Well if RNZ will not disturb the “sheeple” with “pesky facts”…try Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert who get stuck into Goldman Sachs and other banksters ( and more entertaining than RNZ)
* Goldman Sachs bankers are not happy with the way capitalism is going!…in particular they are not happy with Bernie Sanders but have paid Hillary Clinton $675,000 for speeches to end ‘banker bashing’.
* Via government political cronyism Goldman Sachs bought up social housing in Spain and on- sold for a profit! The people have been protesting. Need for a ‘Rule of Law’ to reign in banksters who are serial law breakers . Greece tried to take Goldman Sachs to court for cooking the books ( lessons for New Zealand)
*Ponzi schemes China / Wall Street /government…people questioning bankster tricks …alternatives to banksters tricks
* Max ice challenge Putin ….and plug for RT plugin
Riveting chooky. I think I need another me to take it all in. Perhaps I should go back to the caveman days where things were more straightforward and there was less to worry about, and you didn’t live long enough to do much worrying.
Having vacated the National Party propaganda wasteland of commercial radio and returned to RNZ in the mornings during breakfast I now find myself being treated to the business news theatre of the absurd.
Unfortunately it’s on at the time that I’m normally most active in the kitchen when I like to listen in to hopefully learn something about the country and the world I live in.
It’s like they are in an echo chamber as they blabber on about the money markets, share markets, share prices, profit forecasts, annual meetings of shareholders, blah blah blah …
What’s missing are what for me are the important bits – critical analysis, intelligent questioning and helping listeners gain insight.
As soon as I hear Giles Beckford or his clone now I switch the radio off until catching the news at 7am.
I find I’m distracted by whatever unspeakably awful thing is happening in the back of Giles’ throat. If he started ‘golluming’ it would be less disturbing.
Stephen Joyce’s argument seems to be based on bad mouthing Jane Kelsey.
When you are reduced to insults, rather than making reasoned evidence based points you are losing the argument.
Dildo Joyce’s “arguments” wouldn’t pass a Primary School test.
He says this, for example, “People like Jane Kelsey would roll back the China FTA, the Korean one, the South East Asia one, any one of them. Because they just really don’t like trade for ideological reasons. ” This is clearly wholly incorrect and he knows it but ignores it. No wonder politicians like him come to be loathed.
He also says this “There are those who say it sacrifices our sovereignty. Well, how can that be so? We have the sovereign right to withdraw from any trade agreement at any time. There is no one holding us to any of them. ”
Again, he makes no argument. Foreign business interests gain an increased stake in our law-making system. That is a change/sacrifice to our sovereignty. He completely ignores this.
Such a shallow man. His open letter gets a 1 out of 10 for fronting up to the real arguments.
You don’t do it with tea leaves silly. You build computer model projections with graphs that go up and down based on possible projections on a trend line blah blah Don’t forget the blah blahs. Most important.
One of the comments to Joyce by rosselliot (well down the comments page) tells how the ISDS can be circumvented by Phillip Morris or others.
“……the Most Favoured Nation provision which says that an enterprise from any of the signatories can pursue the government of any other signatory using the ISDS mechanism of ANY other trade deal that the target government has entered into. This means that provisions in the TPPA offering specific protections (eg from big tobacco, or of the Waitangi treaty) can be circumvented if that protection in missing from some other trade agreement. Following a defeat in the Australian courts, Philip Morris recently moved its Australian operation to Hong Kong so that it can sue the Australian Government over expected losses (indirect expropriation) from the plain packaging legislation using the ISDS of an Australia – Hong Kong treaty.”…..
That ianmac is a really BIG factor in the legislation that we should understand.
Each of of the clauses of the TPPA may seem straight forward or have some other aspect to it that needs understanding. Read through them all and think you understand all – but no – it comes with extras like the clause you have mentioned above.
Just reminded me of a bit of Oz black humour. John and Brian making the comedy series on the Oz Olympic Games where the 100 metres was actually less, came up with some wonderful double talk. The TPPA is the subject of such potent black humour that it would suck us into the TV screen and into a hole in space.
Clarke and Dawe
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD-W_pRkkP8
The problem the ADHB faces is but one real consequence of the current govt’s open tap immigration policy. While immigration is essential, no thought appears to have been given to the rate at which Auckland infrastructure can cope. It’s the people of Auckland who are left to pick up the pieces.
In terms of the official process, the National Interest Analysis (a biased sell job, prepared by MFAT) has been tabled in Parliament. It’s Our Future responded calling for evidence not spin.
MFAT is holding TPP Roadshows
MFAT says: “The roadshows will present the outcomes of the TPP negotiations. Members of the public are welcome. The roadshows will also help businesses prepare to take advantage of new opportunities presented by TPP’s entry into force. The morning session of each roadshow will provide an overview of TPP, and afternoon workshop sessions will have a more technical focus.
· Auckland, 7 March, Rendezvous Hotel, corner Mayoral Drive and Vincent St, Auckland Central
Registrations close on 1 March 2016. More roadshows will be held in other regional centres in the coming months. Locations are likely to include Hamilton, Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Palmerston North, Tauranga, and Whangarei. Updates will be published on this website, or you can contact tpp@mfat.govt.nz if you would like to register to be updated.”
It’s Our Future will provide fact sheets and questions for those who want to attend the meetings.
It seems to me that a lot of commentators on the TPP are missing an essential point: that this agreement is not, in fact, between twelve countries, but is between an amorphous global corporate entity and twelve nation states.
We are rightly concerned in this country with the ISDS association and 1600 litigious United States corporations, but the country of origin of those same corporations is largely irrelevant. Just as Phillip Morris transferred some of their office staff to Hong Kong in order to take advantage of an ISDS clause in an agreement between Australia and Hong Kong, so other corporates will do the same if it is in their interests.
The TPPA and TTIP are an attempt by the 1% elite to impose their authority on a globalised world where nation states will largely become irrelevant.
So, we are essentially engaged in a struggle for the type of world we would like our grandchildren to grow up in (always assuming that climate change doesn’t make all the above superfluous!)
TV Your comments re Philip Morris is the same one as @ 2.2 above. Pretty ominous isn’t it? Let alone Key saying a year or so again that NZ would not try plain packaging till after the Morris case in Australia.
Thus our Government scared to act for fear of ISDS. Won’t sue good ole NZ? Huh!
“It seems to me that a lot of commentators on the TPP are missing an essential point:”
I guess for me the corporate capture nature of the agreement is a given. There are others here who feel similarly. Interesting observation if it’s not being talked about.
Now that’s interesting. I hope some of the ts geeks can run an eye over it and comment.
One of the great things about modern technology is it’s ability to help us take a pulse on society, nearly instantaneously.
As Google Trends shows, starting during the protest and extending into the long weekend following, “tppa” was one of the most searched for terms in all of New Zealand. In fact, more people wanted Google to tell them what the heck the TPPA was than how to get from point A to point B (with “maps” being one of the top search key words, this is a pretty big win).
Second, and perhaps more interesting is how the spike for “tppa” searches is much higher than that which is for “tpp” searches. The reason that’s interesting is the NZ government and media often refer to the Trans-Pacific Partnership as “TPP”, while protest groups almost universally call it the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (“TPPA”). So if you want to know who is winning the media war, this chart shows it all. The score is 5 to 1, and the people on the streets waving the anti-TPPA signs are winning.
There is absolutely no connection between his data and his conclusion. You can either take the word of someone who works professionally in online data analysis and who makes his living from interpreting Google activity stats that it’s meaningless, or put your fingers in your ears.
Oh fuck off. You can expect me to mind read (comment one), or expect me to take your word for it, because (comment two), but this is a political debate space that requires people to be meaningful in their communication or get slammed.
take the word of someone who works professionally in online data analysis and who makes his living from interpreting Google activity stats that it’s meaningless
I like analysis work that isn’t meaningless. If I thought my role served no purpose, I’d feel guitly taking money to do it.
q and a currently running on reddit
“So we’re here today to answer your questions about everything TPP—the secret negotiating process, our analysis of the provisions, and how this agreement is a corporate wish list for big multinational companies. We’re here to share what we know about this agreement so you can help us stop it.”
Those of us answering questions today:
Evan Greer (Fight For the Future) – evangreerfftf
Ilana Solomon (Sierra Club) – IlanaS
Lori Wallach (Public Citizen, Global Trade Watch) – LWallach
Maira Sutton (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – mairaEFF
Meghan Sali (Open Media Canada) – om_meghan
Steven Knievel (Public Citizen, Global Access to Medicines) – citizen_steve
Pro TPP commenter
“I understand trade opponents don’t like gross foreigners, but we haven’t lost any ISDS suits because we generally are fair and don’t discriminate.”
Anti TPP response
“This is not necessarily the case. Oftentimes before a case even goes into arbitration an offending law or public policy is changed.”
Another interesting comment from Maira Sutton (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – mairaEFF in the q and a session.
Does it make sense that the TPP obligates countries to make it a crime to tinker with or jailbreak your phone, car, or any number of digital devices? Does it make sense that you can be sent to jail or sentenced to pay debilitating fines for sharing a file for no financial motivation, that did not even impact the commercial interests of the artist or the copyright holder? Just as I think legislative riders are dishonest, I think it’s utterly disingenuous to put these sort of policies in a “trade” agreement.
Does anyone know if or when deputy mayor and mayoral candidate, Justin Lester, (running on the Labour ticket) plans to declare a conflict of interest, as an avid promoter of both residential and commercial development when he sits on the executive of the NZ Property Council – the lobby group for residential and commercial property developers and owners?
I spent the last year battling with the developer of the neighbourhood where I live and and the WCC over breaches of consent and ongoing anti social and criminal behaviour by development staff and their contractors. The criminal aspects were handled in a sub standard way by the Police, which of course is nothing to with the WCC however despite meeting with council officials and managers and trying to get Justin Lester on side, as he is the councillor in our ward, nothing was resolved, there were no apologies and life on the development continued in a toxic way.
The only answers I got was “my hands are tied” and “it fits with the district plan”.
I discovered there is a questionable relationship between developers and the WCC One other conflict of interest in relation to that managers connection with a developer (former husband) was declared but nothing yet from Justin Lester?
It’s very important this is known to the citizens before they vote given the ongoing mass scale development of the northern suburbs (both MDH and regular housing) and the planned MDH projects in existing burbs. It’s highly inappropriate that Justin Lester is chairing community meetings on this topic when people don’t know he sits on the executive of the Wellington branch of the NZ Property Council.
Hi Rosie – sounds like par for the course. The subdivision concerns and compliance problems you are experiencing exist in pockets throughout the Wellington City. The Council planners and compliance staff maintain very unhealthy relationships with some developers (and their ex-Council advisors). These parties have become very adept at joining forces to game the RMA and District Plan and at over-riding the legitimate (and legal?) expectations of local communities. Ratepayers now routinely have to finance Court proceedings to have restraints put on the excesses of speculators. As for Justin Lester, it seems at best, he has a tenuous grip on ethical matters. Demonstratively, he has no difficulty in expecting ratepayers to subsidise any big ideas that are proposed by the private investment and commercial sectors and has no qualms about increasing inter-generational debt without clear recourse to competent independent business cases. Unfortunately, the Deputy Mayor is probably representative of a number of the current Wellington City Councillors.
“The Council planners and compliance staff maintain very unhealthy relationships with some developers (and their ex-Council advisors). ”
Exactly. I won’t name the high up planning manager of the ex wife developer but he has been there since 2000 (You may be able to guess) and all the consents for this area went through while he was married to the developer. All on a non notified basis, just an absolute carte blanche approach. He has at least declared a conflict of interest.
Regarding the compliance staff. It’s a real worry. I don’t have anything to pin on them but their shrill defensiveness of the developers, and the way council gossip gets back to me via other officers, in my on going dealing with them, creates suspicion about their links with these particular developers.
“Demonstratively, he has no difficulty in expecting ratepayers to subsidise any big ideas that are proposed by the private investment and commercial sectors and has no qualms about increasing inter-generational debt without clear recourse to competent independent business cases.”
The convention centre is a good example of the above. We are a single income household with a huge mortgage. I’m ok to do my bit and fund projects such as social housing upgrades, infrastructure upgrades and community events but I draw the line at funding private business for a venture that has no sound business case put forward as yet and we already have adequate venues.
And I’m a Labour voter. How can I be expected to vote for a candidate who openly champions private business over and above the needs of the people of the city?
Their argument is that we need more houses. I don’t think they have taken a trip to the northern burbs to see all the farmland gobbled up for housing over the last five years, and the sea of roofs that exist in the place of that former farmland.
The affordability argument is flawed too. All thats selling around here is houses in the average of the $730K range. The MDH housing, one project in particular has only sold 2 overpriced tiny 2 bdr units on no land, out of 30 units, in one and half years. You will pay $494K for one of these units.
So, the people are not benefiting from this development. Only the WCC and the developers.
…”Stating that Clinton went above the heads of Pentagon generals when it came to Libya, he wrote: “Libya has been destroyed. It became a haven for ISIS. The Libyan national armory was looted and hundreds of tons of weapons were transferred to jihadists in Syria.”
He went on to state that Clinton did not learn from her mistakes, and set out to repeat history in Syria.
“Having learned nothing from the Libyan disaster Hillary then set about trying do the same in Syria. Hillary’s war has increased terrorism, killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians and has set back women’s rights in the Middle East by hundreds of years,” he wrote.
Referring to a CBS interview with Clinton in 2011, Assange expressed his disgust with her after she became “wild-eyed” and “publicly took credit for the destruction of the Libyan state,” gloating that “We came, we saw, he (Muammar Gaddafi) died!”
“In the momentary thrill of the kill, she had aped, of all people, Julius Caesar,” Assange wrote.
He concluded by saying that Clinton “shouldn’t be let near a gun shop, let alone an army. And she certainly should not become president of the United States.”…
That statement alone would make it impossible for me to vote for Hillary Clinton if I lived in the US. In a statesperson, it betrays jaw-dropping vulgarity, and if someone wants to say that Gaddafi was no angel himself, well so what, that is not invitation to abandon our own standards of respectfulness. Moreover, her indifference to the blood bath over which she has presided betrays a callous indifference to those outside of her own circle. Along with her vile statement about Gaddafi, it suggests a belief that such callousness shows political maturity, with “the courage to make the hard calls” being its hallmark, so long as the attendant suffering falls on others.
Gaddafi was certainly no angel, but he had created a socialist state with one of the highest per capita income in all of Africa. Free education, free healthcare, women professors in universities and women ministers in his government.
