Wolfgang Streeck: the German economist calling time on capitalism
“Professionalised political science tends to underestimate the impact of moral outrage. With its penchant for studied indifference … [it] has nothing but elitist contempt for what it calls “populism”, sharing this with the power elites to which it would like to be close … [But] citizens too can “panic” and react “irrationally”, just like financial investors … even though they have no banknotes as arguments but only words and (who knows?) paving stones.
Here he is in 2013, foreshadowing the world of LuxLeaks, SwissLeaks and the Panama Papers and their revelations of a one-sided class war – by the 1% against the rest of us:
Why should the new oligarchs be interested in their countries’ future productive capacities and present democratic stability if, apparently, they can be rich without it, processing back and forth the synthetic money produced for them at no cost by a central bank for which the sky is the limit, at each stage diverting from it hefty fees and unprecedented salaries, bonuses, and profits as long as it is forthcoming – and then leave their country to its remaining devices and withdraw to some privately owned island?”
“He also gives good gossip. A “power breakfast” with financial policymakers and investment bankers is dismissed as “clueless and so stereoptypical. They complained about the stupidity of the masses who didn’t understand the expertise that someone like Alan Greenspan was able to bring to central banking.” This is the same Greenspan who, as head of the US central bank in the bubble years, believed financiers could regulate themselves.
On this trip he went to a conference on Brexit. “I was shocked by the unanimous sense of guilt.” One former British ambassador “began by saying we have to apologise to our foreign friends for the vote to leave Europe. I said, ‘You ought to be happy to have sent a warning to the European Union.’”
“You look out here,” He gestures out of the windows of the National Gallery, at the domes and columns of Trafalgar Square, “And it’s a second Rome. You walk through the streets at night and you say, ‘My God, yes: this is what an empire looks like’.” This is the land of what Streeck calls the Marktsvolk – literally, the people of the market, the club-class financiers and executives, the asset-owning winners of globalisation.
But this space – geographic, economic, political – is off-limits to the Staatsvolk: the ones who fly yearly on holiday rather than weekly on business, the downsized, the indebted losers of neoliberalism. “These people are being driven out of London. In French cities it’s the same thing. This both reinforces them as a political power structure, and puts them completely on the defensive. But one thing they do know is that conventional politics has totally written them off.” Social democrats such as the outgoing Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi are guilty, too. “They’re on the side of the winners.”
International flows of people, money and goods: Streeck accepts the need for all these – “but in some sort of directed, governable way. It has to be, otherwise societies dissolve”.”
“Those views on immigration landed him in another fight this summer, when he wrote an essay attacking Angela Merkel for her open-door policy towards refugees from Syria and elsewhere. It was a “ploy”, he said, to import tens of thousands of cheap workers and thus allow German employers to bring down wages. Colleagues accused him of spinning a “neoliberal conspiracy” theory and of giving cover to Germany’s far right. Streeck’s defence is simple: “It is impossible to protect wages against an unlimited labour supply. Does saying that make me some proto-fascist?””
“Over 40 years, neoliberal capitalism has destroyed its opposition. When Margaret Thatcher was asked to give her greatest achievement, she nominated “Tony Blair and New Labour. We forced our opponents to change their minds.” The prime minister who declared “There is no alternative”, then did her damnedest to extirpate any such alternative. “
I read this article yesterday. indeed, it is an interesting and useful analysis of where we are now. But ultimately, Streeck has no idea of where the left should go now.
He does, though, use the Gramsci quote that provides the title for Morgan Godfery’s book on the Interregnum:
The lecture room is packed, students spread across the floor and peering around the wall at Streeck, absent-mindedly playing with a paperclip and quoting Gramsci: “The old is dying and the new cannot be born. [pause] In this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms can appear.” In the lecture’s interval, a variety of students buy his books and hover about for him to sign them. At the end, a student asks: “what should the left do?”
Streeck’s only suggestion for a way forward is to do actions that scare the establishment: e.g. the occupy movement when it first started:
“The authorities were scared shitless. I think more such scariness must happen. They must learn that in order to keep people quiet they need extraordinary effort.”
No mention of ballot boxes; nor of any need for a bigger vision “because the others don’t have a blueprint”.
But ultimately, Streeck has no idea of where the left should go now.
Yes, this is a very pertinent comment but it does seem to imply that the current situation is one-sided and confined. It isn’t!
It also seems to carry an unspoken hope (or wish?) that (only?) “the left” will be able to find and administer an ‘antidote’. I doubt it!
I don’t think Streeck sees himself as the radical or revolutionary thinker who will come up with a solution. He said:
I needed a new framework, away from wishful demonstrations of the possible to a realistic accounting of the real, to get ahead with the most urgent task for the Left, which is sobering up.
He’s or has become more of a realist than an ideologist, perhaps not surprising given his age and experience, and lives in the present:
But doesn’t he want something better than a new dark ages for his grandchildren? “If I am honest, now I am thankful for every passing year that is good and peaceful. And I hope for another one. Very short-term, I know, but those are my horizons.”
Recently, Monbiot argued that “[P]olitics has failed through a lack of competing narratives” and somewhat presumptuously said “[A] few of us have been working on this, and can discern what may be the beginning of a story”. I call this presumptuous because Monbiot IMO is not one of what Streeck calls Staatsvolk but I could be wrong.
In my mind the question is not where the collective should be led, how, and by whom, but when and how does the collective wake up and become aware of the fact that they need to do it themselves?
The collective appears to be an amorphous unstructured mass but I think this is because we have been overlooking the links and connections that exist between each and every individual and all the others, i.e. what binds humanity together and to the world we live in.
And how many voters, apart from those in this select and small echo chamber, will even know of let alone read the opinions of this left leaning German Socialogist? Bugger all as he dosnt pay the mortgage, put fuel in the car or pay for the groceries on the table.
Handwringing from the left in the hope someone reads this relentless supply of criticism from left leaning supporters and starts a revolution. Just look to the UK to see the drubbing that the new left Mesiah is getting in local elections and realise all the left can do is talk the talk and nothing more.
Maybe at Streeck’s age, he does not have all the answers but is at least honest about it and not fobbing his audience off and pretending all is well and the public are just stupid at each fucked up business and political summit.
He also suggests some answers, such as criticism.
“And we should criticise them.” The press always talks of a lack of business confidence, he says; now is the time for the voters to demonstrate a lack of public confidence.”
While many are critical of joe public, in my view they are doing exactly that, using their voter patterns to criticise.
In NZ Voters boycotted Labour last election due to the infighting and ideas of change around increased taxation of the middle class and workers, while Labour appeared to be championing free trade agreements and global workforce migration and the resulting social consequences in housing and wages in particular. To a lesser extent voters sent a message to the Greens too last election. Many could not bring themselves to support anyone.
Voter’s sent a clear message in Northland to National that they were sick of the puppet politicians, the corruption and deviance and could change their concervative voting patterns to a united alternative.
They sent another message to righties in the Auckland council elections, by very low voter turnout against the candidates that all seemed to represent the same neoliberal ideals in different packages, ages, genders and political leanings and again in the Mt Roskill they blanked the National candidate and gave more enthusiastic support to Mike Wood with his local campaign. Interestingly more support as a percentage to ex union tied Woods than more well known neoliberal. Phil Goff.
So in my view voters are sending pretty clear messages to politicians. And I think Labour is responding well under Little with new ideas and will hopefully win the next election. There are also signs of change and reinvention into the 21st century from some of the union leaders like Mike Treen.
The right has gained by assimilating their leftie rivals and championing the ‘Tony Blair’ characters, but finally there is movement in the left to understand it and look at ways to fight it.
However just going to a 20 century taxation model is not working due to the amount of tax laws that benefit the super rich and global citizens. New tax laws being proposed last election by Labour, seem to punish the middle disproportionally to the super rich and tax avoiders with multiple passports, extended families and off shore tax havens.
Seriously, do politicians really think tax avoiders are going to cough up capital gains taxes when they don’t even pay rents or income taxes and can flit to different resident countries to avoid tax bills or just sent in high powered international tax accountants to fight their corner against the puny IRD? Do NZ politicians feel it is fair to expect NZ tax payers work harder and longer to pay taxes to support corporate welfare such as conference centres, welfare to incoming low paid residents such as accommodation supplements, working for families and health so that their employers can save on wages, and is it fair that the super rich individuals with their political donations can buy policy?
At least the Left are looking for solutions whereas the RWNJs are just making things worse. They really are out to destroy society for their own aggrandisement.
Yes, the left must reclaim both their identity and a turn around.
The righties including right politicians are living like day traders, only concerned with their next short term profit, power grabs and perception, and put the risks and long term issues onto others.
Similar to the way CEO’s are incentivised to squeeze every last short term profit and run businesses into the ground before moving on and a few years out their handiwork of destruction through lost innovation, bankruptcy and deaths and injuries of workers is exposed.
Do you really think Bill English and his colleagues are out to destroy society?
Just because they don’t follow your prescription does not mean they are Right Wing Nut Jobs. While I don’t think Andrew Little has the best solutions I don’t think of him as an evil socialist (or some such similar epithet applied the the left).
About as far as I go is “Hard Left” in my descriptors. Actual insults are unnecessary. John Minto for instance would fall into the hard left category but not Little.
Do you really think Bill English and his colleagues are out to destroy society?
It’s more that they couldn’t care less. They’re all about enriching themselves and that will destroy society – as such actions have done every time in the past. It’s what destroyed Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt and it’s what’s destroying us now.
There’s a reason why every single major religion in the world bans usury and capitalism is nothing but usury.
Just because they don’t follow your prescription does not mean they are Right Wing Nut Jobs.
People who follow a delusional ideology such as the one that National espouses really can’t be described as anything else.
In an interview with Stuff Circuit (before Key’s resignation triggered the leadership race), we put that quote to Collins.
She stopped and said: “Well, what do you want me to say?”
“It is a fiscal failure because we have to pay as taxpayers for what other people have done. As to the moral failure quite clearly the prisoners have failed, morally, because otherwise they wouldn’t be there.”
Challenged that that’s not what English meant, Collins is not keen to engage. “Well, that’s the way I interpret it.”
During the interview, Collins showed no sign of softening her stance. “If people don’t want to offend, they don’t want to go to jail, that is the best way to keep our jails empty.”
English, meanwhile, continues to show no desire to lock up more prisoners.
It was a stand-off between the two people who could have, would have been Prime Minister, over one of the most troubling social conundrums facing the Government.
I remember some journo visiting a small town being driven throught it by a cop who asked him if he had noticed the guys giving a wave from a building site. He said that they had been up before the Courts last year until some investment came to town, now they are happily working and earning, too busy for crime.
Many could see that it was true – the lies didn’t hide much and trump’s loose lips let it out anyway – but still a bit mindblowing to see what innocent russia has been up to. Not sure what the people of that wide and fractured USAland will think of it all – probably that the CIA is lying lol
“The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the US electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.
Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, according to US officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton’s chances.
“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favour one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior US official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to US senators. “That’s the consensus view.””
What we got in the grande olde US of A today? The CIA finger pointing the FBI as Russian collaborators? I don’t know whether to howl with laughter or pause to reflect on previous ‘Red Scares’.
Jeez Marty. “Confidential” in terms of reporting just means that you get to report what you want to report. No checking or verifying. And “anonymous” just sets another layer of impenetrability before any curious or inquisitive mind.
Put another way. An honest way to report this kind of shit is to say that someone said something but there’s no way to know if what they are saying is true or not, and no way for you (the reader) to find out if what we (the media outlet) are saying they said is accurate.
But then, that wouldn’t have the awesome “gravitas” and “edge” some afford the terms ‘confidential’ and ‘anonymous’, would it?
On the one hand she had the Russian government only “one step” away from a group of Russian citizens who were hacking into Clinton and other Democratic Party emails.
Of course Putin and co. knew about it and of course they approved.
On the other hand she had a FBI boss bowing to pressure (from somewhere) famously reopening an investigation into Clinton (an investigation which had already found no wrong doing on her part) using the self same material that had found her not guilty in the first place. And he chooses to publicise the fact two weeks before election day.
When it comes to Russian and American politics its pots and kettles and a lot of black…
The Russians have interfered with your election, CIA? I feel so bad for you, knowing how much you hate interfering in foreign elections.
Perhaps the CIA shouldn’t have been going round interfering in other countries elections and overthrowing governments if they didn’t want the same to happen to them.
You can only expect honourable treatment if you act honourably – and the USA doesn’t.
Bollocks. You can expect fascists to behave like fascists no matter how much you appease them. Whether the US is in a position to go pointing the bone is another matter.
“You can only expect honourable treatment if you act honourably “.
Whereas what we have here is the deliberate, calculated erosion of human rights and the rule of law. By Republicans, with some other murderous kleptocrats cheering them on. And the National Party as fast followers.
Treat them honourably by all means. After they’ve been routed with huge losses.
Don’t see how that can be construed as appeasing the fascists in any way, shape or form.
Fascists don’t act honourably and so shouldn’t expect to be treated honourably.
The US is well known for interfering in the political systems of other nations and so they shouldn’t be surprised or offended when it happens to them. They’re the ones that normalised the action.
One of the things that we’ve been working towards for the last few decades is to stop that interference. It’s actually the main purpose of the UN and is enshrined in it’s Charter in the form of guaranteed self-determination and borders.
The US has normalised those actions against the backdrop of international law that is supposed to stop those actions. International law that the US has agreed to.
You seem to be arguing that those actions are fine because they’ve always happened.
Citizens have more to fear by rendition from their own western government’s surveillance state or political interference of the MSM, that the cold war reinvented – reds under the beds.
Robert Fisk’s shift away from the official narrative has been interesting to observe. The first piece that exhibited a shift that I was aware of revolved around interviews he did with people who had managed to get out of east Aleppo. At that point he was still suspicious and ring-fenced his article with qualifiers. Seems he’s gotten over that suspicion now.
The other person who’s shifted away from the official narrative is Patrick Cockburn, also writing in the Independent.
Finally, I can’t help but notice Mosul has dropped off the front pages. I’m guessing that even the most loyal stenographer, or their spoon feeders, just couldn’t help but acknowledge that it wasn’t feasible to run ‘Aleppo bad’ and ‘Mosul good’ stories when the only difference between the two was the make up of the forces poised to retake the respective cities.
So now, I guess in an attempt to regain control of the narrative and colour our perceptions ‘appropriately’, all we get is ‘Aleppo bad’ and a roaring silence on Mosul.
There’s one key difference between the Second World War and the Syrian conflict – the rebels of Aleppo are no heroes
Ordinarily I like Fisk’s work, but this is sentimental gibberish.
1. Mythologising WW2 as a fight of “heroes” against evildoers is not just stupid on its own merits, it encourages a propaganda approach to current conflict by comparing it against an invented battle of good vs evil. Many of the resistance fighters in France, Poland and Yugoslavia were communists fighting to impose on Europe a totalitarianism as bad as or worse than fascism, but that didn’t make the Nazis the good guys – a little less good guys/bad guys mythologising would serve Fisk better in writing about this conflict.
2. More to the point, it doesn’t make a scrap of difference whether the rebels are “heroes” or not. The outrage here is over Assad and his Russian patron targeting civilian neighbourhoods and hospitals for aerial bombardment – that remains a war crime regardless of which faction of Syrian rebels believes what.
“Many of the resistance fighters in France, Poland and Yugoslavia were communists fighting to impose on Europe a totalitarianism as bad as or worse than fascism”
What makes you think a pampered little middle-class Blairite ponce like yourself has evenly remotely earned the right to criticise the wartime Resistance ?
Er, the same thing that gives everyone else here the right to criticise people they haven’t met – I’m alive and capable of using a keyboard. The fact that you mythologise something doesn’t impose a requirement on others to do it.
