Prime Minister Chris Hipkins believes Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s claim New Zealand doesn’t have enough tax is being taken out of context. He also denies footage of O’Connor making the comment was withheld by the Government even as the Meat Industry Association, which organised the event O’Connor was speaking at, allege O’Connor’s office declined the association’s request to release the footage.
O’Connor appeared in a political debate with National’s agriculture and trade spokesman Todd McClay at the Red Meat Sector Conference on Sunday night.
During a Q+A with the crowd, a self-described sheep and beef farmer from Eketāhuna asked how the red meat sector might be affected by a wealth tax, which had been proposed by the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori – two parties that, on current polling, Labour would likely need to form a government.
So looks like the PM is seeking to evade the truth. Only extremely weak men do that. His biological signalling to the nation is likely to be widely interpreted as admission of defeat. Winners don't do such signalling.
I think the conclusion can be made that hipkins lurching labour into the centre ..has been a total misreading of the mood of the left/centre left…
Our present situation as a nation is redolent of the failures of the neoliberal-incrementalism that labour has clung to since the days of douglas…
It is all coming to the conclusions long predicted by critics of that poxy ideology…
The rich have got so much richer…the poor have got so much poorer..
And our institutions of our society are in many cases falling apart…showing the results of that neoliberal-incrementalism having been applied to them for those preceeding decades…
And many now know those above realities…and know we can't just continue doing the same things..and expect different outcomes ..
All of the rest of us know that the rich have become obscenely rich..and that they pay f*ck all tax…and have been laughing all the way to the bank…while things just get worse for the rest of us..
Hipkins has failed to read this mood..
We are now looking to politicians to fix what ails us ..and all we see from hipkins is a face blank to our wants..
(Who has now resorted to muldoonist think big bullshit..wot with his tunnel dreams…)
And I know labour have yet to release their election policies…and hipkins could still pull a flock of rabbits out of his hat..
But I fear that tax off fruit/veg could be it/their big bang policy..
And if it is..it will be nowhere near enough..
And I know that their are many in labour who know the party has to swivel to a democratic socialism brace of policies/ideas..for both it's own..and the countries sake .
And good on them..!..more power to them..!..and they should be in the ascendant…but hipkins has shut all that down..to his/labour's peril..
What's wrong with Damien O'Connors statement? I have more of a problem with the PMs response to the statement, which as usual uses a lot of words to say nothing at all.
Study after study has shown NZ has a taxation issue and for an extremely earthquake, volcanic and flood prone set of islands subject to whatever weather and sea currents are playing out in the Pacific that's a problem.
the rebuilds for the north island and Christchurch are astronomical and we never talk seriously about how to pay for them, imagine if we had another Christchurch level event in Wellington? We simply couldn't pay for it. Hell we still haven't fixed CHCH.
I usually defend journalists but Ryan Bridge's interview with the Pm was disgraceful, smarmy rich prick from a family of money vibes just oozes out of him.
Him and everyone like him would be absolutely happy with bankrupting the country from borrowing to pay for a rebuild to a natural disaster but heaven forbid he pay a cent more in tax
The PM just sucks… At everything… In these interviews he always comes off as a man of no ideology, principles or political beliefs, he just uses loads and loads of words to say nothing.
Not once have I ever seen this prime minister seriously challenge a tory journo when they are attacking the most modest basic center left position, Hipkins will just say lots of words and pretty much agree with the tory journo and say "wait and see" and he increasingly speaks like a president with "I have decided" "me" statements rather than a prime Minister "we have decided"
A man of no conviction, unwilling to stand up for the most modest left wing belief…
It's no wonder most people think he's full of shit. He's so ideology free he could lead national and it wouldn't shock anyone
I suspect he got spooked by Damien telling the truth – so un-Labour-like it almost seems subversive from such a conservative chappie. Anyone with half a working brain will have instantly correlated his statement with Parker's diffident ditching of his revenue portfolio, not to mention Grant's collaboration with him.
One or two journos have been speculating re cabinet division. After somnambulating for three years I doubt if any of them are capable of being that activist. Deep state theorists will be presuming they have been relentless in underperforming due to a directive from on high that they need to toss the baton to the Nats this time. Luxon needs their help due to incessant harping not working well for him.
Hipkins deserves credit for copying Ardern's captain's call on tax policy – divine right to rule hasn't been trendy for quite a while so the two of them trying to force the beast in thro the back door is an ongoing source of entertainment. Trying to teach thicko Labourites that the leader doesn't need a cabinet to make collective decisions is excellent subversion of democracy – but they're too thick to get it fast.
Helen Clark ought to give the two credit for their strategy of making Labour PMs seem presidential. She could point out that Lange started it, unilaterally jerking the rug from under the rogernomes in the new year of '88. However you may have been a little to hard on Hipkins re conviction/ideology, Corey. I suspect he is adhering to the neolib prescription like a limpet due to personal conviction that Thatcher's `no alternative' dictum is the correct ideological line to follow.
Rogan: No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters… The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation
Unemployment was down. Business was booming. Regulations were being relaxed. More things were getting done.
When you look at the Russia collusion. When you look at the Steele dossier. When you look at all the bullshit, they tried to throw at him that we now know is bullshit.
Not just bullshit, but coordinated bullshit. When you look at the fact that they suppressed this Hunter Biden laptop story.
And 51 intelligence agency representatives signed off on that to say that this is Russian disinformation, which we know they know is not true. That's scary.
Because now you have the intelligence agencies colluding to keep a guy from being president, who was president during a time when the country was thriving economically."
[You have changed your username. We don’t generally allow this, but if you want to do this once, please let me know that this is now the username you will use going forward or if you want to go back to the previous one. In premod until I get a response. Also, I fixed the typo in your email address, please check each time your fill it in again – weka]
Also, it's unclear whether the words in your comment are yours, Rogan's, or someone else's. Please see how other people make quotes clear on TS for comments going forward.
Just got chewed out by Iprent and Incognito for not following policy (some thing about me being a dickhead – ). Fair comments from them as your all busy people. I will have a read of the policy and improve my posts.
It's time for all good christians to come to the aid of the party. Which party though?
A former National Party Cabinet minister will tomorrow enter the election fray with a Christian party. Alfred Ngaro was a minister in the Bill English Government but says none of the political parties running for office this year fully embrace the Christian ethic.
Ngaro admits it’s late to be launching a party but says the plan is to launch it like a rocket. To a suggestion that his party could drag votes away from National, which he represented for nine years in Parliament, Ngaro was philosophic. “It’s about what’s right and what’s wrong; that’s what people are saying. I’m a centrist, and that’s where I will always sit."
Go Alfred! Fire that rocket! Suck enough votes out of National & folks will call you Alfred the Great!
A reference to 'Dirty politics' today reminded me of the conspiracy theory,theory.
P.M John Key said Hagars revelations were a 'lefty conspiracy'.
People who buy into conspiracy theories are often characterised as gullible,easily manipulated,fools.
The term 'conspiracy theory' was the C.I.A's go to response to alternative viewpoints regarding geo political events .From around the the time of JFK's assassination ,to the present day, it became a standard response to anyone questioning the establishment version .
Even today in 2023, the findings regarding JFK's murder remain …classified.
Y'see it was a close vote..and the story goes that his father used his connections from his time as a bootlegger running alcohol into america from canada..to approach them to do all they could to get the vote out for his son… promising in return that under his presidency they would be largely left alone..
So they did..and their influence was particularly effective/important in Illinois..a state they largely controlled..where kennedy just squeaked in..
But then kennedy set up a special commission to target the mafia…run by his brother..
So they whacked them both..'cos my understanding is that you don't really want to do stuff like that to the mafia…
(Roberts assassin was a low ranking gangster guy..)
And as a theory..I reckon it hangs together quite well..
(And the fact the official findings are still classified.. pretty much demolishes the oswald alone official explanation..)
Also in the Washington Post today. Fancy Seymour being a shining light for American Libertarians.
Populist conservatism has been on the march around the globe in recent years. But in New Zealand, many conservatives are beginning to embrace an old ideology: libertarianism.
This surprising trend is thanks to David Seymour, leader of New Zealand’s classically liberal ACT Party. He has rapidly transformed his faction from a nearly extinct institution to a vibrant, growing movement, setting an example for conservatives worldwide.
Oh, but you forgot the Libertarian Party in Germany that is currently part of the Ample coalition. FDP. The Yellow party among the red SPD and green Green.
PDV is a 'libertarian' Party that was birthed in 2009 and died failing to thrive.
FDP, Free Democratic Party of Germany however is a bit more successful, aking to ACT, by appearing somewhat reasonable in regards to the excesses of the main parties.
Libertarian parties can have a 'progressive' bend, see Seymour supporting the Self ID bill for example, and euthanasia, and if enough money is involved the next thing i can see him support is the legalisation of drugs.
