Speaking of a media outlet losing its marbles. Kremlin mouthpiece RT has published a weird daydream about a Russian take over and the Ukraine government doing a US Vietnam or Afghanistan type flight from their own capital.
Like that's ever gonna happen. But you can always dream I suppose.
The American exit from Kabul might be taste of the future for officials in Kiev
It may be not to far from the truth, as the russians are reporting that the UK are suffering such shortages because of their support that they are hunting and eating squirrels. / sarc. This is a good video for the tankies just to show what they support. I don't think it will change their thinking but it lays out pretty clearly just what they are.
The key word here being "withdrawal". The war in Afghanistan and Vietnam ended with the invader's withdrawal. Without the invader's withdrawal those wars would still be going. Just as the war in Ukraine will end with the invader's withdrawal, and won't end, until the Russians do withdraw.
Simple as that.
That is utterly pathetic, so much so that it must be some kind of abuse or corruption. Scared if rw backlash?! WTF, it's info that's needed more more than ever.
The BBC are also demoting sports broadcaster and former football star Gary Lineker because he dared to voice criticism of the Conservative government's new policy on asylum seekers.
I tell you what, nothing brings home climate change like driving for 45 minutes to five different stores to get hold of some limes for my cocktail party tonight.
Understandable when your view of women is so much of a sexist stereotype that you think that putting on a frock and doing tampon advertisements makes you a woman.
I think it's worse than that. I think KitchenAid is being utterly cynical in creating content by manufacturing outrage. Most feminist (I would guess) aren't interested in that ad existing – not because its a transwoman fronting it, but because it's so regressive and stereotyped – so it's not like they're taking a valued job or anything.
If that ad had appeared with a famous female influencer – feminists may have criticised the ad on the 'taking us back to the 50s' vibe but really, no-one would have cared much – they've heard it all before – maybe there would be a standard npn-apology for a minor publicity boost.
But with a transperson fronting the ad, the same feminist criticism would be 'anti-trans' and create screeds of column inches and social media discussions while everyone decides what the ad means and what we should be angry about. people will be banned, blocked and hated, academics would write their things.
And KitchenAid will sit back and watch its top 10 trending and take the sales when the furore has died away.
It might be a bit cynical – but generally when I see something prevocative like this these days, I assume it's a deliberate plan to create social media noise.
I must do some researching on it, but it just seems so like the Bannon-type messaging, I think more than just a few unscrupulous marketing departments have taken notes.
"The need for some such agency is, I think, undeniable. The current debate over consultants has revealed how hopelessly, cravenly reliant modern government is on the Deloittes and Chapman Tripps of this world. The state has been hollowed out in recent decades, losing expertise, wisdom and savvy. One of the worst examples came in Kaipara some years back, where, following the grotesque failure of a wastewater project, it became clear the local council was so short-staffed it couldn’t even manage its contracts with private providers – let alone build anything itself."
Only problem is it will take a decade or two to regain the required capabilities….as with most solutions, the best one is not to create the problem in the first place.
Georgia drops foreign agents law after massive protests
By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE today
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s parliament voted Friday to drop a foreign agent registration bill after the legislation, which opponents warned could be used to stifle dissent and curtail media freedoms, prompted tens of thousands of protesters to swarm the capital this week.
Lawmakers voted 35-1 against the bill during a session that lasted just four minutes and featured no discussion. The vote came less than a day after Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, said it would withdraw the legislation…
….Protesters in Tbilisi said the bill was inspired by a similar law in Russia that has been used to silence critics. They rallied outside the parliament building despite being met with tear gas and water canons.
Similar to the claim made by supporters of Russian imperialism, that the popular revolt against Russian ally Victor Yanakovych who fled to Moscow, was a Western backed coup.
Russian leader Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy has likened the Foreign Agent Law protests in Georgia, as a Western backed plot.
As another ex-Soviet state is gripped by violent protests, is a Ukraine-style coup on the cards?
RT 9 Mar, 2023 10:38
…internal pressure from a restive minority is backed up by external pressure from the EU and US.
They claim that the government is colluding with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as former Western-favorite Saakashvili languishes in prison. The fact that Moscow’s influence, in this case, is completely fictitious is irrelevant. The Russian issue is too deeply embedded in Georgia’s political consciousness.