A bit of early morning wake up today meant I had to listen to Wallace Chapman interview Bill Ralston, Jane Clifton and Richard Harman talk about Key’s resignation. Ralston and Clifton are both way past their use by dates, FFS they have been around for thirty years and were out of touch a decade ago.
Bill Ralston persists on making grand claims on what Auckland thinks, when the pricks lives on Franklin road in Ponsonby and only hob nobs with other aging well off white males and the assorted detritus that hangs around them. Still, the Spinoff thinks he is the shizz so I guess he still has a constituency amongst the economically precarious Peter Pan hipsters who want a secure seat on the white middle class gravy train. SENTENCE: Ten years commuting via PT to a job doing midnight to dawn on a Hindi community radio station.
And Jane Clifton… Her record of being excessively *ahem* close to politicians is well known, she carries on like parliament is a big jolly boarding school and it is all a good clean jape for the kids on the inside. SENTENCE: Forced to rent in Wainuiomata on a benefit.
The fawning media gaze turns to our 1st “Maori” female deputy of the Nat party, very significant that!
“Paula Bennett not only has a big laugh and raucous personality, but a back story to rival John Key’s.”
Read it and weep, one can only guess that with all the practice of printing reams of BS touted as “news” our endearing media talking heads have it down pat as how to present a pigs ear and have us pay for a silk purse.
First off the rank the loverly Jane Patterson, WARNING the article may cause uncontrollable feelings of nausea, explainable rage, spiking of blood pressure or a tourettes like episode towards the computer screen ( I suffered all 4) —> have a spew bag close to hand.
I prefer making my decisions on facts rather than hyped up BS. And the only thing that Bennett has that should be in the news is that she’s just as likely to lie, steal and cheat as John Key and the rest of National.
Mrs Bennett, with her background story ought to know better then to trample on other peoples misery as she has done many times by selling state housing, reducing benefits for the most needy and playing an active part of NZ stats of disgrace – more than 30000 people without home, increase in poverty that attracts even mentioning in the UN. Her character flaw in that respect is in any light reprehensible to say the least.
Coming out the “whazoo” indeed, highlighting with this word a missing of an expression that would describe such person in today’s political landscape. As we see of late, there are many of them worldwide.
where would Paula Bennett be today if she did not have unprotected sex as a teenager and having a child getting her on the domestic purpose benefit in the first place. I mean would she be where she is today if she would not have spend her formative years on the Dole? Or are you saying that it was not her fault?
So if anything Paula Bennett is the poster child or role model for women who get themselves pregnant to go on a benefit – remember all those women who needed their benefits cut and now need to get jobs!!! Jobs!! . A welfare scrounger. Which fits well in the National Party, cause clearly there is not one MP in the National Party who does not like a tax payer funded hand out.
So what was that thing again about the women getting pregnant having children they can’t afford and personal responsibility? Oh, it does not apply to Paula Bennett you say? i see.
yes
just that one chose to disavow their past (EXCEPT where there was a media advantage in trotting it out)
whereas the other didn’t make a big deal of it and instead has tried to battle the consequences of that predicament.
Sometimes you’re a bit slow eh Alwyn.
Btw – who’s next on the roster?
considering that Turei didnt work to cut the same means of bettering herself, and in fact openly admits that the TIA played a huge part in her becoming a lawyer – then “yes, obviously”
Heather du Plessis-Allan, in a rather stilted and sound bitey opinion piece in the Herald this morning give Andrew Little clear instructions on what to do to increase the chances of a Labour/Green win in the next election.
“FYI Andrew, the centre is the voters you need to make your dream come true.
They’re the voters who aren’t hardcore Labour supporters.
They’re the people who change their minds from election to election, based on what you guys offer and the plans you have.
They’re the baby boomers who own homes and the millennials trying to buy their first homes.
They’re the workers stuck in traffic daily and the parents wondering how much they can afford to spend on holidays for their kids this summer.
They want you to help the country, by helping them first.
If you haven’t figured that out, then Key isn’t Labour’s biggest problem. You are.”
Heather, sweetie, only a blind and deaf sociopath would ignore the New Zealanders who:
– do not vote because no party has ever really addressed their issues and concerns.
– don’t own homes, and can never hope to own a home of their own.
– they earn the minimum wage, work 50-60 hours per week in a job that can disappear tomorrow.
– they are paying rent on hovels that are making their children sick.
– they are sleeping in cars, garages, a relative’s lounge(if they’re lucky).
– they can’t afford medical insurance so have interminable waits to get treatment through a starved public health system. By the time they get to be treated…it’s often too late.
– these are the parents who are wondering how they are going to pay for the kids’ school uniforms, stationery and fees…never mind a bloody holiday.
– etc
– etc
– etc
– etc
– etc
Heather, clearly you don’t actually read the news…watch telly, listen to the radio.
Or open your eyes and see past your own little world.
Appealing to the self interest of the “middle” has been the tactic of every party in every election campaign over the past 20 years…..
” what would Heather du Plessis-Allan know? She can’t even keep her own job”.
That appears to be an unusual method of determining ignorance.
By that standard I suppose we would have to say that Clark, Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe were all pretty stupid, wouldn’t we?
After all they all couldn’t keep their jobs and therefore don’t know anything.
Unlike all the people you quote, Heater du Plastic Allen has managed to consistently quack out cacklemush, whereas the others (Shearer excepted) could argue cogently and coherently. “Shallow as a Puddle” really suits Heater du Plastic.
Your reason is, of course an entirely arguable one. It wasn’t even mentioned by Sanctuary though was it?
It is a shame that the only reason for complaining about her that Sanctuary used was the simple fact that she had lost her job. If that is a reason to call her a fool it is equally valid, by his (her) reasoning to apply the same criteria to the others.
Yes, nitpicking is a favourite occupation of many blog commenters, such as yourself. Totally forgiven of course if they are on your side of the fence.
Blip was an authority on the matter. The things he tried to define as John Key’s “lies” were almost beyond belief. I imagine he would have claimed John Key was lying if he had issued a press statement that spelt Paula’s name as Bennet because it really had a second “t” in the name.
I actually stole the word from a good English teacher I had back in 1962. He used the word to describe the Readers’ Digest. So I don’t really have copyright…
the question is are they listening and will they trust?…..would you bet your future on such a strategy only to find that the same non voting trend continues and leaves you high and dry?
remember the “missing million campaign” of a previous election was hardly a roaring success and i suspect the disengagement has only become more entrenched…..a rock and a hard place.
remember the “missing million campaign” of a previous election was hardly a roaring success and i suspect the disengagement has only become more entrenched…..a rock and a hard place.
That happens when the political party who tries for the missing million still fail to address any of their concerns but who still give the corporations exactly what they want.
as has been noted here already there were plenty of alternatives that were further left of Labour that weren’t taken……while much of that non voting group may directly benefit from a left focused policy agenda it would appear it is not enough for the effort of voting.
as has been noted here already there were plenty of alternatives that were further left of Labour that weren’t taken…
There were, yes but, as has been pointed out, it can take decades for new parties to get into parliament. Many of those missing million would never have even heard of some of the political parties out there. And that is what happens when political parties aren’t funded to the same level.
Smaller parties struggle to muster support as its largely perceived they have little chance of winning, thus be able to attain enough power to implement the political changes required.
Therefore, they present little hope, hence little incentive for non-voters to race out and vote for them.
so first there are no left alternatives….then they are unknown about….then they too small……and finally they don’t have enough influence even when in parliament …….and none of this removes the ability of people to vote for them.
Sounds like a weak series of justifications to me.
if that is the line of reasoning employed by the almost 25% that fail to vote then I would suggest any strategy that relies on appealing to that cohort (as advocated by some) would not be the wisest course.
“marginal (just 3.7%).”.
I suppose we can say therefore that Labour’s party vote in 2014 was equal to National’s in 2002 in the paucity. After all the difference was really only “marginal”.
Remember, 2014 was the first rollout of universalised advance voting. It would have been incredibly surprising for it not to have had increased turnout, as likely a lot of people who normally intend to vote but don’t make it to the polls on election day will have instead voted early.
It’s still very likely that there are voters out there waiting to be persauded into the polls. (not necessarily all by the left, but I expect there’s a significant fraction who wants a more authentically Left movement)
It’s also a really poor example of what a more left-leaning Labour could do as it wasn’t a more left-leaning Labour. It was a left-leaning leader and a bunch of people holding daggers behind his back, refusing to campaign for the Party Vote.
When did Little scoff at the notion of taking the Party further left?
If you are referring to his reaction to Nick Leggett – that was hilarity at the notion that Labour had been taken _too_far_ left – which is really hilarious coming from a defector wanting the party to copy National!
Some of us would like to see Labour return to the left. While Little laughing at the suggestion may have appeased the media, it disappointed a number of those that were holding out hope.
Ponder this:
Before he defected to National but after he opposed Lester, Little invited Leggett back into the Labour fold, stating Leggett had a large future.
And to think, Leggett was even being touted as a potential Labour leader at one stage.
Could this have been the large future Little was alluding too?
Little was far more accommodating to Leggett (who Little called a right-winger, yet still invited him back) than he has ever been to Hone, which should give you an indication of where Little stands.
I think Little is clearly leading the Labour party left, alliance with the Greens, being against the TPPA, cleansing the righties in the Labour party (Goff, Leggett, Shearer), uniting the party, having new ideas with the ‘future of work’ etc etc.
What is the point of him moving Labour so far left that he loses votes and just fights for votes with the Greens or Mana and reduces all their share of votes and lets the Natz get back in because the left don’t collectively achieve enough votes as they are competing instead?
Agree what happened last election with Internet Mana was terrible and stupid, but Little was not in charge then!
Little is a dark horse that has the ability to transform the Labour party without scaring the centrist voters and actually get them in power again.
If you don’t agree with Labour, vote Greens or Mana. There is no point posting against Labour as they already have been undermined by the MSM for the last 5+ years and having their supporters also put the boot in, is actually helping the Natz the most.
Although I do respect him standing his ground (and turning Labour’s position around) on raising the age of eligibility.
I concur a number of the right within are leaving, which does give Little more scope to reshape the party and its direction.
Another promising hope for change within Labour is Laila has been reported as coming back.
One benefit of Labour moving more left is it will improve and strengthen their ability to work together with Mana and the Greens. Showing voters they can work collectively, which to date has been somewhat of a stumbling-block
In regards to working with Mana, while Little was not in charge back then, he’s done little to repair the fallout. Resulting in turning a potential ally into a foe.
I’m not trying to undermine Labour. I’m providing them with feedback hoping it’s taken on-board and results in positive change.
Labour is a broad party, with members holding a number of different views; it is quite possible to have some views that are shared by National and still prefer Labour – after all Labour has supported some government bills over the last few years. National is similarly tolerant of people with different views, provided they do not ever disagree with the leader – and a large dose of self-interest is a defining characteristic of any National MP. Labour is better without Leggett.
“Heather, clearly you don’t actually read the news…watch telly, listen to the radio.
Or open your eyes and see past your own little world.”
Be fair Sanctuary. Plastic-Allen IS the news. She IS the fucking news and world famous in her own bubble. Like most of the fellow hacks she’s a carbon copy of. Distinguishable only on account of the smug cocktail party grimace. A protective reflex to conceal the awesome vacuity within.
the non voters that i have met and that i know personally are
white,
male
mid 40 +
self employed
owner of a property
father of children
divorced
and no government has ever done anything for them so they can’t be bothered (this too i was told, despite me literally begging them to not vote for ‘their own good’ but the long term good of their kids”
Maybe we really don’t just want to pretend that it is the poor that don’t vote, cause i met quite a few single parents, unemployed, under employed that voted last time around. They voted for Mana, Greens, Labour, NZ First, Ban 1080, Legalise Aotearoa and so on.
Granted, these are only my private observations, but i don’t think we should continue the myth that people only don’t vote because they are poor or other wise disenfranchised.
Was there ever a comprehensive study last time around as to whom did not vote? As a break down by gender, race, location etc? It sure would be interesting.
so you are saying that the white, middle aged, home owning males that tell me “no government done anything for me evers’ are just complete disinterested and their children can get fucked over by any government?
Anyone who votes purely on what the government will give them shouldn’t vote, all that does is encourage behaviour from politicians which is detrimental to the well-being of the country.
I love that you think interest-free student loans are a bad thing.
Even from a purely economic standpoint, let’s look at a good example of someone who has taken more radical action on student fees- say, Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe. Surely they have US-style private loan infrastructure with punitive measures preventing loan defaults to be performing well? No?
In fact recently the last of their states joined the consensus on tertiary education, and now they don’t even charge tuition at all, nation-wide, for undergraduate study, even for international students, because Germany wants to attract and retain talented young people. You only need to worry about financing to get a doctorate or masters.
I actually agree a little that WFF is bad, but mostly because I see it as a wage subsidy and thus effectively a way to subsidise employers’ costs, who should be paying post-WFF-level wages anyway, and shouldn’t have needed Clark to top things up.
If you want to talk giveaways, however, National has done much more to subsidise their rich mates, from gutting the ETS to tax cuts aimed at the wealthy just to name the big-ticket items, you just probably don’t object to those because your worldview says that they deserve government giveaways that they don’t need and that don’t help society in any significant way, whereas nobody else does, even if it’s better for all of us in the long run.
I actually agree a little that WFF is bad, but mostly because I see it as a wage subsidy and thus effectively a way to subsidise employers’ costs, who should be paying post-WFF-level wages anyway, and shouldn’t have needed Clark to top things up.
It was a bribe pitched at a group that would be mainly labour voters.
to tax cuts aimed at the wealthy
The tax cuts that Key gave were a bit of recognition to the people who paid the rump of the money that went toward all of Clark’s social engineering and handouts, nine years of nothing but pay pay pay, people were pissed off.
Big reason why Key got the nod and Clark got kicked to the kerb, hopefully, the next left wing government learns from her mistakes.
If wages paid would be a fair reflection of the share of the economy that all participating people create and wage earners are able to cover living costs and development of talents, hobbies, sports etc , these top ups would not be necessary. In fact it could be argued that because of it, the wages are suppressed. It would be interesting to know whether any political party has a plan that provides for fair deal that encourages participation not just in the workforce but the community too. The latter not as a beggar if possible.
In the way developments are going things will become a lot tighter and there are interesting times ahead as robotics will take hold replacing many manned jobs. Is anybody out there getting off the wagon of laissez-faire and put their thinking hat on?
+100. Future of Work, or the equivalent from any party needs to take those points into account.
We also tend to reward destructive jobs with higher remuneration, and often pay those who contribute the most to the wider society the least. (And some we refuse to pay for their contribution, despite court rulings)
A bit dated now, but worth a look for those who haven’t read it is the New Economics foundation report (2009): A Bit Rich
“High-earning investment bankers in the City of London are among the best remunerated people in the economy. But the earnings they command and the profits they make come at a huge cost because of the damaging social effects of the City of London’s financial activities. We found that rather than being ‘wealth creators’, these City bankers are being handsomely rewarded for bringing the global financial system to the brink of collapse. While collecting salaries of between £500,000 and £10 million, leading City bankers to destroy £7 of social value for every pound in value they generate.”
“Hospital cleaners play a vital role in the workings of our healthcare facilities. Not only do they clean hospitals and help maintain standards of hygiene to protect against infection but they also contribute towards wider health outcomes. The importance of these cleaners is often underestimated and undervalued in the way they are paid and treated. We estimated, however, that for every £1 they are paid, over £10 in social value is generated.“
“…This report is not about targeting any individuals in the highly paid jobs it scrutinises. Neither is it simply suggesting that people in low paid jobs should be paid more. The point we are making is a more complex one – that there should be a relationship between what we are paid and the value our work generates for society.”
