And they say trouble comes in threes – the revelation of the regional “Cabinet Clubs” – where paid members get access to MPs at events around the country again sends the message that for the Nats, money talks.
Some claim “that’s just politics” and maybe some other parties have undertaken similarly marginally-appropriate fundraising efforts, but there is a pattern here of the Nats putting how much money you have at the heart.
Whether any of these situations are within the sometimes-pliable rules isn’t the point – the message is clear: If you are wealthy, you appear to get privileged access to and support of ministers and MPs under the Nats. That’s not right.
I don’t buy into these examples being mistakes either – these are experienced politicians. They are simply reflecting the culture and values of their organisation – unfortunately it is our Government!
Some may bandy around the word corruption – while others would take great offence at that because at least they are being open about their approach and priorities, defending them even. I guess it depends on the definition of corrupt – these may not literally be examples of bribery but it is still a lack of integrity.
Yep. Integrity, and the Nats’ pattern of a primary focus on money, especially big money..
The worst of it is that they are not honest about their intentions and continue to dole out crumbs from the rich man’s table to a naïve public who think that rich men are better at running ‘the economy’. I would venture to suggest that the greedy and the selfish are the very last people who should be trusted with other people’s assets
He also does the compulsory ‘look over there’ routine. What a buffoon! Hopefully the right wing will come up with some new material when they get caught out, because their current bag of tricks is rather boring!
It’s really disturbing how ACT’s agenda finds the media regularly.
Watch as stories of the cost of healthcare drip feed into the news to create their narrative.
Grant sounds like a hired gun working for private health. Presently ripping up the NHS in the UK and invited over here by the private health industry to recommend cutting public health cover.
“Imagine a world where every time you get a taxpayer-funded health treatment, such as at a hospital, you are handed a “statement” of what it cost.
One who finds that easy to picture is Oamaru-born Sir Malcolm Grant, the chairman of NHS (National Health Service) England.
Actually, the dapper New Zealander said it wouldn’t be hard to do and there have been conversations about putting it into practice in Britain.
The rationale for such a move is clear: countries like Britain and New Zealand need to address rising healthcare costs. There’s an argument people should be educated about the cost of their ill-health, especially in cases of disease caused by what might be termed “lifestyle choices” like obesity.
Grant was in New Zealand to speak at a conference organised by health insurer Southern Cross on healthcare affordability. Under discussion was setting policies to drive wellness gains and therefore reduce healthcare demand.
“The question of personal responsibility is very problematic,” Grant said, but interventions could be justified.
The British and New Zealand health systems have much in common and face similar cost pressures, said Grant. He believed New Zealand could learn some things from the reform taking place in cash-strapped Britain under his watch at NHS England, a public body which oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of health services in that country.
“Another lesson might be to depoliticise healthcare.”
“A Massey University survey of 32 health experts participating in the conference found the biggest perceived barriers to change were political. MPs were accused of failing to grasp issues, ignoring others, and being unwilling to promote unpopular solutions.”
Philippa Whitford is an NHS surgeon from Ireland, working in Scotland. She describes what is happening to public health in England and posts it as a warning to the Scots.We should heed her message here too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esV6pGo8UTI
“It’s really disturbing how ACT’s agenda finds the media regularly.”
You’re not the only one who’s noticed that.
I’ve been idly wondering if a case can be built to have the Herald prosecuted under the Electoral Act. That may sound a bit far fetched at first thought but I find the Herald editorials such blatant & shameless defences of the National Party (and possible coalition partners) I think the free advertising they’re giving National, Act etc, needs to be declared as political donations. They’re getting $millions worth there IMO.
For those who don’t know; The editorial is the view of the newspaper **, it’s identified by the title ‘Editorial’. Commentaries from individuals like Fran O’Sullivan and John Roughan are the personal view of the writers, not much can be done about them so long as the ‘paper also presents alternate views. The commentaries can be biased but the editorials, however, can’t be. It’s their Achilles heel.
** that’s not an opinion btw, it’s a fact. The editorial has a powerful influence on public opinion because it’s a statement from the neutral (sic) press. For those who doubt; somewhere in the Herald site they clearly state it’s the view of the ‘paper, a quote from the Herald editor here;
“shayne.currie
The editorial board meets daily, and we tackle each issue on a case-by-case basis. There’s a robust discussion, and often the editorial writer will be coming up with a piece that they don’t necessarily agree with. It’s the paper’s view.”
It wouldn’t be easy to prove press bias but I’m pretty confident if someone with the time was to research all the Herald editorials of the last few years they’d find a very noticeable pattern to them that might reach an evidential threshhold. I find the Sunday Herald editorials to be far more balanced and more likely to criticise National so they need to be separated & can also be used as a comparison.
The useless press council would never do anything but maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance to restore some press neutrality before the election via the Electoral Act. Even a failed attempt would wake them up a bit & perhaps force them to tone down their interfering in our democracy.
The Herald’s other consistent target…..teachers
Our Health and Education sectors are the only two that foreign corporations haven’t got their hooks into.
It is a perception trick – keep the focus on the story about the corruption of the law and order lady and create demand for more responsibility with an iron fist. Nothing works like purpose directed public anger. But how many kiwis will look through that?
Depoliticising health care Grant says. That sounds like the specious argument that sport shouldn’t be political. What dark agent of dictatorship gave him his nighthood?
Take the political out of politics I say. It just interferes with the clear practical measures required to run the country. Ultimately perhaps we could be as unpolitical as North Korea!!
Where he keeps asking others to produce evidence, while producing little of his own. Thus giving everyine the run-around, leading the agenda. Meanwhile others put the time into finding evidence, and he just keeps producing a string of comments, attempting to lead the discussion, while failing to engage in producing is own arguments in good faith. Also involves PG keeping on moving the goalposts, and slipping from one topic to the next when he is called out on his practices.
I hate the word absolutely as it is too commonly used, but it does indicate perfect agreement so I use it to agree with you here karol.
It was clever of him to get into Politicheck – it seems a back door for him to get his nose into everywhere and everything all the time. Sigh surely not?
Except you know he will lift only just enough to get out of moderation, but not enough to make much difference to the way the comments section of ts functions.
I think (hope) it will make a difference simply because other commenters will be able to get a word in and develop some conversations before the inevitable derailing begins.
Oh I completely support PG being moderated. I just wasn’t keen on OAB’s idea that this might lead to PG lifting his game. I expect that once PG is let out of moderation, the inevitable will happen.
The drumbeats are starting. Our healthcare system (along with the pension) is the last bastion of our welfare state that hasn’t (completely) fallen to the hordes of user-pays, even though it came close in the 1990s. And from the looks of it, those who admire the US way of doing things have regrouped and are ready to pounce once National have won a 3rd term. Though Labour could do their dirty work for them…..
Boag was certainly given far too much airtime for Q+A to be considered unbiased. In fact I had to mute the TV because of all her shrill right wing commentary that just went on and on. Simon Wilson was particularly talked over and closed down by the overbearing Boag. What a disgraceful display.
I thought the bit where Joyce said; “you better be careful” to Corin Dann was telling. Instead of actually producing some evidence to show Dann’s statement was incorrect, Joyce simply threatened him.
As a professional journalist that sort of alpha male bullshit must really get under your skin, especially when the facts and figures being used are for all intents and purposes correct.
This National government certainly does have a lot of contempt for any statistics produced by it’s own ministry’s that highlight its failings, and disdain for the so-called fourth estate.
Solutions exist. The race is on. My challenge to all political and business leaders, all concerned citizens and voters is simple: be at the head of the race. Don’t get left behind. Don’t be on the losing side of history.
Unfortunately Philip we will never see billboards like this, as it would require the opposition parties to have a different position to the government.
As the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party David Parker says Labour’s position is “close” to the government, and as Lynn Prentice says The Green and Labour Party’s position is “remarkably the same.”
phillip and Jenny, re your billboards idea. Just do it. Erect People’s billboards in public spaces, don’t wait for Party billboards.
For the last 10 months People’s Power Ohariu has been making billboards to highlight Dunne’s voting choices (Sky City, Asset sales, and GCSB) as well as other Dunne related themes that affect us all, as a way of publicly holding him to account and raising awareness. These are placed around the neighbourhoods of his electorate.
Your “billboard” above Jenny has a nice flow and a strong positive message. It would look great in a pedestrian area, where people can stop to read it. It’s election year and the time is ripe to spread the word.
this has been presented as the official word from Washington
(and is suitably baffling in its navigational operations and its functionality as a research tool 🙂 )
Just watching Q&A and have a question on my own: who has elected Mr Joyce? He is saying that there is wage growth despite statistics showing a different picture. Mr English commented – reported in the news yesterday – that NZ wages will grow to 62K in the next years. I bet the checkout operator, gas station attendant, health worker etc will be pleased to hear that. Mr Boag makes noises about poor Mrs Collins and that she will be disappointed that her image suffered (????) She also seem to be missing the point when talking about pay for access to politician. The fact this is going on so long is no excuse for the fact that this undermines democracy. If wealthy people can influence policy than the average person would not have any possibility to sway anybody, vote or not. So if National is saying that they are advancing NZ interests, whose interest is it they advance?
Michelle Boag is in denial about all the negative impacts in the community and it is my feeling that she is too old to grasp the needs of a NZ economy and its people for the next 20-30 years. Mind you, why would she with a taxpayer funded income for the rest of her life.