A Maidan-style overthrow of the authorities is unlikely; there are no real hardline forces, such as those seen in Kiev, in the opposition. The main front now will be external – EU and US pressure to force Tbilisi to abandon neutrality and the authorities’ ability (or inability) to evade it. Their resources are limited…
what would the russians use to invade georgia ? they are reduced to scrounging from nth korea! for shells ,and are running short of warm bodies. 30 yrs of corruption has hollowed out the russian military .
"History never Repeats I tell myself before I go to sleep." Splitenz
East Germany thrived on snitching lovers, fickle friends and envious schoolkids
Newly unearthed secret files from the former German Democratic Republic reveal how easily we can betray others.
Peter Wensierski
Dec 23, 2015 – 12.15am
Everyone knows about the Stasi and the extent to which it spied on the East German populace. But that was only a small part of the informing that went on. New research shows that snitching was vastly more common than previously thought….
…..they were totally normal citizens of East Germany who betrayed others: neighbours reporting on neighbours, schoolchildren informing on classmates, university students passing along information on other students, managers spying on employees and Communist bosses denouncing party members…..
Mass Backstabbing Spree Over Putin’s War Sweeps Russia
Noor Ibrahim
Sat, March 11, 2023 at 9:52 AM GMT
Many of those jailed after being reported by other citizens were charged under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a new law signed by Putin last year criminalizing “public actions aimed at discrediting” Russian Armed Forces…..
….cases detailed in the Vrestka investigation include complaints made against Russian citizens for playing a Ukrainian song in the car while driving, drunkenly making pro-Ukrainian statements from a balcony, and criticizing the war in private conversations with friends at a coffee shop. The individuals who made the complaints allegedly include eavesdropping neighbors, coworkers, and janitors.
In many of the cases, according to the outlet, little to no evidence was provided by witnesses who reported the alleged violations.
Developments can move in two very different directions in this geopolitical transformation of the South Caucasus. One features a stalemate in the war in Ukraine, a gradual recovery of Russian strength and a deepening relationship between Moscow and Tehran. The outcome would be to counter the growing influence of Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers would reassert control over the Lachin corridor. Iran would begin sales of weapons to Armenia, notably the Shahed-136 drones, and the Zangezur corridor would be stalled. The longer-term investment would be aimed at promoting the north-south transport corridor that has long been favored by Russia and Iran.</em>
The alternative scenario features a defeat for Russia in Ukraine and effective sanctions against Iranian exports of weapons. This would embolden Azerbaijan and Turkey to push through the Zangezur corridor, to further erode Russian influence in the South Caucasus and to shut Iran out of the region. It is worth remembering that during the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan not only shelled targets in Nagorno-Karabakh but also targets inside Armenia proper. It remains in a position to do so again, and Russia may be too weak to prevent it.
The outcome if Turkey and Azerbaijan emerge as winners would be infrastructure investment that is geared toward providing energy from Central Asia and the Caspian basin into Europe. There would be many winners. Turkey is only too happy to become a major energy hub. The European Union has already courted Baku for gas while dialing back criticism of Azeri human rights abuses. And the U.S. would be happy to see Russia pushed out. It does look like the most likely outcome.
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An example of the desire for intensification gone crazy.
Developer in an upmarket inner-city suburb in Auckland wants to redevelop a single site to build 11 town-houses on a known flood plain (heavily flooded during the Jan downpour).
The 'plan' is to build the houses over sacrificial garages (basically designed to flood – though the developer denies this). [my sarcastic single quotes]
He claims that the existing stormwater infrastructure is sufficient – even though it wasn't in Jan this year, and his proposal would cover the whole of the site in concrete – further reducing any capacity for rainfall to be stored in the ground.
The only interest the developer has is in building and selling these for as much profit as possible – he'll wind up the company immediately they are sold, so there will be no way to make him culpable for downstream consequences.
The common sense approach, as I see it, would be to red-sticker this site, and use it for effective flood mitigation landscape planning for drainage of the surrounding area. It might, or might not, be possible to run a kindy on part of the site (the existing use is a daycare centre)
So the developer bought a cheap site next to the creek, and it looks like Council might be going to restrict what can be done with it to a point that there's no way they are going to get their money back.
So, they come up with a plan to maximise return with something that really won't be marketable until people forget about the flood risk to increase the site's value when Council have to step in and buy the property.
