I am a trenchant critic of this timid majority Labour Govt. for not facing up to the biggies such as mega state house build etc…but…I can still celebrate the useful reforms that have proceeded such as school lunch implementation.
For those that may not know, Kaitaia based Bells Produce including its Pukepoto market gardens, mentioned as a supplier in the article, is now owned and operated by the commercial arm of Far North Iwi Te Rarawa as they like others in Tai Tokerau move into horticulture.
If you're doing any project that requires electronic components, the lead times are not pretty at the moment. Chipaggedon is a thing and it's spreading across the board.
Quick tip, any large orders, tell your vendor as far out as possible to help them with planning. Then work with them to prioritise the items you need. Chip shortage is going to hit everyone and everything.
…"Facebook is now removing groups and pages which discourage people from getting vaccinated regardless of whether the content is true…."
I can't find any printed article that specifically states that this is what Facebook intends, although there are any number berating Facebook for failing to eradicate vaccine 'disinformation and misinformation'.
It is a concern that it is considered to be the best line of attack to suppress truth when the Official Narrative is losing ground.
Hannah said the anti-vaccination leaflet often arrived in people’s letter boxes at the same time as official Covid-19 information on the vaccine plan.
“Which is really concerning, because obviously it creates a sense of like-for-like,” she said.
Data suggested the people heading anti-vaccination groups were closely related to anti-1080 efforts, gun control, and anti-5G, Hannah said.
“All of these hot-button issues are interconnected and the people who are spearheading these conversations on social media and at public events are talking to each other.”
The gist of my post, Incognito, is that Facebook considers deplatforming groups disseminating truth an appropriate response to any content that discourages vaccination.
Do you think this is a good idea? Are you comfortable with this level of censorship?
Who determines what facts/truths are acceptable?
Simply pulling up just one of many of the 'oooh this is really scary stuff because it is not what the government is telling us!!!' quotes is just dodging the issue.
Its core medical knowledge. Its not really up for dispute over whether its factual.
As well its in FB terms and conditions that they can moderate opinions….. in this instance that dispute core medical knowledge…like a supermarket can search your bags as a condition of entry . They decide.
Yes – this is a tough one. This is the kind of discussion I really don't know how to resolve and is very difficult for public health authorities to manage.
One I agree that we have zero information on the long-term safety of these new generation vaccines. That health authorities don't want us thinking about this is not reassuring at all.
Secondly there is good reason to be concerned about the evolutionary pressure we're putting the virus under by vaccinating during a pandemic. Again zero long-term information is available.
And thirdly there is a reasonable possibility that these highly targeted vaccines will not only be less effective against new mutations, but that they may even block the action of latter more broadly acting ones that could be developed.
And finally – are we comfortable with the idea that maybe we'll be needing annual booster shots as we do with seasonal flu?
All these are open questions that we just don't have good answers for at present at a population level, but for the time being for any individual the risk of harm from a vaccine is orders of magnitude lower than the risk of getting serious COVID. The only way we will get solid information is by watching places like the UK and Israel which have taken the lead with aggressive vaccination campaigns. So far Israel is looking good – but it's early days yet to say anything much about the longer term impacts.
Here's my plan – I avoid crowds in indoor spaces, I'm still taking 2000 IU VitD daily, I have a small stock of Ivermectin as an emergency measure only, and I'm booked for an AZ shot later this week.
Yes, good informed discussion is needed, as always. Are Social Media such as FB and Twitter the right place to enable and ‘moderate’ and even lead this? Are they conducive to healthy or harmful [pun] debate?
Not all those vaccines are “new generation”.
Your second point is academic and has been surpassed by events, e.g. in the UK and Israel and other places around the World. NZ cannot watch from down under and expect to be immune from any consequences of mass vaccinations elsewhere. How long should we wait?
Your third point is also a research question that cannot be answered in a meaningful way by lay-people.
I’d imagine that people who are at higher risk from Covid would be more comfortable with yearly vaccinations like for the flu than people who think they are bulletproof. Are you talking about individual or population level?
Seeding doubts and keeping or turning people vaccine ‘hesitant’ might well lead to negative consequences and open Pandora’s box to problems down the track.
While the subject is kinda irrelevant the actions are chilling.
I am surprised how quickly nuance, tolerance and the willingness to hear a dissenting voice has gone from exchanges or debates. Thus us particularly true here on TS.
While it was occuring before, the Trump presidential nomination and election really exaserbated things.
Some (lots), are quick to label conspiracy theory, add an ad hom and walk away.
Yes. Way too easy to be reactive biff toys about and exit stage left than think about stuff – because there's so much damn stuff to think about. It's as much mental health as it is ignorance. And yes, Trump has a lot to do with it. Willingly or not, he got us all to stamp our feet petulantly and act a little less mature.
If you query the vaccine… the historical anti-vaxxers spring to mind, many of which were deeply steeped in idiocy, and are a danger to public health.
And of course, the tinfoil hat type anti-vaxxer will be absolutely LOVING this, where, as RL points out (3.1.1.2) there are questions to be made.
By the time you've qualified genuine concerns you're already being shouted down and nobody wants to know. Because FEAR. Genuine, palpable, background level fear, all this time. We want off this ride.
So freaking messy. To me it seems the virus is already proving adept at staying ahead of our efforts, because we are not working together as a race we are self obsessed. We're disjointed by geography, tech levels, economics, politics, patents, religious beliefs and breakdown of trust in institutions.
That's misleading (kills 50% of infected – when you're discussing covid 'side effects') so let's clarify a bit.
Mucormycosis kills 50% of people who get it. It is rare, it is not contagious.
It is rare as it requires a weak immune system to overcome. Recovering covid patients have weakened immunity via the virus and some medication… and so mucormycosis is, as one would predict, more prevalent in covid patients.
This seems largely restricted to India where environmental conditions favour the fungi. It's a perfect storm of conditions right there right now.
It could possibly be an issue in other areas of similar climate. Where health systems are not overwhelmed air filtration and temperature control where patients are recovering could reduce infection rates considerably.
To me, the main issue in many debates on sensitive and complex issues is that people assume equivalence of voices, i.e. the veracity and validity of their opinions, arguments, and even facts are equal. In almost all cases, this not the case, which is almost (!) impossible to accept for some (…). This doesn’t mean that one voice should be silenced, so to speak, but it does mean that that voice may not have and cannot demand equal weight in the debate and ultimately in the decision(s).
Governments have a legal and moral duty to govern and act in the best interest of all people, which in practice means in the interest of many. In almost all cases this allows people to choose, at least in a free and democratic country. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate is a binary decision, but it is not a purely individual one. If I choose to get vaccinated I won’t harm anybody else. OTOH, if I refuse to get vaccinated I might cause harm to somebody else, in future, when I catch the infectious disease and spread it to others. If I cannot get vaccinated, e.g. because of a pre-existing medical condition, I’d really like it if everybody else whom I might get into contact with chooses to get vaccinated, but can I demand this from them? Similar thoughts apply to climate change, for example, where harm to others may eventuate and occur in the next generation.
Can't argue with any of that (apart from the idea that a vaccinated person can't harm anyone else, but I don't wanna get bogged down in that…).
What I was getting at is our new found propensity to other, to pop people into a category therefore to not have to listen. eg pointing out inconsistencies in 'The Russians!' stories makes you a Putin fan.
With that in mind, Cheers for your efforts in moderating this place, I don't always agree with what goes on, then again the ref hardly ever gets praised.
I have to be brutally honest with you; I don’t know how I should deal with your situation and take into consideration (the) mitigating circumstances, knowing what I know now about you. It weighs on my mind.
Moderators are not cannot be mind readers or psychologists, for example, and they don’t know the personal history & situation of commenters. When I do know something about them, e.g. because of what they have divulged in their comments, I tend to give them more slack.
It is never personal, despite what some seem to think, but to me it is somewhat of a poisoned chalice moderating comments by other people. I wanted to put this on record here.
Judge Mahon said the mother believed anyone could read the information on the Internet and reach an informed view, and she did not accept the expert’s view before her own.
“In other words, the mother’s Internet research, which had found multiple sources of data opposed to vaccination, meant she could have an opinion which could carry the same weight with the court as that of the expert.
“She felt that her detailed Internet search of articles on the issues enabled her to reach her own, equally as authoritative conclusions on the risks of immunisations for her children.”
Oooooohhhhh, don’t get me started! I’m a strong advocate of sharing knowledge and knowledge (re)sources but some of these should not be freely shared. In such cases, I’m more than happy to stay ignorant and if knowledge is power then all power to the cognoscenti; too much knowledge can be dangerous.
