“National Party MP for Invercargill Sarah Dowie said she “didn’t pay too much attention” to Turei’s resignation.
“The Left are well known for this. They are in turmoil”, Dowie said.
“Labour and Greens are fused at the hip;it’s no surprise they are going through these leadership issues – we’re used to it”.
“Invercargill Labour Party candidate Liz Craig said Turei had done “tremendous work” during her tenure. “I knew Metiria when I was involved in child poverty advocacy work and I respect the heart she had for social change”. “I wanted to acknowledge the tremendous work she has done in that space over the years.”
Turei was “amateurish”, “didn’t manage/control the narrative”, etc:
These are all neoliberal managerialist technocrat values – and they ignore the power imbalance, that is ultimately a race & gender-charged class struggle.
If she had continued campaigning against poverty and for beneficiaries, the way she has done for years, the MSM would have continued to largely ignore her. Once she started getting attaention and support for her policies and campaign, those on the side of the establishment and status quo would try to attack her, and vilify her, in any way they could.
“If she had continued campaigning against poverty and for beneficiaries, the way she has done for years, the MSM would have continued to largely ignore her.”
All these carefully crafted leaks from Turei’s past indiscretions were meant to undermine her credibility and in the end she had no choice but to resign. Calling NZF a racist party was a big mistake, Peters has many informants and knows where the bodies are buried.
@ Carolyn_nth … I stand to be corrected here, but I thought after Metiria’s public statements re calling NZF a racist party, in response Winston said something along the lines of “… there will be consequences …”
Whether that comment of Winston’s is partly or fully the result of the lead up to Metiria’s resignation, is anyone’s guess!
NZ First leader Winston Peters has bailed up Green co-leader Metiria Turei for calling him “racist”, saying such attacks would have consequences.
Speaking on Q+A this morning, Turei said Peters was “on a roll” partly because of “a very racist approach to immigration”.
“The worst of his rhetoric is coming out.”
In response, Peters issued a statement saying it was the Green Party which had “racially separatist policies” and appeared to warn of consequences for the Green Party in any post-election talks.
…
Turei’s comment also drew fire from NZ First MP Tracey Martin on Twitter. Martin said that by describing her as racist “you make it very difficult to sit at the table and believe it is mutually respectful”.
Meteria was not only was hounded for telling the truth, but she also put paid to the lie that beneficiaries could get out of their situation if they were willing to follow all the rules, and pull themselves out of poverty if they only wanted to.
Telling the truth about her life was bad enough.
But exposing the lie that gives comfort to many – unforgivable.
Environment goods and social goods go hand in hand. Our media sucks eggs, it’s underfunded and so useless. N.Korea will launch a nuke and explode it, in orbit. Destroying satalites, Guam is just nonsense. Kim wants respect, take him down now.
Climate change act now before summer hits the Sun, Sun storm alter the heating reaching the Earth, to as we slowly cook ourselves like a lobster, the sun could up the heat at anytime, dicing with extinction is clueless. Nats have no answers just stay the course, whatever on tourism on housing on social on environment, it’s just a joke to them requiringbthem to fiddle the controls a little, oh and build congested roads on a volcanic field. Geez National is dumb.
The Palms Shopping Centre Christchurch does not like getting people onto the Electoral Roll! This week I grabbed a bunch of enrolment packs and after shopping at the supermarket offered them to people in the mall as I made my way to the car park. I was on the lookout for younger people and displayed the packs in my hand. After 12 people had taken a pack, a security guard arrived to escort me from the premises. Apparently it is not allowed!! I had been picked up on a security camera. I have done this in other shopping malls in Christchurch with no problems. I am 72 years old.
Wows !!! Venezia, I admire what you are doing to encourage the youth to enroll this election.
That’s shocking re the security guard, one would have thought they had better things to do than harrass an older women for promoting the democratic system.
Interesting James. It is regarded as a public space so long as the people entering it engage in consumer behaviour – buying stuff, browsing in shops, eating coffee and muffins. You don’t need permission to come in or go out
However if they enter this space and do other things – even things that are not illegal, intrusive, dangerous or annoying – it is suddenly private property.
Seems to me a little bit like wanting to have your cake (or overpriced blueberry muffin) and eat it at the same time.
Basic law 101: A shopping centre isn’t any different from this site or for that matter for your home.
It is private property that is often accessible to selected guests. While the community through laws and regulations impose restrictions on the owners. The owners of private property can also impose rules on guests using their property.
It isn’t like a public road – which is the analogy that I suspect that you are straining for. That is a false analogy. And even there the the legal system. central and local government all impose limits to use. Roads may be cleared for parades. You can’t set up tables in the middle of a roadway. etc etc
Consider that developments on private property aren’t paid for and maintained out of community funds. So the body that maintains the property is able to impose their own rules on top of whatever the community imposes upon them through the body of law.
There is also no difference between a shopping center (or this website) and your own home. In all cases while you can allow guests to share it, you can also restrict access or make rules stop behaviors that you find objectionable.
I think the analogy approach is wrong. By using analogy it is very easy to come up with a wrong answer. For example Government is often spoken of as if it was like a household, that it has to live within its means. As has been said, Government is only like a household with a money printing press in the basement.
Regarding malls, malls are not like ones home, the analogy is wrong and the conclusions reach via that analogy are wrong.
The analogy approach allows the writer to pick and choose . In this case you have chosen to say that a mall is like a home and not like a road.
The analogy explained the perspective of the law: a mall is private property. Anyone can be refuced access for any reason, as long as any reason given does not violated the human rights act.
In fact, people can be escorted off public property, e.g. the Speaker of the House can trespass people from the grounds of Parliament. Universities, as arms of the Crown, can also trespass people off their campusses.
James, the owner of the shopping center and car park is AMP.
The behavior of Venezia was in no way biased at any political party, anti competitive, intrusive, offensive or criminal. I suspect however, that who ever sat at the screen watching and/or giving the marching orders did so by “assuming” that any of the above is the case. Perhaps he/she should have checked facts and also sought response from the owner of the premise?
I would complain to management. Go right to the top and the electoral commission. Security guards often do things like this if not properly briefed. Management will probably apologise Look what happened at the local government conference where a Maori and a Samoan delegate were challenged.
Apparently it was management who gave the instructions. I yesterday learned from a young person who used to work at The Palms ( now at my local Mall ) that the management there is very difficult. She used some choice language to describe them. Nothing better to do than obstruct a perfectly legal activity. I asked people “are you enrolled to vote? ” showing the enrolment pack with orange man on front. Some younger people said “just what I need” and Interesting that older people are taking packs for their grandkids. I have emailed the Electoral Commission.
That’s awful. Perhaps just get on with enrolling people in other locations or else if you have the energy contact local media and the electoral commission.
a) – A lot of Malls have electoral people in them handing out forms anyway (you know proper ones).
b) I note that the mall had forms there anyway (thats where she got them from).
c) I note she was on the lookout for ‘younger people’ – Why not ask everybody if you are genuine – as opposed to selecting people who might be more in line with your political views.
I missed the bit in the thread where you got B from, and I’m sure venezia is a proper person.
I think it was dickish behaviour by the mall (didn’t their ownership get council or govt money a while back? Something like that…), but yeah, they were in their rights.
The big problem for malls is that even a portable stall or person with a clipboard is a prime moneymaker due to the foot traffic – they usually don’t mind charitable things, but just a couple of months ago I saw a salesman being escorted out because he was trying to blag what was a regular spot for charities in my local mall – I think it was Barnados or cancer foundation was waiting to set up after the delboy wannabe was finally gone.
They sometimes have to book those school sausage sizzle spots weeks in advance, if not longer.
No James. I arrived with a bunch of enrolment packs, and I also picked up some more from the Post shop. I was handing them out at the furthest end of the mall away from the Post shop.
I have noticed that you often make stuff up in order to take the mickey out of people.
Don’t worry James, its all OK and in the green zone… the synthetic cannabis usage gets a good viewing on private car parks around the country and not to worry too much about drunks hanging out on weekends either. The fighting and submissions to hospitals is taxpayer funded so that is absolutely fine you know. Its a lot easier to mussel an elderly person, it could have been a paper cut from a template – very dangerous indeed.
AMP, the owner of car parks near you, proudly looking after your retirement Kiwi saver fund. Just don’t get stupid ideas about handing out leaflets promoting democracy because they are concerned about the people in their twilight years. Yeah right.
Very cool what you are doing. Like Fairy Godmother I reckon a complaint is warranted but you might be better using your time to hand out enrolments elsewhere.
Winegrowers having a crack at labour re water, scare mongering via the national party.
FYI, National Party hoardings at a large vineyard in our region.
How many vineyards are also publically vocal national supporters? Anyone else out there seen national party hoardings displayed at vineyards? Are their water opinions biased much? Alcohol lobbyists mhmmmm
On the rare occasions I can afford to buy wine these days, I try not to buy NZ-made stuff and pretty much for this reason. Also that there is better South American, Spanish and Italian stuff at lower prices.
It was a bit rich listening to list Mp Maureen Pughs patsy set up sup question about water and vineyards/horiculture yesterday to Nick Smith when her hoarding is displayed at Seifrieds vineyard in Appleby.