That said, sacrificial floodways are a very long-standing urban design strategy. Live in a flat subdivision and the building platforms are meter or two above the street, probably wouldn't leave your car on the street when there's a big rain coming, that street is probably designed to flood to buffer loads on the stormwater system down stream.
The approach isn't without merit, makes alot of sense to build on piles or above garages getting the living spaces at least 1m above ground would save plenty of heartache.
Well, if that's intended to be the NZ-wide solution to climate change: "just build up" – then it would be really good for the Government to articulate it.
Personally, I think not building in already identified floodplains, especially when they've already been flooded – is a better solution.
And, even better, if the Insurance companies came out and said that new houses built on floodplains will not be insurable for flood/water damage (you can, of course, still insure for fire and theft).
I'd guess that would make the vast majority of the potential high-risk builds uneconomic (banks wouldn't lend if no insurance, and most people wouldn't buy)
ATM, the Council is hamstrung by the current legislation, and the knowledge that developers will take them all the way through the Environment Court in order to get building consent.
We need a country-wide legislative framework to address these climate risk issues.
It is chicken or egg really but if you won't be able to get ordinary home insurance on a dwelling then it matters not whether the house is built on stilts or piles or hung from a slow low hovering helicopter!.
It seems less wasteful to say no and base good planning on geographic features now rather than let people find out yet again that the house they have built/paid mortgage money on is either washed away or flooded and then is not capable of being insured. Why have the second step of having 11 poor homeowners demonstrating ‘yes those flood plain maps were correct, yes the 2023 flood results were demonstrative of 2023 realities?’.
Perhaps 'someone' should buy this land back or allow some sort of tax credit to the developer if it is made a reserve never to be built on. This would need to be fair.
if your house is registered as a boat(why not, tiny houses get round council housing rules by being classified as caravans), then maybe you could get boat insurance? it wont be cheap, boat stands for >bring out another thousand..but if you need insurance for a mortgage, it may be a way around the problem.tiny houses need wheels,towbars and be blocked up, not on solid piles, to be classified as a motor vehicle. what would a house need to be classified as a boat? a life preserver and a name?
Good to see that Helen White has been selected as the Labour candidate in Mt Albert.
Helen has lived in the Electorate for over 30 years and is well known in the area for her work with local organisations. She also has worked as an Employment lawyer – representing working people.
She has great Labour values and obviously has good support from the local Electorate Committee.
Means that there is a very good Labour candidate Camilla Belich who contested the (extremely hard for Labour to win) Epsom electorate last election available for somewhere like (ummm) Auckland Central that Helen White missed on in the last two elections.
Why do I think that this is important?
That 3-way split is a problem in Auckland Central. In 2017, Helen lost it to Nikki Kaye from the Nats by 1581 votes. In 2020 lost it to Chlöe Swarbick by 1068 votes. with the National candidate less than 2000 votes behind.
So Auckland Central is in the position of having a 3-way split in the candidate vote.
But here is the thing for a number person like me. Look at 2017 vs 2020.
Chlöe Swarbick's excellent campaign raised the green candidate vote by about 10,000 votes – and the Green party vote just by about 2800 votes.
This suggest to me that as a campaign, the Greens and Chlöe expended quite a lot of resource in getting a electoral candidate and failed to gain a solid a base in Auckland Central.
Helen White expended effort on gaining party vote – the kind that all parties under MMP actually need.
Ok – some numbers followed by argument..
Green candidate vote in 2020 – 12,631
Green party vote in 2020 – 6,937
Green candidate vote in 2017 – 2,838
Green party vote in 2017 – 4,170
Labour candidate vote in 2020 – 11,563
Labour party vote in 2020 – 16,751
Labour candidate vote in 2017 – 11,617
Labour party vote in 2017 -11,340
National candidate vote in 2020 – 9,775
National party vote in 2020 – 7,680
National candidate vote in 2017 – 13,198
National party vote in 2017 -11,773
As a party, even one that I'm not affiliated with, but who goes into arrangements with my normally preferred party, I get worried by that.
Under MMP, smaller parties that wind up dependent on electoral seat tend to wither and die.
Now I'm sure that the usual party electorate crap that usually goes around electorate seat wins for minor parties will be running around the Greens. That it provided a base for growing the party vote. The problem is that isn't what you see with NZ's now rather large MMP history.
