—Weatherman Sam Wallace, TV1 Breakfast, 7:40 a.m., Wednesday 10 July 2013
See also….
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No.24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!” No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No.13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-638881
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15052013/#comment-633295
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.” No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13052013/#comment-632594
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More disgusting humbugs….
No. 15 John Key: “They know this is an issue of national security.”
No. 14 Charles Saatchi: “I abhor violence of any kind against women…”
No. 13 Toyota NZ: “The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win.”
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No.11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 [REMOVED]
No. 9 [REMOVED]
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…” No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
I see the guys over at Scoop have posted the latest Maori Party response to Labour colluding with National to further entrench police brutality as a means of quashing dissent.
Labour/National shut down inquiry
The Māori Party is reeling at the decision of both Labour and National parties, to shut down the proposed Māori Affairs Select Committee inquiry into the impact of Operation Eight.
“The concern for the Māori Party has always been how the events of 15 October 2007 impacted on the affected whānau, and the official responses made to them,” said Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Waiariki.
“We had hoped that members of parliament from all parties would care about the human cost of Operation Eight; – that they would want to understand how ordinary New Zealanders felt about the initial actions of the Police and subsequent findings that many of those actions were contrary to law, unjustified and unreasonable.”
Not surprising really when considering it was a Labour regime that oversaw the paramilitary raid carried out against Tuhoe. Does anyone know what Meka Whaitiri has been instructed to say by Shearer and his little cartel?
Atrocious but not surprising behaviour from Labour. Silver lining might be greater support for Mana. Maori Party’s already irreparably damaged so hopefully Mana will now pick up the support Labour’s kicking in the guts.
Santi is a known right wing troll who posts obsessively in favour of David Shearer because the longer Shearer keeps his job the better it is for the right.
But no. Santi is trying to emulate INTELLIGENCE – however he picked windows CE running basica as the platform. Makes him look like an early generation virus.
I don’t normally listen to Radiolive but Duncan Garner was interesting last night. He went head to head with Labour bovver boy Clayton Cosgrove and outed him as the head of ABC. Garner was the person who reported on ABC last year and is the best one to say who the leaker of the comments was.
Presuming this is true Cosgrove is guilty of breaching caucus solidarity, undermining a colleague by spinning crap and harming the interests of the Labour Party. He is a disgrace.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him? Could he have been hoaxed? In other words it wasn’t the MP but someone else.
And what about the letter Gower is said to have received from a Labour MP. Did Gower check with the writer that it was indeed from him?
Between 1975 and 1985 I knew two individuals – male and female – who did the same kind of thing. The male in particular had a talent for mimicking people’s voices. They caused no end of trouble and included among their victims were high profile politicians. Their motivation was political and designed to create trouble for the persons they targeted. One of them fessed up to being the culprits years later but it was way to late for me to do anything about it.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him?
Good question. I’d have never thought of the scenario you posited. In the days of caller ID it should make it harder to do what you described, but you never know.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it. The MP told him Gower had the letter. Garner’s mistake was not checking in with Gower before running the story.
The only other checking he did was to call a non-mp Labour connected person who only gave him hearsay that the coup was on. they said they had heard it might be, and that they had hears rumours of the letter. garner figured that was enough.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
This sounds like a Labour MP, but not Cosgrove, pushing the agenda of destabilisation. An interesting question: was the MP who Garner rang the same MP who wrote the “putting Shearer on notice” email of a fortnight ago. Its all very murky and unpleasant in that caucus.
And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”. If his stock was low two weeks ago, it took another plummet in caucus this week.
Re: And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”.
Speaking for myself, I was less than happy and I am trying not to be disillusioned with Shearer.
In my eyes, he has been incompetent at brokering, managing and showing leadership abilities in holding, fostering and, indeed, wisely managing, the interface between the caucus/parliamentary and the sectoral/membership/wider party wings.
I am determined not to stay at home on polling day next year. However, I will personally find it quite hard to feel positive about giving Labour a tick, let alone two ticks.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it.
You could be right Pb. I may have misheard Garner on that link. I thought he said he got a text from an MP and that was followed by a phone-call. I presumed it was from the MP.
I got the impression that he had talked to this mp before (that this texting was not unusual) and so he rang the mp to find out more. What I wondered is given Duncan declared Clayton as a main ‘leaker’ on Cunliffe are there grounds for a complaint to the party council? I seem to remember last year Shearer said there wasn’t enough evidence, but maybe that should be revisited?
Hi Pascals bookie. Had a chance to listen to that link again. Garner did say he received a text AND a phone call from a Labour MP. He also spoke of an ‘outside source’ but he doesn’t elaborate. If my conjecture that he might have been hoaxed has any substance then it may well have been someone other than a Lab. caucus member.
Keep on whistling in the dark James. It’s coming, the cold light of dawn. Whadya gonna say then ?
No “empire” lasts forever James. Strangely, as more and more evidence of advised joint action comes out, ‘sus’ enough for it to have been heavily concealed, you whistle louder, like a frantic thrush.
Anyone else notice the other side of Mr Nice-guy? Turned on the real assassin type tone in the corridors of the Beehive yesterday when asked his stance on the conscience vote – “They can vote against it if they like, but they won’t because they campaigned on the convention centre…”
He did not look a happy chappy. Looked incredibly nasty actually. And after the Campbell Live lead last night I think he will be even less smiling.