This idea of providing value is one that would come into its own with a UBI. Those tasks that create a better society, and that have been performed by dwindling groups of volunteers, actively discouraged by policy, and become even more necessary as communities have been broken up by the pressures of high costs, housing insecurity and failing support systems are more likely to be picked up and used to stitch back the pieces.
Hey BM….what about ditching that other expensive little welfare handout….the Accommodation Supplement?
Latest official figure I can find for the spend on this Property Speculators handout is from 2008…when landlords pricing rents at way above ‘market’ value received $875million from the taxpayer to help fund their mortgage repayments.
The CPAG has ‘Housing Subsidies’ attracting $1.8 billion in the 2015 budget.
Surely the rental market should be able to survive without being subsidised by the government…when the rent is too high for most people to afford…then reduce the rent.
“Was there ever a comprehensive study last time around as to whom did not vote? As a break down by gender, race, location etc? It sure would be interesting.”
The wiifm is a huge factor at election time, as we all know, and will be again next year. Hence the sniff of a tax cut and the mantra of “Labour will increase taxes”. Actually I wonder if this wiifm is as big a factor as ‘middle NZ’.
“The wiifm is a huge factor at election time, as we all know, and will be again next year. ”
You think?
I personally think that so many have been negatively impacted by the actions of this current mob that votes for them will decline.
Votes for the left will rise…only if the Left is truly left.
Those who stubbornly insist on the wiifm factor guiding their election choices should perhaps consider the ever increasing numbers of New Zealanders who have been marginalised and disenfranchised by successive governments.
There will come a tipping point, where those with nothing to lose will take action and at least attempt to overthrow the oppressors.
The wiifm mob might need to factor that into their decision making process.
Well Mana/Internet (surely the Left) certainly did not mobilise them, and not for want of money or effort.
So Rosemary, how left would a party/political activist have to be to mobilise them?
But in any event, wouldn’t a populist of whatever stripe be more likely to mobilise the non voters?
Trump seemed to mobilise at least part of the working class who hitherto had good industrial jobs in the American mid west. These folks (and their NZ equivalent) will never be swayed by elitist metro socialists. They want someone more connected to them if not by experience, at least by understanding (and without a hint of sneering).
You’re analysing what’s going on with left-wing voters from a right-wing perspective, Wayne, which is likely causing you to miss some obvious answers.
There is a big motivation gap between left-wing and right-wing voters. The demographics that drive right-wing points of view are also many of the same ones that drive voter participation, (such as wealth and age) so all you really need is a party to exist espousing a certain point of view for Right-wingers to fairly consider it. There’s also not as large a credibility gap, as most politicians espousing right-wing ideas will make a concerted effort to implement them. This actually makes things siginificantly easier for the ACTs of the world in comparison to the Mana Parties of the world. You’ll note that even with allegations that the Internet Party merger made them sellouts and untrustworthy, IMP still did better than ACT in the Party Vote, which would suggest that there’s some truth to the idea that there are untapped leftwing spaces in New Zealand politics, it just hasn’t been done correctly yet.
As to whether any type of populist does better with non-voters, sure, because populists, even right-wing ones, typically speak the language of left-wing economics, or provide semi-plausible right-wing standins like “the immigrants are taking your jobs.” Trump was excellent at speaking the language of left-wing populist frustration, and is making absolutely no moves to deliver on it, with even his infrastructure package full of corporate giveaways. I fully expect his coalition to have collapsed by 2020 because of the very fact of his entry into government.
You couldn’t run a Trump-style campaign in New Zealand, though. A lot of the things that worked in his favour would be unsaleable to our electorate, the closest you’re likely to get to that is actually John Key.
“Trump seemed to mobilise at least part of the working class … They want someone more connected to them if not by experience, at least by understanding (and without a hint of sneering).”
so they voted for a billionaire with a track record of employment disputes?
All youve done is highlight that people can and do make bad choices – and that powerful people will try an leverage that to their own gain
It’s interesting to note, there seems to be some correlation between the increase in the growing number of non-voters and Labour moving right and to the centre
Historically Labour did adopt some extreme policies many years ago, and lost office as a result – they have moved sharply away from the sort of neo-liberal policies espoused by National – and part of National not having yet suffered defeat is because they have gone much more slowly in that direction than many of their supporters would like, and have skilfully dressed up many policies to hide the extremism from the electorate. The reality however cannot be hidden forever, and as a good con-man Key knew that it was time to walk away before it caught up with him – he leaves Bill English to carry the can – if he is able to.
I asked if you had any evidence for your assertion – I accept that National have never left support for neo-liberalism, but do you have any evidence relating to Labour?
Again could not be bothered to click the link, but clearly Granny is so worried about Andrew Little’s chances, they have to get one of the least respected unemployed TV presenters to undermine him by giving their 2 cents worth.
Don’t click the links on Granny Herald’s spiteful campaign against Andrew Little.
I seem to remember that the Herald used to put the author’s name below the title-link but no more, which is why I often click and then immediately close the article as soon as I see who wrote the piece; if these are Granny’s pearls I must be a swine. In fact, I’ve become quite paranoid and reluctant to click on these click-bait title-links.
You’d spoil my fun as well as my education there saveNZ?
Golly gosh, have you not heard the expression…”Know thine enemy.”?
Seriously though, there is a very real danger that by making the assumption that the the article is going to be biased/loaded/generally crap simply because it is written by a certain person and/or published in a certain outlet runs the risk of overlooking occasional journalistic gold….or a damn fine belly laugh.
Amusingly, I wrote about the same article, although more from a “you’re sending the right message (be cautious of English) but for the wrong reason” than from a purely populist outrage perspective, although that’s a damn valid one to be writing from nowadays.
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT.
No. 5: Chris Trotter puts on a “funny” South American accent The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 14 June 2013
Jim Mora, Lisa Scott, Chris Trotter, Susan Baldacci
SUSAN BALDACCI: Julian Assange is a little bit paranoid.
JIM MORA: Oh yes? Hur, hur, hur, hur!
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, he claims that being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he is deprived of his human right of getting enough sun.
MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun?
SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He thinks he should be allowed out of his Ecuador embassy hideout to sunbathe.
MORA: He can get out on the balcony, where he gave that speech!
LISA SCOTT: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or get him a sun lamp! THAT’s what he needs!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He he he he he!
CHRIS TROTTER: I suspect the ambassador’s just sick of the sight of him! [affecting a high-pitched mock South American accent] “Are you ever going to LEEEEAAAVE?”
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT is an occasional series highlighting some of the worst moments in our pretty shameful history of broadcasting mediocrity and downright failure.
And here in good old Godzone some people also are denied the right to get outdoors and absorb a little bit of that necessary Vitamin D.
These are those with physical disabilities who, under the rules set by the Misery of Health, are not entitled to funding to enable them to go outdoors if they need human or mechanical assistance to do so.
Unless, of course, they are in education or employment….when these, the worthy disabled, can actually have a reasonable expectation of having their funding request accepted. Maybe. Because even if you are a worthy disabled person NOTHING is guaranteed.
There are no entitlements.
I must take this opportunity to thank you Morrissey for providing us with these transcripts. Saves some of us the torture of having to listen to Giggles with Mora….the broadcaster who has committed himself to hosting the single most superficially trite and meaningless hour and a bit of publicly funded radio.
Thanks for your kind thoughts, Rosemary. I’ll post up as soon as I hear these comedians having a laugh at the plight of the physically disabled. I would not put it past the likes of Trotter and Mora.
After all that happened this week, Heather Du Plessis-Allan decided to use her national platform to launch an uninformed rant against Andrew Little. Who is this vacuous tart? What are her qualifications to be given this high profile gig? Is she just famous for being famous, like half of our supposed journalists? (Hosking, Henry in particular).
Many years ago there used to be the stereotype of the newspaper journalist …. and it certainly wasn’t that of the mild mannered Clark Kent of the Daily Planet.
The whiskey and crass behaviour used to reside at was once “The Fourth Estate Club” above an electrical egineering firm in Hobson St. Auckland. (I guess that folded because we no longer ekshully have a Fourth Estate).
Raucus, spirit soaked raspy voices abounded.
Those were the days eh fellas? …. when it used to be ok to get pissed till all hours of the night, bypassing the six o’clock swill. Then you go home and beat shit out of the missus confident in the knowledge it’d go unreported.
There’d even be crass jokes about ‘carny killers’ and ‘cradle snatchers’ …… guffaw guffaw guffaw.
Now a good many of them (mainly blokes) just pretend to be half-civilised. One or two of them were also “bloody closet pooftas” as well. None of them have aged very well, which might be one reason they now cluster together in a bubble providing each other with the necessary narcissist support (telling each other how fucking gorgeous each other is)
/sarc (of course)
“As tired as we are of listening to and looking at Nick Smith, Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce, they’re still a preferable option to the ideas vacuum on the other side.”
Labour is bereft of new ideas, and if one is even close it is delivered in such a clumsy way that it comes across as half-baked.
It seems you missed my post in open mike yesterday.
Interestingly enough, it seems Labour’s Mt Roskill win has erased Labour’s memory of trailing in the polls.
While Key leaving has no doubt improved Labour’s chances, the question is has it improved their chances enough for voters to now welcome Labour’s policy that they have so far largely rejected in the polls to date?
Sure, it recently worked for Labour in Mt Roskill, but the Mt Roskill by-election is a different kettle of fish compared to a general election.
Could be true @ The Chairman’ but I’m looking at a pile of mail after a return from The Whurl.
In amongst it is a card from Labour with 3 main points
1 BUILD HOUSES more policy with three ways to get there
2 CRACK DOWN ON SPECULATORS with two
and …
3 SUPPORT PEOPLE IN NEED with four.
Now I’m the ultimate cynic but it certainly has more policy and an aspirational approach to it than the do-nothing kaka from Natzis over the past 8 years.
I’m not sure the msm ‘journalist’ could cope with it ‘ekshully’ – which is why we’ve probably heard nothing of it in paper based rags or on hessian screens where auto-cue readers feign journalistic creds.
Labour are going to help property developers (some of the biggest speculators in the market) further cut red tape.
Sounds disingenuous and rather right-wing.
Banning foreign speculators from buying existing homes doesn’t prevent them from speculating on land, thus adding to the overall cost of housing as the cost of land is further driven up.
Labour are going to help property developers (some of the biggest speculators in the market) further cut red tape.
Sounds disingenuous and rather right-wing.
That’s pretty much about it.
Banning foreign speculators from buying existing homes doesn’t prevent them from speculating on land, thus adding to the overall cost of housing as the cost of land is further driven up.
I figure that they’re purposefully missing the fact that the people actually want a complete ban on foreign ownership.
Ben, it would be a fair point if you had simply written that, yes, Andrew Little does have deficiencies and weaknesses. But your argument collapses when you claim that Nick Smith, Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce are a “preferable option to the ideas vacuum on the other side.” That’s simply nonsense—the National government, and those three more than any—is bereft of serious and long-term thinking.
Your words suggest that you are a National Party diehard.
That’s not a valid point. It’s not even a point. It may well be du Plessis Allen’s opinion that looking at certain people’s faces is preferable to whatever ideas are or are not coming from Labour, but that isn’t a case for there being more ideas in National than in Labour, nor does she make one elsewhere.
No one was saying National have more ideas. Ben said “Labour is bereft of new ideas, and if one is even close it is delivered in such a clumsy way that it comes across as half-baked.”
The other point being made was National’s high polling indicates voters sill find them a preferable option, despite what Labour have so far offered.
Yet, Labour think they are now ready to fight and win the next election.
That wasn’t my point. My point was that du Plessis Allen isn’t making a point. Saying that looking at Smith, Joyce et al is better than Labour’s “ideas vacuum” is like saying that a tomato is better than riding a horse. She may as well just say “National is better than Labour”. It’s an opinion, not a point, but it’s being dressed up as though there were a substantive idea in there, which there isn’t. It’s pure propaganda.
Ben’s saying Labour is bereft of new ideas is also just an opinion, and a useless one unless the implication is that National has some.
What a dog’s breakfast of a comment. The polls don’t tell us anything about ideas, or about how much people like looking at Nick Smith. There has been enough comment swirling about from all sides suggesting that Key is the reason for National’s polling, and equally nothing to suggest that the wider public are particularly tired of Smith. If Ms. du Plessis Allen simply wanted to say that National are polling in the forties, she should have done so. Instead, she fabricated a post out of opinion and speculation, which she presented as if it were analysis.
Labour have presented a number of ideas (on the future of work, wages, education and housing, for instance), and msking a point about an “ideas vacuum” would require a lot more than just comparing the ideas to Nick Smith’s mug.
In terms of their simultaneously saying that more policy will be forthcoming, and that they are ready to fight the election, there is bo contradiction there, since the campaign trail is the traditional theatre for policy releases.
Much of the criticism and distrust of Labour is justified, but it is ludicrous to state that Ms. du Plessis Allen made any points about it in her vacuous, analysis-free article.
Announcing a raft of policy on the campaign just before an election risks overwhelming voters.
After the last election, Labour claimed voters failed to understand their policy. Therefore, loading voters up with a number of policies on the campaign just before an election suggests they are willing to risk making that past mistake again.
The polls are an indication of whom voters prefer. Policy is a main reason why voters opt for one party over another.
In regards to listening to and looking at Nick Smith etc… you’re taking her analogy far to literally.
What’s she is saying is despite voters becoming tired of seeing and listening to National, the polls show they still prefer them over Labour.
Despite their recent MT Roskil win, their trailing in the polls is not something Labour should overlook. There is no denying Labour have challenges to overcome.
The vacuum she is alluding to could be the fact Labour haven’t got a full policy format.
Or it could be that what’s on offer thus far isn’t cutting it, hence there is a vacuum of new and resonating policy.
Labour has far more ideas than National. That’s why National tends to copy and them even if they do then twist them to benefit their benefactors.
Still, Labour does need to drop the neo-liberal paradigm with a lot more force. They have to realise that the people are not are not enthusiastic about the FTAs that have been dropping their living standards.
I think that Labour’s problem is not unique to NZ and that is to provide a viable real alternative to neo-liberalism capitalism; nobody yet has an answer. In any case, no politician will want to scare the horses and there is no point campaigning with or on a new set of ideas and policies that is so different that it will alienate the voters; people will always vote for the devil they know even when they know there are negative consequences.
Labour’s problem is they are failing (going by the polls) to be a viable alternative.
Neo-liberalism is far from the perfect model. And when dealing with the masses, there will never be an alternative everybody will deem perfect.
However, as we all know, Labour doesn’t have to win-over every voter to be seen as a viable alternative.
I’m not suggesting Labour should alienate and scare voters. I’m suggesting they can gain their attention and win them over while maintaining their core principles.
Labour recently proposed a youth employment scheme. A short-term scheme providing very basic skills introduced to address unskilled, long-term youth unemployment.
One would expect something a little more meaty, designed to actually address the long-term problem.
Moreover, solutions could be designed in a way that they also address and help solve other problems.
For example, there is a critical shortage of hotel rooms resulting in a loss of tourist dollars.
Therefore, Labour could propose a policy that would help fill this critical void while also providing the employment and skills learning opportunity (from the building of the new environmentally friendly hotels to the running of them) which would not only help address unskilled, long-term youth unemployment, but would also create a number of other jobs and related business opportunities.
The goal would be for them to become profit making long-term ventures, providing on-going employment opportunities. With profits attained going on to broaden and increase Government revenue streams, diversifying their reliance on tax.
This more hands on approach also provides better input opportunities for things such as wage structures, ensuring everybody shares in the fiscal benefits going forward.
You’re talking way off topic, though. Apparently, Ms. du Plessis Allen was making a good point, but the idea that Labour’s policies should be more left-wing (which I agree with) is exactly the opposite of her thrust.
