The latest iteration of home biogas generators. Turn that energy in your waste into gas for cooking and heating. It also produces liquid fertilizer, so swapping your compost heap for this gas generator won’t deprive your garden of nutrients.
Good line of development. Look forward to them producing one small enough to fit in the small kitchen or outside walkway of a small flat that is not on the ground floor.
Well spotted Andre. Could be great for “off-the -grid” unit.
Wonder if it could have much larger implications? Think that gaseous smell at rubbish dumps or transfer stations. Wasn’t there a plan to harness rubbish dumps somewhere in NZ?
There’s already industrial scale capture and use of biogas, and has been for quite a while. Separating organic waste out of other rubbish, like Auckland has planned for very soon, opens another opportunity for that.
Some farms are getting into it. It’s one argument for getting cows off paddocks and into shelters where more of their effluent can be captured and better managed. Germans have led the way, but it’s catching on here.
But it’s always bothered me that going off-grid usually means some kind of bottled gas was still needed. So if someone’s cost-effectively mass producing something for homeowners to replace that with biogas, all the better for going completely off-grid.
Don’t hold your breath with biogas from cow effluent. Cows are really good at extracting energy from grass so their effluent isn’t that good in creating methane when compared to pigs or chickens or us.
Richest material for biogas is the carcasses left from meat works. There are thousands of tonnes per month of this type of waste that will be trucked off to land fills from each factory. That is where I would locate a biogas and electricity generation unit.
(The argument for biogas is that burning methane and releasing carbon dioxide is better than releasing methane. Methane is 80 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than CO2.)
One can make his own biodigester I’v seen them on the internet one of my favorite subjects they are not that hard to make people around the world who have to be industrious are using home made biodigester .
And the problem with cows housed in barns is that it raises production cost why the cost of servicing a extra 1 to 5 million and low production cost is the main advantage we have over the rest of the world good Dairy NZ or some outfit has tried it and the
system was not cost effective Like you said the barn cows that provide all of there crap for the system were cost effective may be some positive or negative incentive could get this technology going good post Andre many thanks Ka pai .
Anyone wanting to know the meaning of the terms ‘vindictive, mean, vicious, gratuitously insulting’, need look no further than the tirade of abuse from the MP for Nelson, Nick Smith in his parliamentary speech yesterday. What a vile person and what a sad example of what NZ can expect from National over the next three years.
@Wyndham +100 Agreed; I made the mistake of missing him off my list of nasty and duplicitous Nats in a post a couple of days ago.
But what a stupid thing to do-to attack the Speaker.
And once again we have an opposition MP listing all National’s achievements (and lying about them of course) as though they are still in power or still in an election campaign. Time to move on Nats.
Another example of how owned the MSM are. Smith f’d up again and again during the 9 years of nact plunder.
He’s a sad example of an MP with anger management issues and an inability to recall his many lies so he’d provide a virtually endless supply of material but gets left alone.
smith is delirious, bitter that we live under MPP, how many minutes does he waste complaining about the election outcome lmfao. Running everyone down flat out, livid over losing his ministerial roles.
This will be the his last term as an MP, if he lasts that long.
Why does he saying ‘Mr Speaker’ when tolley is in the chair?
Ah, the joyous outrage of someone who has never figured out the difference between “friend” and “lickspittle”.
Oh, and in 1981 the nats had less votes than Labour and still formed the government, so his bitching about “votes and seats” is bullshit. We’re now up to 2/52 exceptions.
Well I’v been moaning my ass off to my children and moko’s and my wife that I could not renumber the last time my wife cooked for me LOL my wife did not even engage the topic . And the other nite I said to her your are saying get stuffed I’v cooked for you and our children for the last 30 od years and we had a laugh she replied you got it LOL.
So my cooking skills have improved vastly over the last six months from thee one pot wonder/ boil up to being good at making a jus gravy and the easy one I found was mushrooms the easiest to make and always taste good. I got the good part of the deal because I only have to cook for two and not ten like she had to cook for most times .
I have to change one of my calls and that is about New Zealand having a loud voice that
Trump had heard and this was why he was nice to OUR prime minister .
The voice that he heard is one that is much closer to him and that’s his wife she has got him to calm down and see reality. And I still say to you lady’s that are behind these powerful men Kick there ass and make them see reality and see that climate change is real and we need America to take the lead to fight climate and save mother earth.
You what my wish was if I could go 40 years into OUR future well I could also see that OUR People all over the World were Honouring Donald Trump because he changed his mind on climate change and the WHOLE World fought climate change and equality together and this was why OUR environment was pristine.
Because the other option is Apocalypse disaster. P.S I can see when people are composed all of the time an then the Eco Maori effect. Kia Kaha
James. Almost all of the comments you have made since National lost the election to the Coalition of Winners, has you portraying yourself as laughing and giggling at the hilarious comical behaviours you see unfolding before you.
Are you alright?
Is there a leaking NO2 cylinder nearby to where you perch?
Can we help?
Is Valium and option you’d consider?
I fear you will wear yourself out with all this mirth you are experiencing.
There’ll be nothing left of you, ‘cept a tinny echo of a giggle, hanging in cyber-space!
James. Friend. Get a grip.
Do I accept your framing of the issue, BM?
Hardly.
We shall see what eventuates. You’re awfully cocky, despite being on the wrong side of Government. I suppose all you have now is James-like crowing to warm your disappointed cockles.
Nah, just haven’t got a lot of time for this us vs them wankery you old guys seem to indulge in.
Actually, I’m one day hoping, once you oldies have fucked off and died we may actually get a bit of consensus and move past this tribal, team bullshit.
So if we sign up to it will you be a happy james for many years to come?-or still vindictive,–sort of like a troll, on day to day political matters ?–again, a sort of misery guts.
Consider;
What will you say when we loose our NZ Government control through ISDS?
When national get back into power during then next decade, the ISDS will still have another 20yrs to run, and your government will also be powerless to control government affairs then.
But you won’t care, as you will have bought your own beach house in Hawaaii alongside John key wont you?
James has NOT learned the error of his ways. James is naughty. Naughty James. Your birthday celebrations will now no longer have a bouncy castle – yes that’s right you heard me – NO you have blown it and now you and your friends will just have to make your own fun.
These then, are the best days of your life, James: in Opposition, scrambling for giggles wherever you can scrape them up. According to James Shaw, there’s a good chance you’ll be giggling ( giggle, giggle ) for the next 18 years!
Haw!
My granddaughter is a soccer Queen she scores 4 to 5 goals a game and shows up all the boys LOL she 7 years old so proud.
I would like some of my grandsons to play soccer but I don’t think they are going to have body’s built for soccer some how.
Well I say legislate to even up the playing field for Ladys in management as OUR society is bias against them. In my view we need more ladys in management NOW we stereotype Ladys as weak emotional E.C,T so for a lady breaking the barriers into management is a hard task and we should give them all the help they need so they fix up the wrongs in OUR society you all ready no that I say lady’s are more intelligent and humane than man and this is a fact. Kia Kaha
Nick Smith would make an excellent trolling RWNJ; I believe KB is his natural habitat. It explains why he never got booted out of the National government; he’s one of them.