Hilary and co. fucked all of that, quite deliberately, for oil, and to eliminate a threat to US financial hegemony as Gaddafi had plans to trade oil for a gold backed currency.
Now we have a failed state in northern Africa, a source of arms for the Syrian conflict (theory is that the CIA was involved in channeling Gadaffi’s military caches to anti-Assad fighters in Syria, hence the US debacle in Benghazi), and a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists.
Nothing shows an attachment to the political/corporate establishment that goes beyond all decency like the compulsion to bring home new scalps for them, whatever mayhem and destruction this involves.
(CNN)Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, combined to earn more than $153 million in paid speeches from 2001 until Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign last spring, a CNN analysis shows.
In total, the two gave 729 speeches from February 2001 until May, receiving an average payday of $210,795 for each address. The two also reported at least $7.7 million for at least 39 speeches to big banks, including Goldman Sachs and UBS, with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic 2016 front-runner, collecting at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks.
You would destroy an entire country and the lives of millions of Libyans, AFTER Gaddafi had agreed to all international reparations over that incident?
Just remember, the US has shot down an Iranian airliner before.
You explained that well Olwyn. It seems a valid point about Hilary Clinton’s thinking and behaviour. It does seem that to rise to the top in leaderhip among the powerful most have soaked in the koolaid so are immune to any sensitivities of good, ethics and just basic human decency, and women have to be especially conditioned.
Luckily in NZ we have had Jeanette Fitzsimons as a stand out example of the opposite to that, and there are others in the Greens, with wide understanding and principles. Also no doubt in Labour, and Maori Party, Mana….I think I read someone praising one of the USA politicians.
“Clinton is hoping that she doesn’t meet the same fate, and she probably won’t, but the scale of her defeat in New Hampshire was quite a thing to behold. This is where the particulars of who is running begins to matter very much. She lost to Sanders in virtually every demographic category, including women—and the mix of voters who powered her 2008 victories deserted her as well. Young voters went for Sanders by a crushing 84-15 margin. Most damning, 91 percent of Democrats who told pollsters that their top concern was honesty and trustworthiness voted for Sanders. Those are bruising, brutal numbers.”
Too late for Fran and her Shrilling. Business readers clearly not reading the herald anymore. Their most popular list today shows no news readers are going to the herald news anymore! No one getting “NZ” news from there either, by the look of it!
In their no 1 Liam Neesons new girlfriend
no 2 A storm
no 3 freezing night in bush – talked to dog
no4 Taylor Swift ‘freaked out’ on NZ beach
No5 10 year old modelling deal
Couldn’t happen to a worse propaganda publication!
The image is an example of a Reubens vase illusion, which amuses me for many reasons. Also – two faces on opposite sides. Black and white issues that are more complex than they seem. It depends how you look at stuff. Interesting things emerging in the space between left and right. All good fun.
I’m interested in others views on this – i’m just not sure where i sit with this
“The authority hosted a workshop last week with DOC, Tourism New Zealand, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to start brainstorming ways to address the impacts on conservation from increasing tourism.
A key topic was considering ways to charge tourists so that taxpayers or DOC did not have to foot the bill for managing more tourism on conservation land.
Options included charging for car parking, a border tax, or fees to access national parks.”
Have a $2 tourist charge on accommodation – they do this a lot overseas.
Or a small charge on entering the country.
a TXT amount you can call on your phone to donate $3 for the national park.
Thought tourists were supposed to help the economy not take money away!!
That is what all these neolibs don’t understand. You might benefit in one area of gain but it is negative in another.
One thing to think of though. Is that NZ is obsessed with user pays. It is getting ridiculous if you live here. Try not to drive away the tourists too with too many charges.
Agreed with the last statement especially – tourists pay GST and excise taxes for services they don’t really use (other than roads and other transport infrastructure), so it’s not like they aren’t paying taxes.
Don’t have parking charges!!! NZ governments and businesses obsessed with them.
You can’t even shop in the main cities anymore in Auckland, have a relaxed coffee or visit a friend without having to pay some ridiculous charge for parking. 10 years ago made the mistake of watching Lord of the Rings and parked at Aotera car park in Auckland City. When I got the bill thought it was for the whole day as some sort of penalty as it was more than the movie, something like $17 for the parking for 3 hours. How much is it now I wonder for 3 hours parking???? $50??
Not only that, took my child to a local hospital for a check and was there 1 hour. Cost me $4 for parking for the ‘free’ check. Wondered how many kids don’t get to their appointments because families can’t afford to park at the hospital and how much time is wasted for doctors because of this. And how much more it costs the health system when people can’t afford to go to the hospital for check ups due to parking charges.
Yep health is technically free, but with NZ user pays, $money for parking, $money for prescriptions, $money for A&E, I got charged $49 for a kids doctors appointment the other day. Yep really believe in the kids free doctors visits… read the fine print… only in some areas… Got charged $125 for taking my family to A&E to check for measles last year. Only wanted to get a blood test for one member who was going to fly (the blood test was free) but the centre went crazy and charge us all $125. We only needed to visit to get the paperwork for the ‘free’ blood test for one member. Nope none of us had measles – and I would think twice about going there again to check. This is how epidemics startI
All the ‘free’ stuff in NZ is so expensive though a process where some business has been sold rights to exploit the public.
Most people are short of time and want to just take their kids to the doctor & A&E closest to them not have some sort of research on charges!!
The GST thing for tourists is a tricky thing for us retailers. It’s payable (the sale goes on the income side of our GST return) on all goods and services delivered in NZ. If we deliver outside NZ, as in ship the goods to the customer’s home, the amount becomes zero rated and is deducted from our total income. On higher value items the GST more than covers the courier, so our zero rated can be significant.
The airport duty free is airside, so technically outside NZ. The AIA link is quite misleading in saying that’s the only way to not pay GST.
It seems well accepted now by tourists that they pay GST, I haven’t been asked for a GST receipt for ages. Often they are quite complementary about it and find it a painless way making the wheels go round. Not having this tax and that added on is appreciated.
The hard part is getting central government to spend it back in the tourist areas.
We often stay in DOC camps….being semi permanent Bus dwellers… and we pay an annual fee to stay at the vehicle accessible camps in our vehicles through the NZMCA. Our pass does not apply during the busy holiday season.
What disappoints us is that many overseas vehicle based travelers seem to think that the DOC camps are free. They know they have to pay…because they will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid payment.
The only way to avoid this non -payment is to charge the buggers when they enter the country.
Me…I’d make it a $200 per head charge. Give ’em a DOC Pass and let ’em go for it.
Charge tourists, yes (I’d prefer at point of entry or at the rental vehicle/accommodation point rather than putting another layer of infrastructure in to get people going into National Parks). But the real issue is that we’ve passed capacity not just of infrastructure but of space and meaning, and the only solution to that is to cap numbers. If we don’t, then we are sacrificing the very nature of the National Parks that we value.
In that article they talk about Milford Sound. From what I remember DOC in the past recommended a daily cap on numbers. Sounds like that was never done. It should be, with an allocation kept for Kiwis.
Of course, this means that NZ has to stop considering tourism a perpetual growth resource, it’s not. It’s finite. The idea of another million international tourists per year is ridiculous. Yes we can charge them and build more infrastructure but what that does is develop the wilderness and we should be resisting that as much as we can.
It’s the same old thing, worship of the almighty dollar over what is real and sustaining. And going for the cheap and damaging buck instead of using our brains and generating more income out of less but more targeted tourism. These aren’t new ideas, it’s just not enough people are saying no to the chance of making more dosh than they need. Another thing neoliberalism has to answer for.
I remember hearing about Venice. Beautiful, fascinating, sinking city built on mudflats or reed islands or something, and then they have a rising tide. Their main square is flooded in high tides. The Pacific Islands should visit them for ideas, two different worlds with similarities.
Venice was suffered from bus loads of impecunious young tourists who lay around in the sunshine, visited all the free spots of high historic value, littered and didn’t frequent their businesses. The cost was too high for the Venetians, I think they did something to limit it. The backpackers were probably of the sort that I struck in the 1970s. Trying to get by on the cost of cheap transport and two burgers and a bottle of water a day. And they can become skilled con people in getting others to pay for them. Gypsies got a bad name for being too quick on the take, but they have a lifetime of being separate and living from day to day. Many of these young tourists in the 70’s came from wealthy homes, lacking nothing, but would bargain the pants off someone who really needed their buck, and then no doubt skite at home how they travelled on $20 a day.
Our go go moneymakers are so stoked about upping our tourists. Soon they will pay us to leave our homes and live on the Auckland Islands so they can fit more tourists in. A Southern Seas Highland-clearing venture. Get those NZ sheeple out of their cottages and send them far, far away so we can pack tourist sheep in and fleece them.
edited
The Milford visitor cap came out at the top of last cycle (and it might have had an outing at the cycle before) when the issue was getting operators to stump up for more / better facilities. Worked, then cycle went through and numbers dropped down. Then the excess demand was from bus tours.
Now it’s from independent travellers in cars and campervans so there’s not really a small group of operators who can be targeted to fund better facilities. This one’s predominantly landing on DOC’s budget.
One thing that can be done is to remove the impunity that visitors have to infringement fees and fines. At present vehicle hirers refuse to pay these of pass them on, saying they can’t. Visitors also escape fines and other court orders by leaving the country, although judges are waking up to this. QLDC’s outstanding parking fines go well into millions alone.
Allowing agencies to effectively recover these infringement fees through hirers, or at the border as they leave, would go a long way to moderating behaviour.
What we want is to stop the behaviour. So charge them somehow before they go in like a deposit on a key, when they come out with no bad news attached to them, give them it back less a $20 admin fee but then use that to give them a free souvenier of NZ, nice photo book, or a pendant that they can wear or something. It would help to form a good reciprocal feeling between tourist and NZ, enjoying and conserving the country together.
And i want them charged for an insurance against having to be rescued, and if they do need a rescue then a small payment to those involved, even just paying for their petrol and a cup of coffee. Tourists can be such bleeders instead of adding value to the community.
The freeloaders DOC and councils have to deal with have seen other get away with not paying fees, fines or infringements. They know there are no consequences, social media broadcasts this loud and clear.
As for SAR costs, yes, attempts are made to recover costs. It helps if ACC become involved because that brings their travel insurance into play. But the big ones are still allowed to leave the country. Unless Police issue a warrant they can just walk on the plane.
News of a detour to the cells until payment has been made will soon get around and behaviour and compliance will improve. But I gather there needs a bit of legislative adjustment to allow this.
I just hope Bernie wins, to chuck out TPPA. I think if Trump wins he’s chucking it out too.
Left and Right united!!
Yep, Little needs to get up to speed real quick. Can you imagine the debate before election with Key goading Labour about their weird stance on TPPA. Yep, Shearer supports it and Goff support it like National and Little supports it enough not to pull out but to ignore it and renegotiate it. Yep will make Little and Labour like like idiots and untrustworthy and not capable of running the economy.
If they can’t get rid of TPPA for the right reasons like most of the population are against it and it is a terrible deal with huge risks for NZ, then at least go with the marketing argument – Labour looks stupid in debates with their odd stance and may lose credibility in the election.
Someone get the anti neoliberal brainwashing squad to use rendition to free up the Labour party of their cult like members to Rogernomics?
“If they can’t get rid of TPPA for the right reasons like most of the population are against it and it is a terrible deal with huge risks for NZ, then at least go with the marketing argument – Labour looks stupid in debates with their odd stance and may lose credibility in the election.”
Try telling them that saveNZ. Listening to Grant Robertson’s regular Thursday morning radio interview this morning, and he was, again, asked about the ambiguity of their position on the TPPA.
His response with my paraphrasing (because this morning ages ago) was “I know a lot of people are wanting us to say we’re either for or against. I always say we are a party of free trade but this is not like any other trade deal we’ve seen…………..” then I thought I heard him say something like “we vote on the TPPA as an omnibus (?) but then there are parts that we do support that are beneficial to NZer’s like the lifting of tariffs in some areas”
and ” What we feel about this agreement is sorrow. For most people they feel anger but for us it is sorrow”.
After he got off air the DJ said to the scoop editor “So I’d call that a bob each way”.
I think this is how it will always be for them, it will never be a defining yes or no, no matter how strong the voice of the public and their membership may be. I don’t know if they realise they are risking a lot by continuing to plough through with their fingers crossed that everything will be ok and that they must stick to their free trade guns.
They may think they are being true to their principles but there are other higher principles at stake, like the need of the public for them to be definitively clear on this or risk losing the next election because they are exposed to attack by the nats and like you say, at risk of losing credibility.
They would prefer to lose the election for themselves and split the votes for the left than to actually grow a brain and do something electable.
Hello even the right wing world bank has said TPPA does not deliver anything economically (or at least below margin of error in 25 years or something).
Whoever is feeding Labour the line – “we believe in free trade therefore we can’t say NO to TPPA” for the media are stupid and probably influenced by the Natz. This is an agreement to sign or not sign. It is not a debate about free trade. The deal does not deliver. period. It will lose 6000 jobs. It will increase medicine. It will increase copywrite times. It will mean NZ could be sued. It undermines the NZ people.
But Labour, still not sure about it.
sigh.
I guess someone fed Labour the line that if they did not agree surveillance without a warrant then ISIS might rush out and get them and then the public might blame Labour.
If they don’t agree the TPPA then someone might accuse them of not being for trade.
Labour just look like trembly naive frightened party that can’t stand on its two feet and is arrogant and out of touch.
National are a unscrupulous corrupt party that will sign anything for a photo op and a donation. Their strategy seems to be, party hard for their mates, run up a huge bill for the country and then leave individually rich while gaming the system via their mates at MSM and public relation hounds. (who they are destroying at the same time).
They would prefer to lose the election for themselves and split the votes for the left than to actually grow a brain and do something electable.
Well I am glad you are saying this now, saveNZ, because every time I make these comments Labour Loyalists come out of the wood work and call me names for stating the bleeding obvious.
Well summed up savenz (and the chairman and CV below on both posts).
You know, you get a glimmer of hope, like Labour announcing the free tertiary education policy, something so deeply beneficial to all, and a return to their roots but it all goes up in a puff of smoke because of that massive dark TPPA cloud hovering above. I agree, they are completely out of touch and inward looking.
Kind of like the return of the X Files. “I want to believe”. But it isn’t happening.
Labour’s failure to commit to withdrawing comes at a risk to the Party while presenting an opportunity for NZ First or the Greens.