Rogan: No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters… The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation
Unemployment was down. Business was booming. Regulations were being relaxed. More things were getting done.
When you look at the Russia collusion. When you look at the Steele dossier. When you look at all the bullshit, they tried to throw at him that we now know is bullshit.
Not just bullshit, but coordinated bullshit. When you look at the fact that they suppressed this Hunter Biden laptop story.
And 51 intelligence agency representatives signed off on that to say that this is Russian disinformation, which we know they know is not true. That's scary.
Because now you have the intelligence agencies colluding to keep a guy from being president, who was president during a time when the country was thriving economically."
This is a couple of days old – so apologies if it's already been posted, but Audrey Young has done a couple of articles on what a Left or Right cabinet might look like after October.
Yes, of course it's speculative – but interesting to see opinions on which areas the minor parties might stake out, and who might be scheduled for promotion, or demotion.
Originally published in the Herald – but paywalled – so here are the archived links as well.
Entirely possible that Parker (who Young tapped as Transport) may retire during the term – thus freeing up Transport (certainly Halbert – who has been chairing the Transport & Infrastructure Committee – and who might be seen as a replacement — hasn't exactly been outstanding in this role)
Of course, negotiations – including over party bottom lines – might change things substantively (e.g. Hipkins would probably have to go as PM, if the GP negotiated wealth tax as a bottom line).
I'd see that Parker distancing himself from Hipkins over tax could be seen as a signal to both the left wing (in general) and the left wing of the LP, that there is an alternative.
I don't see Parker, myself, as leadership material (and he's ruled it out himself a couple of times) – but he could well be the money man (Finance).
Prior to Wood's spectacular self-destruction – I'd seen him as pre-positioning himself for a run at the top job in the next few years. But October would be way too soon for him to have remedied his blotted copybook.
I'd also seen Allan as a strong candidate as deputy. But, well off the cards for the next few years (if she ever comes back to politics)
McAnulty has done well – but perhaps not enough experience yet.
The solid, competent and capable performer is Megan Woods. She's been carrying at least two people's ministerial workload and is all over the detail of her portfolios, is a solid performer in the house, and is quick-witted, persuasive and articulate in interviews (unlike Little, for example, who came across as dour and dogged). I wouldn't be surprised to see her emerge as a front contender.
Leaving aside questions about whether any particular individual would be interested, Parker and Little are former Labour leaders, Robertson a former Deputy PM and Sepuloni is the current Deputy PM. Davis is the deputy party leader so would also be someone to consider. From the rest of Cabinet, Woods would be the stand out and Tinetti and Verrall also stand out to me in terms of experience with big portfolios.
Nope – the reference was to the formation of a Government in the next term.
And the speculation that Parker would retire during that term. Obviously, if he gains a high cabinet post, then that's less likely – but if he's continuing in a mid-level one, and ongoing tension with Hipkins over wealth tax – then it seems much more likely.
When the new polls are published Curia usually has National's numbers higher than the rest. David Farrer maintains their methodology is among the best so there must be another reason for it.
Looking at the last 7 polls (July/August) – the National Party reached a high of 36% – not in the Curia ones, but in those conducted by Talbot Mills and Newshub.
Talbot Mills doesn't seem to have released a recent poll – the last one I can find of theirs is end June-beginning of July.
Unless you have a link to a more recent one – or have some private information.
That poll, interestingly, has almost identical results for Labour to the Curia one taken over the same period – and the TM one has a higher result for National.
The key word is "usually". I'm talking in an historical sense. It has been noted many times over the years including by journalists – always in a slightly amused vein.
Your constant calls for evidence is boring. No way am I going back over 20-30 years of newspapers to satisfy your lust for links on comments you don't like.
Based on such an attitude, no-one would be able to offer any reflection on past events. History as we know it would become obsolete.
So – no evidence. A complete invention on your part.
Even when it is pointed out to you (with evidence) that your statement is certainly not true ATM; you double down, and insist that it must have been true sometime in the past – again with no evidence.
Your inventions and evasions are considerably more boring – and frankly, dishonest.
And, you seem to have missed the requirement, being enforced much more rigorously in the run up to the election – that evidence must be provided if called for on TS.
That appears to be only if you are asked by a moderator. Under the bit on current problems in the link you provided it says "and providing evidence when asked by a moderator"
If the moderator doesn't take action it can, as Anne is doing, be ignored.
We don’t generally expect people to provide evidence every single time they say something, some things are well known and don’t need backing up. But you do have to provide evidence when asked (see policy quote above).
Evidence guidelines
Providing evidence needs to be in a way that is easily accessible to authors, moderators, readers and commenters. These are the guidelines I currently use and expect people to meet,
an explanation of your point
with a quote/s to back it up
and a link to where that quote came from
An example of which, is that the sea salt has to be behind the mustard when the ball is passed to be onside.
It's a quote, from a film, so a link to the film from which the quote came was provided.
See 14 below.
It’s an expectation, with the possible consequence of moderator interest in the lack of.
Patricia did not provide a link to this information in her original post – although I asked for it. The fact that you can find it online in 5 seconds now, has nothing to do with the fact that it may not have been published when I was looking – much earlier in the day.
2. "Complete invention" refers to Anne's statement. "When the new polls are published Curia usually has National's numbers higher than the rest."
I asked for evidence for her statement – providing a link to the reported polling data for this year – to show that it did not appear to be true.
Note that 'usually' in common English would have to reflect at least 50% of the time – and probably quite a bit higher.
Do you think the quantity of polls is putting off working class and poor voters?
For me, this slew of them is making me spew. I'm still trying to get people enrolled, and the polls are just fluff, a real distraction. And at worst, they feel like a manipulation.
So – no evidence. A complete invention on your part.
Even when it is pointed out to you (with evidence) that your statement is certainly not true ATM;
Your arrogance is mind boggling Belladonna.
This 'fact' has been mentioned on this site by numerous commenters over the years which you would not know about because you are a newcomer. In the past I also saw it reflected upon on a few other public forums. Don’t ask me where because I've forgotten now. That does not mean they don't exist.
NO. I am not going to trawl through thousands upon thousands of comments to satisfy your desire to be the dominant force on this site.
Bd has my sympathy for the 'tricky' choices that political centrists face.
Zen and the art of motorway maintenance [7 August 2023]
In this sense the pothole is a good symbol how of this election is proceeding. There are itches all around the body politic that demand scratching. In the moment we are far more aware of them than we are of the tumour quietly growing inside, the virus caught but not yet symptomatic, the vehicle crash that awaits around the corner, the fire about to engulf our home. The snake oil retailers draw attention to the easy solutions to the surface and immediate issues and we are often only too willing to reward them for it.
If only that nice Mr Key had made good on his 2008 election promise to close the gap between Kiwi and Aussie wages. Another flood of Kiwis crossing the ditch (to a country with an even earlier Overshoot Day than Aotearoa NZ) may be looming.
The Dominion Post newspaper reported that while Economic Development Minister, Gerry Brownlee, was saying the wage gap had reduced since his party came into office, figures it obtained comparing average weekly earnings in November 2008 and February this year (2010) showed New Zealand wages grew by 5.2 per cent compared to 6.17 per cent for Australia. Australia's ordinary average wage rose from A$1165 to A$1243 ($1433 to $1529) while New Zealand's went from $891 to $947. One of John Key's election promises was to 'close the gap'.
Without knowing what methodology the polls use to address the undecided & unlikely to vote it's hard to know what to make of such huge disparities in the polling, they seem outside the margin of error – and remember all polling methods nowadays seem to be unable to overcome an inherent bias to the right (if the last few actual election results are any guide).
Still, the trend for Labour is down. Hipkins needs to come up with something more than insipid "prudent" centrist managerialism in the next few weeks to win back voters moving to non-voting, NZ First or the Greens. Labour needs a circuit breaker policy – some sort of mega extension of middle class welfare might do the job, but I would prefer a tax free threshold on income somehwere in the range of $10-20,000.
Apparently, the regular TM polls are not done for the Labour Party, but for one or more 'corporate clients'.
And are 'leaked' rather than released. [I have to say, that given that they are leaked every time, they should just bite the bullet and release them officially]
From the coverage of the last one…
Talbot Mills contacted 1036 people between June 28 and July 2. The poll has a margin of error of 3 per cent. The poll is produced for Talbot Mills’ corporate clients. The company also conducts Labour’s internal poll.
From memory they often do coincide but whether that is intentional is hard to say. Bearing in mind they have to conduct the poll which could take a few days and then collate the results, I think they follow a similar time-span especially at this time in the election cycle.
As far as I know Talbot Mills polls are commissioned by industrial and business communities. I guess each group highlight the information they require, including the Labour Party, so they might not be done on the same basis.