Nick Smith appears to have forgotten about the countless elections where Labour secured by far the larger vote but was never the Government. Isn’t this fact the reason we adopted MMP.
Just thinking about that Psych. In recent times Labour had more popular votes than National but the FPP gave National more electorate seats so won. And doesn’t the current Government have a 3 seat majority?
We won Nick. You lost! Eat that!
Well that and this exchange suggests Trevors acting impartial which is all you could ever want in a Speaker, I mean sure its early days yet but its a good start
Still pining for John, Pucky?
He dropped them in it, for sure. Fancy leaving them in the lurch, to face defeat alone! Not really a team player, was he.
I was SO disappointed in Wilsons stint as speaker. L Smith was a revelation and Carter was so bad that Jamie Lee Ross looked astounded at being held to account by Tolley.
I think you have skipped to the wrong country there dude. Go easy on the drugs.
Trevor will want to be remembered as an excellent Speaker and retire with a knighthood. This is probably his final gig. He will want to be bracketed in history with Lockwood rather than with Margaret Wilson.
Repugs finally get honest and basically admit it’s a straight quid pro quo. Legislate tax cuts for the wealthiest in return for campaign donations, or else. Everyone else can get screwed if that’s what’s needed to make the tax cuts happen.
When polishing a turd hold Gareth with 2 fingers as the polish is applied – I use a coconut oil mixed with lemon to really get Gareth clean. Brushes can get a real shine on Gareth and you’ll receive lots of compliments when noticed such as,’ gee that turd Gareth is really shiney’ or ‘look you can see your reflection in this Gareth wow that is a mirror finish how did Gareth get so shiney’.
Extra – why do we have to see the radio interviewers – I want to hear Kim hill – so distracting trying to watch and listen I find myself going ‘what is she doing with her hands’ and so on
Yes the joy of a composting toilet is the turds are there, every day, waiting to be sorted – we dream of flush and forget – and hygiene, washing, and gloves etc are essential especially where a polishing is a needed .
It would appear that Kim may have a neurological condition, I look forward to the day when any form of disability does not disqualify any individual from the visual media.
She always has been fidgety with hands flying, but think she prefers non-visual radio anyway.
She also used to sneak her dog into the studio on Saturdays; don’t know if she still does, but presumably cannot do so on Morning Report these days.
But yay – next week it is Kim Hill and John Campbell on Morning Report.
JC and Guyon E are swapping places for the week, with GE doing Checkpoint.
I reckon he’s just had the longest ever mid-life crisis known to man – and it’s still in progress.
Last night, my son and I were wondering what we should give him for Christmas. I suggested a Harley Davidson. My son said no – definitely a pussy
Sadly paddles didn’t do it – it was imo 100% Gareth and his attitudes to women, his candidates, and those who ask for explanations or query his lordship in any way. The shocker is he now makes fucken Bob Jones seem reasonable. Hell even Colin Craig appears to read the mood better than Gareth. All the top ideas in the world mean nothing without bringing people along.
Funny you mention Bob Jones cos that is who Morgan is reminding me of. Lots of opinion, doesnt listen and wants equality for women once they prove they deserve it.
He certainly operates according to patriarchal “rules”. Business people have run their own businesses. They are de facto leaders by dint of their entrepreneurial skills or success not cos of any particular leadership skills. They, most being private, do not have to consult with others and usually have the final say in decision-making. these are NOT skills suited to being a good (in the sense good for NZers) politician or political leader. I am NOT saying Morgan is like Trump, but the “skills” Trump had as a showman on tv and businessman are SO different to being President, and it shows.
I give credit when I see it is due . I was thinking that john key got the government to invest 1 billion in OUR ultra fast broadband and that was onto it investment .
But I Analyzed the whole picture and came to the conclusion that key had a vested interest in OUR broadband roll out and that is the actual far right like to use the internet to influence / subliminal influence OUR people to think that there big business
and there far right bullshit views are good for OUR Worlds society 1 peter thiel 2 there false claims that they are collecting social data to target the needy 3 Xerox moving out of our stockmarket who is part of that company . There are many other examples of them trying to control us and OUR views.
We dodged the bullet this time but we have to be aware of what is actually going on in OUR society.
And the timing of that release of that Washington Post article to damage OUR new coalition image and try and make them look like a far right political government to make it harder for Jacinda and Winston to get good trade with the rest of OUR trading partners . (Thats right out of john keys hand book) The question I would be asking ben mack is who payed you. I just say that the barriers against ladys entering management should be removed but we still need the right person for the job or it will be a big F up. I miss my days of fishing seeing a line of dolphins as far as the can see and all the other amazing wild life and the roll of the boat. Kia Kaha
Yes Puckish Rogue,
I agree Trevor mallard is bringing a sane non-combatant style that the last speaker David Carter could not or would not bring this new civility to the house.
Possibly we will see a more caring balanced fair even handed approach to parliament as the last parliament was simply ugly with many fights that were to ugly to watcvh and i would turn the channel off.
We want to see all politicians work together to help restore all NZders lifestyle, health and wellbeing back to the way it was before 2008, with major improvements in rail services and other infrustructure improvements planned with ‘local public community input’ as this ‘active community input’ was sadly missing in the last nine years.
The last Government placed walls around public consultation and did not provide public to serve any influence in what central Government was secretly planning in their regions.
Perhaps trevor could steer this change also as Speaker of the house now, since jacinda has made it a solid change that “all NZders will have a voice and be heard”.
Perhaps, if Trevors run ends as it begun, he and Lockwood Smith could come up with some guidelines for Speakers as I think we can agree that a neutral speaker is best for parliament
the guidelines exist. I suspect it is about character more than the guidelines per se. A Speaker prepared to follow the guidelines as opposed to one who is advancing his/her parties cause and finds ways to justify it through contortion of the Speaker rules
The grief of some National supporters is strong – they have been betrayed by Winston Peters who rode roughshod over his NZ First party to go with huge bribes from from Labour , and by the Green Party whose policies are close to National’s. As the winning party they believe that it is wrong that they are not in government. Leaving emotion aside, I thought there had been a report that National had offered the NZ First party more than National in terms of cabinet positions – is that the case?
Yes it was the case. They offered an extra full cabinet position.
You fail to mention Ed1 that National betrayed Winston Peters by releasing information about his super over-payments – a Winz mistake of which he had no prior knowledge. It was an act designed to destroy Peters and NZ First and it nearly succeeded.
Betrayals tend to beget betrayals, although in this case I am certain NZ First chose Labour because Labour’s policies are more compatible with their own policies.
The Peters super debacle was all widely reported at the time Ed1. You could google something like ‘Winston Peters/super payment’ and you should get all the MSM articles.
If you’re referring to the extra cabinet post offered by National then that was also widely reported in the media. That of course was only a matter of 3 to 4 weeks ago.
