How the UK press is misinforming the public about Britain’s role in the world
by MARK CURTIS, 9 March 2020
Britain’s national press consistently portrays Britain as a supporter of noble objectives such as human rights and democracy. The extraordinary extent to which the public is being misinformed about the UK’s foreign and military policies is revealed in new statistical research by Declassified UK.
The research suggests that the public is being bombarded by views supporting the priorities of policy-makers. It also finds that there is only a very small space in the British press for critical, independent analysis and key facts about UK foreign policy.
The research, which analyses the UK national print media and does not include broadcasters such as the BBC, suggests that there is little divergence between the liberal and conservative press.
This is the first of a two-part analysis of UK national press coverage of British foreign policy.
Disappearing foreign policies
Key British foreign policies, particularly in the Middle East, are being routinely under- or un-reported in the UK national press.
The Egyptian regime under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in a 2013 coup, which killed hundreds of people and has become increasingly repressive, jailing tens of thousands of opponents as well as journalists. During this period, the UK government has deepened military, trade and investment with the regime, in effect acting as an apologist for it.
Yet a search for press articles in the two years ending in December 2019 finds none covering the full range of UK cooperation with the Sisi regime. A handful of articles (less than a dozen, mainly in the Independent and Guardian) occasionally mention an aspect of UK support for the regime. But this number is very low given 1,018 articles mentioning Sisi during the same period, Egypt’s long historical relationship to the UK and the fact that the UK is the largest investor in Egypt.
The lack of press reporting is especially striking given that the government has itself been consistently announcing its support, especially in military relations, for the Sisi regime.
so the west is complicit in supporting both arab despotic regimes and israeli apartheid regimes.
love them or hate them, you've got to respect the governments of the wests ability to be all things to all people while supporting all sides in all arguments
Well, if the economy does all go to hell in a handbasket, I want to see our Minister of Finance avoid the cumbersome corporate-welfare routes suggested by National or continued by NZF's PGF.
It's time for giving money to the workers.
Cut out the businesses: support the people direct, as recommended buy the EPI.
The Dow's drop of 2,000 points was a decline of 7.79%; the S&P 500 fell 7.60% and the Nasdaq dropped by 7.29%.
Warning that the economic hit from the outbreak "will come fast" when it arrives and "hit lower-wage workers first and hardest," Josh Biven of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said it will be crucial for the government to introduce a swift and targeted response.
Biven called on the government to make a plan for "rapid direct payments to individuals" just as was done by President George W. Bush in 2008—when one-time checks of $600 for individual tax-filers and $1,200 for joint tax filers were issued—in order to stem the bleeding from the financial crash that year.
"We could use this model but do even better this time," said Biven, suggesting $1,000 for each individual and $500 per child.
Retro-fit the entire housing stock so homes are fit for habitation in the coming decades of climatic changes brought about by global warming.
That would be quite a stimulus package, aye?
Not going to happen. What was that measure Cullen put in place that would allow personal bank accounts to be dipped into by banks in a bind? I can't remember the details. You?
"New Zealand stands apart form the rest of the world in having no formal or permanent deposit protection, this means Kiwis with bank deposits have no protection of a financial institution from risks beyond their control.
New Zealand: A New Zealand Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme was introduced in October 2008, but terminated in December 2011. Unlike other countries, it was an open-ended scheme with investors in nine covered finance companies receiving their money back. The largest payout was in relation to South Canterbury Finance, where depositors received $1.6 billion from the Crown.
Ffs it is not NZ1 PGF, this government implemented the strategy. Same as under the 1980’s reforms was under a labour govt. Allow labour to also take ownership of what is implemented when they are in power.
Great to see our reserve bank has managed our economy that we are almost at a 0% interest rate, with no room to move, all because our economy for some time not been performing and needed propping up by our central bank. With vested interests evident the GFC was never addressed just had a few bandaids applied.
joined at the hip–.'On Monday both ANZ and National called on the Government to cancel a minimum wage hike from $17.70 to $18.90 per hour slated for April, pointing out that under-stress businesses are already under the pump.'(Stuff)
Why should a foreign bank interfere in NZ politics?
We do know they have a record of fraud,money laundering and misfeasance,can blame junior staff for non compliance with regulations ,do not welcome the new reserve capital ratios and that a favourite to become the new executive is former N.Z National P.M-John Key.
Capitalists don't like Capitalism. Not really news.
The capitalist notion that "businesses that can't, or won't, pay the cost of the resources they use, should be allowed to fail, and make room for more efficient users of resources" very quickly turns into looking for a handout from the "socialists" when things turn to custard.
Rather ironic. Especially as the businesses looking for handouts, are the ones that have most successfully privatised their profits, and socialised their losses, in recent times. Paying minimal wages, and getting tax payers, and rate payers, to subsidise their business costs.
I heard the roaring inferno this morning. The conflagration, the bonfire of all the regulations being turned to cinders.
"The reality is though," to quote the esteemed leader of the Opposition, is the Australian bushfire image he's trying to create is a mirage, election crap.
This is quite unlikely to occur this time around. Not to put too fine a point on it, from an entirely disinterested economic perspective, the COVID-19 might even prove mildly beneficial in the long term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.
I know most people won't care about people with PTSD not being accommodated in social housing.
Words cannot express the terror of being constantly triggered due to living in a home that is unsuitable. We call ourselves civilised while pissing on the most vulnerable and ensuring they know their needs are resented and considered a great inconvenience.
FYI anyone with PTSD (and with medical documentation stating they need low noise, privacy, etc) is simply told "we don't have properties like that" and it's been that way for decades. Disabled put last as usual.
The shit of it all is that the same people in the welfare system will point out that these people, without trigger free/low trigger housing haven’t worked, or don’t want to work. Well, yes because they are in a constant state of panic or drugged into zombie status so they can handle their fucking housing.
In the meantime Kainga Ora puts up another video letting everyone know the story of the priviliged state house tenants who didn't have PTSD and could use the available housing stock had their lives improved…eg, "living here allowed me to…..". Others are supported in buying the home they are in.
NOTHING for people with PTSD because after being abused, shot at (possibly in service to our country), tortured they just have to deal with it.
I happen to believe that counseling in particular is the most dangerous alternative therapy we have in NZ. Why?
– there is no definition of what counseling is/is not. This means any number of random or in some cases made up techniques can be incorporated without any oversight or valid research into what is being offered (think of gay conversion therapy as one example)
– hard to believe but there is no regulation of who can call themselves a counselor (sexual predators, conmen, pretty much anyone you can imagine). And yes, I am certain that this point is correct – people are so naive they can't understand that there are no barriers to practice.
– public has a false sense of security around getting help, fueled in no small part by the constant reinforcing blurb at the bottom of any mildly concerning news article
In summary, counseling presents itself more like an alternative therapy than anything scientific and the lack of skeptics looking critiquing it is concerning.
The most dangerous place in the world is your mind, so who you permit in there matters. As individuals we should do everything you can to avoid our broken and overburdened mental health system. I disagree strongly with the current strategy which is to encourage even more people into this system, many of whom may not even need treatment.
And I’m waffling on again. I don’t know what kind of therapy Prince Harry had, but the fact that it was 7 years screems exploitation and fostered dependency. In my experience this seems more like counseling, less like other treatment modalities that have science behind them, and set time frames
A – I didn't realise there was no basic licensing that would sort out the types of people you mention. I suppose it is a follow-up on that airy-fairy idea of 'treatment in the community', people rallying round helping each other etc. As you say the mind is us. I get confused as to why young people are so willing to take drugs, white powders that could be mostly Ajax cleaner. One way to get the synapses fizzing and fusing.
Proper counselors have a post grad qualification (diploma or masters level) in counseling & membership of a professional body with code of ethics etc (NZAC.org.nz). So called or self proclaimed counselors lacking both of these are more likely snake oil types
Are there safeguards against the snake oil merchants? Something that would limit what a helper/listening ear does, and come down hard on someone getting into real supposed therapy?
There are good counselors out there without postgrad qualifications, some don't even have a professional body. Some of the counselors who are bad for clients have postgrad degrees and a professional body. Being a member of NZAC doesn't mean you are good at what you do or that you don't cause harm.
I know people who've had bad experiences & that colours my opinion. I wouldn't go to anyone unqualified or without membership of a professional body. You are correct that isn't an absolute guarantee.
Simon's front bench must be shaking their collective heads in disbelief and his ineptitude.
My guess is they've decided to take the loss of the election in 2020 on the chin, and dump him shortly after. It's now too late to make a change at the top without having it look like panic. I know Labour managed it in 2017, but there is no Jacinda in the National Party.
What makes you think the nats front bench are any better, if anyone heard Mark Mitchel on the radio with Hoskings this morning you would shake your head and say, ineptitude
I hope that our suits in parliament have enough brains and heart and above all guts to put something like this forward should shit hit the fan and the thus distriubted shit cover all of us.
Mortgage payments will be suspended across Italy as part of measures to soften the economic blow of coronavirus on households, a minister has said.
Laura Castelli, Italy's deputy economy minister, told Radio Anch'io: "Yes, that will be the case, for individuals and households."
Italy's banking lobby group ABI said lenders would offer debt holidays to small firms and families.
Suspending debt payments is not unheard of in Italy.
Some small businesses and families were given time off during the financial crisis before having to repay.
I would even go so far that maybe the government could put out a rule that forbids landlords from evicting people who may not be able to make rent payments (commercial/residential) should the country need to pull a shut down like we have now seen in China and Italy. That may actually help people to get over such a period and then be able to go back to their businesses and start working again.
If we can bail out Insurance Companies, the Farming Industry, etc then surely our critters in parliament can come up with something like that to help the people who actually finance government. Joe and Jane Six Pack aka 'The Tax Payer".
wonder how many shell companies the orange shitgibbon has and how much he stole from the treasury – not only by way of tax cuts for the rich only – but also by ways of 'building a shitty wall that falls over in the wind', 'sanitizer', 'facemask' and of course 'oil' and 'hotel' and 'tourism' and 'golfing' and "hospitality' and and and.
Here is hoping that our overlords have more sense then that. But then, i wonder if forsight is something that is done in our government. Or if they just go lalalalala and wait for the worst to happen before they start doing something.