The reason why South American wine is so cheap is that the wages paid in Chile in particular are well below survivable level. Might pay to do a bit of research before drinking. Spain and Argentina are not much better.
Not a good choice for a leftie.
NZ wages are at least above minimum wage level and quite often considerably above that, good pruners on contract would be above $25 hr. But it is not easy work.
It not surprising that Nat signs are on vineyards, a lot of vineyards are on old family farms and they’ve certainly not a hotbed of left sympathisers.
BTW, you’d be surprised how many family vineyards and wine companies are owned by Labour and Green members and supporters.
“family vineyards and wine companies are owned by Labour and Green members and supporters”.
But of course they are. Where do you think the Chardonnay Socialists, also known as the Wadestown Wadicals of Wellington get their booze from?
Local Labour campaigns have been financed by wine sales of such naughty little numbers as “Socialist Chardonnay”, “Political Savvy” and “Reds under the Bed”. The last had a descriptor “You will be left leaning after a bottle of this”.
Signs in rural areas for Labour are often targeted. It’s very canine out there. Dogs hate having the smell of another on their territory.
I remember putting up one sign on the very rural but aptly named (or so I thought) Red Post corner. Two locals in a ute drove by this sign which was 10 metres inside a private fence line. They yelled out to me that it wouldn’t last long. It, and like others like it, lasted a day.
It was replaced with two signs. A second on another property was not replaced. The property owner told me she feared for her property as the vandals had trespassed and climbed up a water tower to do their damage.
The ute in this story had a dog on the back. Of the three occupants, it was the least feral.
The names of the wine sound wonderful. Is it still available or was it in a past election?
“Reds under the beds”, AND the alternate “left leaning” description would be great to offer to some of my right leaning friends.
Was it any good?
I hope they had a licence to sell it though. I have vague memories of a political party that did something like this and one of their opponents tried to get them prosecuted because the candidate didn’t have a licence to sell the few dozen bottles concerned.
The memory is so vague I can’t even remember whether it was here or when I lived in Oz. Neither can I remember which were the parties involved.
Destruction, or defacement of signs is, unfortunately a very Kiwi habit. It doesn’t just happen to the left leaning parties. I have just come up Aro Street in Wellington and the billboards for nearly every party had some damage. Not all the billboards of course but at least one for each of them had some damage.
Alwyn, past elections I’m afraid, but top quality wine. Well known producer here. All my purchases consumed. Good marketing, good profit and totally legal.
I had a beer tonight (small town, eh!) with the opposition rural bill board erecting specialist and discussed our mutual annoyance with people who deface and steal billboards. It is anti-democratic and criminal, costly and ultimately futile.
We Kiwis have some bad habits and national traits around alcohol, driving, violence and suicide, blame, empathy and tax evasion. Otherwise it’s Godzone.
When I have been driving on isolated highways going through country areas the cars in the area have mostly had young men in them and I had a feeling of them being barely tamed by laws and self-discipline.
No James – the South American stuff is cheaper too. I’m merely being a rational, self-interested, self-maximising individual. Have you forgotten what your own ideology prescribes?
Also in that column reason was this about Materia.
“I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.”
Fair enough but it mirrors what was being said about Bennett with the question added about financial support for her from her family. Wonder if that question will be explored with equal enthusiasm?
Bennett will not reveal any info about her past, nor will Bill English about any of his 450 texts. MSM will not press these matters for obvious reasons, ie I want to keep my job: John Campbell.
I was in a similar situation to Metiria in the 1990s ianmac. The difference being I was looking after an elderly mother who slowly succumbed to Alzheimers. There was help from family members in the early years, but as time passed resentment built and two of my siblings began to spread rumour and innuendo among the relatives. The case ended up in court but was swiftly discarded when it became evident the accusations had no truth to them. In my case, the aim of the exercise was to have my share of the estate taken from me and shared among my siblings. They failed.
I tell the story as an example of how relatives in the heat of the moment can re-invent history – and even convince themselves its correct – without any understanding of the truth of historical and semi-historical events.
I wonder if this is in part what happened to Metiria. I also heard her talk of the “fantastic support” she received from “PIupiu’s family”, so it looks to me like a member of that family jumped on the phone to John Campbell before checking out the substance of Metiria’s public interviews.
If my own experiences are anything to go by, they probably had no idea how financially desperate Metiria really was at the time. I was reduced at one point to wearing old sandels with holes in the soles and the heels falling off my shoes. I couldn’t even afford to go to the Warehouse and replace them.
A tough existence Anne but you have risen inspite of the ratbags.
I do know of a similar one where a woman in her late teens early20s, who lived and took care of her Grandma as she succumbed to Alzheimers. When her Gran died the sons and daughters ordered her out of the house in case she claimed it for herself. Miserable beggars!
Same sort of paranoid group-think. In my case they convinced themselves I had manipulated my mother into gifting me the land on which my home was built. I produced legal documents to prove I paid the going rate.They forgot to check out that possibility. 😉
Just received an email from Newsroom. I think they are serious about publishing serious column/research from serious journalists. (Won’t find anything from Paddy there.)
Melanie Reid, Mark Jennings, Bernard Hickey etc.
I’ve found Newsroom reasonably unbiased and with a social conscience…something that is severely lacking in the media. Their articles on forced uplifting of children are incredibly good journalism. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@taken-by-the-state
Taylor said that she doesn’t blame her former bodyguard Greg Dent, who witnessed the assault, for not stopping Mueller, telling jurors, “I’m not critical of my bodyguard for not doing anything, I’m critical of your client [Mueller] for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass.”
The NZHerald is calling it a collapse in the housing market.
I’m not sure how Labour could find an opening here, but it is a huge opening for National to simply state that they will strongly encourage the Reserve Bank to loosen monetary conditions.
The Reserve Bank stated yesterday:
“House price inflation continues to moderate due to loan-to-value ratio restrictions, affordability constraints, and a tightening in credit conditions.
This moderation is expected to persist, although there remains a risk of resurgence in prices given continued strong population growth and resource constraints in the construction sector.”
National have a big opening to reassure property owners before the election – because that is their natural base.
I see that The Herald is suggesting that Metiria Turei might be chosen as their New Zealander of the Year. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11902264
At first I thought they must be joking but when you consider the origin of the award it isn’t that unlikely.
It is of course copied from the Time magazine “Person or the Year” (originally “Man of the Year”) and they have often had some contentious awards.
Metiria certainly is no more unlikely than Time’s choices in 1938 or 2016.
The one she most resembles though was the person chosen in 1936. MT to a “T”. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/time-magazine-10-controversial-people-year-article-1.2040428
I think he’s picking up on Turei’s career as a socialite, her interest in marrying into wealth and her support for fascism. Wow, it’s like two peas in a pod!
Interesting article in the Herald today on incomes during this government by Brian Fallow (my comments in brackets):
“The lowest quintile, or fifth, of households when ranked by income spend an average of 51 per cent of their disposable income on housing, up from 29 per cent in the late 1980s. For the second lowest quintile it is 32 per cent of income, versus 19 per cent 30 years ago. [this is scandalous-under National the lowest waged people can no longer afford accommodation]
But the top decile has been pulling away from the rest particularly swiftly on National’s watch. [Labour/Green bloc should be highlighting this]
Between 2009 and 2016, household incomes at the 90th per centile rose 14.7 per cent. This is after inflation, tax, transfers and housing costs. At the 10th per centile, the increase was 9.4 per cent over the same seven years.” [Under National the rich have been getting much richer]
Simply put, the Right cares more about preserving private property and the power it commands over politics, the economy, and society than it does about democracy. If they can have both, then conservative politicians and parties will support democracy and often get exactly what they want, as formal democracy on its own has historically proven compatible with an anti-democratic capitalism that concentrates economic power. But if conservatives are forced to choose — as they ultimately were in both the British and German contexts — they will always choose property. The circumstances of this choice determine whether they also bring down the curtain on democracy.
Sounds about right – Just need to look to what happened with ECan to see that. The conservatives weren’t getting what they wanted and so they canned even the limited democracy that was there.
IMO, the Nats fully understand what they’re doing and they’ll keep doing it for as long as we let them. The end result of letting them do it is a poverty stricken and collapsed society.
The Metiria affair is starting to remind me of “the Dreyfus affair”
“The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. The affair is often seen as a modern and universal symbol of injustice, and it remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice. The major role played by the press and public opinion proved influential in the lasting social conflict.
The scandal began in December 1894, with the treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian and Jewish descent. Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil’s Island in French Guiana, where he spent nearly five years.
The affair from 1894 to 1906 divided France deeply and lastingly into two opposing camps: the pro-Army, mostly Catholic “anti-Dreyfusards” and the anticlerical, pro-republican Dreyfusards. It embittered French politics and encouraged radicalization.