On a positive side, BNZ commentator Alexander Thorburn gave a very good interview that is both showing the positive sides and the concerns looking 10 or more years ahead. By what I understand, he rightly states that Kiwis are not “hungry” enough to succeed and confirms that the average wage is too low. This is connected to education and having the right skill set. Expectations when setting out need to be understood as a start not the peek of a carrier. Housing is an issue, especially with the tax incentives in place. Why do we have such great people here and we hardly ever get some comments to hear from them?
By what I understand, he rightly states that Kiwis are not “hungry” enough to succeed and confirms that the average wage is too low.
When you’re struggling to survive on poverty wages developing the next Best Thing is way down the list of Things To Do with your limited income. Little things like food and rent come first.
Lift everybody out of poverty rather than just reward the already rich and we’ll see innovation increase. Make it so that people can collaborate in trust and have access to the resources necessary to develop that innovation. Do that and we’ll see innovation in NZ soar.
Basically, close to the exact opposite of what we’ve been doing for the last 30 years.
Labour needs to capitalise on what Whyte has said ACT would do. It needs to use it as a warning of what National will do if elected. Labour needs to hammer what a third term will mean, highlight the lies and likelihood of u-turns and how National’s agenda by-stealth in reality is identical to ACT’s the only difference being timing. Labour could so easily do this because the material for telling the truth is all there laid out for it. This is what Labour must do, but of course they’re too stupid to so it won’t happen.
@Mary re Labour capitalizing on what Act are saying. I think this is a good idea. How about you at least give Labour a chance to see if they do it?? I think their strategy is going well at the moment. Target Colins, bring Trev in as attack dog, then move on to Woodhouse……..Ping Key for letting ministerial standards slid.
“How about you at least give Labour a chance to see if they do it??”
Because giving Labour chances doesn’t work. We’ve learned that’s the case since they said in 1991 that they’d ditched rogernomics. Since then Labour’s done nothing except kick us in the guts. I’m sick of giving Labour a chance. They don’t deserve any more chances. Giving Labour a “chance” is akin to saying “keep going you lot, we like what you’re doing.” We need a new strategy which can’t be about sitting back in the belief that Labour is “better than the other lot”. We need to start telling Labour that it can’t take its support for granted. Therein lies the problem. Giving Labour another “chance” is the last thing we should be doing.
Well then the best thing to do to create the impression within Labour that they’re not as well loved as they think they are is to Vote Green.
I renewed my membership fees last year solely to vote Cunliffe. Haven’t done so this year as my values and ethos are becoming more reflected in Green party policies.
Ideally, Labour on 30% and Green on 20% would be pudding proof.
@ Mary …………That of course it your choice not to give Labour another chance and I understand that choice, having made it too in past elections. I merely mean’t on this occasion, re how they respond to Act.. But you don’t have to give Labour a chance at all. That’s cool.
It will be interesting to see what they do about the Act thing…see Ad’s comments below.
That’s precisely what I’m saying. I don’t think Labour has the guts to respond to ACT in that way because they sense it’d be seen as a display of weakness to whatever they think the middle ground is = sellout.
“.. We’ve learned that’s the case since they said in 1991 that they’d ditched rogernomics. Since then Labour’s done nothing except kick us in the guts..”
I guess I was thinking more about rogernomics as like an octopus that sucked the life out of everything it possibly can. Like we have now. Although for this government it’s about doing it over time and in a way that changes thinking in a cultural way. It’s probably how ACT see it too, but the idea is that ACT is the Huntaway barking at the rear.
Offering dire warnings doesn’t work. Labour and Greens went hammer and tongs against what National would do in its second term, but the result was not enough people got out to vote, and the election was lost. (National then went and did precisely what the public had been warned they would do).
Negative is not what is needed right now. TV3, the NZHerald, and the Christchurch Daily Press will do that for the opposition most days of the week now.
Inspiring is what is needed now. What Labour needs to do is what Cunliffe is launching on this site tomorrow: a fresh and clear approach to rebuilding New Zealand in the interests of everyone.
“What Labour needs to do is what Cunliffe is launching on this site tomorrow: a fresh and clear approach to rebuilding New Zealand in the interests of everyone.”
Okay, you win. I’ll give Labour another chance. Guess we’ll know some time tomorrow, then. I’m very open minded.
+1. I would guess that didymo is a consequence of multiple factors, including industrial farming.
If NZ really cared about the environment, or even water, beyond how we can use it, we would have shut down human ‘use’ on all rivers until we knew what we were dealing with. When didymo first arrived in NZ, we already knew that once it got into a catchment there was no way to remove it, so why did govt scientists take several years to study it before doing anything, and then only did something half arse like telling fishermen and boaties to wash their gear?
A poignantly brave story of an escapee from North Korea who needs support and a hearing as he speaks on behalf of his fellow escapee who was caught in China (they allow North Korea to search for their escapees there and the authorised thugs may break all their prisoner’s limbs and then ship them back to NKorea in a coffin and I don’t know whether they care whether they are alive or dead when they get put in.)
Heard on Radionz this a.m. talking about his book Dear Leader, readers might like to buy it, published by Random House, and show solidarity and give some money to help him to live and evade capture. He is speaking at the Auckland Writers Festival on Friday May 16
10:06 Jang Jin-sung – Secrets of North Korea
Jang Jin-sung defected after having served as a counter-intelligence officer, and poet laureate, for North Korea’s former dictator Kim Jong-il. In his memoir Dear Leader he gives insights into the workings of one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, and he talks to Wallace about the fate of his country, and what drove him to reveal its secrets.
Jang Jin-sung is appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival on Friday May 16. His new book, Dear Leader (Random House) is published to coincide with his visit.
Auckland Writers Festival
History, Politics and Global Events
Memoir
The versatile Jang Jin-sung defected to South Korea having served as a counter-intelligence officer, and poet laureate, for North Korea’s former dictator Kim Jong-il. In his newly published memoir Dear Leader he gives unparalleled insights into the workings of one of the world’s most secret regimes, about which we periodically receive news of executions, widespread repression and nuclear ambition. In discussion with John Sinclair, and with a translator.
Supported by the Asia NZ Foundation.
Speaker Bios:
.John Sinclair
Jang Jin-sung
Friday 16 May 2014
05/16/2014 11:30AM —
05/16/2014 12:30PM
ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
50 Mayoral Drive Auckland New Zealand
$20.00 Earlybird
$25.00 Standard
$15.00 Patron
$12.50 Student
Get a discount on earlybird/standard tickets if you include this event in a 5 or 10 ticket Concession Pass
Also on North Korea
The Orphan Master’s Son: Adam Johnson.
Friday 16 May 2014
05/16/2014 10:00AM —
05/16/2014 11:00AM
Is truth stranger than fiction when it’s focussed on that strange and secretive land north of the 38th parallel? Join American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Adam Johnson for a discussion of his exquisitely written satirical novel The Orphan’s Master’s Son, in which protagonist and party factotum Jun Do tries to get on in Kim Jong-il’s North Korea, while falling for an actress called Sun Moon. In conversation with Simon Wilson.
(Many other nationals were kidnapped by North Korean agents including a famous actress and that is one of the bases for this book’s content.)
Supported by Platinum Patrons Gerard and Carol Curry.
I think I might be wrong in something I said about the North Korean escapee, I thought he fled to China and was being hunted there but I think he could have been somewhere else I think in Asia, perhaps in South Korea. I have to listen again to check. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
Also there was a report on Wallace Chapmans program this morning on the way that Sweden has a widening gap between rich and poor, and has ceased making individual stands for good governance in the world and offering mediation etc. since the neo lib tide washed over them. It is very forward in the armaments industry and works well with the USA.
9:40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
In the light of new leads in the case of the mysterious murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme in 1986, Wayne looks at the heyday of Swedish social democracy, and the decline of Sweden’s once independent, neutral and powerful voice in international peace and justice. Wallace follows up with Maj Britt Theorin, Palme’s Ambassador for Disarmament.
yea …. that was a very interesting piece. What interested me was the question posed … ‘when did Sweden turn?’. The response basically when it joined the EU. Reminds me then of a comment I made the other day about Labour and Nats in Brit/Oz/elsewhere ‘feeding off each other’ – but also how we used to put Sweden up as an example (regardless it seems of the direction). Looking at what’s happening overseas by political equivalents is oft used as a justification for local policy WHETHER OR NOT its relevant to NZ. It also shows a degree of a lack of ideas or originality*. The march of 3rd Wayism and neo-liberalism. As Maj Britt Theorin seemed to show – it hasn’t worked!
At the very least, Parker’s latest is a refreshing break from that (not that I’ll give Labour my party vote again – YET)
Once was (and is) Tim
+1 How many times do we hear about it being done overseas (never stated where or when or by whom to what effect) as a reason for introducing some new or changed measure?
The ultimate in crass other-country worship and cultural cringe with an automatic put-down of our own initiative and capability. Basically its laziness. Instead of getting bespoke home-made policies to fit our needs, you buy in cheap policies and measures as off the shelf programs (cheap because the policies have been formed overseas which has carried out the hard work of designing them). It is done with buying computer programs, and our whole national commerce and economy is based on buying other people’s produce, trying for cheapness and immediacy.
