500 days for a jury trial, 18 months for victims of serious crime for their day in court.
What do journalists do when in a hammock with a laptop and a cell phone?
The new Government is taking a laser focus …but some of the options could undermine judicial discretion and lead to a greater risk of innocent people pleading guilty.
Setting greater rewards for early guilty pleas into law is one of several changes
This is because a standard 25% discount was being applied regardless of how far the case had progressed (a 2021 study result). However research in Canada suggested a risk.
Research in Canada, for example, has shown innocent people pleading guilty to avoid spending time in jail on remand, where living conditions were poor and they were isolated from family.
In other words, those who were stuck behind bars had much more incentive to plead guilty than those who were already out.
Which is all related to access to bail, or home detention as alternative to prison on remand. But also why serve time on remand before a case when a guilty plea means an earlier sentence and earlier knowledge of when they will get out (those on remand are more likely to sentenced to prison if found guilty).
The Supreme Court questioned giving those obviously guilty a 25% reduction just for admitting it early
“unjustified windfall benefits … to those who have little choice but to plead guilty”.
The previous Government was also looking into more incentives for earlier case resolution, including more money for police prosecutions, and requiring police to give defendants more information earlier on. It also wanted to shift when defendants can elect a jury trial to later in the process, which was aimed at discouraging such trials.
The article goes onto a lot of other factors,
Potential factors included “running down judicial resourcing”, more defendants representing themselves in court, financial incentives for a longer process – the more court events, the higher the legal aid fees – and an “adjournment mentality”.
The latter is seemingly encouraged by the 2011 Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), which was meant to lead to more cases closing earlier by encouraging lawyers from both sides to discuss alternative resolutions. In reality, it had created a “‘tick box’ effect on prosecution and defence … ultimately creating adjournments”.
And onto the core of the issue
One was lawyers lacking enough information to make early plea recommendations. Another was a perception that cases might weaken over time, so it was seen as beneficial to drag them out and see what happens.
“As a result, as one of the lawyers in the Manukau group put it: ‘You would never find a lawyer who would recommend [pleading guilty early].’ This emerging default approach is compounded by the workload pressure,” the report said.
A lawyer in Christchurch told researchers that there was too much work, so it was convenient for both sides to “let things drift along … pleading guilty later is one way they can do this”.
Like the review of NZ research, the report identified financial incentives in legal aid cases that take longer to resolve, and unintended consequences with the CPA.
Of course if there was a a 25% discount for an early guilty plea, the clients of the said lawyers would have more a motive to have it sorted earlier.
Heartily sick of these stories. When are drivers going to take responsibility for their lack of road skills.
Use your eyes, potholes are well visible if you are awake. Slow down, take the slight deviation necessary to miss them.
The photo in this story shows the pothole is actually almost off the edge of the road.
Raj Narayan had enjoyed his newly purchased 2018 BMW 125i for about 15 minutes when he hit a pothole on State Highway 2 near Napier, that caused his rear-view mirror to fly off, and damaged his wheel and suspension.
People seem to think that a bucket full of "hot mix" will fix a pothole in 5 minutes. They also draw no distinction between State Highways which are Government responsibilities, and local roads which are the responsibility of the Local Authority.
The previous NACT Government increased the allowable weight of the road haulage vehicles while freezing the SH repair budget.
The main enemies of road surfaces are pressure and water. Pressure from heavy vehicles can cause cracks in the road surface. The water gets in and the basecourse deteriorates and washes out.
You cannot fix this properly during wet weather because the basecourse of the road has to be properly dry before a permanent repair can be made. You can do a temporary repair, but it deteriorates quickly.
Whatever the problems National will snap its fingers and instantly all the potholes will be fixed, at least that is what they have convinced so many petrol heads to believe.
The trick will be to get National to snap its fingers. It is still in its post election victory celebratory mode at the moment and can't be arsed.
Not true, heavy rain, oncoming traffic with lights on, half the time on full beam and too narrow roads so avoiding action is bloody dangerous are great disguises for holes, and NO, most are not on the edge of the road the vast majority are caused by very heavy trucks invariably going too fast for conditions and are some distance from the edge of the road. Too heavy truck and trailer units are completely the fault of the corrupt National Party who got millions from the transport industry prior to the 2008 election.
An interesting bit of research would be exactly how many of the far too numerous head-on crashes are caused by avoiding large pot holes? Do the Police not include this as a contributing cause?
It seems the Houthi are about to get what they deserve.
First they lied that their attack on Red Sea shipping was a targeted blockade on Israel
Now this double speak
Later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea confirmed its forces had carried out an operation involving "a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones".
"It targeted a US ship that was providing support for the Zionist entity [Israel]," he said.
"The operation came as an initial response to the treacherous assault on our naval forces by the US enemy forces," he added, referring to the sinking of three Houthi speed boats and killing of their crews by US Navy helicopters during an attempted attack on a container ship on 31 December.
The ship the Houthi tried to attack had nothing to do with Israel, and thus defence of it was a defence of freedom of the seas.
He added that the rebels would "not hesitate to adequately deal with all hostile threats as part of the legitimate right to defend our country, people and nation".
Stopping an attack on shipping is not an attack on Yemen, or the people of Yemen, but on a group involved in an on-going organised crime.
Mr Sarea also reiterated that the Houthis would continue to "prevent Israeli ships or ships heading towards occupied Palestine from navigating in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the [Israeli] aggression [on Gaza] has come to an end and the blockade has been lifted".
Many of the ships attacked in the Red Sea were sailing away from Palestine – transporting goods from Europe to Asia.
Apparently the goal of the Houthi is to attack world shipping to blackmail the world into appeasement of its terrorism. Which should be seen as an international crime.
Apparently the goal of the Houthi is to attack world shipping to blackmail the world into appeasement of its terrorism. Which should be seen as an international crime.
????
The goal of the Houthi is to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime.
Difficult to see how merchant ships which were not Israeli owned or operated – and were sailing away from the Suez canal – had anything to do with Palestine or Gaza.