But when it comes to an opposition voice that should be making hay – what do we get?
Yeah – Framu – I thought that was a bit odd too because I couldn’t recall the convention centre being a part of the last campaign either ! I reckon it was code for “you’ll lose your seat if you don’t vote for the convention centre” .
As to the would-be Labour coup, all the “would be leaders” named in the media so far – Jones, Little, Cosgrove, Robertson – NONE of them are in an electorate seat. They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
This tells you heaps of their (non) ability to become a leader !
They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
I really do wish people would stop this BS. They did get voted in properly. The fact that they’re on the list would also tend to indicate that they have the necessary skills and ambition.
Nope, they’ve proven themselves somehow else they wouldn’t be on the list.
That is the most ridiculous, stupid non-logic I’ve heard. It ignores the politics, horse trading, personal sponsorship, etc. which goes into putting the party list together. It further assumes that merit is the major element for placement on the party list. And finally, it fails to recognise that getting on to the list proves fuck all about performance and ability as an MP, as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
The illogic was in thinking that getting an electorate seat was any different. People don’t vote for candidates in the electorate, they still vote for the party. This may change over time but I’m not really expecting it to as it’s easier to track the parties than all the individual candidates.
as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
I suspect the same could have been said 30+ years ago.
Some great listener comments on Morning Report with regards to the failed GST tax law.
My Fav (paraphrased): “Maurice Williamson says the new law is impractical to implement. Why doesn’t the government just use the GCSB to make sure NZers comply with the law?”
I wasn’t sure about the Canadian train staffing but guessed that the firm would have a minimum crew, and possibly the one. I was right. Now the top cheese is blaming him, all the expensive, dangerous freight was one man’s responsibility.
There was presumably some emergency system that would operate if he had collapsed at his job, and probably most of it was automatic and he just monitored everything. But while it is okay to run a burger bar in a caravan at a fairground with one person, when there is flammable dangerous freight, having back up staff is important. Especially if the train would be left standing while the guy had a much needed meal, and bed and shower etc. Someone should be with the train in a state of alert at all times, sleeping out would have to be on shift.
I wonder why the highly paid managers at this freight company didn’t accept that as an undeniable truth. Maybe that lack of foresight and care is an example of the low level of effectiveness and practicality of modern management altogether. I hear of other things elsewhere, cuts to staff, pressures on the remainder, acceptance of tenders made with unreasonably optimistic deadlines and costs etc. Corners cut to meet competition yet allow enough profit cream to be skimmed at the top. Right here in NZ of course, as well as overseas. One of the reasons we will never ‘match Australia’s wages’ blah blah blah, or indeed balance our current account.
Erebus! A plane put at risk because of head office fiddling with no respect for the precious cargo. Who got blamed – the pilot. And thereby hangs a tale.
Yes Rosetint I was ‘surprised’ that the driver was able to leave the train with the brake off. Surely there at least there should have been back up systems.
73 rail cars, the hand brakes need to be set car by car manually, a worker set some handbrakes in case the air brakes failed, but not enough to stop the train.
WORKING ALONE
In this case, the train was manned by a single worker, the engineer. There are no rules against one-person crews, Luc Bourdon, Transport Canada’s director general for rail safety, said this week. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, the train’s owner, successfully applied last year to have just a single operator on the line. Bourdon also said it is rare — but not against the rules — to leave a train unattended on a main line.
In my view: the company saving CA$50,000 per year may have helped contribute to the killing of dozens of people.
Latest news is that the corporation is going to hang out to dry the single employee present, an engineer. Its all his fault for not following company handbrakes procedure, you see.
The rail car tankers involved in the crash have been known in Canada since the 1990’s to be too thin skinned to survive a crash and immediate rupture on impact spilling contents was predictable.
Extra things not mentioned here … there was no limit to the number of this type of carriage that could make up any one individual train .. but possibly most troubling is there was nothing to monitor it or alert anyone to the fact there was a runaway train crashing downhill towards them .. once the train started its 11 km downhill run, steadily increasing speed to more than 100kms it was doing so for a full 18 minutes before derailing .. time at least to have emptied the centre of town and save dozens of lives with a better saafety system in place.
The mighty dollar and profit-talking rules over people every single time.
I have copied Draco T Bastard 6.1.2 from 10/7 – No one was there to meet them –
as it seems to match what I have been saying.
This was one company.
Don’t kid yourself – there’s other businesses out there that are purposefully disregarding safety because it costs money. I know this from listening to my family that happen to be working in fairly dangerous jobs (usually construction).
The real challenge is how do you manage for that through regulations without making it much, much harder for other good companies to operate.
You stop whinging about it being too hard and do the bloody job properly.
My, how you, supreme know not what you say dolt, how you put your stupid foot in your stupid mouth !
“People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore”. Very well.
What then was the quid pro quo promised to and taken by the movers and shakers of the National Party when they “purchased” ShonKey Python from offshore back ’round ’02 ?
Good luck policing this, a large number of offshore sales get labelled gift or with a false value on the customs decleration now, they even have space on the order form where you can intruct them what to write. Many of these are large legit companies that don’t large VAT and will post for free from the UK so even if they do hit you with a few dollars gst it will still be way cheaper than nz retail.