According to the Associated Press, Donald Trump, the current President of the United States who is supposed to be managing the Coronavirus epidemic and how the testing is conducted, has listed investments in V.F. Corp (VFC) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Corporation (TMO), both of which moved jobs out of the U.S. in high profile outsourcing deals. There is reason to believe that Donald Trump stands to profit from medical testing of coronavirus that will now take place in the United States.
If this scenario plays out, then we will see the longest drought period in the north on record ending with a big bang towards the end of next week and into the weekend:
And the middle of the country too. Because it has not rained much here either. And the waikato is burned crisp – all these brown hills of New Zealand. Many of whom never grassed over since the drought from the last year.
Yep. And hopefully not to much soil erosion. Crop you cna replant, structures you can rebuild, but rebuilding washed down soil is another thing altogether.
This is the second soap-box Stuff's given this guy to spout his smug, self-aggrandising crap about how renting is a mug's game and the real money's in ownership. (The last one was about how not all landlords are miserly vultures out to ruin the lives of their tenants.) Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. What's next week's article? Graeme Fowler tells us trees are made of wood and water is wet?
While much of what Graeme writes in this article will be nothing new to anyone over 30, it does have a legitimate audience of younger people who may not have yet thought these things through. Certainly I don't read anything that rates as "Fucker of the Year" in it.
Very few people go from leaving their parents home direct to owning their own; almost everyone by choice rents for a period of their lives.
It takes time to get a deposit together and have enough income to qualify for a mortgage.
Until you are in a stable relationship most people don't want to be tied down to a single home; they want to travel, move to different places, and want the flexibility of renting.
Or you are going through a period of transition in your life, new job in a new town, break up of a relationship, etc that means renting is the best choice for a period. Sometimes misfortune means that a dream crumbles, life takes a turn never planned for and owning your own home now lies out reach.
This doesn't gainsay any of the obvious problems NZ has with it's entire housing market, the lack of social housing, the lack of a mature rental market, and the unaffordability of new housing, combined with an effectively insatiable demand are creating many, many problems.
Renting is a legitimate market … yet it obviously brings out that envious, resentful aspect of many people in the way landlords get routinely demonised; especially on the left. Everyone denies it, but it's plain as the sullen words on the page, and it's weirdly unhelpful because once trust is lost in the landlord/tenant relationship it always ends unhappily.
I agree totally. When we started 20 years ago we had several tenants who made the transition to ownership, and we celebrated with them. That isn't happening now, but it's a problem with the whole housing sector, not just landlords.
Almost everyone needs to rent at some point in their lives, so providing them is scarcely a 'fucker of the year' offence.
What he is saying that renting long term is not a smart plan; which when you think about it's not obviously in his business' best interests. He's giving advice in the best interests of his tenants …
Which of the "Seven Deadly Sins" one trots out in a slanging match can be informative. Wonder if, on the way to 70 rentals, the individual concerned ever paused to ask themself: "Is 10/20/30/40/50/60 enough?"
Why on earth would anyone envy the greedy – they're 'ugly', and a bit sad.
So nice to be off the treadmill – now, if I can just find my Lotto ticket…
I have more respect for Graeme's hard work and risk tolerance than hoping on a Lotto win TBH. Yes he is an outlier, most landlords stop at one or two units because the work and risk involved is more than they can accept. A smaller number like us stop at less than 10. Many who try to go past this go broke pushing the limits.
So what exactly is the threshold that defines 'greed'? And why do so many on the left despise competency and success?
Can’r speak for the “so many”, but I don’t depise.
For myself, greed is "more than I need".
For others, greed might be "more than I want", in which case the 'greed threshold' becomes much more elastic. I feel genuinely ‘blessed’ to have steered clear of that particular trap.
@Chris
There are many ways to measure success, but in his chosen domain Graeme has done spectacularly well. It took a lot of hard work, discipline, and competency. You're welcome to say this isn't for you, but turning it into an ethical issue strikes me as really odd.
Consider your favourite big hit musicians … those outliers who make tens millions as distinct from the vast majority of equally talented musos who can't feed their families. We never think of these people as 'ugly' and 'greedy' … because we're primed to like and admire them and we see them as remote from us.
But culturally there is a widespread resentment of landlords for a complex of interesting reasons, some psychological and some because of class resentments festering back generations.
I'm happy about socially useful "competency and success" being rewarded. So long as the "successful" person pays enough tax, to pay for the public expenditures that helped his/her "success".
About, finding more "successful" ways of ripping everyone else off, by investing in making a disfunctional housing market, more dysfunctional, not so happy.
ways of ripping everyone else off, by investing in making a disfunctional housing market,
Again there are all the usual pathology's on display. Providing a home via the rental market is not 'ripping anyone off'. If you cannot or do not want to qualify for a mortgage, nor for social housing, then you need a landlord to provide one for you.
The deal is simple, you the tenant get a home on terms that suit your immediate needs, and the landlord invests in their long-term prosperity.
And interestingly if you talk to actual landlords, most of us hate high asset prices. For us the ideal unit to purchase is something in the last 20% of it's economic life, that no-one else really wants, and we can buy cheaply then add some value to bring it up to an acceptable standard. For most buy and hold rental investors, high asset prices are a bit of a PITA and we tend to close our cheque books.
Yes I know that paying $400 pw rent looks like we're making out like bandits. But the reality is that after fixed costs like rates, insurance and management typically only 50% is left. Then we have any mortgage interest and tax to pay. Many tenants would be quite surprised if they saw their landlord's annual accounts.
For us the ideal unit to purchase is something in the last 20% of it's economic life, that no-one else really wants, and we can buy cheaply then add some value
What utter bullshit. These are the same houses that first home buyers want because they can add value in the same way.
I did say 'ideally'. I agree that a dysfunctional housing sector has created a big shortage of houses across the whole market, and that this now means landlord investors and first home buyers compete with each other all too often.
But the idea that we drive prices up is not always correct; typically investors make their best margin when they buy. They work strictly on the numbers and look for properties they can get as cheaply as possible, while home buyers will get emotionally invested and will often pay over the odds.
As I said, everyone denies being envious always. Yet for something that apparently never happens, it's kind of odd that we have such a well known word for it.
What do you want me to say to that? “Yeah, sorry, you've caught me out. I lied. I'm envious"? I’m in fact anything but envious. There’d be some situations I’d find repulsive, but I’m likely to be saddened more than anything. I’m certainly not envious.
I'm not expecting you to say anything you don't want to.
I'm not here to score points, I much prefer to converge a conversation toward at least a common understanding of each other's perspective, rather than diverge into mutually antagonistic dugouts.
Yes there is such a thing as greed, but it's doesn't necessarily follow that every competent, successful person must be greedy. Outcomes are by nature never evenly distributed. You might want to look up Price's Law. It's a bit brutal, but it's a fact of life.
"Everyone", "always", "never" – what do they say about hyperbole?
Nevertheless, given a choice between being labelled 'greedy' or 'envious', more NZers would opt for 'greedy' – why, it's almost a virtue. God save us from those virtuous ‘greed-is-good‘ righties.
“If we allow our appetites to become so disordered that we ignore the welfare of others, our spiritual life dies. We are no longer able to be the channels of God's love and so are cut off from our true life, that which endures for eternity. That does not mean that we are not part of God's plan. We do fit into his providence, but in the same sense that a greedy pig is part of the monks' plan. The pig is eaten and so contributes to the life of others. The greedy and sinful person contributes to the life of others by, for example, enabling them to develop the virtue of patience and the gift of forgiveness.”
If we allow our appetites to become so disordered that we ignore the welfare of others
So when Graeme Fowler advises people renting to that it's not in their long-term interests exactly how is this 'ignoring the welfare of others'?
He provides rental homes that almost everyone will need at some stage in their life. Not everyone qualifies or wants a mortgage. Exactly how is this 'ignoring the welfare of others'?
There always was an idea that somehow poverty is a virtue. Well it isn't, it's the source of many evils and far too often used as an excuse to justify failure.
There is some truth in that. Mainly because I don't set up a false dichotomy between left and right wing thinking, and I reject the false binaries of typical tribal politics, us good, them bad.
So yes you are going to sniff me and wrinkle your nose because I'm saying things that challenge a lot of left wing assumptions. Put me on a right wing site and I'll get the same response for exactly complementary reasons; they'll sniff the lefty in me.
After decades of sterile, largely futile lefty rage, I realised the only people who get anything of lasting value done are those who can create a conversation and sustain the creative tension between left and right. Pete George in his own way has long been attempting something similar. (Whether we’re any good at it or not is another matter.)
Yet oddly enough last time PG and I conversed we had such a robust exchange I realised I'm not all that right wing at all.
@RL – Clearly we need a lot more virtuous lefties like your mate Graeme and your good self. Would either of you be prepared to share your 'rental property largess' in order to make that happen? Might even go some way to addressing the evils of poverty!
Maybe sharing is an antidote for both greed and envy. Now, what to do about the other five. You know I'm just kidding, right? Why should/would any hard-working individual share more than a small fraction of their wealth – it’s their wealth, for God’s sake.
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of the linguistically insecure."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of the incompetent."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of someone with nothing useful to say."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of a failed argument."
Nobody's saying poverty is a virtue. To the contrary, the left is about, or should be about, eradicating poverty. That's what the right responds with when accused of denying the poor access to resources.
(And saying you're wrong about what I think is far from diverging into an antagonistic dugout.)
Well I'd guess that GF pays more tax than all us combined, but I don't think that is what you mean by 'sharing'; that is a concept that only has meaning when it's undertaken voluntarily. (By contrast taxation is an essential social obligation that no-one would call sharing.)
Many left wingers struggle with the idea that outcomes are inherently unequal, and for a very small minority, spectacularly so. This has always been the case throughout all human history, long before capitalism or bastard landlords, it's a tendency that is baked into all social systems that pass over a minimal threshold of prosperity. Success creates opportunity, which combined with good luck and competency, will always produce more success … in whatever field of endeavour. This of course drives inequality, which left unmoderated drives to gross extremes of wealth, and triggers it's own cascade of known problems.
Trying to drive equal outcomes by preventing success is the terrible mistake the Soviets and Maoist's made. We do not need to repeat this failed experiment.