Now its not nice being Maori at this time I rang a guy down south he said come now the farm is run by eastern European and its a mess . So I flew down on my first day on the job I was informed that my job would be tractor driver handy man milker for now the farm had a 80 bail rotary there were 5 workers milking 2 cupping 2 recupping as the cups would fall off and 1 decupping . I noticed that the string to the auto cup removers were snapping . I new what the problem was the auto teat sprayers get a sharp edge as the string slide past it I put duck tape on the place where the string was rubbing on teat spray and replaced all the strings .In the mean time the manager had plant tec in 3 days a week to fix plant they changed all the rubber ware and stuffed around with the plant I checked the vac plant oil it was low and burnt I ordered some oil .The day I changed the oil the calf rear asked if the tec had turned up vac presser as the cups had stopped falling off i said no I changed the oil. On the Saturday there there was a training day Dairy NZ were running a training day the manager had for got and the staff were on days off. After 20 minutes the CEO of DNZ approached me and said that it was obvious than I was the most experienced worker there as the manager did not no he was not milking cows properly and the cows would get mastitis and production would drop. He asked me to help the manager and give him advice . I replied that 2 weeks ago I suggested to start a staff roster with 10 staff he needed a roster that the manager did not take my advice . The plant Tec were embarrassed that I had fixed the plant. I flew home to get my wife. The day I was to drive back down south I rang the owner he told me to stay there and he would ring me WTF The farm owner would rather lose money and stock than higher a proud Maori.
Now some people will think it was me at fault and that there is no discrimination in NZ I was down south 20 years ago fishing and the Maoris down south did not want to be Maori they called other Maori BUSH PIGS. Now people! We should be proud of ourselves and our ancestors & the values that come with it!
I hope you get a better position offered to you in which your skills are valued. Maybe if you sending your details to the CEO of DNZ, explaining the treatment you received might lead to a contact for a better job. Working in such a toxic environment would have been bad for your health. It is not your mana that has diminished. It is that of the ignorant owner and if he is that stupid, then he will be “rewarded” accordingly. Kia kaha.
You should mention who the owner is to the appropriate agencies (MAF?) , as not caring properly for animals can lead to animal epidemics and this is will also be of concern to other farmers. The other question is staff work conditions, are they in accordance with NZ law?
As for not taking advise, pride before the fall…..Stupid is what stupid does.
“English says he’s “not particularly concerned” about the content of the texts.
The trouble is, we hear such things a lot. The capacity of our governments to be serene in the face of troubling realities has become more a cause of discomfort than a reassurance.
English says not-all-that-inscrutably that he has given “all relevant material” to the police and they have not come to him asking for more. So it sounds like he didn’t pass his texts on. But at least investigators would have a pretty good idea who to hit up for copies.”
Southland Times – watch this space.
2 responses to The Southland Times’article on Metiria Turei:
“What a damn hypocritical thing to say Sarah Dowie!! You needn’t go far to look at turmoil than your own mate Todd Barclay…. Or have you “chosen” to forget that as well??
There’s a change coming Sarah and it’s all bad for you.
ReplyShare0
3 hours ago
nettieg3
Sarah Dowie what a waste of space the clone has spoken the party line lets get rid of her she has done nothing for the real people of Invercargill.”
NZherald has been running some online polls (cheaper than proper ones I guess for a totally skint media outfit).
This morning they published some findings around trust. English most trusted by 31%, Jacinda remarkably close on 26% and Winston back in third on 14%.
As you’d expect English has a advantage with those over 60 years old, 40% to 21%, but not perhaps as big an advantage as you might expect.
However in all age groups under 49 years old more respondents trusted Ardern than English. I think that’s a pretty remarkable achievement in little over a week. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11902231
It’s pretty scary to Pike river waited 4 days to look for survivors – and the authorities took 6.5 years to admit the they saw movement that could have been survivors.
Leaked Pike River Mine footage could prove there were survivors after first explosion
Please if you are not on board with this petition to get BENNETT investigated shut up as at least it will let them no that we can see right through Nationals bullshit
How come we could afford to build dams/roads/schools/hospitals etc and have a social welfare system that was the envy of the world and now we can’t afford to much at all?
For some reason it is hard to imagine the New Zealand Parliament holding an inquiry with hearings called: “The implications of climate change for Australia’a National Security”.
Former Australian Defence Force Chief Admiral Chris Barrie submits:
“Australia’s climate change credentials have suffered from a serious lack of political leadership.”
Most western militaries are taking climate change very seriously at strategic and tactical level weather that be a war fighting/ warlike conditions or in a non warlike/ humanitarian role. I did post something about climate change from a military pov on one of weka’s threads.
If we look at the last DWP which was released last year or the year before. You would see that Navy has requested an extra OPV of a highly modified version than the current two, a new dive/ hydrographic ship and the new ice capable tanker/ support ship. Also of note that any ship that operating down Sth from 2019 I think has to inline with ice strengthen class rules which rules the current two OPV’s and in the bigger picture stuff the Antarctic Treaty is up for renewal very soon around 2020 I believe ( hopefully someone here will a better idea when the Treaty renewal date is)
The DWP has also called new Investment in the Airforce ie new Transport Aircarft at Strategic and Tactical capability, new ISR Aircraft both long range and short range (maned and unmanned aircraft) more NH-90s should have been included as well as I think 8 is a little on the small side.
ATM RNZN and the RNZAF are active in the South Pacific on fisheries patrol as our Asian friends (The Chinese are the biggest culprits so far using their money/soft aid to pay off officials etc) are overfishing and unreported of catchiest.
I hope this answers some of your questions and if you or anyone else has more questions please fire away and I will try my best to answer them.
It’s not the proposed new equipment or lack of that bothers me, but the lack of close integration with Civil Defence. Maybe a few more roll on-roll off vessels to really get goods in to to a centre fast.
I would want to see NZDF responding with a strategy that says a whole bunch more Territorial Forces, Unimogs, and army engineers will be stationed in high flood risk areas.
To me, bailing out civilian cities and towns in a time of crisis is one of the best uses for our armed forces that I can think of.
The RNZN track record in using Rollo’s isn’t great, as the RNZN have been brunt twice trying adapt cheap civilian freighters in Navy ships HMNZS Upham (was a dog of ship and I have never been so sick at sea) and the HMNZS Canterbury http://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/independent-review-safety-hmnzs-canterbury2.pdf. No thanks to the stupid pollies.
The Territorial Forces got hammed by National party in the 90’s along with the rest off NZDF and since then it hasn’t really recovered from the 90’s. Both Labour and National have tinkled around the edges IRT the TF. The TF does form the bases for Civil Defence in the regions that don’t have a permanent NZDF bases.
The only way we can strengthen the TF is to make the TF wages Tax free like here in OZ, as allows those on the dole or DPB or if you are student to earn a bit of cash without getting wack by the taxman, invokes a sense of community sprint, morale rising, a sense of pride in ones self etc, strengthen the Reserve Forces act and think Labour did try to strengthen the act during Timor 1, but the Nat sucked up to its business mates. The Australian Reserve Act is a very good one and I know that for a fact real time and without it the Force Protection of the RAAF would fall over at the moment. The figures out ATM has a RAAF Reserve FP averaging 77 days a yr, so it shows how good the Australian Reserve Act is. If that were to happen in NZ a lot more investment will have to happen to the TF across all 3 services as result of cuts by the National in 90’s to the TF.
There use be a large TF engineer presence in Dunedin and Christchurch along with 2 Artillery batteries, the NZ Scots recc’e Sqn, 2 medical units at about company strength, 2 Log units, 2 Infantry units and that was just the Major centres. But of most them have disbanded or merge or reduce in size as cost cutting and the minor centres aka rural centre/areas have either closed or just hanging in there because of the local community sprint/ pride etc because of the other central government agencies have closed in the 80/90’s and the TF is the last major government department apart from the police etc.
Because National cut taxes now when in business you can claim a lot more expenses against them than 10 years ago can a paye worker claim part of the running cost of and vehicle maintenance I would not mind paying more tax to help others have a better life
Sigh…. Mr Trump threatening North Korea, long standing Greens resigning , Bill English taking a DIP in the polls,… an asteroid set to destroy the planet hurtling towards us, the cornershop dairy running out of bread, and somewhere in far off Kurdistan a small child stubs their toe…
It’s been a month since the last Roy Morgan Poll. Which seems a long time given how close we are to the election. It makes you wonder if they cancelled what they were doing and returned to the field in the wake of last weeks upheavals?
They’ve only been polling once a month since the last election. You can see the polling dates here. http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/new-zealand/voting-intention-summary
If they follow the same pattern this month I would expect the polling to finish this Sunday (13th) and the results to be published on Thursday or Friday next week.
God knows how they will make any sense of it.
By the way you can register your e-mail with them and you get a message when a new poll is released.
Saves having to look their site up when you think a poll might be due.
To maintain international peace and security, and to that end:
to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law,
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character,
and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Article 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
nuuu… it was alerting us to something outside of our usual parameters of thought. And important in understanding geopolitical thinking… and,.. sadly , the way in which hypocrisy and duplicity works…
Yes it was “random” – but in the context of the nuclear pissing war between Trump and Kim Jong-un I think this part is relevant:
All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
my bold.
US is of course a permanent member of the UN security council so (as a leader in the UN) should be setting an example, not blatantly breaking the rules.
(Chump please take note!)
That is slightly less random. Didn’t pick that out of the cut&paste dump.