Also they will need a small army to open and check the volume of packages coming in many will yield just a few dollars of gst, not even close to covering the costs involved with closing them back up etc…
Funny thing – the main reason why people buy stuff overseas and ship it here is not due to GST costs, it’s because even after you strip off GST and shipping, it’s usually cheaper to buy quite a few things online from overseas. Games, computer hardware, tramping equipment, books etc all are usually much, much cheaper overseas due to sellers meeting the local market, whereas NZ retailers oft run into issues with importers/suppliers charging a premium or they have a monopoly on a particular brand and thus can get away with higher prices.
Though I’ve noticed with tramping gear that some of the importers/suppliers and retailers have much more saner costings while the presence of pricespy.co.nz has lead to huge reductions in computer hardware costs, that occasionally match overseas prices.
If National wanted to keep online purchases in check, they’d push for a lower NZ dollar, something the manufacturing enquiry recommended a little hole back.
Good point Pete. I also thought National was in favour of free trade, which this tax would inhibit. Most bulk importers are already exempt from paying GST on imported goods and the price difference is simply because they’re ripping us off. There is also taxes payable on imported goods to the governments where these items are manufactured, so you would effectively be getting taxed twice.
If National wants to increase their tax take they should help local manufacturers to compete through limiting free trade agreements, lowering the NZ dollar and promoting local businesses. They should also ensure that people have enough money to buy the New Zealand made products they require. Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours, is typical of the Natz. Bunch of bloody morons!
Even if the policy could be implemented by making overseas owned companies charge GST at point of sale (not likely) or checking every package that enters New Zealand and wasting time trying to extort more money from already struggling Kiwis, the costs involved in such a logistical nightmare are prohibitive.
There will be no benefit for consumers, which is probably why this proposal is going down like a cold cup of sick even on right wing blogs.
Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours,
When at Uni the economics professor put up a chart that showed that wages in developed countries would go down to meet the (supposedly increasing) developing countries. The problem is that there’s actually far too much labour in the world (and there always will be) so wages must always go down in a “free-market” situation. This is the direct result of increasing productivity which we’ve seen ever since we started agriculture.
I see there is a Gay Ski Week on down south. How nice if another group that receives much disapprobation – the single parents group – could afford to have something similar that they could afford to go to, and take their children, and have some fun like the gays. Then everybody would be gay.
Really, this bothers you somehow? A group of people are being marketed at because of a perceived disposable income. Newsflash for you pinktinted, not all “The Gays” will be in any better position to afford a ski week any more than you. Some will. Get over it.
In 2010, Auckland Council became the largest non-bank borrower in domestic capital markets after the New Zealand Government. Award judges said the treasury team overcame many challenges to transform council into a world-class borrower using innovative solutions.
Yes, one the innovative solutions, is Interest Rates Swaps, for starters, another being that AKL has become the default underwriter, not only of its own debt, but that of other regions debt, also!
World Class borrower, is one of the most ridiculous oxy-morons I’ve ever heard.
No doubt, high five’s, back slapping and cigars all round, at the heist!
Assuming the judges panel consisted of the debt holders, and or their representatives!!!
Varoa mite.
P.S.A.
Super white butterfly in Malborough.
Dont worry about that mate.
The most important thing is shifting your arse in a car down a motorway and shaving 5 minutes off your time to work.
Didn’t make the Herald comments again, despite the article only having six comments at the time. I thought it was quite lightweight really, and was surprised it didn’t go up.
Robyn Pearce’s article What my daughter learnt about Mandela’s leadership style was pretty innocuous and inoffensive (if you ignore the description of “sea of ebony-black faces”) and a somewhat self-congratulatory tribute to Mandela.
My response picked up the following from the article” “One of the things Lenora and I had quickly noticed was the (to us) unnatural subservience accorded their leaders. It wasn’t hard to see how such societies are easy targets for corrupt leaders who seek power in order to suck the system dry.”
The gist of my comment : the original of which now only exists on Prism
Africa is not the only place where unquestioning subservience is given to their leaders.
Here in NZ we have a PM that is often flippant, arrogant and inconsistent. It seems our general public and MSM do not have a problem with this, but many would expect our premier statesman to show dignity, integrity and have accountability.
Corruption occurs when leaders and their processes lack integrity, transparency, accountability and consequences. This can occur in a democracy as well as in a tribal society. Corruption is a misuse of power, not a result of an alternative system of government
JMG is really pulling some good stuff together on his blog – required reading for anyone interested in reality and what the hell to do about it.
Look around, dear reader, and you’ll see a civilization in decline, struggling ineffectually with the ecological overshoot, the social disintegration, the institutional paralysis, and the accelerating decay of infrastructure that are part and parcel of the normal process by which civilizations die. This is what the decline and fall of a civilization looks like in its early-to-middle stages—and it’s also what I’ve been talking about, very often in so many words, since not long after this blog got under way seven years ago. Back then, as I’ve already mentioned, it was reasonable to propose that something else might happen, that we’d get the fast crash or the green-energy breakthrough or all the new petroleum that the law of supply and demand was supposed to provide us, but none of those things happened. (Of course, neither did the mass landing of UFOs or any of the other more colorful fantasies, but then that was never really in question.) It’s time to recognize that the repetition of emotionally appealing but failed predictions is not a helpful response to the crisis of our time, and in fact has done a great deal to back us into the corner we’re now in.
