It's been so exciting watching National & Labour do Trumpism at each other:
In 2018, Donald Trump's advisor Steve Bannon told a journalist his key strategy. "The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit." Though neither Labour nor National have quite the same attitude to the media, the strategy is the same. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/labour-and-national-strip-substance-from-campaign
The flurry of attacks, some with substance and some completely baseless, makes it impossible for voters to tell what's actually wrong.
Yeah, but why would either party want informed voters?? Surely the system was designed for mass entertainment. As long as both teams provide it, democracy facilitates our corporate msm.
A four-tier structure for responding to the risks posed by artificial intelligence technologies is being proposed by the European Union – the first comprehensive legal framework of its kind in the world. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/playing-regulatory-chess-with-ai
“At the top tier is what is known as ‘unacceptable risks’, and the EU has identified certain categories of AI systems that it deems unacceptable and therefore they are banned outright,” explains Richard Massey, a senior associate at Bell Gully specialising in consumer law and emerging regulation. “That includes, for example, real-time facial recognition technology in public places.
The spectre of Big Sister looms. She will be recording your location and behaviour in the most public arenas of life in Aotearoa in x years, where x most likely lies in the range of 10-20 years. Are you concerned by this? X will be influenced by mass naughtiness – the more of that, the less x will become.
We're looking at the relation between potential and reality here. If necessary, adopt a Bohmian view: the universe produces reality from the realm of potential, so things happen naturally. Gaia provides our deep operational context, which physicists interpret on the basis of the potential/actual dyad, so we got solid ground for deep Green.
So our trending societal curve encompasses high tech, it's interface with politics, on the basis of natural philosophy. Recall that natural philosophy became science in the 19th century when the word scientist was invented (1838 I vaguely recall). The politics of AI gives Green politicians the opportunities to hit the inside lane – too bad they remain mired in pale/medium Green thinking…
New Zealand First recorded 8.2% in October’s poll… support stalled for centre-right National, the main opposition party, which recorded 34% of the vote, 0.5 points down from last month. Its support partner, the minor libertarian group Act, slid 2.4 points to 7.9%.
The centre-left Labour party lifted 3.4 points to 30.3%, an 11th-hour boost after months of persistent slumps in the polls. Support for Labour’s leftwing support parties was steady; the Greens recorded 10.6% of the vote (down 0.4 points from last month) and Te Pāti Māori registered 1.9%.
When asked their view of NZ First holding the balance of power after Saturday’s vote, 48% of respondents said it would be bad for New Zealand; 26% said it would be a good thing. On Peters, 20% felt strongly positive, while 47% were strongly negative.
Hipkins, a career politician, recorded 44% strongly positive sentiment and 27% strongly negative; the results were 33% strongly positive for Luxon, a former airline chief executive, with 40% strongly negative.
But respondents again showed a lack of enthusiasm – as in previous Guardian Essential NZ Polls – for the major party leaders, with 42% saying none of the current options for prime minister really appealed to them.
So you can see the will of the people: none of the above, thanks. We're quite happy milling around in the center of the paddock, doan wanna go nowhere…
"So you can see the will of the people: none of the above, thanks. We're quite happy milling around in the center of the paddock, doan wanna go nowhere…"
So you can see the will of the people (in aggregate); none of the above, thanks. We don't want to go where they are leading.
Thought that was self evident…there are two (major) parties, one of which will set the path the country will take for the follwing 3 years and neither of those is acceptable to the majority of the voting base.
The likes of the Greens and Act will slightly colour that direction but only slightly….and NZFirst is a middle finger to all of them.
Yeah, a snap-shot of that in real-time. Proximity to voting day is the point they seem to be making. Yet even in this tight race, sheeple may stampede in reaction to any msm report of poll results.
The Soros reflexivity principle is at play in our democracy game. Just like Lange's market reef-fish spin on a dime.