There are a good number of voters opposed to the TPP, thus, by taking a harder line, there will be votes to be won.
This hard line position (opposed to Labours bob each way) could see Labour taking a further hit, while pushing one of the other two into the forefront. To become the leading opposition Party.
Voters are tiring of Labour’s National lite position.
Their handling of the TPP will impact negatively IMO.
Labour will continue to express their discontent loudly in an attempt to appease the left (yet they won’t commit to withdrawing) but the left are starting to see straight through this ploy.
They’ve seen Labour do it before, surveillance bill, welfare reform, etc… Ultimately, it’s going to end up costing Labour.
I will say this, I’d rather have Little say hes either for it or against it not because I’m for it or against it (I’m somewhat on the fence about it) because then I at least know what hes thinking
As I have been saying, Little and Labour are being thoroughly insincere about their position.
There are even people on The Standard hoping against hope that Little has some special secret legal interpretation of the TPP which will justify why he is sitting on the fence.
Personally I think its because Labour is a party of the anglo power establishment.
Indeed. And Goff and Shearer were roundly criticised here at TS. CV’s hatred of Labour is irrational and not based on a desire to see the party improve. It’s simply passive aggressive bullshit. Nobody in Labour listens to him, which winds him up. Failed candidate, failed coup leader, failed branch leader.
All he’s got left is posting negative bollocks here, which is occasionally applauded by TS commenters from the right and from the Labour hating left. It’s sad that he is reduced to abusing the party and the fine, fine people who make up its membership.
It’s clearly hypocritical that he stays a member of a party he loathes, though it’s a credit to Labour that his ongoing membership is not under threat. But then Labour’s always been on the side of those doing it tough.
” … he took it upon himself to bring about improvements.”
Cite needed! CV is entirely negative, which is understandable given that he has failed over many years to convince anyone within Labour to take his rubbish seriously. Within Labour it’s a reasonably easy process to get ‘improvements’ in policy or rules discussed and agreed. You’ve just got to have a reqsonable argument, convince your fellow branch members to support it, then speak to it at regional and national conferences or policy council. That’s democracy. It works well if you’ve got a good policy that resonates with members.
Being a self obsessed wanker on a website doesn’t work quite so well, but that’s what he’s reduced to. Seriously, would you have someone in your favourite sports club who spent every waking moment publicly rubbishing the club, it’s ethos, administrators and members?
I help run a footy club and every couple of seasons we have to deal with a bitter player who is past their best, won’t listen to the coach because they think they know better and try to poison other players against the club. We move them on nicely, generally trying to find them another club where their ‘special talents’ might be appreciated. But we get them out fast because poisoning the well hurts all the players.
Personally, I think the LP member we know as CV wants to be expelled so he can experience the masochistic thrill of being a martyr. If that’s the case he should just say so and I’ll help bring it about.
I was referring to his personal effort – i.e. his candidacy, branch leadership etc… thus his pro-activeness.
Not many members are prepared to put themselves up for candidacy to bring about change. Therefore, I respect him for that.
I don’t find him to be self obsessed. But some seem to be obsessed with him.
Labour is not a sports club. It’s a political party and like any political party should be able to withstand having their position challenged.
However, in saying that, I concur some associate being a member of a political party with being in a sports club, thus find it difficult accepting criticism of their own team.
No worries, it’s OK if you don’t get the point, but it might help if you remember sports clubs and political parties are both voluntary associations who expect reasonable behaviour from members.
You could also think of it in employment terms if it will help. How long would keep a staff member who spent all day going on social media bagging their workplace and workmates?
It’s really simple; if you can’t work within the organisation and actively run the organisation down, you should not be a member of that organisation. A person of principle would leave. A hypocrite would stay.
I got your point. However, I didn’t find it valid. While the two are both voluntary associations, a political party is not a sports club. Therefore, should able to withstand having their position challenged.
As for your other analogy, an astute employer would first ascertain if the criticism being made is valid.
In CV’s case, while I can’t speak for his overall intention, I believe he often makes valid points.
Nope, you’re apprently still missing the point. I guess that’s probably deliberate on your part as it’s not hard to understand.
As for your astute employer, even if, as in your example, some valid points were being made, the method chosen to make those points would lead to warnings, then dismissal. There can’t be many bosses or workers left in NZ who don’t understand that bagging your joband workmates in public is career limiting, but you may be an exception.
Nope I got it alright. Moreover, this (below) is why it continues to fall apart.
While the delivery method chosen is not considered acceptable in most jobs, political blogs are another kettle of fish.
Political blogs strengthen our democratic process. They are where politicians, the general public and party members can openly converse and express their ambitions, ideas, concerns, disappointment or discontent.
Additionally, from what I gather, CV has attempted to bring about change from the channels within. You conceded above no one took him seriously.
Seriously? I’m not sure all political blogs enhance democracy. The largest one (allegedly) took money to help destroy democracy 😉
But again, you miss the point. This behaviour is not acceptable just because the organisation concerned is a political party. It would be entirely weird if it was. When you ask to join an organisation, whatever kind it is, sports, work, politics, you agree to abide by the rules of the organisation. If you find you don’t like it there, you leave.
Having an ongoing public tanty because you can’t convince enough people of the strength of your ideas is seriously bad form. The LP is democratic and it’s really not hard to get ideas into remit form and discussed at branch, LEC, regional or national level. But the ideas have to be good, have to gain popularity and, ultimately, have to get majority support in a vote.
CV has not got anywhere, failing to get beyond the branch level. So now, he’s saying fuck democracy, it’s all about me.
Like a number of things of benefit, they can also be misused.
Overall, they’ve been of benefit boosting political discussion, the sharing of ideas, concerns and different perspectives, thus strengthening our democratic process.
This is where we once again disagree You see CV’s behaviour as an ongoing political tanty. I see him often making valid points on ongoing political policy and positions.
As for getting ideas into remit, a number of those new ideas and supporting arguments could have quite possibly stemmed from comments made on a political blog.
Those ‘valid points’ are consistently in opposition to the party of which he is a member. Nothing positive, all negative.
Do you see the problem? He won’t work inside the party and instead exclusively attacks the party. There’s no way round this, it actually is an ongoing tanty.
And to repeat, it’s to Labour’s immense credit that despite his visceral hatred of everything Labour stands for, he is still allowed to be a member. Mind you, the party needs every dollar it can get, so that could be why he’s still on the books 😉
Labour’s positioning often leaves supporters (and potential coalition partners) finding themselves in opposition with the party.
Which, of course, is a major problem. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the party’s position is challenged from within and from the left overall, which, generally I don’t see as an attack.
I’m surprised (as are a number of others) Labour were so forgiving of Goff and Shearer’s misbehaviour.
Their opposition to the party’s position was reported within hours of Little stating he opposed the TPP. Undermining Little, the party’s TPP position and the perception of a united party. Moreover, giving Key the ammo to fire at Little the other day.
People were even more surprised Little was prepared to risk losing support for his own position (as party leader) for the sake of going soft on the both of them.
I don’t think Little was soft on Shearer, just the opposite, really. Shearer had to go and apologise to caucus. That does not happen often, especially to ex-leaders.
Goff’s position was different because he approached caucus asking for dispension and only spoke after it was granted. At least he followed a process.
Shearer got the wet bus ticket punishment, and was ultimately vindicated by Little as Labour will clearly stay inside the TPP now matter how shite it turns out to be.
The fact Little won’t commit to withdrawing if Labour fails to win changes will result in more party supporters questioning Labour’s sincerity, thus their continued support of the party.
Labour remembers its glory days of the bold rise from the Depression, and are prepared to let us sink to those levels so they can rise again like the Second Coming, or the golden phoenix, and dazzle NZ and have their photos hung on every, nearly, wall like Mickey Savage’s. (I have one owned by my elderly aunt or socialist miner uncle.)
“The guy said ‘I’ve said to you before, you don’t come here, you ring St Lukes Mental Health. This is how it is, you don’t come to hospital every time you are suicidal’,” says Lynda.
“But we’d been ringing St Lukes for more than a month. They never helped. After that, I think he just had enough.”
On 17 August, Warren asked Lynda to go to the supermarket to get him some chocolate, leaving him under the supervision of his grandmother. When she arrived home he was dead.
Lynda says: “The mental health team rang on Monday to ask how Warren had gone over the weekend and mum answered ‘well he didn’t, he took his life’.”
Auckland District Health Board has since apologised in a letter for their substandard care, she says.
“I don’t think they’ve learnt, though, or our suicide rate wouldn’t be so high. I don’t think help is out there for these kids.”
Our health services across the board are breaking down due to lack of funding but we really do need to increase the provision of mental health services.
I think a lot of these people with depression need to talk things out of their heads and find ways to see a better future for themselves. But I understand that gummint thinks that talking therapy is too expensive, and they are more likely to give pills instead that stop you thinking. It isn’t a big step to have a vague thought like what’s it all about anyway if this is all there is for me. The human psyche can only take so many whacks before it subsides.
+100 greywarshark…”I think a lot of these people with depression need to talk things out of their heads and find ways to see a better future for themselves”
given the shortage of psychiatric trained professionals….maybe many lay people ( eg. retired) could be trained to act as listening counsellors ( an extension of Lifeline or Youthline)…at places designated sounding posts ….mind you it would be demanding
…ooops isnt this what Relationships Aotearoa used to do?!!!
Question: …are we seeing the results of jonkey Nactional axing
counselling services?
i note also the young guy was crazy about cars but didnt have a driving license, which is essential for access to jobs
this jonkey Nact government has made it very difficult and expensive for young people to get a driving license, especially if they have solo parents or unemployed parents or just working parents
imo this government has young peoples’ hopes and dreams dashed.
out of affordable reach for many youth is tertiary education, housing, driver’s licenses, jobs , mental health and counselling services …they are trapped
chooky
The present governments don’t have aspirations to help people be prepared so they can do well in life. That’s too much trouble, they don’t care, they can buy what they want, and what others want, actually need, is a matter of no concern.
It’s not a country going forward together. it’s a bunch of very rich dudes presiding over a society with a number of fairly rich dudes, and they are all so cosy together. The rest can slot in where they can find a key that will open the door to better things, or make do.
Thats tragic Draco. A potentially avoidable death. It really does pain me that we don’t treat mental illness with the same level of care and resources that we do for physical illness, even it those resources are dwindling over the years.
I hope that Chris Trotter does not resent me copying a number of paras from his recent piece on the latest political Table Talk at the Ika Bar in Auckland. He gives a sketch of Matthew Hooton which is very revealing, very thorough. Chris’ judgment is sound I think. As Matthew drops in her to add his unfailing wisdom quite often, it is good to have a wider viewpoint of his propensities.
Those skirmishing skills were displayed to considerable effect from the get-go on Tuesday night (9/2/16) when Hooton accused the writer of seeing the 4 February anti-TPPA demonstrations as “the beginning of a revolution”. It is precisely this acidic mixture of smile and sneer that makes Hooton such a formidable opponent. That, and his ability to master a complex political brief very quickly and then fashion it into a political argument that is at once simple and subtle. Hooton, when he’s in control of himself, is both a superb manipulator of the truth and a master at identifying his opponents’ weak spots.
Out of control, Hooton can be rabid. One of the reasons the numbers were down for Ika’s first Table Talk for 2016 was that many people simply refused to be in the same room as the man who has constantly and viciously impugned the integrity of Professor Jane Kelsey. This penchant for abusing progressive New Zealanders publicly has turned Hooton into something of a hate figure, and it seriously undermines his political credibility. If he ever learns to control it, he will instantly become an even more deadly opponent of the Left….
… What distinguishes the Left from the Right is its belief that the world should be – and can be made – a better place. Against all the contrary evidence that the cynics and trimmers delight in throwing in their path, the world’s progressives must somehow continue to muster the faith, hope and love to continue fighting. That’s why Laila Harré’s gatherings at the Ika Seafood Bar & Grill are so valuable. They provide an opportunity for the beleaguered Auckland Left to recommit itself to a more just and equal future….
Chris uses a theme drawn from a Nietzsche saying that persons fighting dragons must watch that the result is not that they become dragons themselves, and queries that affect on Labour. Thoughtful and entertaining writing, Chris shouldn’t be missed.
edited
I think it’s a mistake to have Hooton at such things. His involvement in dirty politics means he is tainted as a matter of course and giving him a left wing venue to practice his manipulation in is just wrong. Likewise in neutral settings like RNZ. He should be pilloried not invited along for dinner and entertainment and good vibes. There are plenty of right wing people around to have in such a discussion without using ones that are being paid to damage the left at any opportunity they get.
Agree with Weka. Think it is a mistake to have Hooton at these events. Can’t the left just have a normal debate without PR people paid to support whatever? Not wonder the discourses are so limited.
In addition can’t remember but Fran O’Sullivan was also invited to one of those events could be the Dotcom thing. Why????
Prefer to see real journos with proper research that don’t sell out at those events.
Now the more hard-headed leftists amongst us would no doubt say that Tuesday’s Table Talk was an important wake-up call for the Left. Unused to the punishing performance that Hooton excels at delivering, an hour-long pistol-whipping at his hands might be exactly what the Left needed if it is to muscle-up and become politically competitive.
That’s the only thing that even comes close to explaining why he was there. Perhaps the usual crowd at Ika aren’t very savvy about what what’s going down politically in NZ.
I don’t agree with the tactic, or the framing of political competition and violence, but I do agree there are people that need to be woken up and fast.
Perhaps it was a tactic of know your enemy. Trotter said that Hooton and Simon Wilson kept up an onslaught that had the lefties sighing and squirming.
At the beginning Trotter says that the effect of the evening was depressing. – so better early in this important year, than late. At least know what you are up against. This is Trotter’s first para:
I left the first Ika “Table Talk” for 2016 feeling very down – and I know I wasn’t the only one. The panel discussion, on “The Year Ahead”, could have been an enlivening rehearsal of the challenges facing the New Zealand Left in 2016 – but it wasn’t. Instead Ika’s patrons endured an hour-long demonstration of the Right’s remarkable skill at kicking the Left’s ass.
Just heard Gareth Hughes properly lay into John Key in general debate. Worth a listen or someone with more time that me at present might like to post the link…..
On December 8th the Press reported that: “Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has ruled out downgrading Christchurch City Council for the time being…But the agency warned that the ratings could be lowered if earthquake repair costs grow or the Council backs away from an asset sales plan” (emphasis added).
That’s more than a threat and more than a promise. It’s a very clear example of transnational corporate blackmail.