Therefore the left might want to look at the problem of inequality through fresh thinking. Andrew Yang promoted his own version and there are a lot of people doing this in quiet corners of the internet working through what is a much more difficult and intractable problem than is commonly assumed.
In some senses you may well be in the right domain, that relative poverty (inequality in this context) is not so much an economic problem, but a spiritual or psychological one.
@RL: Not fussed about absolute equality of outcomes; would settle for all NZers having at least enough resources, and there is 'enough' in NZ for that to happen – the barriers lie elsewhere.
For those that find the goal of 'enough for all' unpalatable/unrealistic, there's always the issues of defining and distributing 'enough' to fall back on.
Not envy, just push-back against the class distinction amateur landlordism encourages.
Encouraging everyone to own two or more houses is incomparable with encouraging everyone owning a house. They are contrary positions and it is impossible to achieve both without there being a lot of empty houses.
Fowler and his followers suggest that winners and losers just are and always will be and that is a very right wing view of the world – just ask Hosking.
Socially conscious lefties, as far as I know, hope for a situation where everyone has enough rather than an increasingly divided world of first and second class citizens. Haven’t we supposed to have left all that behind?
It just not believable to talk about socially conscious people (in your words, middle class liberals) wanting working class people to remain poor. The idea of one person owning 70 houses, or nine, or two even, if followed to its conclusion ensures a lot of people will definitely remain poor. A lot of them working class families.
Encouraging everyone to own two or more houses is incomparable with encouraging everyone owning a house.
GF with 70 units is an extremely outlier, the vast majority of landlords are ordinary middle class people who work for a living and over time have one or two units they rent. These days often through professional property managers.
Not everyone will ever want to do this; being a landlord is absolutely more risk and work than most people want to take on. Most people don't want to make the necessary 20 -30 year sacrifice to make it work.
Moreover there are only about 250,00 landlords in NZ, and the point many people miss is that the individuals involved actually move in and out of the industry all the time. We are not a fixed group.
wanting working class people to remain poor.
Yet this is precisely where GF started and now everyone slams him for becoming wealthy.
I don’t slam him for becoming wealthy, professional landlords are required as you say. But Fowler getting on the soapbox, having a column as is so important for self important realty people these days, and encouraging amateur landlordism isn’t really helpful for a fair society, in my opinion.
His advice is for everyone to buy, fine if that were possible, but also for young people to buy a rental first then another home to live in later but importantly, "don't sell the rental".
This is amateur landlordism and the point I'm trying to make is that not everyone shares in the benefits of the logical outcome. Those being secure communities and confident kids.
This doesn't sit well with true lefties who consider the wider picture.
I can see the apparent objection you have; in this I think GF is projecting his own experience without properly qualifying it.
Let's put it this way, if I outlined an investment opportunity that demanded 20 – 30 years of work and sacrifice, with no certainty of success … just how many people do you think would leap at it?
I'd accept that GF might have been more accurate if he'd explicitly made this point; that being a landlord just isn't for everyone.
Because I can assure you that after 20 years at this it's pushed my risk tolerance to the edge more than a few times.
There's a few of these opinion columns cropping up on the enlarged property platforms offered by the main news organisations.
Fowler for Homed on Stuff and Ashley Church for One Roof in the Herald.
Church is increasingly political, particularly over the last few months.
This is against the new background of real estate agents promoting themselves as rock stars. They have glossy billboards all over town often with short and sage life advice one-liners for the public.
Fowler doesn't even seem that bright. I don't mean that as an insult – just that the article posted by Chris is pretty basic and offered nothing useful to renters or investors really.
So it doesn't matter what the endeavour is, it's okay if it involves sacrifice and hard work? Loan sharks? Clothing trucks? All okay if they work hard and make sacrifices? The consequences of that endeavour don't matter?
I can understand why you ask this question, and I really don't think it has any easy or glib answers.
The obvious answer is just repeating what I think we both agree on, that landlords do provide a legitimate and necessary service. Almost everyone at some stage in their life will need a rental home for a period.
At another level landlords are doing something akin to what banks do, we make our capital available to others to use for their immediate benefit, the tenant gets a home now, the landlord gets a long term investment. This is a win for both parties.
But I suspect neither answer is going to satisfy you. TBH I'm a bit distracted at the moment and don't feel I can do this justice. The whole notion of 'the greater good' feels like a conceptual can of worms.
At another level landlords are doing something akin to what banks do, we make our capital available to others to use for their immediate benefit, the tenant gets a home now, the landlord gets a long term investment. This is a win for both parties.
Fowler disagrees. He believes this is only a win for the landlord and he advises the public as such.
I'd say 'the greater good' is a cornerstone of socially conscious thought. It's distressing to read it labeled as a conceptual can of worms.
He believes this is only a win for the landlord and he advises the public as such.
Again you clearly misconstrue what he is saying. Given that virtually everyone wants or needs to rent a home at some point in their lives, this is clearly an immediate win for the tenant compared to sleeping under a bridge.
But in the long run you need to be thinking about how to move on, we all agree that renting is not an ideal long term solution. But too many people won't take responsibility for this and procrastinate … they don't act.
It's distressing to read it labeled as a conceptual can of worms.
Oh it's one of those nice ideas that looks superficially simple and attractive enough on the outside, but the devil is in the details. Like marxism.
You seem to be saying that everyone needs to rent at some stage and that it's a temporary thing until the person’s ready to buy a house and for those who stay renting it's their fault because they fail to act.
The difficulty with that is an unacceptably high number of people are never ready because they've been completely locked out of the market. And a significant part of the problem are people like Graeme Fowler.
Had no idea who Peterson is, but according to his Wikipedia page he was/is something of a climate change skeptic – sad about his medical conditions, but best given a wide berth, IMHO.
"But in the long run you need to be thinking about how to move on, we all agree that renting is not an ideal long term solution. But too many people won't take responsibility for this and procrastinate … they don't act." – RL
Thing is, renting is an ideal very long term 'solution' for many, just not so many in New Zealand. Might that have something to do with a greater percentage of NZ landlords playing 'fast and loose', or is it mainly because NZ renters make comparatively 'poor' tenants?
In fact, all renters by choice unanimously agreed that tenants rights in New Zealand needed drastic improvement, especially when compared to countries like Germany or Sweden where long-term renting remains a common practice.
“I’m appalled by the lack of rights tenants have in New Zealand and how poorly you’re treated by agencies. It truly is the only negative thing about this country,” says Laura, a Wellington-based renter originally from Ireland. “We’ve never missed a week’s rent in over three years, always have perfect inspections, and we’re still treated like scum by the agency we rent from.”
“I do think that New Zealand would greatly benefit from some of the rental protections put in place elsewhere in the world, such as rent control and decade-long leases, to cultivate a sense of security for those people who prefer not to buy. But let’s face it, I’ll have to move back to Europe if I want this type of thing in the near future.”
While some improvements to renter’s rights have been made in the past year, such as banning rental bidding and limiting rent increases to once a year, rental insecurity remains a constant source of stress for many tenants. Research from Australia suggests subpar tenancy law reflects broader cultural values that associate the meaning and making of home with homeownership. As a result, many tenants struggle to feel at home in their rental property which subsequently impacts psychological health and overall well-being.
And if either of you bothered to read the thread properly you would see at least two places where I clearly acknowledge exactly these problems … that we have a housing sector beset by high demand, low supply and high prices. This impacts everyone, from social housing tenants, everyone in the rental sector and home owners.
There has been a toxic brew of reasons why this dysfunction has come about … but fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems reveals more about underlying resentment and bitterness than anything that will actually help.
And yes much of our older housing stock falls well short of modern expectations. But they were all new homes decades ago and generations of families did happily live in them without it necessarily affecting their mental health. That they were built 50 or more years ago poorly oriented to the sun and prone to dampness is not actually the fault of their current owner.
Getting them to perform to modern expectations is like pretending you can make a Hillman Avenger run just like a modern 2020 model car. Sure you can mitigate the worst of it, but a full noise reno in many cases makes little economic sense. Spending $50k to bring an 80 yr old house up to spec when you're barely netting $5kpa profit out it simply isn't feasible.
It would make much more sense to demolish and build new, but building costs in this country are off the scale. Trust me I've run the numbers on this many times, but they never quite add up.
There are some great builders out there, but in general I’m eternally disappointed by the NZ building industry; they’ve long under-performed. Again just one of many factors in a toxic brew.
"…but fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems reveals more about underlying resentment and bitterness than anything that will actually help." – RL
I asked your opinion about the cause(s) of "these problems", and suggested two possibilities – that you chose to characterise that question as "fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems" is a classic misrepresentation, and reveals an unnecessarily defensive position, IMHO. I certainly have no reason to be resentful or bitter towards landlords – I've been a tenant in four properties (in NZ, England (x2), and NZ), the last thirty years ago, and the landlords were straight-up, as was I. I'll never be a renter again (touch wood), and I have no desire or need to be a landlord (thank God).
I do feel that bad landlords should not be landlords, and that bad tenants should not be tenants. But I also believe that bad landlords typically have more 'options' than bad tenants – just the way it is.
Apologies, my response was to both of you and I didn't accurately answer your question
Might that have something to do with a greater percentage of NZ landlords playing 'fast and loose', or is it mainly because NZ renters make comparatively 'poor' tenants?
There is certainly be an element of both. I can't speak to how many bad landlords there are but I can tell you that of the 50 odd tenants we've had in 20 years, 5 of them have caused problems. (Although I have to say that since we moved to 100% professional management that number has dropped to zero, tenants don't tend to play games with managers who will evict them without compunction.) But just for the sake of argument I'm willing to accept that bad landlords and bad tenants exist in similar numbers and total impact.
It is however definitely true is that the vast majority of both landlords and tenants are perfectly good people and discharge their side of the contract reliably. In all the rancour it's easy to overlook this. When we were still in NZ we often got to know our tenants, and generally enjoyed interacting with them. Sadly a small minority saw this as a weakness and wound up exploiting it, and we made our share of naive mistakes as well.
But these are problems that would exist regardless of any other consideration, so my specific answer to your question is 'neither'. Yes bad landlords and bad tenants do exist, but this isn't especially germane to the much wider problems our whole housing sector is chronically groaning under.