New age shaman, antivaxer, covid denier, white supremacist, neo-nazi, Q-anon conspirators, inhabiting the same online chat groups, involved in the storming of the US capital building.
In the real world and online.
Should they be treated the same?
Experts say at present there is no conclusive evidence to comment on the impact that this variant can have on vaccines but the presence of E484K mutation in it is a cause for concern.
E484K is a major immune escape variant and is also found in a number of emerging lineages across the world. Immune escape variants are those mutations that help the variant to evade the immune system and possibly result in compromising vaccine efficacy.
A WHO official said Monday it is reclassifying the highly contagious triple-mutant Covid variant spreading in India as a “variant of concern” at the global level.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the agency will provide more details in its situation report Tuesday.
The more times a virus replicates, the greater the chance for individually low-probability viable mutations to occur. Which will be selected for, or against, by environmental pressures. Even if people care nothing for the wellbeing of others, surely they can see that; no one is safe from SARS-CoV-2 until everyone is safe from that virus?
I have typed that paragraph (or similar) many time over the last year, though it always seems to bear repeating. But as a decaying cherry oozing on top of your triple-layered cake, Sabine; there is also this peril for Indian infected:
A rare black fungus that invades the brain is being increasingly seen in vulnerable patients in India, including those with Covid-19, as the health system continues to struggle in the midst of the pandemic…
Covid-19 was creating conditions for the infection to take hold. People’s immune systems were being compromised by the virus, and mucormycosis was being seen in particular in patients who also have diabetes.
“We give a lot of high dose steroids now to people with Covid-19 if they end up in intensive care as the steroids help to treat inflammation, but the steroids unfortunately also suppress your immune system.
“So that’s why we don’t like giving steroids to patients longer than we absolutely have to. We’re trying to decrease your inflammation with the steroids but that actually means your ability to fight normal infections, like fungus, is also compromised.”
Fortunately, it looks like NonSteroidal-AntiInflammatory Drugs (eg ibuprofen) are not associated with negative health outcomes for COVID. Though this study is more about nonprescribed usage in Britain, so may not be generalizable to therapeutic NSAID use in India.
Hipkins has come out swinging… saying that plenty of coverage of the public servants pay proposals are inaccurate . hes never used word 'freeze'
'I'd completely reject the notion that this is austerity. Saying that we want the people on the lowest incomes to do disproportionately better than those on the highest incomes when it comes to spending additional money on salaries is not austerity. It's the opposite of it."
He also introduced new language for discussing the pay restraint’s bands.
“The guidance breaks down three categories for public sector pay, ‘lift’ (those at $60,000 or below), ‘adjust’ (those between $60 and $100,000) and ‘hold’ (those above $100,000).”
This was the directive by dear Grant yesterday, i guess the memo got around, now if the pesky journalists and nurses and doctors and other non understanding people would just do as they are told. tsk tsk tsk. No candy for them.
Adjust, because what public service employees need is their pay to be specially reviewed by the PSA for exemplary service to earn any salary adjustment.
And they have apparently decided that money will be saved over all despite measures specifically to Lift incomes below 60k.
Now, if only Chippie could have explained himself more clearly the whole missunderstanding could be avoided. In fact he could probably still redeem himself by announcing systematic above inflation increases for everyone on under 60k instead (which is surely what he meant to say), though treasury would have a hope of costing that up correctly, and it doesn't sound like a cost saving.
When they get hold of a dictionary, it should become apparent why, the public correctly equates cost savings with austerity.
'I'd completely reject the notion that this is austerity. Saying that we want the people on the lowest incomes to do disproportionately better than those on the highest incomes when it comes to spending additional money on salaries is not austerity. It's the opposite of it."
Just a one word description of Hipkins' statement above – rhetoric!
The root of the word [rhetoric] is from Greek ῥητορικὴ [τέχνη] roughly meaning 'the art of speech'. We haven't learned much valuable new stuff over what they knew about one thousand years ago. Doh!
The problem with that version is that there was zero media interest in public service pay until the govt announced this was an area of cost saving (an idea which came from out of nowhere).
When this started it was started by Chris and Grant and it will go away again when they announce above inflation pay hikes for those under 60k which will grow the public sector wage bill, not shrink it.
When the only general labour market announcement that anyone appears to have taken any notice of what sounds like an austerity wage freeze – the problem just may not vanish under spin. Nothing to rein in the rest of the wild west labour market.
But hey we are putting places aside for so called "critical" workers to keep that pesky labour market under control. So much for training locals and creating workable jobs for them. Doesn't sound like the importing employers are required to train locals either. Plus some of them seem to want the government to meet the costs of them coming with more handouts to them.
I am in situation that i find conflicting. I have a possum in the are that i see every now and then on the fences of our properties. Very funny actually when it freezes and pretends to be dead. To some extend the ugly beaast is cute.
I guess i should shoot it or something, and I am not gonna lay traps as there are other critters about. Chances are they too are considered a pest. What to do?
But yes, this country needs to get rid of fences and replace them with hedges.
One thing that i miss is the 'common' right to get to places crossing farm land in a respectable way, as we have in mainland Europe. Yes, fences are used but not to the extend as i have seen here. The mind can not comprehend. The tractor roads that criss cross fields (not for cattle) are used by bicylists, hikers, and link from village to villages, very much like many of the old pilgrim routes. Here the tractor is on the Motorway competing for space with the cyclist. The mind can not comprehend.
And hedges, fruit bearing hedges would be such a good solution at least to the visual aspect of the fences, and yes, the environment.
I guess unless we introduce the human species back into its natural habitat nothing much will change. We need to be taught how to be wildlings again.
Yeh! Bring back the gorse hedges of yesteryear. Such a glorious golden look. They early settlers were so thoughtful when they brought in gorse as a hedge plant.
On second thoughts, as someone who lives in Wellington and has spent decades trying to keep it out of my garden, I think I would prefer that they stick to wire fences.
In the meantime I think you should shoot the bloody possums. If you are allowed to buy a rifle of course.
Europe ain't the UK. We have a lot of hedges in Europe and non of them are gorse. In fact the only time i have ever seen that plant is here in NZ. And besides it has its uses as it is a good nursery plant for other more desirable trees. Its nature makes it a hostile environment for pests that would otherwise munch these saplings away.
How can any police officer not be aware that they should probably ease back on the choke holds after the Chauvin trial? But apparently Taupō cops are just that clueless – even when being filmed:
Witness Terina Wall was walking down Ruapehu St at about 4:26pm the day of the arrest when she saw a group of youths standing outside with three officers. She told Newshub when she got there, there was "no disruption" coming from the teens, nor was there any swearing.
The boy seen in the video was standing at the window and asking officers for his vape back before they restrained him, Wall says. He wasn't trying to make physical contact with police…
The part of the incident shown in the video happened after all but one of the boys was detained by police and were in the police car. The 14-year-old's mother said in a message to a relative the teens were detained for having "fake guns with the orange tips". Wall says she didn't see or hear any imitation guns.
When the teen was pinned to the ground, all Wall says she heard was him shouting "you're hurting me".
"That's when I started yelling at police saying you don't need to put that much pressure on his neck," she says.
"He wasn't trying to get away from the cops, he was just trying to tell him he was hurting. He was just trying to keep himself safe."
The teen was "going with the motions" and wasn't trying to resist arrest, she adds. Police put his knee on the teen's neck not once but twice during the incident.
So did the police just mistake vapes for guns and then refuse to admit their error? Sure the (no angel, blah blah blah) 14year old kid was never going to get the vape back, as it is illegal for them to have been sold it. But the police officer was supposedly the adult in that situation.
Also, if you are in the area; "a peaceful protest against "lawless behaviour" has been organised for May 22 at 1pm outside Taupō Police Station".
So did the police just mistake vapes for guns and then refuse to admit their error?
if the police mistakes vapes with orange tips for guns 'with orange tips?' then the police needs to be send back to police school and shown the difference of vapes and guns.
I honestly doubt that they misunderstood, and it should scare us if they did.
I had high hopes for the Police with the appointment of the new commissioner but they are fast fading.
This story, the video I posted a day or so ago of an officer kicking a handcuffed guy on the ground in the head and earlier, in April, the cop shoving a teen to the ground after a verbal exchange. (The youngster was stationery, telling the cop not to call his girlfriend a skank).
Accountability, extra training and support/mentoring are needed.
& within the last hour, there's this (again with a 14year old kid!):
14-year-old was bitten as he ran away from the car he was driving in rural south of Hamilton two years ago.