It is done with buying computer programs, and our whole national commerce and economy is based on buying other people’s produce, trying for cheapness and immediacy.
Yep. NZ has become very very cheap over the last thirty years as we swallowed the BS that the neo-liberals spewed out about being able to get things cheaper. We’ve lost the understanding that things cost and that you can’t get them any cheaper.
the campbell live interview with the scientist who invented legal-highs..was also interesting..
..he said they were never designed to be used by humans..his work was for research purposes only..
..that they are very addictive..and that they should be banned..
..and..his solution to the current/ongoing legal-high addiction problem…
..is to legalise cannabis..
..(in part for scientific-reasons..because cannabis is complex..and some components of it act as counters to those untramelled addictive-qualities found in these legal-highs..)
..and it is kinda funny..(not ha-ha!)..that dung has been allowed to ride his false meme of ‘mr commonsense’..for so long
..whereas on this issue especially..(but not only..)..the ‘common sense’ of legalising cannabis..)
“Hard Clay”–remaking Afghanistan in “our” image
by David Edwards, Media Lens, 28 April 2014
Last month, we reviewed the mind-boggling contrast between corporate media coverage of the January 2005 election in Iraq and the March 2014 referendum in Crimea.
Whereas all media accepted the basic legitimacy of an Iraq election conducted under extremely violent US-UK military occupation, they all rejected the legitimacy of a Crimea referendum conducted ‘at [Russian] gunpoint’.
It was not difficult to guess how the same media would respond to the Afghan presidential election of April 5 under the guns of Britain and America’s occupying force.
The Daily Telegraph had welcomed ‘the first democratic elections’ in Iraq (Leader, ‘Mission accomplished,’ December 6, 2004) and dismissed the Crimea vote as ‘an illegal referendum conducted at gunpoint’. As for Afghanistan: ‘The sight of millions of Afghans defying the Taliban to vote in their country’s presidential election should induce genuine humility. We might take democracy for granted; they emphatically do not.’
Democracy it was, then. Had the editors forgotten that the vote was taking place under US-UK military occupation? In fact, no: ‘The idea that the Taliban are waiting to sweep back to power as soon as American and British troops depart has also taken a knock. If this poll continues to proceed smoothly, the country should have the inestimable benefit of a legitimately elected leader.’
The election was thus declared both democratic and legitimate. As in Iraq, the delegitimising effect of military occupation was ignored – ‘our’ occupations are simply accepted as legitimate and uncontroversial.
A Sunday Times leader hailed ‘democratic elections’ in Iraq, noting only that they were threatened by ‘terrorists’ – Iraqis, not the illegal foreign invaders who had wrecked the country with war, sanctions, bombing and more war (Leader, ‘Send more troops,’ October 10, 2004). By contrast, The Times claimed that the Crimea referendum was made absurd by Russian troops ‘massing on their western border’. (Leading article, ‘Russian Pariah,’ March 17, 2014)
But The Times found nothing absurd about the Afghan election: ‘We should honour and celebrate the resolve of these voters, their commitment to the democratic process.’
To be sure, military involvement had been a problem: ‘The Taleban has been malignly active in the run-up to the election, attacking foreigners in restaurants and showering death threats on democratic activists.’
What about the occupation? ‘As US and British troops ready themselves for withdrawal by the end of this year, the Afghans are evidently eager to take command of their own political destinies.’
And yet this was impossible in Crimea, although Russian troops were not occupying and fighting, merely said to be ‘massing’ on the border.
Wurst, who is representing Austria in the competition, wasn’t fazed by these barbs. “I can only say ‘Thank you for your attention!” she told the Associated Press. Wurst added, “Hey, I’m just a singer in a fabulous dress, with great hair and a beard.”
The queen of Austria! Aside from the ‘Freedom’ Party almost everyone here is hugely proud of her. She’s worked hard over the last few years to gain the respect she has. I love that Eurovision is so subversive and that fireworks were going off after the vote last night.
Public divided over whether Judith Collins should stay as minister
Published: 10:38AM Sunday May 11, 2014 Source: ONE News
Do you think her behaviour has been damaging to National’s level of public support, or do you think it will make no difference?
50% Yes, it has been damaging
42% No, it won’t make any difference
9% Don’t know
Oh dear ………………….
Still waiting for SOMEONE in mainstream media to focus on the failure of Minister for CORRUPTION Judith Collins to introduce her ‘Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill’ into the House – so NZ can ratify the UN Convention Against Corruption?
(Still waiting for an acknowledgment from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to this OIA request to Prime Minister John Key:
7 May 2014
‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Prime Minister John Key :
“Why has New Zealand STILL not yet ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)?”
Dear Prime Minister,
Please be reminded that according to the 2013 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’, New Zealand, (along with Denmark) is ‘perceived’ to be the least corrupt country in the world.
In a letter to Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ), dated 7 August 2013, your Minister of Justice Judith Collins stated:
“New Zealand ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption
Thank you for your correspondence of 31 May 2013 to myself, Hon Murray McCully, and Hon Tim Groser regarding New Zealand’s ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Like you, I also believe that ratifying UNCAC would be advantageous. Ratification of the Convention is important to ensure New Zealand retains its international reputation for transparency, integrity, and trustworthiness, which can have flow-on economic benefits for the country.
It is for these reasons that I have announced a package of legislative reforms that will allow New Zealand to ratify UNCAC. the reforms will be progressed as part of an Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill which I intend to introduce into Parliament later in 2013.
As you may be aware, it is the policy of the New Zealand Government that binding treaty actions such as ratification is not taken until New Zealand’s domestic law is compliant with the treaty obligations. As you state in your letter, only minor amendments are necessary to bring New Zealand into compliance with the UNCAC obligations.
The Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill will contain the required amendments. After the Bill is passed and the changes are enacted, officials will promptly take steps to deposit New Zealand’s instrument of ratification of UNCAC.
Yours sincerely,
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Justice.”
NZ Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill
Bill supports zero-tolerance for organised crime
Friday, 18 October 2013, 10:03 am
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Justice
18 October 2013 Media Statement
Bill supports zero-tolerance for organised crime
Justice Minister Judith Collins says the Government’s comprehensive approach to fighting all forms of organised crime will help safeguard New Zealand’s economy, international reputation and public safety.
This month a number of international bodies are evaluating New Zealand’s compliance with international standards related to financial crimes – including the OECD, which will report on New Zealand’s compliance with an international convention to combat bribery of foreign public officials.
“I welcome the release of these reports.
This Government takes all forms of organised crime and corruption very seriously,” Ms Collins says.
New laws to fight organised crime
Friday 18 Oct 2013 10:33a.m.
The Government will bring in a bill before the end of the year to strengthen laws against money laundering, identity theft, human trafficking and corruption.
Justice Minister Judith Collins says she intends to have a comprehensive set of laws in place to fight all forms of organised crime.
“It’s important to consider bribery and corruption within the big picture of organised crime, which undermines public safety, national security, economic development and good governance,” she said today.
“This bill will help ensure New Zealand maintains its reputation as a responsible international citizen and that our domestic law enforcement agencies have the tolls they need to fight all forms of organised crime.”
Unfortunately, it is now May 2014, and your Minister of Justice Judith Collins’ Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill, has STILL not been presented to Parliament:
Legislation
Bills
This section lists bills before the House and its committees, and provides access to more detailed information about each one. You will also find the schedule of divided bills and progress of legislationhere. To find out more about bills before select committees, see the committee business summary.
Close Bills search
No documents were found
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST:
Please provide the information which explains why Minister of Justice Judith Collins’ ‘Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill’, has STILL not been presented to Parliament.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Once upon a time in New Zealand it used to be only transient single men for whom housing was chronically difficult. It’s good to see we’re keeping up with overseas trends:
Where does key get off saying that he thinks that the “pink traditional Native American headpiece” worn in his daughters art project is not culturally offensive.
” Key denied any claims it was culturally offensive.
It is typical to reframe it to mean something else – guess what key we know that you are proud of her, good on you – now back to the point please.
Art, fashion and sport are in constant contact with this issue of misappropriation of cultural aspects of, typically, indigenous groups – and it is a source of much discomfort.
“Today’s Colmar Brunton poll also showed 50 per cent of people believed Ms Collins’ behaviour had damaged the National party’s level of public support. Forty-two per cent of those surveyed disagreed, and said her behaviour had not made any difference…..
….showed 42 per cent of those surveyed supported Ms Collins maintaining her ministerial portfolios. The same amount of people believed her resignation as a minister was in order, with the remaining amount unsure of what she should do. (was in order???)…
Three in four of those surveyed said Ms Collins’ Oravida conflict-of-interest affair and the debacle resulting in Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson’s abrupt resignation from the party would not have much influence on their voting choice.” (Not important ? or is it that voters are sure of who to vote for. Thus a Nat diehard would not switch but nor would a diehard Labour voter.)
Wonder how big the poll was. Of course the fact that a poll was even taken points to a wide spread concern. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11253156
Considering the bias often displayed by these types of polls, the information that’s not being divulged is telling. It must be panic stations over on National’s sinking ship. Depending on how many rats actually decide to jump, we might never see the Tories in power again. Good job!
Anyone know what the polls said in terms of % for the parties? Very curious to know if Nats have dropped since Oravida etc? Most of the reports including this mornings Q and A focused on opinion about Judith C, not voting intentions.