That is the danger of mindless opinion pieces öike hers. They peddle shallow, repeated lines like “Labour lacks ideas”, and people like you say, “Good point, Labour needs to grow a pair and move to the left,” National voters think, “Yeah, National have ideas like tax cuts and growing the economy,” and those with little interest in politics think, “Yeah, Labour’s boring; when did André Lytton last mince down a catwalk or wash Max Key’s car on YouTube?” (Note how Ms. du Plessis Allen didn’t compare Labour’s ideas with National’s, but with how much one would like to see them on TV). Ms. du Plessis Allen didn’t make any of those points. Of course not, since if she had made a point, it would have been easier to dismiss without confusion and unwitting (if well-intentioned) obfuscation like yours.
Often watched Story (couldn’t watch Seven Sharp) because of Mike Hosking and his giggling co-host) but Heather DPA was more often than not showing off and wanting the attention to be on her and was as shallow as a puddle. How she qualifies to have own column is a mystery. Don’t miss her one little bit.
” How she qualifies to have own column is a mystery”
Well it is the NZH ….. a rag that even that overpaid bullshit artist, ringer and soak PH describes as such.
She’s got to earn a crust I guess and prostitution is not only the oldest profession, but one that’s perfectly acceptable these days apparently
/giggle giggle
And we’re ekshully expected to feel sorry for all these cnuts!
Oh poor poor poor John, and Bronagh, and Mex ‘n’ Stiffy.
It must have been a rilly rilly tough loif eh? Giving 8 years of your loif to poltiks…. en what thenks do you get?
Awe. Ya neva saw ya sun groan up, en Stiffy missed eart en near Bronagh is neggin ya ears orf.
And the media!.
The poor poor starving kud of a solo mum struggliny along in a State Hess with a torlit in the bek yard….. (when every other torlit was the same and probably not even on a septic tank, but rather “the night cart”
My fucking heart bleeds – truly it does.
And what’s worse is the poor poor bugger had to suffer ChCh Boy’s Hoi rather than Christ’s!
Where’s a woodwork teacher when you need him!!! Oh that’s right, doing his best to fuck over the rest of Chroischuch (unfortunately aided and abetted by that parliamentary consensus that conferred on him the status of Tsar
What we can take from this, as it applies to our current politics, is that we’re not in an after-truth moment, but more so a truth-averse one. The “post-” designation isn’t about transcendence or evolution, but rather about ignorance and denial. It seeks to suppress knowledge and replace it with convenient falsities; to deny reality in the name of a dangerous illusion. We can choose to flout human-induced climate change and thus do nothing about it, but that doesn’t actually make the problem go away.
And that is pretty much where the RWNJs are. Denying reality so that they can continue with the fantasy that capitalism works.
“Claims the relationship between Noone and Projenz was informal and verbal-only during the seven-year duration of the relationship – explaining the total lack of documentation – “defies common sense,” Justice Fitzgerald said.
….”
Surely it also defies the statutory obligations arising from s.17 of the Public Records Act 2005?
(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an independent contractor.
____________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-privatisation / anti-corruption Public Watchdog / WHISTLE-BLOWER’.
Why do they even bother? The dismal standard
of commentary on RadioLive mimics that on NewstalkZB
RadioLive, Sunday 11 December 2016, 10:55 a.m.
Just had the misfortune of straying onto RadioLive for a few minutes this morning. A very angry Clinton supporter masquerading as a “reporter” called Carol Ramos was in full flight, ranting about how Hillary Clinton lost to Trump not because of her own dire record and her foolish campaign, but because of those evil, dastardly Russians.
I was disappointed but not really surprised to hear host Lloyd Burr swallowing what she said wholesale, and agreeing with everything.
Hilariously, RadioLive’s current slogan is “YOUR NEWS. YOUR VIEWS.” It should, of course, be changed to: “FALSE NEWS. ILL-INFORMED VIEWS”, but I guess that doesn’t fit on the advertising signs so neatly.
The Democrats are the Republicans….Trump is Obama….they are both owned by Wall St, Big Corporations, etc ….same policies, etc…. So how different is Labour going to make itself from the Natzis….
1. Kiwi Build
2. Climate Change Overhaul
3. Drop National Standards / Charter Schools
4. Small Business massive investment
5. Health Doctors Budget increase
6. Open Pike River
I think the Democrats are different from the Republicans. You’re correct that it’s often hard to distinguish between them, just as it often is between National and Labour. But the differences are real, and if Labour has any sense, it will emphasize those differences, rather than trying to minimize them.
Yes, you’re right to an extent, garibaldi, but I think there are still real differences between the parties. I am continually disappointed and even outraged by the Labour Party, but I would still prefer it in power rather than the National-ACT horror show we have now.
I’m aware, however, that it’s very difficult to differentiate the parties sometimes. Labour is still recovering from the devastation resulting from Lange’s ceding effective control of the party to Douglas, Prebble, Moore and DeCleene; few people trust anything that Labour says, and it’s made even harder for us to support them when they do things like declaring Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics to be a “distraction.”
Kiwibuild is a great example of how the left can remain left and win-over the middle (and even some on the right) without Labour having to depart from its core principles.
Labour require to formulate more of their policy like that.
“The Herald on Sunday can reveal Gan spent $15 million at Sky City in a 15 month period, as well as making large deposits into her casino account and transfers to other high-roller accounts.
One of these VIPs was Yingzi Zeng, a mother of two who lives in Auckland’s eastern suburbs, who spent $38 million at Sky City in 15 months.”
A million every month and the other $2.5 mllion a month. Loose change. Fortunately the Convention Centre is Sky City eh?
Donald Trump is expected to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, two sources close to the transition process told NBC News on Saturday.
The 64-year-old veteran oil executive has no government or diplomatic experience, although he has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pick would put to rest weeks-long speculation of who would earn the post as the U.S.’s top diplomat, and would place Tillerson fourth in line to the presidency.
He will also be paired with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as his deputy secretary of state, one of the sources added, with Bolton handling day-to-day management of the department.
If Labour wants to build affordable houses then they should probably look at developing/importing this sort of technology:
he U.S may soon have 3D printed homes, and a new partnership are claiming they will be created in just one day. Construction company Sunconomy have teamed up with Russian 3D printers Apis Cor and their 3D concrete printer and realize this ambition. Larry Haines, founder of Sunconomy, wants the public to join them on a “revolutionary journey to build affordable, smart, sustainable housing with Apis Cor’s new 3D concrete printer“.
Get just ten of them and that’s ~3000 houses per year. Just need to look to ensuring supply of resources and preparations for the sites.
Craig Foss to step down, another National Party MP resigns for ‘family reasons’ and does not want to stand down until next year to avoid a by election.
Told ya’s the National Party is falling apart, most of their MP’s hearts aren’t in the job, but they are happy to collect the salary until next year using the excuse of ‘avoiding the tax payer the cost of a by election”
FFS THE CITIZENS OF NZ DEMAND AN EARLY ELECTION!!
WHERE ON EARTH HAS OUR DEMOCRACY GONE ?
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or ...
When Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became the Labour Party leader shortly before the 2017 general election, she promised to lead a government of transformation. After nearly three years occupying the Treasury benches, health professionals working in public hospitals have been keenly waiting for transformational progress, including in the capacity and quality ...
Last night, One News ran a follow-up story to its Colmar Brunton poll results on the cannabis referendum, headed here as Government accuses big American anti-cannabis group of interfering in NZ politics.In truth it wasn't just the government: Justice minister Andrew Little, National's Shane Reti and the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick ...
When the government refused to put cameras on fishing boats to ensure fishers obeyed the law, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash claimed that coalition partner NZ First (which has received large donations from the fishing industry) was not responsible for the decision. He has repeated that claim repeatedly since then. But ...
Heroic Evasions: Labour needs to be unequivocal in its communications with the electorate. Either it has a plan to prevent their fellow New Zealanders from falling off the economic cliff, or it doesn’t. Either it has a fiscal policy equal to the task of funding that plan, or it hasn’t. ...
Prof John Potter*Elimination has been an effective strategy for New Zealand in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (SARS-CoV-2). Most other countries have not pursued this goal and are ignoring the opportunity even now. SARS-CoV-2 is not manageable by the influenza playbook; its longer incubation period makes tracing ...
This is a re-post from Weather Underground by Bob HensonAbove: This rainbow appears unusually low in the sky because it has formed early in the afternoon, rather than toward sunset. For a rainbow to form, water droplets must be present in the air in front of an observer ...
On Monday, Todd Muller gave an important speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, He spoke firmly about his belief in the need for foreign investment, for the public sector to partner with the private sector rather than boss it around and, crucially, demanded the government deliver a clear strategy ...
Todd Muller's first act on become party leader was to appoint an all-white front bench. This understandably raised eyebrows, so he is now apparently reconsidering caucus and list rankings. Which is obviously necessary, but there's still the underlying problem: National doesn't have a lot of Māori MP's. And the reason ...
Meridian energy has been caught manipulating the electricity market for fun and profit: Meridian Energy pushed up power prices by unnecessary spilling water from its south dams in December that could have been used for generation, the Electricity Authority has ruled in a preliminary decision. The authority said the ...
When the Christchurch murderer pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and a number of other violent assault charges a few months ago, he effectively closed the door on what the public will know about the lead up to and commission of the event. His plea means that no evidence ...
Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...
Hearing the Prime Minister castigate the Warehouse for laying off 1,000 workers after receiving $52 million in wage subsidies reminds me of the fabled frog who agreed to carry a scorpion across a river. The scorpion stings the frog halfway across, dooming both to drown. The frog cries “Why on ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael BakerCompared with other OECD countries NZ is a stand-out success story by ending community transmission of COVID-19. While there have been some well-publicised recent deficiencies (eg, quarantine organisation), there has still been no evidence of community transmission for many weeks. Nevertheless, ...
It’s June 30th, marked as Asteroid Day by many people of an astronomical bent around the globe. On this date in 1908, early in the morning in a remote part of central Siberia, the sky fell in. Well, not literally. What happened is a substantially-sized lump of cosmic detritus ...
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...
Don Franks Poverty, inequality – really – aren’t politicians paid to sort that stuff ? Why can’t they just get it together and come up with something fair and sensible? A cold rainy 2020 morning, a headline showed promise. “Green Party’s $8b plan would guarantee an income of $325 a ...
A guest repost by Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) staff attorney Augusta Wilson. Fundraising is not the objective of this article but readers may wish to know that CSLDF is currently conducting a summer fundraiser to support defense of research scientists and research integrity from anti-science interference by politicians and industrial interests. The COVID-19 pandemic ...
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...
The US state of Mississippi has finally voted to remove the Confederate emblem from its state flag. Good. Its appalling that it was put there in the first place, but even more appalling that it took so long to remove it. Its basicly as if a German Länder still had ...
No one could have predicted when David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was passed by Parliament last November that the referendum required to bring the legislation into force would be held against the backdrop of a deadly global pandemic. Since then, the mounting tally of casualties around the world ...
Paul GoldsmithYou can often tell just how effective a progressive policy proposal will be by how much the right wing criticise it. The more socially beneficial, the more vitriolic and unhinged they seem to become.That was the case when the Green Party announced their Poverty Action Plan yesterday. The response ...
Back at the beginning of April, when we had much else on our minds, I wrote this post urging some caution in interpreting the results of the latest Horizon poll, conducted in February, on voting intentions in this year's cannabis referendum, which was paid for by Helius Therapeutics.I wrote that ...
Over the weekend the Greens made their first election policy announcement, and promised transformational change: a more progressive tax system, with new rates applying to incomes of $100,000 and $150,000; a new wealth tax on net wealth over $1 million; and a guaranteed minimum income to eliminate poverty. Its bold, ...
Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Global Warming Is Melting Our Sense of Time Satellite image of smoke from active fires burning near the ...
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...
The latest opinion poll forecasts a landslide win by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party, but when taken alongside other polling, it illustrates New Zealand politics remains volatile and the contest is still very open. According to the Colmar Brunton poll published by TVNZ last night, Labour would easily romp back ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 21 through Sat, June 27, 2020Editor's ChoiceFacebook creates fact-checking exemption for climate deniers Facebook is "aiding and abetting the spread of climate misinformation,” said Robert Brulle, an ...
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...
Minister of Health - David ClarkIf you follow politics at all in New Zealand, David Clark is likely a name you’re a bit familiar with. The current Minister of Health is perhaps the most disliked Member of Parliament at the moment, which amongst very stiff competition is really saying something. ...
SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). Judging by the tweets, which is probably a bad idea, over lockdown, all of New Zealand found itself in front of The Chase every night at 5pm. It is a brilliant fomat: hardly anyone wins any money ...
SATURDAY JUNE 27Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Sky Arts, Sky 017, 8.00pm). There was graffiti before Banksy, but perhaps his pungent political messages hit home a bit harder. Anyways, a doco about his influence on street art featuring a bunch of cool people.SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, ...
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone!This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A massive dust storm formed over the Sahara Desert last week and invaded the Caribbean over the June 20-21 weekend, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution and low visibility to the islands. The dust is accompanied by a large amount ...
Will the Covid Crisis lead to a dramatic redirection for New Zealand and the World? A hinge in history occurs where the past and present are connected but they point in different directions. Big hinges are rare but crucial in the development of humankind. Not in Narrow Seas identifies six. ...
RNZ reports that Refining NZ is considering shutting down Marsden Point and effectively turning itself into a fuel distribution service. The problem they're immediately trying to address is that running a refinery is expensive, and it is cheaper just to import processed fuel. But there's a longer-term problem too: climate ...
We all know that the COVID-19 virus is a terrible infectious disease that has already caused untold misery and numerous deaths around the world. Nearly half a million people have already died, and those are just the cases we know about.But how bad could things actually get exactly?Today, the NZ ...
This essay by Alex Hochuli examines the global phenomena of BLM protests . He is a freelance writer and research consultant based in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the co-host of the global politics podcast, Aufhebunga Bunga, and co-author of the forthcoming Politics at the End of the End of History (Zero ...
Are You Still Here? Just like his colleague, Phil Twyford – of KiwiBuild fame – David Clark juts out his chin and shamelessly apportions blame to everybody but himself. Even worse, he has turned viciously on Ashley Bloomfield, the nearest approximation to a competent, decent, humble and accountable public servant ...
. . 20 June The bad news: Aotearoa New Zealand has two new cases of covid-19. The good news: the two cases were picked up at an Auckland quarantine facility. The terrifying news: had the story of the two women leaving quarantine without testing not broken four days ...
Willing Victims: What would all those Americans in MAGA hats be left with if they abandoned Trump? Just the sick feeling of having been cheated. Just the knowledge that the man in the White House is nothing more than a shape-shifting New York grifter; and that they have always been ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Like an earthquake rumbling down the San Andreas Fault, Jeff Gibbs’ and Michael Moore’s controversial film “Planet of the Humans” tore a rift through the environmental movement, a rift its leaders would not yearn for in an election year. After activists have spent ...
There have been a number of articles written about the voting in the final statges of the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill, during which National MPs voted alongside the Green Party to force a change that would prevent the removal of sentenced prisoners from the Electoral Roll. You can ...
Last night should have been a cause for muted celebration in Parliament. The Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Bill’s final passage through the House partially erases a stain on New Zealand’s democratic system. It’s a drum I’ve been beatingfor thepast decade, but denying all sentenced prisoners the right to vote is a ...
Jordan WilliamsIt’s pretty obvious to all and sundry that the Taxpayers Union, run by Jordan Williams, isn’t really a union at all. Instead it’s a small lobby group for privileged white folk, namely the old fools behind the scenes of the corrupt and largely defunct Act Party.With an incorrectly attributed ...
Last year, I highlighted a secrecy problem with the government's Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The Bill would establish a new class of public entity, "special purpose vehicles", to hide debt from local government balance sheets fund infrastructure such as roads and sewers in "high-growth" councils. The SPVs would collect ...