Common outlets for bile between The Herald and NewstalkZB (and TVNZ?)
It seems now ex traffic officer Larry Williams, as with Hosking, gets to peddle his opinions on more than one media outlet.
Columns in the Herald as well as their own regular radio shows.
How long before Williams gets a position on TVNZ as well?
Are there other Herald journalists who appear to have this privilege?
Unmitigated ignorance, shameless bias, and non-news:
Is NewstalkZB the worst media outlet in New Zealand?
NewstalkZB, Thursday 11 February 2016
Other news media have their weaknesses, as we are all well aware. But when it comes to sheer sustained mediocrity, crass offensiveness, and lumpen stupidity, no other media outlet in this country has a lineup of hosts as bad as NewstalkZB. I made the mistake of listening to it for a few minutes this morning…
After seven o’clock, Hosking conducted an admiring interview with Jake Bailey, the 2015 Christchurch Boys’ High School head boy who, despite suffering from cancer, late last year achieved brief celebrity by delivering an emotional speech at the school prizegiving, urging young people to be “gallant, great and gracious.” Connossieurs of black humor no doubt savored the brutal irony of this fine young man being interviewed by Mike “Contra” Hosking, who, as a self-aggrandizing liar, a toady to the powerful and a fiercely on-message National Party place-man, is the very antithesis of “gallant, great and gracious”.
After eight o’clock, things took an even more dismal turn. Hosking’s interlocutor was the dreadful, unfunny Tim Wilson…..
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: It’s 8:20 and time to talk to Tim Wilson about what’s coming up on Seven Sharp tonight. You’ve got a story about Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump—the two most EXTREME candidates have won in New Hampshire.
TIM WILSON: Yes, indeed! The Rug rises!
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: They’re outsiders. People are sick of Washington.
A little later, Hosking mused on the decision by Environment Canterbury to not prosecute business icon Hugh Fletcher and his wife Chief Justice Sian Elias after they let their cattle bathe, illegally, in a freshwater stream….
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: It makes you wonder what Environment Canterbury actually DOES. Remember, this was the organization sacked by Margaret Bazley because it was INCOMPETENT…..
The 8:30 “news” began with the woman news slave intoning in high seriousess: “Christchurch Boys’ High School’s head boy in 2015, Jake Bailey, has urged young people to be ‘gallant, great and gracious.’ Interviewed by NewstalkZB’s Mike Hosking, he said…..”
But, incredibly, it got even worse. At the end of the sports news and weather came the following classic sentence, in which, quite unwittingly, the otherwise unexceptional and unexciting Matt Brown gave Alejandro Jodorowsky a run for his money….
MATT BROWN: Great conversations start here. ….[pregnant pause]… Leighton Smith is moments away…..
You never disappoint Morrissey. As I started to read about halitosis brain and putrid morals Larry Williams in Logie97’s comment, the word “Lackwit” came to mind. Then scrolling down……The Morrissey !
Auckland Council’s ‘out of scope’ amendments to the Unitary Plan are causing a LOT of concern to a significant number of citizens and ratepayers.
(700+ people at the Kohimarama Public Meeting held on Tuesday 9 February 2016, was a SIGNIFICANT turnout, in my opinion.)
This is what I’m doing about it:
The video coverage of my presentation to the Auckland Council Development Committee meeting today, Thursday 11 February 2016.
Covering the Auckland Unitary Plan, and my petition calling for an urgent Parliamentary investigation, regarding Auckland Council’s ‘out of scope’ amendments, and the alleged failure to consult with and involve the ‘communities of Auckland’ as required under the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009.
Where do the other Auckland Mayoral candidates stand on this BIG Auckland issue?
(Only Mark Thomas and myself attended the Kohimarama Public Meeting on the Unitary Plan, which attracted over 700 concerned citizens on Tuesday evening 9 February 2016.)
A man takes pictures of planned zoning changes at a public meeting in Kohimarama earlier this week. Photo / NZ Herald
By Bernard Orsman
Auckland Council’s proposal to rezone thousands of homes for more intensive housing and apartments has lost the support of a majority of councillors, with councillor Sir John Walker today speaking out against the changes.
“If the mayor wants my vote we are going to have to come to a compromise,” said Sir John, who did not spell out what that solution would be.
“I’m on the residents’ side. I don’t want to see high rise buildings towering over Auckland.
“I don’t trust the town planners. They present one thing and change their mind and do another,” said the Olympic gold medallist.
Sir John said he supported calls to withdraw the changes, which see large swathes of suburban Auckland rezoned for multi-storey buildings, terraced housing and apartments in the council’s latest submission to the Unitary Plan.
Under the “out of scope” changes to zoning, meaning no residents asked for them in the proposed Unitary Plan, there is no formal right of reply for affected property owners.
Sir John’s position means 11 of the 21 councillors want the council to withdraw the out of scope changes from the Unitary Plan process.
The other 10 are Cameron Brewer, Cathy Casey, Chris Fletcher, Denise Krum, Mike Lee, Dick Quax, Sharon Stewart, Wayne Walker, John Watson and George Wood.
Mayor Len Brown, deputy mayor Penny Hulse, Arthur Anae, Bill Cashmore, Ross Clow, Linda Cooper, Chris Darby, Alf Filipaina and Calum Penrose told the Herald they support the changes proceeding through the Unitary Plan process.
Councillor Penny Webster has not responded, but is believed to be in Brown’s camp.
“What kids thrive on, and in fact what many of their parents could do with as well, is a good dose of A B C D, Accountability Boundaries, Consequences and Discipline.
ABC – you can see he didn’t get far in school. And I don’t think that schools are very good at teaching kids how to relax, concentrate and learn. Then they would come out better educationally equipped to form judgments about themselves and how crazy the world is.
He was lambasting the no smacking rule. He quotes stats that look bad, and I presume they do show the real situation. I never thought that the rule would help much. There would still be violence just as there are still murderers even though its well known that it isn’t the right thing to do!
Kids need love and firm guidelines and a bit of forgiveness when they go wrong. Parents need to learn how to parent and also need the same things that I’ve listed for children. There is no let up on parents – there is always somebody bashing away at them. Even when they are trying to be perfect, they are terrible, i.e. USA helicopter parents. No parent should be able to claim amnesty from the law because they are parents, and say it is right to beat their children. They need to go to remedial behavioural programs, and have to attend and pass a scratch test and demonstrate with a role model activity how to manage difficulties. If not let them go to jail for a week.
On the other hand the anti abortionists can’t bring themselves to really help the children who are suffering bad conditions in Nz because they are too busy mooning over those who were aborted. This is from Right to Life press release of 10 February 2016 is named Where Have All the Children Gone.
It’s just as well they don’t take note of all the children who are potentially lost each month as unfertilised eggs. The authoritarians want to force women to have children they aren’t ready or able to care for, like breeding animals. They make a true point that it is a hard decision and may be regretted throughout life. But having the child would have the same effect on a mother who is too mentally or physically unwell. It is a very demanding role and not one to take up with a she’ll be right attitude. Even adoption can be bad for the child, emotionally and/or physically.
This is part of The Right to Life item. They go on about the children’s possible attributes. The young man who committed suicide referred to earlier in the post had real and present attributes, but society through its government services, wouldn’t provide those that the young man needed. The religious baby adorers find older children less attractive. Don’t grow up you Peter Pans because then no-one except a few struggling carers, will sob for you.
Nearly 50,000 5 year olds commenced their schooling in the first week of February, happy and laughing with the joy of living. Sadly there were 15,863 5 year olds missing. These are the children who were considered of little worth and whose lives were terminated by abortion in 2011. They are nameless and are recorded as a cold statistic in the Abortion Supervisory Committee’s annual report to Parliament in 2005.
Their absence is mourned for they were created with many talents to enrich our society. Our society is impoverished by their absence. We should also have deep sympathy for their mothers who will be mourning the loss of their children. Mothers who so often were coerced in to an unwanted abortion because of the abandonment of the mother and child and because of pressure from family and friends.
Good fucking job Lambo’ (and Merc’ for that matter) owners. Shit happens darlings. Even to Hard Working Masters Of The Universe.
If the Merc’d been a punk in a dropped rough az purple metallic ’83 Holden from Manurewa/Mangere/Ranui/Massey it’d be breath screener out and 8 hundies of infringement notice. Then if absent of sufficient ‘respect’ he/she’d be face down on the tarmac quick smart.
Arrested and ‘cuffed for scandalous driving causing injury to an appallingly ugly, for ‘The Worthy’ only, vehicular representation of a ridiculously blood sapping stiff cock. The facsimile necessary apparently. This public service performed by 111 responsive constabulary only 600 metres away on Mayoral Drive/Pitt Street.
But no. Not in this case. Mr Plod – “You have this under control gentlemen…..insured both ways I take it ? Very good then job done order restored”.
Me cynical ? Noooo ! This is Mr Key’s New Zealand after all. Ask all the office workers down from their desks. Darting in with the quick jab, the well directed boot for the scum whose kidneys already suffer Mr Plod’s well trained hurt tool, his bulky knee.
Kidding am I ? No. A good 35 years ago witnessed not dissimilar scenario only metres away from the very same car park. Nearly got a hiding myself when I remonstrated at the baying of numerous “Hard Working But Thuggish Hugh Wright Suited Folk” who’d poured with vengeance in mind onto the street from the formerly John Banks owned restaurant where I too was consuming a scotch fillet lunch and too much vin rouge.
Which like the Lambo’ owner I’d worked so fucking hard for……ha ha ha !!!
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
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The economic tsunami will affect us.
NZ’s media wakes up at last.
The RNZ’s business staff still seem remarkably unaware.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11587689
I wonder how many people have already run to the bank to withdraw their deposits?
How many will do so today?
Remember that in the prelude to the current financial system’s meltdown, the GFC, there were runs on banks here and in Australia. It was little known.
Dude RNZ is effectively radio live without the ads and talkback now with the cutting edge blunted by griffin and cohorts long ago.
As designed to not scare the sheeple with pesky facts and exposing a corrupt govt flogging nz bit by bit.
Well if RNZ will not disturb the “sheeple” with “pesky facts”…try Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert who get stuck into Goldman Sachs and other banksters ( and more entertaining than RNZ)
https://www.rt.com/shows/keiser-report/331825-episode-max-keiser-873/
In this episode : Bankster Monkey Business
* Goldman Sachs bankers are not happy with the way capitalism is going!…in particular they are not happy with Bernie Sanders but have paid Hillary Clinton $675,000 for speeches to end ‘banker bashing’.
* Via government political cronyism Goldman Sachs bought up social housing in Spain and on- sold for a profit! The people have been protesting. Need for a ‘Rule of Law’ to reign in banksters who are serial law breakers . Greece tried to take Goldman Sachs to court for cooking the books ( lessons for New Zealand)
*Ponzi schemes China / Wall Street /government…people questioning bankster tricks …alternatives to banksters tricks
* Max ice challenge Putin ….and plug for RT plugin
It was a good episode
https://youtu.be/o3DaP6O-giE
Get rid of the Clubtocracy! Love it
Riveting chooky. I think I need another me to take it all in. Perhaps I should go back to the caveman days where things were more straightforward and there was less to worry about, and you didn’t live long enough to do much worrying.
+1
Having vacated the National Party propaganda wasteland of commercial radio and returned to RNZ in the mornings during breakfast I now find myself being treated to the business news theatre of the absurd.
Unfortunately it’s on at the time that I’m normally most active in the kitchen when I like to listen in to hopefully learn something about the country and the world I live in.
It’s like they are in an echo chamber as they blabber on about the money markets, share markets, share prices, profit forecasts, annual meetings of shareholders, blah blah blah …
What’s missing are what for me are the important bits – critical analysis, intelligent questioning and helping listeners gain insight.
As soon as I hear Giles Beckford or his clone now I switch the radio off until catching the news at 7am.
I find I’m distracted by whatever unspeakably awful thing is happening in the back of Giles’ throat. If he started ‘golluming’ it would be less disturbing.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/02/09/why_investors_are_worried_about_deutsche_bank.html
Stephen Joyce’s argument seems to be based on bad mouthing Jane Kelsey.
When you are reduced to insults, rather than making reasoned evidence based points you are losing the argument.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/76767833/an-open-letter-to-tpp-protesters-from-steven-joyce
Some rebuttal for Mr Joyce
https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/
Dildo Joyce’s “arguments” wouldn’t pass a Primary School test.
He says this, for example, “People like Jane Kelsey would roll back the China FTA, the Korean one, the South East Asia one, any one of them. Because they just really don’t like trade for ideological reasons. ” This is clearly wholly incorrect and he knows it but ignores it. No wonder politicians like him come to be loathed.
He also says this “There are those who say it sacrifices our sovereignty. Well, how can that be so? We have the sovereign right to withdraw from any trade agreement at any time. There is no one holding us to any of them. ”
Again, he makes no argument. Foreign business interests gain an increased stake in our law-making system. That is a change/sacrifice to our sovereignty. He completely ignores this.
Such a shallow man. His open letter gets a 1 out of 10 for fronting up to the real arguments.
Maybe he has been playing with the toy.
Steven Joyce “more Kiwis will have jobs”
Tufts University Study 10 year employment change -6000 jobs
http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/wp/16-01Capaldo-IzurietaTPP.pdf
No one has any idea what’s going to happen to employment in 10 years, to say it’s going to decrease by 6000 is ridiculous.
Can’t believe people take this stuff seriously.
Like you are an expert. You seem to have no idea how these things are researched and what they are based on.
No wonder nobody takes your stuff seriously lol
After reading my tea leaves and extrapolating out that data, I believe that NZ will have a net gain of 25,000 jobs by 2025.
We shall now wait and see who’s correct.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-09/australia-treasury-admits-recent-stellar-job-numbers-were-cooked
The numbers will say ‘whatever’
suspect we will find a number of “technical issues’ in NZ as well
Is it possible this has been going on in NZ?……
Even if true that’s barely enough to cover incoming immigration numbers between now and June.
Over ten years its margin of error stuff.
No big deal.
You don’t do it with tea leaves silly. You build computer model projections with graphs that go up and down based on possible projections on a trend line blah blah Don’t forget the blah blahs. Most important.
so in effect yore saying the MFAT analysis that the TPPA is on balance in NZs best interests is based on wishful thinking……couldnt agree more
Economic modeling is a waste of time, I don’t know why they bother.
What’s far more important is this:
How many of our trade agreements have worked out badly for NZ?
ask the Mexicans and Canadians about theirs with the US.
Really BM, you need to get better informed.