The political newcomers spending thousands to influence the election
If you've been on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram and heard a robot-like voice talking about election issues, it may have come from a group called Vote for Better.
The group, which is new to politics, has spent between $80,800 and $118,800 on ads about the election campaign on Facebook and Instagram alone in recent weeks.
Non Partisan? Yeah Riight
Tim Barry, who fronts the campaign, would not be interviewed. In an email, he said Vote for Better was a non-partisan campaign.
Vote for Better hasn't pushed for any particular party but its advertising is focused on critiquing the current government. Some of its video ads are narrated with an American-accented artificial intelligence (AI) voiceover.
Jim Grenon is another publicity-shy promoter.
Grenon is linked to the NZ News Essentials website, which is dedicated to attacking the Government. Grenon is a Canadian private equity tycoon who made headlines in Canada when he shifted $68.2m to New Zealand while involved in court action with Canada's tax agency.
And some others who are a bit shy about how much they are funding
The Taxpayers' Union, Hobson's Pledge, Family First, Julian Batchelor's 'Stop co-governance' and Groundswell are among the issue-based groups.
The left block has 55 seats ACT National 54 NZ first with 11 seats.looks like no tax cuts.Guardian Poll.Big Drop for the right block if it plays out to be true.Winston will be wagging Nationals policy.
That's a fascinating bit from the Guardian poll. Without NZF, the left is ahead! This is by no means over, don't let yourselves be fooled that it is! ✊
I'm no great fan of Ryan Bridge but this morning on TV3 he did his job well.
The question was clear, the answers were not. Repeatedly asked to accept that 2 +2 is 4 not 5, Luxon did what he always does: bluster. Even Bridge got frustrated with the feeble non-answers.
Luxon is simply not up to the job. Win or lose, he'll be dumped by the Nats.
Absolutely. Chris Luxon seems increasingly more appalling as time goes on…
Win or lose, he has to go, be rolled by his own party. He with his shitty thinking on benefits and disability and also issues related to LGBTQIA+ and so on, has to go — absolutely.
Looks like Bridge so much wanted the satisfaction of knowing that beneficiaries would be worse off, that he forgot that Luxon couldn't say it out loud.
Who misses out? In the scenario we’ve sketched, senior Labour MPs Adrian Rurawhe, Andrew Little, David Parker, Kieran McAnulty and Ginny Andersen all would be gone.
This exercise – a snapshot of who might be heading to parliament next week – relies chiefly on four polls conducted a couple of weeks before election day. They’re very reputable pollsters (Verian, Reid, Curia, Talbot Mills) but things can change in the lead-up to election day itself. Turnout slumps can affect some parties more than others. And polling is not a perfect science; sometimes they get things wrong. Any number of strange things can happen.
But if we look at the average across those surveys – which are all reasonably consistent anyway – and take that as the party vote for our hypothesis, then extrapolate that shift in mood to the electorates, while chucking into the brew some of the unique features that apply to those electorates, we can sketch a picture of who would make it to parliament, and who would not.
His comprehensive analysis looks like hard work done, so credit to him for not being lazy. Seems a sensible method too. If the voters remain consistent to that polling trend and McAnulty gets sent on a holiday Labour will seem bereft! I suspect though that their dead cat bounce will give him a lifeline.
Yet again, your wheels are spinning on the slippery slope of your own concocted click bait. The relevant paragraph from your link is this:
Kieran McAnulty has attracted many admirers over the term and is tipped as a future Labour leader. Is that enough to see him hang on to Wairarapa? We’re guessing he’ll just miss out to National’s Mike Butterick.
In any case, Labour won’t seem as ‘bereft’ as NZF when they lost all their 9 MPs and got booted from Parliament altogether in 2020. Nice try though to stir up negative emotions in others.
In addition, you failed yet again to indicate that you had modified the text of your copypasta. This lazy and manipulative behaviour must stop.