But again, that isn't usually what happens. What happens is that party vote is across the whole country with relatively minor variants. The party resources get sucked into defending an electorate seat, and eventually they lose both the seat having lost the party vote long before that.
The only known long-term exception has been NZ First who actually became a better party after Winston Peter finally lost Tauranga. They refocused on a national campaign and won seats by list votes. I have a strong suspicion that they will do so this election – despite Shane Jones.
You could argue that Act is working against that. But that is too early to tell. National were so crap after the 2017 and especially during the pandemic that there was a lot of what I call protest votes going from National to Act. The Act candidate usually gets between 5x to 10x the Act party vote they get out in Epsom, The Greens usually get larger party votes than Act does, and they're far more consistent.
In 2017, Act as a party got 0.5% party vote and the Greens got 6.3%. In 2020 Act got 7.6% in mostly protest votes against National. But the Greens got a consistent 7.9%.
It will be going to be interesting to see if Act can pivot from running mostly a single electorate campaign to running a national campaign this election, and if the Greens get sucked into defending and electorate at the expense of their national campaign….
dont know whether the greens have to defend anything. mother nature is waking everybody up to the greens message.crappy weather turns everybody into socialists. I think act will be defending the 5% limit, as nervous nats again, dither and return to default setting. I really think nzfirst is done. they might huff and puff, but its wasted votes .
mother nature is waking everybody up to the greens message.
Sure, Doesn't mean that voters are any more likely to vote Green. In fact, I'd almost bet that it does exactly the opposite. Everyone covered in disasters loves havinga sanctimonious Jeramiah laughing at their misfortune rather than being constructive and useful to the commonweal.
crappy weather turns everybody into socialists
Yes. But frankly the Greens simply aren't that much more socialist than either Labour or National or NZ First when it comes to disaster relief. So you're really just contrasting the Greens (and every other party in parliament) to Act.
I really think nzfirst is done. they might huff and puff, but its wasted votes .
Do you have any idea how many times I have heard that in the last 30 years? And how many times that people relying on that have face planted themselves into a custard pie. To me, a statement like that indicates just indicates a idiot commenting on the demographics of protest politics.
The obstruction part of the Trump documents investigation is centered on Trump’s incomplete compliance with a subpoena in May that demanded the return of any classified-marked documents in his possession, after documents he earlier returned to the National Archives included 200 that were classified.
In June, Corcoran searched Mar-a-Lago and produced about 30 documents with classified markings to the justice department and had another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, sign a certification that attested to compliance with the subpoena “based on the information provided to me”.
But the justice department, according to court filings, developed evidence that more classified-marked documents remained at the resort, as well as “evidence of obstruction”. And when the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, they found 101 such documents in a storage room and in Trump’s office.
Given that he'd already been selected as the candidate (with no opposition), this strikes me as a bit late in the piece – though, I suppose, better now than later in the year.
Almost certainly going to gift the Waiariki electorate to TPM's Waititi – who would I think have held it it any case – he seems to have strong electorate support.
I recall a TV piece about Sir Rod Deane and his wife after their late daughter Kristen was finally diagnosed with Rett syndrome. IIRC, Kristen was in her early/mid-teens at the time of filming, tiny, uncommunicative, with a fixed gaze and entirely dependent on her care givers.
Not many things get to me but the plight of that kid and her parents certainly did.
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
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My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
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What the actual fuck? The BBC has lost its marbles. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears
The hunger-to-watch created by the furore will be intense 🙂
It'll be the Tories and the farmers who won't be able to turn away from the screen, so desperate to spot political bias.
Speaking of a media outlet losing its marbles. Kremlin mouthpiece RT has published a weird daydream about a Russian take over and the Ukraine government doing a US Vietnam or Afghanistan type flight from their own capital.
Like that's ever gonna happen. But you can always dream I suppose.
It may be not to far from the truth, as the russians are reporting that the UK are suffering such shortages because of their support that they are hunting and eating squirrels. / sarc. This is a good video for the tankies just to show what they support. I don't think it will change their thinking but it lays out pretty clearly just what they are.
https://youtu.be/sjBXGt8MMoE
Like that's ever gonna happen. But you can always dream I suppose.
They probably said the same thing about the withdrawal from Afghanistan … until it happened.