"India increased surveillance in the waters after an India-bound commercial vessel carrying crude oil was targeted last month by a drone attack off the country’s west coast."
It makes your claim that the Houthi goal is only "to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime." – rather questionable.
The fact is, the Houthis are the only people with the integrity to do what the rest of the world should be doing: stopping Israel's crimes. If countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the United States did something meaningful to stop the genocide in Gaza instead of handwringing (or actually supporting it) then the Houthis would not be forced to do something.
Of course, it's no surprise to see this group above all others, taking active steps to support the people of Gaza. They've been subjected to a U.S.-backed genocide of their own for the last decade….
No, it's not simple piracy. It's political. The politics can be solved immediately: Washington can stop the slaughter with a simple command. The Houthis' political attacks on Western shipping would cease.
Like you, I don't think they should target shipping. It's counterproductive, as you so ably point out. They're too small to blockade any nation of course. The country blockading Israel would be the United States, if it actually took seriously its own rhetoric about "rules base order" and "human rights."
Oh, so it is now (in your opinion) a wider attack on Western shipping – nothing to do with attacking shipping which supports Israel.
A reversal of your initial claim that the Houthi goal is only “to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime.”
If the Houthis want war with the Western world, I hope (though strongly doubt) they are prepared for the consequences.
Please note that countries such as India, China and Russia are just as outraged as the 'West' – as their shipping is being targeted as well.
Attack on shipping is piracy. Full stop. Political attacks on shipping is terrorism.
Calling an act of violence a political act is no excuse for violence. And in my humble opinion a combination politics and violence is heading towards terrorism.
I’m not into violence l, unless it’s an old school war movie like the Battle of Britain.
Any it’s just a thought
Not into violence unless it is the butchering of Palestinians…
[one month ban for flaming another commenter. You’ve been warned about this before. One example is here. To make it really clear, if you want to keep commenting here, stop flaming, and the things we addressed in the past day about presenting evidence at the time of commenting. I suggest you book mark the mod notes, because you appear to not remember them. Mods are out of patience – weka]
The UN Security Council scheduled a vote on a resolution that would condemn and demand an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area.
At an open Security Council meeting last week, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on Houthi leaders to implement the statement by the 13 countries and halt attacks.
But he stressed that the Houthi's actions must be seen as a response to "Israel's brutal operation in Gaza", and the best scenario would be for the Security Council to redouble efforts to end the Yemen civil war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The "catastrophic" scenario, Nebenzia said, would be to escalate the use of force in the Red Sea which risks derailing a settlement of the Yemen conflict . It would also create conditions "for igniting a new major conflict around at least the Arabian Peninsula" and a wider regional conflict, he said.
The resolution would affirm that the navigational rights and freedoms of merchant and commercial vessels must be respected, and take note "of the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms".
Without naming Iran, the Houthis main arms supplier, the draft to be voted on would condemn all arms dealings with the rebels, which violate Security Council sanctions. It would also call for "additional practical cooperation to prevent the Houthis from acquiring the material necessary to carry out further attacks"
It "urges caution and restraint to avoid further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and the broader region". And it "encourages enhanced diplomatic efforts by all parties to that end, including continued support for dialogue and Yemen's peace process under the UN auspices".
Formally known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the Houthis began as a movement that championed Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority.
In 2014, they took control of the capital, Sanaa, and seized large parts of western Yemen the following year, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the international-recognised Yemeni government.
The ensuing war has reportedly killed more than 150,000 people and left 21 million others in need of humanitarian assistance.
Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of smuggling weapons, including drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, to the Houthis in violation of a UN arms embargo. Iran has denied the allegation.
ease back on the copypasta please. People can read the link if they want all that. We prefer that people explain their points in their own words (and use links/quotes to highlight or back up).
US Imperialism remains the major impediment to world peace, and resolution of scores of asymmetrical armed conflicts, aggressions and post colonial fallout scenarios.
Go Houthis!–they are showing solidarity with Palestine which the likes of the gutless EU and many others are unwilling to. Do you really expect brutalised populations and organisations to pay any attention to zionist supporters and comfortable westerners “rules”?
Heh, I don’t. Friends of mine have been on Kia Ora Gaza flotillas to try and breach the sea blockade and deliver medical and other aid to Gaza, they were luck to escape with their lives after being detained illegally on international waters, taken to shore, beaten by IDF thugs and thankfully released after various interventions.
The Israelis learnt the lesson of the Warsaw Ghetto well, tragically it was totally the wrong lesson–“do what the Nazis did to a captured population”.
Yemen has made compromises and worked hard to rebuild its country and regain the trust of its people, but the head of the Presidential Leadership Council on Thursday cautioned the international community that “dealing with Houthi militias as de facto authorities” would likely reverse hard-won gains and could turn Yemen into a hotspot to export terrorism worldwide.
“We hope that the Houthi militias will recognize a singular truth: Only a State that is based on the rule of law and equal citizenship will ensure that our country is stable, safe, and respected in the region” and wider international community, he said.
“There is a sure path towards peace by rekindling the trust of the Yemeni people in international legitimacy and in their national government,” he continued. “For that, we need to support the legal government, we need to strengthen the economy so that the government can provide services so that we can put an end to the militias and build a brighter future.”
US Imperialism remains the major impediment to world peace, and resolution of scores of asymmetrical armed conflicts, aggressions and post colonial fallout scenarios.
Just how is this the case Tiger Mountain? When I was studying international relations back during the Iraq War, my lecturer always warned us against trying to find a single root cause for any IR problem.
In the context of the latest cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I'd absolutely agree that US policy vis a vis the Middle East has created an epic moral and geopolitical quagmire. And that their financial and military support for the Israeli state is fundamentally important to Israeli security policy. And probably contributed to the IDF's gung-ho approach of committing egregious war crimes first, and then maybe thinking about asking questions later.
But to simply blame all of this on "US Imperialism" is, in my view, a trite and rather lazy analysis.
What about Russian Imperialism? or China's growing assertiveness as their economy cools down and the prospect of a short victorious war to reclaim Taiwan looks increasingly tantalising? Are they not also massive threats to global peace?