Thanks. Just what I needed. By coincidence, since writing my post the claim that Labour offered more “baubles” was read on radio today – as part of reading a diatribe by a disappointed National supporter – but without the clarification that this part was just as wrong as the rest of the message. I suspect it is a deliberate lie being repeated by National to try and cause trouble for the government, as well as to convince their supporters that there may have been reasons other than policies and their own performance that led to them not being in government.
Ed1 There was a report that the National Party leadership instructed Negotiators to not offer NZF much. Perhaps in the belief that should NZF go with Labour-Green, it would all collapse and they would ride in triumphant. Fat chance.
ianmac I think the Nats swallowed their own years of spin about Peters and truly believed he just wanted baubles. I think they thought they could get what they wanted cos they have been getting it for 9 years
If I was labour I’d be very tempted to go to national and say, “that after due consideration we have decided to rescind our 108 seat offer”. But of tit for tat seems to be in order.
Slamming National for lying would be like criticising fish for swimming.
Lying is National’s brand, and even in opposition they remain intent on building brand recognition.
It’s bizarre – Nat politicians seem unaware that lying is not a good look. And the more they seek to advance their causes by lying, the better it will be for the Labour-led Government and NZ.
A petition from Gordon Brown , ex UK PM to shut down tax havens…
“To President Mauricio Macri and all leaders of the G20:
The level of global inequality is appalling — 8 people own as much wealth as half the planet.
And the gap is growing, thanks in part to the shadowy world of tax havens which lets trillions be siphoned offshore from our economies. Right now, the rich get richer, and the rest of us pay.
Eight years ago the G20 agreed it would shut down these practices. It’s time to deliver. We call on you to act immediately to end tax havens and ensure that those that run and exploit them are held to account.
Nobody should be able to evade their duty to pay tax for the public good. It is your responsibility to make that so. As citizens from around the world, we demand action. ”
The chances of Democrats pulling off the most gobsmacking electoral upset ever just got a lot higher (though realistically still pretty low). Alabama’s election for Session’s replacement happens on 12th December. The Republican candidate, Roy Moore (who’s vile enough he was already a massive headache for the GOP), has been accused of sexual misconduct with underage teenagers. The accusations are credible enough that congressional Repugs are calling for him to drop out of the race, even though it’s too late to put a replacement on the ballot.
Dude left out the immaculate conception part of the fairy tale.
“There is nothing to see here,” Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler told the Washington Examiner. “The allegations are that a man in his early 30s dated teenage girls. Even the Washington Post report says that he never had sexual intercourse with any of the girls and never attempted sexual intercourse.”
[…]
“He’s clean as a hound’s tooth,” Ziegler claimed, before relying on Scripture to defend Moore.
“Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist,” Ziegler said choosing his words carefully before invoking Christ. “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”
“Yes, $53/wk is the 20% increase for all benefits that was in the GP policy.”
Yes. But with the Greens failing to deliver on any core benefit increase coupled with them now working with Labour (hence, less inclined to rock the boat) where is the political pressure now going to come from?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I did a lot of work for the local Labour Party candidate this election, but I gave my party vote to the Green Party mainly because I knew they would push Labour on welfare reform. I will be lobbying Labour at every opportunity to reform WINZ and increase benefits.
Thanks Karen. I know a lot of Labour voters care about this stuff. I worry that some are too scared of losing power to do anything really meaningful when they have it.
I might be off asking this, but it does confuse me sometimes why we decry Trump for being a right wing extremist and wanting to ban immigration, yet here we wave the anti immigration flag as though it’s one of the core principles of the left. Where did we go wrong? We end up sounding more like the right every day
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[we tend not to talk politics in Weekend Social. Open Mike is a good place to start general debates. – weka]
The full range of positions on immigration from the left on here. The extreme edges of no or full uncontrolled immigration don’t seem to have representatives. Tough debate usually.
I’m one of those that support a more selective immigration policy here in NZ, as well as being utterly disgusted with the orange dotard.
The first big difference of opinion is how to treat immigrants that have already arrived. Adolf Twitler wants to make life as miserable as possible for them before he catches and deports them (except the smokin’ hot white ones). In contrast, I want to ensure immigrants that do come get the best welcome feasible and get assisted to find their place in society. I’m appalled by the way immigrants are being brought in under circumstances that make them vulnerable, and are then exploited by unscrupulous employers (who are, sadly, often recent immigrants too). Other lefty critics here of the previous govt’s immigration policies appear to feel the same.
Another big difference is the motivation for reducing immigration. The Fanta Fascist is only interested in stirring the vilest xenophobic fears of his supporters; he’s all for importing immigrants for his businesses to exploit. I’m concerned that excessively high levels of immigration are excessively stressing our infrastructural capacity to absorb them in a way that makes them welcome. And those infrastructure stresses are spilling over into social stresses such as high housing costs, which disproportionately harm the most vulnerable members of our society.
There’s lots more where that came from, but it’ll do for a start.
Awww! You’re so caring , Chair!
(You don’t care. You’re prising apart whenever you can. In fact, you never miss an opportunity to caringly create doubt and discord. You think you are clever. I think you stick out like the proverbial).
Nothing caring in that post, Robert. It was merely a question.
Moreover, I don’t create the opportunities that can cause discord, Robert. But I do ask questions, express my opinion and sometimes offer alternative solutions from time to time.
“Will signing the TPP cost Labour the next election or will all be forgiven by then?”
You are speculating that:
* the TPP will be signed
* signing it will cost Labour the next election
* anger at Labour for signing it will eventuate
* that anger might not disappear before the next election
and you wrapped those speculations in a question format in order to disguise you intention, which was and is to insert barbs into the confidence of Labour/Green/NZ1 readers here.
That’s what I reckon.
I’m asking if they sign will it cost them the next election? Which, considering they reached an agreement, looks likely when and if negotiations restart.
There is anger with Labour now for even considering signing it, let alone them reaching an agreement. I know a number that didn’t vote Labour for this very concern.
However, the next election is a while away, hence I’m asking if all will be forgiven?
Therefore, your guesswork is incorrect. I suspect you suffer from paranoia. My intention for asking the question was to gauge the feeling here.
It’s Labour that failed to walk away (despite not getting all they wanted) and as I also pointed out to you, were prepared to sign. Thus, would have created the “discord” and “prising apart” you seem to be concerned about.
So why are you directing your crap at me and not them?
It’s a question Labour should be asking themselves. But going off the feedback thus far (nothing at this stage) nobody cares, so they have nothing to worry about.
If we fail to make a noise now, it signals to them all is fine.
It doesn’t surprise me that Labour will sign up for this deal, it was in the bag from the get go. I don’t know how they are going to reconcile this with their two support partners in coalition – it will be a betrayal for them. They probably will have to get National’s support to get it accross the line.
I didn’t vote for them, but I am of that age group that will never forget the pig farmer and his reforms and what it has done to this country of ours. Labour has never got rid of their economic reforms and only dabble around the edges of it. I am like a lot of people and think that they should be attacking the pathetic benefits that are paid for the disabled and ill people in this country, if it wasn’t for families helping them out they would be on the streets.