The key word here being "withdrawal". The war in Afghanistan and Vietnam ended with the invader's withdrawal. Without the invader's withdrawal those wars would still be going. Just as the war in Ukraine will end with the invader's withdrawal, and won't end, until the Russians do withdraw.
Simple as that.
That is utterly pathetic, so much so that it must be some kind of abuse or corruption. Scared if rw backlash?! WTF, it's info that's needed more more than ever.
The BBC are also demoting sports broadcaster and former football star Gary Lineker because he dared to voice criticism of the Conservative government's new policy on asylum seekers.
The political right obviously has a lot of power in British media.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64920557
Lineker's tweet compared the Tories to Nazis,
https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1633111662352891908?s=20
The Beeb has come under blistering attack for its transparent bias and hypocrisy in this matter
https://twitter.com/SkyKaveh/status/1634288030658842641?s=20
Football’s Gary Lineker booted by BBC over refugee policy tweets | Human Rights News | Al Jazeera
Go get a copy of Fear: New Zealands Hostile Underworld of Extremists by Byron Clark.
Very up to date.
I tell you what, nothing brings home climate change like driving for 45 minutes to five different stores to get hold of some limes for my cocktail party tonight.
What does? Wasting so much carbon for something so decadent? I guess you could look at it that way, but I wouldn't feel too guilty about it.
Whooooosh
+100
Pft, you got that right.
Bring on Peak Oil. Can't come soon enough. Had a gutsfull of ICE vehicles.
Last year, my Commodore died (steering, timing chain, transmission: would have cost $7500+ to fix).
Then I got a Mazda, which died in December (turbo shat itself and destroyed the engine, bye bye $19K).
Now I'm borrowing a diesel Peugeot, which decided to crap out on the motorway, losing power steering, ABS, god knows what else.
Dylan Mulvaney is a high profile, recently transitioned trans identified male, TRA, who specialises in promoting stereotypes about women.
Gender identity ideology is regressive and harms women and girls.
https://twitter.com/labelfreebrands/status/1634230676076781568
Understandable when your view of women is so much of a sexist stereotype that you think that putting on a frock and doing tampon advertisements makes you a woman.
Is promoting a women's place is in the kitchen super acceptable now that Dylan is a [hashtag] Kitchen Aid ambassador?
A whole generation of feminist work to fight for women to be accepted as fully-capable humans broken on a marble benchtop.
we can be grateful I guess that he's moved on from tampons 😑
I think it's worse than that. I think KitchenAid is being utterly cynical in creating content by manufacturing outrage. Most feminist (I would guess) aren't interested in that ad existing – not because its a transwoman fronting it, but because it's so regressive and stereotyped – so it's not like they're taking a valued job or anything.
If that ad had appeared with a famous female influencer – feminists may have criticised the ad on the 'taking us back to the 50s' vibe but really, no-one would have cared much – they've heard it all before – maybe there would be a standard npn-apology for a minor publicity boost.
But with a transperson fronting the ad, the same feminist criticism would be 'anti-trans' and create screeds of column inches and social media discussions while everyone decides what the ad means and what we should be angry about. people will be banned, blocked and hated, academics would write their things.
And KitchenAid will sit back and watch its top 10 trending and take the sales when the furore has died away.
Utterly manipulative.
that's a really good analysis, thanks.
It might be a bit cynical – but generally when I see something prevocative like this these days, I assume it's a deliberate plan to create social media noise.
I must do some researching on it, but it just seems so like the Bannon-type messaging, I think more than just a few unscrupulous marketing departments have taken notes.
I'm guessing it's very cost efficient too, getting social media influencers to do the heavy lifting.
MoWD 2.0
"The need for some such agency is, I think, undeniable. The current debate over consultants has revealed how hopelessly, cravenly reliant modern government is on the Deloittes and Chapman Tripps of this world. The state has been hollowed out in recent decades, losing expertise, wisdom and savvy. One of the worst examples came in Kaipara some years back, where, following the grotesque failure of a wastewater project, it became clear the local council was so short-staffed it couldn’t even manage its contracts with private providers – let alone build anything itself."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300827129/max-rashbrooke-reviving-a-modern-ministry-of-works-necessary-to-cope-with-modern-infrastructure-demands
Only problem is it will take a decade or two to regain the required capabilities….as with most solutions, the best one is not to create the problem in the first place.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
best we get on with it now then.