Just my thoughts on what I recall happening over the years.
Precondition: drought. Result: tinderbox. Unknown: spark. Scaling up factor: Dora to the south + anticyclone to the north = wind vortex between them.
Elemental analysis gives us a tetrad: drought/drying out/combustion/conflagaration.
Chaos theory taught us that two adjacent domains that are complex systems produce creative catalysis at the boundary where their influences balance out 30 years ago. Both scientists & opinion leaders have failed to get the picture ever since – even when reality clobbers them with the force of a piece of 4×2.
Climate change is increasingly giving us scenarios like this classic Maui picture to learn from. Mainstream leaders floundering are no good for anyone. We need people who learn the lessons nature is trying to teach us.
China is discovering the downside of a slide to authoritarianism, autarky and a loss of investor confidence that the rule of rule will be the norm in doing business in China.
"… foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange…."
89% collapse in investment year on year is huge. This the lowest in 25 years – in otherwords, for the lifespan of China's economic miracle.
4.9 billion or even 8 billion is no big deal in context.
'The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in China was worth 17963.17 billion US dollars in 2022, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of China represents 7.97 percent of the world economy.'
I think Ukraine receives more than 4.9billion a month to fight the 'good' fight.
That is just nonsense. China has fallen into deflation and everyone knows the figures from Chinese economists are doctored up the wazoo – According to Bloomberg & Fortune (paywalled, although you can easily Google the headline) the already disasterous official youth unemplyment rate of 21.3% could actually be double that.
China has very high local government debt – so they can't use that to stimulate their way out of trouble like they did after the GFC. High debt and deflation are major headwinds, and China is far to dependent on export receipts (17% or so of GDP, the United States is about half that) fto achieve anything like the autarky that the United States has in it's economy for trying to stimulate growth. Putin’s mad invasion of the Ukraine is a disaster for China, because it has alerted the USA and EU to how hollowed out their own heavy industry base has become and led directly to economic measures to booset that base – which is a direct cost to China.
The main take away for me is an economic slow down in China brought on my Xi's hardline approach will be very destabilising, and probably very bad for NZ.
We know NZ is a trading nation which runs an 'open economy. How dependent are we.
Talking about debt, the U. S has a meaningless debt ceiling, that gets raised every year and has trillions of unpayable exposure. It would be a complete basket case apart from its privilege as default currency for international trade.
The world is tired of subsidising US hegemony and the desire to challenge it is accelerating.
China has merely responded to tariffs and military threats imposed by America.
Key admits he has some political bias……but then…Luxon and Seymour will squirm at this:
"……compared to the rest of the world, the international director, former Prime Minister and National Party leader said New Zealand was “pretty darn good”.
Economically Australia is less "boom and bust" than NZ…..then there is the politics….
Key goes on to say: “It’s a feeling that we’re in a malaise, that we’re not doing that well. That Australia’s doing better than us.”
This is the politics, the general perception that the opposition have been cultivating, during and since the Pandemic……which by the way now seems to be conveniently ignored as any influence at all….
Looking forward to their non-violent direct action to mark 86 years since Imperial Japan began the systemic murder of 200,000 – 300,000 residents of Nanjing.
I don't have a problem with that protest, I mean my take is they can still protest and just get away with a severe telling off and a conviction.
I question the relevance though, the use of nuclear weapons on Japan occurred eight decades ago now against the background of a global total war where the Axis were guilty of unspeakable acts of barbarism.
These days the people most likely to rattle the nuclear sabre are the likes of Dmitry Menvedev, who seems to enjoy getting stuck into his liquor cabinet and then posting wild threats of nuclear armageddon on his social media – which is exactly the sort of behaviour one would want from a senior politician of any major power with a massive nuclear stockpile /sarc/
The Japanese were pretty much the dictionary definition of "they were asking for it".
You know what they say – don't start what you can't finish, and if you decide to throw away any restraints on your behaviour and engage in barbarism you had better be 100% sure the other side don't get into a position to return the favour with interest, because you can be sure they’ll do so with alacrity.
I don't usually post this guy (as he's not well liked here), but this is interesting. The blockage to Green Transition is political, not technological, who knew!
Interview on the BBC in the 80s. Why do we not invest in large numbers in public transport? answer: because we could never meet demand, and besides it is easier for us to get people to buy private transport. It just stuck with me then that we are never going to get it done properly.
The destructing of public transport initially was political – the closure of rail lines for commercial and person transport, and the failure to revive it is also.
Instead we have :" here have up to 8 grand to buy an EV, it will make you feel all green here as the pollution is in the lands were we mine, build and then via shipping". But its ok, you get to feel all warm and fuzzy whilst driving in your own very green and progressive country.
It was explained in the movie Bend It Like Beckham – 1hour 10 minute 20sec – 1hour 11 min 30s – the sea salt has to be level or behind the mustard, when the ball is passed
Between the most forward of your players, and the goal.
When (and only when) the 'offside' player touches the ball or they are deemed (by the ref) to be active in play (blocking, etc – to enable their player to have a free run at goal)
If there is only the goalkeeper between you and the goal (and you don't have the ball) – then you are off-side – if your side is attacking, or you receive the ball.
If you have the ball – then it doesn't matter how many players are or aren't in front of you – you can't be off-side.
The tricky part comes with passing – when you pass the ball forward – you have to ensure that there is an opposing player (other than the goalkeeper) in front of the attacking player – to whom the ball is being passed – before they receive the ball.
Open to correction by someone with a greater degree of experience in coaching, refing or even watching soccer than I have!
The blue player (attacker) farthest left in this image is in an offside position when their teammate with the ball kicks it because only one red player (defender) is in front of them, in this case the goal keeper. The blue player at farthest left needs to be to the right of, or behind, the dotted line (which is marked by the next closest red player to their goal) so that more than one defender is in front of them.
Notes:
It doesn't need to be the keeper, just any two defending players.
It's not an offence to stand in an offside position, but it becomes an offence if you engage in play from that position.
No offsides from a throw in.
No offside if the ball passer is closer to the goal than the receiver (see corner kicks).
Offside is when any ball playing part of the attacking player is in front of second last defender ie, arm is fine up to the shoulder because in football the arm is not a ball playing part of the body.
I hope Winston First gets around 4.5% of the vote come election time. Soak up some of that protest vote that might otherwise go the ACT but not sufficient for him to get back into Parliament. The other odd ball and fringe parties like conservatives, brian tamaki party, outdoors etc can take a bit from the right wing as well. A realistic outcome on election night, Labour-Greens about equal with Nat-ACT and either needing the support of Maori party. Keep the Maori Health Authority, continual work on climate change and a CGT once the government is formed
Winston First will get 7-9% of the vote so long as he and Shane Jones keep their heads screwed on and don't start playing the Smart Arse Maori Tricks by letting their ultra ego's get in the way.
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The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics and climate, including Donald Trump’s shock and (partial) backflip; and,Health Coalition Aotearoa Chair ...
USAID cuts and tariffs will harm the United States’ reputation in the Pacific more than they will harm the region itself. The resilient region will adjust to the economic challenges and other partners will fill ...
National's racist and divisive Treaty Principles Bill was just voted down by the House, 112 to 11. Good fucking riddance. The bill was not a good-faith effort at legislating, or at starting a "constitutional conversation". Instead it was a bad faith attempt to stoke division and incite racial hatred - ...
Democracy watch Indonesia’s parliament passed revisions to the country’s military law, which pro-democracy and human rights groups view as a threat to the country’s democracy. One of the revisions seeks to expand the number of ...
The StrategistBy Linus Cohen, Astrid Young and Alice Wai
Australia should follow international examples and develop a civilian cyber reserve as part of a whole-of-society approach to national defence. By setting up such a reserve, the federal government can overcome a shortage of expertise ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill (Cameron Brewer) Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Restrictions on Issue of Off-Licences and Low and No Alcohol Products) Amendment Bill (Mike Butterick) Crown ...
Te Whatu Ora is proposing to slash jobs from a department that brings in millions of dollars a year and ensures safety in hospitals, rest homes and other community health providers. The Treaty Principles Bill is back in Parliament this evening and is expected to be voted down by all parties, ...
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly asserted the country’s commitment to a non-aligned foreign policy. But can Indonesia still credibly claim neutrality while tacitly engaging with Russia? Holding an unprecedented bilateral naval drills with Moscow ...
The NZCTU have launched a new policy programme and are calling on political parties to adopt bold policies in the lead up to the next election. The Government is scrapping the 30-day rule that automatically signs an employee up to the collective agreement when they sign on to a new ...
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te must have been on his toes. The island’s trade and defence policy has snapped into a new direction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. The government was almost ...
Auckland’s ongoing rail pain will intensify again from this weekend as Kiwirail shut down the network for two weeks as part of their push to get the network ready for the City Rail Link. KiwiRail will progress upgrade and renewal projects across Auckland’s rail network over the Easter holiday period ...