The IPCA report noted the young person spent two days in hospital after being bitten on his leg by the dog.
It said the injury was "severe" and he may need skin grafts in future.
IPCA chair Judge Colin Doherty said the level of offending did not warrant a police dog being deployed to bite him.
"While there was no issue with police using the dog to track him, the offending that he had possibly been involved in was not at a level that warranted a police dog being deployed to bite him," he said.
Though Waikato police are still making excuses; "fast-moving and dynamic situation" seems to be the goto line these days. There is no mention of any penalty, or even retraining, for the doghandler who sent their beast to maul a child.
This judge has actually handed down a decent sentence – over 8 years in jail (probably only serve half of that for good behavior???). But still serves him right.
About time they gave a decent sentence to a fraudster. They do far more than simple economic damage. They damage trust and create rifts. They sow doubt and confusion by their very nature con-artists. And they're never guilty, like the creep in the story who stole 17M and thinks he's all good.
I've dealt with a couple of these. Sociopaths – and every mug who's not learnt hard lessons climbs right up their ass. Then communities become divided as the fallout begins to emerge. They take sides, while the con artist takes all.
"the biggest fraud in New Zealand tax history. The penalty needed to be suitably high. The offending involved a high degree of planning and premeditation and only stopped when Bracken became aware it had been detected."
and he gets 8 years?…
This is a tricky one for me as I'm not big on Prison or long sentences…but seeing as this is the system we have ..how on earth is the sentence so low?
Great to see the IRD catching these crooks. His attitude so typical. Falsified documents "I did nothing wrong" …. "It was my company" lol lol Pull the other one.
His assumption of being beyond the law is just staggering, Jimmy. These words seem like they come from a Bundy acolyte "sovereign citizen":
Bracken told the court he had always done what his accountants and his bank had asked.
“I really tried hard to get it 100 per cent right … I can put my hand on heart and say that. I don’t consent to sentencing and being kidnapped … I want to go home to my family. I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said…
Bracken’s wife Margaret Bracken told the judge the family felt like Bracken was being kidnapped and the decision on his punishment should be up to his hapū.
“You have no rights,” she told the judge.
Justice Lang said Bracken had not presented any evidence to contradict the Crown case, and he rejected Bracken’s assertion that it was a legal entity that had offended, not him, and he shouldn’t be jailed.
“Sadly the courts are required to sentence people to prison every day of the week. You are no exception to that process,” Justice Lang said.
Though (if he is not lying through his teeth), if any bank, or accountant, did assist him in running his tax-scam; surely they should be in court right alongside Bracken?
Problem is people of this nature will gladly destroy others lives to maintain their illusion of self. He'd throw whole firms of accountants to the wolves if it lessened his sentence.
IRD can follow the money rightly enough. If others are involved they'll know.
This angle keeps popping up … its fairly recent angle that some nutters believe you have to 'give consent' for being arrested or charged over offences.
His claims about following the advice of banks and accountants has to be seen in that light, its a fantasy world hes living in.. Criminal proceeds action now follows and they will find out they will be loosing practically everything
Maybe they are confused with the right to not consent to medical treatment, manwhocannotdienz?
That happened to me the other week; with police coming over and detaining me on my doorstep for an hour until an ambulance arrived and tried to cart me off. But they eventually stopped pressuring me after I got them to accept that I didn't consent, and to admit that I wasn't under arrest. Basically for being an inconvenience in persistently seeking medical help elsewhere.
Anyway, there is likely to be a fair bit of overlap between; sovereign citizens, anti-vaxxers, and other conspiracy theorists. Importantly, though the internet does facilitate international communication, and mass-movements; you should always check your local laws before proceeding on the basis of any plan developed overseas.
(1)If any person is found wandering at large in any public place and acting in a manner that gives rise to a reasonable belief that he or she may be mentally disordered, any constable may, if he or she thinks that it would be desirable in the interests of the person or of the public to do so,—
(a) take that person to a Police station, hospital, or surgery, or to some other appropriate place; and
(b)arrange for a medical practitioner to examine the person at that place as soon as practicable.
I was neither mentally disordered, nor in a public place, so that didn't apply – still good to know though. This; Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, is what I was referring to:
Your rights under the code include…
a right to make an informed choice and give your informed consent before you undergo a test, procedure or treatment
a right to be treated with respect and dignity, taking into account your cultural needs and values
Where had you been before 'they arrived on your doorstep'…they dont just turn up out of the blue and single you out.
‘Basically for being an inconvenience in persistently seeking medical help elsewhere.’
I wonder why they wouldnt treat you. Personality disorders are usually not ‘treatable’
I don't mind the snideness too much; just because something is implied, doesn't mean it has to be inferred just so, without some creative misunderstanding. And I did make a (Phantom comic) pop culture reference/ mangling of GWWNZ's pseudonym earlier – so you could say I was asking for it.
'Hundred' doesn't ring a bell, nor the medieval vibe.
Robert Menard had his child removed from his custody because he refused to fill out a birth certificate. He went away and studied law.
One of the foundations seems to stem from Black's Law Dictionary and its definition of a person, a fictional construct. This is separate from the flesh and blood entity.
Once a birth certificate is filled out a 'strawman' is created so the state (another fiction) can interact with it. Adherents to the Freeman way of thinking separate themselves from this fiction.
Ah, ok, a different flavour. That would be the "Justice Lang said Bracken had not presented any evidence to contradict the Crown case, and he rejected Bracken’s assertion that it was a legal entity that had offended, not him, and he shouldn’t be jailed." bit.
Doesn't seem to have worked out for this one. So legally sharp he cut himself.
Shocking there are serious consequences. Hopefully a sign of things to come, but more likely a reaction to the defendant suggesting that as a Maori he should be treated differently.
John Bracken submitted false invoices for more than $133 million over four years. Bracken, 55, ran the scam through his company Bracken Enterprises Ltd, which led to him receiving $17.4 million in GST refunds that he was not entitled to…
Crown lawyer Megan Mitchell said the crime called for a high sentence as it was the largest crime of its kind. She said the fraud was “repetitive and involved a high degree of planning and premeditation” and Bracken only stopped offending when he became aware it had been detected. She said about $12m of property had been restrained and efforts to recover this were underway but were being “vigorously opposed” by Bracken.,,
The evidence did not disclose how Bracken used the funds he stole, but this may become clear through court action underway under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act….
The Crown also said the company falsely claimed to have exported the products it received to the Pacific Islands. That meant the company was entitled to claim input tax credits for the products it purchased, and it was not required to pay output tax on the product it sold overseas (the sale of goods for export is a zero-rated activity for GST purposes).
Bracken would withdraw cash from BEL’s account, or obtain a bank cheque made out to himself or the company. He would then immediately re-deposit those funds into another company account, or an account he operated in the name of “Mobile Veges”. This “crude but effective scheme” enabled the company to falsely claim it had purchased product worth more than $133 million and exported nearly all of it over the four years….
There is ongoing court action against the Brackens under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act by the Commissioner of Police in relation to their assets, including their farm at Matawai, near Gisborne, valued at about $7 million.
It is interesting the avenues open to business to evade legitimate tax. Where there could be problems that need careful thought is ibn confiscating their land, if there is a Maori connection. He was wearing a jersey with Mitre 10 logo. Is that a subtle hint for one source of some wonky invoices?
I have a feeling that it is by no means NZ's largest fraud – those would be real estate trading for capital gain, without paying tax. The estimate of the proportion of tax due on capital gains in property trades that was actually paid (prior to recent changes) was 25%. Doesn't take many houses or farms at current prices to run the sums pretty high.
I saw that. They have had 18 months to train people and get their act together. As do the rest of the employers. Far better that they are allowed cheap labour to undermine the market with Labour helping.
– employers who would rather exploit immigrants rather than train Kiwis
– rental investors and dairy farmers who reply on untaxed capital gains rather than revenue
– employers that spin simple tasks into Winz supported 12 week mandatory courses that disguise unpaid labour as 'work experience' (eg Z and their how to pump petrol in 12 weeks)
And so on and on
And what has this 'transformational' government done? Labour now represents an over educated middle class rather than workers.
A look at the article also shows employers are trying to get the government to pay some of the quarantine costs. Same government that wants to freeze public sector salaries. So there is no way they will want to pay for this now is there. In fact with the pay freeze they will need to say "no" to everything won't they.
I'm not sure that there is much of an over educated middle class left in the workforce. The whole of the public service seems pretty much upset. This same government that couldn't raise taxes on high earners or on trusts.