I’m mildly hopeful that one of them orders a nuke launch and someone on their staff immediately removes them from office.
As it is, international law is about as relevant as criminal law is when two equally insecure and spoiled rich manchildren get into a dick measuring argument in a bar.
Yes I’ve been pondering along the lines that if the Chump was to release “Fire and Fury – the like of which the world has never seen”. Then the military would take a more nuanced view and refuse to follow the order. I’m sure they know – because the Chump obviously doesn’t – that a nuclear attack on North Korea would simply lead to a wholesale retaliatory response from China or Russia.
I’ve been pondering whether the failure to say `fire & brimstone’ was a coded message to the fundamentalists who helped elect him (“you guys don’t control me”). Could be brimstone has gone out of fashion & the twitterati would get lost.
But to the point being made: it’s all very well for the UN to have such rules, when there’s a breach of them there’s no method of enforcement attached.
Macro – could they really make that choice and do it – does it work or is it successful is one thing and have they actually the fortitude to do such a thing – let alone what would happen next.
I think it’s more likely, given his limited vocabulary, that he doesn’t know the word “brimstone”.
I saw a clip last night where Trump used the words “the like of which the world has never seen” in at least half a dozen different contexts.
But yes – his “spiritual advisor” says God has given him the word to “take out” Kim Jong-un!
🙄
Really!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaFxTrNHsX0
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809[890].ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the “lawful command of his superior officer,” 891.ART.91 (2), the “lawful order of a warrant officer”, 892.ART.92 (1) the “lawful general order”, 892.ART.92 (2) “lawful order”. In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey Lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.
Marty – I hope one day that all those nut cases that were on “The Standard” chanting “Killary” and “Trump for President” etc (you know the ones… CV et al) will come back and sincerely apologise and acknowledge that they were talking through their arse with respect to the relative merits of Clinton or Trump for the Presidency. I think it is quite clear now who would have been the safer pair of hands.
On the bright side of this it will at least solve climate warming ATM, so always look on the bright side of life and remember last joke is on you. And on that note i’m off bred and I will see all you lot tomorrow.
God bless Monty Python and those that follow Monty Python
I think the routine you’re looking for is Nixon’s Madman theory.
Two points:
Firstly, if petulant irrationality is an act by Trump, he’s been building it for decades. Gotta admire his commitment to the bit, I guess.
Secondly, the madman thing only works if everyone else is rational. It doesn’t work if everyone plays it: they just end up escalating themselves into a much bigger fight than they were trying to avoid.
At the moment, your best scenario is that both kim and the orange one are the equivalent of sports jocks in a bar mouthing off at each other, pretending to be tough and neither able to back down. Soon someone’s going to have to swing a punch.
And remember folks Asian nations and especially their leaders don’t like losing face. As said some days ago I said this “if Trump knows this then it’s a hell of a way to chicken with old fat boy as both of them are irrational leaders. The fat boy might just push that big red button for shits and giggles.
I wouldn’t be surprised if old mate from Russia makes a play for the Baltic states or the Swedish lsland of Gotland if things get a little hot in northern Asia.
Noam Chomsky: First, it is important to remember that the US does not accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — though in fact the UDHR was largely the initiative of Eleanor Roosevelt, who chaired the commission that drafted its articles, with quite broad international participation.
That article is mostly about the atrocious US health system but it’s obvious that the US doesn’t adhere to the UDHR at all especially when it comes to maintaining peace and invading other countries.
And that takes us back to the 19th century theory of ‘ whoever controls Russia controls the center of the world’.
And the western powers still adhere to that… with the USA ( according to John Pilger ) ringing China with more than 200 military bases, working their way towards Russia…
But Trump screwed that theory by being mates with Putin.
So to throw them all off about Russian interference,… they have a phone call about pretending they are having a fall out…
Best of mates in Anttarctica, though before Trump when Obama was around …
From a book on Ghandis methods and teaching by Anand Kumarasamy who has Masters in Humanities and Social Sciences from Sydney (a discipline going into reverse in this country). This starts with a quote that goes back to Plato.
Wikipedia on Plato: 428/427 or 424/423[b] – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.
We are now learning to do without thoughts of philosophy, so could we have the first institution without higher learning in the Western world?
You my friend, a citizen of this great and mighty city of Athens, [Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch] you devote yourself to acquiring the greatest amount of money, honour and reputation, and yet you care so little about wisdom, truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? – Plato, Apologia
Ring a bell? Watch out for people ringing bells. They might be realising dangerous truths.
Oh surely not !… Monty python was never meant to be a satirical commentary on the futility of the transient acquisition of material possessions and temporal power , but rather a philosophical and metaphysical reference to the outrageous juxtapositions inherent between matter and anti matter and the reality of inter- dimensionalism . Such as the arrogant plonkers in charge of the CERN project are concerned with …
It is , however , interesting ,… that the interface between court jester, religious sage and western rationalistic thought find their final expression and nemesis in protons and neutrons colliding at the speed of light in a subterranean tunnel found between the borders of France and Switzerland.
Me ?… I would rather follow the original hippy that was nailed to two pieces of wood 2000 years ago for suggesting we should be kind to each other… ( Doug Adams )
“And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl sitting on her own in a small café in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.”
I wasn’t on a Monty Python mindset but on a Ghandi one with a bit of Plato and ancient Greece. Life of Brian didn’t come into it, nor Tinkerbell or Trillion or whoever.
“Some wicked men are rich, some good are poor,
We will not change our virtue for their store:
Virtue’s a thing that none can take away;
But money changes owners all the day.”
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
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In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
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New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
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This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
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Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
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Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
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For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
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Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
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Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
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The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
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The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
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The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
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This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
“National Party MP for Invercargill Sarah Dowie said she “didn’t pay too much attention” to Turei’s resignation.
“The Left are well known for this. They are in turmoil”, Dowie said.
“Labour and Greens are fused at the hip;it’s no surprise they are going through these leadership issues – we’re used to it”.
The Southland Times August 11
I see she’s memorised her lines well. Probably the principal requirement in her job.
“Invercargill Labour Party candidate Liz Craig said Turei had done “tremendous work” during her tenure. “I knew Metiria when I was involved in child poverty advocacy work and I respect the heart she had for social change”. “I wanted to acknowledge the tremendous work she has done in that space over the years.”
The Southland Times 11 August
Ha! Amateurish! Sounds like no PR people were involved in developing the script at any stage – what kind of politician is that?
Turei was “amateurish”, “didn’t manage/control the narrative”, etc:
These are all neoliberal managerialist technocrat values – and they ignore the power imbalance, that is ultimately a race & gender-charged class struggle.
If she had continued campaigning against poverty and for beneficiaries, the way she has done for years, the MSM would have continued to largely ignore her. Once she started getting attaention and support for her policies and campaign, those on the side of the establishment and status quo would try to attack her, and vilify her, in any way they could.
“If she had continued campaigning against poverty and for beneficiaries, the way she has done for years, the MSM would have continued to largely ignore her.”
All these carefully crafted leaks from Turei’s past indiscretions were meant to undermine her credibility and in the end she had no choice but to resign. Calling NZF a racist party was a big mistake, Peters has many informants and knows where the bodies are buried.
Do you have clear information that Peters was behind the attacks on Turei, or is that just speculation on your part?
@ Carolyn_nth … I stand to be corrected here, but I thought after Metiria’s public statements re calling NZF a racist party, in response Winston said something along the lines of “… there will be consequences …”
Whether that comment of Winston’s is partly or fully the result of the lead up to Metiria’s resignation, is anyone’s guess!
He said the consequences would be when it comes to inter-party negotiations.
…and I am suppose to reveal my sources? Yeah Right!
So, as far as we an see, you’re just making it up.
Anyone could say anything and claim, “can’t reveal my sources”.
Clearly. Liz was even careless enough to use the words “child poverty” and “social change”! No National Party
flunkyMP would make an error like that!lol
Meteria was not only was hounded for telling the truth, but she also put paid to the lie that beneficiaries could get out of their situation if they were willing to follow all the rules, and pull themselves out of poverty if they only wanted to.
Telling the truth about her life was bad enough.
But exposing the lie that gives comfort to many – unforgivable.
National Party don’t want to hear the truth. It is not in their interests to foster compassion.
Environment goods and social goods go hand in hand. Our media sucks eggs, it’s underfunded and so useless. N.Korea will launch a nuke and explode it, in orbit. Destroying satalites, Guam is just nonsense. Kim wants respect, take him down now.
Climate change act now before summer hits the Sun, Sun storm alter the heating reaching the Earth, to as we slowly cook ourselves like a lobster, the sun could up the heat at anytime, dicing with extinction is clueless. Nats have no answers just stay the course, whatever on tourism on housing on social on environment, it’s just a joke to them requiringbthem to fiddle the controls a little, oh and build congested roads on a volcanic field. Geez National is dumb.
Bet she paid a bit more attention to Toddger’s departure.
Bosom buddies.