RL – So you acknowledge the problem but reject the suggestion that the likes of Graeme Fowler (70 houses, major income generating operation) are a significant cause of that problem?
Or is that you acknowledge the problem and accept that the likes of Graeme Fowler (70 houses, major income generating operation) are a significant cause of the problem?
Surely good/bad tenants doesn't matter. It's an occupational hazard any landlord must accept. The consequences might be worse for those with one or two extra houses, but bad tenants come with the territory.
Latest from Peak. Starts with pointing out it is too late for Europe and the US where the “don’t test, don’t tell” policy is about to backfire in a phenomenal manner.
Goes through what the gold standard of handling the pandemic should be (most western countries are screwed…thanks CDC and WHO!)
Makes suggestions around what govt's could do to improve the situation for people including
– removing restrictions of dispensing medication so people can get a few months at a time
– ensuring quality information and understanding panicking people is not the same as preparing them. We need to be prepared and the best way to do that is gradual, additional purchases over multiple shopping trips.
– testing asap, don't make it hard
– mortgage relief so the choice isn't go to work and spread the illness or lose the house
Too right A I have heard about these people self-isolating. That solves the government's problem, but what about their living costs, their possible need to have food delivered to the house if they are on their own, or the family is in lock down with them?
Who ties the threads together in the back of the rousing announcements so that there is a robust safety net – ensuring what people need to survive is available. Government needs to be there to assist those who need care out of the institutions. Is there a help-line and a set of officials for sourcing and delivering different needs and a weekly budget that meets the costs?
Some good points there. I would add raising benefits.
I don't think it's too late for the US and Europe, it's a matter of degrees and how people cope. Unless we are going to close our borders, what happens there affects us here.
Charles Kindleberger, one of the intellectual architects of the Marshall Plan, argued that the disastrous decade of the 1930s was a result of the United States' failure to provide global public goods after it had replaced Britain as the leading power. Today, as China’s power grows, will it make the same mistake?
As US President-elect Donald Trump prepares his administration’s policy toward China, he should be wary of two major traps that history has set for him. The “Thucydides Trap,” cited by Chinese President Xi Jinping, refers to the warning by the ancient Greek historian that cataclysmic war can erupt if an established power (like the United States) becomes too fearful of a rising power (like China). But Trump also has to worry about the “Kindleberger Trap”: a China that seems too weak rather than too strong.
Charles Kindleberger, an intellectual architect of the Marshall Plan who later taught at MIT, argued that the disastrous decade of the 1930s was caused when the US replaced Britain as the largest global power but failed to take on Britain’s role in providing global public goods. The result was the collapse of the global system into depression, genocide, and world war. Today, as China’s power grows, will it help provide global public goods?
Health minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries says she has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Ms Dorries, the first MP to test positive, said she had taken all the advised precautions after finding out, and had been self-isolating at home.
[..]
It is not known how many meetings Ms Dorries had attended at Westminster or in her constituency in recent days.
The Department of Health said she first showed symptoms on Thursday – the same day she attended a Downing Street event hosted by the prime minister – and had been self-isolating since Friday.
No 10 did not comment on whether Boris Johnson had undergone testing, or whether he will now be tested.
All health ministers, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, are to undergo testing for the virus, along with other officials who have come into contact with Ms Dorries.
Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi have been called for Biden.
Michigan exit polls have Biden 52% Sanders 43%
Missouri exit polls Biden 55% Sanders 39%
Mississippi exit polls have Biden 76% Sanders 20%
Awfully hard to see a path to the nomination for Sanders now, barring Biden suffering a major medical event. Or even what value might be achieved by Sanders staying in the campaign much longer.
Time for his supporters to get behind Biden and throw out Trump, Pence, DeVos, Carson and all those other slime bags who want a theocratic free market state.
It's not like there is much of a choice. Believe me, I am aware of Uncle Joe's record. Jacobinmag puts up an article every other day, but we have to work with what we have to work with.
We may even get surprise. LBJ was pretty conservative, but his record, apart from that little war in SE Asia, is the most left wing one since FDR.
I do not know much about the US politics, but who is more likely to be able to beat Trump in the next election? Biden or Sanders? Surely the answer to that question is who the Democrats want to win this thing.
Hi everyone, sorry for not posting here on a more regular basis as I’ve been bumping my fat fingers over on Twitter and I’ve been back down the tunnel as well.
Anyway I thought I might share this with everyone, as a lefty I’m a bit weird as I’m pro defence but also pro green with social issues as well.
I’ve been following this new SOPV capability announcement by NZG since the 2019 WP on the Defence since my two cousins (one as a cook in the RNZN & the other as a part of research team doing his PhD on something to do Ocean thingy’s) caught up in a near capsizing of one the RNZN OPV’s a while back on a run down Sth. The current OPV’s a barely fit for duty down Sth or operate in the Southern Ocean all yr round, the current OPV’s are 100t over weight, too short in length and in the beam (width), the lack of a combat mission system to talk/ data link to the new P8’s, Seasprite Helo’s note these are not normally carried down Sth to the weight issues of the OPV’s and UAV’s when they eventually enter service, and the unsafe means of launching & recovering boarding parties with their RIB.
This PPP show https://pacificexpo.com.au/conferences/PDFs/New-Zealand-Southern-Ocean-Patrol-Vessel-Pacific-2019-Presentation.pdfthe… capabilities that the RNZN & NZG are after this ship isn’t going to come cheap, but when one considers the operation environment and the effects of CC in the Southern Ocean with no or little hope of help if something goes wrong is going to be money well spent. Especially when the Antarctic Treaty is up for renewal in the early 2040’s and the ever increasing threat from over fishing from poachers by nation states or via 3rd parties operating in what is now called the “Grey Zone” also known as “Hybrid Warfare” which the current International Base Rule System is push to it limits of normality at we are so use too in its current form.
The sad fact is ExKF that when it comes to major purchases such as replacement ships aircraft, etc. cost is the determining factor – inter-operability is second, and actual ability to do the job it is supposed to do is third. I remember when I first joined the RNZN in 1974 – it was the time of commissioning the 4 Brooks Marine PVs which were to replace the long serving ex WW2 inshore ML's. What a disaster they were. Designed for the Atlantic and expected to operate in the Pacific with a much greater wave length. We fought fro years to get the politicians to understand they need to give those manning the vessels extra hard living allowances because they were so sick making and everyone was injury prone from being flung about in rough weather. I remember the day while I was then on the Naval Staff in Def HQ in Stout St. The 4 Patrol Craft happened to be in port at Wellington for some celebration or other and the Admiral decided it would be a good idea to invite the cabinet on board for a trip around the harbour 😉 Oh and by the way it might be an idea to have a little excursion out beyond the heads. Fortunately there was bit of a swell in the Strait. We had our submission for extra allowances for PC crew prepared and it was agreed by Cabinet pretty much the next day.
As your foaf's dad arrived from India 14 days ago, the chances of him having COVID -19 is very slight. India reported it's first case of the virus on 30 Jan. – after he had travelled from India – and that was a case of the virus being imported by an arrival from China so it is unlikely that foaf's dad had picked it up from them.
India reported the first confirmed case of the coronavirus infection on 30 January 2020 in the state of Kerala. The affected had a travel history from Wuhan, China.
There are now a number of further cases being reported and more detail is on the link above. Obviously it depends on the area from which your foaf's dad arrived as to whether there is a likelihood of infection or not – but again all of these seem to have arisen after he has left the country.
BTW the two young women on the start of the video sang a beautiful wiaata for Jeanette at the gathering on Sunday. Two amazing young people. The spirit of Jeanette lives on.
I smell malice in them thar allegations against Goff in particular. Sour grapes and jealousy are a common cause of questionable accusations.
Dalziel seems to have been the victim of incorrect advice but it does not exonerate her from some of the blame. She, or someone on her behalf, should have checked the donations in question with the Electoral Commission.
Yep. He's the one that put her crook although that has yet to be confirmed. She assumed he was correct. Bad mistake. As any good woman would tell you. 😉
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
How the UK press is misinforming the public about Britain’s role in the world
by MARK CURTIS, 9 March 2020
Britain’s national press consistently portrays Britain as a supporter of noble objectives such as human rights and democracy. The extraordinary extent to which the public is being misinformed about the UK’s foreign and military policies is revealed in new statistical research by Declassified UK.
The research suggests that the public is being bombarded by views supporting the priorities of policy-makers. It also finds that there is only a very small space in the British press for critical, independent analysis and key facts about UK foreign policy.
The research, which analyses the UK national print media and does not include broadcasters such as the BBC, suggests that there is little divergence between the liberal and conservative press.
This is the first of a two-part analysis of UK national press coverage of British foreign policy.
Disappearing foreign policies
Key British foreign policies, particularly in the Middle East, are being routinely under- or un-reported in the UK national press.
The Egyptian regime under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in a 2013 coup, which killed hundreds of people and has become increasingly repressive, jailing tens of thousands of opponents as well as journalists. During this period, the UK government has deepened military, trade and investment with the regime, in effect acting as an apologist for it.
Yet a search for press articles in the two years ending in December 2019 finds none covering the full range of UK cooperation with the Sisi regime. A handful of articles (less than a dozen, mainly in the Independent and Guardian) occasionally mention an aspect of UK support for the regime. But this number is very low given 1,018 articles mentioning Sisi during the same period, Egypt’s long historical relationship to the UK and the fact that the UK is the largest investor in Egypt.
The lack of press reporting is especially striking given that the government has itself been consistently announcing its support, especially in military relations, for the Sisi regime.
Read more….
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-03-09-how-the-uk-press-is-misinforming-the-public-about-britains-role-in-the-world-part-one/
so the west is complicit in supporting both arab despotic regimes and israeli apartheid regimes.
love them or hate them, you've got to respect the governments of the wests ability to be all things to all people while supporting all sides in all arguments
Well, if the economy does all go to hell in a handbasket, I want to see our Minister of Finance avoid the cumbersome corporate-welfare routes suggested by National or continued by NZF's PGF.
It's time for giving money to the workers.
Cut out the businesses: support the people direct, as recommended buy the EPI.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2003/S00170/as-dow-jones-drops-2000-points-progressives-say-response-should-focus-on-working-people.htm
The Dow's drop of 2,000 points was a decline of 7.79%; the S&P 500 fell 7.60% and the Nasdaq dropped by 7.29%.