Both the leader of the opposition Todd Muller and University of Auckland Professor Des Gorman have gone on the record as saying they suspect Covid-19 is spreading in the community in New Zealand once again. Let me explain why I don’t agree with them. As best I can tell there ...
By Geoffrey Miller A former MP and Associate Minister of Defence says that New Zealand’s Covid-19 border and quarantine issues illustrate why a new dedicated national security agency is needed. Heather Roy, a former deputy leader of the Act Party who held the associate defence portfolio from 2008-10, told the ...
Annual fishing report It's been about a year since we swapped out the Research News deckhand. It seems longer— particularly the past 4 months— and not because of this particular work. Over the course of the year somewhere in the neighborhood of 17,500 articles have been caught in our net, ...
This article on Feminist Current by Meghan Murphy looks at the Karen/Becky meme and argues it has officially gone too far The male centered progressive left has successfully made woman-hating trendy. Today, yet another “Karen” video went viral online. This time, it seems a woman flipped off a male driver, ...
Over the past few weeks, there's been a lot of attention on the question of why American police are so violent, and so often murder people. There are a pile of reasons for this, including the racist roots of their entire policing system, but part of the answer seems to ...
Last year, the government promised that it would strengthen whistleblower protections. Today, they finally released the bill. There's one major change: "[a] discloser is entitled to protection for a protected disclosure made to an appropriate authority at any time" - an "appropriate authority" being public sector heads, officers of Parliament, ...
Andrew Lorrey, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Ben Noll, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, and Lauren Vargo, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Brewster Glacier in New Zealand’s Southern Alps lost 13 million cubic metres of ice between March 2016 and March 2019 – ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThis week, Climate Explained answers two similar questions.If humans ...
. . 17 June Labour’s “dream run” of being a competent manager during the Covid19 Crisis may just have come to a crashing end. Recent revelations that some of the quarantine facilities (hotels converted to the task) have been shambolically mis-managed has raised alarm bells and widespread criticism; . . ...
Michael WoodhouseWe all know that the National Party has a major credibility issue at the moment, and his name is Michael Woodhouse.Not only has the former Health Minister recently been in the news promoting a number of unverified claims designed to try and discredit the Government's response to COVID-19, the ...
Even though Skeptical Science's "lingua franca" is English we do have a lot of content translated into more than 20 languages and anybody can get involved with translations as I explained in a blog post in 2014. A lot of the translation work tends to fly under the radar and in ...
Last year we learned that relatively low levels of nitrates in drinking water were linked to increased incidence of colorectal cancer. New Zealand has a lot of nitrates, thanks to all those cows pissing everywhere. So how bad is the problem here? Bad: 2020 data obtained by Forest & Bird ...
It looks like the fishing industry is still getting what they pay for: The Government has again bowed to fishing industry pressure and refused to extend a marine reserve around Campbell Island, a subantarctic sanctuary recognised for its value in conserving and maintaining unique creatures. Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku is ...
At a time when a wave of iconoclasm has meant no statue or monument appears safe from destruction — whether it is Gandhi, Churchill or Captain Cook — Judith Collins has taken the opportunity to attack a living icon who has been feted in some quarters, both here and abroad, ...
After weeks of no new cases of Covid-19, in the last week we’ve recorded nine. That’s sounds pretty scary, but here’s why there’s no reason to panic. For weeks now, almost every day there have been over 100,000 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world. On two days last ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First MP and Minister for Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Ron Mark has confirmed his bid for the Wairarapa seat.“The Coalition Government has done a lot of good work throughout the Wairarapa, but many constituents have told ...
New Zealand First is pleased to release the names of its next tranche of candidates for the 2020 election. We’re proud to announce these hardworking New Zealanders that have put their hand up to fight for a commonsense and resilient future.Jamie Arbuckle – Kaikoura Mark Arneil – Christchurch Central Jackie ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence A massive joint effort between New Zealand Government agencies, employers, and the Vanuatu Government is underway to repatriate over 1000 Vanuatu nationals stranded in New Zealand, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Ron ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development Reprioritised funding of $40 million from the Provincial Growth Fund will support up to 1000 regional apprenticeships, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said today. The Regional Apprenticeship Initiative is part of the wider Apprenticeship Boost announced by Education Minister Chris Hipkins ...
The Green Party welcomes the ACC’s announcement to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but emphasises the need to go further, and faster to truly meet the climate change challenge. ...
Farmers are rejoicing after Labour agreed to an amendment pushed by New Zealand First in the firearms bill that will allow the use of restricted guns for pest control. Concessions on gun control mean farmers will be able to apply for a licence to use restricted firearms for pest control. ...
New Zealand has formally launched free trade negotiations with the United Kingdom, with hopes a swift deal could assist with the country's post-Covid recovery. The two countries announced the start of FTA talks on Wednesday afternoon, offering a new avenue for trade progress. In a statement announcing the start of ...
The Northland rail project is already providing jobs for locals, with 200 contractors and KiwiRail staff needed over the coming months. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has pledged $204.5 million for the project - $164.5m to upgrade the Northland rail line and $40m to buy land. New Zealand First leader ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Environment Minister David Parker has today “called in” Auckland’s application to the Waikato Regional Council to take an extra 200 million litres of water a day from the lower reaches of the Waikato River for Auckland drinking water and other municipal uses. The call-in means the application has been referred ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker announced today that New Zealand’s hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Mr Peters said the global disruption caused by COVID-19, including resultant border restrictions, had been the major factor in the ...
The start of construction on a new link road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1 will create jobs and support the significant population growth expected in the Warkworth area, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Mayor Phil Goff announced today. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said construction of the Matakana Link ...
The Government is prioritising its latest investment in PPE for frontline health workers, including staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities, Health Minister David Clark says. “With no community transmission of COVID-19 our response now has a firm focus on keeping our border safe and secure. “We must ensure that ...
The Parihaka Papakāinga Trust in Taranaki will receive up to $14 million for a new visitor centre and other improvements at the historic settlement that will boost the local economy and provide much-needed jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little have ...
Protections for workers who are employees of one employer but working under the direction of another business or organisation have come into force, closing a gap in legislation that made the personal grievance process inaccessible for some workers, says Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “This Government is working hard to ...
A range of improvements are already underway to address issues identified in the rapid review of the Managed Isolation and Quarantine system released today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. The review was commissioned just over a week ago to identify and understand current and emerging risks to ensure the end-to-end ...
The important brown kiwi habitat around Whakatāne will receive added protection through an Iwi-led predator free project announced by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. “The Government is investing nearly $5 million into Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa’s environmental projects with $2.5 ...
An extra 4,000 tonnes of offcuts and scraps of untreated wood per year will soon be able to be recycled into useful products such as horticultural and garden mulch, playground safety surfacing and animal bedding as a result of a $660,000 investment from the Waste Minimisation Fund, Associate Environment Minister ...
The Governor-General has referred Scott Watson’s convictions for murder back to the Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Mr Watson was convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. His appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2000 was unsuccessful, as was his ...
A new five-year funding agreement for the Reserve Bank will mean it can boost its work to protect New Zealanders’ finances, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “New Zealand has a strong and stable financial system. Financial stability is an area that we are not prepared to cut corners for, particularly ...
A law change has been introduced to make it easier for forgotten funds in institutional accounts to be returned more easily to their rightful owners. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash has introduced an amendment to the Unclaimed Money Act 1971. It will update the rules controlling forgotten sums of money held ...
The Government is delivering on election commitments and a key recommendation of He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction with the establishment of a permanent independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. Legislation enabling the establishment of the fully ...
A Bill to replace New Zealand’s Privacy Act passed its third reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced. “The protections in the Privacy Bill are vitally important. The key purpose of the reforms is to promote and protect people’s privacy and give them confidence that their personal ...
Extra support is being provided to tourism businesses operating on public conservation land announced Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today. The Government is providing $25m worth of support to tourism operators impacted by COVID-19, with a decision to waive most Department of Conservation tourism related concession ...
A central Government partnership with Queenstown will help unlock around $300 million of projects in the township and create about 320 direct jobs, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced today. The Government will contribute $85 million to the Queenstown Town Centre ($35m) project and Stage One of the Queenstown Arterials ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark welcomes the appointment of Auckland coroner Morag McDowell to the role of Health and Disability Commissioner. He is also pleased his appointments to the inaugural Paramedic Council were confirmed by gazette this week. The new Health and Disability Commissioner Ms McDowell will commence the role ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $2.1 million in a blueberry orchard initiative, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “The Meihana Koata Trust will receive a loan from the PGF’s Whenua Māori allocation to develop an 18.8 hectare blueberry orchard on ...
A well-known Māori tourism in Northland will receive $1.25 million from the Provincial Growth Fund for much-needed redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia Charitable Trust will use the funding to upgrade Te Pā Kāinga o Rewa, or Rewa’s Village, in Kerikeri. The long-established ...
The Government and Northland iwi Ngāti Rēhia have today announced up to $6.25 million in One Billion Trees funding for a new kauri sanctuary. Forestry Minister Shane Jones said the sanctuary would help protect kauri by creating New Zealand’s first bio-secure kauri sanctuary, free of kauri dieback disease. “I am ...
Checkpoint - Todd Muller, having just reshuffled his caucus after Paula Bennett's resignation, says he has plenty of policies "in the can" but is not revealing them yet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Victoria Carruthers, Senior lecturer, Australian Catholic University I have been thinking a lot lately of how many worlds there are contained in very small spaces and how every person is really one world to himself unconnected by anyone or any thing. ...
I write this as a Papua New Guinean and a daughter of this nation. I believe in the rights of women. I believe that the Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Mama Lo, safeguards the place of women in our nation. I understand the strengths ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 2 July 2020 Socialism versus Progressive CapitalismKeith Rankin. I was disappointed that the Green Party continues to reject a distributive Universal Basic Income (UBI) in favour of a redistributive and polarising Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) model. GMI is the antithesis of UBI. The essence of ...
The Electoral Commission is destroying millions of copies of brochures on the End of Life Choice referendum after one item was accidentally printed in a bold font. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judith Ireland, Deputy Editor, Politics + Society, The Conversation, Australia Sydney newspaper the Daily Telegraph has lost its appeal against a defamation decision that awarded actor Geoffrey Rush almost A$3 million. Last year, Rush was awarded a record $2.9 million after he ...
Power Play - Both he and Ardern have come to the conclusion he's become too much of "distraction", and there's nowhere for a minister to go after that, Jane Patterson writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Moloney, Associate Professor, Paediatrics, Griffith University Tensions over border closures are in the news again, now states are gradually lifting travel restrictions to allexcept Victorians. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says singling out Victorians is an overreaction to Melbourne’s coronavirus spike, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Hosking, Conservation Planner/Researcher, The University of Queensland On Tuesday, a year-long New South Wales parliamentary inquiry revealed the state’s koalas are on track for extinction in the wild by 2050, without urgent government intervention. Habitat destruction and fragmentation for agriculture, urban ...
Wāhine Māori are calling for the immediate sacking of Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Ms Grainne Moss and the Minister Tracey Martin following more damning media reports about Oranga Tamariki. Dame Naida Glavich, Chair of the Governance Group for the ...
The New Zealand Bar Association welcomes the re-establishment of access to lawyers at the start of disputes about the care of children. From 1 July 2020, parties will be able to get legal advice at the beginning of the process. The Bar Association ...
Green Party co-leader James Shaw is accusing New Zealand First leader Winston Peters of throwing a tantrum via a comment piece he wrote on light rail. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With three months before JobSeeker is due to end and calls for billions of dollars in extra spending, there is a growing debate about how Australia’s post-coronavirus economy will actually look. While Scott Morrison has ...
They’re here, they’re queer, and they’re at a precipice of a new frontier in both entertainment and performance. We’re Here is the new Neon show that takes drag out of the city and into small town America, writes Dejan Jotanovic. Drag, as an artform, isn’t by any means new. It ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stan Winford, Associate Director, Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University As of this morning, ten “hot spot” postcodes in Melbourne’s suburbs have gone back into Stage 3 coronavirus lockdown. In these suburbs, stay-at-home restrictions will be enforced by police patrols, “booze bus”-style ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is inviting the New Zealand Maori Council to have an open-book discussion on the financial positions of five councils, to set right the misguided impression that they are potentially insolvent. This is in response ...
The New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) strongly supports the Department of Conservation’s Tahr Control Operational Plan 2020-2021, and gives full support to the implementation National Parks Act’s policy of extermination of tahr, as ...
Covid-19 forced us to reconsider our relationship with the places we occupy, writes architect Mat Brown – and these new priorities will influence the design of our spaces in future.I think it’s safe to say, on behalf of my profession, that architecture is a conservative art. We design places that ...
Māori Party Co-leader and Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has today announced her party’s policy on freshwater that will uphold Māori rights and interests and protect and restore waterways from pollution and overallocation. “The Māori ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Copland, PhD Student — Sociology, Australian National University On Monday, online discussion platform Reddit permanently took down its largest community of Donald Trump supporters, r/The_Donald. The community had more than 7,000 active users per day (although this has previously been much ...
A hastily arranged crisis meeting has just been held between Steve and Steve Reputation Enhancement Company and two unnamed wellness influencers. The transcript was leaked to Emily Writes in a brown paper bag full of MMR vaccines.I found the package at my front door. It’s a shocking transcript of a ...
Jacinda Ardern says she agrees with Clark's decision to resign as Health Minister and that she cannot afford any diversions from Covid-19 objectives. ...
There’s no such thing as a free lunch? Tell that to Chris Hipkins, who is braying about Free lunches served up to thousands of school children in the South Island. Mind you, he now will be enthusing about free health after landing the Health portfolio after David Clark’s resignation. While ...
Under Cover is a new series that brings musicians together via video link to bond, chat, and play each other’s songs. The third episode features Sharon Van Etten and Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins).American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins found each other back in ...
Many New Zealanders have reported being paid less for doing the same job as another person, according to new research released today by the Human Rights Commission. The report “Opinions and Experiences of Unequal Pay and Pay Transparency” reveals ...
The service and sacrifice of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel in the Korean War was remembered at a commemoration in Wellington yesterday to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the war. Ten Korean War veterans were joined by Prime Minister ...
Beleaguered Labour MP David Clark resigned as health minister during a press conference at parliament this morning. Alex Braae reports.With just 78 days to go before the 2020 election, health minister David Clark has resigned from the position of health minister. He will also be resigning from all of his ...
Todd Muller has retained Māori representation in his shadow cabinet through a minor reshuffle involving the National party's former leader A National party caucus reshuffle has seen former leader Simon Bridges brought back into shadow cabinet just over a month after he was deposed as leader. Whangarei MP Shane Reti has ...
Health Minister David Clark has announced his resignation, following months of negative headlines over personal slip-ups and his handling of the Covid-19 crisis Speaking at Parliament on Thursday morning, David Clark said while he had given his all in the challenging Health portfolio, it had become clear that his continued ...
The passing of the first reading of MP Louise Upston’s Rights of Victims of Insane Offenders Bill is welcome news for victims, says Victim Support. The Bill aims to ensure victims of legally insane offenders are treated the same as other victims ...
RNZ understands Health Minister David Clark is set to resign shortly at Parliament after recent controversies in his handling of the Covid-19 response. ...
New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc (NZDA) are disappointed to receive a final Himalayan tahr control operational plan from the Department of Conservation (DOC) for the coming 2020/21 operational period that ignores any advice and input from ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Bhosip Kaiwi, the man accused of murder in the Papua New Guinean torture case, will be held at the Correctional Services Training College at Bomana to undergo 14 days of quarantine under the government’s covid-19 requirement, reports the PNG Post-Courier. He will remain there until he ...
Tomorrow, Auckland writer Lil O’Brien releases one hell of a memoir: Not That I’d Kiss A Girl, the story of her coming out. People tell me that I can make anything gay.Sometimes they’re talking about physical things, like when I put on a plain white T-shirt then roll the sleeves over ...