The Palms Shopping Centre Christchurch does not like getting people onto the Electoral Roll! This week I grabbed a bunch of enrolment packs and after shopping at the supermarket offered them to people in the mall as I made my way to the car park. I was on the lookout for younger people and displayed the packs in my hand. After 12 people had taken a pack, a security guard arrived to escort me from the premises. Apparently it is not allowed!! I had been picked up on a security camera. I have done this in other shopping malls in Christchurch with no problems. I am 72 years old.
Wows !!! Venezia, I admire what you are doing to encourage the youth to enroll this election.
That’s shocking re the security guard, one would have thought they had better things to do than harrass an older women for promoting the democratic system.
Letter to the editor of the press maybe?
Perhaps if she got permission to do this on private property first then there would not have been an issue.
Interesting James. It is regarded as a public space so long as the people entering it engage in consumer behaviour – buying stuff, browsing in shops, eating coffee and muffins. You don’t need permission to come in or go out
However if they enter this space and do other things – even things that are not illegal, intrusive, dangerous or annoying – it is suddenly private property.
Seems to me a little bit like wanting to have your cake (or overpriced blueberry muffin) and eat it at the same time.
Basic law 101: A shopping centre isn’t any different from this site or for that matter for your home.
It is private property that is often accessible to selected guests. While the community through laws and regulations impose restrictions on the owners. The owners of private property can also impose rules on guests using their property.
It isn’t like a public road – which is the analogy that I suspect that you are straining for. That is a false analogy. And even there the the legal system. central and local government all impose limits to use. Roads may be cleared for parades. You can’t set up tables in the middle of a roadway. etc etc
Consider that developments on private property aren’t paid for and maintained out of community funds. So the body that maintains the property is able to impose their own rules on top of whatever the community imposes upon them through the body of law.
There is also no difference between a shopping center (or this website) and your own home. In all cases while you can allow guests to share it, you can also restrict access or make rules stop behaviors that you find objectionable.
I think the analogy approach is wrong. By using analogy it is very easy to come up with a wrong answer. For example Government is often spoken of as if it was like a household, that it has to live within its means. As has been said, Government is only like a household with a money printing press in the basement.
Regarding malls, malls are not like ones home, the analogy is wrong and the conclusions reach via that analogy are wrong.
The analogy approach allows the writer to pick and choose . In this case you have chosen to say that a mall is like a home and not like a road.
The analogy explained the perspective of the law: a mall is private property. Anyone can be refuced access for any reason, as long as any reason given does not violated the human rights act.
In fact, people can be escorted off public property, e.g. the Speaker of the House can trespass people from the grounds of Parliament. Universities, as arms of the Crown, can also trespass people off their campusses.
Are you invoking the ‘But I don’ wanna’ clause? That usually ends badly. You end up in the puffy shirt.
James, the owner of the shopping center and car park is AMP.
The behavior of Venezia was in no way biased at any political party, anti competitive, intrusive, offensive or criminal. I suspect however, that who ever sat at the screen watching and/or giving the marching orders did so by “assuming” that any of the above is the case. Perhaps he/she should have checked facts and also sought response from the owner of the premise?
I would complain to management. Go right to the top and the electoral commission. Security guards often do things like this if not properly briefed. Management will probably apologise Look what happened at the local government conference where a Maori and a Samoan delegate were challenged.
Apparently it was management who gave the instructions. I yesterday learned from a young person who used to work at The Palms ( now at my local Mall ) that the management there is very difficult. She used some choice language to describe them. Nothing better to do than obstruct a perfectly legal activity. I asked people “are you enrolled to vote? ” showing the enrolment pack with orange man on front. Some younger people said “just what I need” and Interesting that older people are taking packs for their grandkids. I have emailed the Electoral Commission.
That’s awful. Perhaps just get on with enrolling people in other locations or else if you have the energy contact local media and the electoral commission.
“perfectly legal activity”
They are perfectly in their rights to ask you to leave if they want to – its their private property
Just as they do not allow people to run around the carpark putting flyers under windscreens (unless they have permission beforehand).
I’m sure whatever private company it is would love some publicity about how it banned an old woman from handing out enrolment forms for the election
😈
a) – A lot of Malls have electoral people in them handing out forms anyway (you know proper ones).
b) I note that the mall had forms there anyway (thats where she got them from).
c) I note she was on the lookout for ‘younger people’ – Why not ask everybody if you are genuine – as opposed to selecting people who might be more in line with your political views.
yeah – I think they can live with that.
I missed the bit in the thread where you got B from, and I’m sure venezia is a proper person.
I think it was dickish behaviour by the mall (didn’t their ownership get council or govt money a while back? Something like that…), but yeah, they were in their rights.
The big problem for malls is that even a portable stall or person with a clipboard is a prime moneymaker due to the foot traffic – they usually don’t mind charitable things, but just a couple of months ago I saw a salesman being escorted out because he was trying to blag what was a regular spot for charities in my local mall – I think it was Barnados or cancer foundation was waiting to set up after the delboy wannabe was finally gone.
They sometimes have to book those school sausage sizzle spots weeks in advance, if not longer.
No James. I arrived with a bunch of enrolment packs, and I also picked up some more from the Post shop. I was handing them out at the furthest end of the mall away from the Post shop.
I have noticed that you often make stuff up in order to take the mickey out of people.
I feel really sorry that you had to go through this undignified response. Even more reason to ask every person: are you going to vote?
Fo to the electoral commission and say what exactly?
“Hi I dont work for you – But I was handing out your flyers without permission on private land and they asked me to leave”.
The Electoral Commission provided me with the enrolment forms. Sent them by post actually, because I asked for them. So dont make stuff up.
Not making stuff up – you were not given permission by them to be wandering around private property handing them out.
Don’t worry James, its all OK and in the green zone… the synthetic cannabis usage gets a good viewing on private car parks around the country and not to worry too much about drunks hanging out on weekends either. The fighting and submissions to hospitals is taxpayer funded so that is absolutely fine you know. Its a lot easier to mussel an elderly person, it could have been a paper cut from a template – very dangerous indeed.
AMP, the owner of car parks near you, proudly looking after your retirement Kiwi saver fund. Just don’t get stupid ideas about handing out leaflets promoting democracy because they are concerned about the people in their twilight years. Yeah right.
What did they say?
Very cool what you are doing. Like Fairy Godmother I reckon a complaint is warranted but you might be better using your time to hand out enrolments elsewhere.
No reply as yet weka.
I meant the security guards.
Marama Davidson is handing out enrolment forms in the queues forming outside WINZ offices. She seems to be having a great response.
https://twitter.com/MaramaDavidson/status/895794030218321920
Winegrowers having a crack at labour re water, scare mongering via the national party.
FYI, National Party hoardings at a large vineyard in our region.
How many vineyards are also publically vocal national supporters? Anyone else out there seen national party hoardings displayed at vineyards? Are their water opinions biased much? Alcohol lobbyists mhmmmm
On the rare occasions I can afford to buy wine these days, I try not to buy NZ-made stuff and pretty much for this reason. Also that there is better South American, Spanish and Italian stuff at lower prices.
Maybe water is free in the off shore countries you mention– “The world -according to nick.”
It was a bit rich listening to list Mp Maureen Pughs patsy set up sup question about water and vineyards/horiculture yesterday to Nick Smith when her hoarding is displayed at Seifrieds vineyard in Appleby.
Nick is more into paint thinners than wine –bloody chemical companies .
The reason why South American wine is so cheap is that the wages paid in Chile in particular are well below survivable level. Might pay to do a bit of research before drinking. Spain and Argentina are not much better.
Not a good choice for a leftie.
NZ wages are at least above minimum wage level and quite often considerably above that, good pruners on contract would be above $25 hr. But it is not easy work.
It not surprising that Nat signs are on vineyards, a lot of vineyards are on old family farms and they’ve certainly not a hotbed of left sympathisers.
BTW, you’d be surprised how many family vineyards and wine companies are owned by Labour and Green members and supporters.
“family vineyards and wine companies are owned by Labour and Green members and supporters”.
But of course they are. Where do you think the Chardonnay Socialists, also known as the Wadestown Wadicals of Wellington get their booze from?
Local Labour campaigns have been financed by wine sales of such naughty little numbers as “Socialist Chardonnay”, “Political Savvy” and “Reds under the Bed”. The last had a descriptor “You will be left leaning after a bottle of this”.
Signs in rural areas for Labour are often targeted. It’s very canine out there. Dogs hate having the smell of another on their territory.
I remember putting up one sign on the very rural but aptly named (or so I thought) Red Post corner. Two locals in a ute drove by this sign which was 10 metres inside a private fence line. They yelled out to me that it wouldn’t last long. It, and like others like it, lasted a day.
It was replaced with two signs. A second on another property was not replaced. The property owner told me she feared for her property as the vandals had trespassed and climbed up a water tower to do their damage.
The ute in this story had a dog on the back. Of the three occupants, it was the least feral.
The names of the wine sound wonderful. Is it still available or was it in a past election?
“Reds under the beds”, AND the alternate “left leaning” description would be great to offer to some of my right leaning friends.
Was it any good?
I hope they had a licence to sell it though. I have vague memories of a political party that did something like this and one of their opponents tried to get them prosecuted because the candidate didn’t have a licence to sell the few dozen bottles concerned.
The memory is so vague I can’t even remember whether it was here or when I lived in Oz. Neither can I remember which were the parties involved.