Or, even more salient, what about the Israelis? They're perfectly capable of setting and asserting their own policy objectives. And they don't give a proverbial about what anyone (even the USA) has to say about them.
Don’t buy your misgivings. US Imperialist hegemony remains supreme, though fading a little compared to the late 20th century.
I said major not only impediment. The US has almost a thousand publicly discoverable off shore military bases and surveillance facilities, many butted right up against their declared enemies territories in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Mid East. Imagine the reaction if say Iran parked up one ship off the coast of Mexico…the USA has maintained an economic blockade of Cuba since 1959. They are the lead enforcers for capital and international finance capital.
BRICS and the South generally are going to kick their arse sooner rather than later unless they pull their heads in.
Israel would be gone by lunchtime tomorrow if the US cascade of money and arms were withdrawn.
But to simply blame all of this on "US Imperialism" is, in my view, a trite and rather lazy analysis.
You're correct. The original injustice here was perpetrated by Great Britain and France. You can't deny the role of the U.S. now, however. Britain especially, and also France are no more than vassal states. Extremely violent and powerful vassal states, but vassal states nonetheless. Just like Israel.
By the way, why did you put scare quotes around "US Imperialism"? Do you think it's not real?
US Imperialism is very much real, just not the sole cause of everything wrong with the world.
It's fair to say great power diplomacy has done a great deal of the heavy lifting when it comes to messing up the middle east, but we have to bear in mind that Israel is a sovereign country with its own strategic aims.
[Please fix your user name in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]
I’m thinking that the original injustices were committed by the ancient Egyptians many thousands of years before the birth Christ, and every tyrant is just copying those that came before…
Golriz has endured the foulest abuse, most of it misogynist and racist, since she first became politically active in NZ. The timeline and details of this accusation will be interesting to see when the facts emerge. NZ Labour finally took an applaudable stand on the Gaza Genocide and then this type of story pops up.
That transcript was absolutely accurate. I transcribed painstakingly from the RNZ recording of the show. I took care to include every "umm" and "aah" that Jim Mora and Susan Hornsby-Geluk uttered, and even the way that they lengthened the vowel sounds on some words.
the problem is that in the past you did do loose transcripts, and as a mod I have no way to know if that was one of them. I did leave the link in, so people can click through if they want to read it.
Thanks weka. You're quite right, I used to dash the transcripts down in my own imperfect shorthand, then write them up as accurately as I could—
That's no longer the case: for the last five years or so, I've transcribed these horrendous conversations word for word, laboriously and with total accuracy.
Don't worry, though, weka: I don't intend to do too many of them in future. It's just too time-consuming to do on a regular basis.
OMG, Rob! That's just sensational! Thanks very much for that. The wonders of computers never cease to amaze me.
I liked the Morrissey comedy versions!
All the comedy in them–it was unintentional comedy always, AKA black comedy–was courtesy of Mr Mora and his terrifyingly horrible/stupid guests. And some of his colleagues as well, like Katherine Ryan, Kim Hill, Jesse Mulligan, Bryan Crump, Noelle McCarthy….
But why are you digging up old stuff from 2018?
Because it related directly to the topic under discussion, viz., the concerted political and media campaign over many years to belittle, smear, and traduce one of the few politicians in this country that speaks with honesty and acts with integrity.
This risible attack on her by a third-rater occurred even earlier, in 2017. It's no less relevant, and no less disgusting after all those years…
IMO, that piece of text was irrelevant (and dated) and it bordered on an attempt to divert. I just noticed your attempt this morning to link to your own blog site.
I stated clearly why I was posting it. Tiger Mountain had pointed out the history of racist and misogynistic abuse suffered by this fine young M.P.; I amplified this by pointing out that the condescension of people like Hornsby-Geluk was even worse than the moronic low-level stuff on NewstalkZB, on Kiwiblog and the (thankfully defunct) Whale Oil site.
(and dated)
There is a history of foul abuse directed at Golriz Gharaman dating back to when she began her parliamentary career. When is the cut-off date for pointing to instances of this abuse? Are you going to forbid anyone mentioning Duncan Garner's attempt to smear her and intimidate her on three's a.m. show on 29 November 2017?
and it bordered on an attempt to divert.
The example I provided was a reinforcement of what Tiger Mountain wrote. How on earth was it "an attempt to divert"?
I just noticed your attempt this morning to link to your own blog site.
Why exactly is it wrong for me to link to an article on my site?
I have no interest in wasting my time with a vexatious litigant and countering or explaining every single point you raised. I was contemplating how to moderate (!) your comment when another Mod deleted the quoted text, so now it’s a moot point, but undoubtedly, some of this will come up again.
Yes. Even if it transpires Golriz Ghahraman did commit or attempted to commit an unlawful misdemeanour, there are mitigating circumstances since she takes strong drugs to control her MS – drugs which can apparently cause 'brain fades' for the sufferer.
The Herald was apparently the first outlet to reveal the story, but it does not surprise me that it came from ZB news. A little birdie from on high whispered into their ears? My pick it was Barry Soper’s but I could be wrong of course. 😮
I had a hopefully humane response to Ms Ghahraman’s situation also with the chronic illness in the background. A couple of friends on chemo sometimes lose the plot a bit in various ways.
Timing is significant with some of these types of stories about politicians. The Natzos are still trawling through the trash and social media of their political enemies 24/7 make no mistake about that.
Wandering out of Scotties without paying, they would have tags on stuff, and without a get way car? Surely neither planned, nor deliberate.
Possibly trying on shoes with a dress and then absent-minded leaving without paying for one or the other.
Canon Bob Lowe, was twice charged because of his hand and into pocket habits pipe tobacco and chocolate – leaving after paying for one of the two – at the counter he realised he was there to pay for something but only remembered to check one pocket.
Ah, Canon Bob Lowe. That was a long time ago – a friend of mine worked at the supermarket in question (Fendalton Supervalue) and said that Bob was persistently lightfingered and had been warned several times before said charging. After that the staff always referred to him as "pocket edition", after the brand of tobacco he was partial to (but apparently not partial to paying for).