This is a re-post from The Electrotech Revolution by Daan Walter Last week, UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch took the stage to advocate for slowing the rollout of renewables, arguing that they ultimately lead to higher costs: “Huge amounts are being spent on switching round how we distribute electricity ...
That there, that's not meI go where I pleaseI walk through wallsI float down the LiffeyI'm not hereThis isn't happeningI'm not hereI'm not hereSongwriters: Philip James Selway / Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood / Edward John O'Brien / Thomas Edward Yorke / Colin Charles Greenwood.I had mixed views when the first ...
(A note to subscribers:I’m going to keep these daily curated news updates shorter in future to ensure an earlier and more regular delivery.Expect this format and delivery around 7 am Monday to Friday from now on. My apologies for not delivering yesterday. There was too much news… This ...
As Donald Trump zigs and zags on tariffs and trashes America’s reputation as a safe and stable place to invest, China has a big gun that it could bring to this tariff knife fight. Behind Japan, China has the world’s second largest holdings of American debt. As a huge US ...
Civilian exploration may be the official mission of a Chinese deep-sea research ship that sailed clockwise around Australia over the past week and is now loitering west of the continent. But maybe it’s also attending ...
South Korea’s internal political instability leaves it vulnerable to rising security threats including North Korea’s military alliance with Russia, China’s growing regional influence and the United States’ unpredictability under President Donald Trump. South Korea needs ...
Here are 5 updates that you may be interested in today:Speed kills and costs - so why does National want more of it?James (Jim) Grenon Board Takeover Gets Shaky - As Canadian Calls An Australian Shareholder a “Flake” Billionaire Bust-ups -The World’s Richest Men Are UncomfortableOver 3,500 Australian doctors on ...
Australia is in a race against time. Cyber adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities faster than we can identify and patch them. Both national security and economic considerations demand policy action. According to IBM’s Data Breach Report, ...
The ever brilliant Kate Nicholls has kindly agreed to allow me to re-publish her substack offering some under-examined backdrop to Trump’s tariff madness. The essay is not meant to be a full scholarly article but instead an insight into the thinking (if that is the correct word) behind the current ...
In the Pacific, the rush among partner countries to be seen as the first to assist after disasters has become heated as part of ongoing geopolitical contest. As partners compete for strategic influence in the ...
The StrategistBy Miranda Booth, Henrietta McNeill and Genevieve Quirk
We’ve seen this morning the latest step up in the Trump-initiated trade war, with the additional 50 per cent tariffs imposed on imports from China. If the tariff madness persists – but in fact even if were wound back in some places (eg some of the particularly absurd tariffs on ...
Weak as I am, no tears for youWeak as I am, no tears for youDeep as I am, I'm no one's foolWeak as I amSongwriters: Deborah Ann Dyer / Richard Keith Lewis / Martin Ivor Kent / Robert Arnold FranceMorena. This morning, I couldn’t settle on a single topic. Too ...
Australian policy makers are vastly underestimating how climate change will disrupt national security and regional stability across the Indo-Pacific. A new ASPI report assesses the ways climate impacts could threaten Indonesia’s economic and security interests ...
So here we are in London again because we’re now at the do-it-while-you-still-can stage of life. More warm wide-armed hugs, more long talks and long walks and drinks in lovely old pubs with our lovely daughter.And meanwhile the world is once more in one of its assume-the-brace-position stages.We turned on ...
Hi,Back in September of 2023, I got pitched an interview:David -Thanks for the quick response to the DM! Means the world. Re-stating some of the DM below for your team’s reference -I run a business called Animal Capital - we are a venture capital fund advised by Noah Beck, Paris ...
I didn’t want to write about this – but, alas, the 2020s have forced my hand. I am going to talk about the Trump Tariffs… and in the process probably irritate nearly everyone. You see, alone on the Internet, I am one of those people who think we need a ...
Maybe people are only just beginning to notice the close alignment of Russia and China. It’s discussed as a sudden new phenomenon in world affairs, but in fact it’s not new at all. The two ...
The High Court has just ruled that the government has been violating one of the oldest Treaty settlements, the Sealord deal: The High Court has found the Crown has breached one of New Zealand's oldest Treaty Settlements by appropriating Māori fishing quota without compensation. It relates to the 1992 ...
Darwin’s proposed Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct is set to be the heart of a new integrated infrastructure network in the Northern Territory, larger and better than what currently exists in northern Australia. However, the ...
Local body elections are in October, and so like a lot of people, I received the usual pre-election enrolment confirmation from the Orange Man in the post. And I was horrified to see that it included the following: Why horrified? After all, surely using email, rather ...
Australia needs to deliver its commitment under the Seoul Declaration to create an Australian AI safety, or security, institute. Australia is the only signatory to the declaration that has yet to meet its commitments. Given ...
Ko kōpū ka rere i te paeMe ko Hine RuhiTīaho mai tō arohaMe ko Hine RuhiDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da da da da daDa da da ba du da da ba du da da da ba du da da ...
Army, Navy and AirForce personnel in ceremonial dress: an ongoing staffing exodus means we may get more ships, drones and planes but not have enough ‘boots on the ground’ to use them. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:PM Christopher Luxon says the Government can ...
If you’re a qualified individual looking to join the Australian Army, prepare for a world of frustration over the next 12 to 18 months. While thorough vetting is essential, the inefficiency of the Australian Defence ...
I’ve inserted a tidbit and rumours section1. Colonoscopy wait times increase, procedures drop under NationalWait times for urgent, non-urgent and surveillance colonoscopies all progressively worsened last year. Health NZ data shows the total number of publicly-funded colonoscopies dropped by more than 7 percent.Health NZ chief medical officer Helen Stokes-Lampard blamed ...
Three billion dollars has been wiped off the value of New Zealand’s share market as the rout of global financial markets caught up with the local market. A Sāmoan national has been sentenced for migrant exploitation and corruption following a five-year investigation that highlights the serious consequences of immigration fraud ...
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Rail Network Investment Plan quietly dropped While much media attention focused on the 31st March 2025 announcement that the replacement Cook ...
Amendments to Indonesia’s military law risk undermining civilian supremacy and the country’s defence capabilities. Passed by the House of Representatives on 20 March, the main changes include raising the retirement age and allowing military officers ...
The StrategistBy Alfin Febrian Basundoro and Jascha Ramba Santoso
So New Zealand is about to spend $12 billion on our defence forces over the next four years – with $9 million of it being new money that is not being spent on pressing needs here at home. Somehow this lavish spend-up on Defence is “affordable,” says PM Christopher Luxon, ...
Donald Trump’s philosophy about the United States’ place in the world is historically selfish and will impoverish his country’s spirit. While he claimed last week to be ‘liberating’ Americans from the exploiters and freeloaders who’ve ...
China’s crackdown on cyber-scam centres on the Thailand-Myanmar border may cause a shift away from Mandarin, towards English-speaking victims. Scammers also used the 28 March earthquake to scam international victims. Australia, with its proven capabilities ...
At the 2005 election campaign, the National Party colluded with a weirdo cult, the Exclusive Brethren, to run a secret hate campaign against the Greens. It was the first really big example of the rich using dark money to interfere in our democracy. And unfortunately, it seems that they're trying ...
Many of you will know that in collaboration with the University of Queensland we created and ran the massive open online course (MOOC) "Denial101x - Making sense of climate science denial" on the edX platform. Within nine years - between April 2015 and February 2024 - we offered 15 runs ...
How will the US assault on trade affect geopolitical relations within Asia? Will nations turn to China and seek protection by trading with each other? The happy snaps a week ago of the trade ministers ...
I mentioned this on Friday - but thought it deserved some emphasis.Auckland Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan has responded to Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa, saying police have cleared Brian Tamaki of all incitement charges relating to the Te Atatu library rainbow event assault.Hassan writes:..There is currently insufficient evidence to ...
With the report of the recent intelligence review by Heather Smith and Richard Maude finally released, critics could look on and wonder: why all the fuss? After all, while the list of recommendations is substantial, ...
Well, I don't know if I'm readyTo be the man I have to beI'll take a breath, I'll take her by my sideWe stand in awe, we've created lifeWith arms wide open under the sunlightWelcome to this place, I'll show you everythingSongwriters: Scott A. Stapp / Mark T. Tremonti.Today is ...
Staff at Kāinga Ora are expecting details of another round of job cuts, with the Green Party claiming more than 500 jobs are set to go. The New Zealand Defence Force has made it easier for people to apply for a job in a bid to get more boots on ...
Australia’s agriculture sector and food system have prospered under a global rules-based system influenced by Western liberal values. But the assumptions, policy approaches and economic frameworks that have traditionally supported Australia’s food security are no ...