Good on Jacinda for getting to be Prime Minister but its just going to be more of the same under her Government, I wonder what Professor Jane Kelsey has to say about this latest TPPA progress, I don’t think she will be impressed one bit.
Let’s see what’s been (about to be) agreed to before we decry all and sundry, shall we?
It’s a very heated debate, the TPPA but that beast has shifted shape many times since its conception. I’m waiting to see what form it has taken now. Old views may well be redundant.
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The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
A senior lawyer has filed a complaint about tikanga becoming a required law school module. Law lecturer Carwyn Jones explains what he’s getting wrong. “…the first law of Aotearoa, a law that served the needs of tangata whenua for a thousand years before the arrival of tauiwi.”– Ani Mikaere ...
In 2019, an Auckland woman woke up from surgery to find that she had undergone a treatment she didn’t consent to. She tells Alex Casey about her experience. From her very first period at the age of 14, Laura experienced “debilitating” levels of pain that forced her to withdraw from ...
Comment: Concerns about the state of the economy are creeping up to the top of firms’ list of challenges. That’s evident in both surveys and the tone of our recent client discussions. Skimming the past few weeks of eco-news, it’s not hard to see why. – Retail card spending fell ...
Opinion: Could former co-leader James Shaw still make a difference to working with National? The post How the Greens could be contenders appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: What if we got rid of our existing drug laws and replaced them with a new law that legalised and carefully regulated all psychoactive substances, from cannabis to MDMA, methamphetamine and LSD to magic mushrooms? And which also included legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. “Wow,” you might ...
In the gloom following director-general Al Morrison’s job cuts in 2013, the Department of Conservation restructured its operations arm. Eleven conservancy districts were whittled into six new “conservation delivery” regions, under which the Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands area, comprising 40 scattered islands more than 800km east of Christchurch, was tethered to the ...
One of th e country’s top litigation lawyers says New Zealand is seeing a lift in court action between companies. Chapman Tripp partner Justin Graham, who oversees a team of around 80 litigation specialists, says the courts are now so log-jammed that it’s taking over two years to get cases ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
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The latest iteration of home biogas generators. Turn that energy in your waste into gas for cooking and heating. It also produces liquid fertilizer, so swapping your compost heap for this gas generator won’t deprive your garden of nutrients.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/08/homebiogas-2-0-produces-3-hours-cooking-gas-per-day-kitchen-scraps/
Good line of development. Look forward to them producing one small enough to fit in the small kitchen or outside walkway of a small flat that is not on the ground floor.
thats cool !
Well spotted Andre. Could be great for “off-the -grid” unit.
Wonder if it could have much larger implications? Think that gaseous smell at rubbish dumps or transfer stations. Wasn’t there a plan to harness rubbish dumps somewhere in NZ?
There’s already industrial scale capture and use of biogas, and has been for quite a while. Separating organic waste out of other rubbish, like Auckland has planned for very soon, opens another opportunity for that.
https://www.biogas.org.nz/documents/resource/WB06-biogas-overview.pdf
Some farms are getting into it. It’s one argument for getting cows off paddocks and into shelters where more of their effluent can be captured and better managed. Germans have led the way, but it’s catching on here.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/97035790/poo-is-powering-a-southland-dairy-farm-shed
But it’s always bothered me that going off-grid usually means some kind of bottled gas was still needed. So if someone’s cost-effectively mass producing something for homeowners to replace that with biogas, all the better for going completely off-grid.
Don’t hold your breath with biogas from cow effluent. Cows are really good at extracting energy from grass so their effluent isn’t that good in creating methane when compared to pigs or chickens or us.
Richest material for biogas is the carcasses left from meat works. There are thousands of tonnes per month of this type of waste that will be trucked off to land fills from each factory. That is where I would locate a biogas and electricity generation unit.
(The argument for biogas is that burning methane and releasing carbon dioxide is better than releasing methane. Methane is 80 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than CO2.)
One can make his own biodigester I’v seen them on the internet one of my favorite subjects they are not that hard to make people around the world who have to be industrious are using home made biodigester .
And the problem with cows housed in barns is that it raises production cost why the cost of servicing a extra 1 to 5 million and low production cost is the main advantage we have over the rest of the world good Dairy NZ or some outfit has tried it and the
system was not cost effective Like you said the barn cows that provide all of there crap for the system were cost effective may be some positive or negative incentive could get this technology going good post Andre many thanks Ka pai .
Anyone wanting to know the meaning of the terms ‘vindictive, mean, vicious, gratuitously insulting’, need look no further than the tirade of abuse from the MP for Nelson, Nick Smith in his parliamentary speech yesterday. What a vile person and what a sad example of what NZ can expect from National over the next three years.
I’m sure someone else will help with a link.
You summed it up just by saying nick smith.
10000% I agree this.
That man ‘Nick Smith’ is nothing but a ‘turncoat’.
Just watched it and you nailed it. Vile.
@Wyndham +100 Agreed; I made the mistake of missing him off my list of nasty and duplicitous Nats in a post a couple of days ago.
But what a stupid thing to do-to attack the Speaker.
And once again we have an opposition MP listing all National’s achievements (and lying about them of course) as though they are still in power or still in an election campaign. Time to move on Nats.
Another example of how owned the MSM are. Smith f’d up again and again during the 9 years of nact plunder.
He’s a sad example of an MP with anger management issues and an inability to recall his many lies so he’d provide a virtually endless supply of material but gets left alone.
Wyndham, is it this speech here please?
smith is delirious, bitter that we live under MPP, how many minutes does he waste complaining about the election outcome lmfao. Running everyone down flat out, livid over losing his ministerial roles.
This will be the his last term as an MP, if he lasts that long.
Why does he saying ‘Mr Speaker’ when tolley is in the chair?
Ah, the joyous outrage of someone who has never figured out the difference between “friend” and “lickspittle”.
Oh, and in 1981 the nats had less votes than Labour and still formed the government, so his bitching about “votes and seats” is bullshit. We’re now up to 2/52 exceptions.
That’s it Cinny.
What an extraordinary tirade from a bitter,unhappy man.
N.Z. is blessed in not having this clown still as a minister.
Well I’v been moaning my ass off to my children and moko’s and my wife that I could not renumber the last time my wife cooked for me LOL my wife did not even engage the topic . And the other nite I said to her your are saying get stuffed I’v cooked for you and our children for the last 30 od years and we had a laugh she replied you got it LOL.
So my cooking skills have improved vastly over the last six months from thee one pot wonder/ boil up to being good at making a jus gravy and the easy one I found was mushrooms the easiest to make and always taste good. I got the good part of the deal because I only have to cook for two and not ten like she had to cook for most times .
I have to change one of my calls and that is about New Zealand having a loud voice that
Trump had heard and this was why he was nice to OUR prime minister .
The voice that he heard is one that is much closer to him and that’s his wife she has got him to calm down and see reality. And I still say to you lady’s that are behind these powerful men Kick there ass and make them see reality and see that climate change is real and we need America to take the lead to fight climate and save mother earth.