Destruction, or defacement of signs is, unfortunately a very Kiwi habit. It doesn’t just happen to the left leaning parties. I have just come up Aro Street in Wellington and the billboards for nearly every party had some damage. Not all the billboards of course but at least one for each of them had some damage.
Alwyn, past elections I’m afraid, but top quality wine. Well known producer here. All my purchases consumed. Good marketing, good profit and totally legal.
I had a beer tonight (small town, eh!) with the opposition rural bill board erecting specialist and discussed our mutual annoyance with people who deface and steal billboards. It is anti-democratic and criminal, costly and ultimately futile.
We Kiwis have some bad habits and national traits around alcohol, driving, violence and suicide, blame, empathy and tax evasion. Otherwise it’s Godzone.
When I have been driving on isolated highways going through country areas the cars in the area have mostly had young men in them and I had a feeling of them being barely tamed by laws and self-discipline.
At my age they’re all young men. We do have a problem with exhibiting
positive social behaviour, though.
LOL – people believe in greenhouse emissions and global warming – but buy wine shipped from 1/2way across the world.
Just incase the local producer votes National.
No James – the South American stuff is cheaper too. I’m merely being a rational, self-interested, self-maximising individual. Have you forgotten what your own ideology prescribes?
Is Winston starting to get ‘official’ recognition ….. for his stealth dispatching of key.
” John Key shocked the nation on December 5, resigning to hand over to English, in part because he thought it would be easier for English to do a deal with Peters.” https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/08/09/42006/metiria-jacinda-quake
Being credited as the man who got rid of Key must be worth a rise in Winstons popularity ….
Single handed, he did what three elections and the combined opposition were unable to ….
When the warden of the north ………. became a genuine king slayer.
NZ likes tough and strong leaders ……. NZF should play on this.
Also in that column reason was this about Materia.
“I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.”
Fair enough but it mirrors what was being said about Bennett with the question added about financial support for her from her family. Wonder if that question will be explored with equal enthusiasm?
Bennett will not reveal any info about her past, nor will Bill English about any of his 450 texts. MSM will not press these matters for obvious reasons, ie I want to keep my job: John Campbell.
I was in a similar situation to Metiria in the 1990s ianmac. The difference being I was looking after an elderly mother who slowly succumbed to Alzheimers. There was help from family members in the early years, but as time passed resentment built and two of my siblings began to spread rumour and innuendo among the relatives. The case ended up in court but was swiftly discarded when it became evident the accusations had no truth to them. In my case, the aim of the exercise was to have my share of the estate taken from me and shared among my siblings. They failed.
I tell the story as an example of how relatives in the heat of the moment can re-invent history – and even convince themselves its correct – without any understanding of the truth of historical and semi-historical events.
I wonder if this is in part what happened to Metiria. I also heard her talk of the “fantastic support” she received from “PIupiu’s family”, so it looks to me like a member of that family jumped on the phone to John Campbell before checking out the substance of Metiria’s public interviews.
If my own experiences are anything to go by, they probably had no idea how financially desperate Metiria really was at the time. I was reduced at one point to wearing old sandels with holes in the soles and the heels falling off my shoes. I couldn’t even afford to go to the Warehouse and replace them.
A tough existence Anne but you have risen inspite of the ratbags.
I do know of a similar one where a woman in her late teens early20s, who lived and took care of her Grandma as she succumbed to Alzheimers. When her Gran died the sons and daughters ordered her out of the house in case she claimed it for herself. Miserable beggars!
Same sort of paranoid group-think. In my case they convinced themselves I had manipulated my mother into gifting me the land on which my home was built. I produced legal documents to prove I paid the going rate.They forgot to check out that possibility. 😉
To true ianmac …. it was a pretty good column on the whole….. perhaps newsroom will be different than our present ‘dirty media’
For the last 9 years Bennett got to run misinformation through our dirty ‘news media’ …. real reporters would scare her if they had a decent platform.
I give them credit ( newsroom ), for being the first to report on winston being the cause for Johnny to run off .
With key being neck deep in tax haven type stuff …… Winston has a good solid theme to build around …. getting rid of the corrupt king …
But Helping to clean up the National from being the tax haven and corruption party is unfinished business for him…..
Just stumbled across this news site
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@about
Anyone know anything about it ?
Ah ha and its referenced in the comment above
Just received an email from Newsroom. I think they are serious about publishing serious column/research from serious journalists. (Won’t find anything from Paddy there.)
Melanie Reid, Mark Jennings, Bernard Hickey etc.
http://mailchi.mp/08f9d8472391/newsroom-daily-briefing?e=88a3081e75
I’ve found Newsroom reasonably unbiased and with a social conscience…something that is severely lacking in the media. Their articles on forced uplifting of children are incredibly good journalism.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@taken-by-the-state
Yes so far my impression is also hopeful, one to watch! Would be fantastic to have some serious journalism in NZ.
Cautious optimism (assuming they arnt just softening us up )
ex mediawonks pros hounded out by weldon and christie, aint karma wonderful.
Jennings is a product of the abc so he knows what actual journalists should do, long overdue.
Go Taylor
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11902201
Taylor said that she doesn’t blame her former bodyguard Greg Dent, who witnessed the assault, for not stopping Mueller, telling jurors, “I’m not critical of my bodyguard for not doing anything, I’m critical of your client [Mueller] for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass.”
Real Estate Institute calls for Reserve Bank to loosen lending criteria on the back of *plummeting* house prices.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11902208
The NZHerald is calling it a collapse in the housing market.
I’m not sure how Labour could find an opening here, but it is a huge opening for National to simply state that they will strongly encourage the Reserve Bank to loosen monetary conditions.
The Reserve Bank stated yesterday:
“House price inflation continues to moderate due to loan-to-value ratio restrictions, affordability constraints, and a tightening in credit conditions.
This moderation is expected to persist, although there remains a risk of resurgence in prices given continued strong population growth and resource constraints in the construction sector.”
National have a big opening to reassure property owners before the election – because that is their natural base.
I see that The Herald is suggesting that Metiria Turei might be chosen as their New Zealander of the Year.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11902264
At first I thought they must be joking but when you consider the origin of the award it isn’t that unlikely.
It is of course copied from the Time magazine “Person or the Year” (originally “Man of the Year”) and they have often had some contentious awards.
Metiria certainly is no more unlikely than Time’s choices in 1938 or 2016.
The one she most resembles though was the person chosen in 1936. MT to a “T”.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/time-magazine-10-controversial-people-year-article-1.2040428
Metiria “most resembles” Wallis Simpson, Alwyn?
What do you mean?
I think he’s picking up on Turei’s career as a socialite, her interest in marrying into wealth and her support for fascism. Wow, it’s like two peas in a pod!
🙂
That Alwyn! What a card!
Interesting article in the Herald today on incomes during this government by Brian Fallow (my comments in brackets):
“The lowest quintile, or fifth, of households when ranked by income spend an average of 51 per cent of their disposable income on housing, up from 29 per cent in the late 1980s. For the second lowest quintile it is 32 per cent of income, versus 19 per cent 30 years ago. [this is scandalous-under National the lowest waged people can no longer afford accommodation]
But the top decile has been pulling away from the rest particularly swiftly on National’s watch. [Labour/Green bloc should be highlighting this]
Between 2009 and 2016, household incomes at the 90th per centile rose 14.7 per cent. This is after inflation, tax, transfers and housing costs. At the 10th per centile, the increase was 9.4 per cent over the same seven years.” [Under National the rich have been getting much richer]
It’s here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11901921
Guardians of Property
Sounds about right – Just need to look to what happened with ECan to see that. The conservatives weren’t getting what they wanted and so they canned even the limited democracy that was there.
Homelessness spreading to the regions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11900735
Real wages dropping.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11901921
The Nats just don’t get it do they?
IMO, the Nats fully understand what they’re doing and they’ll keep doing it for as long as we let them. The end result of letting them do it is a poverty stricken and collapsed society.
The Metiria affair is starting to remind me of “the Dreyfus affair”
“The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. The affair is often seen as a modern and universal symbol of injustice, and it remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice. The major role played by the press and public opinion proved influential in the lasting social conflict.
The scandal began in December 1894, with the treason conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian and Jewish descent. Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil’s Island in French Guiana, where he spent nearly five years.
The affair from 1894 to 1906 divided France deeply and lastingly into two opposing camps: the pro-Army, mostly Catholic “anti-Dreyfusards” and the anticlerical, pro-republican Dreyfusards. It embittered French politics and encouraged radicalization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair
Anti Hosking petition stands at 18,073
Hoskings thinks it is just Winston who opposes him.