But as someone from the unions has pointed out. Pay in the public sector has to be negotiated not imposed by edict from above.
Talk about burning political capital. Labour have just made a huge bonfire of theirs.
Yep, and just to be clear, how many properties does Ardern and her partner own now? This is the waif that 7 years ago stated she could not afford to buy a house in Auckland.
And in 2009 was spouting 'comrade' repeatedly in a speech at the Youth Socialist Conference. Hmm. Just another middle class wanna be. Like Che Guevara and Uncle Ho, she pretends to be one of us, but never was or will be. Just wants to screw us to make her mark.
Care to divulge your public sources? As above, all I can find is a family home in Mt Albert.
Is your first comment also from public information? The As far as aI know answer does not cut the mustard. Is it still three? What are your sources?
Your answer is now “Who knows”. Exactly. I don’t believe that you do know.
How then are we to take the exaggerations of your comments about the PM’s speech as a young socialist? Got a reference for that so that we can check how far you exaggeration goes?
What austerity for public servants . Most are on pay scales which increase yearly to highest grade
'Post-Primary Teachers Association Auckland regional chair and teacher Michael Cabral-Terry said pay grades stopped at Grade 11 with an annual salary of $90,000.
No, but for a graduate trained professional with years of service it isn't luxury either. Remember the days when a teacher at the top of the basic scale earned the same as a backbench MP?
Oh that one. Thats because Mps 'salary' didnt show all sorts of perks they had as part of the job. There was a gold plated super ,extra allowances and so on ( cheap grog at Bellamys). All was changed to be as part of visible salary package now
A heck of a lot of profit goes into trusts taxed at the lower rates – hence the spike in numbers for salary & wage earners at $70k. The rate over $180k is up but frankly it is a token. It will catch the high earner who works for someone else – so corporate management but also the highly skilled professional. It won't get the profits from owner operated companies nor I suspect most overseas owned entities. There is room in this space for a much higher take. Nor have we ever had a complete list of all who claimed the wages subsidy.
But hey austerity for government wages is so much more important.
“Yummy Fruit Company general manager Paul Paynter said the ongoing need for MIQ was a "train wreck" for growers.
We have already spent $600,000 to bring 82 RSE workers through MIQ," he said.
We are already 20 per cent up on labour costs. Our total labour bill for the year is more than $20 million. It's a complete train wreck."
This is what happens when big companies buy up and amalgamate our farms. Better NZ stayed with owner operated family farms who along with their family got the work done without fuss.
Ask yourself which way is more sustainable? Which way is “the NZ way “?
Considering the dire access to secure housing problem (which is exacerbated by many factors), and the (to my mind) pitiful increase in benefits that have been indicated by government, I thought of a possible way to slightly alleviate (not solve) the pressure on both issues, although it will unfortunately not be a universal benefit.
If eligible for this method, you can have up to four boarders each paying $191/wk, and as long as the income derived from this method is more than your outgoings for mortgage interest, maintenance, food, utilities – then there is no tax to pay.
As many of us know, this option has been used and mis-used by many over the years…
But the reality is … that is approximately $40,000 tax free/annum. To get this in the hand at the second level tax rate of 17.5%, you would need to be earning around $48,000. A fairly big windfall for those who were already in a position to be able to purchase, and one that continues each year.
Yet we penalise beneficiaries for any earnings at a threshold that still do not lift them out of poverty.
One of the primary forms of support and savings we can offer friends and families in financial distress is to make place for them to stay. This choice is not available to those in state housing or on benefits. Make changes to allow this to happen, and here's the kicker, without impacting on the eligibility for state housing OR reducing the amount any/or all received in terms of income.
To my mind, one of the fundamental tools for addressing housing in NZ is vast amounts of state (not social) housing being built. Addressing poverty requires – alongside other methods – increasing the income of beneficiaries. Whatever has been signalled by this government makes the assumption that many before it have made and many have accepted – that those who are currently unhoused and in financial difficulties can stay in statis until the promises are delivered. This is a comforting lie. Many will have their quality of life diminish, and some will die not seeing any alleviation.
Changing one of the many punitive measures of those on income support – in this way, may mean that housing (for the interim) can be used more efficiently, and beneficiaries – at long last – can utilise one of the tools that many others have had access to – and IRD approval of – pooling resources and sharing expenses to alleviate financial hardship.
At least until something concrete is achieved… I'm sure that many more instant regulatory changes may offset the built-in delay of some of the proposals.
Molly all the best with that idea. I wonder if we ran such ideas onto paper and posted to at least five pollies, including housing and welfare and PM and Dep PM and ? surely one would get by the barrier staff.
Also if boarding or flatting the cost of foot, electricity, etc can be deducted from the rent to be declared, or they used to take off just 20% and put the rest as income, or was it the other way round.
Whatever, the idea seems to ensure that benies never get ahead – ‘grind the b….s down’ is the general rallying cry, behind any PR smiles.
In fact they do carry RNZ. And on Sky Channel 83 they often carry "news" and commentary from the state propaganda units Deutsche Welle and France 24. The sun never sets, and rust never sleeps, on the Brutish Murdoch Empire.
Maybe the IT department was making another point completely. Something along the lines that you suggest above. Likely that they could have been working all hours during pandemic for zero reward. The management would have clicked on it too – wondering why there were bonus payments going out. If it was a troll – great one.
But did people click on the link because they would click on any link, or did they work to confirm that the email had in fact been sent by their employer – as is actually was?
My employer's IT department does a similarly inconsistent stupidity – repeatedly sends emails warning about spam and links, and then sends emails about mailbox issues with links to resolve them. And no, it wasn't a tease – they did it honestly.
All the company in the link did was confirm to people that they can recognise legitimate emails from their employer – whether they can, or not.
My favourites used to come from the HR department who didn't appear to have much computer savvy so would send unsigned messes with attachments or who would be asking for inappropriate personal details not legal under employment law. A quick report and onforward to the IT Phishing department was mega satisfying.
Given the HR level I imagine most people clicked in hope because it had been sent internally?
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from 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 public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
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:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
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. ...
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 ...
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. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
I am a trenchant critic of this timid majority Labour Govt. for not facing up to the biggies such as mega state house build etc…but…I can still celebrate the useful reforms that have proceeded such as school lunch implementation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/kaitaia-college-serving-nutritious-cuisine-only-as-school-lunch-programme-expands-in-northland/NU3TIEX4HIUKERYQ6MFEBRAQ6Q/
For those that may not know, Kaitaia based Bells Produce including its Pukepoto market gardens, mentioned as a supplier in the article, is now owned and operated by the commercial arm of Far North Iwi Te Rarawa as they like others in Tai Tokerau move into horticulture.
If you're doing any project that requires electronic components, the lead times are not pretty at the moment. Chipaggedon is a thing and it's spreading across the board.
Quick tip, any large orders, tell your vendor as far out as possible to help them with planning. Then work with them to prioritise the items you need. Chip shortage is going to hit everyone and everything.
It maybe just a matter of choosing the right supplier and remaining on the good friend/ customer list.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2112407/illegal-rare-earth-mining-surges-in-myanmar
As well as tiles, whiteware, anything with kitchens, and anything complex around the house.
No doubt there will be cheering from some at the news that the toxic waste dump that is most of Facebook is going to be even more bereft of fact.
Wee snippet in the 7am news on Natrad this morning… (find it here at 5.20) https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/news-bulletin/story/2018794963/radio-new-zealand-news
…"Facebook is now removing groups and pages which discourage people from getting vaccinated regardless of whether the content is true…."
I can't find any printed article that specifically states that this is what Facebook intends, although there are any number berating Facebook for failing to eradicate vaccine 'disinformation and misinformation'.
It is a concern that it is considered to be the best line of attack to suppress truth when the Official Narrative is losing ground.
Wow! The Official Narrative, no less!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300292070/antivax-leaflet-campaign-being-investigated-by-advertising-standards-authority
The gist of my post, Incognito, is that Facebook considers deplatforming groups disseminating truth an appropriate response to any content that discourages vaccination.
Do you think this is a good idea? Are you comfortable with this level of censorship?
Who determines what facts/truths are acceptable?
Simply pulling up just one of many of the 'oooh this is really scary stuff because it is not what the government is telling us!!!' quotes is just dodging the issue.
Its core medical knowledge. Its not really up for dispute over whether its factual.
As well its in FB terms and conditions that they can moderate opinions….. in this instance that dispute core medical knowledge…like a supermarket can search your bags as a condition of entry . They decide.
….dispute core medical knowledge …
What dispute? Facebook said .."regardless of whether the content is true".