Perhaps…the penny appears to be dropping
Similar to the claim made by supporters of Russian imperialism, that the popular revolt against Russian ally Victor Yanakovych who fled to Moscow, was a Western backed coup.
Russian leader Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy has likened the Foreign Agent Law protests in Georgia, as a Western backed plot.
The Russian imperialists do not recognise the agency of the people of either Georgia or Ukraine to determine their own destiny.
The real question;
As another ex-Soviet state is gripped by huge protests, is a Ukraine-style invasion on the cards?
what would the russians use to invade georgia ? they are reduced to scrounging from nth korea! for shells ,and are running short of warm bodies. 30 yrs of corruption has hollowed out the russian military .
"History never Repeats I tell myself before I go to sleep." Splitenz
History repeats
Another conflict brewing in the South Caucasus.
https://twitter.com/secretsqrl123/status/1633625836069814272
Scenarios
Developments can move in two very different directions in this geopolitical transformation of the South Caucasus. One features a stalemate in the war in Ukraine, a gradual recovery of Russian strength and a deepening relationship between Moscow and Tehran. The outcome would be to counter the growing influence of Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers would reassert control over the Lachin corridor. Iran would begin sales of weapons to Armenia, notably the Shahed-136 drones, and the Zangezur corridor would be stalled. The longer-term investment would be aimed at promoting the north-south transport corridor that has long been favored by Russia and Iran.</em>
The alternative scenario features a defeat for Russia in Ukraine and effective sanctions against Iranian exports of weapons. This would embolden Azerbaijan and Turkey to push through the Zangezur corridor, to further erode Russian influence in the South Caucasus and to shut Iran out of the region. It is worth remembering that during the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan not only shelled targets in Nagorno-Karabakh but also targets inside Armenia proper. It remains in a position to do so again, and Russia may be too weak to prevent it.
The outcome if Turkey and Azerbaijan emerge as winners would be infrastructure investment that is geared toward providing energy from Central Asia and the Caspian basin into Europe. There would be many winners. Turkey is only too happy to become a major energy hub. The European Union has already courted Baku for gas while dialing back criticism of Azeri human rights abuses. And the U.S. would be happy to see Russia pushed out. It does look like the most likely outcome.
https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/geopolitical-transformation-south-caucasus/
good post. pretty much all of those countries hate the russians , and like cockroaches , they never leave ..
But Fifa are considering doing a U-turn on Saudi sponsorship of Women's World Cup …
/
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For the feminists in the room, but also applies more generally to online debate culture and kaupapa.
https://twitter.com/wlaotearoa/status/1634264667093893131
Some people think "being kind" means allowing trans identified males to punch women in the face.
https://twitter.com/RichieHardcore/status/1634352944211726336?s=20
An example of the desire for intensification gone crazy.
Developer in an upmarket inner-city suburb in Auckland wants to redevelop a single site to build 11 town-houses on a known flood plain (heavily flooded during the Jan downpour).
The 'plan' is to build the houses over sacrificial garages (basically designed to flood – though the developer denies this). [my sarcastic single quotes]
He claims that the existing stormwater infrastructure is sufficient – even though it wasn't in Jan this year, and his proposal would cover the whole of the site in concrete – further reducing any capacity for rainfall to be stored in the ground.
The only interest the developer has is in building and selling these for as much profit as possible – he'll wind up the company immediately they are sold, so there will be no way to make him culpable for downstream consequences.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-storms-raise-concerns-about-housing-development-alongside-flood-plain-in-grey-lynn/L7FMD4TPRZHPFFL43UMXYVLICQ/
The common sense approach, as I see it, would be to red-sticker this site, and use it for effective flood mitigation landscape planning for drainage of the surrounding area. It might, or might not, be possible to run a kindy on part of the site (the existing use is a daycare centre)
So the developer bought a cheap site next to the creek, and it looks like Council might be going to restrict what can be done with it to a point that there's no way they are going to get their money back.
So, they come up with a plan to maximise return with something that really won't be marketable until people forget about the flood risk to increase the site's value when Council have to step in and buy the property.
That said, sacrificial floodways are a very long-standing urban design strategy. Live in a flat subdivision and the building platforms are meter or two above the street, probably wouldn't leave your car on the street when there's a big rain coming, that street is probably designed to flood to buffer loads on the stormwater system down stream.