Better to ask the question – how have the costs and benefits of these trade agreements been distributed throughout NZ society.
Some sectors of society have done very well out of them, some sectors have been fucked over.
+1
And it’s always the little people getting fucked over by them.
One of the comments to Joyce by rosselliot (well down the comments page) tells how the ISDS can be circumvented by Phillip Morris or others.
“……the Most Favoured Nation provision which says that an enterprise from any of the signatories can pursue the government of any other signatory using the ISDS mechanism of ANY other trade deal that the target government has entered into. This means that provisions in the TPPA offering specific protections (eg from big tobacco, or of the Waitangi treaty) can be circumvented if that protection in missing from some other trade agreement. Following a defeat in the Australian courts, Philip Morris recently moved its Australian operation to Hong Kong so that it can sue the Australian Government over expected losses (indirect expropriation) from the plain packaging legislation using the ISDS of an Australia – Hong Kong treaty.”…..
That ianmac is a really BIG factor in the legislation that we should understand.
Each of of the clauses of the TPPA may seem straight forward or have some other aspect to it that needs understanding. Read through them all and think you understand all – but no – it comes with extras like the clause you have mentioned above.
Just reminded me of a bit of Oz black humour. John and Brian making the comedy series on the Oz Olympic Games where the 100 metres was actually less, came up with some wonderful double talk. The TPPA is the subject of such potent black humour that it would suck us into the TV screen and into a hole in space.
Clarke and Dawe
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD-W_pRkkP8
The problem the ADHB faces is but one real consequence of the current govt’s open tap immigration policy. While immigration is essential, no thought appears to have been given to the rate at which Auckland infrastructure can cope. It’s the people of Auckland who are left to pick up the pieces.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11587685
That and they’ve underfunded health by 25% now with Ryall long gone having played his part in asset sales also.
Selling the TPP – The TPP Roadshow!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/296214/govt-to-take-tpp-on-the-road
It’s Our Future – Kiwis against the TPPA
What happens next?
In terms of the official process, the National Interest Analysis (a biased sell job, prepared by MFAT) has been tabled in Parliament. It’s Our Future responded calling for evidence not spin.
MFAT is holding TPP Roadshows
MFAT says: “The roadshows will present the outcomes of the TPP negotiations. Members of the public are welcome. The roadshows will also help businesses prepare to take advantage of new opportunities presented by TPP’s entry into force. The morning session of each roadshow will provide an overview of TPP, and afternoon workshop sessions will have a more technical focus.
· Auckland, 7 March, Rendezvous Hotel, corner Mayoral Drive and Vincent St, Auckland Central
· Christchurch, 11 March, Rydges Hotel, 30 Latimer Square, Christchurch City
· Dunedin, 14 March, The Dunedin Centre, 1 Harrop Street, Dunedin
· Wellington, 18 March, Westpac Stadium, 105 Waterloo Quay, Pipitea, Wellington
Registrations close on 1 March 2016. More roadshows will be held in other regional centres in the coming months. Locations are likely to include Hamilton, Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Palmerston North, Tauranga, and Whangarei. Updates will be published on this website, or you can contact tpp@mfat.govt.nz if you would like to register to be updated.”
It’s Our Future will provide fact sheets and questions for those who want to attend the meetings.
http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2af728ed394d2e3c92f383cd5&id=009c82b193&e=73d4e21507
How nice of the govt to provide a schedule and location for the next series of TPPA protests 😀
Who’s paying for it? The public of course!!
Another absolute waste of tax payers funds by the government in their arrogance aka flag referendum!!
If it was about debate, why not debate before they signed. After signing is more like PR.
It remains to be seen if John Key is just another fair weather politician.
His attention span is shortening, and his commitment to democratic process is
questionable in hectoring rather than reasoned debate.
With economic indicators turning south, it remains to be seen how long his
relationship with the voters will last.
http://www.reuters.com/…/global-economy-idUSL4N11T2OW20150923
http://thebricspost.com/buckle-up-chinas-economic-downturn-headed-for-us/
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/10/banking-shares-under-pressure-as-investors-fear-effects-of-global-downturn
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/world-markets-plunge-amid-fears-of-new-global-downturn-34434947.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/12149750/Four-reasons-why-stock-markets-have-been-getting-whacked.html
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2016/02/future-left-new-start-requires-new-economy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11587689
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/76745444/Too-early-for-convention-centre-certainty-Cera-boss-says
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11587704
It seems to me that a lot of commentators on the TPP are missing an essential point: that this agreement is not, in fact, between twelve countries, but is between an amorphous global corporate entity and twelve nation states.
We are rightly concerned in this country with the ISDS association and 1600 litigious United States corporations, but the country of origin of those same corporations is largely irrelevant. Just as Phillip Morris transferred some of their office staff to Hong Kong in order to take advantage of an ISDS clause in an agreement between Australia and Hong Kong, so other corporates will do the same if it is in their interests.
The TPPA and TTIP are an attempt by the 1% elite to impose their authority on a globalised world where nation states will largely become irrelevant.
So, we are essentially engaged in a struggle for the type of world we would like our grandchildren to grow up in (always assuming that climate change doesn’t make all the above superfluous!)
http://teamdata.oneworld.nl/projects/isds/movementmap-claimants/
+1
TV Your comments re Philip Morris is the same one as @ 2.2 above. Pretty ominous isn’t it? Let alone Key saying a year or so again that NZ would not try plain packaging till after the Morris case in Australia.
Thus our Government scared to act for fear of ISDS. Won’t sue good ole NZ? Huh!
“It seems to me that a lot of commentators on the TPP are missing an essential point:”
I guess for me the corporate capture nature of the agreement is a given. There are others here who feel similarly. Interesting observation if it’s not being talked about.
Apologies if a repost:
Google Trends prove TPPA protest impact
Link – https://medium.com/@techieshark/google-trends-prove-tppa-protest-impact-74fab57d82#.pdw7kabqf
Now that’s interesting. I hope some of the ts geeks can run an eye over it and comment.
Good video of the blockade from Real Choice too.
Now that’s interesting. I hope some of the ts geeks can run an eye over it and comment.
Meaningless.
Yes, you are and so is your comment, please go away.
There is absolutely no connection between his data and his conclusion. You can either take the word of someone who works professionally in online data analysis and who makes his living from interpreting Google activity stats that it’s meaningless, or put your fingers in your ears.
Oh fuck off. You can expect me to mind read (comment one), or expect me to take your word for it, because (comment two), but this is a political debate space that requires people to be meaningful in their communication or get slammed.
I like analysis work that isn’t meaningless. If I thought my role served no purpose, I’d feel guitly taking money to do it.
q and a currently running on reddit
“So we’re here today to answer your questions about everything TPP—the secret negotiating process, our analysis of the provisions, and how this agreement is a corporate wish list for big multinational companies. We’re here to share what we know about this agreement so you can help us stop it.”
Those of us answering questions today:
Evan Greer (Fight For the Future) – evangreerfftf
Ilana Solomon (Sierra Club) – IlanaS
Lori Wallach (Public Citizen, Global Trade Watch) – LWallach
Maira Sutton (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – mairaEFF
Meghan Sali (Open Media Canada) – om_meghan
Steven Knievel (Public Citizen, Global Access to Medicines) – citizen_steve
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/453zzk/what_tpp_means_for_you_and_how_we_can_stop_it_we
interesting point from above q and a session
Pro TPP commenter
“I understand trade opponents don’t like gross foreigners, but we haven’t lost any ISDS suits because we generally are fair and don’t discriminate.”
Anti TPP response
“This is not necessarily the case. Oftentimes before a case even goes into arbitration an offending law or public policy is changed.”
TPP and it’s effect on the internet. (Link from current reddit q and a)
Excellent resource, broken down into specific sections for different types of internet user.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/12/how-tpp-will-affect-you-and-your-digital-rights
Good resource on Investor-State Dispute Settlement
http://www.citizen.org/investorcases
Another interesting comment from Maira Sutton (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – mairaEFF in the q and a session.
Re local body elections, Wellington.
Does anyone know if or when deputy mayor and mayoral candidate, Justin Lester, (running on the Labour ticket) plans to declare a conflict of interest, as an avid promoter of both residential and commercial development when he sits on the executive of the NZ Property Council – the lobby group for residential and commercial property developers and owners?
http://www.propertynz.co.nz/wellington
I spent the last year battling with the developer of the neighbourhood where I live and and the WCC over breaches of consent and ongoing anti social and criminal behaviour by development staff and their contractors. The criminal aspects were handled in a sub standard way by the Police, which of course is nothing to with the WCC however despite meeting with council officials and managers and trying to get Justin Lester on side, as he is the councillor in our ward, nothing was resolved, there were no apologies and life on the development continued in a toxic way.
The only answers I got was “my hands are tied” and “it fits with the district plan”.
I discovered there is a questionable relationship between developers and the WCC One other conflict of interest in relation to that managers connection with a developer (former husband) was declared but nothing yet from Justin Lester?
It’s very important this is known to the citizens before they vote given the ongoing mass scale development of the northern suburbs (both MDH and regular housing) and the planned MDH projects in existing burbs. It’s highly inappropriate that Justin Lester is chairing community meetings on this topic when people don’t know he sits on the executive of the Wellington branch of the NZ Property Council.
Hi Rosie – sounds like par for the course. The subdivision concerns and compliance problems you are experiencing exist in pockets throughout the Wellington City. The Council planners and compliance staff maintain very unhealthy relationships with some developers (and their ex-Council advisors). These parties have become very adept at joining forces to game the RMA and District Plan and at over-riding the legitimate (and legal?) expectations of local communities. Ratepayers now routinely have to finance Court proceedings to have restraints put on the excesses of speculators. As for Justin Lester, it seems at best, he has a tenuous grip on ethical matters. Demonstratively, he has no difficulty in expecting ratepayers to subsidise any big ideas that are proposed by the private investment and commercial sectors and has no qualms about increasing inter-generational debt without clear recourse to competent independent business cases. Unfortunately, the Deputy Mayor is probably representative of a number of the current Wellington City Councillors.
“The Council planners and compliance staff maintain very unhealthy relationships with some developers (and their ex-Council advisors). ”
Exactly. I won’t name the high up planning manager of the ex wife developer but he has been there since 2000 (You may be able to guess) and all the consents for this area went through while he was married to the developer. All on a non notified basis, just an absolute carte blanche approach. He has at least declared a conflict of interest.
Regarding the compliance staff. It’s a real worry. I don’t have anything to pin on them but their shrill defensiveness of the developers, and the way council gossip gets back to me via other officers, in my on going dealing with them, creates suspicion about their links with these particular developers.
“Demonstratively, he has no difficulty in expecting ratepayers to subsidise any big ideas that are proposed by the private investment and commercial sectors and has no qualms about increasing inter-generational debt without clear recourse to competent independent business cases.”
The convention centre is a good example of the above. We are a single income household with a huge mortgage. I’m ok to do my bit and fund projects such as social housing upgrades, infrastructure upgrades and community events but I draw the line at funding private business for a venture that has no sound business case put forward as yet and we already have adequate venues.
And I’m a Labour voter. How can I be expected to vote for a candidate who openly champions private business over and above the needs of the people of the city?
Their argument is that we need more houses. I don’t think they have taken a trip to the northern burbs to see all the farmland gobbled up for housing over the last five years, and the sea of roofs that exist in the place of that former farmland.
The affordability argument is flawed too. All thats selling around here is houses in the average of the $730K range. The MDH housing, one project in particular has only sold 2 overpriced tiny 2 bdr units on no land, out of 30 units, in one and half years. You will pay $494K for one of these units.
So, the people are not benefiting from this development. Only the WCC and the developers.
+1 Rosie
Usefull piece here collecting Trumps foreign policy positions, such as they are, into one place
http://www.vox.com/2016/2/10/10960124/donald-trump-foreign-policy-isis
‘Assange: Vote for Hillary Clinton is ‘vote for endless, stupid war’ which spreads terrorism’
https://www.rt.com/news/332022-assange-clinton-vote-war/
…”Stating that Clinton went above the heads of Pentagon generals when it came to Libya, he wrote: “Libya has been destroyed. It became a haven for ISIS. The Libyan national armory was looted and hundreds of tons of weapons were transferred to jihadists in Syria.”
He went on to state that Clinton did not learn from her mistakes, and set out to repeat history in Syria.
“Having learned nothing from the Libyan disaster Hillary then set about trying do the same in Syria. Hillary’s war has increased terrorism, killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians and has set back women’s rights in the Middle East by hundreds of years,” he wrote.
Referring to a CBS interview with Clinton in 2011, Assange expressed his disgust with her after she became “wild-eyed” and “publicly took credit for the destruction of the Libyan state,” gloating that “We came, we saw, he (Muammar Gaddafi) died!”
“In the momentary thrill of the kill, she had aped, of all people, Julius Caesar,” Assange wrote.
He concluded by saying that Clinton “shouldn’t be let near a gun shop, let alone an army. And she certainly should not become president of the United States.”…
“We came, we saw, he (Muammar Gaddafi) died!”
That statement alone would make it impossible for me to vote for Hillary Clinton if I lived in the US. In a statesperson, it betrays jaw-dropping vulgarity, and if someone wants to say that Gaddafi was no angel himself, well so what, that is not invitation to abandon our own standards of respectfulness. Moreover, her indifference to the blood bath over which she has presided betrays a callous indifference to those outside of her own circle. Along with her vile statement about Gaddafi, it suggests a belief that such callousness shows political maturity, with “the courage to make the hard calls” being its hallmark, so long as the attendant suffering falls on others.
Gaddafi was certainly no angel, but he had created a socialist state with one of the highest per capita income in all of Africa. Free education, free healthcare, women professors in universities and women ministers in his government.
Hilary and co. fucked all of that, quite deliberately, for oil, and to eliminate a threat to US financial hegemony as Gaddafi had plans to trade oil for a gold backed currency.
Now we have a failed state in northern Africa, a source of arms for the Syrian conflict (theory is that the CIA was involved in channeling Gadaffi’s military caches to anti-Assad fighters in Syria, hence the US debacle in Benghazi), and a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists.
Thanks USA.
Nothing shows an attachment to the political/corporate establishment that goes beyond all decency like the compulsion to bring home new scalps for them, whatever mayhem and destruction this involves.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/05/politics/hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-paid-speeches/
Yes he was a real saint that guy
Pan Am flight 103?
You would destroy an entire country and the lives of millions of Libyans, AFTER Gaddafi had agreed to all international reparations over that incident?