Dennis… I don't enjoy reading your missives on this site because you frequently in your zeal to be critical of Labour etc, you forget to include the good sides of what it means to have a government like that in power.
It is pretty hardgoing under Labour, speaking as a disabled person on the benefit, yes, HOWEVER, it DOES NOT try to instil a culture of fear and hatred of beneficiaries compared to National and others.
Any serious type of left-wing thinking will have to take that into account.
I also do not like your missives (or similar missives by others) for another reason, it dampens anyone's enthusiasm for contributing to any momentum LAB/GRN/TPM might have.
An addition of GRN/TPM would make an immense amount of difference to people on benefits' lives, it's not even funny.
Have some heart and please stop stoking depression and fear in your posts.
Besides, I would take LAB/GRN/TPM everytime and anyday. It's truly needed for these times.
Well I sympathise but am sorry you feel that way when I simply write what my conscience requires me to write. I strongly believe realism is the best way to introduce common sense into political commentary. You could even describe my motivation as a sense of duty – to do public service via consciousness-raising.
What you need to do is accept responsibility for your feelings rather than blame someone else. Has it occurred to you that anyone can modify their feelings?
Stop being so condescending. RoG shared their lived experience as a part of a minority group (disabled person on a benefit) that has been absolutely demonised and trashed by the Right historically and through this election campaign. Who do you think you are, telling RoG to "accept responsibility for [their] feelings" – how about you accept responsibility for being patronising and quite frankly insulting? Also, stop positioning yourself as the world-weary voice of reason – it’s tiresome.
Get over yourself. Anyone who has suffered trauma has a natural right to acknowledge the same in others. Do try to get a grip, huh? You know, act like a human. You can do it if you try!
When people misread online discourse & imput characterisations onto others wrongly, those others will respond by pointing out those errors. The process is entirely natural. Identity politics.
It's just that you seem unwilling to factor in the effects on other readers when you personalise your commentary. It shifts the mood in the group mind towards discomfort, tediously. No valid cause for being offensive, negative consequences, so don't do it!
b) Rolling on Gravel (and others) expressed their disagreement with you and shared their experience of what life is like for a disabled person on a benefit under a Right versus Left Government.
c) You answered with a condescending reply to Rolling on Gravel.
d) I took you to task on it.
e) You responded with an angry reply to me.
f) I pointed out that you were angry and disliked being challenged.
g) You are now trying to other me by implying that my pointing out your defensiveness is negative and offensive.
Look, I understand that it's difficult when you've positioned yourself as the all-knowing voice of reason who is exercising their civic duty every time they comment. However, I have encountered this of style of debate before: someone who comes across as wise and avuncular until they are challenged, then they become spiteful and attempt to put the other person out on a limb. Your tactics here are transparent.
Have a great day, Dennis, and all the best in the lead-up to what looks to be a very interesting Election Day
I accept that you see things like that. No problem. However I must reiterate that it's a misread of reality. Again, no problem.
Such is typical leftism, and one encounters it onsite here often enough. As a radical centrist, I merely note the behaviour in passing, as if amateur sociology is worth doing. A controlled folly…
Thank you, RoG, for sharing your lived experience of what life is like under Labour as a disabled person on a benefit. As you point out, it's far from perfect, but unlike National, ACT, and NZ First, Labour do not scapegoat and stigmatise beneficiaries, disabled people, and other disadvantaged minority groups in society.
It's refreshing to hear your frank commentary compared with the pseudo-intellectual, contrarian, pontificating waffle you were responding to, and you're absolutely right—these posturing diatribes dampen down people's enthusiasm and motivation. It's really hard to understand why people describe themselves as coming from the Left when all they want to do is nitpick Labour (and, to a lesser extent, the Greens and TPM) this close to an election, when solidarity and momentum are so important!