The Standard – blog publication originating from early West Coast paper publication also called The Standard, I understand…
This day, today Thursday 11th July, the Greymouth Star an evening publication of similar heritage, opinion page, offers us ….
West Coast Yesteryear column 1963 – complaints about the Council’s “Bailies black budget”, and congratulations for the nation’s highest producing pedgree Jersey herd from Harihari..
Chris Trotter’s column – commanding a solid space to tell us that David Shearer isn’t a Labour leader’s arse..
Fran O’Sullivan’s column – slamming the corporates and their people over Pike River..
and the Faith column – “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” – Mark 12:1″
Just saw the Campbell Live segment on WINZ making pensioners claim for overseas pensions, or they’ll get their pension cut. And the paper work to apply for an Aussie one is apparently horrendous.
And the woman interviewed only spent a few years in Aussie, probably isn’t entitled to one, but still has to claim for it …. pages and pages of the form to work through.
I’m a little confused also. I have a small amount in an Aussie super scheme which was compulsory to pay into, in the few short years I was there. But it seems there’s another Aussie state pension that anyone who spent time in Aussie, needs to apply for. And if they are elligible for it, they also need to open an Aussie bank accoutn.
I’m thankful that I’ve already sorted out my UK state (and an occupational pension) schemes. WINZ and the IRD know all about them.
But, now I need to fill in an NZ tax return each year, and that’s a horrendous exercise too. Thankfully I also have a trusted accountant acquaintance that does it for me. Apparently it’s not that easy for an accountant to work it out the first time they encounter it.
How in the hell is your average pensioner, especially the less well off ones, meant to sort all this out, if they don’t have some sort of middle-class networks they can draw on?
And quite a few Kiwis have spent some time in Aussie in their lifetimes, some of them on fairly average incomes.
Geezzzz…the government needs to work out a better way to get WINZ to balance their books,
A new name for the national party is needed because the good that was in that partys is history
Maybe the Mamby Pamby Party cos thats the way they all sound to an ordinary person
The latest abuse of power Bennett gone to Malta to look up five Kiwis AND HAVE A BLOODY GOOD HOLIDAY ON OUR MONEY
I hope the old mans ghost makes a mistake and bombs her cruiser when shes sight seeing around the Mediterranean
I suppose they might have been mailed yesterday, so the one to the French would have been sent on the anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior. Curious combination though – but who knows the logic of idiots…
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
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Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
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Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
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When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, 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. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 26: Sam Wallace
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—Weatherman Sam Wallace, TV1 Breakfast, 7:40 a.m., Wednesday 10 July 2013
See also….
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No.24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!” No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No.13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052013/#comment-638881
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15052013/#comment-633295
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.” No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13052013/#comment-632594
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
Humbug Corner
No. 16: BARACK OBAMA
“I wish Muslims across America & around the world a month blessed with the joys of family, peace & understanding.”
—tweet by President Barack Obama at start of Ramadan, 10 July 2013
Check out Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle’s perfect response….
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1373471691.html
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
More disgusting humbugs….
No. 15 John Key: “They know this is an issue of national security.”
No. 14 Charles Saatchi: “I abhor violence of any kind against women…”
No. 13 Toyota NZ: “The more Kiwis that lean, the more motivated our ETNZ crew will be to win.”
No. 12 Pem Bird: “We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
No.11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 [REMOVED]
No. 9 [REMOVED]
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…” No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
Good piece here on some of the dynamics in Syria:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/syria-al-nusra-front-jihadi?CMP=twt_gu
And here is evidence that there is popular resistance to al Qaeda type groups taking over the revolution against Bashar al-Assad.
http://syriafreedomforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/syria-the-people-will-not-kneel-and-will-accept-no-injustice/
I see the guys over at Scoop have posted the latest Maori Party response to Labour colluding with National to further entrench police brutality as a means of quashing dissent.
Not surprising really when considering it was a Labour regime that oversaw the paramilitary raid carried out against Tuhoe. Does anyone know what Meka Whaitiri has been instructed to say by Shearer and his little cartel?
It might help if the Maori Party had not accepted the role of National’s poodle. Anything they say automatically is dismissed as humbug.
Exactly the response expected from right-wing parties.
Labour also colluded with National to quickly shut down any enquiry into the military’s lying and deceit exposed in Nicky Hager’s Other People’s Wars
Atrocious but not surprising behaviour from Labour. Silver lining might be greater support for Mana. Maori Party’s already irreparably damaged so hopefully Mana will now pick up the support Labour’s kicking in the guts.
He deserves to be praised. Well done David Shearer, strong leader.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10896517
You’r a comedian, right?
Santi is a known right wing troll who posts obsessively in favour of David Shearer because the longer Shearer keeps his job the better it is for the right.
That is correct, National want Shearer to remain as leader for as long as possible. Can you imagine Shearer vs Key in an election debate?
Shearer will win hands down, don’t you think?
Are you umm serious because ahhh if you err are then maybe you umm haven’t seen mumblefuck in umm action
Winston, Santi is on your side.