Warning that the economic hit from the outbreak "will come fast" when it arrives and "hit lower-wage workers first and hardest," Josh Biven of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said it will be crucial for the government to introduce a swift and targeted response.
Biven called on the government to make a plan for "rapid direct payments to individuals" just as was done by President George W. Bush in 2008—when one-time checks of $600 for individual tax-filers and $1,200 for joint tax filers were issued—in order to stem the bleeding from the financial crash that year.
"We could use this model but do even better this time," said Biven, suggesting $1,000 for each individual and $500 per child.
Retro-fit the entire housing stock so homes are fit for habitation in the coming decades of climatic changes brought about by global warming.
That would be quite a stimulus package, aye?
Not going to happen. What was that measure Cullen put in place that would allow personal bank accounts to be dipped into by banks in a bind? I can't remember the details. You?
From these links, not a lot of protection for those with deposits. Unless there is something that google has missed !!!
://www.interest.co.nz/banking/100359/government-signs-principle-decision-introduce-deposit-protection-regime-under-phase-2
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/392841/govt-s-bank-deposit-protection-doesn-t-go-far-enough-national
"New Zealand stands apart form the rest of the world in having no formal or permanent deposit protection, this means Kiwis with bank deposits have no protection of a financial institution from risks beyond their control.
New Zealand: A New Zealand Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme was introduced in October 2008, but terminated in December 2011. Unlike other countries, it was an open-ended scheme with investors in nine covered finance companies receiving their money back. The largest payout was in relation to South Canterbury Finance, where depositors received $1.6 billion from the Crown.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=12014245
Open bank resolution.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/9988749/OBR-policy-a-scary-bank-secret
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/regulation-and-supervision/banks/open-bank-resolution
Ffs it is not NZ1 PGF, this government implemented the strategy. Same as under the 1980’s reforms was under a labour govt. Allow labour to also take ownership of what is implemented when they are in power.
Great to see our reserve bank has managed our economy that we are almost at a 0% interest rate, with no room to move, all because our economy for some time not been performing and needed propping up by our central bank. With vested interests evident the GFC was never addressed just had a few bandaids applied.
joined at the hip–.'On Monday both ANZ and National called on the Government to cancel a minimum wage hike from $17.70 to $18.90 per hour slated for April, pointing out that under-stress businesses are already under the pump.'(Stuff)
Why should a foreign bank interfere in NZ politics?
We do know they have a record of fraud,money laundering and misfeasance,can blame junior staff for non compliance with regulations ,do not welcome the new reserve capital ratios and that a favourite to become the new executive is former N.Z National P.M-John Key.
With the banks concern for businesses, seems like the time is right for a Tobin tax or FTT.
Also if business relies on minimum wage to function then perhaps a few of them should disappear.
Capitalists don't like Capitalism. Not really news.
The capitalist notion that "businesses that can't, or won't, pay the cost of the resources they use, should be allowed to fail, and make room for more efficient users of resources" very quickly turns into looking for a handout from the "socialists" when things turn to custard.
Rather ironic. Especially as the businesses looking for handouts, are the ones that have most successfully privatised their profits, and socialised their losses, in recent times. Paying minimal wages, and getting tax payers, and rate payers, to subsidise their business costs.
I heard the roaring inferno this morning. The conflagration, the bonfire of all the regulations being turned to cinders.
"The reality is though," to quote the esteemed leader of the Opposition, is the Australian bushfire image he's trying to create is a mirage, election crap.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018737887/simon-bridges-promising-bonfire-of-regulations
It's like someone who can't talk or use sign language trying to sell ice cubes in Greenland.
When Susie Ferguson asked him how high a single storey house was, that you could fall off without scaffolding, Bridges simply ignored her.
The guy is a complete and utter fuckwit.
Come on covid-19, ninth circle these vile pricks.
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1237341888421736450
https://twitter.com/MoniqueOMadan/status/1237330503637884933
This fucker, too,
This is quite unlikely to occur this time around. Not to put too fine a point on it, from an entirely disinterested economic perspective, the COVID-19 might even prove mildly beneficial in the long term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.
http://archive.li/eiB5s#selection-2695.0-2695.252
Occasionally, the mask slips and you see the true nature of things.
1. If you're not generating revenue, go away and die.
2. If you're poor, go away and die.
3. If you're old and dependent upon the state, go away and die.
4. If you're not old, but still dependent upon the state, go away and die.
5. If you're disabled, sickly or mentally ill, go away and die.
6. If you're not one of us, go away and die.
Pretty much it. Even from many "fakes" who pretend to be left wing.
I know most people won't care about people with PTSD not being accommodated in social housing.
Words cannot express the terror of being constantly triggered due to living in a home that is unsuitable. We call ourselves civilised while pissing on the most vulnerable and ensuring they know their needs are resented and considered a great inconvenience.
FYI anyone with PTSD (and with medical documentation stating they need low noise, privacy, etc) is simply told "we don't have properties like that" and it's been that way for decades. Disabled put last as usual.
The shit of it all is that the same people in the welfare system will point out that these people, without trigger free/low trigger housing haven’t worked, or don’t want to work. Well, yes because they are in a constant state of panic or drugged into zombie status so they can handle their fucking housing.
In the meantime Kainga Ora puts up another video letting everyone know the story of the priviliged state house tenants who didn't have PTSD and could use the available housing stock had their lives improved…eg, "living here allowed me to…..". Others are supported in buying the home they are in.
NOTHING for people with PTSD because after being abused, shot at (possibly in service to our country), tortured they just have to deal with it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/120151726/northland-state-housing-tenant-devastated-over-leaving-home-of-15-years
A this might interest you.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/seven-years-therapy-could-making-prince-harrys-trauma-worse/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget
I happen to believe that counseling in particular is the most dangerous alternative therapy we have in NZ. Why?
– there is no definition of what counseling is/is not. This means any number of random or in some cases made up techniques can be incorporated without any oversight or valid research into what is being offered (think of gay conversion therapy as one example)
– hard to believe but there is no regulation of who can call themselves a counselor (sexual predators, conmen, pretty much anyone you can imagine). And yes, I am certain that this point is correct – people are so naive they can't understand that there are no barriers to practice.
– public has a false sense of security around getting help, fueled in no small part by the constant reinforcing blurb at the bottom of any mildly concerning news article
In summary, counseling presents itself more like an alternative therapy than anything scientific and the lack of skeptics looking critiquing it is concerning.
The most dangerous place in the world is your mind, so who you permit in there matters. As individuals we should do everything you can to avoid our broken and overburdened mental health system. I disagree strongly with the current strategy which is to encourage even more people into this system, many of whom may not even need treatment.
And I’m waffling on again. I don’t know what kind of therapy Prince Harry had, but the fact that it was 7 years screems exploitation and fostered dependency. In my experience this seems more like counseling, less like other treatment modalities that have science behind them, and set time frames
A – I didn't realise there was no basic licensing that would sort out the types of people you mention. I suppose it is a follow-up on that airy-fairy idea of 'treatment in the community', people rallying round helping each other etc. As you say the mind is us. I get confused as to why young people are so willing to take drugs, white powders that could be mostly Ajax cleaner. One way to get the synapses fizzing and fusing.
A is somewhat misleading.
Proper counselors have a post grad qualification (diploma or masters level) in counseling & membership of a professional body with code of ethics etc (NZAC.org.nz). So called or self proclaimed counselors lacking both of these are more likely snake oil types
Are there safeguards against the snake oil merchants? Something that would limit what a helper/listening ear does, and come down hard on someone getting into real supposed therapy?
"proper counselors"
There are good counselors out there without postgrad qualifications, some don't even have a professional body. Some of the counselors who are bad for clients have postgrad degrees and a professional body. Being a member of NZAC doesn't mean you are good at what you do or that you don't cause harm.
I know people who've had bad experiences & that colours my opinion. I wouldn't go to anyone unqualified or without membership of a professional body. You are correct that isn't an absolute guarantee.
Agree, Weka. But it does presuppose a degree of monitoring and accountability.
kjt I think that is a vital point.
Thank-you for this comment. All compassion this government.
Simon's front bench must be shaking their collective heads in disbelief and his ineptitude.
My guess is they've decided to take the loss of the election in 2020 on the chin, and dump him shortly after. It's now too late to make a change at the top without having it look like panic. I know Labour managed it in 2017, but there is no Jacinda in the National Party.
Looks like he has had the hard word from Goodfellow and the other party bosses, judging by the backpedalling. Loser.
What makes you think the nats front bench are any better, if anyone heard Mark Mitchel on the radio with Hoskings this morning you would shake your head and say, ineptitude
Listening to Mike Hosking causes your brain to atrophy – medical fact.
I hope that our suits in parliament have enough brains and heart and above all guts to put something like this forward should shit hit the fan and the thus distriubted shit cover all of us.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51814481
I would even go so far that maybe the government could put out a rule that forbids landlords from evicting people who may not be able to make rent payments (commercial/residential) should the country need to pull a shut down like we have now seen in China and Italy. That may actually help people to get over such a period and then be able to go back to their businesses and start working again.
If we can bail out Insurance Companies, the Farming Industry, etc then surely our critters in parliament can come up with something like that to help the people who actually finance government. Joe and Jane Six Pack aka 'The Tax Payer".
Billionaires' economic anxieties first.
https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1237431615325954053?s=20
wonder how many shell companies the orange shitgibbon has and how much he stole from the treasury – not only by way of tax cuts for the rich only – but also by ways of 'building a shitty wall that falls over in the wind', 'sanitizer', 'facemask' and of course 'oil' and 'hotel' and 'tourism' and 'golfing' and "hospitality' and and and.
Here is hoping that our overlords have more sense then that. But then, i wonder if forsight is something that is done in our government. Or if they just go lalalalala and wait for the worst to happen before they start doing something.
tRump declined to use the WHO test kits.