So it’s something actually revealed by Phil Twyford from an OIA request. Nats plans being to sell off loads of state housing in provincial/regional areas, plus build some in South Auckland.
Nick Smith claims that’s an out of date piece of info, and that Nats have plans for more “social housing” – which actually isn’t necessarily state housing. And it’s not clear with the new Nat state houses will be the same amount as now, or less.
National’s idea of ‘social housing’ is that private landlords provide it and get a government guaranteed income forever. Really, it’s just more socialism for the rich.
National’s idea of social housing is a crazy expensive, overcrowded, flood prone, structurally unsound, privately owned (but subsidized by the taxpayer) house in Christchurch full of beneficiaries that they’ve bribed to move there in order to massage the unemployment stats.
The state houses that are being sold have been empty for years.
Don’t be a retard Phillip these houses have to be sold to free up capital so new state houses can be built in places like Auckland where people want to live
LOL at some of your techniques. I do prefer to leave most moderation to the main moderators (you?) as that makes for more consistency. But sometimes it’s better if I get onto developing derails as they happen.
Have a look at what is in the Settings / Discussion comment moderation. The basics are simple enough for a simple auto-moderation. That is enough that you can catch them most of the time before their comment goes live.
There are a pile of subtleties with dealing with the persistent people like d4j used to be.
Under Settings – there’s a moderate selected posts option. Clicking on it brings up a blank page. I see no option anywhere for automoderating all of one commenters comments within one or all of my posts.
Umm. That is a different option to allow a single post to be fully moderated – like I will be doing for Cunliffe tomorrow. That means that every comment goes to moderation for that post.
Nope you should be able to see it. Dashboard / Settings (on left) / Discussion. The moderation os about halfway down the page. If you can’t see it, I’ll set AncientGeek as an editor and test it like that. It’d mean some kind of change in wordpress 3.8 or 3.9 that I wasn’t aware of.
Ooo. I get one more option than you, Stephanie. Down the left hand side of the dashboard, “settings” gives me 2 options: “moderate selected posts” and “sharing”
Does Draco think it is a good idea to have empty state houses in rural towns where people don’t want to live while there is a housing shortage in South Auckland?
On TV3, some of the state houses that are in line to be sold have people living in them – and they don’t want to move. So, how do you know any of the others are where people don’t want to live. the TV3 News report pointed out that probably many of the unoccupied ones had been left empty because the Nats were plannign to sell them.
These house aren’t empty because nobody wants to live in them, they’re empty because the criteria to be eligible for a state house was made harder and there is widespread dysfunction from within Housing New Zealand.
Even with the harsher criteria there are over 5000 priority applicants on HNZ’s waiting list. It’s not that these people have turned down living in these houses, (because if they do that a few times they’re automatically no longer eligible) it’s that they’re not being offered to them in the first place.
Instead thousands of state houses are being abandoned by a dysfunctional government so that people are forced into renting in the private market. This inevitably degrades the communities where state housing is located, because empty houses are often vandalised.
The mess that this National government is leaving our state housing stock in will take a long time to fix. The social implications such archaic policy creates might never be remedied, even with a more progressive government in place.
People who believe that the government is building anywhere near the amount of houses being demolished are simply ignorant!
I did enjoy this line from Tim Watkin’s article on Judith Collins:
And Key must be kicking himself for letting it come to this. If he’d be tougher initially, he wouldn’t be having to endlessly spray air freshener on the stench around Collins.
The whole article is fairly good, here’s the ending…
Yet Collins stubbornly refuses to get the implications this, publically at least. Very early on, her line to media was that as a minister it was her job to champion New Zealand businesses overseas. Key repeated that line at the time. But Collins also asked, with her usual brashness, if journalists were really saying that just because her husband was a director and her friends ran the business that she shouldn’t visit this company and help them along? It was her job to help ALL New Zealand exporters, regardless, she said.
Except that the correct answer to her bravado question was simple. “Yes”. Yes, if your friends and family are involved, you shouldn’t visit. Yes, you should stay away. You shouldn’t get involved. Other ministers can work for them and you can work for the dozens, maybe hundreds, of other New Zealand companies struggling in China. But if you go out of your way for a company that you and yours benefit from financially, then yes you’ve crossed a line.
But she chose to attend the dinner and cross the line. And that wrong decision tshould have been enough to convict her months ago. This week’s documents are ultimately irrelevant. By endorsing Collins’ behaviour from the get-go, Key dropped the ball. And is now paying the price.
National should change the name of their party to the Spin Party its seems thats all they are good at cause there aint much truth in any of what they try to get us to believe
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Well stated Wanganui Chronicle article on National and Key’s tough week.
Yep. Integrity, and the Nats’ pattern of a primary focus on money, especially big money..
The worst of it is that they are not honest about their intentions and continue to dole out crumbs from the rich man’s table to a naïve public who think that rich men are better at running ‘the economy’. I would venture to suggest that the greedy and the selfish are the very last people who should be trusted with other people’s assets
The greedy and selfish are the last people we want in charge as they always fuck things up. This is why we need democracy rather than hierarchy.
And this from Hide.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11252970
In which he suggests that being corrupt is fine if you can kill the story fast enough.
He also does the compulsory ‘look over there’ routine. What a buffoon! Hopefully the right wing will come up with some new material when they get caught out, because their current bag of tricks is rather boring!
It’s really disturbing how ACT’s agenda finds the media regularly.
Watch as stories of the cost of healthcare drip feed into the news to create their narrative.
Grant sounds like a hired gun working for private health. Presently ripping up the NHS in the UK and invited over here by the private health industry to recommend cutting public health cover.
“Imagine a world where every time you get a taxpayer-funded health treatment, such as at a hospital, you are handed a “statement” of what it cost.
One who finds that easy to picture is Oamaru-born Sir Malcolm Grant, the chairman of NHS (National Health Service) England.
Actually, the dapper New Zealander said it wouldn’t be hard to do and there have been conversations about putting it into practice in Britain.
The rationale for such a move is clear: countries like Britain and New Zealand need to address rising healthcare costs. There’s an argument people should be educated about the cost of their ill-health, especially in cases of disease caused by what might be termed “lifestyle choices” like obesity.
Grant was in New Zealand to speak at a conference organised by health insurer Southern Cross on healthcare affordability. Under discussion was setting policies to drive wellness gains and therefore reduce healthcare demand.
“The question of personal responsibility is very problematic,” Grant said, but interventions could be justified.
The British and New Zealand health systems have much in common and face similar cost pressures, said Grant. He believed New Zealand could learn some things from the reform taking place in cash-strapped Britain under his watch at NHS England, a public body which oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of health services in that country.
“Another lesson might be to depoliticise healthcare.”
“A Massey University survey of 32 health experts participating in the conference found the biggest perceived barriers to change were political. MPs were accused of failing to grasp issues, ignoring others, and being unwilling to promote unpopular solutions.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10028462/NZ-healthcare-costs-rising
Philippa Whitford is an NHS surgeon from Ireland, working in Scotland. She describes what is happening to public health in England and posts it as a warning to the Scots.We should heed her message here too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esV6pGo8UTI
“It’s really disturbing how ACT’s agenda finds the media regularly.”
You’re not the only one who’s noticed that.
I’ve been idly wondering if a case can be built to have the Herald prosecuted under the Electoral Act. That may sound a bit far fetched at first thought but I find the Herald editorials such blatant & shameless defences of the National Party (and possible coalition partners) I think the free advertising they’re giving National, Act etc, needs to be declared as political donations. They’re getting $millions worth there IMO.
For those who don’t know; The editorial is the view of the newspaper **, it’s identified by the title ‘Editorial’. Commentaries from individuals like Fran O’Sullivan and John Roughan are the personal view of the writers, not much can be done about them so long as the ‘paper also presents alternate views. The commentaries can be biased but the editorials, however, can’t be. It’s their Achilles heel.
** that’s not an opinion btw, it’s a fact. The editorial has a powerful influence on public opinion because it’s a statement from the neutral (sic) press. For those who doubt; somewhere in the Herald site they clearly state it’s the view of the ‘paper, a quote from the Herald editor here;
“shayne.currie
The editorial board meets daily, and we tackle each issue on a case-by-case basis. There’s a robust discussion, and often the editorial writer will be coming up with a piece that they don’t necessarily agree with. It’s the paper’s view.”
It wouldn’t be easy to prove press bias but I’m pretty confident if someone with the time was to research all the Herald editorials of the last few years they’d find a very noticeable pattern to them that might reach an evidential threshhold. I find the Sunday Herald editorials to be far more balanced and more likely to criticise National so they need to be separated & can also be used as a comparison.
The useless press council would never do anything but maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance to restore some press neutrality before the election via the Electoral Act. Even a failed attempt would wake them up a bit & perhaps force them to tone down their interfering in our democracy.
The Herald’s other consistent target…..teachers
Our Health and Education sectors are the only two that foreign corporations haven’t got their hooks into.
This is a very good idea DH re the editorial og the Herald.
I too would be unable to do this but if someone else can, it is one idea from this site, that should be considered.
It is a perception trick – keep the focus on the story about the corruption of the law and order lady and create demand for more responsibility with an iron fist. Nothing works like purpose directed public anger. But how many kiwis will look through that?