Anne- in a lot of countries this would fall under 'diminished responsibility' in criminal legislation. Unfortunately, NZ doesn't have that on the books. You're either fully culpable, or legally insane. (Found the link but my stupid computer won't open it, sorry). A first offence for a minor 'crime' would be eligible for diversion, but that's not the point, of course, if a person's behaviour is affected by (legally prescribed) medications.
I was left with a criminal conviction for just that reason. Clean slated here for many years, but something the US Govt still cares about should I ever want to visit there.
According to sources, Ghahraman is understood to have been accused of shoplifting during the festive season from exclusive boutique clothing store Scottie's Boutique in the electorate of fellow Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick.
An irrelevant detail indicative of a certain tendency in Auckland (and or some right wing) media towards the Green Party (and or left wing women of youth or colour).
The rest is in incident which becomes news, because its reporting has political consequences.
That is what I thought. What does Chloe Swarbrick have to do with it? An attempt to cast aspersions on her over the incident?
Is this what we can look forward to in 2024? Attempts to discredit individual MPs within the Opposition parties? Even if they prove to be untrue they leave a nasty smell behind.
It should be reported – when Maggie Barry had her recent Air NZ agitation, she boarded the plane in the electorate of Labour MP Lemauga Lydia Sosene and – shockingly – landed in the electorate of National MP Joseph Mooney!!
Absolutely – what a bizarre and I suspect malicious detail to add.
I don't recall ever seeing the electorate in which an offence was committed by an MP mentioned before. Irrelevant unless Swarbrick was part of the same shopping trip etc.
Indeed. However, Scotties Boutique is not a crowded shop. It's a very high-end, exclusive retailer of premium fashion (international designers) – it would be rare to have more than 2 or 3 people in the shop at any one time.
I’m sure the police will look for fingerprints on the items allegedly stolen. If your fingerprints are on the items it’s harder to claim “someone must have put them in my bag”. The other thing the police will look at will be the in store CCTV footage. Which will likely show who placed the the bag. I’m sure most high end boutiques have plenty of in store cameras. It’s a common practice, shoplifting in pairs, one person browsing with a open bag and another accomplice putting the items in the other person’s bag. If the bag holder gets caught they claim it wasn’t me
Obviously I disagree with Ghahraman in a lot of political perspectives.
But, I do think we need to show some humanity here. If the charges are proven, (yet to be the case) then it seems to me to be something so bizzare and abnormal for someone in her position, that it is reasonable to infer that there must have been some fairly major contributing circumstances to explain it.
Afterall, she likely did not lack in money to pay for the goods, given her salary. And, the consequences of such actions to her position as an MP would have been glaringly obvious for someone thinking rationally.
Whether her political career can survive this though, is another matter.
It's a bit like the controversy surrounding Kiri Allen. It's less about the details of this crime vs that crime or whatever: it's about the perception of misjudgement and the harming of the party's political position.
And as much as I agree with a lot of her political positions, the Green caucus isn't big enough to harbour MPs that are under a cloud, waste political capital, or aren't effective.
Better she resigns now, staunches the bleeding, keeps her head down for a few months, and passes the baton on to whoever is next on the list.
I certainly agree that all MP’s must be held to a high standard of behaviour and accountability.
I don’t necessarily believe that she should resign (assuming she did the shopping). However she certainly should not continue, if she has done what appears to have happened, unless she holds herself accountable without making excuses.
BTW, something that annoys me about the Kiri Allen issue, is that it appears that she is considering challenging the charges on a “technicality”. We all know that she was driving a vehicle, over the alcohol limit, crashed into someone’s vehicle, and left the scene. This doesn’t sound like someone who is taking accountability for her actions, while she was a cabinet minister. And to me would cast a doubt on her integrity, considering she may be setting herself up as some sort of advisor working with government agencies.
[You’re wasting time of Mods with your reoccurring typos in your email. From now on, all of your pending comments will go straight to Trash. And read Lprent’s Mod note for you – Incognito]
Interesting timing about this alleged shoplifting, given the recent bother Maggie Barry got herself into on Air New Zealand flight. It's as if the dirty politics operators are at the ready to distract at a moment's notice. Not being a ZB listener, am wondering if ZB Plus gave a breathless announcement about Maggie Barry's behaviour. Police are not called on to a departing flight for no good reason.
Not everything is reported. No one has reported the instance of the Christchurch ACT candidate charged in the week after the last election with possessing offensive weapons on the grounds of Christchurch University. He has subsequently been charged with possessing a banned AR15. I suppose the party of law and order has friends in high places.
If this is the case you are referring to, then it appears that there was no firearm present. The student was charged with possession of a knife and a baton, as well as some ammunition.
Perhaps you confused this with Kyle Chapman (also in Christchurch) – who was indeed charged with possession of firearms and ammunition – but has no association with ACT.
if you want to talk about the shoplifting allegation, Open Mike is the place to do it. If you want to comment under my post about Dirty Politics, then please focus on that. None of your comments were about DP other than to say that you didn’t think it was.
I'm going to stay out of the matter of Golriz Ghahraman and Scottie's until all is said and done, due to the rhetoric around that being pretty off-putting. I assume nothing yet.
See ya. Hopefully my break isn’t interrupted this time.
To paraphrase Desi Lydic of the The Daily Show, I've been on Fox News and I can explain, I've been on X and I cannot explain how weird it was.
A Libertarian crossed over NZFirst while it was neither vaccinated, nor sterilised.
Canada has too many people (probably Palestinian migrants) and Japan is a land without a people. Tucker Carlson loves Trump on Twitter, just as he did while on Fox News (but not in private), but Fox news is still Fox News and Twitter is now called X. Did no one tell Tucker? Tucker won't say a bad word about Trump, yet hates what Trump did, without saying Trump did it. He knows his audience and it has cognitive dissonance.
A lockdown was a breach of freedom and vaccination was a matter of consent, so a lack of deaths during lockdown was proof that vaccination was not required. And this must not happen again.