According to the Associated Press, Donald Trump, the current President of the United States who is supposed to be managing the Coronavirus epidemic and how the testing is conducted, has listed investments in V.F. Corp (VFC) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Corporation (TMO), both of which moved jobs out of the U.S. in high profile outsourcing deals. There is reason to believe that Donald Trump stands to profit from medical testing of coronavirus that will now take place in the United States.
https://shero.substack.com/p/trump-could-profit-from-coronavirus
If this scenario plays out, then we will see the longest drought period in the north on record ending with a big bang towards the end of next week and into the weekend:
https://www.windy.com/?-36.851,174.768,5
And the middle of the country too. Because it has not rained much here either. And the waikato is burned crisp – all these brown hills of New Zealand. Many of whom never grassed over since the drought from the last year.
Lets hope it happens without damage to structures and crops. 🙂
Yep. And hopefully not to much soil erosion. Crop you cna replant, structures you can rebuild, but rebuilding washed down soil is another thing altogether.
And the award for Fucker of the Year goes to Graeme Fowler:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/119672018/with-80-properties-investor-says-benefits-of-home-ownership-outweigh-renting
This is the second soap-box Stuff's given this guy to spout his smug, self-aggrandising crap about how renting is a mug's game and the real money's in ownership. (The last one was about how not all landlords are miserly vultures out to ruin the lives of their tenants.) Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. What's next week's article? Graeme Fowler tells us trees are made of wood and water is wet?
While much of what Graeme writes in this article will be nothing new to anyone over 30, it does have a legitimate audience of younger people who may not have yet thought these things through. Certainly I don't read anything that rates as "Fucker of the Year" in it.
Very few people go from leaving their parents home direct to owning their own; almost everyone by choice rents for a period of their lives.
It takes time to get a deposit together and have enough income to qualify for a mortgage.
Until you are in a stable relationship most people don't want to be tied down to a single home; they want to travel, move to different places, and want the flexibility of renting.
Or you are going through a period of transition in your life, new job in a new town, break up of a relationship, etc that means renting is the best choice for a period. Sometimes misfortune means that a dream crumbles, life takes a turn never planned for and owning your own home now lies out reach.
This doesn't gainsay any of the obvious problems NZ has with it's entire housing market, the lack of social housing, the lack of a mature rental market, and the unaffordability of new housing, combined with an effectively insatiable demand are creating many, many problems.
Renting is a legitimate market … yet it obviously brings out that envious, resentful aspect of many people in the way landlords get routinely demonised; especially on the left. Everyone denies it, but it's plain as the sullen words on the page, and it's weirdly unhelpful because once trust is lost in the landlord/tenant relationship it always ends unhappily.
Renting used to enable saving the required deposit. Not any more. People 'resent' being told that the moon is made of cheese.
I agree totally. When we started 20 years ago we had several tenants who made the transition to ownership, and we celebrated with them. That isn't happening now, but it's a problem with the whole housing sector, not just landlords.
He owns 70 houses and says renting is for losers because it's money down a black hole. That's at least a nomination for Fucker of the Year.
Almost everyone needs to rent at some point in their lives, so providing them is scarcely a 'fucker of the year' offence.
What he is saying that renting long term is not a smart plan; which when you think about it's not obviously in his business' best interests. He's giving advice in the best interests of his tenants …
He owns 70 houses.
Ah … so it really is just envy.
Yeah. Sure.
Graeme started out as a very working class auto mechanic and has succeeded at something very few people manage at this level.
It's my observation that middle class liberals tend to prefer working class people to remain poor.
ka-ching!
I'll see your 'envy', and raise you 'greed'.
Which of the "Seven Deadly Sins" one trots out in a slanging match can be informative. Wonder if, on the way to 70 rentals, the individual concerned ever paused to ask themself: "Is 10/20/30/40/50/60 enough?"
Why on earth would anyone envy the greedy – they're 'ugly', and a bit sad.
So nice to be off the treadmill – now, if I can just find my Lotto ticket…
now, if I can just find my Lotto ticket
I have more respect for Graeme's hard work and risk tolerance than hoping on a Lotto win TBH. Yes he is an outlier, most landlords stop at one or two units because the work and risk involved is more than they can accept. A smaller number like us stop at less than 10. Many who try to go past this go broke pushing the limits.
So what exactly is the threshold that defines 'greed'? And why do so many on the left despise competency and success?
So you've got about nine rentals?
Can’r speak for the “so many”, but I don’t depise.
For myself, greed is "more than I need".
For others, greed might be "more than I want", in which case the 'greed threshold' becomes much more elastic. I feel genuinely ‘blessed’ to have steered clear of that particular trap.
@ Chris
None of your business … literally.
@ DMK
That I can accept.
You think owning 70 houses is a measure of success?
@Chris
There are many ways to measure success, but in his chosen domain Graeme has done spectacularly well. It took a lot of hard work, discipline, and competency. You're welcome to say this isn't for you, but turning it into an ethical issue strikes me as really odd.
Consider your favourite big hit musicians … those outliers who make tens millions as distinct from the vast majority of equally talented musos who can't feed their families. We never think of these people as 'ugly' and 'greedy' … because we're primed to like and admire them and we see them as remote from us.
But culturally there is a widespread resentment of landlords for a complex of interesting reasons, some psychological and some because of class resentments festering back generations.
I'm happy about socially useful "competency and success" being rewarded. So long as the "successful" person pays enough tax, to pay for the public expenditures that helped his/her "success".
About, finding more "successful" ways of ripping everyone else off, by investing in making a disfunctional housing market, more dysfunctional, not so happy.
ways of ripping everyone else off, by investing in making a disfunctional housing market,
Again there are all the usual pathology's on display. Providing a home via the rental market is not 'ripping anyone off'. If you cannot or do not want to qualify for a mortgage, nor for social housing, then you need a landlord to provide one for you.
The deal is simple, you the tenant get a home on terms that suit your immediate needs, and the landlord invests in their long-term prosperity.
And interestingly if you talk to actual landlords, most of us hate high asset prices. For us the ideal unit to purchase is something in the last 20% of it's economic life, that no-one else really wants, and we can buy cheaply then add some value to bring it up to an acceptable standard. For most buy and hold rental investors, high asset prices are a bit of a PITA and we tend to close our cheque books.
Yes I know that paying $400 pw rent looks like we're making out like bandits. But the reality is that after fixed costs like rates, insurance and management typically only 50% is left. Then we have any mortgage interest and tax to pay. Many tenants would be quite surprised if they saw their landlord's annual accounts.
For us the ideal unit to purchase is something in the last 20% of it's economic life, that no-one else really wants, and we can buy cheaply then add some value
What utter bullshit. These are the same houses that first home buyers want because they can add value in the same way.
@ Solkta
I did say 'ideally'. I agree that a dysfunctional housing sector has created a big shortage of houses across the whole market, and that this now means landlord investors and first home buyers compete with each other all too often.
But the idea that we drive prices up is not always correct; typically investors make their best margin when they buy. They work strictly on the numbers and look for properties they can get as cheaply as possible, while home buyers will get emotionally invested and will often pay over the odds.
I'm not envious one jot. I can't see how you've arrived at that conclusion, not logically.
As I said, everyone denies being envious always. Yet for something that apparently never happens, it's kind of odd that we have such a well known word for it.
What do you want me to say to that? “Yeah, sorry, you've caught me out. I lied. I'm envious"? I’m in fact anything but envious. There’d be some situations I’d find repulsive, but I’m likely to be saddened more than anything. I’m certainly not envious.
I'm not expecting you to say anything you don't want to.
I'm not here to score points, I much prefer to converge a conversation toward at least a common understanding of each other's perspective, rather than diverge into mutually antagonistic dugouts.
Yes there is such a thing as greed, but it's doesn't necessarily follow that every competent, successful person must be greedy. Outcomes are by nature never evenly distributed. You might want to look up Price's Law. It's a bit brutal, but it's a fact of life.
"Everyone", "always", "never" – what do they say about hyperbole?
Nevertheless, given a choice between being labelled 'greedy' or 'envious', more NZers would opt for 'greedy' – why, it's almost a virtue. God save us from those virtuous ‘greed-is-good‘ righties.
@DMK
If we allow our appetites to become so disordered that we ignore the welfare of others
So when Graeme Fowler advises people renting to that it's not in their long-term interests exactly how is this 'ignoring the welfare of others'?
He provides rental homes that almost everyone will need at some stage in their life. Not everyone qualifies or wants a mortgage. Exactly how is this 'ignoring the welfare of others'?
There always was an idea that somehow poverty is a virtue. Well it isn't, it's the source of many evils and far too often used as an excuse to justify failure.
For a "lefty" you sure parrot a lot of right wing memes.
@KJT
There is some truth in that. Mainly because I don't set up a false dichotomy between left and right wing thinking, and I reject the false binaries of typical tribal politics, us good, them bad.
So yes you are going to sniff me and wrinkle your nose because I'm saying things that challenge a lot of left wing assumptions. Put me on a right wing site and I'll get the same response for exactly complementary reasons; they'll sniff the lefty in me.
After decades of sterile, largely futile lefty rage, I realised the only people who get anything of lasting value done are those who can create a conversation and sustain the creative tension between left and right. Pete George in his own way has long been attempting something similar. (Whether we’re any good at it or not is another matter.)
Yet oddly enough last time PG and I conversed we had such a robust exchange I realised I'm not all that right wing at all.
@RL – Clearly we need a lot more virtuous lefties like your mate Graeme and your good self. Would either of you be prepared to share your 'rental property largess' in order to make that happen? Might even go some way to addressing the evils of poverty!
Maybe sharing is an antidote for both greed and envy. Now, what to do about the other five. You know I'm just kidding, right? Why should/would any hard-working individual share more than a small fraction of their wealth – it’s their wealth, for God’s sake.
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of the linguistically insecure."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of the incompetent."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of someone with nothing useful to say."
"Hyperbole is the last refuge of a failed argument."
Nobody's saying poverty is a virtue. To the contrary, the left is about, or should be about, eradicating poverty. That's what the right responds with when accused of denying the poor access to resources.
(And saying you're wrong about what I think is far from diverging into an antagonistic dugout.)
@DMK
Well I'd guess that GF pays more tax than all us combined, but I don't think that is what you mean by 'sharing'; that is a concept that only has meaning when it's undertaken voluntarily. (By contrast taxation is an essential social obligation that no-one would call sharing.)