Depoliticising health care Grant says. That sounds like the specious argument that sport shouldn’t be political. What dark agent of dictatorship gave him his nighthood?
Take the political out of politics I say. It just interferes with the clear practical measures required to run the country. Ultimately perhaps we could be as unpolitical as North Korea!!
I await Peter George’s first comment and subsequent hijacking of today’s debate. Unfortunately I can see it coming.
No ! No ! Please ! Anything but Pete George this beautiful Sunday morning.
maybe he is looking after his Mummy?
I hope he is wrapping her right round in a rug this rather chilly day.
Where he keeps asking others to produce evidence, while producing little of his own. Thus giving everyine the run-around, leading the agenda. Meanwhile others put the time into finding evidence, and he just keeps producing a string of comments, attempting to lead the discussion, while failing to engage in producing is own arguments in good faith. Also involves PG keeping on moving the goalposts, and slipping from one topic to the next when he is called out on his practices.
I hate the word absolutely as it is too commonly used, but it does indicate perfect agreement so I use it to agree with you here karol.
It was clever of him to get into Politicheck – it seems a back door for him to get his nose into everywhere and everything all the time. Sigh surely not?
Candyman, Candyman, Candyman…
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it for auto moderation 😀
I hope Pete lifts his game. I expect him to fail.
Will you lift your game?
I’m not the one in auto moderation, goat-botherer.
“I hope Pete lifts his game”
Except you know he will lift only just enough to get out of moderation, but not enough to make much difference to the way the comments section of ts functions.
I think (hope) it will make a difference simply because other commenters will be able to get a word in and develop some conversations before the inevitable derailing begins.
Oh I completely support PG being moderated. I just wasn’t keen on OAB’s idea that this might lead to PG lifting his game. I expect that once PG is let out of moderation, the inevitable will happen.
Weka I’m shocked and disappointed! Everyone must be given a chance to rehabilitate themselves 😀
Of course. He just doesn’t have to be rehabilitated here ;-p
😆
NIMBY
You could always take him home with you for some rehab 😈
The drumbeats are starting. Our healthcare system (along with the pension) is the last bastion of our welfare state that hasn’t (completely) fallen to the hordes of user-pays, even though it came close in the 1990s. And from the looks of it, those who admire the US way of doing things have regrouped and are ready to pounce once National have won a 3rd term. Though Labour could do their dirty work for them…..
The corporate media beats the drum
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/new-zealand-healthcare-costs-rising-5968490
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11251239
q & a is coming down to a matter/question of ‘perception(s)’…
..and my perception is that joyce and boag have just main sturdy contributions to the general perception that this govt is both uncaring and corrupt..
..there’s nothing like boag laughing at the very idea of poverty..
..of it being just a matter of how you look at/read statistics…
.(‘you silly people!’..)
..to help cement that in..
and i hasten to add..both joyce and boag also made ‘sturdy contributions’ to the idea of re-electing this govt –
being as appealing as acquiring as a fungal-crotch-infection..
..well done..!..those two..!
..undecided voters should watch them on loop..
..until they run screaming from the room..
..the odious-right…
..their flagrant contempt of the rest of us..(should we call them non-cabinet club members?..)
..being flown like a flag…
..once again..well done..!..those two..!
Boag was certainly given far too much airtime for Q+A to be considered unbiased. In fact I had to mute the TV because of all her shrill right wing commentary that just went on and on. Simon Wilson was particularly talked over and closed down by the overbearing Boag. What a disgraceful display.
That’s a Nat MO. They aim to silence any views opposed to theirs. Nat MPs look to have done training in that.
farrar has had the same training..
..they all work on the premise that the more you talk..the more of the allocated airtime you eat up..
..thus opposing arguments don’t get a hearing/airing..
..it’s a tactic brilliant in its’ simplicity..
..and it certainly seems to work..
..but for real wading thigh-deep thru a swamp..
..try the interview dann did with (muldoon-impersonator) joyce..on q & a..
“..no..no..that’s not right corin..!..”..)
I thought the bit where Joyce said; “you better be careful” to Corin Dann was telling. Instead of actually producing some evidence to show Dann’s statement was incorrect, Joyce simply threatened him.
As a professional journalist that sort of alpha male bullshit must really get under your skin, especially when the facts and figures being used are for all intents and purposes correct.
This National government certainly does have a lot of contempt for any statistics produced by it’s own ministry’s that highlight its failings, and disdain for the so-called fourth estate.
‘
“Climate Change Affects All” upcoming New York September 23 Global Summit
Let’s listen to the UN Head Bank Ki-Moon.
Let’s not be on the wrong side of history,
Let’s Dump Denniston,
Let’s Ditch Deep Sea Oil,
Let’s Finish with Fracking,
Let’s Hasten Huntly Shutdown,
Let’s Fastrack Hauaru Ma Raki.
As we did over universal sufferage,
As we did over nuclear weapons,
As we did over Apartheid Sport,
Let’s Lead the World Again.
Let us not be like John Key and tell future generations we couldn’t remember where we stood on climate change, in 2014.
that would make quite a good anti-nact billboard..
..”.national..on the wrong side of history..’
‘..act..on the wrong side of history..’
…and whenever thinking about act..one must never forget jamie whytes advice as to what we should do to address the issues around climate-change..
..”..just do nothing..!..”
..i see a market/need for attack-billboards…
Unfortunately Philip we will never see billboards like this, as it would require the opposition parties to have a different position to the government.
As the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party David Parker says Labour’s position is “close” to the government, and as Lynn Prentice says The Green and Labour Party’s position is “remarkably the same.”
yes..there is that…
..it does depress me a tad that the co-leaders of the environmental party..
..have not yet evolved to the point where they can recognise their continued eating of animals..
..makes them part of the problem we are giving to the future..
..and on that issue..they are meant to be the best of the bunch..
..and as an example of the walking oxymoron..
..it’s hard to go past the carnivorous-green..
..a shade of green so faint/pale..it has a pink/blood-like tinge..
phillip and Jenny, re your billboards idea. Just do it. Erect People’s billboards in public spaces, don’t wait for Party billboards.
For the last 10 months People’s Power Ohariu has been making billboards to highlight Dunne’s voting choices (Sky City, Asset sales, and GCSB) as well as other Dunne related themes that affect us all, as a way of publicly holding him to account and raising awareness. These are placed around the neighbourhoods of his electorate.
Your “billboard” above Jenny has a nice flow and a strong positive message. It would look great in a pedestrian area, where people can stop to read it. It’s election year and the time is ripe to spread the word.
this has been presented as the official word from Washington
(and is suitably baffling in its navigational operations and its functionality as a research tool 🙂 )
Q and A…………..Latest spin, it’s mud wrestling when the opposition challenge National re corruption…………
Boeg, spinning……………..and is she on drugs??? withdrawing from legal highs? She looked incredibly agitated. Why is she even on the programme.
Just watching Q&A and have a question on my own: who has elected Mr Joyce? He is saying that there is wage growth despite statistics showing a different picture. Mr English commented – reported in the news yesterday – that NZ wages will grow to 62K in the next years. I bet the checkout operator, gas station attendant, health worker etc will be pleased to hear that. Mr Boag makes noises about poor Mrs Collins and that she will be disappointed that her image suffered (????) She also seem to be missing the point when talking about pay for access to politician. The fact this is going on so long is no excuse for the fact that this undermines democracy. If wealthy people can influence policy than the average person would not have any possibility to sway anybody, vote or not. So if National is saying that they are advancing NZ interests, whose interest is it they advance?
Michelle Boag is in denial about all the negative impacts in the community and it is my feeling that she is too old to grasp the needs of a NZ economy and its people for the next 20-30 years. Mind you, why would she with a taxpayer funded income for the rest of her life.
On a positive side, BNZ commentator Alexander Thorburn gave a very good interview that is both showing the positive sides and the concerns looking 10 or more years ahead. By what I understand, he rightly states that Kiwis are not “hungry” enough to succeed and confirms that the average wage is too low. This is connected to education and having the right skill set. Expectations when setting out need to be understood as a start not the peek of a carrier. Housing is an issue, especially with the tax incentives in place. Why do we have such great people here and we hardly ever get some comments to hear from them?
‘
De ja vu all over again
And then there is Marilyn Waring, enough said.
i liked waring saying she would like to see a list of cabinet-club donors..
..matched against a list of govt appointments to troughing-positions..
..(it’s called ‘kickbacks’..)
+1
And against a list of law changes.
When you’re struggling to survive on poverty wages developing the next Best Thing is way down the list of Things To Do with your limited income. Little things like food and rent come first.
Lift everybody out of poverty rather than just reward the already rich and we’ll see innovation increase. Make it so that people can collaborate in trust and have access to the resources necessary to develop that innovation. Do that and we’ll see innovation in NZ soar.
Basically, close to the exact opposite of what we’ve been doing for the last 30 years.
Labour needs to capitalise on what Whyte has said ACT would do. It needs to use it as a warning of what National will do if elected. Labour needs to hammer what a third term will mean, highlight the lies and likelihood of u-turns and how National’s agenda by-stealth in reality is identical to ACT’s the only difference being timing. Labour could so easily do this because the material for telling the truth is all there laid out for it. This is what Labour must do, but of course they’re too stupid to so it won’t happen.