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are signing a petition to stop DOC’s plans for a mass killing of tahr in the Southern Alps. The Change.org petition was started on Monday evening, shortly after revelations the Department of Conservation was planning ...
For the first time, a 501 returned offender has successfully challenged a Special Conditions Order in the Waitakere district court. Richard Major, self-represented, opposed the special supervision order request imposed by the Chief Executive of the ...
Local Government New Zealand’s National Council has announced the creation of an LGNZ Covid Recovery Fund, which will be used to deliver free digital training to support mayors, chairs and elected members in their post-Covid decision-making. ...
Tourism industry operators are pleading for the government to halt DoC’s plan for a mass killing of Himalayan Tahr, saying the animals provide hundreds of jobs and a multi-million dollar benefit to the country. ...
By Mackenzie Smith of RNZ News Hong Kong protesters in New Zealand are worried they could be arrested if they return home because they have attended political demonstrations here. Beijing’s new national security law, passed on Tuesday, criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, but will also effectively shut ...
With the Covid-19 lockdown casting a light on the value of essential workers, the movement to pay them the living wage is gathering momentum.Every night at corporate and government buildings across the country, long after most of the day workers have gone home, a largely unseen labour force of cleaners ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Benjamin, Associate Professor in Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University and ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University For most of the human history of Australia, sea levels were much lower than they are today, and there was extra ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew S. Flies, Senior Research Fellow in Immunology, University of Tasmania Emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19, usually come from non-human animals. However our understanding of most animals’ immune systems is sadly lacking as there’s a shortfall in research tools for species other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia I recently wrote about Victoria’s surge in COVID-19 cases. On that day, Victoria recorded 11 new infections, after a few days of new cases in the high teens and low twenties. I wondered ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Christine Hosking, Conservation Planner/Researcher, The University of Queensland On Tuesday, a year-long New South Wales parliamentary inquiry revealed the state’s koalas are on track for extinction in the wild by 2050, without urgent government intervention. Habitat destruction and fragmentation for agriculture, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Barsky, Associate professor of Management, University of Melbourne HESTA, the industry super fund for health and community workers, plans to dump its shares in thermal coal mining companies. Beyond that, its Net Zero by 2050 program announced on Friday commits it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Higham, Professor of Tourism, University of Otago Unprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand’s $40.9 billion a year tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland There are now less than three months to go before the expanded JobSeeker payment is due to end. As a result, there is a growing political debate about what should happen to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lilly Brown, PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains references to deceased people. In 2019, Dujuan Hoosan travelled from Garrwa country in the Northern Territory, to Geneva where he addressed the United ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Auckland Airport warns of more job cuts and extraordinary losses after passenger numbers drop 95 percent and as Air NZ suspends flights to partially-locked down Melbourne ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Agreement reached in principle for Auckland to take Waikato water, beneficiary debt to MSD balloons, and Opportunities Party lose candidate in key seat.An agreement has been reached in principle for Auckland to take water from the Waikato River. As Radio NZ’s Jordan Bond ...
The Māori Party is calling on the Prime Minister to sack Minister of Children, Tracey Martin, and instruct a new minister to replace CEO of Oranga Tamariki, Grainne Moss, in light of the most recent reports about their incompetence in leading the ...
A quarantine leak has put 300,000 people in Victoria back into lockdown. A former NZ epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne tells Farah Hancock how this country can avoid the same fate. Residents of 10 postcodes in Victoria will wake to a month of ‘stay home’ localised lockdown rules today as ...
Following Newsroom’s investigation into concerning practices within the country’s child protection agency, Māorileaders are again calling for the dismissal of its chief executive, Grainne Moss, and the children’s minister Tracey Martin. Will they be listened to this time? A group of prominent wāhine Māori last night called for the ...
People's views of their wealth have been impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, but more households are saving and stress levels reduced during lockdown. Tim Murphy reports A third of Kiwis feel less wealthy now than just three months ago, according to a special Kiwi Wealth State of the Investor Nation survey. ...
The education minister has warned early childhood education centres to toe the line, following allegations businesses are siphoning off funding intended for teacher pay rises. But that's only the start of the troubles plaguing the ECE sector, Laura Walters reports The Education Minister has issued a stern warning to early childhood ...
Shamubeel Eaqub reviews a thumping big opus by Brian Easton, "a walking encyclopaedia of New Zealand’s economic history". I used to lunch fairly regularly with Brian Easton and Jas Mackenzie, the former secretary of the Department of Labour, at Nikau by the Wellington Art Gallery. Standing order was usually their ...
Per capita, New Zealand has one of the greatest diasporas in the world. Nick Teulon asks what we can do to protect expat Kiwis under the crush of Covid uncertainty. The tale of the Great Kiwi Diaspora has been told many times. It first gained mainstream awareness during the 2001 Knowledge Wave ...
As the Covid epidemic progresses through the world, a second epidemic is following hot on its heels. Rather than physical disease, this one involves the transmission of dubious, confusing or harmful information. While Covid-19 is largely passed from person to person through coughs and physical contact, the medium for the ...
Struggling to find the correct apportionment of blame for the failure of light rail in Auckland? Hayden Donnell is here to help.Aucklanders’ hopes for a functional transport network took another hit last week, with the announcement that light rail will not be approved before the election. Many people have lashed ...
Open Mike 11/12/2016 
After a sham select committee process which waste submitters' time, the government is planning to use urgency today to steamroll its Muldoonist RMA fast track bill through Parliament. I've talked before about what's wrong with the Bill. As mentioned above, its pure Muldoonism, bypassing the participatory RMA process with ...6 hours ago
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...9 hours ago
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...10 hours ago
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...23 hours ago
75 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects The response of stratospheric water vapor to climate change driven by different forcing agents (open access) Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Record warming at the South Pole during the past three decades Variability of soil freeze depth ...24 hours ago
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...1 day ago
Last night, One News ran a follow-up story to its Colmar Brunton poll results on the cannabis referendum, headed here as Government accuses big American anti-cannabis group of interfering in NZ politics.In truth it wasn't just the government: Justice minister Andrew Little, National's Shane Reti and the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick ...1 day ago
Prof John Potter* Elimination has been an effective strategy for New Zealand in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (SARS-CoV-2). Most other countries have not pursued this goal and are ignoring the opportunity even now. SARS-CoV-2 is not manageable by the influenza playbook; its longer incubation period makes tracing ...2 days ago
When the Christchurch murderer pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and a number of other violent assault charges a few months ago, he effectively closed the door on what the public will know about the lead up to and commission of the event. His plea means that no evidence ...2 days ago
Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...2 days ago
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...3 days ago
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...3 days ago
Paul GoldsmithYou can often tell just how effective a progressive policy proposal will be by how much the right wing criticise it. The more socially beneficial, the more vitriolic and unhinged they seem to become.That was the case when the Green Party announced their Poverty Action Plan yesterday. The response ...3 days ago
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...4 days ago
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...4 days ago
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...5 days ago
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone! This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...6 days ago
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...9 hours ago
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...9 hours ago
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...2 days ago
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...6 hours ago
Few supporters could be found in David Clark's electorate of Dunedin today - a seat he won by more than 11,000 votes in the last election. ...1 hour ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Victoria Carruthers, Senior lecturer, Australian Catholic University I have been thinking a lot lately of how many worlds there are contained in very small spaces and how every person is really one world to himself unconnected by anyone or any thing. ...2 hours ago
Wāhine Māori are calling for the immediate sacking of Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Ms Grainne Moss and the Minister Tracey Martin following more damning media reports about Oranga Tamariki. Dame Naida Glavich, Chair of the Governance Group for the ...4 hours ago
They’re here, they’re queer, and they’re at a precipice of a new frontier in both entertainment and performance. We’re Here is the new Neon show that takes drag out of the city and into small town America, writes Dejan Jotanovic. Drag, as an artform, isn’t by any means new. It ...6 hours ago
There’s no such thing as a free lunch? Tell that to Chris Hipkins, who is braying about Free lunches served up to thousands of school children in the South Island. Mind you, he now will be enthusing about free health after landing the Health portfolio after David Clark’s resignation. While ...9 hours ago
Todd Muller has retained Māori representation in his shadow cabinet through a minor reshuffle involving the National party's former leader A National party caucus reshuffle has seen former leader Simon Bridges brought back into shadow cabinet just over a month after he was deposed as leader. Whangarei MP Shane Reti has ...9 hours ago
Health Minister David Clark has announced his resignation, following months of negative headlines over personal slip-ups and his handling of the Covid-19 crisis Speaking at Parliament on Thursday morning, David Clark said while he had given his all in the challenging Health portfolio, it had become clear that his continued ...9 hours ago
Auckland Airport warns of more job cuts and extraordinary losses after passenger numbers drop 95 percent and as Air NZ suspends flights to partially-locked down Melbourne ...14 hours ago
A quarantine leak has put 300,000 people in Victoria back into lockdown. A former NZ epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne tells Farah Hancock how this country can avoid the same fate. Residents of 10 postcodes in Victoria will wake to a month of ‘stay home’ localised lockdown rules today as ...14 hours ago
Following Newsroom’s investigation into concerning practices within the country’s child protection agency, Māori leaders are again calling for the dismissal of its chief executive, Grainne Moss, and the children’s minister Tracey Martin. Will they be listened to this time? A group of prominent wāhine Māori last night called for the ...14 hours ago
People's views of their wealth have been impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, but more households are saving and stress levels reduced during lockdown. Tim Murphy reports A third of Kiwis feel less wealthy now than just three months ago, according to a special Kiwi Wealth State of the Investor Nation survey. ...15 hours ago
The education minister has warned early childhood education centres to toe the line, following allegations businesses are siphoning off funding intended for teacher pay rises. But that's only the start of the troubles plaguing the ECE sector, Laura Walters reports The Education Minister has issued a stern warning to early childhood ...15 hours ago
Shamubeel Eaqub reviews a thumping big opus by Brian Easton, "a walking encyclopaedia of New Zealand’s economic history". I used to lunch fairly regularly with Brian Easton and Jas Mackenzie, the former secretary of the Department of Labour, at Nikau by the Wellington Art Gallery. Standing order was usually their ...15 hours ago
Per capita, New Zealand has one of the greatest diasporas in the world. Nick Teulon asks what we can do to protect expat Kiwis under the crush of Covid uncertainty. The tale of the Great Kiwi Diaspora has been told many times. It first gained mainstream awareness during the 2001 Knowledge Wave ...15 hours ago
A residency backlog that was a problem before the pandemic is even worse now ...15 hours ago
As the Covid epidemic progresses through the world, a second epidemic is following hot on its heels. Rather than physical disease, this one involves the transmission of dubious, confusing or harmful information. While Covid-19 is largely passed from person to person through coughs and physical contact, the medium for the ...15 hours ago
Wolfgang Streeck: the German economist calling time on capitalism
“Professionalised political science tends to underestimate the impact of moral outrage. With its penchant for studied indifference … [it] has nothing but elitist contempt for what it calls “populism”, sharing this with the power elites to which it would like to be close … [But] citizens too can “panic” and react “irrationally”, just like financial investors … even though they have no banknotes as arguments but only words and (who knows?) paving stones.
Here he is in 2013, foreshadowing the world of LuxLeaks, SwissLeaks and the Panama Papers and their revelations of a one-sided class war – by the 1% against the rest of us:
Why should the new oligarchs be interested in their countries’ future productive capacities and present democratic stability if, apparently, they can be rich without it, processing back and forth the synthetic money produced for them at no cost by a central bank for which the sky is the limit, at each stage diverting from it hefty fees and unprecedented salaries, bonuses, and profits as long as it is forthcoming – and then leave their country to its remaining devices and withdraw to some privately owned island?”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/09/wolfgang-streeck-the-german-economist-calling-time-on-capitalism
“He also gives good gossip. A “power breakfast” with financial policymakers and investment bankers is dismissed as “clueless and so stereoptypical. They complained about the stupidity of the masses who didn’t understand the expertise that someone like Alan Greenspan was able to bring to central banking.” This is the same Greenspan who, as head of the US central bank in the bubble years, believed financiers could regulate themselves.
On this trip he went to a conference on Brexit. “I was shocked by the unanimous sense of guilt.” One former British ambassador “began by saying we have to apologise to our foreign friends for the vote to leave Europe. I said, ‘You ought to be happy to have sent a warning to the European Union.’”
“You look out here,” He gestures out of the windows of the National Gallery, at the domes and columns of Trafalgar Square, “And it’s a second Rome. You walk through the streets at night and you say, ‘My God, yes: this is what an empire looks like’.” This is the land of what Streeck calls the Marktsvolk – literally, the people of the market, the club-class financiers and executives, the asset-owning winners of globalisation.
But this space – geographic, economic, political – is off-limits to the Staatsvolk: the ones who fly yearly on holiday rather than weekly on business, the downsized, the indebted losers of neoliberalism. “These people are being driven out of London. In French cities it’s the same thing. This both reinforces them as a political power structure, and puts them completely on the defensive. But one thing they do know is that conventional politics has totally written them off.” Social democrats such as the outgoing Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi are guilty, too. “They’re on the side of the winners.”
International flows of people, money and goods: Streeck accepts the need for all these – “but in some sort of directed, governable way. It has to be, otherwise societies dissolve”.”
Good video on that theme on the Guardian, of the street artist Stik: Stik in Shoreditch: the artist’s hidden tribute to a sold-off London.
final extract..
“Those views on immigration landed him in another fight this summer, when he wrote an essay attacking Angela Merkel for her open-door policy towards refugees from Syria and elsewhere. It was a “ploy”, he said, to import tens of thousands of cheap workers and thus allow German employers to bring down wages. Colleagues accused him of spinning a “neoliberal conspiracy” theory and of giving cover to Germany’s far right. Streeck’s defence is simple: “It is impossible to protect wages against an unlimited labour supply. Does saying that make me some proto-fascist?””
How it got so far..
“Over 40 years, neoliberal capitalism has destroyed its opposition. When Margaret Thatcher was asked to give her greatest achievement, she nominated “Tony Blair and New Labour. We forced our opponents to change their minds.” The prime minister who declared “There is no alternative”, then did her damnedest to extirpate any such alternative. “
I read this article yesterday. indeed, it is an interesting and useful analysis of where we are now. But ultimately, Streeck has no idea of where the left should go now.
He does, though, use the Gramsci quote that provides the title for Morgan Godfery’s book on the Interregnum:
Streeck’s only suggestion for a way forward is to do actions that scare the establishment: e.g. the occupy movement when it first started:
Yes, this is a very pertinent comment but it does seem to imply that the current situation is one-sided and confined. It isn’t!
It also seems to carry an unspoken hope (or wish?) that (only?) “the left” will be able to find and administer an ‘antidote’. I doubt it!
I don’t think Streeck sees himself as the radical or revolutionary thinker who will come up with a solution. He said:
He’s or has become more of a realist than an ideologist, perhaps not surprising given his age and experience, and lives in the present:
Recently, Monbiot argued that “[P]olitics has failed through a lack of competing narratives” and somewhat presumptuously said “[A] few of us have been working on this, and can discern what may be the beginning of a story”. I call this presumptuous because Monbiot IMO is not one of what Streeck calls Staatsvolk but I could be wrong.
In my mind the question is not where the collective should be led, how, and by whom, but when and how does the collective wake up and become aware of the fact that they need to do it themselves?
The collective appears to be an amorphous unstructured mass but I think this is because we have been overlooking the links and connections that exist between each and every individual and all the others, i.e. what binds humanity together and to the world we live in.
And how many voters, apart from those in this select and small echo chamber, will even know of let alone read the opinions of this left leaning German Socialogist? Bugger all as he dosnt pay the mortgage, put fuel in the car or pay for the groceries on the table.