I think a lot of these types of comments come from people who talk the talk but haven't walked the walk of hardship like you have. I have worked in the disability sector for nearly 20 years, and I commend you for sharing your experience and (hopefully) knocking some sense into these frustrating commenters
Anyway, yeah, I speak because I have observed many times over the years how much the right-wing (and some bleaters) present a horrific picture of people who are beneficiaries that doesn't conform to a lot of known realities and are often malicious in nature.
Too often, like with Reagan and his infamous welfare queen stereotype in the 80s and from Paula Bennett and George Osbourne, this has meant that right-wing people stretch and imagine vile crap from one person (or even an imaginary person) to paint an ugly picture of all people who are on the benefit, even if sometimes they rhetorically say some people on benefits (disabled people etc) are deserving (which right-wing people rarely actually mean it in practice) and using the "mad and evil" version to sell to the easily stirred people which stokes hatred and apathy as our living standards are brutally (or slowly) cut down, often leading to more poverty and more desperation.
That's why I am so grateful for the election of Jacinda Ardern's Labour, even if I do have some issues with them, it's been a huge refreshing change compared to the National government and is an attempted continuity with the Clark Government (the best one in my lifetime 🙂 and yes I was on the benefit during it, even before the GFC)
This is exactly why I need Labour and Greens and Te Pati Māori to win, because that combo has the potential to be the materially best government in my lifetime, exceeding even the Clark Labour Government! 😀
RoG I sure ain't going to ask you to 'modify your feelings' and you have my total aroha and support for the tough life you lead. Your comments make a lot of sense.
"I would take LAB/GRN/TPM everytime and anyday. It's truly needed for these times."
Out of the mouths of baby’s, when discussing the election one member of the family who the environment means everything said at the dinner table – “why should I again vote for the Green Party when TPM are more greatly connected to the environment and have a greater vested interest” hard to agrue with that sentiment 🤔
Bigger, heavier 'rivers in the sky' – like the atmospheric river that brought record rainfall to Auckland in January – are on the cards as the planet heats, the latest report on Aotearoa's climate says. Infectious diseases and pests will be more likely to spread, and it's "almost certain" (90 percent) new pests will become established here, especially as parts of the North Island became more suitable for sub-tropical species to thrive.
That is according to Statistics NZ and the Ministry for the Environment's Our Atmosphere and Climate 2023 report. .. based the current trajectory, where countries are tackling emissions but not fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global heating inside 1.5C-2C, Aotearoa can expect around another 1-1.3C of heating by 2050 on top of what it is already experiencing, it says.
That's an extremely adverse scenario for many countries – bad enough for here!
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Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It's been so exciting watching National & Labour do Trumpism at each other:
Yeah, but why would either party want informed voters?? Surely the system was designed for mass entertainment. As long as both teams provide it, democracy facilitates our corporate msm.
EU creates rules for AI:
The spectre of Big Sister looms. She will be recording your location and behaviour in the most public arenas of life in Aotearoa in x years, where x most likely lies in the range of 10-20 years. Are you concerned by this? X will be influenced by mass naughtiness – the more of that, the less x will become.
We're looking at the relation between potential and reality here. If necessary, adopt a Bohmian view: the universe produces reality from the realm of potential, so things happen naturally. Gaia provides our deep operational context, which physicists interpret on the basis of the potential/actual dyad, so we got solid ground for deep Green.
So our trending societal curve encompasses high tech, it's interface with politics, on the basis of natural philosophy. Recall that natural philosophy became science in the 19th century when the word scientist was invented (1838 I vaguely recall). The politics of AI gives Green politicians the opportunities to hit the inside lane – too bad they remain mired in pale/medium Green thinking…
New Guardian poll:
Labour's dead-cat bounce comes in at around 2/3%. Credit the PM for being gung ho.
They also reported this:
So you can see the will of the people: none of the above, thanks. We're quite happy milling around in the center of the paddock, doan wanna go nowhere…
"So you can see the will of the people: none of the above, thanks. We're quite happy milling around in the center of the paddock, doan wanna go nowhere…"
So you can see the will of the people (in aggregate); none of the above, thanks. We don't want to go where they are leading.