Too scared and too compromised
@Mary re Labour capitalizing on what Act are saying. I think this is a good idea. How about you at least give Labour a chance to see if they do it?? I think their strategy is going well at the moment. Target Colins, bring Trev in as attack dog, then move on to Woodhouse……..Ping Key for letting ministerial standards slid.
Good policy on reserve bank act, well released.
“How about you at least give Labour a chance to see if they do it??”
Because giving Labour chances doesn’t work. We’ve learned that’s the case since they said in 1991 that they’d ditched rogernomics. Since then Labour’s done nothing except kick us in the guts. I’m sick of giving Labour a chance. They don’t deserve any more chances. Giving Labour a “chance” is akin to saying “keep going you lot, we like what you’re doing.” We need a new strategy which can’t be about sitting back in the belief that Labour is “better than the other lot”. We need to start telling Labour that it can’t take its support for granted. Therein lies the problem. Giving Labour another “chance” is the last thing we should be doing.
Well then the best thing to do to create the impression within Labour that they’re not as well loved as they think they are is to Vote Green.
I renewed my membership fees last year solely to vote Cunliffe. Haven’t done so this year as my values and ethos are becoming more reflected in Green party policies.
Ideally, Labour on 30% and Green on 20% would be pudding proof.
Ideally, we want Greens on 30+% and Labour on 20%.
+1
@ Mary …………That of course it your choice not to give Labour another chance and I understand that choice, having made it too in past elections. I merely mean’t on this occasion, re how they respond to Act.. But you don’t have to give Labour a chance at all. That’s cool.
It will be interesting to see what they do about the Act thing…see Ad’s comments below.
That’s precisely what I’m saying. I don’t think Labour has the guts to respond to ACT in that way because they sense it’d be seen as a display of weakness to whatever they think the middle ground is = sellout.
..@ mary..
“.. We’ve learned that’s the case since they said in 1991 that they’d ditched rogernomics. Since then Labour’s done nothing except kick us in the guts..”
many more than 1..
I guess I was thinking more about rogernomics as like an octopus that sucked the life out of everything it possibly can. Like we have now. Although for this government it’s about doing it over time and in a way that changes thinking in a cultural way. It’s probably how ACT see it too, but the idea is that ACT is the Huntaway barking at the rear.
It’s about chipping away at values and culture. It’s our thinking that’s under attack so that we give support to the ideas that destroy us.
Offering dire warnings doesn’t work. Labour and Greens went hammer and tongs against what National would do in its second term, but the result was not enough people got out to vote, and the election was lost. (National then went and did precisely what the public had been warned they would do).
Negative is not what is needed right now. TV3, the NZHerald, and the Christchurch Daily Press will do that for the opposition most days of the week now.
Inspiring is what is needed now. What Labour needs to do is what Cunliffe is launching on this site tomorrow: a fresh and clear approach to rebuilding New Zealand in the interests of everyone.
Ad-National won by 10-15000 votes last time. Scraped in.
“What Labour needs to do is what Cunliffe is launching on this site tomorrow: a fresh and clear approach to rebuilding New Zealand in the interests of everyone.”
Okay, you win. I’ll give Labour another chance. Guess we’ll know some time tomorrow, then. I’m very open minded.
‘
Rock Snot Gets a Boost from Climate Change
(Except in New Zealand)
Probably the same scientists who claim that algae blooms aren’t mainly caused by petroleum-based fertilizers often used in conventional farming.
+1. I would guess that didymo is a consequence of multiple factors, including industrial farming.
If NZ really cared about the environment, or even water, beyond how we can use it, we would have shut down human ‘use’ on all rivers until we knew what we were dealing with. When didymo first arrived in NZ, we already knew that once it got into a catchment there was no way to remove it, so why did govt scientists take several years to study it before doing anything, and then only did something half arse like telling fishermen and boaties to wash their gear?
i think i might start referring to joyce in/at what will inevitably be his post-politics career..
..as a muldoon impersonator..
q & a was also interesting for being book-ended by joyce/muldoon..
..not only could they be twins/brothers physically..they also both said the same things..
..muldoon just a little more slurry than joyce..
..the simplistic-themes..
“….steady as she goes..troubled-times..the opposition are crazy..”
Yep! The same old and tired playbook.
A poignantly brave story of an escapee from North Korea who needs support and a hearing as he speaks on behalf of his fellow escapee who was caught in China (they allow North Korea to search for their escapees there and the authorised thugs may break all their prisoner’s limbs and then ship them back to NKorea in a coffin and I don’t know whether they care whether they are alive or dead when they get put in.)
Heard on Radionz this a.m. talking about his book Dear Leader, readers might like to buy it, published by Random House, and show solidarity and give some money to help him to live and evade capture. He is speaking at the Auckland Writers Festival on Friday May 16
10:06 Jang Jin-sung – Secrets of North Korea
Jang Jin-sung defected after having served as a counter-intelligence officer, and poet laureate, for North Korea’s former dictator Kim Jong-il. In his memoir Dear Leader he gives insights into the workings of one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, and he talks to Wallace about the fate of his country, and what drove him to reveal its secrets.
Jang Jin-sung is appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival on Friday May 16. His new book, Dear Leader (Random House) is published to coincide with his visit.
Auckland Writers Festival
History, Politics and Global Events
Memoir
The versatile Jang Jin-sung defected to South Korea having served as a counter-intelligence officer, and poet laureate, for North Korea’s former dictator Kim Jong-il. In his newly published memoir Dear Leader he gives unparalleled insights into the workings of one of the world’s most secret regimes, about which we periodically receive news of executions, widespread repression and nuclear ambition. In discussion with John Sinclair, and with a translator.
Supported by the Asia NZ Foundation.
Speaker Bios:
.John Sinclair
Jang Jin-sung
Friday 16 May 2014
05/16/2014 11:30AM —
05/16/2014 12:30PM
ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre
50 Mayoral Drive Auckland New Zealand
$20.00 Earlybird
$25.00 Standard
$15.00 Patron
$12.50 Student
Get a discount on earlybird/standard tickets if you include this event in a 5 or 10 ticket Concession Pass
Also on North Korea
The Orphan Master’s Son: Adam Johnson.
Friday 16 May 2014
05/16/2014 10:00AM —
05/16/2014 11:00AM
Is truth stranger than fiction when it’s focussed on that strange and secretive land north of the 38th parallel? Join American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Adam Johnson for a discussion of his exquisitely written satirical novel The Orphan’s Master’s Son, in which protagonist and party factotum Jun Do tries to get on in Kim Jong-il’s North Korea, while falling for an actress called Sun Moon. In conversation with Simon Wilson.
(Many other nationals were kidnapped by North Korean agents including a famous actress and that is one of the bases for this book’s content.)
Supported by Platinum Patrons Gerard and Carol Curry.
I think I might be wrong in something I said about the North Korean escapee, I thought he fled to China and was being hunted there but I think he could have been somewhere else I think in Asia, perhaps in South Korea. I have to listen again to check.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
Also there was a report on Wallace Chapmans program this morning on the way that Sweden has a widening gap between rich and poor, and has ceased making individual stands for good governance in the world and offering mediation etc. since the neo lib tide washed over them. It is very forward in the armaments industry and works well with the USA.
9:40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint
In the light of new leads in the case of the mysterious murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme in 1986, Wayne looks at the heyday of Swedish social democracy, and the decline of Sweden’s once independent, neutral and powerful voice in international peace and justice. Wallace follows up with Maj Britt Theorin, Palme’s Ambassador for Disarmament.
yea …. that was a very interesting piece. What interested me was the question posed … ‘when did Sweden turn?’. The response basically when it joined the EU. Reminds me then of a comment I made the other day about Labour and Nats in Brit/Oz/elsewhere ‘feeding off each other’ – but also how we used to put Sweden up as an example (regardless it seems of the direction). Looking at what’s happening overseas by political equivalents is oft used as a justification for local policy WHETHER OR NOT its relevant to NZ. It also shows a degree of a lack of ideas or originality*. The march of 3rd Wayism and neo-liberalism. As Maj Britt Theorin seemed to show – it hasn’t worked!
At the very least, Parker’s latest is a refreshing break from that (not that I’ll give Labour my party vote again – YET)
Once was (and is) Tim
+1 How many times do we hear about it being done overseas (never stated where or when or by whom to what effect) as a reason for introducing some new or changed measure?
The ultimate in crass other-country worship and cultural cringe with an automatic put-down of our own initiative and capability. Basically its laziness. Instead of getting bespoke home-made policies to fit our needs, you buy in cheap policies and measures as off the shelf programs (cheap because the policies have been formed overseas which has carried out the hard work of designing them). It is done with buying computer programs, and our whole national commerce and economy is based on buying other people’s produce, trying for cheapness and immediacy.
And there’s a hell of a lot of it going around.
Yep. NZ has become very very cheap over the last thirty years as we swallowed the BS that the neo-liberals spewed out about being able to get things cheaper. We’ve lost the understanding that things cost and that you can’t get them any cheaper.
…and if you do the sums – are these things really cheaper? They wear out quicker…..
DTB and blue leopard
+1 Points to remember.
Nice Krugman piece on inequality…
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/opinion/krugman-now-thats-rich.html?smid=fb-share&smv2&_r=0
i have got a lot of good krugman..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=krugman
..he speaks a lot of sense..on most things economic…
“..12 of the Biggest Myths About Marijuana Debunked..