Many left wingers struggle with the idea that outcomes are inherently unequal, and for a very small minority, spectacularly so. This has always been the case throughout all human history, long before capitalism or bastard landlords, it's a tendency that is baked into all social systems that pass over a minimal threshold of prosperity. Success creates opportunity, which combined with good luck and competency, will always produce more success … in whatever field of endeavour. This of course drives inequality, which left unmoderated drives to gross extremes of wealth, and triggers it's own cascade of known problems.
Trying to drive equal outcomes by preventing success is the terrible mistake the Soviets and Maoist's made. We do not need to repeat this failed experiment.
Therefore the left might want to look at the problem of inequality through fresh thinking. Andrew Yang promoted his own version and there are a lot of people doing this in quiet corners of the internet working through what is a much more difficult and intractable problem than is commonly assumed.
In some senses you may well be in the right domain, that relative poverty (inequality in this context) is not so much an economic problem, but a spiritual or psychological one.
@RL: Not fussed about absolute equality of outcomes; would settle for all NZers having at least enough resources, and there is 'enough' in NZ for that to happen – the barriers lie elsewhere.
For those that find the goal of 'enough for all' unpalatable/unrealistic, there's always the issues of defining and distributing 'enough' to fall back on.
Not envy, just push-back against the class distinction amateur landlordism encourages.
Encouraging everyone to own two or more houses is incomparable with encouraging everyone owning a house. They are contrary positions and it is impossible to achieve both without there being a lot of empty houses.
Fowler and his followers suggest that winners and losers just are and always will be and that is a very right wing view of the world – just ask Hosking.
Socially conscious lefties, as far as I know, hope for a situation where everyone has enough rather than an increasingly divided world of first and second class citizens. Haven’t we supposed to have left all that behind?
It just not believable to talk about socially conscious people (in your words, middle class liberals) wanting working class people to remain poor. The idea of one person owning 70 houses, or nine, or two even, if followed to its conclusion ensures a lot of people will definitely remain poor. A lot of them working class families.
Encouraging everyone to own two or more houses is incomparable with encouraging everyone owning a house.
GF with 70 units is an extremely outlier, the vast majority of landlords are ordinary middle class people who work for a living and over time have one or two units they rent. These days often through professional property managers.
Not everyone will ever want to do this; being a landlord is absolutely more risk and work than most people want to take on. Most people don't want to make the necessary 20 -30 year sacrifice to make it work.
Moreover there are only about 250,00 landlords in NZ, and the point many people miss is that the individuals involved actually move in and out of the industry all the time. We are not a fixed group.
wanting working class people to remain poor.
Yet this is precisely where GF started and now everyone slams him for becoming wealthy.
I don’t slam him for becoming wealthy, professional landlords are required as you say. But Fowler getting on the soapbox, having a column as is so important for self important realty people these days, and encouraging amateur landlordism isn’t really helpful for a fair society, in my opinion.
His advice is for everyone to buy, fine if that were possible, but also for young people to buy a rental first then another home to live in later but importantly, "don't sell the rental".
This is amateur landlordism and the point I'm trying to make is that not everyone shares in the benefits of the logical outcome. Those being secure communities and confident kids.
This doesn't sit well with true lefties who consider the wider picture.
I can see the apparent objection you have; in this I think GF is projecting his own experience without properly qualifying it.
Let's put it this way, if I outlined an investment opportunity that demanded 20 – 30 years of work and sacrifice, with no certainty of success … just how many people do you think would leap at it?
I'd accept that GF might have been more accurate if he'd explicitly made this point; that being a landlord just isn't for everyone.
Because I can assure you that after 20 years at this it's pushed my risk tolerance to the edge more than a few times.
There's a few of these opinion columns cropping up on the enlarged property platforms offered by the main news organisations.
Fowler for Homed on Stuff and Ashley Church for One Roof in the Herald.
Church is increasingly political, particularly over the last few months.
This is against the new background of real estate agents promoting themselves as rock stars. They have glossy billboards all over town often with short and sage life advice one-liners for the public.
Fowler doesn't even seem that bright. I don't mean that as an insult – just that the article posted by Chris is pretty basic and offered nothing useful to renters or investors really.
In the FIRE economy, realtors are the priests of the House of Mammon and their prophecies are taken for gospel.
So it doesn't matter what the endeavour is, it's okay if it involves sacrifice and hard work? Loan sharks? Clothing trucks? All okay if they work hard and make sacrifices? The consequences of that endeavour don't matter?
@MB
Fowler doesn't even seem that bright.
Actually no. He's an ordinary bloke, but since when was it necessary to have an IQ north of 130 to express a legitimate opinion?
The difference is this, GF read the same books that many other people were at the time, but he acted while others procrastinated.
But is his (and others’) advice doing any good for greater society, Red?
For the many, not the few, and all that.
advice doing any good for greater society,
I can understand why you ask this question, and I really don't think it has any easy or glib answers.
The obvious answer is just repeating what I think we both agree on, that landlords do provide a legitimate and necessary service. Almost everyone at some stage in their life will need a rental home for a period.
At another level landlords are doing something akin to what banks do, we make our capital available to others to use for their immediate benefit, the tenant gets a home now, the landlord gets a long term investment. This is a win for both parties.
But I suspect neither answer is going to satisfy you. TBH I'm a bit distracted at the moment and don't feel I can do this justice. The whole notion of 'the greater good' feels like a conceptual can of worms.
Fowler disagrees. He believes this is only a win for the landlord and he advises the public as such.
I'd say 'the greater good' is a cornerstone of socially conscious thought. It's distressing to read it labeled as a conceptual can of worms.
He believes this is only a win for the landlord and he advises the public as such.
Again you clearly misconstrue what he is saying. Given that virtually everyone wants or needs to rent a home at some point in their lives, this is clearly an immediate win for the tenant compared to sleeping under a bridge.
But in the long run you need to be thinking about how to move on, we all agree that renting is not an ideal long term solution. But too many people won't take responsibility for this and procrastinate … they don't act.
It's distressing to read it labeled as a conceptual can of worms.
Oh it's one of those nice ideas that looks superficially simple and attractive enough on the outside, but the devil is in the details. Like marxism.
I haven't misconstrued what he was saying at all. It would be hard to since it was so staggeringly basic of thought.
‘You should own a home because pets’.
Read like wannabe Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life…
..and where is he now?
and where is he now?
Taking sly pleasure in a family's medical misfortune really is ugly.
You seem to be saying that everyone needs to rent at some stage and that it's a temporary thing until the person’s ready to buy a house and for those who stay renting it's their fault because they fail to act.
The difficulty with that is an unacceptably high number of people are never ready because they've been completely locked out of the market. And a significant part of the problem are people like Graeme Fowler.
Had no idea who Peterson is, but according to his Wikipedia page he was/is something of a climate change skeptic – sad about his medical conditions, but best given a wide berth, IMHO.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson#Climate_change
"But in the long run you need to be thinking about how to move on, we all agree that renting is not an ideal long term solution. But too many people won't take responsibility for this and procrastinate … they don't act." – RL
Thing is, renting is an ideal very long term 'solution' for many, just not so many in New Zealand. Might that have something to do with a greater percentage of NZ landlords playing 'fast and loose', or is it mainly because NZ renters make comparatively 'poor' tenants?
And if either of you bothered to read the thread properly you would see at least two places where I clearly acknowledge exactly these problems … that we have a housing sector beset by high demand, low supply and high prices. This impacts everyone, from social housing tenants, everyone in the rental sector and home owners.
There has been a toxic brew of reasons why this dysfunction has come about … but fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems reveals more about underlying resentment and bitterness than anything that will actually help.
And yes much of our older housing stock falls well short of modern expectations. But they were all new homes decades ago and generations of families did happily live in them without it necessarily affecting their mental health. That they were built 50 or more years ago poorly oriented to the sun and prone to dampness is not actually the fault of their current owner.
Getting them to perform to modern expectations is like pretending you can make a Hillman Avenger run just like a modern 2020 model car. Sure you can mitigate the worst of it, but a full noise reno in many cases makes little economic sense. Spending $50k to bring an 80 yr old house up to spec when you're barely netting $5kpa profit out it simply isn't feasible.
It would make much more sense to demolish and build new, but building costs in this country are off the scale. Trust me I've run the numbers on this many times, but they never quite add up.
There are some great builders out there, but in general I’m eternally disappointed by the NZ building industry; they’ve long under-performed. Again just one of many factors in a toxic brew.
"…but fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems reveals more about underlying resentment and bitterness than anything that will actually help." – RL
I asked your opinion about the cause(s) of "these problems", and suggested two possibilities – that you chose to characterise that question as "fixating on landlords as the sole cause of these problems" is a classic misrepresentation, and reveals an unnecessarily defensive position, IMHO. I certainly have no reason to be resentful or bitter towards landlords – I've been a tenant in four properties (in NZ, England (x2), and NZ), the last thirty years ago, and the landlords were straight-up, as was I. I'll never be a renter again (touch wood), and I have no desire or need to be a landlord (thank God).
I do feel that bad landlords should not be landlords, and that bad tenants should not be tenants. But I also believe that bad landlords typically have more 'options' than bad tenants – just the way it is.
@DMK
Apologies, my response was to both of you and I didn't accurately answer your question
Might that have something to do with a greater percentage of NZ landlords playing 'fast and loose', or is it mainly because NZ renters make comparatively 'poor' tenants?
There is certainly be an element of both. I can't speak to how many bad landlords there are but I can tell you that of the 50 odd tenants we've had in 20 years, 5 of them have caused problems. (Although I have to say that since we moved to 100% professional management that number has dropped to zero, tenants don't tend to play games with managers who will evict them without compunction.) But just for the sake of argument I'm willing to accept that bad landlords and bad tenants exist in similar numbers and total impact.
It is however definitely true is that the vast majority of both landlords and tenants are perfectly good people and discharge their side of the contract reliably. In all the rancour it's easy to overlook this. When we were still in NZ we often got to know our tenants, and generally enjoyed interacting with them. Sadly a small minority saw this as a weakness and wound up exploiting it, and we made our share of naive mistakes as well.
But these are problems that would exist regardless of any other consideration, so my specific answer to your question is 'neither'. Yes bad landlords and bad tenants do exist, but this isn't especially germane to the much wider problems our whole housing sector is chronically groaning under.