So. Who would you like to lead ? An honest question…as Ive seen mainly the other side of neutral..if not negative..on all of them ?
Edit : and by that I mean incl /also Labour and Nats etc etc : )
Thought that was self evident…there are two (major) parties, one of which will set the path the country will take for the follwing 3 years and neither of those is acceptable to the majority of the voting base.
The likes of the Greens and Act will slightly colour that direction but only slightly….and NZFirst is a middle finger to all of them.
They all have feet of clay.
Well….not quite so self evident as you presumed. And you still never said…
Ok. fair enough…I will take that as no one fits your criteria.
you appear to be getting it…but its not MY criteria, its a poll of the (potentially) voting public.
Yeah, a snap-shot of that in real-time. Proximity to voting day is the point they seem to be making. Yet even in this tight race, sheeple may stampede in reaction to any msm report of poll results.
The Soros reflexivity principle is at play in our democracy game. Just like Lange's market reef-fish spin on a dime.
Lol. I specifically asked you ! IMO Seems you would sooner snipe from a tower. At all the Political names.
Its a choice I suppose.
I will keep that in mind.
" I specifically asked you ! IMO Seems you would sooner snipe from a tower. At all the Political names."
I make no secret of that…and it would appear that the sentiment is quite widespread.
Non Partisan? Yeah Riight
Jim Grenon is another publicity-shy promoter.
And some others who are a bit shy about how much they are funding
The left block has 55 seats ACT National 54 NZ first with 11 seats.looks like no tax cuts.Guardian Poll.Big Drop for the right block if it plays out to be true.Winston will be wagging Nationals policy.
That's a fascinating bit from the Guardian poll. Without NZF, the left is ahead! This is by no means over, don't let yourselves be fooled that it is! ✊
I'm no great fan of Ryan Bridge but this morning on TV3 he did his job well.
The question was clear, the answers were not. Repeatedly asked to accept that 2 +2 is 4 not 5, Luxon did what he always does: bluster. Even Bridge got frustrated with the feeble non-answers.
Luxon is simply not up to the job. Win or lose, he'll be dumped by the Nats.
Election 2023: Christopher Luxon grilled by AM's Ryan Bridge on whether beneficiaries will be better off under National or Labour | Newshub
Absolutely. Chris Luxon seems increasingly more appalling as time goes on…
Win or lose, he has to go, be rolled by his own party. He with his shitty thinking on benefits and disability and also issues related to LGBTQIA+ and so on, has to go — absolutely.
He's just plain feckless.
Looks like Bridge so much wanted the satisfaction of knowing that beneficiaries would be worse off, that he forgot that Luxon couldn't say it out loud.
Strange take. Did you watch the interview? He wanted answers.
I did. My dislike of Bridge may have got the better of me though.
That dinosaur bit at the end was a bit weird… I heard Luxon say "Oh God", which is a bit blasphemous.
How the fuck can he pretend otherwise?
/boggle
Get
Our CountryUnearned LandLORD Income Back on TrackHow very National in deed – self-serving scammers absolutely in thrall to Mammon.
Luxon's "new favourite dinosaur"? "The TaxReliefosaurus" – except it's not new, is it Chris?
And put upward ‘pressure’ on landLORD income – Nat hands are ‘tied’ buy big donors.
Party Vote Green – https://www.greens.org.nz/ending_poverty_together
Could Labour's likely future leader get booted from parliament? Yes, according to Toby Manhire: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/11-10-2023/who-is-in-and-who-is-out-based-on-the-latest-polls-and-a-bit-of-guesswork
His comprehensive analysis looks like hard work done, so credit to him for not being lazy. Seems a sensible method too. If the voters remain consistent to that polling trend and McAnulty gets sent on a holiday Labour will seem bereft! I suspect though that their dead cat bounce will give him a lifeline.