The arguments against legalization simply don’t hold up.
For decades,cannabis opponents controlled the messaging around the popular plant –
and cultivated any number of lies about its effects.
This built up a powerful stigma against marijuana –
the effects of which have not worn off..”
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/12-biggest-myths-about-marijuana-debunked
moderation..?
‘sunday’ tonite is a must-watch..
..it is on the healing-properties of cannabis…
the campbell live interview with the scientist who invented legal-highs..was also interesting..
..he said they were never designed to be used by humans..his work was for research purposes only..
..that they are very addictive..and that they should be banned..
..and..his solution to the current/ongoing legal-high addiction problem…
..is to legalise cannabis..
..(in part for scientific-reasons..because cannabis is complex..and some components of it act as counters to those untramelled addictive-qualities found in these legal-highs..)
..and it is kinda funny..(not ha-ha!)..that dung has been allowed to ride his false meme of ‘mr commonsense’..for so long
..whereas on this issue especially..(but not only..)..the ‘common sense’ of legalising cannabis..)
..he is a total outlier..
..more ‘mr barking-mad/table-leg-chewing reactionary fucktard’..
..and given the total trainwreck his legal high regime has been..both in fostering and execution..
..surely basic self-respect should see him seeking the exit door..?
..and only worthy of being pointed and laughed at should he dare to make any pronouncements at all on this topic..
..surely..?
the damage dunne done…
“Hard Clay”–remaking Afghanistan in “our” image
by David Edwards, Media Lens, 28 April 2014
Last month, we reviewed the mind-boggling contrast between corporate media coverage of the January 2005 election in Iraq and the March 2014 referendum in Crimea.
Whereas all media accepted the basic legitimacy of an Iraq election conducted under extremely violent US-UK military occupation, they all rejected the legitimacy of a Crimea referendum conducted ‘at [Russian] gunpoint’.
It was not difficult to guess how the same media would respond to the Afghan presidential election of April 5 under the guns of Britain and America’s occupying force.
The Daily Telegraph had welcomed ‘the first democratic elections’ in Iraq (Leader, ‘Mission accomplished,’ December 6, 2004) and dismissed the Crimea vote as ‘an illegal referendum conducted at gunpoint’. As for Afghanistan: ‘The sight of millions of Afghans defying the Taliban to vote in their country’s presidential election should induce genuine humility. We might take democracy for granted; they emphatically do not.’
Democracy it was, then. Had the editors forgotten that the vote was taking place under US-UK military occupation? In fact, no: ‘The idea that the Taliban are waiting to sweep back to power as soon as American and British troops depart has also taken a knock. If this poll continues to proceed smoothly, the country should have the inestimable benefit of a legitimately elected leader.’
The election was thus declared both democratic and legitimate. As in Iraq, the delegitimising effect of military occupation was ignored – ‘our’ occupations are simply accepted as legitimate and uncontroversial.
A Sunday Times leader hailed ‘democratic elections’ in Iraq, noting only that they were threatened by ‘terrorists’ – Iraqis, not the illegal foreign invaders who had wrecked the country with war, sanctions, bombing and more war (Leader, ‘Send more troops,’ October 10, 2004). By contrast, The Times claimed that the Crimea referendum was made absurd by Russian troops ‘massing on their western border’. (Leading article, ‘Russian Pariah,’ March 17, 2014)
But The Times found nothing absurd about the Afghan election: ‘We should honour and celebrate the resolve of these voters, their commitment to the democratic process.’
To be sure, military involvement had been a problem: ‘The Taleban has been malignly active in the run-up to the election, attacking foreigners in restaurants and showering death threats on democratic activists.’
What about the occupation? ‘As US and British troops ready themselves for withdrawal by the end of this year, the Afghans are evidently eager to take command of their own political destinies.’
And yet this was impossible in Crimea, although Russian troops were not occupying and fighting, merely said to be ‘massing’ on the border.
For the BBC, the Iraq election….
Read more….
http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2014/762-hard-clay-remaking-afghanistan-in-our-image.html
That popping sound, it’s fundy heads reacting to the St Louis Rams drafting the NFL’s first openly gay player.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/may/10/michael-sam-gay-nfl-player-draft-st-louis-rams
https://twitter.com/MikeSamFootball/status/465269464477356033/photo/1
Or it could be this:
A weeks worth of smiles there.
Fantastic on both stories!
“..“Hey, I’m just a singer in a fabulous dress, with great hair and a beard.”
..that has to get some kinda one-liner-award…
..in a just world..?
Conchita Wurst rocks.
http://wiwibloggs.com/2014/04/06/conchita-wurst-transgender/45930/
The queen of Austria! Aside from the ‘Freedom’ Party almost everyone here is hugely proud of her. She’s worked hard over the last few years to gain the respect she has. I love that Eurovision is so subversive and that fireworks were going off after the vote last night.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eurovision-2014-ten-reasons-why-austrian-drag-queen-conchita-wurst-must-win-1447871
At 249th pick he’ll be lucky if he ever runs onto an NFL field.
So, Tom Brady was pick number 199 in 2000 and that seems to have worked out okay.
Anything can happen in football:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/09000d5d82778f41/article/who-is-the-greatest-seventhround-pick-of-alltime
Just putting it in perspective. Good on him regardless.
Keeping the BLOWTORCH on corruption!
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/public-divided-over-whether-judith-collins-should-stay-minister-5968582
Public divided over whether Judith Collins should stay as minister
Published: 10:38AM Sunday May 11, 2014 Source: ONE News
Do you think her behaviour has been damaging to National’s level of public support, or do you think it will make no difference?
50% Yes, it has been damaging
42% No, it won’t make any difference
9% Don’t know
Oh dear ………………….
Still waiting for SOMEONE in mainstream media to focus on the failure of Minister for CORRUPTION Judith Collins to introduce her ‘Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill’ into the House – so NZ can ratify the UN Convention Against Corruption?
(Still waiting for an acknowledgment from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to this OIA request to Prime Minister John Key:
7 May 2014
‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Prime Minister John Key :
“Why has New Zealand STILL not yet ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)?”
Dear Prime Minister,
Please be reminded that according to the 2013 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’, New Zealand, (along with Denmark) is ‘perceived’ to be the least corrupt country in the world.
http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2013/results/
However, New Zealand is still one of a handful of countries which has STILL not ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
(UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/Convention/08-50026_E.pdf
(Signatories to the UN Convention Against Corruption
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/signatories.html
In a letter to Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ), dated 7 August 2013, your Minister of Justice Judith Collins stated:
“New Zealand ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption
Thank you for your correspondence of 31 May 2013 to myself, Hon Murray McCully, and Hon Tim Groser regarding New Zealand’s ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Like you, I also believe that ratifying UNCAC would be advantageous. Ratification of the Convention is important to ensure New Zealand retains its international reputation for transparency, integrity, and trustworthiness, which can have flow-on economic benefits for the country.
It is for these reasons that I have announced a package of legislative reforms that will allow New Zealand to ratify UNCAC. the reforms will be progressed as part of an Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill which I intend to introduce into Parliament later in 2013.
As you may be aware, it is the policy of the New Zealand Government that binding treaty actions such as ratification is not taken until New Zealand’s domestic law is compliant with the treaty obligations. As you state in your letter, only minor amendments are necessary to bring New Zealand into compliance with the UNCAC obligations.
The Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill will contain the required amendments. After the Bill is passed and the changes are enacted, officials will promptly take steps to deposit New Zealand’s instrument of ratification of UNCAC.
Yours sincerely,
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Justice.”
NZ Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill
http://www.transparency.org.nz/docs/2013/Hon-Judith-Collins-Minister-of-Justice-Letter-to-TINZ.pdf
Your Minister of Justice Judith Collins’ press release of 18 October 2013:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1310/S00301/bill-supports-zero-tolerance-for-organised-crime.htm
Bill supports zero-tolerance for organised crime
Friday, 18 October 2013, 10:03 am
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Justice
18 October 2013 Media Statement
Bill supports zero-tolerance for organised crime
Justice Minister Judith Collins says the Government’s comprehensive approach to fighting all forms of organised crime will help safeguard New Zealand’s economy, international reputation and public safety.
This month a number of international bodies are evaluating New Zealand’s compliance with international standards related to financial crimes – including the OECD, which will report on New Zealand’s compliance with an international convention to combat bribery of foreign public officials.
“I welcome the release of these reports.
This Government takes all forms of organised crime and corruption very seriously,” Ms Collins says.
http://www.3news.co.nz/New-laws-to-fight-organised-crime/tabid/1607/articleID/317781/Default.aspx
New laws to fight organised crime
Friday 18 Oct 2013 10:33a.m.
The Government will bring in a bill before the end of the year to strengthen laws against money laundering, identity theft, human trafficking and corruption.
Justice Minister Judith Collins says she intends to have a comprehensive set of laws in place to fight all forms of organised crime.
“It’s important to consider bribery and corruption within the big picture of organised crime, which undermines public safety, national security, economic development and good governance,” she said today.
“This bill will help ensure New Zealand maintains its reputation as a responsible international citizen and that our domestic law enforcement agencies have the tolls they need to fight all forms of organised crime.”