RL – So you acknowledge the problem but reject the suggestion that the likes of Graeme Fowler (70 houses, major income generating operation) are a significant cause of that problem?
Or is that you acknowledge the problem and accept that the likes of Graeme Fowler (70 houses, major income generating operation) are a significant cause of the problem?
Surely good/bad tenants doesn't matter. It's an occupational hazard any landlord must accept. The consequences might be worse for those with one or two extra houses, but bad tenants come with the territory.
Latest from Peak. Starts with pointing out it is too late for Europe and the US where the “don’t test, don’t tell” policy is about to backfire in a phenomenal manner.
Goes through what the gold standard of handling the pandemic should be (most western countries are screwed…thanks CDC and WHO!)
Makes suggestions around what govt's could do to improve the situation for people including
– removing restrictions of dispensing medication so people can get a few months at a time
– ensuring quality information and understanding panicking people is not the same as preparing them. We need to be prepared and the best way to do that is gradual, additional purchases over multiple shopping trips.
– testing asap, don't make it hard
– mortgage relief so the choice isn't go to work and spread the illness or lose the house
Too right A I have heard about these people self-isolating. That solves the government's problem, but what about their living costs, their possible need to have food delivered to the house if they are on their own, or the family is in lock down with them?
Who ties the threads together in the back of the rousing announcements so that there is a robust safety net – ensuring what people need to survive is available. Government needs to be there to assist those who need care out of the institutions. Is there a help-line and a set of officials for sourcing and delivering different needs and a weekly budget that meets the costs?
Some good points there. I would add raising benefits.
I don't think it's too late for the US and Europe, it's a matter of degrees and how people cope. Unless we are going to close our borders, what happens there affects us here.
Move over 'Murica, there's a new kid in town.
https://twitter.com/RushDoshi/status/1237482553252237316
Charles Kindleberger, one of the intellectual architects of the Marshall Plan, argued that the disastrous decade of the 1930s was a result of the United States' failure to provide global public goods after it had replaced Britain as the leading power. Today, as China’s power grows, will it make the same mistake?
As US President-elect Donald Trump prepares his administration’s policy toward China, he should be wary of two major traps that history has set for him. The “Thucydides Trap,” cited by Chinese President Xi Jinping, refers to the warning by the ancient Greek historian that cataclysmic war can erupt if an established power (like the United States) becomes too fearful of a rising power (like China). But Trump also has to worry about the “Kindleberger Trap”: a China that seems too weak rather than too strong.
Charles Kindleberger, an intellectual architect of the Marshall Plan who later taught at MIT, argued that the disastrous decade of the 1930s was caused when the US replaced Britain as the largest global power but failed to take on Britain’s role in providing global public goods. The result was the collapse of the global system into depression, genocide, and world war. Today, as China’s power grows, will it help provide global public goods?
https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/kindleberger-trap
Labour ad ideas:
11 March 2020
Will Simon raise GST to 17.5%?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/03/national-isn-t-planning-gst-increase-if-elected-but-won-t-entirely-rule-it-out-simon-bridges.html
I note : Min wage proposed increase from $17.70 to $18.90 = 6.8% so how does this equate to a 20% cost increase 1:52 into video.
Coming from Bridges that's as good as a promise they will.
Wonder if Boris is going to take this on the chin.
Health minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries says she has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Ms Dorries, the first MP to test positive, said she had taken all the advised precautions after finding out, and had been self-isolating at home.
[..]
It is not known how many meetings Ms Dorries had attended at Westminster or in her constituency in recent days.
The Department of Health said she first showed symptoms on Thursday – the same day she attended a Downing Street event hosted by the prime minister – and had been self-isolating since Friday.
No 10 did not comment on whether Boris Johnson had undergone testing, or whether he will now be tested.
All health ministers, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, are to undergo testing for the virus, along with other officials who have come into contact with Ms Dorries.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51827356
Michigan, Missouri and Mississippi have been called for Biden.
Michigan exit polls have Biden 52% Sanders 43%
Missouri exit polls Biden 55% Sanders 39%
Mississippi exit polls have Biden 76% Sanders 20%
Awfully hard to see a path to the nomination for Sanders now, barring Biden suffering a major medical event. Or even what value might be achieved by Sanders staying in the campaign much longer.
Sanders is sinking without trace.
Time for his supporters to get behind Biden and throw out Trump, Pence, DeVos, Carson and all those other slime bags who want a theocratic free market state.
And. So does Biden.
So. How is supporting Biden going to end up any different from Clinton?
It's not like there is much of a choice. Believe me, I am aware of Uncle Joe's record. Jacobinmag puts up an article every other day, but we have to work with what we have to work with.
We may even get surprise. LBJ was pretty conservative, but his record, apart from that little war in SE Asia, is the most left wing one since FDR.
I do not know much about the US politics, but who is more likely to be able to beat Trump in the next election? Biden or Sanders? Surely the answer to that question is who the Democrats want to win this thing.
It seems fairly clear that Dem primary voters have collectively decided the answer to that question is Biden.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/10/politics/exit-polls-michigan-missouri-mississippi-washington/index.html
You know time is up and the race is run when the regular anti Bernie conspiracies become they cheated anti Bernie conspiracies.
Hi everyone, sorry for not posting here on a more regular basis as I’ve been bumping my fat fingers over on Twitter and I’ve been back down the tunnel as well.
Anyway I thought I might share this with everyone, as a lefty I’m a bit weird as I’m pro defence but also pro green with social issues as well.
I’ve been following this new SOPV capability announcement by NZG since the 2019 WP on the Defence since my two cousins (one as a cook in the RNZN & the other as a part of research team doing his PhD on something to do Ocean thingy’s) caught up in a near capsizing of one the RNZN OPV’s a while back on a run down Sth. The current OPV’s a barely fit for duty down Sth or operate in the Southern Ocean all yr round, the current OPV’s are 100t over weight, too short in length and in the beam (width), the lack of a combat mission system to talk/ data link to the new P8’s, Seasprite Helo’s note these are not normally carried down Sth to the weight issues of the OPV’s and UAV’s when they eventually enter service, and the unsafe means of launching & recovering boarding parties with their RIB.
This PPP show https://pacificexpo.com.au/conferences/PDFs/New-Zealand-Southern-Ocean-Patrol-Vessel-Pacific-2019-Presentation.pdfthe… capabilities that the RNZN & NZG are after this ship isn’t going to come cheap, but when one considers the operation environment and the effects of CC in the Southern Ocean with no or little hope of help if something goes wrong is going to be money well spent. Especially when the Antarctic Treaty is up for renewal in the early 2040’s and the ever increasing threat from over fishing from poachers by nation states or via 3rd parties operating in what is now called the “Grey Zone” also known as “Hybrid Warfare” which the current International Base Rule System is push to it limits of normality at we are so use too in its current form.
That's a laser light on that particular policy matter that we wouldn't hear much about Ex Kiwi keep it up. Helps to be informed.
The sad fact is ExKF that when it comes to major purchases such as replacement ships aircraft, etc. cost is the determining factor – inter-operability is second, and actual ability to do the job it is supposed to do is third. I remember when I first joined the RNZN in 1974 – it was the time of commissioning the 4 Brooks Marine PVs which were to replace the long serving ex WW2 inshore ML's. What a disaster they were. Designed for the Atlantic and expected to operate in the Pacific with a much greater wave length. We fought fro years to get the politicians to understand they need to give those manning the vessels extra hard living allowances because they were so sick making and everyone was injury prone from being flung about in rough weather. I remember the day while I was then on the Naval Staff in Def HQ in Stout St. The 4 Patrol Craft happened to be in port at Wellington for some celebration or other and the Admiral decided it would be a good idea to invite the cabinet on board for a trip around the harbour 😉 Oh and by the way it might be an idea to have a little excursion out beyond the heads. Fortunately there was bit of a swell in the Strait. We had our submission for extra allowances for PC crew prepared and it was agreed by Cabinet pretty much the next day.
macro what a good tale, seizing the moment won the day.
I agree.
Note the purchase of the Charles chuckum after my mates at sea on her sister ship, and one of our ex seagoing managers, all said, "don't buy it".
The 72 year old dad of a foaf arrived in NZ about a fortnight ago on his first visit. Spiked a temp and developed a cough last night.
Foaf phoned Healthline rather than risk potential spread of Something Nasty by taking dad to a GP clinic.
Healthline totally dismissive and discounted even the remotest chance of papa having picked up Covid 19 prior to leaving India.
Whew. What a relief.
Foaf has papa at local after hours clinic as I write.
System working just fine.
what's a foaf?
friend of a friend?????
As your foaf's dad arrived from India 14 days ago, the chances of him having COVID -19 is very slight. India reported it's first case of the virus on 30 Jan. – after he had travelled from India – and that was a case of the virus being imported by an arrival from China so it is unlikely that foaf's dad had picked it up from them.
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-affected-countries-india-measures-impact-pharma-economy/
There are now a number of further cases being reported and more detail is on the link above. Obviously it depends on the area from which your foaf's dad arrived as to whether there is a likelihood of infection or not – but again all of these seem to have arisen after he has left the country.
Doubt that the reporting and testing in India is particularly accurate.
Don't miss link at 11 above. He seems onto it and shows sources and diagrams.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/120175034/thamescoromandel-council-fails-to-bat-off-climate-change-court-case
This is very,very goodnews indeed.
Nasty wee silencing tactic from everyone's favourite council stymied by onto it judge.
Excellent!
BTW the two young women on the start of the video sang a beautiful wiaata for Jeanette at the gathering on Sunday. Two amazing young people. The spirit of Jeanette lives on.
SFO confirms investigations into Auckland & Christchurch mayoral election donations. (link)
I smell malice in them thar allegations against Goff in particular. Sour grapes and jealousy are a common cause of questionable accusations.
Dalziel seems to have been the victim of incorrect advice but it does not exonerate her from some of the blame. She, or someone on her behalf, should have checked the donations in question with the Electoral Commission.
does she not talk to her husband?
Yep. He's the one that put her crook although that has yet to be confirmed. She assumed he was correct. Bad mistake. As any good woman would tell you. 😉
And her a lawyer herself…
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/rnz/chch-mayor-blames-husband-donor-non-disclosure