Yes I know, I was using the opportunity to reiterate why Shearer (and by default the Labour party) is useless
Shearer is not useless. He will lead the Labour Party to victory. Guaranteed.
For that reason he must remain leader.
Even Matthew Hooton has stopped peddling his disingenuous support for Shearer.
Stupidity rulz side..
But no. Santi is trying to emulate INTELLIGENCE – however he picked windows CE running basica as the platform. Makes him look like an early generation virus.
Winston however is the real deal.
Tryin to b a funny guy???
But I see that TV3 is still trying to go on about the Gower coup when it’s all a TV3 made up story.
I don’t normally listen to Radiolive but Duncan Garner was interesting last night. He went head to head with Labour bovver boy Clayton Cosgrove and outed him as the head of ABC. Garner was the person who reported on ABC last year and is the best one to say who the leaker of the comments was.
Presuming this is true Cosgrove is guilty of breaching caucus solidarity, undermining a colleague by spinning crap and harming the interests of the Labour Party. He is a disgrace.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Clayton-Cosgrove-and-Duncan-Garner-go-head-to-head-over-Shearer-and-coup/tabid/506/articleID/36641/Default.aspx
Yeah, what a complete cock.
Cunliffe should kick his arse, the backstabbing mofo.
Hey BM Bro’Mine at 6.1:
You’ve come a helluva long way mine brother.
First thing (never seen before), we agree.
Second thing, “mofo”. Hone H is genuinely chuffed by the endorsement !
Back to Earth: “bromine” – a dark red toxic liquid halogen with a choking, irritating smell.
Hone aplogised to women for using the word mofo. Just saying.
Haha, very entertaining. What a couple of fools.
SP @ 6 above: Garner and Cosgrove – equally disgraceful blowhard cocks.
Coupla rednecks well past their (self-claimed) seniors days, down the rugby club late on any winter Saturday afternoon. Excruciating !
Couldn’t handle listening to it past the spewy mutual-respect shit. Any resort to “munter” after I switched off ?
Pair of nonces.
Both lying.
Duncan Garner gets a phone-call from a Labour MP on Tuesday night. Did he ring the MP back to check the call was from him? Could he have been hoaxed? In other words it wasn’t the MP but someone else.
And what about the letter Gower is said to have received from a Labour MP. Did Gower check with the writer that it was indeed from him?
Between 1975 and 1985 I knew two individuals – male and female – who did the same kind of thing. The male in particular had a talent for mimicking people’s voices. They caused no end of trouble and included among their victims were high profile politicians. Their motivation was political and designed to create trouble for the persons they targeted. One of them fessed up to being the culprits years later but it was way to late for me to do anything about it.
Good question. I’d have never thought of the scenario you posited. In the days of caller ID it should make it harder to do what you described, but you never know.
The story is that garner got a text from an MP. and he rang the MP to talk about it. The MP told him Gower had the letter. Garner’s mistake was not checking in with Gower before running the story.
The only other checking he did was to call a non-mp Labour connected person who only gave him hearsay that the coup was on. they said they had heard it might be, and that they had hears rumours of the letter. garner figured that was enough.
Basically he got owned by his mp source, and remains so.
This sounds like a Labour MP, but not Cosgrove, pushing the agenda of destabilisation. An interesting question: was the MP who Garner rang the same MP who wrote the “putting Shearer on notice” email of a fortnight ago. Its all very murky and unpleasant in that caucus.
And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”. If his stock was low two weeks ago, it took another plummet in caucus this week.
Re: And a lot of MPs are pissed off with Shearer over his handling of the “manban”.
Speaking for myself, I was less than happy and I am trying not to be disillusioned with Shearer.
In my eyes, he has been incompetent at brokering, managing and showing leadership abilities in holding, fostering and, indeed, wisely managing, the interface between the caucus/parliamentary and the sectoral/membership/wider party wings.
I am determined not to stay at home on polling day next year. However, I will personally find it quite hard to feel positive about giving Labour a tick, let alone two ticks.
Fortunately you have some alternate choices 🙂
You could be right Pb. I may have misheard Garner on that link. I thought he said he got a text from an MP and that was followed by a phone-call. I presumed it was from the MP.
I got the impression that he had talked to this mp before (that this texting was not unusual) and so he rang the mp to find out more. What I wondered is given Duncan declared Clayton as a main ‘leaker’ on Cunliffe are there grounds for a complaint to the party council? I seem to remember last year Shearer said there wasn’t enough evidence, but maybe that should be revisited?
Hi Pascals bookie. Had a chance to listen to that link again. Garner did say he received a text AND a phone call from a Labour MP. He also spoke of an ‘outside source’ but he doesn’t elaborate. If my conjecture that he might have been hoaxed has any substance then it may well have been someone other than a Lab. caucus member.
There are a lot of very clever geeks out there who know how to circumvent most systems.
conspiracy theorist unite.
Keep on whistling in the dark James. It’s coming, the cold light of dawn. Whadya gonna say then ?
No “empire” lasts forever James. Strangely, as more and more evidence of advised joint action comes out, ‘sus’ enough for it to have been heavily concealed, you whistle louder, like a frantic thrush.