Following Trump’s tariff announcement, US stock values fell by the most ever in value terms (US$6.6 trillion). Photo: Getty ImagesLong story shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning:Donald Trump just detonated a neutron bomb under the globalised economy, but this time the Fed isn’t cutting interest rates to rescue ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 30, 2025 thru Sat, April 5, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
This is a longer read.Summary:Trump’s tariffs are reckless, disastrous and hurt the poorest countries deeply. It will stoke inflation, and may cause another recession. Funds/investments around the world have tanked.Trump’s actions emulate the anti-economic logic of another right wing libertarian politician - Liz Truss. She had her political career cut ...
We are all suckers for hope.He’s just being provocative, people will say, he wouldn’t really go that far. They wouldn’t really go that far.Germany in the 1920s and 30s was one of the world’s most educated, culturally sophisticated, and scientifically advanced societies.It had a strong democratic constitution with extensive civil ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Mars warming? Mars’ climate varies due to completely different reasons than Earth’s, and available data indicates no temperature trends comparable to Earth’s ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...
I was interested in David Seymour's public presentation of the Justice Select Committee's report after the submissions to the Treaty Principles Bill.I noted the arguments he presented and fact checked him. I welcome corrections and additions to what I have written but want to keep the responses concise.The Treaty of ...
Well, he runs around with every racist in townHe spent all our money playing his pointless gameHe put us out; it was awful how he triedTables turn, and now his turn to cryWith apologies to writers Bobby Womack and Shirley Womack.Eight per cent, asshole, that’s all you got.Smiling?Let me re-phrase…Eight ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
The Treaty Principles Bill has been brutally defeated in Parliament. We have highlights from key speeches, and explain why its demise is so unusual. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Fujak, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin University Few issues in Australian sport generate as much media noise or emotional fan reactions as player movement, especially in our major winter codes the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL). ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isabelle Ng, PhD candidate, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University A couple of whip coral goby (_Bryaninops yongei_).randi_ang/Shutterstock Swim along the edge of a coral reef and you’ll often see schools of sleek, torpedo-shaped fishes gliding through the currents, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Kemp, Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Languages are windows into the worlds of the people who speak them – reflecting what they value and experience daily. So perhaps it’s no surprise different languages highlight different ...
A new poem by Daniel Frears. Pale Straw this season’s colour is pale straw a revelatory colour for an oh so special season it might mess with your head, or mine you can rub my belly like I was a dog. all actions are allowed in this .. phase. if ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32) “A truly helpful treatise on seeing ...
Tara Ward watches the return of The Handmaid’s Tale and discovers the dystopia of the future now feels all too real. If you like your television so bleak that you need to curl into a ball and rock back and forward afterwards, then clear the floor because I have great ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national YouGov poll, conducted April 4–10 from a sample of 1,505, gave Labor a 52.5–47.5 lead, a 1.5-point gain for Labor ...
Submissions close today on proposed reforms that would mark the most significant shakeup of fisheries in decades. Here’s what you need to know.On February 12, oceans and fisheries minister Shane Jones held up a wagging finger and a shiny, plastic-comb-bound document as Wellington’s downtown seagulls squawked overhead. Among a ...
This bill sought to fundamentally alter the meaning of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by selectively and incorrectly interpreting the reo Māori text, says E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh. ...
Luxon has an opportunity to emerge as a stabiliser without the diplomatic risk of poking the bear in the White House. Last month, pundits from across the political spectrum were begging Christopher Luxon to add a modicum of clarity to the way he communicates after a disastrous interview with Mike ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Mitchell, Professor of Nursing and Health Services Research, University of Newcastle Annie Spratt/Unsplash Hospital-acquired infections are infections patients didn’t have when they were admitted to hospital. The most common include wound infections after surgery, urinary tract infections and pneumonia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Hanna, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Christina Hanna, CC BY-SA Once floodwaters subside, talk of planned retreat inevitably rises. Within Aotearoa New Zealand, several communities from north to south – including Kumeū, Kawatiri Westport and parts ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arian Wallach, Future Fellow in Ecology, Queensland University of Technology michael garner/Shutterstock In 1938, zoologist Ellis Le Geyt Troughton mourned that Australia’s “gentle and specialized creatures” were “unable to cope with changed conditions and introduced enemies”. The role of these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Peetz, Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Work, and Professor Emeritus, Griffith Business School, Griffith University doublelee/Shutterstock Can the government actually make a difference to the wages Australians earn? A lot of attention always falls on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Egliston, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow, University of Sydney Last week, Nintendo announced the June 5 release of its long anticipated Switch 2. But the biggest talking point wasn’t the console’s launch titles or features. At ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Woodman, TR Ashworth Professor in Sociology, The University of Melbourne Securing the welfare of future generations seems like solid grounds for judging policies and politicians, especially during an election campaign. Political legacies are on the line because the stakes are so ...
With protests in the gallery, a projectile thrown and an MP ejected, the second reading of the controversial bill ended in a resounding defeat, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.Disruption, then defeat In a parliamentary sketch optimistically ...
Legal experts and Māori advocates say the fight to protect Te Tiriti is only just beginning - as the controversial Treaty Principles Bill is officially killed in Parliament. ...
Waiata, heckling and cheers rang out as ACT's Treaty Principles Bill was voted out of Parliament, but some say it should never have got off the ranks. ...
The Treaty principles bill will officially go no further – within this parliament, at least. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith reports from the House of Representatives.Eleven in favour, 112 opposed: that was the count that officially killed the Treaty principles bill on Thursday afternoon, after nearly two years of “will they, won’t ...
On the occasion of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, Hannah August ranks her novels. Happy birthday, Jane!It was 250 years ago this year that a family in a small village in Hampshire welcomed the arrival of a baby daughter. This daughter would go on to write six of the most ...
The PM doesn't understand his agriculture minister, who said “We probably don’t have enough tax in this country”.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/somewhat-convoluted-pm-confronts-ministers-claim-there-isnt-enough-tax-in-new-zealand/2XEBBRY7IBFTPANBRW7RASO7CE/
So looks like the PM is seeking to evade the truth. Only extremely weak men do that. His biological signalling to the nation is likely to be widely interpreted as admission of defeat. Winners don't do such signalling.
I think the conclusion can be made that hipkins lurching labour into the centre ..has been a total misreading of the mood of the left/centre left…
Our present situation as a nation is redolent of the failures of the neoliberal-incrementalism that labour has clung to since the days of douglas…
It is all coming to the conclusions long predicted by critics of that poxy ideology…
The rich have got so much richer…the poor have got so much poorer..
And our institutions of our society are in many cases falling apart…showing the results of that neoliberal-incrementalism having been applied to them for those preceeding decades…
And many now know those above realities…and know we can't just continue doing the same things..and expect different outcomes ..
All of the rest of us know that the rich have become obscenely rich..and that they pay f*ck all tax…and have been laughing all the way to the bank…while things just get worse for the rest of us..
Hipkins has failed to read this mood..
We are now looking to politicians to fix what ails us ..and all we see from hipkins is a face blank to our wants..
(Who has now resorted to muldoonist think big bullshit..wot with his tunnel dreams…)
And I know labour have yet to release their election policies…and hipkins could still pull a flock of rabbits out of his hat..
But I fear that tax off fruit/veg could be it/their big bang policy..
And if it is..it will be nowhere near enough..
And I know that their are many in labour who know the party has to swivel to a democratic socialism brace of policies/ideas..for both it's own..and the countries sake .
And good on them..!..more power to them..!..and they should be in the ascendant…but hipkins has shut all that down..to his/labour's peril..
What's wrong with Damien O'Connors statement? I have more of a problem with the PMs response to the statement, which as usual uses a lot of words to say nothing at all.
Study after study has shown NZ has a taxation issue and for an extremely earthquake, volcanic and flood prone set of islands subject to whatever weather and sea currents are playing out in the Pacific that's a problem.
the rebuilds for the north island and Christchurch are astronomical and we never talk seriously about how to pay for them, imagine if we had another Christchurch level event in Wellington? We simply couldn't pay for it. Hell we still haven't fixed CHCH.
I usually defend journalists but Ryan Bridge's interview with the Pm was disgraceful, smarmy rich prick from a family of money vibes just oozes out of him.
Him and everyone like him would be absolutely happy with bankrupting the country from borrowing to pay for a rebuild to a natural disaster but heaven forbid he pay a cent more in tax
The PM just sucks… At everything… In these interviews he always comes off as a man of no ideology, principles or political beliefs, he just uses loads and loads of words to say nothing.