Just remember, the US has shot down an Iranian airliner before.
You explained that well Olwyn. It seems a valid point about Hilary Clinton’s thinking and behaviour. It does seem that to rise to the top in leaderhip among the powerful most have soaked in the koolaid so are immune to any sensitivities of good, ethics and just basic human decency, and women have to be especially conditioned.
Luckily in NZ we have had Jeanette Fitzsimons as a stand out example of the opposite to that, and there are others in the Greens, with wide understanding and principles. Also no doubt in Labour, and Maori Party, Mana….I think I read someone praising one of the USA politicians.
Thanks greywarshark 🙂 And yes, Jeanette Fitzsimons is a wonderful example of a decent and principled politician.
+1 Chocky
Good news from New Hampshire though!
Maybe the NatLites can learn from this!
“Clinton is hoping that she doesn’t meet the same fate, and she probably won’t, but the scale of her defeat in New Hampshire was quite a thing to behold. This is where the particulars of who is running begins to matter very much. She lost to Sanders in virtually every demographic category, including women—and the mix of voters who powered her 2008 victories deserted her as well. Young voters went for Sanders by a crushing 84-15 margin. Most damning, 91 percent of Democrats who told pollsters that their top concern was honesty and trustworthiness voted for Sanders. Those are bruising, brutal numbers.”
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/10/this_is_the_establishments_worst_nightmare_what_bernie_donalds_stunning_new_hampshire_wins_really_mean/
think the Labour Party are more likely to point to this….
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2016/02/11/gordon-campbell-on-the-bernie-sanders-aftermath/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/76772122/all-blacks-star-malakai-fekitoa-gets-positive-response-to-admitting-anger-issues
Good on him for opening up but a cynical part of me can’t help but wonder if this is leading up to something
I get that feeling too – why suddenly start talking about this out of the blue ? Will some pending charges for violence be revealed very shortly? Odd!
That’s what I’m thinking as well but I hope I’m wrong
Two not-positive items on Key in the Herald:
Claire Trevett: Unlike Key to throw toys over dildo incident
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11587616
and Fran O’Sullivan: “Time for serious rethink on dairy.”
“Judging by results, you wouldn’t hire John Key as a dairy futures trader.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11587820
“Judging by results, you wouldn’t hire John Key as a dairy futures trader.”
Ouch.
Dear old Fran doing her annual piece critical of the government in order to appear balanced.
As a futures trader John Key would have bet against the NZ dairy industry, just like he bet against the NZ dollar, and made a fortune for his bank.
I’m sure his blind investment portfolio managers have been doing just that.
Too late for Fran and her Shrilling. Business readers clearly not reading the herald anymore. Their most popular list today shows no news readers are going to the herald news anymore! No one getting “NZ” news from there either, by the look of it!
In their no 1 Liam Neesons new girlfriend
no 2 A storm
no 3 freezing night in bush – talked to dog
no4 Taylor Swift ‘freaked out’ on NZ beach
No5 10 year old modelling deal
Couldn’t happen to a worse propaganda publication!
I hope some sunshine gets shone on the real background to Selwyn Clarke’s predicament. Especially now the warrant has been dropped.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/296192/maori-war-veteran-gets-pension-back
And why was the warrant dropped?
Exactly. Something’s not right with this.
The episode is just getting smellier and smellier, like a dead whale on the beach.
A good outcome for Mr Clarke, the proper one would be back-paid with interest, but sounds like back-paid is in train.
I’m away until 1st March. Don’t have too much fun without me!
Have you got time to fix this before you leave?
http://thestandard.org.nz/the-tppa-could-blight-public-education/#comment-1131479
Done.
Thanks Rob. Enjoy your break.
By the way I have always seen your icon as a Grecian vase and have only just noticed the face to face. None so blind…
Cheers ianmac, and all…
The image is an example of a Reubens vase illusion, which amuses me for many reasons. Also – two faces on opposite sides. Black and white issues that are more complex than they seem. It depends how you look at stuff. Interesting things emerging in the space between left and right. All good fun.
We’ll try, but it won’t be the same.
I’m interested in others views on this – i’m just not sure where i sit with this
“The authority hosted a workshop last week with DOC, Tourism New Zealand, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to start brainstorming ways to address the impacts on conservation from increasing tourism.
A key topic was considering ways to charge tourists so that taxpayers or DOC did not have to foot the bill for managing more tourism on conservation land.
Options included charging for car parking, a border tax, or fees to access national parks.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/76740653/doc-may-charge-overseas-visitors-to-enter-national-parks
Have a $2 tourist charge on accommodation – they do this a lot overseas.
Or a small charge on entering the country.
a TXT amount you can call on your phone to donate $3 for the national park.
Thought tourists were supposed to help the economy not take money away!!
That is what all these neolibs don’t understand. You might benefit in one area of gain but it is negative in another.
One thing to think of though. Is that NZ is obsessed with user pays. It is getting ridiculous if you live here. Try not to drive away the tourists too with too many charges.
Agreed with the last statement especially – tourists pay GST and excise taxes for services they don’t really use (other than roads and other transport infrastructure), so it’s not like they aren’t paying taxes.
Don’t have parking charges!!! NZ governments and businesses obsessed with them.
You can’t even shop in the main cities anymore in Auckland, have a relaxed coffee or visit a friend without having to pay some ridiculous charge for parking. 10 years ago made the mistake of watching Lord of the Rings and parked at Aotera car park in Auckland City. When I got the bill thought it was for the whole day as some sort of penalty as it was more than the movie, something like $17 for the parking for 3 hours. How much is it now I wonder for 3 hours parking???? $50??
Not only that, took my child to a local hospital for a check and was there 1 hour. Cost me $4 for parking for the ‘free’ check. Wondered how many kids don’t get to their appointments because families can’t afford to park at the hospital and how much time is wasted for doctors because of this. And how much more it costs the health system when people can’t afford to go to the hospital for check ups due to parking charges.
Yep health is technically free, but with NZ user pays, $money for parking, $money for prescriptions, $money for A&E, I got charged $49 for a kids doctors appointment the other day. Yep really believe in the kids free doctors visits… read the fine print… only in some areas… Got charged $125 for taking my family to A&E to check for measles last year. Only wanted to get a blood test for one member who was going to fly (the blood test was free) but the centre went crazy and charge us all $125. We only needed to visit to get the paperwork for the ‘free’ blood test for one member. Nope none of us had measles – and I would think twice about going there again to check. This is how epidemics startI
All the ‘free’ stuff in NZ is so expensive though a process where some business has been sold rights to exploit the public.
Most people are short of time and want to just take their kids to the doctor & A&E closest to them not have some sort of research on charges!!
You do realise that they can claim them back on their way out don’t you?
sort of…
https://www.aucklandairport.co.nz/Corporate/NewsAndMedia/AllMediaReleases/Tax-and-GST-shopping.aspx
The GST thing for tourists is a tricky thing for us retailers. It’s payable (the sale goes on the income side of our GST return) on all goods and services delivered in NZ. If we deliver outside NZ, as in ship the goods to the customer’s home, the amount becomes zero rated and is deducted from our total income. On higher value items the GST more than covers the courier, so our zero rated can be significant.
The airport duty free is airside, so technically outside NZ. The AIA link is quite misleading in saying that’s the only way to not pay GST.
It seems well accepted now by tourists that they pay GST, I haven’t been asked for a GST receipt for ages. Often they are quite complementary about it and find it a painless way making the wheels go round. Not having this tax and that added on is appreciated.
The hard part is getting central government to spend it back in the tourist areas.
Maybe in Australia, but they can’t here.
We often stay in DOC camps….being semi permanent Bus dwellers… and we pay an annual fee to stay at the vehicle accessible camps in our vehicles through the NZMCA. Our pass does not apply during the busy holiday season.
What disappoints us is that many overseas vehicle based travelers seem to think that the DOC camps are free. They know they have to pay…because they will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid payment.
The only way to avoid this non -payment is to charge the buggers when they enter the country.
Me…I’d make it a $200 per head charge. Give ’em a DOC Pass and let ’em go for it.
Careful there, it’d be seen as something to be used to the maximum possible, and by people who otherwise wouldn’t.
Charge tourists, yes (I’d prefer at point of entry or at the rental vehicle/accommodation point rather than putting another layer of infrastructure in to get people going into National Parks). But the real issue is that we’ve passed capacity not just of infrastructure but of space and meaning, and the only solution to that is to cap numbers. If we don’t, then we are sacrificing the very nature of the National Parks that we value.
In that article they talk about Milford Sound. From what I remember DOC in the past recommended a daily cap on numbers. Sounds like that was never done. It should be, with an allocation kept for Kiwis.
Of course, this means that NZ has to stop considering tourism a perpetual growth resource, it’s not. It’s finite. The idea of another million international tourists per year is ridiculous. Yes we can charge them and build more infrastructure but what that does is develop the wilderness and we should be resisting that as much as we can.
It’s the same old thing, worship of the almighty dollar over what is real and sustaining. And going for the cheap and damaging buck instead of using our brains and generating more income out of less but more targeted tourism. These aren’t new ideas, it’s just not enough people are saying no to the chance of making more dosh than they need. Another thing neoliberalism has to answer for.
I agree weka.
I remember hearing about Venice. Beautiful, fascinating, sinking city built on mudflats or reed islands or something, and then they have a rising tide. Their main square is flooded in high tides. The Pacific Islands should visit them for ideas, two different worlds with similarities.
Venice was suffered from bus loads of impecunious young tourists who lay around in the sunshine, visited all the free spots of high historic value, littered and didn’t frequent their businesses. The cost was too high for the Venetians, I think they did something to limit it. The backpackers were probably of the sort that I struck in the 1970s. Trying to get by on the cost of cheap transport and two burgers and a bottle of water a day. And they can become skilled con people in getting others to pay for them. Gypsies got a bad name for being too quick on the take, but they have a lifetime of being separate and living from day to day. Many of these young tourists in the 70’s came from wealthy homes, lacking nothing, but would bargain the pants off someone who really needed their buck, and then no doubt skite at home how they travelled on $20 a day.
Our go go moneymakers are so stoked about upping our tourists. Soon they will pay us to leave our homes and live on the Auckland Islands so they can fit more tourists in. A Southern Seas Highland-clearing venture. Get those NZ sheeple out of their cottages and send them far, far away so we can pack tourist sheep in and fleece them.
edited
The Milford visitor cap came out at the top of last cycle (and it might have had an outing at the cycle before) when the issue was getting operators to stump up for more / better facilities. Worked, then cycle went through and numbers dropped down. Then the excess demand was from bus tours.
Now it’s from independent travellers in cars and campervans so there’s not really a small group of operators who can be targeted to fund better facilities. This one’s predominantly landing on DOC’s budget.
One thing that can be done is to remove the impunity that visitors have to infringement fees and fines. At present vehicle hirers refuse to pay these of pass them on, saying they can’t. Visitors also escape fines and other court orders by leaving the country, although judges are waking up to this. QLDC’s outstanding parking fines go well into millions alone.
Allowing agencies to effectively recover these infringement fees through hirers, or at the border as they leave, would go a long way to moderating behaviour.
What we want is to stop the behaviour. So charge them somehow before they go in like a deposit on a key, when they come out with no bad news attached to them, give them it back less a $20 admin fee but then use that to give them a free souvenier of NZ, nice photo book, or a pendant that they can wear or something. It would help to form a good reciprocal feeling between tourist and NZ, enjoying and conserving the country together.
And i want them charged for an insurance against having to be rescued, and if they do need a rescue then a small payment to those involved, even just paying for their petrol and a cup of coffee. Tourists can be such bleeders instead of adding value to the community.
The freeloaders DOC and councils have to deal with have seen other get away with not paying fees, fines or infringements. They know there are no consequences, social media broadcasts this loud and clear.
As for SAR costs, yes, attempts are made to recover costs. It helps if ACC become involved because that brings their travel insurance into play. But the big ones are still allowed to leave the country. Unless Police issue a warrant they can just walk on the plane.
This lot cost local ratepayers $16K and skipped the country
http://www.scene.co.nz/315797a1.page
News of a detour to the cells until payment has been made will soon get around and behaviour and compliance will improve. But I gather there needs a bit of legislative adjustment to allow this.
Then you get pricks like this and you wonder what else DOC will need to implement:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11587798
Robbing the kids again!
It is happy times at the Ministry of Education. It has just spent $20 million refurbishing its office, including a $2.5 million staircase.
Little did not say whether he would pull out of the TPPA if he failed to win changes
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76703408/tppa-labour-will-not-pull-out-of-trade-deal-if-govt–andrew-little
Thoughts?
A bob each way springs to mind
I just hope Bernie wins, to chuck out TPPA. I think if Trump wins he’s chucking it out too.
Left and Right united!!
Yep, Little needs to get up to speed real quick. Can you imagine the debate before election with Key goading Labour about their weird stance on TPPA. Yep, Shearer supports it and Goff support it like National and Little supports it enough not to pull out but to ignore it and renegotiate it. Yep will make Little and Labour like like idiots and untrustworthy and not capable of running the economy.
If they can’t get rid of TPPA for the right reasons like most of the population are against it and it is a terrible deal with huge risks for NZ, then at least go with the marketing argument – Labour looks stupid in debates with their odd stance and may lose credibility in the election.
Someone get the anti neoliberal brainwashing squad to use rendition to free up the Labour party of their cult like members to Rogernomics?
I’ll givealittle for that.
Key was rubbing Little’s nose in it (their weird stance on TPPA) the other day
https://youtu.be/LE2E_y4cOHk
“If they can’t get rid of TPPA for the right reasons like most of the population are against it and it is a terrible deal with huge risks for NZ, then at least go with the marketing argument – Labour looks stupid in debates with their odd stance and may lose credibility in the election.”
Try telling them that saveNZ. Listening to Grant Robertson’s regular Thursday morning radio interview this morning, and he was, again, asked about the ambiguity of their position on the TPPA.
His response with my paraphrasing (because this morning ages ago) was “I know a lot of people are wanting us to say we’re either for or against. I always say we are a party of free trade but this is not like any other trade deal we’ve seen…………..” then I thought I heard him say something like “we vote on the TPPA as an omnibus (?) but then there are parts that we do support that are beneficial to NZer’s like the lifting of tariffs in some areas”
and ” What we feel about this agreement is sorrow. For most people they feel anger but for us it is sorrow”.
After he got off air the DJ said to the scoop editor “So I’d call that a bob each way”.