Handwringing from the left in the hope someone reads this relentless supply of criticism from left leaning supporters and starts a revolution. Just look to the UK to see the drubbing that the new left Mesiah is getting in local elections and realise all the left can do is talk the talk and nothing more.
Maybe at Streeck’s age, he does not have all the answers but is at least honest about it and not fobbing his audience off and pretending all is well and the public are just stupid at each fucked up business and political summit.
He also suggests some answers, such as criticism.
“And we should criticise them.” The press always talks of a lack of business confidence, he says; now is the time for the voters to demonstrate a lack of public confidence.”
While many are critical of joe public, in my view they are doing exactly that, using their voter patterns to criticise.
In NZ Voters boycotted Labour last election due to the infighting and ideas of change around increased taxation of the middle class and workers, while Labour appeared to be championing free trade agreements and global workforce migration and the resulting social consequences in housing and wages in particular. To a lesser extent voters sent a message to the Greens too last election. Many could not bring themselves to support anyone.
Voter’s sent a clear message in Northland to National that they were sick of the puppet politicians, the corruption and deviance and could change their concervative voting patterns to a united alternative.
They sent another message to righties in the Auckland council elections, by very low voter turnout against the candidates that all seemed to represent the same neoliberal ideals in different packages, ages, genders and political leanings and again in the Mt Roskill they blanked the National candidate and gave more enthusiastic support to Mike Wood with his local campaign. Interestingly more support as a percentage to ex union tied Woods than more well known neoliberal. Phil Goff.
So in my view voters are sending pretty clear messages to politicians. And I think Labour is responding well under Little with new ideas and will hopefully win the next election. There are also signs of change and reinvention into the 21st century from some of the union leaders like Mike Treen.
The right has gained by assimilating their leftie rivals and championing the ‘Tony Blair’ characters, but finally there is movement in the left to understand it and look at ways to fight it.
However just going to a 20 century taxation model is not working due to the amount of tax laws that benefit the super rich and global citizens. New tax laws being proposed last election by Labour, seem to punish the middle disproportionally to the super rich and tax avoiders with multiple passports, extended families and off shore tax havens.
Seriously, do politicians really think tax avoiders are going to cough up capital gains taxes when they don’t even pay rents or income taxes and can flit to different resident countries to avoid tax bills or just sent in high powered international tax accountants to fight their corner against the puny IRD? Do NZ politicians feel it is fair to expect NZ tax payers work harder and longer to pay taxes to support corporate welfare such as conference centres, welfare to incoming low paid residents such as accommodation supplements, working for families and health so that their employers can save on wages, and is it fair that the super rich individuals with their political donations can buy policy?
At least the Left are looking for solutions whereas the RWNJs are just making things worse. They really are out to destroy society for their own aggrandisement.
Yes, the left must reclaim both their identity and a turn around.
The righties including right politicians are living like day traders, only concerned with their next short term profit, power grabs and perception, and put the risks and long term issues onto others.
Similar to the way CEO’s are incentivised to squeeze every last short term profit and run businesses into the ground before moving on and a few years out their handiwork of destruction through lost innovation, bankruptcy and deaths and injuries of workers is exposed.
+1
Draco
At times you really do indulge in absurdity.
Do you really think Bill English and his colleagues are out to destroy society?
Just because they don’t follow your prescription does not mean they are Right Wing Nut Jobs. While I don’t think Andrew Little has the best solutions I don’t think of him as an evil socialist (or some such similar epithet applied the the left).
About as far as I go is “Hard Left” in my descriptors. Actual insults are unnecessary. John Minto for instance would fall into the hard left category but not Little.
It’s more that they couldn’t care less. They’re all about enriching themselves and that will destroy society – as such actions have done every time in the past. It’s what destroyed Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt and it’s what’s destroying us now.
There’s a reason why every single major religion in the world bans usury and capitalism is nothing but usury.
People who follow a delusional ideology such as the one that National espouses really can’t be described as anything else.
what did thatcher and reagun have to say about society?
its pretty clear that the modern right have abandoned conservastism and now persue an ideology that doesnt even care about society.
And so it begins. A stuff article today, on the state of NZ prisons, pits English against Collins:
Passing muster: The struggle to fix our sick, bloated, ‘stinking’ prisons
Garth McVicar has effective veto on penal policy, which is why we are in this mess.
This six-part Stuff documentary series looks really good.
It will be interesting to see if it delves into the growing prison industrial complex which is trying to establish itself here.
Just invest in the kids of the future so they don’t grow up and need prison!!
A healthy society does wonders for crime!
That’s what National are planning to do with their investment approach.
However, I foresee it will be their private sector administers that will largely prosper.
yeah – i think thats where the “investment” bit come in
I remember some journo visiting a small town being driven throught it by a cop who asked him if he had noticed the guys giving a wave from a building site. He said that they had been up before the Courts last year until some investment came to town, now they are happily working and earning, too busy for crime.
Many could see that it was true – the lies didn’t hide much and trump’s loose lips let it out anyway – but still a bit mindblowing to see what innocent russia has been up to. Not sure what the people of that wide and fractured USAland will think of it all – probably that the CIA is lying lol
“The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the US electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.
Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, according to US officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton’s chances.
“It is the assessment of the intelligence community that Russia’s goal here was to favour one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” said a senior US official briefed on an intelligence presentation made to US senators. “That’s the consensus view.””
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/us-election-2016/87434901/cia-says-russia-tried-to-help-trump-win-white-house
Glenn Greenwald is sceptical. he says to beware of anonymous claims without any supporting leaked documents.
Anonymous leaks are no substitute for evidence
Are they anonymous to the Washington Post?
Does it matter who leaked them and what their agenda was?
If it’s a secret assessment… (sheesh)
Anyway.
What we got in the grande olde US of A today? The CIA finger pointing the FBI as Russian collaborators? I don’t know whether to howl with laughter or pause to reflect on previous ‘Red Scares’.
Secret means confidential.
Anonymous means no named source
Jeez Marty. “Confidential” in terms of reporting just means that you get to report what you want to report. No checking or verifying. And “anonymous” just sets another layer of impenetrability before any curious or inquisitive mind.
Put another way. An honest way to report this kind of shit is to say that someone said something but there’s no way to know if what they are saying is true or not, and no way for you (the reader) to find out if what we (the media outlet) are saying they said is accurate.
But then, that wouldn’t have the awesome “gravitas” and “edge” some afford the terms ‘confidential’ and ‘anonymous’, would it?
We are talking about the msm and we always take what is reported with a grain of salt that is a given at least for me.
There is nothing but inuendo at the link you posted marty. Its for people who have already decided what they want to believe, not information_
Fair enough. For me I like to know what is being said so I can discern.
marty mars @ 7
Clinton never had a chance.
On the one hand she had the Russian government only “one step” away from a group of Russian citizens who were hacking into Clinton and other Democratic Party emails.
Of course Putin and co. knew about it and of course they approved.
On the other hand she had a FBI boss bowing to pressure (from somewhere) famously reopening an investigation into Clinton (an investigation which had already found no wrong doing on her part) using the self same material that had found her not guilty in the first place. And he chooses to publicise the fact two weeks before election day.
When it comes to Russian and American politics its pots and kettles and a lot of black…
For someone who didn’t have a chance, she came real close.
Around 100,000 votes in three States would have been enough for her to be President.
In short she had an excellent chance.
Giovanni Tiso tweet:
Perhaps the CIA shouldn’t have been going round interfering in other countries elections and overthrowing governments if they didn’t want the same to happen to them.
You can only expect honourable treatment if you act honourably – and the USA doesn’t.
Bollocks. You can expect fascists to behave like fascists no matter how much you appease them. Whether the US is in a position to go pointing the bone is another matter.
Who said anything about appeasing fascists?
“You can only expect honourable treatment if you act honourably “.
Whereas what we have here is the deliberate, calculated erosion of human rights and the rule of law. By Republicans, with some other murderous kleptocrats cheering them on. And the National Party as fast followers.
Treat them honourably by all means. After they’ve been routed with huge losses.
Don’t see how that can be construed as appeasing the fascists in any way, shape or form.
Fascists don’t act honourably and so shouldn’t expect to be treated honourably.
The US is well known for interfering in the political systems of other nations and so they shouldn’t be surprised or offended when it happens to them. They’re the ones that normalised the action.
Nope: invasion, conquest, war: the USA did not invent nor normalise them. “Interfering” is what competing interests always do to one another.
cf: Sun Tzu.
One of the things that we’ve been working towards for the last few decades is to stop that interference. It’s actually the main purpose of the UN and is enshrined in it’s Charter in the form of guaranteed self-determination and borders.
The US has normalised those actions against the backdrop of international law that is supposed to stop those actions. International law that the US has agreed to.
You seem to be arguing that those actions are fine because they’ve always happened.
You have a good point – that what comes around goes around. e.g. the utterly immoral removal of President Arbenz in Guatemala by the CIA etc
Citizens have more to fear by rendition from their own western government’s surveillance state or political interference of the MSM, that the cold war reinvented – reds under the beds.
There’s one key difference between the Second World War and the Syrian conflict – the rebels of Aleppo are no heroes
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syrian-conflict-rebels-jabhat-al-nusra-no-rebels-a7462986.html
Robert Fisk’s shift away from the official narrative has been interesting to observe. The first piece that exhibited a shift that I was aware of revolved around interviews he did with people who had managed to get out of east Aleppo. At that point he was still suspicious and ring-fenced his article with qualifiers. Seems he’s gotten over that suspicion now.
The other person who’s shifted away from the official narrative is Patrick Cockburn, also writing in the Independent.
Finally, I can’t help but notice Mosul has dropped off the front pages. I’m guessing that even the most loyal stenographer, or their spoon feeders, just couldn’t help but acknowledge that it wasn’t feasible to run ‘Aleppo bad’ and ‘Mosul good’ stories when the only difference between the two was the make up of the forces poised to retake the respective cities.
So now, I guess in an attempt to regain control of the narrative and colour our perceptions ‘appropriately’, all we get is ‘Aleppo bad’ and a roaring silence on Mosul.
There’s one key difference between the Second World War and the Syrian conflict – the rebels of Aleppo are no heroes
Ordinarily I like Fisk’s work, but this is sentimental gibberish.
1. Mythologising WW2 as a fight of “heroes” against evildoers is not just stupid on its own merits, it encourages a propaganda approach to current conflict by comparing it against an invented battle of good vs evil. Many of the resistance fighters in France, Poland and Yugoslavia were communists fighting to impose on Europe a totalitarianism as bad as or worse than fascism, but that didn’t make the Nazis the good guys – a little less good guys/bad guys mythologising would serve Fisk better in writing about this conflict.
2. More to the point, it doesn’t make a scrap of difference whether the rebels are “heroes” or not. The outrage here is over Assad and his Russian patron targeting civilian neighbourhoods and hospitals for aerial bombardment – that remains a war crime regardless of which faction of Syrian rebels believes what.
“Many of the resistance fighters in France, Poland and Yugoslavia were communists fighting to impose on Europe a totalitarianism as bad as or worse than fascism”
What makes you think a pampered little middle-class Blairite ponce like yourself has evenly remotely earned the right to criticise the wartime Resistance ?
Er, the same thing that gives everyone else here the right to criticise people they haven’t met – I’m alive and capable of using a keyboard. The fact that you mythologise something doesn’t impose a requirement on others to do it.
A bit of early morning wake up today meant I had to listen to Wallace Chapman interview Bill Ralston, Jane Clifton and Richard Harman talk about Key’s resignation. Ralston and Clifton are both way past their use by dates, FFS they have been around for thirty years and were out of touch a decade ago.
Bill Ralston persists on making grand claims on what Auckland thinks, when the pricks lives on Franklin road in Ponsonby and only hob nobs with other aging well off white males and the assorted detritus that hangs around them. Still, the Spinoff thinks he is the shizz so I guess he still has a constituency amongst the economically precarious Peter Pan hipsters who want a secure seat on the white middle class gravy train. SENTENCE: Ten years commuting via PT to a job doing midnight to dawn on a Hindi community radio station.
And Jane Clifton… Her record of being excessively *ahem* close to politicians is well known, she carries on like parliament is a big jolly boarding school and it is all a good clean jape for the kids on the inside. SENTENCE: Forced to rent in Wainuiomata on a benefit.
What! no conviction and sentence for the longest server of them all, one R. Harman?
Having to get up at 6am on a Sunday to be on a panel with Jane and Bill is punishment enough.
It amazes me that even after how the punditry got both Brexit and Trump so so wrong, they are still called upon to pundit.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Very_serious_people
Another “and so it begins”
The fawning media gaze turns to our 1st “Maori” female deputy of the Nat party, very significant that!
“Paula Bennett not only has a big laugh and raucous personality, but a back story to rival John Key’s.”
Read it and weep, one can only guess that with all the practice of printing reams of BS touted as “news” our endearing media talking heads have it down pat as how to present a pigs ear and have us pay for a silk purse.
First off the rank the loverly Jane Patterson, WARNING the article may cause uncontrollable feelings of nausea, explainable rage, spiking of blood pressure or a tourettes like episode towards the computer screen ( I suffered all 4) —> have a spew bag close to hand.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/320093/bennett-a-sharp-politician-beneath-a-bogan-persona
Media love people who are characters and have good back stories.
Gives them something to write about.
You mean it allows them to ignore all the corruption that’s right in front of them.
No, it gives them stuff to write about that people will actually read.
Human interest, Bennett has it coming out the wazoo, in contrast, apart from Arden, Labour has none.
I prefer making my decisions on facts rather than hyped up BS. And the only thing that Bennett has that should be in the news is that she’s just as likely to lie, steal and cheat as John Key and the rest of National.
I don’t think you’re really the target audience.
According to you the target audience is those that prefer lies and deceit from their leaders and the MSM rather than the truth.
Show ponies you mean?
Mrs Bennett, with her background story ought to know better then to trample on other peoples misery as she has done many times by selling state housing, reducing benefits for the most needy and playing an active part of NZ stats of disgrace – more than 30000 people without home, increase in poverty that attracts even mentioning in the UN. Her character flaw in that respect is in any light reprehensible to say the least.
Coming out the “whazoo” indeed, highlighting with this word a missing of an expression that would describe such person in today’s political landscape. As we see of late, there are many of them worldwide.
that is true.
where would Paula Bennett be today if she did not have unprotected sex as a teenager and having a child getting her on the domestic purpose benefit in the first place. I mean would she be where she is today if she would not have spend her formative years on the Dole? Or are you saying that it was not her fault?
So if anything Paula Bennett is the poster child or role model for women who get themselves pregnant to go on a benefit – remember all those women who needed their benefits cut and now need to get jobs!!! Jobs!! . A welfare scrounger. Which fits well in the National Party, cause clearly there is not one MP in the National Party who does not like a tax payer funded hand out.
So what was that thing again about the women getting pregnant having children they can’t afford and personal responsibility? Oh, it does not apply to Paula Bennett you say? i see.
Old Paula (pull up the ladder) Bennett.
Would you have said exactly the same thing if you had replaced the name “Paula Bennett” by the name “Metiria Turei”?
Or is that “different”.
yes
just that one chose to disavow their past (EXCEPT where there was a media advantage in trotting it out)
whereas the other didn’t make a big deal of it and instead has tried to battle the consequences of that predicament.
Sometimes you’re a bit slow eh Alwyn.
Btw – who’s next on the roster?
So you are allowed to speak for Sabine are you?
And how do you know what she would say in such detail?
“Or is that “different”.”
considering that Turei didnt work to cut the same means of bettering herself, and in fact openly admits that the TIA played a huge part in her becoming a lawyer – then “yes, obviously”
bit of a lame attempt alwynn
I could not be bothered to click the link, but laughed just looking – sharp politician beneath the bogan persona. vomit vomit.