Sink or swim. Homes built to weather floods exist in the Netherlands, Australia, US Gulf states and other places. Why not here?
The approach isn't without merit, makes alot of sense to build on piles or above garages getting the living spaces at least 1m above ground would save plenty of heartache.
Well, if that's intended to be the NZ-wide solution to climate change: "just build up" – then it would be really good for the Government to articulate it.
Personally, I think not building in already identified floodplains, especially when they've already been flooded – is a better solution.
And, even better, if the Insurance companies came out and said that new houses built on floodplains will not be insurable for flood/water damage (you can, of course, still insure for fire and theft).
I'd guess that would make the vast majority of the potential high-risk builds uneconomic (banks wouldn't lend if no insurance, and most people wouldn't buy)
ATM, the Council is hamstrung by the current legislation, and the knowledge that developers will take them all the way through the Environment Court in order to get building consent.
We need a country-wide legislative framework to address these climate risk issues.
Belladonna this is fine stuff.
It is chicken or egg really but if you won't be able to get ordinary home insurance on a dwelling then it matters not whether the house is built on stilts or piles or hung from a slow low hovering helicopter!.
It seems less wasteful to say no and base good planning on geographic features now rather than let people find out yet again that the house they have built/paid mortgage money on is either washed away or flooded and then is not capable of being insured. Why have the second step of having 11 poor homeowners demonstrating ‘yes those flood plain maps were correct, yes the 2023 flood results were demonstrative of 2023 realities?’.
Perhaps 'someone' should buy this land back or allow some sort of tax credit to the developer if it is made a reserve never to be built on. This would need to be fair.
if your house is registered as a boat(why not, tiny houses get round council housing rules by being classified as caravans), then maybe you could get boat insurance? it wont be cheap, boat stands for >bring out another thousand..but if you need insurance for a mortgage, it may be a way around the problem.tiny houses need wheels,towbars and be blocked up, not on solid piles, to be classified as a motor vehicle. what would a house need to be classified as a boat? a life preserver and a name?
Well, to satisfy insurers and bank managers (who aren't as thick as you seem to imagine) – it would actually need to be a boat.
If the site has insurance issues (and consequently finance issues ) there is only one 'someone'…joe public.
At what point does Joe public say, 'nah'?
The first Australasian Let Women Speak event is about to start in Sydney at 2pm NZT. It should be livestreamed here,
https://www.youtube.com/@KellieJayKeen/streams
NZ events are on the 25th and 26th March (Ak, Wgtn).
https://www.standingforwomen.com/events
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDSe3ot5EmE
grassroots feminism ^^^
how can there be women's rights if women include men?
That is it at it's simplest!
Especially when those men & their actions pay scant regard to the hard-won rights of women.
Good to see that Helen White has been selected as the Labour candidate in Mt Albert.
Helen has lived in the Electorate for over 30 years and is well known in the area for her work with local organisations. She also has worked as an Employment lawyer – representing working people.
She has great Labour values and obviously has good support from the local Electorate Committee.
Means that there is a very good Labour candidate Camilla Belich who contested the (extremely hard for Labour to win) Epsom electorate last election available for somewhere like (ummm) Auckland Central that Helen White missed on in the last two elections.
Why do I think that this is important?
That 3-way split is a problem in Auckland Central. In 2017, Helen lost it to Nikki Kaye from the Nats by 1581 votes. In 2020 lost it to Chlöe Swarbick by 1068 votes. with the National candidate less than 2000 votes behind.
So Auckland Central is in the position of having a 3-way split in the candidate vote.
But here is the thing for a number person like me. Look at 2017 vs 2020.
Chlöe Swarbick's excellent campaign raised the green candidate vote by about 10,000 votes – and the Green party vote just by about 2800 votes.
This suggest to me that as a campaign, the Greens and Chlöe expended quite a lot of resource in getting a electoral candidate and failed to gain a solid a base in Auckland Central.
Helen White expended effort on gaining party vote – the kind that all parties under MMP actually need.
Ok – some numbers followed by argument..
Green candidate vote in 2020 – 12,631
Green party vote in 2020 – 6,937
Green candidate vote in 2017 – 2,838
Green party vote in 2017 – 4,170
Labour candidate vote in 2020 – 11,563
Labour party vote in 2020 – 16,751
Labour candidate vote in 2017 – 11,617
Labour party vote in 2017 -11,340
National candidate vote in 2020 – 9,775
National party vote in 2020 – 7,680
National candidate vote in 2017 – 13,198
National party vote in 2017 -11,773
As a party, even one that I'm not affiliated with, but who goes into arrangements with my normally preferred party, I get worried by that.