This column disputes Hoskings neutrality:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/95650688/mike-hoskings-political-leanings–in-his-own-words
Now its not nice being Maori at this time I rang a guy down south he said come now the farm is run by eastern European and its a mess . So I flew down on my first day on the job I was informed that my job would be tractor driver handy man milker for now the farm had a 80 bail rotary there were 5 workers milking 2 cupping 2 recupping as the cups would fall off and 1 decupping . I noticed that the string to the auto cup removers were snapping . I new what the problem was the auto teat sprayers get a sharp edge as the string slide past it I put duck tape on the place where the string was rubbing on teat spray and replaced all the strings .In the mean time the manager had plant tec in 3 days a week to fix plant they changed all the rubber ware and stuffed around with the plant I checked the vac plant oil it was low and burnt I ordered some oil .The day I changed the oil the calf rear asked if the tec had turned up vac presser as the cups had stopped falling off i said no I changed the oil. On the Saturday there there was a training day Dairy NZ were running a training day the manager had for got and the staff were on days off. After 20 minutes the CEO of DNZ approached me and said that it was obvious than I was the most experienced worker there as the manager did not no he was not milking cows properly and the cows would get mastitis and production would drop. He asked me to help the manager and give him advice . I replied that 2 weeks ago I suggested to start a staff roster with 10 staff he needed a roster that the manager did not take my advice . The plant Tec were embarrassed that I had fixed the plant. I flew home to get my wife. The day I was to drive back down south I rang the owner he told me to stay there and he would ring me WTF The farm owner would rather lose money and stock than higher a proud Maori.
Now some people will think it was me at fault and that there is no discrimination in NZ I was down south 20 years ago fishing and the Maoris down south did not want to be Maori they called other Maori BUSH PIGS. Now people! We should be proud of ourselves and our ancestors & the values that come with it!
I hope you get a better position offered to you in which your skills are valued. Maybe if you sending your details to the CEO of DNZ, explaining the treatment you received might lead to a contact for a better job. Working in such a toxic environment would have been bad for your health. It is not your mana that has diminished. It is that of the ignorant owner and if he is that stupid, then he will be “rewarded” accordingly. Kia kaha.
You should mention who the owner is to the appropriate agencies (MAF?) , as not caring properly for animals can lead to animal epidemics and this is will also be of concern to other farmers. The other question is staff work conditions, are they in accordance with NZ law?
As for not taking advise, pride before the fall…..Stupid is what stupid does.
“English says he’s “not particularly concerned” about the content of the texts.
The trouble is, we hear such things a lot. The capacity of our governments to be serene in the face of troubling realities has become more a cause of discomfort than a reassurance.
English says not-all-that-inscrutably that he has given “all relevant material” to the police and they have not come to him asking for more. So it sounds like he didn’t pass his texts on. But at least investigators would have a pretty good idea who to hit up for copies.”
Southland Times – watch this space.
2 responses to The Southland Times’article on Metiria Turei:
“What a damn hypocritical thing to say Sarah Dowie!! You needn’t go far to look at turmoil than your own mate Todd Barclay…. Or have you “chosen” to forget that as well??
There’s a change coming Sarah and it’s all bad for you.
ReplyShare0
3 hours ago
nettieg3
Sarah Dowie what a waste of space the clone has spoken the party line lets get rid of her she has done nothing for the real people of Invercargill.”
Clone!
Oh dear!
NZherald has been running some online polls (cheaper than proper ones I guess for a totally skint media outfit).
This morning they published some findings around trust. English most trusted by 31%, Jacinda remarkably close on 26% and Winston back in third on 14%.
As you’d expect English has a advantage with those over 60 years old, 40% to 21%, but not perhaps as big an advantage as you might expect.
However in all age groups under 49 years old more respondents trusted Ardern than English. I think that’s a pretty remarkable achievement in little over a week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11902231
It’s pretty scary to Pike river waited 4 days to look for survivors – and the authorities took 6.5 years to admit the they saw movement that could have been survivors.
Leaked Pike River Mine footage could prove there were survivors after first explosion
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/08/leaked-pike-river-mine-footage-could-prove-there-were-survivors-after-first-explosion.html
Change.org is running a petition:
“There should be an inquiry of ex winz beneficiary Paula Bennett and the allegations made surrounding her stint on the benefit.”
This stands at 20,627
Paula Bennett Winz Allegations Inquiry.
Nearest I can get to link.
https://www.change.org/p/justice-minister-paula-bennett-winz-fraud-inquiry
Please if you are not on board with this petition to get BENNETT investigated shut up as at least it will let them no that we can see right through Nationals bullshit
How come we could afford to build dams/roads/schools/hospitals etc and have a social welfare system that was the envy of the world and now we can’t afford to much at all?
Narrow commodity-based economy with stagnant productivity.
Hasn’t changed.
Plus otherwise untaxed property wealth.
I recall the selling of the power companies back to the rich of us , was to pay for schools,roads, etc.
For some reason it is hard to imagine the New Zealand Parliament holding an inquiry with hearings called: “The implications of climate change for Australia’a National Security”.
Former Australian Defence Force Chief Admiral Chris Barrie submits:
“Australia’s climate change credentials have suffered from a serious lack of political leadership.”
https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2017/08/10/Sub_38_Honorary_Professor_Chris_Barrie.pdf
Would be great to hear our military leadership show that they too had come to grips with this kind of threat to our own country.
Ad,
Most western militaries are taking climate change very seriously at strategic and tactical level weather that be a war fighting/ warlike conditions or in a non warlike/ humanitarian role. I did post something about climate change from a military pov on one of weka’s threads.
If we look at the last DWP which was released last year or the year before. You would see that Navy has requested an extra OPV of a highly modified version than the current two, a new dive/ hydrographic ship and the new ice capable tanker/ support ship. Also of note that any ship that operating down Sth from 2019 I think has to inline with ice strengthen class rules which rules the current two OPV’s and in the bigger picture stuff the Antarctic Treaty is up for renewal very soon around 2020 I believe ( hopefully someone here will a better idea when the Treaty renewal date is)
The DWP has also called new Investment in the Airforce ie new Transport Aircarft at Strategic and Tactical capability, new ISR Aircraft both long range and short range (maned and unmanned aircraft) more NH-90s should have been included as well as I think 8 is a little on the small side.
ATM RNZN and the RNZAF are active in the South Pacific on fisheries patrol as our Asian friends (The Chinese are the biggest culprits so far using their money/soft aid to pay off officials etc) are overfishing and unreported of catchiest.
I hope this answers some of your questions and if you or anyone else has more questions please fire away and I will try my best to answer them.
It’s not the proposed new equipment or lack of that bothers me, but the lack of close integration with Civil Defence. Maybe a few more roll on-roll off vessels to really get goods in to to a centre fast.
I would want to see NZDF responding with a strategy that says a whole bunch more Territorial Forces, Unimogs, and army engineers will be stationed in high flood risk areas.
To me, bailing out civilian cities and towns in a time of crisis is one of the best uses for our armed forces that I can think of.
The RNZN track record in using Rollo’s isn’t great, as the RNZN have been brunt twice trying adapt cheap civilian freighters in Navy ships HMNZS Upham (was a dog of ship and I have never been so sick at sea) and the HMNZS Canterbury http://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/independent-review-safety-hmnzs-canterbury2.pdf. No thanks to the stupid pollies.
Here’s a couple of ideas for future ships in the RNZN
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Absalon-class_(Denmark) The StanFlex Modules could be built in NZ to suit NZ conditions, it takes NH-90 as well an I believe it can also do run down Sth as well. To tell you the truth the RNZN should be based in the Danish Navy anyway that’s my POV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rotterdam_class_amphibious_transport_dock&redirect=no This is what the Canterbury should have been. Having a docking well means you load and unload up to sea state 6 and not sea state 1 if you are using a ramp aka the Canterbury.
The Territorial Forces got hammed by National party in the 90’s along with the rest off NZDF and since then it hasn’t really recovered from the 90’s. Both Labour and National have tinkled around the edges IRT the TF. The TF does form the bases for Civil Defence in the regions that don’t have a permanent NZDF bases.
The only way we can strengthen the TF is to make the TF wages Tax free like here in OZ, as allows those on the dole or DPB or if you are student to earn a bit of cash without getting wack by the taxman, invokes a sense of community sprint, morale rising, a sense of pride in ones self etc, strengthen the Reserve Forces act and think Labour did try to strengthen the act during Timor 1, but the Nat sucked up to its business mates. The Australian Reserve Act is a very good one and I know that for a fact real time and without it the Force Protection of the RAAF would fall over at the moment. The figures out ATM has a RAAF Reserve FP averaging 77 days a yr, so it shows how good the Australian Reserve Act is. If that were to happen in NZ a lot more investment will have to happen to the TF across all 3 services as result of cuts by the National in 90’s to the TF.
There use be a large TF engineer presence in Dunedin and Christchurch along with 2 Artillery batteries, the NZ Scots recc’e Sqn, 2 medical units at about company strength, 2 Log units, 2 Infantry units and that was just the Major centres. But of most them have disbanded or merge or reduce in size as cost cutting and the minor centres aka rural centre/areas have either closed or just hanging in there because of the local community sprint/ pride etc because of the other central government agencies have closed in the 80/90’s and the TF is the last major government department apart from the police etc.