Perhaps James hasn’t understood an iota of the Snowden files over the last month and should renew his membership to “Ostriches Unite”.
Anyone else notice the other side of Mr Nice-guy? Turned on the real assassin type tone in the corridors of the Beehive yesterday when asked his stance on the conscience vote – “They can vote against it if they like, but they won’t because they campaigned on the convention centre…”
He did not look a happy chappy. Looked incredibly nasty actually. And after the Campbell Live lead last night I think he will be even less smiling.
But when it comes to an opposition voice that should be making hay – what do we get?
Yeah the sub-text there from key was pretty blatant
“because they campaigned on the convention centre” – maybe i missed it – but i cant recall any mention of a conference center during the last election
Yeah – Framu – I thought that was a bit odd too because I couldn’t recall the convention centre being a part of the last campaign either ! I reckon it was code for “you’ll lose your seat if you don’t vote for the convention centre” .
As to the would-be Labour coup, all the “would be leaders” named in the media so far – Jones, Little, Cosgrove, Robertson – NONE of them are in an electorate seat. They are all List MPs – – seemingly unable to make a sufficient dent in the Labour vote to get themselves voted in properly.
This tells you heaps of their (non) ability to become a leader !
Robertson is MP for Wellington Central, though he may want to thank Marian Hobbs for that. Unless you mean Ross Robertson, who’s MP for Manukau East.
Sorry – my mistake re Grant Robertson not having a seat.
I really do wish people would stop this BS. They did get voted in properly. The fact that they’re on the list would also tend to indicate that they have the necessary skills and ambition.
You simply have to be kidding me.
Nope, they’ve proven themselves somehow else they wouldn’t be on the list. Of course, the selection process for the list may be less than desirable.
That is the most ridiculous, stupid non-logic I’ve heard. It ignores the politics, horse trading, personal sponsorship, etc. which goes into putting the party list together. It further assumes that merit is the major element for placement on the party list. And finally, it fails to recognise that getting on to the list proves fuck all about performance and ability as an MP, as demonstrated by a good third of the MPs in Parliament today.
The illogic was in thinking that getting an electorate seat was any different. People don’t vote for candidates in the electorate, they still vote for the party. This may change over time but I’m not really expecting it to as it’s easier to track the parties than all the individual candidates.
I suspect the same could have been said 30+ years ago.
And I agree with you.
Which is why I’m mystified you said that getting on to a party list “proves” ability and competence at the job.
True Framu. There was absolutely nothing about any convention centre in my recollection, let alone a SkyCity convention centre.
More ShonKey Python “say whatever suits in the moment” bullshit. To wit……”I voted blah blah blah………the liquour law”.
An infantile pathology going on there methinks.
I think he also said in reply in the house yesterday that they campaigned on it …
Some great listener comments on Morning Report with regards to the failed GST tax law.
My Fav (paraphrased): “Maurice Williamson says the new law is impractical to implement. Why doesn’t the government just use the GCSB to make sure NZers comply with the law?”
geoff
+1
I wasn’t sure about the Canadian train staffing but guessed that the firm would have a minimum crew, and possibly the one. I was right. Now the top cheese is blaming him, all the expensive, dangerous freight was one man’s responsibility.
There was presumably some emergency system that would operate if he had collapsed at his job, and probably most of it was automatic and he just monitored everything. But while it is okay to run a burger bar in a caravan at a fairground with one person, when there is flammable dangerous freight, having back up staff is important. Especially if the train would be left standing while the guy had a much needed meal, and bed and shower etc. Someone should be with the train in a state of alert at all times, sleeping out would have to be on shift.
I wonder why the highly paid managers at this freight company didn’t accept that as an undeniable truth. Maybe that lack of foresight and care is an example of the low level of effectiveness and practicality of modern management altogether. I hear of other things elsewhere, cuts to staff, pressures on the remainder, acceptance of tenders made with unreasonably optimistic deadlines and costs etc. Corners cut to meet competition yet allow enough profit cream to be skimmed at the top. Right here in NZ of course, as well as overseas. One of the reasons we will never ‘match Australia’s wages’ blah blah blah, or indeed balance our current account.
Erebus! A plane put at risk because of head office fiddling with no respect for the precious cargo. Who got blamed – the pilot. And thereby hangs a tale.
Yes Rosetint I was ‘surprised’ that the driver was able to leave the train with the brake off. Surely there at least there should have been back up systems.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/canada-train-derailment-puts-brakes-spotlight-19631805#.Ud3gaNhU1d0
73 rail cars, the hand brakes need to be set car by car manually, a worker set some handbrakes in case the air brakes failed, but not enough to stop the train.
In my view: the company saving CA$50,000 per year may have helped contribute to the killing of dozens of people.
Latest news is that the corporation is going to hang out to dry the single employee present, an engineer. Its all his fault for not following company handbrakes procedure, you see.
The rail car tankers involved in the crash have been known in Canada since the 1990’s to be too thin skinned to survive a crash and immediate rupture on impact spilling contents was predictable.
Extra things not mentioned here … there was no limit to the number of this type of carriage that could make up any one individual train .. but possibly most troubling is there was nothing to monitor it or alert anyone to the fact there was a runaway train crashing downhill towards them .. once the train started its 11 km downhill run, steadily increasing speed to more than 100kms it was doing so for a full 18 minutes before derailing .. time at least to have emptied the centre of town and save dozens of lives with a better saafety system in place.