Death with COVID, not death by COVID. Death by COVID is death by RNA vaccine. Doctors who vaccinated people and then died by COVID, died by bio-weapons. The virus was a bio-weapon and the vaccine was a bio-weapon.
If brevity is wit, what is X? If X crossed with Q, would LGBQT+ gain the X function? Would that make everyone bi-curious? Is gender identity, or is sex identity? What are they teaching in schools, does Tracey Martin know? NZF knows best, which NZF? Can we go back in time? What is is time?
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Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
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. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
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 ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
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Back in 2017 the issue was prison numbers and a way was found to resolve this.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/107588798/corrections-cuts-prison-numbers-by-stepping-up-successful-parole-hearings
Now the issue
What do journalists do when in a hammock with a laptop and a cell phone?
This is because a standard 25% discount was being applied regardless of how far the case had progressed (a 2021 study result). However research in Canada suggested a risk.
Which is all related to access to bail, or home detention as alternative to prison on remand. But also why serve time on remand before a case when a guilty plea means an earlier sentence and earlier knowledge of when they will get out (those on remand are more likely to sentenced to prison if found guilty).
The Supreme Court questioned giving those obviously guilty a 25% reduction just for admitting it early
The article goes onto a lot of other factors,
And onto the core of the issue
Of course if there was a a 25% discount for an early guilty plea, the clients of the said lawyers would have more a motive to have it sorted earlier.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/justice-minister-paul-goldsmith-on-reducing-court-delays-as-government-key-priority/GCWSFAWANJCNNIKUZEC6IBZUDA/
Heartily sick of these stories. When are drivers going to take responsibility for their lack of road skills.
Use your eyes, potholes are well visible if you are awake. Slow down, take the slight deviation necessary to miss them.
The photo in this story shows the pothole is actually almost off the edge of the road.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/301037459/the-pothole-and-a-complaint-process-that-took-a-long-road-to-nowhere
People seem to think that a bucket full of "hot mix" will fix a pothole in 5 minutes. They also draw no distinction between State Highways which are Government responsibilities, and local roads which are the responsibility of the Local Authority.
The previous NACT Government increased the allowable weight of the road haulage vehicles while freezing the SH repair budget.
The main enemies of road surfaces are pressure and water. Pressure from heavy vehicles can cause cracks in the road surface. The water gets in and the basecourse deteriorates and washes out.
You cannot fix this properly during wet weather because the basecourse of the road has to be properly dry before a permanent repair can be made. You can do a temporary repair, but it deteriorates quickly.
Whatever the problems National will snap its fingers and instantly all the potholes will be fixed, at least that is what they have convinced so many petrol heads to believe.
The trick will be to get National to snap its fingers. It is still in its post election victory celebratory mode at the moment and can't be arsed.
Not true, heavy rain, oncoming traffic with lights on, half the time on full beam and too narrow roads so avoiding action is bloody dangerous are great disguises for holes, and NO, most are not on the edge of the road the vast majority are caused by very heavy trucks invariably going too fast for conditions and are some distance from the edge of the road. Too heavy truck and trailer units are completely the fault of the corrupt National Party who got millions from the transport industry prior to the 2008 election.
An interesting bit of research would be exactly how many of the far too numerous head-on crashes are caused by avoiding large pot holes? Do the Police not include this as a contributing cause?
Yes there are some mitigating circumstances.
This story didn't feature any of them.
Totally agree about trucks.
It seems the Houthi are about to get what they deserve.
First they lied that their attack on Red Sea shipping was a targeted blockade on Israel
Now this double speak
The ship the Houthi tried to attack had nothing to do with Israel, and thus defence of it was a defence of freedom of the seas.
Stopping an attack on shipping is not an attack on Yemen, or the people of Yemen, but on a group involved in an on-going organised crime.
Many of the ships attacked in the Red Sea were sailing away from Palestine – transporting goods from Europe to Asia.
Apparently the goal of the Houthi is to attack world shipping to blackmail the world into appeasement of its terrorism. Which should be seen as an international crime.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67932725
Apparently the goal of the Houthi is to attack world shipping to blackmail the world into appeasement of its terrorism. Which should be seen as an international crime.
????
The goal of the Houthi is to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime.
FIFY.
Difficult to see how merchant ships which were not Israeli owned or operated – and were sailing away from the Suez canal – had anything to do with Palestine or Gaza.
"India increased surveillance in the waters after an India-bound commercial vessel carrying crude oil was targeted last month by a drone attack off the country’s west coast."
https://www.voanews.com/a/indian-navy-rescues-commercial-ship-in-arabian-sea-after-hijack-attempt-/7429058.html
It makes your claim that the Houthi goal is only "to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime." – rather questionable.
And the reality.
They are obstructing shipping carrying cargo between Europe and Asia.
Two of the nations least affected are the USA and Israel.
The fact is, the Houthis are the only people with the integrity to do what the rest of the world should be doing: stopping Israel's crimes. If countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the United States did something meaningful to stop the genocide in Gaza instead of handwringing (or actually supporting it) then the Houthis would not be forced to do something.
Of course, it's no surprise to see this group above all others, taking active steps to support the people of Gaza. They've been subjected to a U.S.-backed genocide of their own for the last decade….
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/01/12/us-al-qaeda-yemen-houthis-terrorists/
If the Houthis were only attacking Israeli shipping (whether owned, operated or en-route to Israel) you would have a point. However, they are not.
Their reported depredations seem to be purely targets of opportunity – and therefore it's simple piracy.
No, it's not simple piracy. It's political. The politics can be solved immediately: Washington can stop the slaughter with a simple command. The Houthis' political attacks on Western shipping would cease.
Attacks on all shipping between Europe and Asia, not just western.
At least you concede it is not a blockade on Israel.
Like you, I don't think they should target shipping. It's counterproductive, as you so ably point out. They're too small to blockade any nation of course. The country blockading Israel would be the United States, if it actually took seriously its own rhetoric about "rules base order" and "human rights."