You said yourself
'I can't find any printed article that specifically states that this is what Facebook intends,"
Now you say its what Facebook intends to do…..
The link is also gone…must have been fake news that caught RNZ out
RNZ link still seems to be there and working!?
Here’s another written piece: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-57051691
It’s complicated …
Not this one which was the link mentioned …yes its working but it says 'content removed'
Very strange, it's working for me
Yes , crossed wires
True content can be presented in a manner that is just as misleading as false content.
That's why the old oath was "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth".
Yes – this is a tough one. This is the kind of discussion I really don't know how to resolve and is very difficult for public health authorities to manage.
One I agree that we have zero information on the long-term safety of these new generation vaccines. That health authorities don't want us thinking about this is not reassuring at all.
Secondly there is good reason to be concerned about the evolutionary pressure we're putting the virus under by vaccinating during a pandemic. Again zero long-term information is available.
And thirdly there is a reasonable possibility that these highly targeted vaccines will not only be less effective against new mutations, but that they may even block the action of latter more broadly acting ones that could be developed.
And finally – are we comfortable with the idea that maybe we'll be needing annual booster shots as we do with seasonal flu?
All these are open questions that we just don't have good answers for at present at a population level, but for the time being for any individual the risk of harm from a vaccine is orders of magnitude lower than the risk of getting serious COVID. The only way we will get solid information is by watching places like the UK and Israel which have taken the lead with aggressive vaccination campaigns. So far Israel is looking good – but it's early days yet to say anything much about the longer term impacts.
Here's my plan – I avoid crowds in indoor spaces, I'm still taking 2000 IU VitD daily, I have a small stock of Ivermectin as an emergency measure only, and I'm booked for an AZ shot later this week.
Yes, good informed discussion is needed, as always. Are Social Media such as FB and Twitter the right place to enable and ‘moderate’ and even lead this? Are they conducive to healthy or harmful [pun] debate?
Not all those vaccines are “new generation”.
Your second point is academic and has been surpassed by events, e.g. in the UK and Israel and other places around the World. NZ cannot watch from down under and expect to be immune from any consequences of mass vaccinations elsewhere. How long should we wait?
Your third point is also a research question that cannot be answered in a meaningful way by lay-people.
I’d imagine that people who are at higher risk from Covid would be more comfortable with yearly vaccinations like for the flu than people who think they are bulletproof. Are you talking about individual or population level?
Seeding doubts and keeping or turning people vaccine ‘hesitant’ might well lead to negative consequences and open Pandora’s box to problems down the track.
The Official Narrative must prevail, at all cost. Right?
This seems like a good place to drop this cute little shanty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EV4hQzCbJA
I am with you on this Rosemary.
While the subject is kinda irrelevant the actions are chilling.
I am surprised how quickly nuance, tolerance and the willingness to hear a dissenting voice has gone from exchanges or debates. Thus us particularly true here on TS.
While it was occuring before, the Trump presidential nomination and election really exaserbated things.
Some (lots), are quick to label conspiracy theory, add an ad hom and walk away.
Yes. Way too easy to be reactive biff toys about and exit stage left than think about stuff – because there's so much damn stuff to think about. It's as much mental health as it is ignorance. And yes, Trump has a lot to do with it. Willingly or not, he got us all to stamp our feet petulantly and act a little less mature.
If you query the vaccine… the historical anti-vaxxers spring to mind, many of which were deeply steeped in idiocy, and are a danger to public health.
And of course, the tinfoil hat type anti-vaxxer will be absolutely LOVING this, where, as RL points out (3.1.1.2) there are questions to be made.
By the time you've qualified genuine concerns you're already being shouted down and nobody wants to know. Because FEAR. Genuine, palpable, background level fear, all this time. We want off this ride.
So freaking messy. To me it seems the virus is already proving adept at staying ahead of our efforts, because we are not working together as a race we are self obsessed. We're disjointed by geography, tech levels, economics, politics, patents, religious beliefs and breakdown of trust in institutions.
Herd immunity will require some herding.
We The Beeple, another worry is side effects which are ramping up. "Black Mould" which kills 50% of the infected is now happening in India.
Sorry Sabine missed seeing your contribution on this
That's misleading (kills 50% of infected – when you're discussing covid 'side effects') so let's clarify a bit.
Mucormycosis kills 50% of people who get it. It is rare, it is not contagious.
It is rare as it requires a weak immune system to overcome. Recovering covid patients have weakened immunity via the virus and some medication… and so mucormycosis is, as one would predict, more prevalent in covid patients.
This seems largely restricted to India where environmental conditions favour the fungi. It's a perfect storm of conditions right there right now.
It could possibly be an issue in other areas of similar climate. Where health systems are not overwhelmed air filtration and temperature control where patients are recovering could reduce infection rates considerably.
Spot on WTB, especially yr last paragraph. So easy to see where we are different from each other, don't want to acknowledge our commonalities.
Probably why I enjoy the soil, food, gardening and permaculture threads. Despite gardening being a VERY political act.
To me, the main issue in many debates on sensitive and complex issues is that people assume equivalence of voices, i.e. the veracity and validity of their opinions, arguments, and even facts are equal. In almost all cases, this not the case, which is almost (!) impossible to accept for some (…). This doesn’t mean that one voice should be silenced, so to speak, but it does mean that that voice may not have and cannot demand equal weight in the debate and ultimately in the decision(s).
Governments have a legal and moral duty to govern and act in the best interest of all people, which in practice means in the interest of many. In almost all cases this allows people to choose, at least in a free and democratic country. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate is a binary decision, but it is not a purely individual one. If I choose to get vaccinated I won’t harm anybody else. OTOH, if I refuse to get vaccinated I might cause harm to somebody else, in future, when I catch the infectious disease and spread it to others. If I cannot get vaccinated, e.g. because of a pre-existing medical condition, I’d really like it if everybody else whom I might get into contact with chooses to get vaccinated, but can I demand this from them? Similar thoughts apply to climate change, for example, where harm to others may eventuate and occur in the next generation.
Kids are beginning to win court cases against their governments for failure to protect them by not acting on climate change.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/09/europe/climate-lawsuits-governments-intl-cmd/index.html
How will governments protect their citizens if many citizens refuse protection? Will the fear of lawsuits promote enforcement?
It's an interesting conundrum.
Can't argue with any of that (apart from the idea that a vaccinated person can't harm anyone else, but I don't wanna get bogged down in that…).
What I was getting at is our new found propensity to other, to pop people into a category therefore to not have to listen. eg pointing out inconsistencies in 'The Russians!' stories makes you a Putin fan.
With that in mind, Cheers for your efforts in moderating this place, I don't always agree with what goes on, then again the ref hardly ever gets praised.
Hehe. I totally deserved my last wee 'break'.
Respect!
I have to be brutally honest with you; I don’t know how I should deal with your situation and take into consideration (the) mitigating circumstances, knowing what I know now about you. It weighs on my mind.
Moderators are not cannot be mind readers or psychologists, for example, and they don’t know the personal history & situation of commenters. When I do know something about them, e.g. because of what they have divulged in their comments, I tend to give them more slack.
It is never personal, despite what some seem to think, but to me it is somewhat of a poisoned chalice moderating comments by other people. I wanted to put this on record here.
Cheers!
Moderators don’t always agree either among each other about what goes on here. That’s life but we all try our best and can always do better.
…but it does mean that that voice may not have and cannot demand equal weight…
Ah! The old 'all truths are equal but some are more equal than others' argument.
Must jot that down on the barn wall.
Calling everything that is said a 'truth' does not end well.
Timely. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/125082710/mums-internet-research-on-vaccines-doesnt-make-her-an-expert-court-decides
Nope.
https://ourplnt.com/i-did-my-own-research/#axzz6uXjKe6qo
Oooooohhhhh, don’t get me started! I’m a strong advocate of sharing knowledge and knowledge (re)sources but some of these should not be freely shared. In such cases, I’m more than happy to stay ignorant and if knowledge is power then all power to the cognoscenti; too much knowledge can be dangerous.
Thank you, and indeed very timely. Judges end up having to make some of the toughest decisions that one can imagine.
New age shaman, antivaxer, covid denier, white supremacist, neo-nazi, Q-anon conspirators, inhabiting the same online chat groups, involved in the storming of the US capital building.
In the real world and online.
Should they be treated the same?
New Covid mutation.