The mighty dollar and profit-talking rules over people every single time.
I have copied Draco T Bastard 6.1.2 from 10/7 – No one was there to meet them –
as it seems to match what I have been saying.
This was one company.
Don’t kid yourself – there’s other businesses out there that are purposefully disregarding safety because it costs money. I know this from listening to my family that happen to be working in fairly dangerous jobs (usually construction).
The real challenge is how do you manage for that through regulations without making it much, much harder for other good companies to operate.
You stop whinging about it being too hard and do the bloody job properly.
Once again the National govt is preparing to raise taxes, this time it’s GST on anything you buy overseas worth less than $400.
Is there a tax, levy, or fee that these bastards haven’t increased or expanded?
Oh that’s right, income tax on the rich.
People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore
Did you see me arguing the rightness or wrongness of that?
What I’m saying is that John Key and National, in spite of all their sloganeering, are a very very tax-happy government.
OR avoid tax by having offshore accounts.
Hahaha !………Sir TFH @ 10.1 above:
My, how you, supreme know not what you say dolt, how you put your stupid foot in your stupid mouth !
“People shouldn’t be able to avoid tax by purchasing offshore”. Very well.
What then was the quid pro quo promised to and taken by the movers and shakers of the National Party when they “purchased” ShonKey Python from offshore back ’round ’02 ?
Avoidance of tax, no ?
The solution to that is to drop GST altogether as it’s just not working and that’s beside the fact that it’s massively regressive.
BTW, do you think National are going to hire the thousands of people necessary to go through everyone’s mail?
Job for the GCSB…
also – that idea is riddled with loopholes and compliance issues
so it would yet again, be rather easy to avoid if youve got the skills or means
Good luck policing this, a large number of offshore sales get labelled gift or with a false value on the customs decleration now, they even have space on the order form where you can intruct them what to write. Many of these are large legit companies that don’t large VAT and will post for free from the UK so even if they do hit you with a few dollars gst it will still be way cheaper than nz retail.
Also they will need a small army to open and check the volume of packages coming in many will yield just a few dollars of gst, not even close to covering the costs involved with closing them back up etc…
Funny thing – the main reason why people buy stuff overseas and ship it here is not due to GST costs, it’s because even after you strip off GST and shipping, it’s usually cheaper to buy quite a few things online from overseas. Games, computer hardware, tramping equipment, books etc all are usually much, much cheaper overseas due to sellers meeting the local market, whereas NZ retailers oft run into issues with importers/suppliers charging a premium or they have a monopoly on a particular brand and thus can get away with higher prices.
Though I’ve noticed with tramping gear that some of the importers/suppliers and retailers have much more saner costings while the presence of pricespy.co.nz has lead to huge reductions in computer hardware costs, that occasionally match overseas prices.
If National wanted to keep online purchases in check, they’d push for a lower NZ dollar, something the manufacturing enquiry recommended a little hole back.
Good point Pete. I also thought National was in favour of free trade, which this tax would inhibit. Most bulk importers are already exempt from paying GST on imported goods and the price difference is simply because they’re ripping us off. There is also taxes payable on imported goods to the governments where these items are manufactured, so you would effectively be getting taxed twice.
If National wants to increase their tax take they should help local manufacturers to compete through limiting free trade agreements, lowering the NZ dollar and promoting local businesses. They should also ensure that people have enough money to buy the New Zealand made products they require. Making the consumer pay for a completely failed globalization agenda, which should have raised wages in developing countries instead of lowering ours, is typical of the Natz. Bunch of bloody morons!
Even if the policy could be implemented by making overseas owned companies charge GST at point of sale (not likely) or checking every package that enters New Zealand and wasting time trying to extort more money from already struggling Kiwis, the costs involved in such a logistical nightmare are prohibitive.
There will be no benefit for consumers, which is probably why this proposal is going down like a cold cup of sick even on right wing blogs.
When at Uni the economics professor put up a chart that showed that wages in developed countries would go down to meet the (supposedly increasing) developing countries. The problem is that there’s actually far too much labour in the world (and there always will be) so wages must always go down in a “free-market” situation. This is the direct result of increasing productivity which we’ve seen ever since we started agriculture.
I see there is a Gay Ski Week on down south. How nice if another group that receives much disapprobation – the single parents group – could afford to have something similar that they could afford to go to, and take their children, and have some fun like the gays. Then everybody would be gay.
Not sure if you noticed all the “child” and “family” pricing deals offered by restaurants, pools, cinemas, zoos, water parks etc.
Single parents and families don’t need a special week to recognize that they exist, because society already does that pervasively.
All families are not equal Lanthanide. Have you started one?
Do you know of any kids or families denied concession rates because they were sole-parent households?
Really, this bothers you somehow? A group of people are being marketed at because of a perceived disposable income. Newsflash for you pinktinted, not all “The Gays” will be in any better position to afford a ski week any more than you. Some will. Get over it.
This is pretty odd…
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1307/S00408/auckland-council-treasury-team-takes-out-top-global-awards.htm
World Class Borrower
Innovative Solutions
Oh, that’s ok then, nothing to see here!