Unfortunately, it is now May 2014, and your Minister of Justice Judith Collins’ Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill, has STILL not been presented to Parliament:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/legislation/bills/?Criteria.Keyword=Organised+Crime+and+Anti-Corruption+Legislation+Bill%2C&Criteria.Timeframe=&Criteria.Parliament=-1&Criteria.DocumentType=&Criteria.Status=&Search=Go
Legislation
Bills
This section lists bills before the House and its committees, and provides access to more detailed information about each one. You will also find the schedule of divided bills and progress of legislationhere. To find out more about bills before select committees, see the committee business summary.
Close Bills search
No documents were found
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST:
Please provide the information which explains why Minister of Justice Judith Collins’ ‘Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill’, has STILL not been presented to Parliament.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
John Minto’s blog also suggests more attention be paid to Woodhouse’s house call
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/05/11/wow-fancy-that-a-cabinet-minister-who-does-house-calls-but-not-if-you-are-a-poor-pasifika-family/
Once upon a time in New Zealand it used to be only transient single men for whom housing was chronically difficult. It’s good to see we’re keeping up with overseas trends:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10028756/Caravan-park-outcasts
@ mary..
..that open sore was also running for the nine years of labour…
..it is the sewer-pipe outlet of neo-liberalism/randism…
..we don’t need to go to third world countries for our poverty-tourism..
..just a quick spin up the nth-western motorway will do the trick..
Just in case you missed it, this is worth reading.
Yes, that is rather fascinating, am going to keep an eye on that BlogSpot!
Where does key get off saying that he thinks that the “pink traditional Native American headpiece” worn in his daughters art project is not culturally offensive.
” Key denied any claims it was culturally offensive.
”I’m personally very proud of her,” Key said.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/10032883/John-Key-defends-daughters-art
It is typical to reframe it to mean something else – guess what key we know that you are proud of her, good on you – now back to the point please.
Art, fashion and sport are in constant contact with this issue of misappropriation of cultural aspects of, typically, indigenous groups – and it is a source of much discomfort.
Being PM is a full family gig.
Distraction Distraction Distraction
PC dog whistle, minor issue, getting the snip, planking etc etc.
“Today’s Colmar Brunton poll also showed 50 per cent of people believed Ms Collins’ behaviour had damaged the National party’s level of public support. Forty-two per cent of those surveyed disagreed, and said her behaviour had not made any difference…..
….showed 42 per cent of those surveyed supported Ms Collins maintaining her ministerial portfolios. The same amount of people believed her resignation as a minister was in order, with the remaining amount unsure of what she should do. (was in order???)…
Three in four of those surveyed said Ms Collins’ Oravida conflict-of-interest affair and the debacle resulting in Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson’s abrupt resignation from the party would not have much influence on their voting choice.” (Not important ? or is it that voters are sure of who to vote for. Thus a Nat diehard would not switch but nor would a diehard Labour voter.)
Wonder how big the poll was. Of course the fact that a poll was even taken points to a wide spread concern.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11253156
Considering the bias often displayed by these types of polls, the information that’s not being divulged is telling. It must be panic stations over on National’s sinking ship. Depending on how many rats actually decide to jump, we might never see the Tories in power again. Good job!
Anyone know what the polls said in terms of % for the parties? Very curious to know if Nats have dropped since Oravida etc? Most of the reports including this mornings Q and A focused on opinion about Judith C, not voting intentions.
tv3 have revealed that the govt plans to sell off thousands of state houses..
..many thousands..
..this is one of nationals’ secret post-election plans..
..should they be returned to power..
..and one they planned to keep secret until after the election..
..(labour found this out through an o.i.a..so good on them..!)
..and this shocker just raised the question:..
..seeing as they clearly plan to privatise the state housing stock..(but not tell us about it..before we consider voting for them..)
..what else have they got fucken planned..?
..eh..?
..these rightwing/randite arsewipes must be thrown out of office..
..if they are let back in..they will know they have a snowballs’ chance of a fourth term..
..so they will go fucken gangbusters..
..it will be scorched-earth..up and down the land..
..there will be little left..by 2017..
..they will have privatised the lot..
..they are fucken ideology-driven kleptomaniacs..
So it’s something actually revealed by Phil Twyford from an OIA request. Nats plans being to sell off loads of state housing in provincial/regional areas, plus build some in South Auckland.
Nick Smith claims that’s an out of date piece of info, and that Nats have plans for more “social housing” – which actually isn’t necessarily state housing. And it’s not clear with the new Nat state houses will be the same amount as now, or less.
National’s idea of ‘social housing’ is that private landlords provide it and get a government guaranteed income forever. Really, it’s just more socialism for the rich.
Nationals idea of social housing is a student flat.
National’s idea of social housing is a crazy expensive, overcrowded, flood prone, structurally unsound, privately owned (but subsidized by the taxpayer) house in Christchurch full of beneficiaries that they’ve bribed to move there in order to massage the unemployment stats.
The state houses that are being sold have been empty for years.
Don’t be a retard Phillip these houses have to be sold to free up capital so new state houses can be built in places like Auckland where people want to live
Excuses, excuses.
Why have they been left empty? Is it because the plan has been to sell them for a while?
Biggest Gambling losses
So, so good for the economy – NOT!
Thanks, Lynn, for this.
LOL at some of your techniques. I do prefer to leave most moderation to the main moderators (you?) as that makes for more consistency. But sometimes it’s better if I get onto developing derails as they happen.
Have a look at what is in the Settings / Discussion comment moderation. The basics are simple enough for a simple auto-moderation. That is enough that you can catch them most of the time before their comment goes live.
There are a pile of subtleties with dealing with the persistent people like d4j used to be.
Under Settings – there’s a moderate selected posts option. Clicking on it brings up a blank page. I see no option anywhere for automoderating all of one commenters comments within one or all of my posts.
Umm. That is a different option to allow a single post to be fully moderated – like I will be doing for Cunliffe tomorrow. That means that every comment goes to moderation for that post.
Nope you should be able to see it. Dashboard / Settings (on left) / Discussion. The moderation os about halfway down the page. If you can’t see it, I’ll set AncientGeek as an editor and test it like that. It’d mean some kind of change in wordpress 3.8 or 3.9 that I wasn’t aware of.
Under “Settings” I only get “Sharing” as an option. 🙁 Can haz more power please? 😛
Ooo. I get one more option than you, Stephanie. Down the left hand side of the dashboard, “settings” gives me 2 options: “moderate selected posts” and “sharing”
Ok, I need to look at the privileges again… It will have to wait a few days. The queue is getting full of tasks.
Clearly you’re the favourite!
Does Draco think it is a good idea to have empty state houses in rural towns where people don’t want to live while there is a housing shortage in South Auckland?
On TV3, some of the state houses that are in line to be sold have people living in them – and they don’t want to move. So, how do you know any of the others are where people don’t want to live. the TV3 News report pointed out that probably many of the unoccupied ones had been left empty because the Nats were plannign to sell them.
No, I think we should be looking reinvigorating outlying areas so that people stop crowding the main cities.
These house aren’t empty because nobody wants to live in them, they’re empty because the criteria to be eligible for a state house was made harder and there is widespread dysfunction from within Housing New Zealand.
Even with the harsher criteria there are over 5000 priority applicants on HNZ’s waiting list. It’s not that these people have turned down living in these houses, (because if they do that a few times they’re automatically no longer eligible) it’s that they’re not being offered to them in the first place.
Instead thousands of state houses are being abandoned by a dysfunctional government so that people are forced into renting in the private market. This inevitably degrades the communities where state housing is located, because empty houses are often vandalised.
The mess that this National government is leaving our state housing stock in will take a long time to fix. The social implications such archaic policy creates might never be remedied, even with a more progressive government in place.
People who believe that the government is building anywhere near the amount of houses being demolished are simply ignorant!
I did enjoy this line from Tim Watkin’s article on Judith Collins:
And Key must be kicking himself for letting it come to this. If he’d be tougher initially, he wouldn’t be having to endlessly spray air freshener on the stench around Collins.
The whole article is fairly good, here’s the ending…
Yet Collins stubbornly refuses to get the implications this, publically at least. Very early on, her line to media was that as a minister it was her job to champion New Zealand businesses overseas. Key repeated that line at the time. But Collins also asked, with her usual brashness, if journalists were really saying that just because her husband was a director and her friends ran the business that she shouldn’t visit this company and help them along? It was her job to help ALL New Zealand exporters, regardless, she said.
Except that the correct answer to her bravado question was simple. “Yes”. Yes, if your friends and family are involved, you shouldn’t visit. Yes, you should stay away. You shouldn’t get involved. Other ministers can work for them and you can work for the dozens, maybe hundreds, of other New Zealand companies struggling in China. But if you go out of your way for a company that you and yours benefit from financially, then yes you’ve crossed a line.
But she chose to attend the dinner and cross the line. And that wrong decision tshould have been enough to convict her months ago. This week’s documents are ultimately irrelevant. By endorsing Collins’ behaviour from the get-go, Key dropped the ball. And is now paying the price.
http://pundit.co.nz/content/why-the-collins-case-is-about-then-not-now
so, basically, Collins was so blatantly corrupt that not even a forex trader expected it…
Perhaps….
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
John Steinbeck
National should change the name of their party to the Spin Party its seems thats all they are good at cause there aint much truth in any of what they try to get us to believe