Oh, so it is now (in your opinion) a wider attack on Western shipping – nothing to do with attacking shipping which supports Israel.
A reversal of your initial claim that the Houthi goal is only “to prevent and hamper shipping that supports Israeli/American terrorism, which is an international crime.”
If the Houthis want war with the Western world, I hope (though strongly doubt) they are prepared for the consequences.
Please note that countries such as India, China and Russia are just as outraged as the 'West' – as their shipping is being targeted as well.
Attack on shipping is piracy. Full stop. Political attacks on shipping is terrorism.
Calling an act of violence a political act is no excuse for violence. And in my humble opinion a combination politics and violence is heading towards terrorism.
I’m not into violence l, unless it’s an old school war movie like the Battle of Britain.
Any it’s just a thought
Not into violence unless it is the butchering of Palestinians…
[one month ban for flaming another commenter. You’ve been warned about this before. One example is here. To make it really clear, if you want to keep commenting here, stop flaming, and the things we addressed in the past day about presenting evidence at the time of commenting. I suggest you book mark the mod notes, because you appear to not remember them. Mods are out of patience – weka]
mod note.
Lying about what they are doing is not a sign of integrity.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2024/01/01/fears-houthi-attacks-will-revive-red-sea-piracy/
Agree Morrissey.
The Houthi now have the worlds attention.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/10/un-to-vote-on-resolution-on-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attacks/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67932725
ease back on the copypasta please. People can read the link if they want all that. We prefer that people explain their points in their own words (and use links/quotes to highlight or back up).
The Houthi now have the worlds attention.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/10/un-to-vote-on-resolution-on-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attacks/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67932725
[long blocks of copypasta and bad formatting deleted]
US Imperialism remains the major impediment to world peace, and resolution of scores of asymmetrical armed conflicts, aggressions and post colonial fallout scenarios.
Go Houthis!–they are showing solidarity with Palestine which the likes of the gutless EU and many others are unwilling to. Do you really expect brutalised populations and organisations to pay any attention to zionist supporters and comfortable westerners “rules”?
Heh, I don’t. Friends of mine have been on Kia Ora Gaza flotillas to try and breach the sea blockade and deliver medical and other aid to Gaza, they were luck to escape with their lives after being detained illegally on international waters, taken to shore, beaten by IDF thugs and thankfully released after various interventions.
The Israelis learnt the lesson of the Warsaw Ghetto well, tragically it was totally the wrong lesson–“do what the Nazis did to a captured population”.
The Houthi are not even good for Yemen.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141192
Just how is this the case Tiger Mountain? When I was studying international relations back during the Iraq War, my lecturer always warned us against trying to find a single root cause for any IR problem.
In the context of the latest cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I'd absolutely agree that US policy vis a vis the Middle East has created an epic moral and geopolitical quagmire. And that their financial and military support for the Israeli state is fundamentally important to Israeli security policy. And probably contributed to the IDF's gung-ho approach of committing egregious war crimes first, and then maybe thinking about asking questions later.
But to simply blame all of this on "US Imperialism" is, in my view, a trite and rather lazy analysis.
What about Russian Imperialism? or China's growing assertiveness as their economy cools down and the prospect of a short victorious war to reclaim Taiwan looks increasingly tantalising? Are they not also massive threats to global peace?
Or, even more salient, what about the Israelis? They're perfectly capable of setting and asserting their own policy objectives. And they don't give a proverbial about what anyone (even the USA) has to say about them.
Don’t buy your misgivings. US Imperialist hegemony remains supreme, though fading a little compared to the late 20th century.
I said major not only impediment. The US has almost a thousand publicly discoverable off shore military bases and surveillance facilities, many butted right up against their declared enemies territories in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Mid East. Imagine the reaction if say Iran parked up one ship off the coast of Mexico…the USA has maintained an economic blockade of Cuba since 1959. They are the lead enforcers for capital and international finance capital.
BRICS and the South generally are going to kick their arse sooner rather than later unless they pull their heads in.
Israel would be gone by lunchtime tomorrow if the US cascade of money and arms were withdrawn.
But to simply blame all of this on "US Imperialism" is, in my view, a trite and rather lazy analysis.
You're correct. The original injustice here was perpetrated by Great Britain and France. You can't deny the role of the U.S. now, however. Britain especially, and also France are no more than vassal states. Extremely violent and powerful vassal states, but vassal states nonetheless. Just like Israel.
By the way, why did you put scare quotes around "US Imperialism"? Do you think it's not real?
US Imperialism is very much real, just not the sole cause of everything wrong with the world.
It's fair to say great power diplomacy has done a great deal of the heavy lifting when it comes to messing up the middle east, but we have to bear in mind that Israel is a sovereign country with its own strategic aims.
[Please fix your user name in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]
Mod note
I’m thinking that the original injustices were committed by the ancient Egyptians many thousands of years before the birth Christ, and every tyrant is just copying those that came before…
Dirty Politics never sleeps…eh ZB…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/506410/green-mp-golriz-ghahraman-stands-aside-from-portfolios-after-being-accused-of-shoplifting
Golriz has endured the foulest abuse, most of it misogynist and racist, since she first became politically active in NZ. The timeline and details of this accusation will be interesting to see when the facts emerge. NZ Labour finally took an applaudable stand on the Gaza Genocide and then this type of story pops up.
Even worse than the outright abuse is the condescension from the likes of Susan Hornsby-Geluk.
[loose transcript deleted]
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03-11-2018/#comment-1545975
That transcript was absolutely accurate. I transcribed painstakingly from the RNZ recording of the show. I took care to include every "umm" and "aah" that Jim Mora and Susan Hornsby-Geluk uttered, and even the way that they lengthened the vowel sounds on some words.
I invite anyone to listen to this recording of that awful programme and then claim with a straight face that my transcript of it was "loose"…..
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/2018669364/the-panel-with-susan-hornsby-geluk-and-mike-rehu-part-1
the problem is that in the past you did do loose transcripts, and as a mod I have no way to know if that was one of them. I did leave the link in, so people can click through if they want to read it.