Just what Auckland needs. Financial engineering in the debt markets. Ridiculous.
Yes, one the innovative solutions, is Interest Rates Swaps, for starters, another being that AKL has become the default underwriter, not only of its own debt, but that of other regions debt, also!
World Class borrower, is one of the most ridiculous oxy-morons I’ve ever heard.
No doubt, high five’s, back slapping and cigars all round, at the heist!
Assuming the judges panel consisted of the debt holders, and or their representatives!!!
Oh, that’s nice, the people in Auckland’s treasury got an award for helping rip off the people of Auckland.
Well, it certainly didn’t consist of Aucklanders.
Straight up, B. Its been a pretty much a clean sweep of available awards, by the treasury/financial management teams/individuals, fancy that!
It needs to be seen like the rating agencies, and the lies they tell using AAA etc
Obama’s nobel prize, also comes to mind!
Use your illusion!
Foreign Jihadists bringing money, organisation and sharia law to Syria
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/syria-al-nusra-front-jihadi
Varoa mite.
P.S.A.
Super white butterfly in Malborough.
Dont worry about that mate.
The most important thing is shifting your arse in a car down a motorway and shaving 5 minutes off your time to work.
http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/country/?country=new_zealand
Can’t believe not many people are talking about this:
“According to the survey, 79% of New Zealanders believe the country to be run by ‘a few big entities acting in their own best interests’.”
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2013/07/corruption-in-new-zealand-survey-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fliberationbybryceedwards+%28liberation%29
Didn’t make the Herald comments again, despite the article only having six comments at the time. I thought it was quite lightweight really, and was surprised it didn’t go up.
Robyn Pearce’s article What my daughter learnt about Mandela’s leadership style was pretty innocuous and inoffensive (if you ignore the description of “sea of ebony-black faces”) and a somewhat self-congratulatory tribute to Mandela.
My response picked up the following from the article”
“One of the things Lenora and I had quickly noticed was the (to us) unnatural subservience accorded their leaders. It wasn’t hard to see how such societies are easy targets for corrupt leaders who seek power in order to suck the system dry.”
The gist of my comment : the original of which now only exists on Prism
Africa is not the only place where unquestioning subservience is given to their leaders.
Here in NZ we have a PM that is often flippant, arrogant and inconsistent. It seems our general public and MSM do not have a problem with this, but many would expect our premier statesman to show dignity, integrity and have accountability.
Corruption occurs when leaders and their processes lack integrity, transparency, accountability and consequences. This can occur in a democracy as well as in a tribal society. Corruption is a misuse of power, not a result of an alternative system of government
JMG is really pulling some good stuff together on his blog – required reading for anyone interested in reality and what the hell to do about it.
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/asking-hard-questions.html
Yep its good stuff.
The Standard – blog publication originating from early West Coast paper publication also called The Standard, I understand…
This day, today Thursday 11th July, the Greymouth Star an evening publication of similar heritage, opinion page, offers us ….
West Coast Yesteryear column 1963 – complaints about the Council’s “Bailies black budget”, and congratulations for the nation’s highest producing pedgree Jersey herd from Harihari..
Chris Trotter’s column – commanding a solid space to tell us that David Shearer isn’t a Labour leader’s arse..
Fran O’Sullivan’s column – slamming the corporates and their people over Pike River..
and the Faith column – “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” – Mark 12:1″
gotta love it
Crap. This is WINZ madness!
Just saw the Campbell Live segment on WINZ making pensioners claim for overseas pensions, or they’ll get their pension cut. And the paper work to apply for an Aussie one is apparently horrendous.
And the woman interviewed only spent a few years in Aussie, probably isn’t entitled to one, but still has to claim for it …. pages and pages of the form to work through.
I’m a little confused also. I have a small amount in an Aussie super scheme which was compulsory to pay into, in the few short years I was there. But it seems there’s another Aussie state pension that anyone who spent time in Aussie, needs to apply for. And if they are elligible for it, they also need to open an Aussie bank accoutn.
I’m thankful that I’ve already sorted out my UK state (and an occupational pension) schemes. WINZ and the IRD know all about them.
But, now I need to fill in an NZ tax return each year, and that’s a horrendous exercise too. Thankfully I also have a trusted accountant acquaintance that does it for me. Apparently it’s not that easy for an accountant to work it out the first time they encounter it.
How in the hell is your average pensioner, especially the less well off ones, meant to sort all this out, if they don’t have some sort of middle-class networks they can draw on?
And quite a few Kiwis have spent some time in Aussie in their lifetimes, some of them on fairly average incomes.
Geezzzz…the government needs to work out a better way to get WINZ to balance their books,
A new name for the national party is needed because the good that was in that partys is history
Maybe the Mamby Pamby Party cos thats the way they all sound to an ordinary person
The latest abuse of power Bennett gone to Malta to look up five Kiwis AND HAVE A BLOODY GOOD HOLIDAY ON OUR MONEY
I hope the old mans ghost makes a mistake and bombs her cruiser when shes sight seeing around the Mediterranean
Envelopes with baking soda sent to Dunne, Brownlee and the French embassy.
I suppose they might have been mailed yesterday, so the one to the French would have been sent on the anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior. Curious combination though – but who knows the logic of idiots…