Not once have I ever seen this prime minister seriously challenge a tory journo when they are attacking the most modest basic center left position, Hipkins will just say lots of words and pretty much agree with the tory journo and say "wait and see" and he increasingly speaks like a president with "I have decided" "me" statements rather than a prime Minister "we have decided"
A man of no conviction, unwilling to stand up for the most modest left wing belief…
It's no wonder most people think he's full of shit. He's so ideology free he could lead national and it wouldn't shock anyone
I suspect he got spooked by Damien telling the truth – so un-Labour-like it almost seems subversive from such a conservative chappie. Anyone with half a working brain will have instantly correlated his statement with Parker's diffident ditching of his revenue portfolio, not to mention Grant's collaboration with him.
One or two journos have been speculating re cabinet division. After somnambulating for three years I doubt if any of them are capable of being that activist. Deep state theorists will be presuming they have been relentless in underperforming due to a directive from on high that they need to toss the baton to the Nats this time. Luxon needs their help due to incessant harping not working well for him.
Hipkins deserves credit for copying Ardern's captain's call on tax policy – divine right to rule hasn't been trendy for quite a while so the two of them trying to force the beast in thro the back door is an ongoing source of entertainment. Trying to teach thicko Labourites that the leader doesn't need a cabinet to make collective decisions is excellent subversion of democracy – but they're too thick to get it fast.
Helen Clark ought to give the two credit for their strategy of making Labour PMs seem presidential. She could point out that Lange started it, unilaterally jerking the rug from under the rogernomes in the new year of '88. However you may have been a little to hard on Hipkins re conviction/ideology, Corey. I suspect he is adhering to the neolib prescription like a limpet due to personal conviction that Thatcher's `no alternative' dictum is the correct ideological line to follow.
Interesting times
Rogan: No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters… The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation
https://t.me/My21wire/12846
Unemployment was down. Business was booming. Regulations were being relaxed. More things were getting done.
When you look at the Russia collusion. When you look at the Steele dossier. When you look at all the bullshit, they tried to throw at him that we now know is bullshit.
Not just bullshit, but coordinated bullshit. When you look at the fact that they suppressed this Hunter Biden laptop story.
And 51 intelligence agency representatives signed off on that to say that this is Russian disinformation, which we know they know is not true. That's scary.
Because now you have the intelligence agencies colluding to keep a guy from being president, who was president during a time when the country was thriving economically."
[You have changed your username. We don’t generally allow this, but if you want to do this once, please let me know that this is now the username you will use going forward or if you want to go back to the previous one. In premod until I get a response. Also, I fixed the typo in your email address, please check each time your fill it in again – weka]
mod note, you are in premod until you respond.
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Hi Weka,
Just got chewed out by Iprent and Incognito for not following policy (some thing about me being a dickhead –
). Fair comments from them as your all busy people. I will have a read of the policy and improve my posts.
As for name change, yes please keep KS
It's time for all good christians to come to the aid of the party. Which party though?
Go Alfred! Fire that rocket! Suck enough votes out of National & folks will call you Alfred the Great!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-former-national-party-minister-alfred-ngaro-set-to-launch-new-christian-party/LA6PRUVYPNBXLOIZVJDCOA55GI/
Can see him picking up a chunk of vote out of South Auckland tbh, Luxon is probably fairly attractive to the Christian vote.
If there was a legitimate constituency for an explicitly Christian conservative party in New Zealand, surely one would have succeeded by now.
Just ask:
Christian Heritage (1.35% and 0.12%)
Destiny New Zealand (0.62%)
The Kiwi Party (0.54%)
Family Party (0.35%)
Conservative Party (2.65%, 3.97%, and 0.2%)
Clearly, these yahoos can't count.
A reference to 'Dirty politics' today reminded me of the conspiracy theory,theory.
P.M John Key said Hagars revelations were a 'lefty conspiracy'.
People who buy into conspiracy theories are often characterised as gullible,easily manipulated,fools.
The term 'conspiracy theory' was the C.I.A's go to response to alternative viewpoints regarding geo political events .From around the the time of JFK's assassination ,to the present day, it became a standard response to anyone questioning the establishment version .
Even today in 2023, the findings regarding JFK's murder remain …classified.
Nothing to hide,nothing to….fear!Right?
My favourite jfk-theory is the mafia one..
Y'see it was a close vote..and the story goes that his father used his connections from his time as a bootlegger running alcohol into america from canada..to approach them to do all they could to get the vote out for his son… promising in return that under his presidency they would be largely left alone..
So they did..and their influence was particularly effective/important in Illinois..a state they largely controlled..where kennedy just squeaked in..
But then kennedy set up a special commission to target the mafia…run by his brother..
So they whacked them both..'cos my understanding is that you don't really want to do stuff like that to the mafia…
(Roberts assassin was a low ranking gangster guy..)
And as a theory..I reckon it hangs together quite well..
(And the fact the official findings are still classified.. pretty much demolishes the oswald alone official explanation..)
John Key wouldn't know what is left and what is right basically a Snake Oil Salesperson IMHO ?
Good to see the Sackler deal chucked out by the US Supreme Court.
Hopefully that evil family will have to give evidence alongside opioid addicts.
Also in the Washington Post today. Fancy Seymour being a shining light for American Libertarians.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/10/new-zealand-act-party-seymour-libertarianism/
Oh, but you forgot the Libertarian Party in Germany that is currently part of the Ample coalition. FDP. The Yellow party among the red SPD and green Green.
The FDP is a liberal party, much like our Labour/National, the PDV is the German libertarian party and equivalent to ACT.
PDV is a 'libertarian' Party that was birthed in 2009 and died failing to thrive.
FDP, Free Democratic Party of Germany however is a bit more successful, aking to ACT, by appearing somewhat reasonable in regards to the excesses of the main parties.
Libertarian parties can have a 'progressive' bend, see Seymour supporting the Self ID bill for example, and euthanasia, and if enough money is involved the next thing i can see him support is the legalisation of drugs.
The best foreign Minister Germany ever had came from the FDP, the Free Democratic Party of Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Dietrich_Genscher
Interesting times…. Don’t tell me …. The Democrates are good guys…No conspiracy here
NZincs political class (Nats, Lab, Act, Greens) are a bunch of suck ups ….
https://t.me/My21wire/12846
Unemployment was down. Business was booming. Regulations were being relaxed. More things were getting done.
When you look at the Russia collusion. When you look at the Steele dossier. When you look at all the bullshit, they tried to throw at him that we now know is bullshit.
Not just bullshit, but coordinated bullshit. When you look at the fact that they suppressed this Hunter Biden laptop story.
And 51 intelligence agency representatives signed off on that to say that this is Russian disinformation, which we know they know is not true. That's scary.
Because now you have the intelligence agencies colluding to keep a guy from being president, who was president during a time when the country was thriving economically."
You are joking I take it Karl?
He has drunk deeply of the cooker kool-aid I am afraid.
This is a couple of days old – so apologies if it's already been posted, but Audrey Young has done a couple of articles on what a Left or Right cabinet might look like after October.
Yes, of course it's speculative – but interesting to see opinions on which areas the minor parties might stake out, and who might be scheduled for promotion, or demotion.
Originally published in the Herald – but paywalled – so here are the archived links as well.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-audrey-young-the-cabinet-under-a-labour-greens-maori-party-govt/2A3DZDXW4BGL3CFPXH6PHBEDJU/
https://archive.ph/WGET5
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-audrey-young-what-a-national-act-cabinet-might-look-like/YSR5VCYMA5G5HGJCVTNR3YEO4Q/
https://archive.ph/hD4j8
Interesting, thanks. The only really bum note is Genter as associate transport and outside of cabinet.
Also, completely different ball game if the Greens say the wealth tax is a bottom line.
Entirely possible that Parker (who Young tapped as Transport) may retire during the term – thus freeing up Transport (certainly Halbert – who has been chairing the Transport & Infrastructure Committee – and who might be seen as a replacement — hasn't exactly been outstanding in this role)
Of course, negotiations – including over party bottom lines – might change things substantively (e.g. Hipkins would probably have to go as PM, if the GP negotiated wealth tax as a bottom line).
Who does Labour have to replace Hipkins?
Entirely without prejudice.
I'd see that Parker distancing himself from Hipkins over tax could be seen as a signal to both the left wing (in general) and the left wing of the LP, that there is an alternative.
I don't see Parker, myself, as leadership material (and he's ruled it out himself a couple of times) – but he could well be the money man (Finance).
Prior to Wood's spectacular self-destruction – I'd seen him as pre-positioning himself for a run at the top job in the next few years. But October would be way too soon for him to have remedied his blotted copybook.
I'd also seen Allan as a strong candidate as deputy. But, well off the cards for the next few years (if she ever comes back to politics)
McAnulty has done well – but perhaps not enough experience yet.
The solid, competent and capable performer is Megan Woods. She's been carrying at least two people's ministerial workload and is all over the detail of her portfolios, is a solid performer in the house, and is quick-witted, persuasive and articulate in interviews (unlike Little, for example, who came across as dour and dogged). I wouldn't be surprised to see her emerge as a front contender.