You what my wish was if I could go 40 years into OUR future well I could also see that OUR People all over the World were Honouring Donald Trump because he changed his mind on climate change and the WHOLE World fought climate change and equality together and this was why OUR environment was pristine.
Because the other option is Apocalypse disaster. P.S I can see when people are composed all of the time an then the Eco Maori effect. Kia Kaha
Not going to count my chickens just yet but its looking good for NZ: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98741737/tpp-negotiations-go-down-to-the-wire-as-jacinda-ardern-arrives-in-vietnam
Greater satisfaction…
The faux drama presented by reuters..ooh ooh, ‘it’s down to the wire’…’looking good for NZ’..like a footy match..
Or the ‘thrills’ of posting a link on a blog you come to only as an agitator?
The analysis of ‘benefits’ to Nz came out at 0 in real terms, and did not factor in possibility of loss of sovereignty through the agreement..
So in what basis is it ‘looking good for NZ’ other than through the lens of a shit stirrer…
Bad news they look like they are going to sign it, against public opinion.
You’ll still vote Labour though, convince yourself they had no choice and it was the evil Nats who gave Ardern a hospital pass.
I would be very surprised if save was a Labour voter.
Now why would they do that? Same corporate backers as national? Or perhaps it’s actually good for nz.
All the claims from labour about how bad it was going to be – then they sign it.
It’s comical.
James. Almost all of the comments you have made since National lost the election to the Coalition of Winners, has you portraying yourself as laughing and giggling at the hilarious comical behaviours you see unfolding before you.
Are you alright?
Is there a leaking NO2 cylinder nearby to where you perch?
Can we help?
Is Valium and option you’d consider?
I fear you will wear yourself out with all this mirth you are experiencing.
There’ll be nothing left of you, ‘cept a tinny echo of a giggle, hanging in cyber-space!
James. Friend. Get a grip.
Labours going to sign the TPPA and they were always going to! what do you think of that?
Do you feel betrayed Robert?
for some reason the line “It was bright cold day in April” suddenly springs to mind 🙂
Do I accept your framing of the issue, BM?
Hardly.
We shall see what eventuates. You’re awfully cocky, despite being on the wrong side of Government. I suppose all you have now is James-like crowing to warm your disappointed cockles.
I’m not part of government Robert.
Never was and probably never will be.
You’re a loner, BM? A renegade?
Are you Pee wee Herman?
Nah, just haven’t got a lot of time for this us vs them wankery you old guys seem to indulge in.
Actually, I’m one day hoping, once you oldies have fucked off and died we may actually get a bit of consensus and move past this tribal, team bullshit.
Says one of the chief participants. LOLWIT
Its not so bad being on the wrong side of government if the current government is still supporting what National wanted
BM = Bloody Mindless.
RG, james is my friend also. –james, james hold the ladder steady I’m a comin down to your are–are are–ms—
James is a plonker.
Is that the noise of a drip hitting the water?
ha ha.
I wouldn’t be laughing so much if the new government didnt give so much material to laugh at.
From the shambles of not being able to count.
Then Jacinda being called out as a liar by the media (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11941784 and on Pundit – cant find the link at the moment).
To sucking in people like yourself about the TPP – then (it looks like) signing it anyways.
Yes – Im laughing .
james,I don’t like it when you are in a negative mood.
Not negative – Im all for the TPP.
Im happy with how this looks like it is going.
So if we sign up to it will you be a happy james for many years to come?-or still vindictive,–sort of like a troll, on day to day political matters ?–again, a sort of misery guts.
Sellout James are you not?
Consider;
What will you say when we loose our NZ Government control through ISDS?
When national get back into power during then next decade, the ISDS will still have another 20yrs to run, and your government will also be powerless to control government affairs then.
But you won’t care, as you will have bought your own beach house in Hawaaii alongside John key wont you?
Why do you want to protect governments from being sued by companies?
Because srylands it uses up your valuable taxes in non-productive expenses.
Using your logic – would that not make Jacinda and the Labour government the sellouts?
Im not the one signing it – Im just happy if they do.
Very forced insincere laughing James – it does you no credit to act like your hero billshitter.
I think james has learned the error of his ways by now,
Nope.
James has NOT learned the error of his ways. James is naughty. Naughty James. Your birthday celebrations will now no longer have a bouncy castle – yes that’s right you heard me – NO you have blown it and now you and your friends will just have to make your own fun.
These then, are the best days of your life, James: in Opposition, scrambling for giggles wherever you can scrape them up. According to James Shaw, there’s a good chance you’ll be giggling ( giggle, giggle ) for the next 18 years!
Haw!
N2O
Same corporate backers and ideology as National. It’s actually bad for NZ as all such agreements are.
My granddaughter is a soccer Queen she scores 4 to 5 goals a game and shows up all the boys LOL she 7 years old so proud.
I would like some of my grandsons to play soccer but I don’t think they are going to have body’s built for soccer some how.
Well I say legislate to even up the playing field for Ladys in management as OUR society is bias against them. In my view we need more ladys in management NOW we stereotype Ladys as weak emotional E.C,T so for a lady breaking the barriers into management is a hard task and we should give them all the help they need so they fix up the wrongs in OUR society you all ready no that I say lady’s are more intelligent and humane than man and this is a fact. Kia Kaha
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20171109_056700000/smith-nick-jones-shane-tolley-anne
Nick Smith would make an excellent trolling RWNJ; I believe KB is his natural habitat. It explains why he never got booted out of the National government; he’s one of them.
Nick Smith appears to have forgotten about the countless elections where Labour secured by far the larger vote but was never the Government. Isn’t this fact the reason we adopted MMP.
Just thinking about that Psych. In recent times Labour had more popular votes than National but the FPP gave National more electorate seats so won. And doesn’t the current Government have a 3 seat majority?
We won Nick. You lost! Eat that!
Forgetting sits just behind lying as Nat MPs default settings
Can’t believe i’m going to say this but…Trevor Mallard seems to have made a good start to being speaker and is bringing some good ideas
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/11/good_innovations_from_speaker_mallard.html
Looks like he might be erring towards the Lockwood Smith school of how to be the speaker of the house
May I suggest more babies in the House and since Gareth did not become an MP, kittens as well; it’ll lift the whole House.
I dunno, some of the nappies can get pretty rank…still it might speed things up a bit so maybe worth a thought 🙂
Babies grow out of nappies, sooner or later; some MPs don’t …
Are you saying it or are you saying that whodacky is saying it.
“whodacky”
Love it!
Well that and this exchange suggests Trevors acting impartial which is all you could ever want in a Speaker, I mean sure its early days yet but its a good start
https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2017/11/trevor-mallard-makes-great-start-speaker/
Funny guy – good you helping out your ‘mates’ websites.
Well to be fair you did ask but it does illustrate my point about good ‘ol Trev doin’ good
I asked but alas just got distracted deliberately by your distraction ho hum
As opposed to Carter….
Lockwood is a great benchmark PR.