Under MMP, smaller parties that wind up dependent on electoral seat tend to wither and die.
Now I'm sure that the usual party electorate crap that usually goes around electorate seat wins for minor parties will be running around the Greens. That it provided a base for growing the party vote. The problem is that isn't what you see with NZ's now rather large MMP history.
But again, that isn't usually what happens. What happens is that party vote is across the whole country with relatively minor variants. The party resources get sucked into defending an electorate seat, and eventually they lose both the seat having lost the party vote long before that.
The only known long-term exception has been NZ First who actually became a better party after Winston Peter finally lost Tauranga. They refocused on a national campaign and won seats by list votes. I have a strong suspicion that they will do so this election – despite Shane Jones.
You could argue that Act is working against that. But that is too early to tell. National were so crap after the 2017 and especially during the pandemic that there was a lot of what I call protest votes going from National to Act. The Act candidate usually gets between 5x to 10x the Act party vote they get out in Epsom, The Greens usually get larger party votes than Act does, and they're far more consistent.
In 2017, Act as a party got 0.5% party vote and the Greens got 6.3%. In 2020 Act got 7.6% in mostly protest votes against National. But the Greens got a consistent 7.9%.
It will be going to be interesting to see if Act can pivot from running mostly a single electorate campaign to running a national campaign this election, and if the Greens get sucked into defending and electorate at the expense of their national campaign….
I'll write a post after the election. 😈
dont know whether the greens have to defend anything. mother nature is waking everybody up to the greens message.crappy weather turns everybody into socialists. I think act will be defending the 5% limit, as nervous nats again, dither and return to default setting. I really think nzfirst is done. they might huff and puff, but its wasted votes .
Sure, Doesn't mean that voters are any more likely to vote Green. In fact, I'd almost bet that it does exactly the opposite. Everyone covered in disasters loves havinga sanctimonious Jeramiah laughing at their misfortune rather than being constructive and useful to the commonweal.
Yes. But frankly the Greens simply aren't that much more socialist than either Labour or National or NZ First when it comes to disaster relief. So you're really just contrasting the Greens (and every other party in parliament) to Act.
Do you have any idea how many times I have heard that in the last 30 years? And how many times that people relying on that have face planted themselves into a custard pie. To me, a statement like that indicates just indicates a idiot commenting on the demographics of protest politics.
It’s not the crime, it’s the coverup.
https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1634024541554110465
The obstruction part of the Trump documents investigation is centered on Trump’s incomplete compliance with a subpoena in May that demanded the return of any classified-marked documents in his possession, after documents he earlier returned to the National Archives included 200 that were classified.
In June, Corcoran searched Mar-a-Lago and produced about 30 documents with classified markings to the justice department and had another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, sign a certification that attested to compliance with the subpoena “based on the information provided to me”.
But the justice department, according to court filings, developed evidence that more classified-marked documents remained at the resort, as well as “evidence of obstruction”. And when the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, they found 101 such documents in a storage room and in Trump’s office.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/09/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-papers-grand-jury
Tamati Coffey announces that he will not stand in 2023.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/labour-waiariki-mp-tamati-coffey-to-retire-from-politics-at-upcoming-election/NFBKNFDX6FAGPE3CVPCCLO5IO4/
Given that he'd already been selected as the candidate (with no opposition), this strikes me as a bit late in the piece – though, I suppose, better now than later in the year.
Almost certainly going to gift the Waiariki electorate to TPM's Waititi – who would I think have held it it any case – he seems to have strong electorate support.
A huge congratulations to Professor Dame Margaret Brimble for achieving FDA approval for the drug. Culmination of a professional lifetime.
And very rare for New Zealand.
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/03/11/margaret-brimble-trofinetide-wins-FDA-approval.html
I recall a TV piece about Sir Rod Deane and his wife after their late daughter Kristen was finally diagnosed with Rett syndrome. IIRC, Kristen was in her early/mid-teens at the time of filming, tiny, uncommunicative, with a fixed gaze and entirely dependent on her care givers.
Not many things get to me but the plight of that kid and her parents certainly did.