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/what-is-triple-mutant-variant-of-covid19-virus-bengal-strain-details-1793991-2021-04-22
and a sobering read on India by Arundhati Roy
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/28/crime-against-humanity-arundhati-roy-india-covid-catastrophe?fbclid=IwAR0p9ImUGZfubcrWxXL0QbIQuxp8A1P9lM0gm4PcB28MvTg1rO9DCSYPh6E
and this in regards to the new mutation
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/10/who-classifies-triple-mutant-covid-variant-from-india-as-global-health-risk-.html
The more times a virus replicates, the greater the chance for individually low-probability viable mutations to occur. Which will be selected for, or against, by environmental pressures. Even if people care nothing for the wellbeing of others, surely they can see that; no one is safe from SARS-CoV-2 until everyone is safe from that virus?
I have typed that paragraph (or similar) many time over the last year, though it always seems to bear repeating. But as a decaying cherry oozing on top of your triple-layered cake, Sabine; there is also this peril for Indian infected:
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/may/11/what-is-the-dangerous-black-fungus-being-seen-in-covid-patients-in-india-mucormycosis
Fortunately, it looks like NonSteroidal-AntiInflammatory Drugs (eg ibuprofen) are not associated with negative health outcomes for COVID. Though this study is more about nonprescribed usage in Britain, so may not be generalizable to therapeutic NSAID use in India.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(21)00104-1/fulltext
Hipkins has come out swinging… saying that plenty of coverage of the public servants pay proposals are inaccurate . hes never used word 'freeze'
'I'd completely reject the notion that this is austerity. Saying that we want the people on the lowest incomes to do disproportionately better than those on the highest incomes when it comes to spending additional money on salaries is not austerity. It's the opposite of it."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300303904/government-in-damage-control-over-public-sector-pay-freeze-ahead-of-meeting-with-union
This was the directive by dear Grant yesterday, i guess the memo got around, now if the pesky journalists and nurses and doctors and other non understanding people would just do as they are told. tsk tsk tsk. No candy for them.
Ba, ha ha ha.
Adjust, because what public service employees need is their pay to be specially reviewed by the PSA for exemplary service to earn any salary adjustment.
And they have apparently decided that money will be saved over all despite measures specifically to Lift incomes below 60k.
Now, if only Chippie could have explained himself more clearly the whole missunderstanding could be avoided. In fact he could probably still redeem himself by announcing systematic above inflation increases for everyone on under 60k instead (which is surely what he meant to say), though treasury would have a hope of costing that up correctly, and it doesn't sound like a cost saving.
When they get hold of a dictionary, it should become apparent why, the public correctly equates cost savings with austerity.
Hipkins quote from ghostsww above.
'I'd completely reject the notion that this is austerity. Saying that we want the people on the lowest incomes to do disproportionately better than those on the highest incomes when it comes to spending additional money on salaries is not austerity. It's the opposite of it."
Just a one word description of Hipkins' statement above – rhetoric!
The root of the word [rhetoric] is from Greek ῥητορικὴ [τέχνη] roughly meaning 'the art of speech'. We haven't learned much valuable new stuff over what they knew about one thousand years ago. Doh!
Goes both ways…. the professional class has turned salary whinging to a high art form
[image resized]
The problem with that version is that there was zero media interest in public service pay until the govt announced this was an area of cost saving (an idea which came from out of nowhere).
When this started it was started by Chris and Grant and it will go away again when they announce above inflation pay hikes for those under 60k which will grow the public sector wage bill, not shrink it.
When the only general labour market announcement that anyone appears to have taken any notice of what sounds like an austerity wage freeze – the problem just may not vanish under spin. Nothing to rein in the rest of the wild west labour market.
But hey we are putting places aside for so called "critical" workers to keep that pesky labour market under control. So much for training locals and creating workable jobs for them. Doesn't sound like the importing employers are required to train locals either. Plus some of them seem to want the government to meet the costs of them coming with more handouts to them.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/442297/miq-spaces-for-skilled-workers-dairy-farmers-request-turned-down
Critical workers means that …. not your labourers, fast food workers, truck drivers that were used under the skill shortage category before.
The openings in MIQ hotels arent that great in number to be worth while other than for highly skilled professionals and some technical staff
Yet look how 'critical' fruitpickers suddenly are..
If only the written guidance from the Public Service Commission had actually said that…
I'm with hipkins/the government on this..
putting a hold on pay increases for the highest paid to focus on raising the incomes of the lowest paid seems like an extremely sound idea to me…
(as long as they follow thru on the second part of the prescription tho'..feet to the fire to ensure that..)
and/but they get a 1/10 for their selling of this good idea tho'..
I’m with you on this, Phil 🙂
Farm fences under the spotlight!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/442239/pests-use-farm-fences-as-highways-to-reinvade-native-forests
I am in situation that i find conflicting. I have a possum in the are that i see every now and then on the fences of our properties. Very funny actually when it freezes and pretends to be dead. To some extend the ugly beaast is cute.
I guess i should shoot it or something, and I am not gonna lay traps as there are other critters about. Chances are they too are considered a pest. What to do?
But yes, this country needs to get rid of fences and replace them with hedges.
It's so far down "the list" though, isn't it. In any case, the possums would probably prefer a hedge to a wire (I know I would).
IT should be on top of the list.
One thing that i miss is the 'common' right to get to places crossing farm land in a respectable way, as we have in mainland Europe. Yes, fences are used but not to the extend as i have seen here. The mind can not comprehend. The tractor roads that criss cross fields (not for cattle) are used by bicylists, hikers, and link from village to villages, very much like many of the old pilgrim routes. Here the tractor is on the Motorway competing for space with the cyclist. The mind can not comprehend.
And hedges, fruit bearing hedges would be such a good solution at least to the visual aspect of the fences, and yes, the environment.
I guess unless we introduce the human species back into its natural habitat nothing much will change. We need to be taught how to be wildlings again.
"replace them with hedges".
Yeh! Bring back the gorse hedges of yesteryear. Such a glorious golden look. They early settlers were so thoughtful when they brought in gorse as a hedge plant.
On second thoughts, as someone who lives in Wellington and has spent decades trying to keep it out of my garden, I think I would prefer that they stick to wire fences.
In the meantime I think you should shoot the bloody possums. If you are allowed to buy a rifle of course.
you have heard of hazenut, almonds?
Europe ain't the UK. We have a lot of hedges in Europe and non of them are gorse. In fact the only time i have ever seen that plant is here in NZ. And besides it has its uses as it is a good nursery plant for other more desirable trees. Its nature makes it a hostile environment for pests that would otherwise munch these saplings away.
Oh, alwyn – gorse, really, is that all you can see? I'm reminded somehow, of Eeyore, can't think why…
Question . Why are these people being paid tax payers' money to claim information that anyone working in the field has known for a very long time.
Check out facebook.com/automatedbaitstation The most recent post is about the extraordinary level of reinvasion with data to support it.
How can any police officer not be aware that they should probably ease back on the choke holds after the Chauvin trial? But apparently Taupō cops are just that clueless – even when being filmed:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/05/family-outraged-after-police-officer-puts-knee-on-teenager-s-neck-during-disgusting-arrest-in-taup.html?ref=ves-vid1
So did the police just mistake vapes for guns and then refuse to admit their error? Sure the (no angel, blah blah blah) 14year old kid was never going to get the vape back, as it is illegal for them to have been sold it. But the police officer was supposedly the adult in that situation.
Also, if you are in the area; "a peaceful protest against "lawless behaviour" has been organised for May 22 at 1pm outside Taupō Police Station".
if the police mistakes vapes with orange tips for guns 'with orange tips?' then the police needs to be send back to police school and shown the difference of vapes and guns.
I honestly doubt that they misunderstood, and it should scare us if they did.
I had high hopes for the Police with the appointment of the new commissioner but they are fast fading.
This story, the video I posted a day or so ago of an officer kicking a handcuffed guy on the ground in the head and earlier, in April, the cop shoving a teen to the ground after a verbal exchange. (The youngster was stationery, telling the cop not to call his girlfriend a skank).
Accountability, extra training and support/mentoring are needed.
& within the last hour, there's this (again with a 14year old kid!):
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/442303/use-of-police-dog-to-bite-fleeing-teen-driver-not-justified-ipca
Though Waikato police are still making excuses; "fast-moving and dynamic situation" seems to be the goto line these days. There is no mention of any penalty, or even retraining, for the doghandler who sent their beast to maul a child.
Ahh yes, I heard that too.
My response was when will the animal be put down?
Hard sell what with the prime time
propagandareality tv shows Puppy training or whatever they are called.This judge has actually handed down a decent sentence – over 8 years in jail (probably only serve half of that for good behavior???). But still serves him right.