If Trevor can match, or better, Lockwood then thats a helluva legacy for him and a good benchmark for others
Trevor has a better sense of humour. I expect some great lines. Plus, once he’s settled in, he’ll shut those crowing Tories up 🙂
I hope you are right Robert. It is good that Mallard knows the ropes and ,along with Winston, should prove to be 100% improvement on Carter
As long as he treats both sides equally then its all good by me
As Carter invariably did /sarc.
I suspect Carter spent a bit too much time learning from Margret Wilson and not enough from Lockwood Smith
I suspect Carter was Key’s ventriloquist’s dummy.
Still pining for John, Pucky?
He dropped them in it, for sure. Fancy leaving them in the lurch, to face defeat alone! Not really a team player, was he.
Lost the battle (the election) but won the war (TPP) so its all good 🙂
Just wait ’til you see what the left does with its second and third terms 😈
Be interesting to see how many more promises they break that’s for sure 😊
How many more promises can Jacinda “I cannot tell a lie” Ardern break by any chance?
If the TPP was the was the war we can expect you to be happy following its signing, no more comments from you?
Peckish?
You didn’t win the war today 🙂
I was SO disappointed in Wilsons stint as speaker. L Smith was a revelation and Carter was so bad that Jamie Lee Ross looked astounded at being held to account by Tolley.
FIFY
I think you have skipped to the wrong country there dude. Go easy on the drugs.
Trevor will want to be remembered as an excellent Speaker and retire with a knighthood. This is probably his final gig. He will want to be bracketed in history with Lockwood rather than with Margaret Wilson.
That is why Lockwood had to go…
Repugs finally get honest and basically admit it’s a straight quid pro quo. Legislate tax cuts for the wealthiest in return for campaign donations, or else. Everyone else can get screwed if that’s what’s needed to make the tax cuts happen.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gary-cohn-tax-cut-ceos-donors_us_5a049571e4b0f76b05c4249e?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Lovely bloke that Gareth. So pleased someone with such a strong understanding and support of democracy wants to continue
ruling unopposedleading his own political party. /sarcYou beat me to it Carolyn_nth.
What an arrogant, arsehole of a man. No coincidence his target is a woman.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/343482/top-party-candidate-told-to-resign
Edit: Oops… same link. We’ll leave it there so people know what its about.
When polishing a turd hold Gareth with 2 fingers as the polish is applied – I use a coconut oil mixed with lemon to really get Gareth clean. Brushes can get a real shine on Gareth and you’ll receive lots of compliments when noticed such as,’ gee that turd Gareth is really shiney’ or ‘look you can see your reflection in this Gareth wow that is a mirror finish how did Gareth get so shiney’.
Extra – why do we have to see the radio interviewers – I want to hear Kim hill – so distracting trying to watch and listen I find myself going ‘what is she doing with her hands’ and so on
I do hope you washed your hands thoroughly afterwards mm.
Yes the joy of a composting toilet is the turds are there, every day, waiting to be sorted – we dream of flush and forget – and hygiene, washing, and gloves etc are essential especially where a polishing is a needed .
mm -1 Anne – 0
Reminiscent of Mr Hankey, the Christmas poo, a la south park.
It would appear that Kim may have a neurological condition, I look forward to the day when any form of disability does not disqualify any individual from the visual media.
Big call that one – personally when i talk/present my arms fly all over the place in a very european way ive been told.
My point was the multimedia aspect – for me just listening is enjoyable.
Apologies if my initial comment was offensive or derogatory.
Ironic that Brilliant Kim is fidgety and at the opposite end is Nasty Hoskings who fidgets and twitches as well.
She always has been fidgety with hands flying, but think she prefers non-visual radio anyway.
She also used to sneak her dog into the studio on Saturdays; don’t know if she still does, but presumably cannot do so on Morning Report these days.
But yay – next week it is Kim Hill and John Campbell on Morning Report.
JC and Guyon E are swapping places for the week, with GE doing Checkpoint.
I suppose we all have a neurological condition. What is Kim’s?
I reckon he’s just had the longest ever mid-life crisis known to man – and it’s still in progress.
Last night, my son and I were wondering what we should give him for Christmas. I suggested a Harley Davidson. My son said no – definitely a pussy
Gareth should have known he was up against a formidable political foe in Paddles. Those opposable paws were a giveaway.
Political hero of the year goes to Paddles, managed to take down TOP.
Sadly paddles didn’t do it – it was imo 100% Gareth and his attitudes to women, his candidates, and those who ask for explanations or query his lordship in any way. The shocker is he now makes fucken Bob Jones seem reasonable. Hell even Colin Craig appears to read the mood better than Gareth. All the top ideas in the world mean nothing without bringing people along.
Funny you mention Bob Jones cos that is who Morgan is reminding me of. Lots of opinion, doesnt listen and wants equality for women once they prove they deserve it.
A prime example of why the rich should not be able to buy political parties.
Now we just have to stop them from buying Labour again. National is already a lost cause.
For someone who says he’s neither left nor right wing, his values and MO are definitely ones I would associate with right wing politics.
He certainly operates according to patriarchal “rules”. Business people have run their own businesses. They are de facto leaders by dint of their entrepreneurial skills or success not cos of any particular leadership skills. They, most being private, do not have to consult with others and usually have the final say in decision-making. these are NOT skills suited to being a good (in the sense good for NZers) politician or political leader. I am NOT saying Morgan is like Trump, but the “skills” Trump had as a showman on tv and businessman are SO different to being President, and it shows.
I give credit when I see it is due . I was thinking that john key got the government to invest 1 billion in OUR ultra fast broadband and that was onto it investment .
But I Analyzed the whole picture and came to the conclusion that key had a vested interest in OUR broadband roll out and that is the actual far right like to use the internet to influence / subliminal influence OUR people to think that there big business
and there far right bullshit views are good for OUR Worlds society 1 peter thiel 2 there false claims that they are collecting social data to target the needy 3 Xerox moving out of our stockmarket who is part of that company . There are many other examples of them trying to control us and OUR views.
We dodged the bullet this time but we have to be aware of what is actually going on in OUR society.
And the timing of that release of that Washington Post article to damage OUR new coalition image and try and make them look like a far right political government to make it harder for Jacinda and Winston to get good trade with the rest of OUR trading partners . (Thats right out of john keys hand book) The question I would be asking ben mack is who payed you. I just say that the barriers against ladys entering management should be removed but we still need the right person for the job or it will be a big F up. I miss my days of fishing seeing a line of dolphins as far as the can see and all the other amazing wild life and the roll of the boat. Kia Kaha
“And the timing of that release of that Washington Post article to damage OUR new coalition image…”
What was that about eco?
Yes Puckish Rogue,
I agree Trevor mallard is bringing a sane non-combatant style that the last speaker David Carter could not or would not bring this new civility to the house.
Possibly we will see a more caring balanced fair even handed approach to parliament as the last parliament was simply ugly with many fights that were to ugly to watcvh and i would turn the channel off.