Because National cut taxes now when in business you can claim a lot more expenses against them than 10 years ago can a paye worker claim part of the running cost of and vehicle maintenance I would not mind paying more tax to help others have a better life
Sigh…. Mr Trump threatening North Korea, long standing Greens resigning , Bill English taking a DIP in the polls,… an asteroid set to destroy the planet hurtling towards us, the cornershop dairy running out of bread, and somewhere in far off Kurdistan a small child stubs their toe…
Monty python – The Universe song which also goes under … – YouTube
you tube▶ 2:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVshkVF0SY
It’s been a month since the last Roy Morgan Poll. Which seems a long time given how close we are to the election. It makes you wonder if they cancelled what they were doing and returned to the field in the wake of last weeks upheavals?
They’ve only been polling once a month since the last election. You can see the polling dates here.
http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/new-zealand/voting-intention-summary
If they follow the same pattern this month I would expect the polling to finish this Sunday (13th) and the results to be published on Thursday or Friday next week.
God knows how they will make any sense of it.
By the way you can register your e-mail with them and you get a message when a new poll is released.
Saves having to look their site up when you think a poll might be due.
Thanks Alwyn.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS – YOU DON’T HAVE ANY:
http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-i/index.html
CHAPTER I: PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
To maintain international peace and security, and to that end:
to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law,
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character,
and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Article 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
well, that was random.
No it wasn’t.
It was informative.
So is the wikipedia page on constipation, but I wouldn’t quite it at length without a contextually-obvious reason..
Its Open Mike. And you said quite instead of quote.
It is, and I did.
And the comment was still random.
nuuu… it was alerting us to something outside of our usual parameters of thought. And important in understanding geopolitical thinking… and,.. sadly , the way in which hypocrisy and duplicity works…
Randomly.
Very – it made very random appear random and so on.
Yes it was “random” – but in the context of the nuclear pissing war between Trump and Kim Jong-un I think this part is relevant:
my bold.
US is of course a permanent member of the UN security council so (as a leader in the UN) should be setting an example, not blatantly breaking the rules.
(Chump please take note!)
That is slightly less random. Didn’t pick that out of the cut&paste dump.
I’m mildly hopeful that one of them orders a nuke launch and someone on their staff immediately removes them from office.
As it is, international law is about as relevant as criminal law is when two equally insecure and spoiled rich manchildren get into a dick measuring argument in a bar.
Yes I’ve been pondering along the lines that if the Chump was to release “Fire and Fury – the like of which the world has never seen”. Then the military would take a more nuanced view and refuse to follow the order. I’m sure they know – because the Chump obviously doesn’t – that a nuclear attack on North Korea would simply lead to a wholesale retaliatory response from China or Russia.
I’ve been pondering whether the failure to say `fire & brimstone’ was a coded message to the fundamentalists who helped elect him (“you guys don’t control me”). Could be brimstone has gone out of fashion & the twitterati would get lost.
But to the point being made: it’s all very well for the UN to have such rules, when there’s a breach of them there’s no method of enforcement attached.
Macro – could they really make that choice and do it – does it work or is it successful is one thing and have they actually the fortitude to do such a thing – let alone what would happen next.
I think it’s more likely, given his limited vocabulary, that he doesn’t know the word “brimstone”.
I saw a clip last night where Trump used the words “the like of which the world has never seen” in at least half a dozen different contexts.
But yes – his “spiritual advisor” says God has given him the word to “take out” Kim Jong-un!
🙄
Really!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaFxTrNHsX0
thoughts on whether the slightly less irradiated portions on the planet finally nuke the security council veto when the nuclear winter is over?
Marty
http://www.omjp.org/ArtLarryDisobey.html
my bold
Similar obligations hold in our military as well
McFlock – – now wouldn’t that be nice!
Gezz I sincerely hope that we can nuke the veto before we nuke ourselves.
Thanks. Hope it doesn’t come to that because I think if that happened it might throw the US over the edge entirely.
ahem – so the mushroom cloud might have a silver lining? 👿
Marty – I hope one day that all those nut cases that were on “The Standard” chanting “Killary” and “Trump for President” etc (you know the ones… CV et al) will come back and sincerely apologise and acknowledge that they were talking through their arse with respect to the relative merits of Clinton or Trump for the Presidency. I think it is quite clear now who would have been the safer pair of hands.
Don’t be silly… Trump is the actor , the Military heads are the muscle.
Ever heard of the ‘ good cop ‘ / bad cop’ routine?
That’s what you are seeing.
Trump is no fool and has got us all bamboozled.
What do you think the missile attack on Syria was all about when he was host to one of China’s highest heads of state ???
Just a display of American made firecrackers?
On the bright side of this it will at least solve climate warming ATM, so always look on the bright side of life and remember last joke is on you. And on that note i’m off bred and I will see all you lot tomorrow.
God bless Monty Python and those that follow Monty Python
I think the routine you’re looking for is Nixon’s Madman theory.
Two points:
Firstly, if petulant irrationality is an act by Trump, he’s been building it for decades. Gotta admire his commitment to the bit, I guess.
Secondly, the madman thing only works if everyone else is rational. It doesn’t work if everyone plays it: they just end up escalating themselves into a much bigger fight than they were trying to avoid.
At the moment, your best scenario is that both kim and the orange one are the equivalent of sports jocks in a bar mouthing off at each other, pretending to be tough and neither able to back down. Soon someone’s going to have to swing a punch.
And remember folks Asian nations and especially their leaders don’t like losing face. As said some days ago I said this “if Trump knows this then it’s a hell of a way to chicken with old fat boy as both of them are irrational leaders. The fat boy might just push that big red button for shits and giggles.
I wouldn’t be surprised if old mate from Russia makes a play for the Baltic states or the Swedish lsland of Gotland if things get a little hot in northern Asia.
And on that note it’s worth posting this link again:
That article is mostly about the atrocious US health system but it’s obvious that the US doesn’t adhere to the UDHR at all especially when it comes to maintaining peace and invading other countries.
And that takes us back to the 19th century theory of ‘ whoever controls Russia controls the center of the world’.
And the western powers still adhere to that… with the USA ( according to John Pilger ) ringing China with more than 200 military bases, working their way towards Russia…
But Trump screwed that theory by being mates with Putin.
So to throw them all off about Russian interference,… they have a phone call about pretending they are having a fall out…
Best of mates in Anttarctica, though before Trump when Obama was around …
Head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Antarctic Adventure – YouTube
youtube▶ 0:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxYDZxZHT4Y
Might have something to do with this :
NAZI UFO VRILS ATTACK US NAVAL FLEET; RARE … – YouTube
you tube▶ 4:23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rS75Vyickk
And maybe this from Buzz Aldrin :
Buzz Aldrin We Are All In Danger From Evil At South Pole … youtube▶ 9:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHeSE2UWhhk
And onwards to :
Rosicrucianism
Helen Blavatskys : theosophisim
Nazism/ NASDAP : Ayrianism
Cojoining with interdimentialist entities.
Maybe Doug Adams and Monty Python were right all along …
Or perhaps Gary Wayne is a more serious choice…
FYI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constipation
Haha. As usual.
Well I fail to see whats so funny , ScottGN , – would you mind sharing it with the rest of the class?
Penny,
You’ve got to reform the Security Council first, but pigs might fly (the 4 legged and F1-11 variety) before the Security Council reform happens.
From a book on Ghandis methods and teaching by Anand Kumarasamy who has Masters in Humanities and Social Sciences from Sydney (a discipline going into reverse in this country). This starts with a quote that goes back to Plato.
Wikipedia on Plato: 428/427 or 424/423[b] – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.
We are now learning to do without thoughts of philosophy, so could we have the first institution without higher learning in the Western world?
You my friend, a citizen of this great and mighty city of Athens, [Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch] you devote yourself to acquiring the greatest amount of money, honour and reputation, and yet you care so little about wisdom, truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? – Plato, Apologia
Ring a bell? Watch out for people ringing bells. They might be realising dangerous truths.
Oh surely not !… Monty python was never meant to be a satirical commentary on the futility of the transient acquisition of material possessions and temporal power , but rather a philosophical and metaphysical reference to the outrageous juxtapositions inherent between matter and anti matter and the reality of inter- dimensionalism . Such as the arrogant plonkers in charge of the CERN project are concerned with …
It is , however , interesting ,… that the interface between court jester, religious sage and western rationalistic thought find their final expression and nemesis in protons and neutrons colliding at the speed of light in a subterranean tunnel found between the borders of France and Switzerland.
Me ?… I would rather follow the original hippy that was nailed to two pieces of wood 2000 years ago for suggesting we should be kind to each other… ( Doug Adams )
“And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl sitting on her own in a small café in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.”
I wasn’t on a Monty Python mindset but on a Ghandi one with a bit of Plato and ancient Greece. Life of Brian didn’t come into it, nor Tinkerbell or Trillion or whoever.
Trillions nice, intelligent, if a little …. peculiar.
Solon is worth a look too:
“Some wicked men are rich, some good are poor,
We will not change our virtue for their store:
Virtue’s a thing that none can take away;
But money changes owners all the day.”
I sure you most of the readers bloggers on this site no what country is the monster in this world!!!!!
We are deliberately divided by a managed geopolitical agenda ,…try this instead :
TALKING GENESIS 6 CONSPIRACY W/GARY WAYNE – YouTube
Video for gary wayne genesis 6 you tube▶ 1:37:10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gr1UcNRlAI