—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…
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In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
The Jewish Council’s proposals are divisive, contrary to New Zealand’s human rights framework, and ignore the rights of other ethnic minorities in Aotearoa. ...
"This is shocking, and astounding," says Augusta Macassey-Pickard, spokesperson for the group. "We knew that this process was rushed, and flawed, but this is another level of compromised." ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific presenter/Bulletin editor Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark maintains that Cook Islands, a realm of New Zealand, should have consulted Wellington before signing a “partnership” deal with China. “[Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown] seems to have signed behind the backs of his own ...
COMMENTARY:By Saige England Mediawatch on RNZ today strongly criticised Stuff and YouTube among other media for using Israeli propaganda’s “Outbrain” service. Outbrain is a company founded by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) military and its technology can be tracked back to a wealthy entrepreneur, which in this case could ...
Luxon said protesters linked to Destiny Church "went too far" by disrupting Pride events in Auckland, while church leader Brian Tamaki said he told protesters, "I want you to storm the library they're in." ...
Hundreds of engineers are losing their jobs and leaving our shores due to infrastructure project delays, creating "significant" risk to our nation's development, says the head of New Zealand's engineering body. ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says the deal with China “complements, not replaces” the relationship with New Zealand after signing it yesterday. Brown said “The Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030” provides a structured framework for engagement between the Cook Islands ...
The government should not set military style academies into youth justice law, the children's commissioner says, despite its first bootcamp getting a glowing report. ...
The infamous over-the-suit T-shirt worn by the PM at a Parliament barbecue has gone on sale to raise funds for children living in poverty, in a TradeMe auction. ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 26: Sam Wallace
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“So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
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—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…