[Mod note:
Yet again, your wheels are spinning on the slippery slope of your own concocted click bait. The relevant paragraph from your link is this:
In any case, Labour won’t seem as ‘bereft’ as NZF when they lost all their 9 MPs and got booted from Parliament altogether in 2020. Nice try though to stir up negative emotions in others.
In addition, you failed yet again to indicate that you had modified the text of your copypasta. This lazy and manipulative behaviour must stop.
No more warnings!]
Dennis… I don't enjoy reading your missives on this site because you frequently in your zeal to be critical of Labour etc, you forget to include the good sides of what it means to have a government like that in power.
It is pretty hardgoing under Labour, speaking as a disabled person on the benefit, yes, HOWEVER, it DOES NOT try to instil a culture of fear and hatred of beneficiaries compared to National and others.
Any serious type of left-wing thinking will have to take that into account.
I also do not like your missives (or similar missives by others) for another reason, it dampens anyone's enthusiasm for contributing to any momentum LAB/GRN/TPM might have.
An addition of GRN/TPM would make an immense amount of difference to people on benefits' lives, it's not even funny.
Have some heart and please stop stoking depression and fear in your posts.
Besides, I would take LAB/GRN/TPM everytime and anyday. It's truly needed for these times.
Well I sympathise but am sorry you feel that way when I simply write what my conscience requires me to write. I strongly believe realism is the best way to introduce common sense into political commentary. You could even describe my motivation as a sense of duty – to do public service via consciousness-raising.
What you need to do is accept responsibility for your feelings rather than blame someone else. Has it occurred to you that anyone can modify their feelings?
Stop being so condescending. RoG shared their lived experience as a part of a minority group (disabled person on a benefit) that has been absolutely demonised and trashed by the Right historically and through this election campaign. Who do you think you are, telling RoG to "accept responsibility for [their] feelings" – how about you accept responsibility for being patronising and quite frankly insulting? Also, stop positioning yourself as the world-weary voice of reason – it’s tiresome.
Get over yourself. Anyone who has suffered trauma has a natural right to acknowledge the same in others. Do try to get a grip, huh? You know, act like a human. You can do it if you try!
What a ridiculous comment. You clearly are angry and don't like being challenged. Does it threaten your fragile ego?
When people misread online discourse & imput characterisations onto others wrongly, those others will respond by pointing out those errors. The process is entirely natural. Identity politics.
It's just that you seem unwilling to factor in the effects on other readers when you personalise your commentary. It shifts the mood in the group mind towards discomfort, tediously. No valid cause for being offensive, negative consequences, so don't do it!
Dennis, it's obvious that
a) You were pontificating.
b) Rolling on Gravel (and others) expressed their disagreement with you and shared their experience of what life is like for a disabled person on a benefit under a Right versus Left Government.
c) You answered with a condescending reply to Rolling on Gravel.
d) I took you to task on it.
e) You responded with an angry reply to me.
f) I pointed out that you were angry and disliked being challenged.
g) You are now trying to other me by implying that my pointing out your defensiveness is negative and offensive.
Look, I understand that it's difficult when you've positioned yourself as the all-knowing voice of reason who is exercising their civic duty every time they comment. However, I have encountered this of style of debate before: someone who comes across as wise and avuncular until they are challenged, then they become spiteful and attempt to put the other person out on a limb. Your tactics here are transparent.
Have a great day, Dennis, and all the best in the lead-up to what looks to be a very interesting Election Day
I accept that you see things like that. No problem. However I must reiterate that it's a misread of reality. Again, no problem.
Such is typical leftism, and one encounters it onsite here often enough. As a radical centrist, I merely note the behaviour in passing, as if amateur sociology is worth doing. A controlled folly…
Thank you, RoG, for sharing your lived experience of what life is like under Labour as a disabled person on a benefit. As you point out, it's far from perfect, but unlike National, ACT, and NZ First, Labour do not scapegoat and stigmatise beneficiaries, disabled people, and other disadvantaged minority groups in society.
It's refreshing to hear your frank commentary compared with the pseudo-intellectual, contrarian, pontificating waffle you were responding to, and you're absolutely right—these posturing diatribes dampen down people's enthusiasm and motivation. It's really hard to understand why people describe themselves as coming from the Left when all they want to do is nitpick Labour (and, to a lesser extent, the Greens and TPM) this close to an election, when solidarity and momentum are so important!
I think a lot of these types of comments come from people who talk the talk but haven't walked the walk of hardship like you have. I have worked in the disability sector for nearly 20 years, and I commend you for sharing your experience and (hopefully) knocking some sense into these frustrating commenters
Sapphire,
Thank you so much for the fine work you're doing!
You sound pretty magnificent yourself.
Anyway, yeah, I speak because I have observed many times over the years how much the right-wing (and some bleaters) present a horrific picture of people who are beneficiaries that doesn't conform to a lot of known realities and are often malicious in nature.
Too often, like with Reagan and his infamous welfare queen stereotype in the 80s and from Paula Bennett and George Osbourne, this has meant that right-wing people stretch and imagine vile crap from one person (or even an imaginary person) to paint an ugly picture of all people who are on the benefit, even if sometimes they rhetorically say some people on benefits (disabled people etc) are deserving (which right-wing people rarely actually mean it in practice) and using the "mad and evil" version to sell to the easily stirred people which stokes hatred and apathy as our living standards are brutally (or slowly) cut down, often leading to more poverty and more desperation.
That's why I am so grateful for the election of Jacinda Ardern's Labour, even if I do have some issues with them, it's been a huge refreshing change compared to the National government and is an attempted continuity with the Clark Government (the best one in my lifetime 🙂 and yes I was on the benefit during it, even before the GFC)
This is exactly why I need Labour and Greens and Te Pati Māori to win, because that combo has the potential to be the materially best government in my lifetime, exceeding even the Clark Labour Government! 😀
RoG I sure ain't going to ask you to 'modify your feelings' and you have my total aroha and support for the tough life you lead. Your comments make a lot of sense.
"I would take LAB/GRN/TPM everytime and anyday. It's truly needed for these times."
+1,000 RoG
Out of the mouths of baby’s, when discussing the election one member of the family who the environment means everything said at the dinner table – “why should I again vote for the Green Party when TPM are more greatly connected to the environment and have a greater vested interest” hard to agrue with that sentiment 🤔
So you'll be voting tpm to then?
Absolutely agrue with that sentiment
Yep Green + Red = Brown
Powerful logic, that. Voters immediately think "shit!" Then, "well, there's good shit & bad shit, so it depends". Then they'll wonder on what.
Such mental exercises are healthy. Important to exercise the brain a little, when you're a mainstreamer. Ups the chances a brainwave could happen.
When I last saw Michael Franti (Spearhead) live here in Aotearoa, he enthusiastically referred to the crowd as his caramel cousins.
Caramel means the same as brown (or for some folk black) but is so much more attractive.
Another reason to prioritise resilience prioritising and planning: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/499887/climate-outlook-for-aotearoa-predicts-rivers-in-the-sky-heatwaves-in-the-sea
That's an extremely adverse scenario for many countries – bad enough for here!
New Zealand needs one of these.
https://www.shitrentals.org/
Rating rentals and landlords.
Thanks to First Dog on the Moon for bringing it to our attention.
Claire Trevett's commentary on why the polls should be giving National the night terrors: https://archive.ph/3XBGs
Should the RBNZ be independent, or should we bring it back under government control?
https://www.interest.co.nz/public-policy/124725/interest-rates-monetary-policy-always-political-central-banks-opt-back
Depends upon what type of government.
Would we want our central bank controlled by a corrupt and unaccountable administration?