Leaving aside questions about whether any particular individual would be interested, Parker and Little are former Labour leaders, Robertson a former Deputy PM and Sepuloni is the current Deputy PM. Davis is the deputy party leader so would also be someone to consider. From the rest of Cabinet, Woods would be the stand out and Tinetti and Verrall also stand out to me in terms of experience with big portfolios.
Parker retiring during the term? You mean before October?
Nope – the reference was to the formation of a Government in the next term.
And the speculation that Parker would retire during that term. Obviously, if he gains a high cabinet post, then that's less likely – but if he's continuing in a mid-level one, and ongoing tension with Hipkins over wealth tax – then it seems much more likely.
Talbot Mills does not agree with Curia. Who'd a thunk!!
When the new polls are published Curia usually has National's numbers higher than the rest. David Farrer maintains their methodology is among the best so there must be another reason for it.
Evidence?
Based on the election polling results, helpfully collated here, this seems to be a lie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2023_New_Zealand_general_election
Looking at the last 7 polls (July/August) – the National Party reached a high of 36% – not in the Curia ones, but in those conducted by Talbot Mills and Newshub.
There is a 4point difference . Commented on but not fully released.
Talbot Mills doesn't seem to have released a recent poll – the last one I can find of theirs is end June-beginning of July.
Unless you have a link to a more recent one – or have some private information.
That poll, interestingly, has almost identical results for Labour to the Curia one taken over the same period – and the TM one has a higher result for National.
The key word is "usually". I'm talking in an historical sense. It has been noted many times over the years including by journalists – always in a slightly amused vein.
Evidence. Because you seem to have none….
Perhaps a link to an article by these 'amused journalists'….
Your constant calls for evidence is boring. No way am I going back over 20-30 years of newspapers to satisfy your lust for links on comments you don't like.
Based on such an attitude, no-one would be able to offer any reflection on past events. History as we know it would become obsolete.
So – no evidence. A complete invention on your part.
Even when it is pointed out to you (with evidence) that your statement is certainly not true ATM; you double down, and insist that it must have been true sometime in the past – again with no evidence.
Your inventions and evasions are considerably more boring – and frankly, dishonest.
And, you seem to have missed the requirement, being enforced much more rigorously in the run up to the election – that evidence must be provided if called for on TS.
" that evidence must be provided if called for on TS.".
Really?
Yep. Here
Scroll down to “Providing evidence”
https://thestandard.org.nz/moderation-notes-in-election-year/
That appears to be only if you are asked by a moderator. Under the bit on current problems in the link you provided it says "and providing evidence when asked by a moderator"
If the moderator doesn't take action it can, as Anne is doing, be ignored.
An example of which, is that the sea salt has to be behind the mustard when the ball is passed to be onside.
It's a quote, from a film, so a link to the film from which the quote came was provided.
See 14 below.
It’s an expectation, with the possible consequence of moderator interest in the lack of.
Why do you say "complete invention" when you could find it online in 5 seconds? I just did.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300948107/labours-new-polling-shows-rosier-picture-for-party
2. "Complete invention" refers to Anne's statement. "When the new polls are published Curia usually has National's numbers higher than the rest."
I asked for evidence for her statement – providing a link to the reported polling data for this year – to show that it did not appear to be true.
Note that 'usually' in common English would have to reflect at least 50% of the time – and probably quite a bit higher.
Check the link. It was published at 8 am. See the time of the (many) comments.
You didn't find it, but that's nobody else's fault.
Nope. I said I couldn't find it – and asked for a link.
That's why best TS practice is for the original commenter to provide a link to the story they are commenting on.
Apologies Belladonna. And to Anne.
Using the Wikipedia link you provided @ 8.1.1, there have been 24 Curia polls since the last election, as far as I can tell.
13/23 of the Curia polls were higher than the subsequent poll (in that table) by an average of ca. 0.6%.
14/24 of the Curia polls were higher than the preceding poll (in that table) by an average of ca. 1.0%.
None of this is terribly meaningful, in my opinion, and not worth wasting much time & effort on.
These figures relate to the polling of National, of course.
Question incognito?
Do you think the quantity of polls is putting off working class and poor voters?
For me, this slew of them is making me spew. I'm still trying to get people enrolled, and the polls are just fluff, a real distraction. And at worst, they feel like a manipulation.
No, I don’t think that polls on their own and by themselves put off people/voters. Same applies to politics in general.
Thank you Observer.
Your arrogance is mind boggling Belladonna.
This 'fact' has been mentioned on this site by numerous commenters over the years which you would not know about because you are a newcomer. In the past I also saw it reflected upon on a few other public forums. Don’t ask me where because I've forgotten now. That does not mean they don't exist.
NO. I am not going to trawl through thousands upon thousands of comments to satisfy your desire to be the dominant force on this site.
Bd has my sympathy for the 'tricky' choices that political centrists face.
If only that nice Mr Key had made good on his 2008 election promise to close the gap between Kiwi and Aussie wages. Another flood of Kiwis crossing the ditch (to a country with an even earlier Overshoot Day than Aotearoa NZ) may be looming.
https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/
The Dominion Post newspaper reported that while Economic Development Minister, Gerry Brownlee, was saying the wage gap had reduced since his party came into office, figures it obtained comparing average weekly earnings in November 2008 and February this year (2010) showed New Zealand wages grew by 5.2 per cent compared to 6.17 per cent for Australia. Australia's ordinary average wage rose from A$1165 to A$1243 ($1433 to $1529) while New Zealand's went from $891 to $947. One of John Key's election promises was to 'close the gap'.
https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.590892
"…. the 'tricky' choices that political centrists face."
Sitting on the fence must be very boring and extraordinarily uncomfortable.
Maybe you should stop making shit up…
I think you owe Anne an apology.
Nah. Cw comes across as a bit of a reactionary. They rarely apologise.
There are two election campaigns being waged at present.
The first is the campaign between the Nats and Lab for the top spot.
The second between the Nats, ACT and NZ First.
The second one is the most interesting and amusing:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-winston-peters-claims-acts-attack-ad-proves-the-party-is-worried/SMF7GX52VJFWHE6CJGQADYLJYI/
Peters is always entertaining…..
Without knowing what methodology the polls use to address the undecided & unlikely to vote it's hard to know what to make of such huge disparities in the polling, they seem outside the margin of error – and remember all polling methods nowadays seem to be unable to overcome an inherent bias to the right (if the last few actual election results are any guide).
Still, the trend for Labour is down. Hipkins needs to come up with something more than insipid "prudent" centrist managerialism in the next few weeks to win back voters moving to non-voting, NZ First or the Greens. Labour needs a circuit breaker policy – some sort of mega extension of middle class welfare might do the job, but I would prefer a tax free threshold on income somehwere in the range of $10-20,000.
At this point the question is, are the Talbot Mills polls for the Labour Party done on the same basis as the ones released to the wider public?
And … are they done to coincide with another poll (say Curia) ….
Apparently, the regular TM polls are not done for the Labour Party, but for one or more 'corporate clients'.
And are 'leaked' rather than released. [I have to say, that given that they are leaked every time, they should just bite the bullet and release them officially]
From the coverage of the last one…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/labour-and-chris-hipkins-crash-in-latest-poll-gap-with-national-widest-since-2017/R6MWQK2TQBGK5FY3ZKOEYGVYPU/
I don’t know anything about the basis for Labour’s internal polling (or National’s for that matter)
From memory they often do coincide but whether that is intentional is hard to say. Bearing in mind they have to conduct the poll which could take a few days and then collate the results, I think they follow a similar time-span especially at this time in the election cycle.
As far as I know Talbot Mills polls are commissioned by industrial and business communities. I guess each group highlight the information they require, including the Labour Party, so they might not be done on the same basis.
Just my thoughts on what I recall happening over the years.
Causal analysis of the Maui disaster here: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/10/us/factors-fueling-maui-fires-climate/index.html
Precondition: drought. Result: tinderbox. Unknown: spark. Scaling up factor: Dora to the south + anticyclone to the north = wind vortex between them.
Elemental analysis gives us a tetrad: drought/drying out/combustion/conflagaration.
Chaos theory taught us that two adjacent domains that are complex systems produce creative catalysis at the boundary where their influences balance out 30 years ago. Both scientists & opinion leaders have failed to get the picture ever since – even when reality clobbers them with the force of a piece of 4×2.
Climate change is increasingly giving us scenarios like this classic Maui picture to learn from. Mainstream leaders floundering are no good for anyone. We need people who learn the lessons nature is trying to teach us.
China is discovering the downside of a slide to authoritarianism, autarky and a loss of investor confidence that the rule of rule will be the norm in doing business in China.