Thanks weka. You're quite right, I used to dash the transcripts down in my own imperfect shorthand, then write them up as accurately as I could—
That's no longer the case: for the last five years or so, I've transcribed these horrendous conversations word for word, laboriously and with total accuracy.
Don't worry, though, weka: I don't intend to do too many of them in future. It's just too time-consuming to do on a regular basis.
Try riverside.fm/transcriptions – seems pretty legit. It generated this for me:
https://pastebin.com/RAUBpqwR
It was a fun challenge to generate this transcription (and find a free service!), but it's over 1000 words so I can see why the mods are grumpy.
I liked the Morrissey comedy versions! But why are you digging up old stuff from 2018?
Try riverside.fm/transcriptions – seems pretty legit. It generated this for me:
https://pastebin.com/RAUBpqwR
OMG, Rob! That's just sensational! Thanks very much for that. The wonders of computers never cease to amaze me.
I liked the Morrissey comedy versions!
All the comedy in them–it was unintentional comedy always, AKA black comedy–was courtesy of Mr Mora and his terrifyingly horrible/stupid guests. And some of his colleagues as well, like Katherine Ryan, Kim Hill, Jesse Mulligan, Bryan Crump, Noelle McCarthy….
But why are you digging up old stuff from 2018?
Because it related directly to the topic under discussion, viz., the concerted political and media campaign over many years to belittle, smear, and traduce one of the few politicians in this country that speaks with honesty and acts with integrity.
This risible attack on her by a third-rater occurred even earlier, in 2017. It's no less relevant, and no less disgusting after all those years…
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02-12-2017/#comment-1421632
IMO, that piece of text was irrelevant (and dated) and it bordered on an attempt to divert. I just noticed your attempt this morning to link to your own blog site.
IMO, that piece of text was irrelevant
I stated clearly why I was posting it. Tiger Mountain had pointed out the history of racist and misogynistic abuse suffered by this fine young M.P.; I amplified this by pointing out that the condescension of people like Hornsby-Geluk was even worse than the moronic low-level stuff on NewstalkZB, on Kiwiblog and the (thankfully defunct) Whale Oil site.
(and dated)
There is a history of foul abuse directed at Golriz Gharaman dating back to when she began her parliamentary career. When is the cut-off date for pointing to instances of this abuse? Are you going to forbid anyone mentioning Duncan Garner's attempt to smear her and intimidate her on three's a.m. show on 29 November 2017?
and it bordered on an attempt to divert.
The example I provided was a reinforcement of what Tiger Mountain wrote. How on earth was it "an attempt to divert"?
I just noticed your attempt this morning to link to your own blog site.
Why exactly is it wrong for me to link to an article on my site?
I have no interest in wasting my time with a vexatious litigant and countering or explaining every single point you raised. I was contemplating how to moderate (!) your comment when another Mod deleted the quoted text, so now it’s a moot point, but undoubtedly, some of this will come up again.
Yes. Even if it transpires Golriz Ghahraman did commit or attempted to commit an unlawful misdemeanour, there are mitigating circumstances since she takes strong drugs to control her MS – drugs which can apparently cause 'brain fades' for the sufferer.
The Herald was apparently the first outlet to reveal the story, but it does not surprise me that it came from ZB news. A little birdie from on high whispered into their ears? My pick it was Barry Soper’s but I could be wrong of course. 😮
Maggie Barry must be relieved.
I had a hopefully humane response to Ms Ghahraman’s situation also with the chronic illness in the background. A couple of friends on chemo sometimes lose the plot a bit in various ways.
Timing is significant with some of these types of stories about politicians. The Natzos are still trawling through the trash and social media of their political enemies 24/7 make no mistake about that.
Wandering out of Scotties without paying, they would have tags on stuff, and without a get way car? Surely neither planned, nor deliberate.
Possibly trying on shoes with a dress and then absent-minded leaving without paying for one or the other.
Canon Bob Lowe, was twice charged because of his hand and into pocket habits pipe tobacco and chocolate – leaving after paying for one of the two – at the counter he realised he was there to pay for something but only remembered to check one pocket.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/clean-slate-for-clergyman/5Q56GVEJ4GDN737GVAZXR6KCVI/
Ah, Canon Bob Lowe. That was a long time ago – a friend of mine worked at the supermarket in question (Fendalton Supervalue) and said that Bob was persistently lightfingered and had been warned several times before said charging. After that the staff always referred to him as "pocket edition", after the brand of tobacco he was partial to (but apparently not partial to paying for).
Anne- in a lot of countries this would fall under 'diminished responsibility' in criminal legislation. Unfortunately, NZ doesn't have that on the books. You're either fully culpable, or legally insane. (Found the link but my stupid computer won't open it, sorry). A first offence for a minor 'crime' would be eligible for diversion, but that's not the point, of course, if a person's behaviour is affected by (legally prescribed) medications.
I was left with a criminal conviction for just that reason. Clean slated here for many years, but something the US Govt still cares about should I ever want to visit there.
Mitigating circumstances are for the average citizen.
MP’s must be held to a higher standard of accountability and responsibility.
Certainly we would be enjoying this if it was a National Party MP with a similar health problem.
[flaming deleted. See other mod note for ban]
mod note.
This is the defining nature of the report
An irrelevant detail indicative of a certain tendency in Auckland (and or some right wing) media towards the Green Party (and or left wing women of youth or colour).
The rest is in incident which becomes news, because its reporting has political consequences.
"An irrelevant detail..."
That is what I thought. What does Chloe Swarbrick have to do with it? An attempt to cast aspersions on her over the incident?
Is this what we can look forward to in 2024? Attempts to discredit individual MPs within the Opposition parties? Even if they prove to be untrue they leave a nasty smell behind.
It should be reported – when Maggie Barry had her recent Air NZ agitation, she boarded the plane in the electorate of Labour MP Lemauga Lydia Sosene and – shockingly – landed in the electorate of National MP Joseph Mooney!!
Relevant points.
Absolutely – what a bizarre and I suspect malicious detail to add.