I think this is how it will always be for them, it will never be a defining yes or no, no matter how strong the voice of the public and their membership may be. I don’t know if they realise they are risking a lot by continuing to plough through with their fingers crossed that everything will be ok and that they must stick to their free trade guns.
They may think they are being true to their principles but there are other higher principles at stake, like the need of the public for them to be definitively clear on this or risk losing the next election because they are exposed to attack by the nats and like you say, at risk of losing credibility.
Labour are just arrogant and self obsessed.
They would prefer to lose the election for themselves and split the votes for the left than to actually grow a brain and do something electable.
Hello even the right wing world bank has said TPPA does not deliver anything economically (or at least below margin of error in 25 years or something).
Whoever is feeding Labour the line – “we believe in free trade therefore we can’t say NO to TPPA” for the media are stupid and probably influenced by the Natz. This is an agreement to sign or not sign. It is not a debate about free trade. The deal does not deliver. period. It will lose 6000 jobs. It will increase medicine. It will increase copywrite times. It will mean NZ could be sued. It undermines the NZ people.
But Labour, still not sure about it.
sigh.
I guess someone fed Labour the line that if they did not agree surveillance without a warrant then ISIS might rush out and get them and then the public might blame Labour.
If they don’t agree the TPPA then someone might accuse them of not being for trade.
Labour just look like trembly naive frightened party that can’t stand on its two feet and is arrogant and out of touch.
National are a unscrupulous corrupt party that will sign anything for a photo op and a donation. Their strategy seems to be, party hard for their mates, run up a huge bill for the country and then leave individually rich while gaming the system via their mates at MSM and public relation hounds. (who they are destroying at the same time).
sigh again.
Well I am glad you are saying this now, saveNZ, because every time I make these comments Labour Loyalists come out of the wood work and call me names for stating the bleeding obvious.
Well summed up savenz (and the chairman and CV below on both posts).
You know, you get a glimmer of hope, like Labour announcing the free tertiary education policy, something so deeply beneficial to all, and a return to their roots but it all goes up in a puff of smoke because of that massive dark TPPA cloud hovering above. I agree, they are completely out of touch and inward looking.
Kind of like the return of the X Files. “I want to believe”. But it isn’t happening.
@ Undecided
Labour’s failure to commit to withdrawing comes at a risk to the Party while presenting an opportunity for NZ First or the Greens.
There are a good number of voters opposed to the TPP, thus, by taking a harder line, there will be votes to be won.
This hard line position (opposed to Labours bob each way) could see Labour taking a further hit, while pushing one of the other two into the forefront. To become the leading opposition Party.
Voters are tiring of Labour’s National lite position.
I believe this will be expressed in 2017 by an election result around, or below, their miserable 2014 result of 25%.
Also I reckon NZ First will be the only party to win significantly more seats in 2017. Greens might gain one or two more (best case).
Their handling of the TPP will impact negatively IMO.
Labour will continue to express their discontent loudly in an attempt to appease the left (yet they won’t commit to withdrawing) but the left are starting to see straight through this ploy.
They’ve seen Labour do it before, surveillance bill, welfare reform, etc… Ultimately, it’s going to end up costing Labour.
One Million Anti-TPP Petitions Delivered to Congress
http://nhlabornews.com/2016/02/51126/
I will say this, I’d rather have Little say hes either for it or against it not because I’m for it or against it (I’m somewhat on the fence about it) because then I at least know what hes thinking
As I have been saying, Little and Labour are being thoroughly insincere about their position.
There are even people on The Standard hoping against hope that Little has some special secret legal interpretation of the TPP which will justify why he is sitting on the fence.
Personally I think its because Labour is a party of the anglo power establishment.
Actually, what is insincere is bagging Labour constantly while remaining a member. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds, Tat.
Well said TRP I get sick and tired of the vapid comments some so-called Labour supporters manage to scrape out of their keyboards,
It’s healthy for party members to question and challenge the Party’s position.
A Party’s position should be able to withstand being challenged.
With an ongoing campaign of character assassination?
When called for, yes.
For example, Goff and Shearer’s behaviour of late.
Indeed. And Goff and Shearer were roundly criticised here at TS. CV’s hatred of Labour is irrational and not based on a desire to see the party improve. It’s simply passive aggressive bullshit. Nobody in Labour listens to him, which winds him up. Failed candidate, failed coup leader, failed branch leader.
All he’s got left is posting negative bollocks here, which is occasionally applauded by TS commenters from the right and from the Labour hating left. It’s sad that he is reduced to abusing the party and the fine, fine people who make up its membership.
It’s clearly hypocritical that he stays a member of a party he loathes, though it’s a credit to Labour that his ongoing membership is not under threat. But then Labour’s always been on the side of those doing it tough.
I can’t speak for CV but I respect the fact he took it upon himself to bring about improvements.
IMO, in many instances CV’s comments often ring true and resonate with a number in the left camp.
I haven’t seen him abusing party members unless initially provoked.
If Labour were genuinely onside with those doing it tough, they would have restored/increased benefits long ago.
The TPP has highlighted the divide within has not been settled. Shearer and Goff should have been shown the door.
Until this divide is settled, the direction of the party will continue to be compromised, thus more often challenged.
” … he took it upon himself to bring about improvements.”
Cite needed! CV is entirely negative, which is understandable given that he has failed over many years to convince anyone within Labour to take his rubbish seriously. Within Labour it’s a reasonably easy process to get ‘improvements’ in policy or rules discussed and agreed. You’ve just got to have a reqsonable argument, convince your fellow branch members to support it, then speak to it at regional and national conferences or policy council. That’s democracy. It works well if you’ve got a good policy that resonates with members.
Being a self obsessed wanker on a website doesn’t work quite so well, but that’s what he’s reduced to. Seriously, would you have someone in your favourite sports club who spent every waking moment publicly rubbishing the club, it’s ethos, administrators and members?
I help run a footy club and every couple of seasons we have to deal with a bitter player who is past their best, won’t listen to the coach because they think they know better and try to poison other players against the club. We move them on nicely, generally trying to find them another club where their ‘special talents’ might be appreciated. But we get them out fast because poisoning the well hurts all the players.
Personally, I think the LP member we know as CV wants to be expelled so he can experience the masochistic thrill of being a martyr. If that’s the case he should just say so and I’ll help bring it about.
I was referring to his personal effort – i.e. his candidacy, branch leadership etc… thus his pro-activeness.
Not many members are prepared to put themselves up for candidacy to bring about change. Therefore, I respect him for that.
I don’t find him to be self obsessed. But some seem to be obsessed with him.
Labour is not a sports club. It’s a political party and like any political party should be able to withstand having their position challenged.
However, in saying that, I concur some associate being a member of a political party with being in a sports club, thus find it difficult accepting criticism of their own team.
No worries, it’s OK if you don’t get the point, but it might help if you remember sports clubs and political parties are both voluntary associations who expect reasonable behaviour from members.
You could also think of it in employment terms if it will help. How long would keep a staff member who spent all day going on social media bagging their workplace and workmates?
It’s really simple; if you can’t work within the organisation and actively run the organisation down, you should not be a member of that organisation. A person of principle would leave. A hypocrite would stay.
I got your point. However, I didn’t find it valid. While the two are both voluntary associations, a political party is not a sports club. Therefore, should able to withstand having their position challenged.
As for your other analogy, an astute employer would first ascertain if the criticism being made is valid.
In CV’s case, while I can’t speak for his overall intention, I believe he often makes valid points.
Nope, you’re apprently still missing the point. I guess that’s probably deliberate on your part as it’s not hard to understand.
As for your astute employer, even if, as in your example, some valid points were being made, the method chosen to make those points would lead to warnings, then dismissal. There can’t be many bosses or workers left in NZ who don’t understand that bagging your joband workmates in public is career limiting, but you may be an exception.
Nope I got it alright. Moreover, this (below) is why it continues to fall apart.
While the delivery method chosen is not considered acceptable in most jobs, political blogs are another kettle of fish.
Political blogs strengthen our democratic process. They are where politicians, the general public and party members can openly converse and express their ambitions, ideas, concerns, disappointment or discontent.
Additionally, from what I gather, CV has attempted to bring about change from the channels within. You conceded above no one took him seriously.
Seriously? I’m not sure all political blogs enhance democracy. The largest one (allegedly) took money to help destroy democracy 😉
But again, you miss the point. This behaviour is not acceptable just because the organisation concerned is a political party. It would be entirely weird if it was. When you ask to join an organisation, whatever kind it is, sports, work, politics, you agree to abide by the rules of the organisation. If you find you don’t like it there, you leave.
Having an ongoing public tanty because you can’t convince enough people of the strength of your ideas is seriously bad form. The LP is democratic and it’s really not hard to get ideas into remit form and discussed at branch, LEC, regional or national level. But the ideas have to be good, have to gain popularity and, ultimately, have to get majority support in a vote.
CV has not got anywhere, failing to get beyond the branch level. So now, he’s saying fuck democracy, it’s all about me.
Like a number of things of benefit, they can also be misused.
Overall, they’ve been of benefit boosting political discussion, the sharing of ideas, concerns and different perspectives, thus strengthening our democratic process.
This is where we once again disagree You see CV’s behaviour as an ongoing political tanty. I see him often making valid points on ongoing political policy and positions.
As for getting ideas into remit, a number of those new ideas and supporting arguments could have quite possibly stemmed from comments made on a political blog.
Those ‘valid points’ are consistently in opposition to the party of which he is a member. Nothing positive, all negative.
Do you see the problem? He won’t work inside the party and instead exclusively attacks the party. There’s no way round this, it actually is an ongoing tanty.
And to repeat, it’s to Labour’s immense credit that despite his visceral hatred of everything Labour stands for, he is still allowed to be a member. Mind you, the party needs every dollar it can get, so that could be why he’s still on the books 😉
Labour’s positioning often leaves supporters (and potential coalition partners) finding themselves in opposition with the party.
Which, of course, is a major problem. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the party’s position is challenged from within and from the left overall, which, generally I don’t see as an attack.
I’m surprised (as are a number of others) Labour were so forgiving of Goff and Shearer’s misbehaviour.
Their opposition to the party’s position was reported within hours of Little stating he opposed the TPP. Undermining Little, the party’s TPP position and the perception of a united party. Moreover, giving Key the ammo to fire at Little the other day.
People were even more surprised Little was prepared to risk losing support for his own position (as party leader) for the sake of going soft on the both of them.
I don’t think Little was soft on Shearer, just the opposite, really. Shearer had to go and apologise to caucus. That does not happen often, especially to ex-leaders.
Goff’s position was different because he approached caucus asking for dispension and only spoke after it was granted. At least he followed a process.
Shearer got the wet bus ticket punishment, and was ultimately vindicated by Little as Labour will clearly stay inside the TPP now matter how shite it turns out to be.
The fact Little won’t commit to withdrawing if Labour fails to win changes will result in more party supporters questioning Labour’s sincerity, thus their continued support of the party.
In your opinion for what that is worth.
Indeed, it’s my opinion.
Moreover, it’s a logical assumption. Therefore, Labour should take note.
Labour leadership reminds me of the bridge officers of the Titanic. Damn the warnings of ice, full speed ahead.
Labour remembers its glory days of the bold rise from the Depression, and are prepared to let us sink to those levels so they can rise again like the Second Coming, or the golden phoenix, and dazzle NZ and have their photos hung on every, nearly, wall like Mickey Savage’s. (I have one owned by my elderly aunt or socialist miner uncle.)
Turned Away in a Crisis
Our health services across the board are breaking down due to lack of funding but we really do need to increase the provision of mental health services.
We are letting a lot of NZers down, and badly.
I think a lot of these people with depression need to talk things out of their heads and find ways to see a better future for themselves. But I understand that gummint thinks that talking therapy is too expensive, and they are more likely to give pills instead that stop you thinking. It isn’t a big step to have a vague thought like what’s it all about anyway if this is all there is for me. The human psyche can only take so many whacks before it subsides.
+100 greywarshark…”I think a lot of these people with depression need to talk things out of their heads and find ways to see a better future for themselves”
given the shortage of psychiatric trained professionals….maybe many lay people ( eg. retired) could be trained to act as listening counsellors ( an extension of Lifeline or Youthline)…at places designated sounding posts ….mind you it would be demanding
…ooops isnt this what Relationships Aotearoa used to do?!!!
Question: …are we seeing the results of jonkey Nactional axing
counselling services?
http://www.nzac.org.nz/counselling_aotearoa_news.cfm?articleID=272&page_obj_id=53
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/273983/counselling-service-rejects-claim-it's-badly-run
i note also the young guy was crazy about cars but didnt have a driving license, which is essential for access to jobs
this jonkey Nact government has made it very difficult and expensive for young people to get a driving license, especially if they have solo parents or unemployed parents or just working parents
imo this government has young peoples’ hopes and dreams dashed.
out of affordable reach for many youth is tertiary education, housing, driver’s licenses, jobs , mental health and counselling services …they are trapped
…this governement has blood on its hands
chooky
The present governments don’t have aspirations to help people be prepared so they can do well in life. That’s too much trouble, they don’t care, they can buy what they want, and what others want, actually need, is a matter of no concern.
It’s not a country going forward together. it’s a bunch of very rich dudes presiding over a society with a number of fairly rich dudes, and they are all so cosy together. The rest can slot in where they can find a key that will open the door to better things, or make do.
Thats tragic Draco. A potentially avoidable death. It really does pain me that we don’t treat mental illness with the same level of care and resources that we do for physical illness, even it those resources are dwindling over the years.
that is so tragic !
I hope that Chris Trotter does not resent me copying a number of paras from his recent piece on the latest political Table Talk at the Ika Bar in Auckland. He gives a sketch of Matthew Hooton which is very revealing, very thorough. Chris’ judgment is sound I think. As Matthew drops in her to add his unfailing wisdom quite often, it is good to have a wider viewpoint of his propensities.
Those skirmishing skills were displayed to considerable effect from the get-go on Tuesday night (9/2/16) when Hooton accused the writer of seeing the 4 February anti-TPPA demonstrations as “the beginning of a revolution”. It is precisely this acidic mixture of smile and sneer that makes Hooton such a formidable opponent. That, and his ability to master a complex political brief very quickly and then fashion it into a political argument that is at once simple and subtle. Hooton, when he’s in control of himself, is both a superb manipulator of the truth and a master at identifying his opponents’ weak spots.