"… foreign direct investment into China fell 89% from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year to $4.9 billion, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange…."
89% collapse in investment year on year is huge. This the lowest in 25 years – in otherwords, for the lifespan of China's economic miracle.
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/09/1193013362/biden-executive-order-restricts-investments-china-tech
Perhaps the unease in China's elites at Xi's policies is behind the mysterious sacking of foreign minister Qin Gang, Xi's hand picked man for the job.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/28/chinas-missing-ex-minister-reveals-the-limits-of-xi-jinpings-power
4.9 billion or even 8 billion is no big deal in context.
'The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in China was worth 17963.17 billion US dollars in 2022, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of China represents 7.97 percent of the world economy.'
I think Ukraine receives more than 4.9billion a month to fight the 'good' fight.
That is just nonsense. China has fallen into deflation and everyone knows the figures from Chinese economists are doctored up the wazoo – According to Bloomberg & Fortune (paywalled, although you can easily Google the headline) the already disasterous official youth unemplyment rate of 21.3% could actually be double that.
China has very high local government debt – so they can't use that to stimulate their way out of trouble like they did after the GFC. High debt and deflation are major headwinds, and China is far to dependent on export receipts (17% or so of GDP, the United States is about half that) fto achieve anything like the autarky that the United States has in it's economy for trying to stimulate growth. Putin’s mad invasion of the Ukraine is a disaster for China, because it has alerted the USA and EU to how hollowed out their own heavy industry base has become and led directly to economic measures to booset that base – which is a direct cost to China.
The main take away for me is an economic slow down in China brought on my Xi's hardline approach will be very destabilising, and probably very bad for NZ.
So World Bank data is 'nonsense' – very good!
Dependent on export receipts!
17% is alot lower than I thought.
We know NZ is a trading nation which runs an 'open economy. How dependent are we.
Talking about debt, the U. S has a meaningless debt ceiling, that gets raised every year and has trillions of unpayable exposure. It would be a complete basket case apart from its privilege as default currency for international trade.
The world is tired of subsidising US hegemony and the desire to challenge it is accelerating.
China has merely responded to tariffs and military threats imposed by America.
We are but a single armhair shivering on the inhaled breath of China.
About 1/4 of our entire export income (agriculture and tourism) comes from China, about US$16 billion.
China exports US$3.7 trillion a year to the world, growing 4.51% from 2021 to 2022.
We mean almost nothing to them. They mean a helluva lot to us.
That income is tanking btw, lambs back $2 kg and mutton $2.50 on this time last year, might be an election worth losing!
Key admits he has some political bias……but then…Luxon and Seymour will squirm at this:
"……compared to the rest of the world, the international director, former Prime Minister and National Party leader said New Zealand was “pretty darn good”.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/pretty-darn-good-sir-john-key-upbeat-despite-debt-stress-chinas-economy/A7D6QO6HTFCKTMJ7CBLX56EQ34/
Can anyone remember a time when Australia was NOT doing better than us!
5x our population and the mining sector alone earns more than NZ's total GDP.
Economically Australia is less "boom and bust" than NZ…..then there is the politics….
Key goes on to say: “It’s a feeling that we’re in a malaise, that we’re not doing that well. That Australia’s doing better than us.”
This is the politics, the general perception that the opposition have been cultivating, during and since the Pandemic……which by the way now seems to be conveniently ignored as any influence at all….
78 years since the dropping of nukes on Japan.
Good job by peace activists -non-violent direct action.
Looking forward to their non-violent direct action to mark 86 years since Imperial Japan began the systemic murder of 200,000 – 300,000 residents of Nanjing.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contest_to_kill_100_people_using_a_sword
I don't have a problem with that protest, I mean my take is they can still protest and just get away with a severe telling off and a conviction.
I question the relevance though, the use of nuclear weapons on Japan occurred eight decades ago now against the background of a global total war where the Axis were guilty of unspeakable acts of barbarism.
These days the people most likely to rattle the nuclear sabre are the likes of Dmitry Menvedev, who seems to enjoy getting stuck into his liquor cabinet and then posting wild threats of nuclear armageddon on his social media – which is exactly the sort of behaviour one would want from a senior politician of any major power with a massive nuclear stockpile /sarc/
So 'they asked for it' did they.
You need to brush up on the Great Satan's record of death and destruction since WW2.
They even brought back… torture.
The Japanese were pretty much the dictionary definition of "they were asking for it".
You know what they say – don't start what you can't finish, and if you decide to throw away any restraints on your behaviour and engage in barbarism you had better be 100% sure the other side don't get into a position to return the favour with interest, because you can be sure they’ll do so with alacrity.
Interesting take on innocent civilians being fried……1 bomb to learn ya….and another for good…measure!
Do you have portraits of Atilla the Hun,Genghis Khan,George Bush,Tony Blair and Henry Kissinger hanging in your hallway?
'they' were the innocent civilians of the two bombed cities..
And they certainly weren't'asking for it'..
'they' were the vassals of their emperor…
Those bombings were war crimes most foul ..
All america had to do was to drop one in an uninhabited area..to show the Japanese military/emperor what they could do to them ..
They didn't need to bomb those cities..
They didn't need to kill all those innocent men/women/children .
They were their war crimes ..
Sheesh anything that questions an end to war, and you jingoists come out of the wood work fast.
I don't usually post this guy (as he's not well liked here), but this is interesting. The blockage to Green Transition is political, not technological, who knew!
I've been saying this for a while, although I would say social and political as well as psychological.
(havent' watched the video)
Perhaps you should say who "this guy" is before you expect people to click on an unlabelled YouTube link.
Interview on the BBC in the 80s. Why do we not invest in large numbers in public transport? answer: because we could never meet demand, and besides it is easier for us to get people to buy private transport. It just stuck with me then that we are never going to get it done properly.
The destructing of public transport initially was political – the closure of rail lines for commercial and person transport, and the failure to revive it is also.
Instead we have :" here have up to 8 grand to buy an EV, it will make you feel all green here as the pollution is in the lands were we mine, build and then via shipping". But its ok, you get to feel all warm and fuzzy whilst driving in your own very green and progressive country.
who wants to have a go at explaining the soccer offside rule to me?
It was explained in the movie Bend It Like Beckham – 1hour 10 minute 20sec – 1hour 11 min 30s – the sea salt has to be level or behind the mustard, when the ball is passed
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/bend-it-like-beckham/movie/s1-e1
thanks for wasting my time SPC, fs.
It can be contentious but the gist is you can't pass a ball to a teammate if they are past the last defender when you kick it.
It is to stop a team having their strikers just standing next to the goal waiting for the ball to be kicked up the field.
Strikers therefore have to stay near the last defender and not get between them and the goalie unless they already have the ball or are chasing it.
It ain't easy, but I'll have a go….
A player is offside:
If there is only the goalkeeper between you and the goal (and you don't have the ball) – then you are off-side – if your side is attacking, or you receive the ball.
If you have the ball – then it doesn't matter how many players are or aren't in front of you – you can't be off-side.
The tricky part comes with passing – when you pass the ball forward – you have to ensure that there is an opposing player (other than the goalkeeper) in front of the attacking player – to whom the ball is being passed – before they receive the ball.
Open to correction by someone with a greater degree of experience in coaching, refing or even watching soccer than I have!
At the time the ball is passed, not before they receive the ball.
The sea salt can sprint past the mustard after it is passed before they receive it and be onside.
I bow to your superior expertise – and I'm sure there are other nuances I've missed as well…..
Visual representation might help:
The blue player (attacker) farthest left in this image is in an offside position when their teammate with the ball kicks it because only one red player (defender) is in front of them, in this case the goal keeper. The blue player at farthest left needs to be to the right of, or behind, the dotted line (which is marked by the next closest red player to their goal) so that more than one defender is in front of them.
Notes:
It doesn't need to be the keeper, just any two defending players.
It's not an offence to stand in an offside position, but it becomes an offence if you engage in play from that position.
No offsides from a throw in.
No offside if the ball passer is closer to the goal than the receiver (see corner kicks).
Offside is when any ball playing part of the attacking player is in front of second last defender ie, arm is fine up to the shoulder because in football the arm is not a ball playing part of the body.
I hope Winston First gets around 4.5% of the vote come election time. Soak up some of that protest vote that might otherwise go the ACT but not sufficient for him to get back into Parliament. The other odd ball and fringe parties like conservatives, brian tamaki party, outdoors etc can take a bit from the right wing as well. A realistic outcome on election night, Labour-Greens about equal with Nat-ACT and either needing the support of Maori party. Keep the Maori Health Authority, continual work on climate change and a CGT once the government is formed
Winston First will get 7-9% of the vote so long as he and Shane Jones keep their heads screwed on and don't start playing the Smart Arse Maori Tricks by letting their ultra ego's get in the way.