I don't recall ever seeing the electorate in which an offence was committed by an MP mentioned before. Irrelevant unless Swarbrick was part of the same shopping trip etc.
I obviously don't know the details, but I imagine it would be pretty easy to slip a small product into an open shopping bag in a crowded shop!
Just saying!
Indeed. However, Scotties Boutique is not a crowded shop. It's a very high-end, exclusive retailer of premium fashion (international designers) – it would be rare to have more than 2 or 3 people in the shop at any one time.
That is how a lot of shop lifters do it, small size and high value items go into the pocket and when confronted go "oops a daisy it was an accident"
Not saying that's what happened here of course
If it is Boutique Shopping, the objective is not to be crowded. People would view on-line and go in there to try on.
I’m sure the police will look for fingerprints on the items allegedly stolen. If your fingerprints are on the items it’s harder to claim “someone must have put them in my bag”. The other thing the police will look at will be the in store CCTV footage. Which will likely show who placed the the bag. I’m sure most high end boutiques have plenty of in store cameras. It’s a common practice, shoplifting in pairs, one person browsing with a open bag and another accomplice putting the items in the other person’s bag. If the bag holder gets caught they claim it wasn’t me
Obviously I disagree with Ghahraman in a lot of political perspectives.
But, I do think we need to show some humanity here. If the charges are proven, (yet to be the case) then it seems to me to be something so bizzare and abnormal for someone in her position, that it is reasonable to infer that there must have been some fairly major contributing circumstances to explain it.
Afterall, she likely did not lack in money to pay for the goods, given her salary. And, the consequences of such actions to her position as an MP would have been glaringly obvious for someone thinking rationally.
Whether her political career can survive this though, is another matter.
I don't think it can, tsmithfield.
It's a bit like the controversy surrounding Kiri Allen. It's less about the details of this crime vs that crime or whatever: it's about the perception of misjudgement and the harming of the party's political position.
And as much as I agree with a lot of her political positions, the Green caucus isn't big enough to harbour MPs that are under a cloud, waste political capital, or aren't effective.
Better she resigns now, staunches the bleeding, keeps her head down for a few months, and passes the baton on to whoever is next on the list.
I certainly agree that all MP’s must be held to a high standard of behaviour and accountability.
I don’t necessarily believe that she should resign (assuming she did the shopping). However she certainly should not continue, if she has done what appears to have happened, unless she holds herself accountable without making excuses.
BTW, something that annoys me about the Kiri Allen issue, is that it appears that she is considering challenging the charges on a “technicality”. We all know that she was driving a vehicle, over the alcohol limit, crashed into someone’s vehicle, and left the scene. This doesn’t sound like someone who is taking accountability for her actions, while she was a cabinet minister. And to me would cast a doubt on her integrity, considering she may be setting herself up as some sort of advisor working with government agencies.
[You’re wasting time of Mods with your reoccurring typos in your email. From now on, all of your pending comments will go straight to Trash. And read Lprent’s Mod note for you – Incognito]
Mod note
Interesting timing about this alleged shoplifting, given the recent bother Maggie Barry got herself into on Air New Zealand flight. It's as if the dirty politics operators are at the ready to distract at a moment's notice. Not being a ZB listener, am wondering if ZB Plus gave a breathless announcement about Maggie Barry's behaviour. Police are not called on to a departing flight for no good reason.
Well, they certainly reported it
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/former-politician-maggie-barry-denies-abusing-air-new-zealand-crew-member/
Not everything is reported. No one has reported the instance of the Christchurch ACT candidate charged in the week after the last election with possessing offensive weapons on the grounds of Christchurch University. He has subsequently been charged with possessing a banned AR15. I suppose the party of law and order has friends in high places.
If this is the case you are referring to, then it appears that there was no firearm present. The student was charged with possession of a knife and a baton, as well as some ammunition.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/500959/man-arrested-at-university-hall-appears-in-christchurch-district-court-on-weapons-charges
Perhaps you confused this with Kyle Chapman (also in Christchurch) – who was indeed charged with possession of firearms and ammunition – but has no association with ACT.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132915998/far-right-activist-arrested-on-firearms-and-ammunition-charges
new post up
https://thestandard.org.nz/dirty-politics-2024/
I know exactly what it is – I just don't agree that it is playing out here. It doesn't need to.
[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.]
if you want to talk about the shoplifting allegation, Open Mike is the place to do it. If you want to comment under my post about Dirty Politics, then please focus on that. None of your comments were about DP other than to say that you didn’t think it was.
On Golriz-cut her a break everyone. She was on meds and two days before Christmas
I'm going to stay out of the matter of Golriz Ghahraman and Scottie's until all is said and done, due to the rhetoric around that being pretty off-putting. I assume nothing yet.
See ya. Hopefully my break isn’t interrupted this time.
To paraphrase Desi Lydic of the The Daily Show, I've been on Fox News and I can explain, I've been on X and I cannot explain how weird it was.
A Libertarian crossed over NZFirst while it was neither vaccinated, nor sterilised.
Canada has too many people (probably Palestinian migrants) and Japan is a land without a people. Tucker Carlson loves Trump on Twitter, just as he did while on Fox News (but not in private), but Fox news is still Fox News and Twitter is now called X. Did no one tell Tucker? Tucker won't say a bad word about Trump, yet hates what Trump did, without saying Trump did it. He knows his audience and it has cognitive dissonance.
A lockdown was a breach of freedom and vaccination was a matter of consent, so a lack of deaths during lockdown was proof that vaccination was not required. And this must not happen again.
Death with COVID, not death by COVID. Death by COVID is death by RNA vaccine. Doctors who vaccinated people and then died by COVID, died by bio-weapons. The virus was a bio-weapon and the vaccine was a bio-weapon.
If brevity is wit, what is X? If X crossed with Q, would LGBQT+ gain the X function? Would that make everyone bi-curious? Is gender identity, or is sex identity? What are they teaching in schools, does Tracey Martin know? NZF knows best, which NZF? Can we go back in time? What is is time?