Nation's biggest tax fraudster who stole $17 million jailed for 8 years and 6 months | Stuff.co.nz
Lets hope it's a decent judge that sentences this bloke from Countdown and ensures the public are safe from him for a long time.
Countdown rep overwhelmed with emotion when speaking about 'traumatic' Dunedin stabbing | Stuff.co.nz
About time they gave a decent sentence to a fraudster. They do far more than simple economic damage. They damage trust and create rifts. They sow doubt and confusion by their very nature con-artists. And they're never guilty, like the creep in the story who stole 17M and thinks he's all good.
I've dealt with a couple of these. Sociopaths – and every mug who's not learnt hard lessons climbs right up their ass. Then communities become divided as the fallout begins to emerge. They take sides, while the con artist takes all.
WTB
"the biggest fraud in New Zealand tax history. The penalty needed to be suitably high. The offending involved a high degree of planning and premeditation and only stopped when Bracken became aware it had been detected."
and he gets 8 years?…
This is a tricky one for me as I'm not big on Prison or long sentences…but seeing as this is the system we have ..how on earth is the sentence so low?
https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/why-is-tax-evasion-treated-more-gently-than-benefit-fraud/
Great to see the IRD catching these crooks. His attitude so typical. Falsified documents "I did nothing wrong" …. "It was my company" lol lol Pull the other one.
His assumption of being beyond the law is just staggering, Jimmy. These words seem like they come from a Bundy acolyte "sovereign citizen":
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125089267/nations-biggest-tax-fraudster-who-stole-17-million-jailed-for-8-years-and-6-months
Though (if he is not lying through his teeth), if any bank, or accountant, did assist him in running his tax-scam; surely they should be in court right alongside Bracken?
Problem is people of this nature will gladly destroy others lives to maintain their illusion of self. He'd throw whole firms of accountants to the wolves if it lessened his sentence.
IRD can follow the money rightly enough. If others are involved they'll know.
" because he had not consented to being charged."
This angle keeps popping up … its fairly recent angle that some nutters believe you have to 'give consent' for being arrested or charged over offences.
His claims about following the advice of banks and accountants has to be seen in that light, its a fantasy world hes living in.. Criminal proceeds action now follows and they will find out they will be loosing practically everything
Maybe they are confused with the right to not consent to medical treatment, manwhocannotdienz?
That happened to me the other week; with police coming over and detaining me on my doorstep for an hour until an ambulance arrived and tried to cart me off. But they eventually stopped pressuring me after I got them to accept that I didn't consent, and to admit that I wasn't under arrest. Basically for being an inconvenience in persistently seeking medical help elsewhere.
Anyway, there is likely to be a fair bit of overlap between; sovereign citizens, anti-vaxxers, and other conspiracy theorists. Importantly, though the internet does facilitate international communication, and mass-movements; you should always check your local laws before proceeding on the basis of any plan developed overseas.
Where did you get the notion that they had to get your consent to be detained…
Police powers in relation to person appearing to be mentally disordered in public place
(1)If any person is found wandering at large in any public place and acting in a manner that gives rise to a reasonable belief that he or she may be mentally disordered, any constable may, if he or she thinks that it would be desirable in the interests of the person or of the public to do so,—
(a) take that person to a Police station, hospital, or surgery, or to some other appropriate place; and
(b)arrange for a medical practitioner to examine the person at that place as soon as practicable.
I was neither mentally disordered, nor in a public place, so that didn't apply – still good to know though. This; Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, is what I was referring to:
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/services-and-support/your-rights#:~:text=a%20right%20to%20make%20an,with%20you%2C%20at%20most%20times
I thought there was also something about not being pressured into treatment once you'd refused it, but couldn't see it in that version.
Where had you been before 'they arrived on your doorstep'…they dont just turn up out of the blue and single you out.
‘Basically for being an inconvenience in persistently seeking medical help elsewhere.’
I wonder why they wouldnt treat you. Personality disorders are usually not ‘treatable’
gww 'Personality disorders are usually not ‘treatable’
Are you informed on medical questions then? Or have you personal experience? Otherwise this sounds snide.
I don't mind the snideness too much; just because something is implied, doesn't mean it has to be inferred just so, without some creative misunderstanding. And I did make a (Phantom comic) pop culture reference/ mangling of GWWNZ's pseudonym earlier – so you could say I was asking for it.
Rather than nutter, he may be expressing his own sovereignty a la Freeman On the Land.
Very interesting school of thought, started in Canada and has enthusiasts to in many Commonwealth countries. Quite strong in Northland I believe.
Is that the silliness obsessed with the "hundred", or some other flavour of pseudo-medievalist mythmaking?
'Hundred' doesn't ring a bell, nor the medieval vibe.
Robert Menard had his child removed from his custody because he refused to fill out a birth certificate. He went away and studied law.
One of the foundations seems to stem from Black's Law Dictionary and its definition of a person, a fictional construct. This is separate from the flesh and blood entity.
Once a birth certificate is filled out a 'strawman' is created so the state (another fiction) can interact with it. Adherents to the Freeman way of thinking separate themselves from this fiction.
Ah, ok, a different flavour. That would be the "Justice Lang said Bracken had not presented any evidence to contradict the Crown case, and he rejected Bracken’s assertion that it was a legal entity that had offended, not him, and he shouldn’t be jailed." bit.
Doesn't seem to have worked out for this one. So legally sharp he cut himself.
Shocking there are serious consequences. Hopefully a sign of things to come, but more likely a reaction to the defendant suggesting that as a Maori he should be treated differently.
From stuff article above about giant fraud.
John Bracken submitted false invoices for more than $133 million over four years. Bracken, 55, ran the scam through his company Bracken Enterprises Ltd, which led to him receiving $17.4 million in GST refunds that he was not entitled to…
Crown lawyer Megan Mitchell said the crime called for a high sentence as it was the largest crime of its kind.
She said the fraud was “repetitive and involved a high degree of planning and premeditation” and Bracken only stopped offending when he became aware it had been detected.
She said about $12m of property had been restrained and efforts to recover this were underway but were being “vigorously opposed” by Bracken.,,
The evidence did not disclose how Bracken used the funds he stole, but this may become clear through court action underway under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act….
The Crown also said the company falsely claimed to have exported the products it received to the Pacific Islands. That meant the company was entitled to claim input tax credits for the products it purchased, and it was not required to pay output tax on the product it sold overseas (the sale of goods for export is a zero-rated activity for GST purposes).
Bracken would withdraw cash from BEL’s account, or obtain a bank cheque made out to himself or the company. He would then immediately re-deposit those funds into another company account, or an account he operated in the name of “Mobile Veges”.
This “crude but effective scheme” enabled the company to falsely claim it had purchased product worth more than $133 million and exported nearly all of it over the four years….
There is ongoing court action against the Brackens under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act by the Commissioner of Police in relation to their assets, including their farm at Matawai, near Gisborne, valued at about $7 million.
It is interesting the avenues open to business to evade legitimate tax. Where there could be problems that need careful thought is ibn confiscating their land, if there is a Maori connection. He was wearing a jersey with Mitre 10 logo. Is that a subtle hint for one source of some wonky invoices?
I have a feeling that it is by no means NZ's largest fraud – those would be real estate trading for capital gain, without paying tax. The estimate of the proportion of tax due on capital gains in property trades that was actually paid (prior to recent changes) was 25%. Doesn't take many houses or farms at current prices to run the sums pretty high.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/442297/miq-spaces-for-skilled-workers-dairy-farmers-request-turned-down
Understaffing – Overstocking. All our policies are stuck in the mud. Why should farmers whinge. In winter this is central normal paddock for them.
I saw that. They have had 18 months to train people and get their act together. As do the rest of the employers. Far better that they are allowed cheap labour to undermine the market with Labour helping.
100% agree Red.
this country has some serious attitude problems
– employers who would rather exploit immigrants rather than train Kiwis
– rental investors and dairy farmers who reply on untaxed capital gains rather than revenue
– employers that spin simple tasks into Winz supported 12 week mandatory courses that disguise unpaid labour as 'work experience' (eg Z and their how to pump petrol in 12 weeks)
And so on and on
And what has this 'transformational' government done? Labour now represents an over educated middle class rather than workers.
A look at the article also shows employers are trying to get the government to pay some of the quarantine costs. Same government that wants to freeze public sector salaries. So there is no way they will want to pay for this now is there. In fact with the pay freeze they will need to say "no" to everything won't they.
I'm not sure that there is much of an over educated middle class left in the workforce. The whole of the public service seems pretty much upset. This same government that couldn't raise taxes on high earners or on trusts.