Out of control, Hooton can be rabid. One of the reasons the numbers were down for Ika’s first Table Talk for 2016 was that many people simply refused to be in the same room as the man who has constantly and viciously impugned the integrity of Professor Jane Kelsey. This penchant for abusing progressive New Zealanders publicly has turned Hooton into something of a hate figure, and it seriously undermines his political credibility. If he ever learns to control it, he will instantly become an even more deadly opponent of the Left….
… What distinguishes the Left from the Right is its belief that the world should be – and can be made – a better place. Against all the contrary evidence that the cynics and trimmers delight in throwing in their path, the world’s progressives must somehow continue to muster the faith, hope and love to continue fighting. That’s why Laila Harré’s gatherings at the Ika Seafood Bar & Grill are so valuable. They provide an opportunity for the beleaguered Auckland Left to recommit itself to a more just and equal future….
Chris uses a theme drawn from a Nietzsche saying that persons fighting dragons must watch that the result is not that they become dragons themselves, and queries that affect on Labour. Thoughtful and entertaining writing, Chris shouldn’t be missed.
edited
I think it’s a mistake to have Hooton at such things. His involvement in dirty politics means he is tainted as a matter of course and giving him a left wing venue to practice his manipulation in is just wrong. Likewise in neutral settings like RNZ. He should be pilloried not invited along for dinner and entertainment and good vibes. There are plenty of right wing people around to have in such a discussion without using ones that are being paid to damage the left at any opportunity they get.
Yes, only ideologically pure Labour members should be allowed to attend.
You mean Rogernomes? Or Shearites?
Why would you think that?
Surely you meant to write, idiotically, Magisterium?
What was “dirty politics”?
What does it mean to have been “involved” in it?
ha ha ha.
Don’t ask that question Matthew. You look a disingenuous punk. You already know what/how it is to be involved in Dirty Politics.
Agree with Weka. Think it is a mistake to have Hooton at these events. Can’t the left just have a normal debate without PR people paid to support whatever? Not wonder the discourses are so limited.
In addition can’t remember but Fran O’Sullivan was also invited to one of those events could be the Dotcom thing. Why????
Prefer to see real journos with proper research that don’t sell out at those events.
Mistake to invite Hooton.
His spin needs no more publicity.
+100…thanks greywarshark….couldnt agree more with Trotter on Hooton!
Surely Trots didn’t think it was the beginning of a revolution? I mean, he can float away on clouds of his own poffpoffing, but surely not.
weka
Chris Trotter had some thoughts like that too.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/here-be-dragons-ika-seafood-bar-grills.html
edited
Now the more hard-headed leftists amongst us would no doubt say that Tuesday’s Table Talk was an important wake-up call for the Left. Unused to the punishing performance that Hooton excels at delivering, an hour-long pistol-whipping at his hands might be exactly what the Left needed if it is to muscle-up and become politically competitive.
That’s the only thing that even comes close to explaining why he was there. Perhaps the usual crowd at Ika aren’t very savvy about what what’s going down politically in NZ.
I don’t agree with the tactic, or the framing of political competition and violence, but I do agree there are people that need to be woken up and fast.
That’s the only thing that even comes close to explaining why he was there
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/laila-harres-unlikely-holiday-companion/
You’re a dag BM. Josie Pagani is about as trustworthy as Hooton.
ZB is not a reliable source.
Perhaps it was a tactic of know your enemy. Trotter said that Hooton and Simon Wilson kept up an onslaught that had the lefties sighing and squirming.
At the beginning Trotter says that the effect of the evening was depressing. – so better early in this important year, than late. At least know what you are up against. This is Trotter’s first para:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201788843/could-the-big-banks-go-bust-again
when not if
Just heard Gareth Hughes properly lay into John Key in general debate. Worth a listen or someone with more time that me at present might like to post the link…..
http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/41477
Gareth Hughes…excellent
That’s very good.
Sure is, and it’s 100% accurate too.
If Key were a real person with a conscience he would hang his head in shame.
But no, he’ll be too busy counting the increased wealth for him and his mates like SkyCity to be bothered by the truth.
Anybody else seen this one?
Credit Ratings Agency Blackmails Christchurch City Council
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1602/S00092/credit-ratings-agency-blackmails-christchurch-city-council.htm
Hat tip to the Daily Blog
On December 8th the Press reported that: “Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has ruled out downgrading Christchurch City Council for the time being…But the agency warned that the ratings could be lowered if earthquake repair costs grow or the Council backs away from an asset sales plan” (emphasis added).
That’s more than a threat and more than a promise. It’s a very clear example of transnational corporate blackmail.
Here’s the online version of the Press report,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/74833709/Christchurchs-credit-rating-stable-so-long-as-asset-sales-proceed
Common outlets for bile between The Herald and NewstalkZB (and TVNZ?)
It seems now ex traffic officer Larry Williams, as with Hosking, gets to peddle his opinions on more than one media outlet.
Columns in the Herald as well as their own regular radio shows.
How long before Williams gets a position on TVNZ as well?
Are there other Herald journalists who appear to have this privilege?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11587550
Unmitigated ignorance, shameless bias, and non-news:
Is NewstalkZB the worst media outlet in New Zealand?
NewstalkZB, Thursday 11 February 2016
Other news media have their weaknesses, as we are all well aware. But when it comes to sheer sustained mediocrity, crass offensiveness, and lumpen stupidity, no other media outlet in this country has a lineup of hosts as bad as NewstalkZB. I made the mistake of listening to it for a few minutes this morning…
After seven o’clock, Hosking conducted an admiring interview with Jake Bailey, the 2015 Christchurch Boys’ High School head boy who, despite suffering from cancer, late last year achieved brief celebrity by delivering an emotional speech at the school prizegiving, urging young people to be “gallant, great and gracious.” Connossieurs of black humor no doubt savored the brutal irony of this fine young man being interviewed by Mike “Contra” Hosking, who, as a self-aggrandizing liar, a toady to the powerful and a fiercely on-message National Party place-man, is the very antithesis of “gallant, great and gracious”.
After eight o’clock, things took an even more dismal turn. Hosking’s interlocutor was the dreadful, unfunny Tim Wilson…..
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: It’s 8:20 and time to talk to Tim Wilson about what’s coming up on Seven Sharp tonight. You’ve got a story about Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump—the two most EXTREME candidates have won in New Hampshire.
TIM WILSON: Yes, indeed! The Rug rises!
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: They’re outsiders. People are sick of Washington.
A little later, Hosking mused on the decision by Environment Canterbury to not prosecute business icon Hugh Fletcher and his wife Chief Justice Sian Elias after they let their cattle bathe, illegally, in a freshwater stream….
MIKE “CONTRA” HOSKING: It makes you wonder what Environment Canterbury actually DOES. Remember, this was the organization sacked by Margaret Bazley because it was INCOMPETENT…..
The 8:30 “news” began with the woman news slave intoning in high seriousess: “Christchurch Boys’ High School’s head boy in 2015, Jake Bailey, has urged young people to be ‘gallant, great and gracious.’ Interviewed by NewstalkZB’s Mike Hosking, he said…..”
But, incredibly, it got even worse. At the end of the sports news and weather came the following classic sentence, in which, quite unwittingly, the otherwise unexceptional and unexciting Matt Brown gave Alejandro Jodorowsky a run for his money….
MATT BROWN: Great conversations start here. ….[pregnant pause]… Leighton Smith is moments away…..
You never disappoint Morrissey. As I started to read about halitosis brain and putrid morals Larry Williams in Logie97’s comment, the word “Lackwit” came to mind. Then scrolling down……The Morrissey !
Auckland Council’s ‘out of scope’ amendments to the Unitary Plan are causing a LOT of concern to a significant number of citizens and ratepayers.
(700+ people at the Kohimarama Public Meeting held on Tuesday 9 February 2016, was a SIGNIFICANT turnout, in my opinion.)
This is what I’m doing about it:
The video coverage of my presentation to the Auckland Council Development Committee meeting today, Thursday 11 February 2016.
Covering the Auckland Unitary Plan, and my petition calling for an urgent Parliamentary investigation, regarding Auckland Council’s ‘out of scope’ amendments, and the alleged failure to consult with and involve the ‘communities of Auckland’ as required under the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009.
(Starts 27.30 (mins) and finishes 36.30 )
http://councillive.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/live
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Where do the other Auckland Mayoral candidates stand on this BIG Auckland issue?
(Only Mark Thomas and myself attended the Kohimarama Public Meeting on the Unitary Plan, which attracted over 700 concerned citizens on Tuesday evening 9 February 2016.)
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11588060
Auckland housing rezone loses support
Thursday, 11 February 2016
The New Zealand Herald
A man takes pictures of planned zoning changes at a public meeting in Kohimarama earlier this week. Photo / NZ Herald
By Bernard Orsman
Auckland Council’s proposal to rezone thousands of homes for more intensive housing and apartments has lost the support of a majority of councillors, with councillor Sir John Walker today speaking out against the changes.
“If the mayor wants my vote we are going to have to come to a compromise,” said Sir John, who did not spell out what that solution would be.
“I’m on the residents’ side. I don’t want to see high rise buildings towering over Auckland.
“I don’t trust the town planners. They present one thing and change their mind and do another,” said the Olympic gold medallist.
Sir John said he supported calls to withdraw the changes, which see large swathes of suburban Auckland rezoned for multi-storey buildings, terraced housing and apartments in the council’s latest submission to the Unitary Plan.
Under the “out of scope” changes to zoning, meaning no residents asked for them in the proposed Unitary Plan, there is no formal right of reply for affected property owners.
Sir John’s position means 11 of the 21 councillors want the council to withdraw the out of scope changes from the Unitary Plan process.
The other 10 are Cameron Brewer, Cathy Casey, Chris Fletcher, Denise Krum, Mike Lee, Dick Quax, Sharon Stewart, Wayne Walker, John Watson and George Wood.
Mayor Len Brown, deputy mayor Penny Hulse, Arthur Anae, Bill Cashmore, Ross Clow, Linda Cooper, Chris Darby, Alf Filipaina and Calum Penrose told the Herald they support the changes proceeding through the Unitary Plan process.
Councillor Penny Webster has not responded, but is believed to be in Brown’s camp.
….
_______________________
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Here’s a BIG Auckland issue: climate change. Where do you stand on that, Penny?
Garth McVicar with his usual mix of common sense, nonsense and authoritarianism.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1602/S00130/defying-human-nature-with-disastrous-results.htm on 10 February 2016.
“What kids thrive on, and in fact what many of their parents could do with as well, is a good dose of A B C D, Accountability Boundaries, Consequences and Discipline.
ABC – you can see he didn’t get far in school. And I don’t think that schools are very good at teaching kids how to relax, concentrate and learn. Then they would come out better educationally equipped to form judgments about themselves and how crazy the world is.
He was lambasting the no smacking rule. He quotes stats that look bad, and I presume they do show the real situation. I never thought that the rule would help much. There would still be violence just as there are still murderers even though its well known that it isn’t the right thing to do!
Kids need love and firm guidelines and a bit of forgiveness when they go wrong. Parents need to learn how to parent and also need the same things that I’ve listed for children. There is no let up on parents – there is always somebody bashing away at them. Even when they are trying to be perfect, they are terrible, i.e. USA helicopter parents. No parent should be able to claim amnesty from the law because they are parents, and say it is right to beat their children. They need to go to remedial behavioural programs, and have to attend and pass a scratch test and demonstrate with a role model activity how to manage difficulties. If not let them go to jail for a week.
On the other hand the anti abortionists can’t bring themselves to really help the children who are suffering bad conditions in Nz because they are too busy mooning over those who were aborted. This is from Right to Life press release of 10 February 2016 is named Where Have All the Children Gone.
It’s just as well they don’t take note of all the children who are potentially lost each month as unfertilised eggs. The authoritarians want to force women to have children they aren’t ready or able to care for, like breeding animals. They make a true point that it is a hard decision and may be regretted throughout life. But having the child would have the same effect on a mother who is too mentally or physically unwell. It is a very demanding role and not one to take up with a she’ll be right attitude. Even adoption can be bad for the child, emotionally and/or physically.
This is part of The Right to Life item. They go on about the children’s possible attributes. The young man who committed suicide referred to earlier in the post had real and present attributes, but society through its government services, wouldn’t provide those that the young man needed. The religious baby adorers find older children less attractive. Don’t grow up you Peter Pans because then no-one except a few struggling carers, will sob for you.
Nearly 50,000 5 year olds commenced their schooling in the first week of February, happy and laughing with the joy of living. Sadly there were 15,863 5 year olds missing. These are the children who were considered of little worth and whose lives were terminated by abortion in 2011. They are nameless and are recorded as a cold statistic in the Abortion Supervisory Committee’s annual report to Parliament in 2005.
Their absence is mourned for they were created with many talents to enrich our society. Our society is impoverished by their absence. We should also have deep sympathy for their mothers who will be mourning the loss of their children. Mothers who so often were coerced in to an unwanted abortion because of the abandonment of the mother and child and because of pressure from family and friends.
And so it goes.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11588231
Good fucking job Lambo’ (and Merc’ for that matter) owners. Shit happens darlings. Even to Hard Working Masters Of The Universe.
If the Merc’d been a punk in a dropped rough az purple metallic ’83 Holden from Manurewa/Mangere/Ranui/Massey it’d be breath screener out and 8 hundies of infringement notice. Then if absent of sufficient ‘respect’ he/she’d be face down on the tarmac quick smart.
Arrested and ‘cuffed for scandalous driving causing injury to an appallingly ugly, for ‘The Worthy’ only, vehicular representation of a ridiculously blood sapping stiff cock. The facsimile necessary apparently. This public service performed by 111 responsive constabulary only 600 metres away on Mayoral Drive/Pitt Street.
But no. Not in this case. Mr Plod – “You have this under control gentlemen…..insured both ways I take it ? Very good then job done order restored”.
Me cynical ? Noooo ! This is Mr Key’s New Zealand after all. Ask all the office workers down from their desks. Darting in with the quick jab, the well directed boot for the scum whose kidneys already suffer Mr Plod’s well trained hurt tool, his bulky knee.
Kidding am I ? No. A good 35 years ago witnessed not dissimilar scenario only metres away from the very same car park. Nearly got a hiding myself when I remonstrated at the baying of numerous “Hard Working But Thuggish Hugh Wright Suited Folk” who’d poured with vengeance in mind onto the street from the formerly John Banks owned restaurant where I too was consuming a scotch fillet lunch and too much vin rouge.
Which like the Lambo’ owner I’d worked so fucking hard for……ha ha ha !!!
Well that was incoherent.