We want to see all politicians work together to help restore all NZders lifestyle, health and wellbeing back to the way it was before 2008, with major improvements in rail services and other infrustructure improvements planned with ‘local public community input’ as this ‘active community input’ was sadly missing in the last nine years.
The last Government placed walls around public consultation and did not provide public to serve any influence in what central Government was secretly planning in their regions.
Perhaps trevor could steer this change also as Speaker of the house now, since jacinda has made it a solid change that “all NZders will have a voice and be heard”.
Perhaps, if Trevors run ends as it begun, he and Lockwood Smith could come up with some guidelines for Speakers as I think we can agree that a neutral speaker is best for parliament
Did you miss tolley taming that lil boy Jamie Lee Ross?
the guidelines exist. I suspect it is about character more than the guidelines per se. A Speaker prepared to follow the guidelines as opposed to one who is advancing his/her parties cause and finds ways to justify it through contortion of the Speaker rules
The grief of some National supporters is strong – they have been betrayed by Winston Peters who rode roughshod over his NZ First party to go with huge bribes from from Labour , and by the Green Party whose policies are close to National’s. As the winning party they believe that it is wrong that they are not in government. Leaving emotion aside, I thought there had been a report that National had offered the NZ First party more than National in terms of cabinet positions – is that the case?
It doesn’t matter anymore. The deal has been done. National is in opposition.
Yes it was the case. They offered an extra full cabinet position.
You fail to mention Ed1 that National betrayed Winston Peters by releasing information about his super over-payments – a Winz mistake of which he had no prior knowledge. It was an act designed to destroy Peters and NZ First and it nearly succeeded.
Betrayals tend to beget betrayals, although in this case I am certain NZ First chose Labour because Labour’s policies are more compatible with their own policies.
Thanks, does anyone have a link to the article that confirms this? Its nice to counter lies with verifiable (or at lest supportable) facts.
The Peters super debacle was all widely reported at the time Ed1. You could google something like ‘Winston Peters/super payment’ and you should get all the MSM articles.
If you’re referring to the extra cabinet post offered by National then that was also widely reported in the media. That of course was only a matter of 3 to 4 weeks ago.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98087944/the-longest-day-of-a-very-long-campaign–17-hours-that-decided-the-new-government
Thanks. Just what I needed. By coincidence, since writing my post the claim that Labour offered more “baubles” was read on radio today – as part of reading a diatribe by a disappointed National supporter – but without the clarification that this part was just as wrong as the rest of the message. I suspect it is a deliberate lie being repeated by National to try and cause trouble for the government, as well as to convince their supporters that there may have been reasons other than policies and their own performance that led to them not being in government.
Ed1 There was a report that the National Party leadership instructed Negotiators to not offer NZF much. Perhaps in the belief that should NZF go with Labour-Green, it would all collapse and they would ride in triumphant. Fat chance.
ianmac I think the Nats swallowed their own years of spin about Peters and truly believed he just wanted baubles. I think they thought they could get what they wanted cos they have been getting it for 9 years
Ten Reasons We Got Rid of the Nasty Party
No. 6: Paula “Snitch” Bennett
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/306440/bennett-refuses-to-resign-over-leak
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926410
Chris Trotter is on a roll at the moment:
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2017/11/chris-hipkins-mistake.html
Lets hope it is a mistake that will never be repeated.
If that 108 tilts majorities on Select Committees, it will matter. Esp with Zero Carbon bill.
Otherwise just a good reminder to Chippie to learn to count.
If I was labour I’d be very tempted to go to national and say, “that after due consideration we have decided to rescind our 108 seat offer”. But of tit for tat seems to be in order.
That’s precisely what they should do. “You said you’d vote for mallard and you didn’t, we said we’d increase the SC numbers but now we’re not.” Burn.
I don’t think it is a mistake to trust someone’s word. The media should have been slamming Bridges/National for lying and reneging.
The headline should have been “National turns first day into Farce”.
But oh no, Labour gets the blame-the MSM will do anything to destroy the stardust..
In normal instances I would agree with you but this is the National Party and history has constantly reminded they can’t be trusted.
As for the media. Too many of them are there only to produce sensational headlines and sound bites. Ethics and facts mean nothing to most of them.
Slamming National for lying would be like criticising fish for swimming.
Lying is National’s brand, and even in opposition they remain intent on building brand recognition.
It’s bizarre – Nat politicians seem unaware that lying is not a good look. And the more they seek to advance their causes by lying, the better it will be for the Labour-led Government and NZ.
A petition from Gordon Brown , ex UK PM to shut down tax havens…
“To President Mauricio Macri and all leaders of the G20:
The level of global inequality is appalling — 8 people own as much wealth as half the planet.
And the gap is growing, thanks in part to the shadowy world of tax havens which lets trillions be siphoned offshore from our economies. Right now, the rich get richer, and the rest of us pay.
Eight years ago the G20 agreed it would shut down these practices. It’s time to deliver. We call on you to act immediately to end tax havens and ensure that those that run and exploit them are held to account.
Nobody should be able to evade their duty to pay tax for the public good. It is your responsibility to make that so. As citizens from around the world, we demand action. ”
To sign
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/paradise_papers_mm1/?bUFfKib&v=99734&cl=13473829005&_checksum=8aa498996c465f54d7d08b5e6254f9a0977b5dc8f6e1329e60a01a6383d68e02
The chances of Democrats pulling off the most gobsmacking electoral upset ever just got a lot higher (though realistically still pretty low). Alabama’s election for Session’s replacement happens on 12th December. The Republican candidate, Roy Moore (who’s vile enough he was already a massive headache for the GOP), has been accused of sexual misconduct with underage teenagers. The accusations are credible enough that congressional Repugs are calling for him to drop out of the race, even though it’s too late to put a replacement on the ballot.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/09/politics/roy-moore-senate/index.html
Dude left out the immaculate conception part of the fairy tale.
“There is nothing to see here,” Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler told the Washington Examiner. “The allegations are that a man in his early 30s dated teenage girls. Even the Washington Post report says that he never had sexual intercourse with any of the girls and never attempted sexual intercourse.”
[…]
“He’s clean as a hound’s tooth,” Ziegler claimed, before relying on Scripture to defend Moore.
“Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist,” Ziegler said choosing his words carefully before invoking Christ. “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alabama-state-auditor-defends-roy-moore-against-sexual-allegations-invokes-mary-and-joseph/article/2640217
@ weka
“Yes, $53/wk is the 20% increase for all benefits that was in the GP policy.”
Yes. But with the Greens failing to deliver on any core benefit increase coupled with them now working with Labour (hence, less inclined to rock the boat) where is the political pressure now going to come from?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
It would be great if that pressure came from Labour Party members, and voters.
I did a lot of work for the local Labour Party candidate this election, but I gave my party vote to the Green Party mainly because I knew they would push Labour on welfare reform. I will be lobbying Labour at every opportunity to reform WINZ and increase benefits.
Thanks Karen. I know a lot of Labour voters care about this stuff. I worry that some are too scared of losing power to do anything really meaningful when they have it.
Good on you, Karen.
Yes it would, Tracey.
I’d also like to see the Greens apply more pressure and was having this discussion with weka the other day.
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-missing-noun/#comment-1411810
I watched Tamati Coffey’s maiden speech and thought that was pretty special but have just watched Kiritapu Allan’s and it has brought me to tears.
There’s a future leader.
Kia ora!!!!!!!!!
Haaaaa
now 6:45 PM
Five hours later and nobody gives a toss about the about the Greens portfolio list !
Maybe Winston has an effect.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I might be off asking this, but it does confuse me sometimes why we decry Trump for being a right wing extremist and wanting to ban immigration, yet here we wave the anti immigration flag as though it’s one of the core principles of the left. Where did we go wrong? We end up sounding more like the right every day
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[we tend not to talk politics in Weekend Social. Open Mike is a good place to start general debates. – weka]
The full range of positions on immigration from the left on here. The extreme edges of no or full uncontrolled immigration don’t seem to have representatives. Tough debate usually.
I’m one of those that support a more selective immigration policy here in NZ, as well as being utterly disgusted with the orange dotard.
The first big difference of opinion is how to treat immigrants that have already arrived. Adolf Twitler wants to make life as miserable as possible for them before he catches and deports them (except the smokin’ hot white ones). In contrast, I want to ensure immigrants that do come get the best welcome feasible and get assisted to find their place in society. I’m appalled by the way immigrants are being brought in under circumstances that make them vulnerable, and are then exploited by unscrupulous employers (who are, sadly, often recent immigrants too). Other lefty critics here of the previous govt’s immigration policies appear to feel the same.
Another big difference is the motivation for reducing immigration. The Fanta Fascist is only interested in stirring the vilest xenophobic fears of his supporters; he’s all for importing immigrants for his businesses to exploit. I’m concerned that excessively high levels of immigration are excessively stressing our infrastructural capacity to absorb them in a way that makes them welcome. And those infrastructure stresses are spilling over into social stresses such as high housing costs, which disproportionately harm the most vulnerable members of our society.
There’s lots more where that came from, but it’ll do for a start.
‘It’s not New Zealand holding up the consensus’ – Parker
Mr Parker would not name the country responsible, but denied it was either New Zealand or Canada.
“It’s not New Zealand holding up the consensus. We reached agreement.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/343526/it-s-not-new-zealand-holding-up-the-consensus-parker
And there you have it, New Zealand has reached agreement on the TPP.
Parker said Labour had got “some of what we wanted”
Will signing the TPP cost Labour the next election or will all be forgiven by then?
Awww! You’re so caring , Chair!
(You don’t care. You’re prising apart whenever you can. In fact, you never miss an opportunity to caringly create doubt and discord. You think you are clever. I think you stick out like the proverbial).
Nothing caring in that post, Robert. It was merely a question.
Moreover, I don’t create the opportunities that can cause discord, Robert. But I do ask questions, express my opinion and sometimes offer alternative solutions from time to time.
How’s you speculation looking now, Chair? Ought we to worry still about your “what ifs”?
There was no speculation, Robert. I just highlighted the facts reported and asked a question.
If you meant what do I expect will happen to the TPP? I suspect they will regroup and try again.
The main concern is, Labour were prepared to sign us up to it.
Which, would have created the “discord” and “prising apart” you seem to be concerned about.
Therefore, can we expect to see you have a go at them?
“Will signing the TPP cost Labour the next election or will all be forgiven by then?”
You are speculating that:
* the TPP will be signed
* signing it will cost Labour the next election
* anger at Labour for signing it will eventuate
* that anger might not disappear before the next election
and you wrapped those speculations in a question format in order to disguise you intention, which was and is to insert barbs into the confidence of Labour/Green/NZ1 readers here.
That’s what I reckon.
No.
I’m asking if they sign will it cost them the next election? Which, considering they reached an agreement, looks likely when and if negotiations restart.
There is anger with Labour now for even considering signing it, let alone them reaching an agreement. I know a number that didn’t vote Labour for this very concern.
However, the next election is a while away, hence I’m asking if all will be forgiven?
Therefore, your guesswork is incorrect. I suspect you suffer from paranoia. My intention for asking the question was to gauge the feeling here.
It’s Labour that failed to walk away (despite not getting all they wanted) and as I also pointed out to you, were prepared to sign. Thus, would have created the “discord” and “prising apart” you seem to be concerned about.
So why are you directing your crap at me and not them?
the lack of response to your question is because it is the wrong question
?/! = 1
It’s a question Labour should be asking themselves. But going off the feedback thus far (nothing at this stage) nobody cares, so they have nothing to worry about.
If we fail to make a noise now, it signals to them all is fine.
That’s right, you are the only person in NZ that cares about the TPPA and what Labour does.
Far from it.
The comment was made in context of the feedback thus far. Thus, was a tad sarcastic.
@ Robert Guyton
As for speculating on whether they will sign it. I believe they will. And if it all falls apart, it won’t be because of Labour’s unwillingness.
What do you reckon?
It doesn’t surprise me that Labour will sign up for this deal, it was in the bag from the get go. I don’t know how they are going to reconcile this with their two support partners in coalition – it will be a betrayal for them. They probably will have to get National’s support to get it accross the line.
I didn’t vote for them, but I am of that age group that will never forget the pig farmer and his reforms and what it has done to this country of ours. Labour has never got rid of their economic reforms and only dabble around the edges of it. I am like a lot of people and think that they should be attacking the pathetic benefits that are paid for the disabled and ill people in this country, if it wasn’t for families helping them out they would be on the streets.
Good on Jacinda for getting to be Prime Minister but its just going to be more of the same under her Government, I wonder what Professor Jane Kelsey has to say about this latest TPPA progress, I don’t think she will be impressed one bit.
Let’s see what’s been (about to be) agreed to before we decry all and sundry, shall we?
It’s a very heated debate, the TPPA but that beast has shifted shape many times since its conception. I’m waiting to see what form it has taken now. Old views may well be redundant.
So, Labour have gone from not signing up unless they get the changes they wanted, to lowering the bar and accepting some of what they wanted.
And you’re OK with that lowering of the bar, Robert, thus hold out hope it will be a good deal?
Largely agree, Kate.
Just announced on NZ media that Canada and Veitnam have both pulled out of the TPP11
I am so proud I became a Canadian Citizen in 1976 after living there as a kiwi, and now my second country saved my first country.
I now have found a true love of Canada again . Yippee shit I am going to open a bottle of bubbly.
I feel sorry for James, BM, srylands, and 3stepstotheright as they are all loosers.
Jacinda said she was not spending any more time on this TPP 11 now.
Going on to APEC meeting now.
Wise move so;
I now am proud to keep my Canadian citizenship as Canada saved my birthplace of NZ.
I love you Canada for saving NZ from corporate bondage.
Happy days again..
Come home Jacinda and we will rebuild our beautiful NZ again and shake off the shackles of corporate bondage,
Lets do this. ilovejacinda my princess.
Goodness!
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens!
LOL