But as someone from the unions has pointed out. Pay in the public sector has to be negotiated not imposed by edict from above.
Talk about burning political capital. Labour have just made a huge bonfire of theirs.
" This same government that couldn't raise taxes on high earners or on trusts"
A total falsehood , the bonfire is your own credibility
'On personal income earned over $180,000 a new top tax rate of 39% will apply – this change affects 2% of earners..
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2020-labour-ups-top-tax-rate-for-high-earners-grant-robertson/2Y4FYWV5GKIAEPPCI4J7PTREPY/
And nothing (other than the brightline shift) on capital gains – the main source of income for the truly wealthy.
Labour – hands off the billionaires, austerity for public servants on $61k.
Yep, and just to be clear, how many properties does Ardern and her partner own now? This is the waif that 7 years ago stated she could not afford to buy a house in Auckland.
And in 2009 was spouting 'comrade' repeatedly in a speech at the Youth Socialist Conference. Hmm. Just another middle class wanna be. Like Che Guevara and Uncle Ho, she pretends to be one of us, but never was or will be. Just wants to screw us to make her mark.
If you don't tell us how many properties, then we are not clear, peter of chch. What is the answer?
As far as I know, three.
This is from public available info. Now? Well who knows.
Public information says only family home in Mt Albert electorate. You are just spreading falsehoods arent you
Care to divulge your public sources? As above, all I can find is a family home in Mt Albert.
Is your first comment also from public information? The As far as aI know answer does not cut the mustard. Is it still three? What are your sources?
Your answer is now “Who knows”. Exactly. I don’t believe that you do know.
How then are we to take the exaggerations of your comments about the PM’s speech as a young socialist? Got a reference for that so that we can check how far you exaggeration goes?
How do you know what the PM’s partner owns?
What austerity for public servants . Most are on pay scales which increase yearly to highest grade
'Post-Primary Teachers Association Auckland regional chair and teacher Michael Cabral-Terry said pay grades stopped at Grade 11 with an annual salary of $90,000.
$90 k isnt austerity
No, but for a graduate trained professional with years of service it isn't luxury either. Remember the days when a teacher at the top of the basic scale earned the same as a backbench MP?
Oh that one. Thats because Mps 'salary' didnt show all sorts of perks they had as part of the job. There was a gold plated super ,extra allowances and so on ( cheap grog at Bellamys). All was changed to be as part of visible salary package now
The hardship for teachers is evident
'An english teacher has been censured after repeatedly shoplifting items such as wine, cheese and face cream from a supermarket.
That is snide gww. You seem to want to put everybody down who thinks here because they don't think just like you.
You didn't think the mental health issue there was relevant enough to mention?
A heck of a lot of profit goes into trusts taxed at the lower rates – hence the spike in numbers for salary & wage earners at $70k. The rate over $180k is up but frankly it is a token. It will catch the high earner who works for someone else – so corporate management but also the highly skilled professional. It won't get the profits from owner operated companies nor I suspect most overseas owned entities. There is room in this space for a much higher take. Nor have we ever had a complete list of all who claimed the wages subsidy.
But hey austerity for government wages is so much more important.
“Yummy Fruit Company general manager Paul Paynter said the ongoing need for MIQ was a "train wreck" for growers.
We have already spent $600,000 to bring 82 RSE workers through MIQ," he said.
We are already 20 per cent up on labour costs. Our total labour bill for the year is more than $20 million. It's a complete train wreck."
This is what happens when big companies buy up and amalgamate our farms. Better NZ stayed with owner operated family farms who along with their family got the work done without fuss.
Ask yourself which way is more sustainable? Which way is “the NZ way “?
Well time to sell up then. If the price is right could be a number of local buyers. No reason why the taxpayer should continue to subsidise them.
Considering the dire access to secure housing problem (which is exacerbated by many factors), and the (to my mind) pitiful increase in benefits that have been indicated by government, I thought of a possible way to slightly alleviate (not solve) the pressure on both issues, although it will unfortunately not be a universal benefit.
For many years, it is been possible for homeowners to use some form of what is now called the standard cost method, to have income derived from boarders exempted from income tax calculations.
If eligible for this method, you can have up to four boarders each paying $191/wk, and as long as the income derived from this method is more than your outgoings for mortgage interest, maintenance, food, utilities – then there is no tax to pay.
As many of us know, this option has been used and mis-used by many over the years…
But the reality is … that is approximately $40,000 tax free/annum. To get this in the hand at the second level tax rate of 17.5%, you would need to be earning around $48,000. A fairly big windfall for those who were already in a position to be able to purchase, and one that continues each year.
Yet we penalise beneficiaries for any earnings at a threshold that still do not lift them out of poverty.
One of the primary forms of support and savings we can offer friends and families in financial distress is to make place for them to stay. This choice is not available to those in state housing or on benefits. Make changes to allow this to happen, and here's the kicker, without impacting on the eligibility for state housing OR reducing the amount any/or all received in terms of income.
To my mind, one of the fundamental tools for addressing housing in NZ is vast amounts of state (not social) housing being built. Addressing poverty requires – alongside other methods – increasing the income of beneficiaries. Whatever has been signalled by this government makes the assumption that many before it have made and many have accepted – that those who are currently unhoused and in financial difficulties can stay in statis until the promises are delivered. This is a comforting lie. Many will have their quality of life diminish, and some will die not seeing any alleviation.
Changing one of the many punitive measures of those on income support – in this way, may mean that housing (for the interim) can be used more efficiently, and beneficiaries – at long last – can utilise one of the tools that many others have had access to – and IRD approval of – pooling resources and sharing expenses to alleviate financial hardship.
At least until something concrete is achieved… I'm sure that many more instant regulatory changes may offset the built-in delay of some of the proposals.
Molly all the best with that idea. I wonder if we ran such ideas onto paper and posted to at least five pollies, including housing and welfare and PM and Dep PM and ? surely one would get by the barrier staff.
Also if boarding or flatting the cost of foot, electricity, etc can be deducted from the rent to be declared, or they used to take off just 20% and put the rest as income, or was it the other way round.
Whatever, the idea seems to ensure that benies never get ahead – ‘grind the b….s down’ is the general rallying cry, behind any PR smiles.
Anyone know how to threaten Sky TV with "cutting the cord"?
I'm not happy with them having Fox News or "The Outsiders" on Australian Sky News and willing to give up Sky Sport etc.
See Youtube clip
How to FINALLY defund Fox News (Brian Tyler Cohen interview)
Sky has also got CNN, Vice, and the Russian, Qatari, and British state broadcasters, which are no less reprehensible than Fox.
Could be worse, they could include RNZ
In fact they do carry RNZ. And on Sky Channel 83 they often carry "news" and commentary from the state propaganda units Deutsche Welle and France 24. The sun never sets, and rust never sleeps, on the Brutish Murdoch Empire.
You could mention some of the many sports streaming sites that carry live sports feeds for free…
British firm sends staff an email promising a bonus for working during the pandemic. Staff click on link, to find that the email was sent by the company's IT department in order to tell staff not to click on links in suspicious emails.
Staff should have known that anything offering thanks and financial rewards would be a con, even if actually sent to them by their employer.
Maybe the IT department was making another point completely. Something along the lines that you suggest above. Likely that they could have been working all hours during pandemic for zero reward. The management would have clicked on it too – wondering why there were bonus payments going out. If it was a troll – great one.
But did people click on the link because they would click on any link, or did they work to confirm that the email had in fact been sent by their employer – as is actually was?
My employer's IT department does a similarly inconsistent stupidity – repeatedly sends emails warning about spam and links, and then sends emails about mailbox issues with links to resolve them. And no, it wasn't a tease – they did it honestly.
All the company in the link did was confirm to people that they can recognise legitimate emails from their employer – whether they can, or not.
Who to believe? A long-neolib effect from too big a dose of neolib plus free-markets with Business setting moral values. What an oxymoron.
My favourites used to come from the HR department who didn't appear to have much computer savvy so would send unsigned messes with attachments or who would be asking for inappropriate personal details not legal under employment law. A quick report and onforward to the IT Phishing department was mega satisfying.
Given the HR level I imagine most people clicked in hope because it had been sent internally?
lol yup
Once I even got a legitimate "your mailbox is almost full please contact us by clicking here" email.
Reported it as spam out of general principle.
Some cheeky bugger just pinched my truck with all my tools can you guess whom Whanau
Hi Eco Maori
I wondered if you like this: We've Come So Far
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTIBWYjmiE0