipulating these systems, and little evidence from the companies or federal agencies to prove its not
The Minister of Education in the House today used the expression “best and brightest” when talking about those she wants to get into teaching.
The Minister of Education in the House today in talking about choices teachers made in doing what they do in schools said they (teachers) were professionals. The implication was that they would know best what needed to be done, and when and how..
The “best and brightest” have initiative and intelligence. She actually wants brainless cretins who will do the cretinous things she comes up with without question. Doing that automatically means they are not the “best and brightest.”
If they were professionals she would give them some credit, real credit, and trust, instead of another feigned fit of “teachers I love you, look NZ community, I love teachers and have faith in them.”
The Minister of Education shows the characteristics of a lying weasel.
Since when did teachers not have their say or their voice heard, this does not mean you need to agree with their every utterance
ACT David Seymour position is that teachers are only concerned for themselves and not the children. Weird. My experience is that teachers are very non- militant. And have to be pretty riled to act. So to hold stop work meetings is a danger sign.
I agree.
The thing is Hekia Parata can determine that 3+4= 8, ask the teachers what 3+4 is, they say 7, she says they’re wrong but she says consulted them.
Then people say (like you), “They had their say, she listened to them, but she didn’t agree with their utterance, so she;s carrying on.”
Teachers have their their say but their voices are only heard to a very small point after the “real stuff” is heard. The important voices are those that pollsters report on. Her boss’ voice is important. The important voices to him are those of people like David Farrar. What teachers say about teaching and learning and education is pretty irrelevant.
Agree? You have difficulty understanding them.
if she wants the best and brightest, she has to pay them what they’re worth, and treat them like the rockstars they are.
Being a teacher should be limited to the cream of the crop of students; all too often people go into teaching because there’s nothing else they can productively do.
What’s the point of hiring the cream of the crop to implement notional standards and high-stakes testing?
Yeah, so the minister would need to treat them like the rockstars they are.
“all too often people go into teaching because there’s nothing else they can productively do.” – utter bullshit, there are a million other easier ways to earn a living than to teach children, it really is a calling not something you can phone in.
And yet there are a lot of bad teachers out there.
[citation needed]
50% of MPs are below average too.
Treating them like the rockstars they are shouldn’t just be a demand of Parata and her political cobbers. It should apply to posters on here and other places who treat teachers with utter contempt, have no respect for them their experience or their willingness to do the crappy job that they have no interest in taking on*. A job which is vital to society.
*Not interested in taking it on but they want to do it from the sidelines with their remote controls beamed at the unfortunate ones who do take it up.
nothing to see here, really,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/sheep/70904289/government-withholds-letter-from-saudi-sheikh
“The Government is refusing to make public a letter to Prime Minister John Key from the Saudi sheikh at the centre of a controversial farm deal.
The missive is mentioned in a May 2010 dispatch from diplomats in Riyadh. It was among hundreds of pages of official documents released by Foreign Minister Murray McCully earlier this week.
Fairfax Media asked Key’s office to release a copy of the letter. But a spokesman for McCully said it was withheld, citing various provisions of the Official Information Act.
These were “to avoid prejudicing the international relations of the New Zealand Government…to protect individuals’ privacy…[and] to protect the supply of confidential information by a third party.”
The Government has been under pressure for months to explain why it spent more than $11 million setting up a farm in the Saudi Arabian desert in a deal with Hamood Al Ali Al Khalaf.”
An article critical of Govt hidden away in farming news, lovely.
Fairfax Media is owned by a billionaire.
What do you expect?
Bypass the MSM.
With the hopelessly out-of-date electronic vote capturing equipment used in the USA for elections, this mans services will come in handy for the biggest wallet.
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-hack-an-election/
John Noonan, a former nuclear launch officer and adviser to former GOP candidate Jeb Bush, painted a frightening picture of what might to happen if Trump were handed the nuclear codes; the president alone has final say over a nuclear launch.
“These duties are simply too grave to entrust to a man who has exhibited sociopathic and chronically narcissistic behavior throughout his checkered career,” he wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed published Tuesday.
When a former nuclear launch officer (whatever that is) describes someone using words like, ‘sociopathic’ & ‘chronically narcissistic’, words straight out of DSM-5 you know he’s inferring that the person is mentally ill.