Crosby’s really got their work cut out for them transforming that turnip into something non vegetive.
You were warned to have a spew bag at hand!!
Creative writing at it’s best…………….. for all the wrong reasons!
Heather du Plessis-Allan, in a rather stilted and sound bitey opinion piece in the Herald this morning give Andrew Little clear instructions on what to do to increase the chances of a Labour/Green win in the next election.
“FYI Andrew, the centre is the voters you need to make your dream come true.
They’re the voters who aren’t hardcore Labour supporters.
They’re the people who change their minds from election to election, based on what you guys offer and the plans you have.
They’re the baby boomers who own homes and the millennials trying to buy their first homes.
They’re the workers stuck in traffic daily and the parents wondering how much they can afford to spend on holidays for their kids this summer.
They want you to help the country, by helping them first.
If you haven’t figured that out, then Key isn’t Labour’s biggest problem. You are.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11763823
Heather, sweetie, only a blind and deaf sociopath would ignore the New Zealanders who:
– do not vote because no party has ever really addressed their issues and concerns.
– don’t own homes, and can never hope to own a home of their own.
– they earn the minimum wage, work 50-60 hours per week in a job that can disappear tomorrow.
– they are paying rent on hovels that are making their children sick.
– they are sleeping in cars, garages, a relative’s lounge(if they’re lucky).
– they can’t afford medical insurance so have interminable waits to get treatment through a starved public health system. By the time they get to be treated…it’s often too late.
– these are the parents who are wondering how they are going to pay for the kids’ school uniforms, stationery and fees…never mind a bloody holiday.
– etc
– etc
– etc
– etc
– etc
Heather, clearly you don’t actually read the news…watch telly, listen to the radio.
Or open your eyes and see past your own little world.
Appealing to the self interest of the “middle” has been the tactic of every party in every election campaign over the past 20 years…..
It is way past time for a change.
Pffft, what would Heather du Plessis-Allan know? She can’t even keep her own job.
” what would Heather du Plessis-Allan know? She can’t even keep her own job”.
That appears to be an unusual method of determining ignorance.
By that standard I suppose we would have to say that Clark, Goff, Shearer and Cunliffe were all pretty stupid, wouldn’t we?
After all they all couldn’t keep their jobs and therefore don’t know anything.
Unlike all the people you quote, Heater du Plastic Allen has managed to consistently quack out cacklemush, whereas the others (Shearer excepted) could argue cogently and coherently. “Shallow as a Puddle” really suits Heater du Plastic.
Your reason is, of course an entirely arguable one. It wasn’t even mentioned by Sanctuary though was it?
It is a shame that the only reason for complaining about her that Sanctuary used was the simple fact that she had lost her job. If that is a reason to call her a fool it is equally valid, by his (her) reasoning to apply the same criteria to the others.
Well, I think he meant that vaguely, and you started nit-picking. A favourite occupation of certain types.
Yes, nitpicking is a favourite occupation of many blog commenters, such as yourself. Totally forgiven of course if they are on your side of the fence.
Blip was an authority on the matter. The things he tried to define as John Key’s “lies” were almost beyond belief. I imagine he would have claimed John Key was lying if he had issued a press statement that spelt Paula’s name as Bennet because it really had a second “t” in the name.
How very volumnious…
My thanks for “cacklemush” In Vino.
Will your wordsmith authorise ‘cacklemash’, ‘cacklewhine’, ‘cacklesmirk’, ‘cacklegroan’, ‘cacklefatuous’, ‘cacklefacile’, ‘cacklestoopid’, ‘cacklewhakama’, ‘cacklefalsequivalence’, and ‘cackleselfimportance’ ?
I accept that the consent of Mastercacklehenry may be necessary.
I actually stole the word from a good English teacher I had back in 1962. He used the word to describe the Readers’ Digest. So I don’t really have copyright…
the question is are they listening and will they trust?…..would you bet your future on such a strategy only to find that the same non voting trend continues and leaves you high and dry?
remember the “missing million campaign” of a previous election was hardly a roaring success and i suspect the disengagement has only become more entrenched…..a rock and a hard place.
That happens when the political party who tries for the missing million still fail to address any of their concerns but who still give the corporations exactly what they want.
as has been noted here already there were plenty of alternatives that were further left of Labour that weren’t taken……while much of that non voting group may directly benefit from a left focused policy agenda it would appear it is not enough for the effort of voting.
There were, yes but, as has been pointed out, it can take decades for new parties to get into parliament. Many of those missing million would never have even heard of some of the political parties out there. And that is what happens when political parties aren’t funded to the same level.
so its all about funding?
If they can’t tell people about themselves, which requires money, then how are people to know?
so Internet mana, the greens and the maori party were unknown about?
Smaller parties struggle to muster support as its largely perceived they have little chance of winning, thus be able to attain enough power to implement the political changes required.
Therefore, they present little hope, hence little incentive for non-voters to race out and vote for them.
we have had MMP since 1996….that argument lost its credence sometime in the early 2000’s
Rubbish.
We may have had MMP for years but smaller parties remain smaller parties with little influence (if they still exist at all).
Since MMP, no smaller party has ever won an election.
surely your not that stupid?….MMP does not require you to “win” an election to have influence
A small amount of influence is not enough to ensure change, thus entice major support.
Smaller parties struggle to muster support from those that do vote let alone from those that don’t.
so first there are no left alternatives….then they are unknown about….then they too small……and finally they don’t have enough influence even when in parliament …….and none of this removes the ability of people to vote for them.
Sounds like a weak series of justifications to me.
No left alternatives and them being unknown was never my argument. Albeit, there are a number that get little to no recognition.
Being small, thus holding little political influence resulting in little potential for change was and is my argument.
You may find it a weak justification, but the reasoning is totally logical.
if that is the line of reasoning employed by the almost 25% that fail to vote then I would suggest any strategy that relies on appealing to that cohort (as advocated by some) would not be the wisest course.
It would be unwise to overlook non-voters, one doesn’t want their numbers to grow.
As for a political strategy, I agree it wouldn’t be wise to solely appeal to them, but that doesn’t mean not appealing to them at all.
Delivered well, sound policy with far reaching benefits can resonate and appeal to many.
The reason the “missing million campaign” wasn’t a roaring success was Labour did little to entice them.
With Little now scoffing at the notion of taking the Party further left, it’s a clear indication Labour have largely written these non-voters off.
Labour have opted for combining the Green-Labour vote.
The last election had a bigger percentage turnout out than 2011. Except the “missing” voters voted National.
That increase in voter turnout was marginal (just 3.7%). Over 22% of registered voters still failed to vote that year.
Overall, from 1984 voter turnout has largely (apart from 3 marginal exceptions) trended downwards.
“marginal (just 3.7%).”.
I suppose we can say therefore that Labour’s party vote in 2014 was equal to National’s in 2002 in the paucity. After all the difference was really only “marginal”.
A difference (albeit marginal) is still a difference, hence it can’t be equal.
Remember, 2014 was the first rollout of universalised advance voting. It would have been incredibly surprising for it not to have had increased turnout, as likely a lot of people who normally intend to vote but don’t make it to the polls on election day will have instead voted early.
It’s still very likely that there are voters out there waiting to be persauded into the polls. (not necessarily all by the left, but I expect there’s a significant fraction who wants a more authentically Left movement)
It’s also a really poor example of what a more left-leaning Labour could do as it wasn’t a more left-leaning Labour. It was a left-leaning leader and a bunch of people holding daggers behind his back, refusing to campaign for the Party Vote.
That was a decreased majority for National – not an increased one.
When did Little scoff at the notion of taking the Party further left?
If you are referring to his reaction to Nick Leggett – that was hilarity at the notion that Labour had been taken _too_far_ left – which is really hilarious coming from a defector wanting the party to copy National!
Some of us would like to see Labour return to the left. While Little laughing at the suggestion may have appeased the media, it disappointed a number of those that were holding out hope.
Ponder this:
Before he defected to National but after he opposed Lester, Little invited Leggett back into the Labour fold, stating Leggett had a large future.
And to think, Leggett was even being touted as a potential Labour leader at one stage.
Could this have been the large future Little was alluding too?
Little was far more accommodating to Leggett (who Little called a right-winger, yet still invited him back) than he has ever been to Hone, which should give you an indication of where Little stands.
I think Little is clearly leading the Labour party left, alliance with the Greens, being against the TPPA, cleansing the righties in the Labour party (Goff, Leggett, Shearer), uniting the party, having new ideas with the ‘future of work’ etc etc.
What is the point of him moving Labour so far left that he loses votes and just fights for votes with the Greens or Mana and reduces all their share of votes and lets the Natz get back in because the left don’t collectively achieve enough votes as they are competing instead?
Agree what happened last election with Internet Mana was terrible and stupid, but Little was not in charge then!
Little is a dark horse that has the ability to transform the Labour party without scaring the centrist voters and actually get them in power again.
If you don’t agree with Labour, vote Greens or Mana. There is no point posting against Labour as they already have been undermined by the MSM for the last 5+ years and having their supporters also put the boot in, is actually helping the Natz the most.
A number still distrust Little/Labour.
Although I do respect him standing his ground (and turning Labour’s position around) on raising the age of eligibility.
I concur a number of the right within are leaving, which does give Little more scope to reshape the party and its direction.
Another promising hope for change within Labour is Laila has been reported as coming back.
One benefit of Labour moving more left is it will improve and strengthen their ability to work together with Mana and the Greens. Showing voters they can work collectively, which to date has been somewhat of a stumbling-block
In regards to working with Mana, while Little was not in charge back then, he’s done little to repair the fallout. Resulting in turning a potential ally into a foe.
I’m not trying to undermine Labour. I’m providing them with feedback hoping it’s taken on-board and results in positive change.
Labour is a broad party, with members holding a number of different views; it is quite possible to have some views that are shared by National and still prefer Labour – after all Labour has supported some government bills over the last few years. National is similarly tolerant of people with different views, provided they do not ever disagree with the leader – and a large dose of self-interest is a defining characteristic of any National MP. Labour is better without Leggett.
Well said.
“Heather, clearly you don’t actually read the news…watch telly, listen to the radio.
Or open your eyes and see past your own little world.”
Be fair Sanctuary. Plastic-Allen IS the news. She IS the fucking news and world famous in her own bubble. Like most of the fellow hacks she’s a carbon copy of. Distinguishable only on account of the smug cocktail party grimace. A protective reflex to conceal the awesome vacuity within.
the non voters that i have met and that i know personally are
white,
male
mid 40 +
self employed
owner of a property
father of children
divorced
and no government has ever done anything for them so they can’t be bothered (this too i was told, despite me literally begging them to not vote for ‘their own good’ but the long term good of their kids”
Maybe we really don’t just want to pretend that it is the poor that don’t vote, cause i met quite a few single parents, unemployed, under employed that voted last time around. They voted for Mana, Greens, Labour, NZ First, Ban 1080, Legalise Aotearoa and so on.
Granted, these are only my private observations, but i don’t think we should continue the myth that people only don’t vote because they are poor or other wise disenfranchised.
Was there ever a comprehensive study last time around as to whom did not vote? As a break down by gender, race, location etc? It sure would be interesting.
A non-vote can be a tick for the status quo or just complete disinterest.
so you are saying that the white, middle aged, home owning males that tell me “no government done anything for me evers’ are just complete disinterested and their children can get fucked over by any government?
oh good, thanks for clarifying that. 🙂
Or just stupidity.
Anyone who votes purely on what the government will give them shouldn’t vote, all that does is encourage behaviour from politicians which is detrimental to the well-being of the country.
You mean like basically anything the National Party does ever?
Working for families, interest-free loans, both albatrosses around the neck of NZ.
Clark’s legacy, wow what a PM.
I love that you think interest-free student loans are a bad thing.
Even from a purely economic standpoint, let’s look at a good example of someone who has taken more radical action on student fees- say, Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe. Surely they have US-style private loan infrastructure with punitive measures preventing loan defaults to be performing well? No?
In fact recently the last of their states joined the consensus on tertiary education, and now they don’t even charge tuition at all, nation-wide, for undergraduate study, even for international students, because Germany wants to attract and retain talented young people. You only need to worry about financing to get a doctorate or masters.
I actually agree a little that WFF is bad, but mostly because I see it as a wage subsidy and thus effectively a way to subsidise employers’ costs, who should be paying post-WFF-level wages anyway, and shouldn’t have needed Clark to top things up.
If you want to talk giveaways, however, National has done much more to subsidise their rich mates, from gutting the ETS to tax cuts aimed at the wealthy just to name the big-ticket items, you just probably don’t object to those because your worldview says that they deserve government giveaways that they don’t need and that don’t help society in any significant way, whereas nobody else does, even if it’s better for all of us in the long run.
Don’t forget SCF BM
I actually agree a little that WFF is bad, but mostly because I see it as a wage subsidy and thus effectively a way to subsidise employers’ costs, who should be paying post-WFF-level wages anyway, and shouldn’t have needed Clark to top things up.
It was a bribe pitched at a group that would be mainly labour voters.
to tax cuts aimed at the wealthy
The tax cuts that Key gave were a bit of recognition to the people who paid the rump of the money that went toward all of Clark’s social engineering and handouts, nine years of nothing but pay pay pay, people were pissed off.
Big reason why Key got the nod and Clark got kicked to the kerb, hopefully, the next left wing government learns from her mistakes.
your talking net tax again arent you
If wages paid would be a fair reflection of the share of the economy that all participating people create and wage earners are able to cover living costs and development of talents, hobbies, sports etc , these top ups would not be necessary. In fact it could be argued that because of it, the wages are suppressed. It would be interesting to know whether any political party has a plan that provides for fair deal that encourages participation not just in the workforce but the community too. The latter not as a beggar if possible.
In the way developments are going things will become a lot tighter and there are interesting times ahead as robotics will take hold replacing many manned jobs. Is anybody out there getting off the wagon of laissez-faire and put their thinking hat on?
+100. Future of Work, or the equivalent from any party needs to take those points into account.
We also tend to reward destructive jobs with higher remuneration, and often pay those who contribute the most to the wider society the least. (And some we refuse to pay for their contribution, despite court rulings)
A bit dated now, but worth a look for those who haven’t read it is the New Economics foundation report (2009): A Bit Rich
“High-earning investment bankers in the City of London are among the best remunerated people in the economy. But the earnings they command and the profits they make come at a huge cost because of the damaging social effects of the City of London’s financial activities. We found that rather than being ‘wealth creators’, these City bankers are being handsomely rewarded for bringing the global financial system to the brink of collapse. While collecting salaries of between £500,000 and £10 million, leading City bankers to destroy £7 of social value for every pound in value they generate.”
“Hospital cleaners play a vital role in the workings of our healthcare facilities. Not only do they clean hospitals and help maintain standards of hygiene to protect against infection but they also contribute towards wider health outcomes. The importance of these cleaners is often underestimated and undervalued in the way they are paid and treated. We estimated, however, that for every £1 they are paid, over £10 in social value is generated.“
“…This report is not about targeting any individuals in the highly paid jobs it scrutinises. Neither is it simply suggesting that people in low paid jobs should be paid more. The point we are making is a more complex one – that there should be a relationship between what we are paid and the value our work generates for society.”
This idea of providing value is one that would come into its own with a UBI. Those tasks that create a better society, and that have been performed by dwindling groups of volunteers, actively discouraged by policy, and become even more necessary as communities have been broken up by the pressures of high costs, housing insecurity and failing support systems are more likely to be picked up and used to stitch back the pieces.
if they are so bad why did the super popular fiscal giant key come up with a better fix bm
Hey BM….what about ditching that other expensive little welfare handout….the Accommodation Supplement?
Latest official figure I can find for the spend on this Property Speculators handout is from 2008…when landlords pricing rents at way above ‘market’ value received $875million from the taxpayer to help fund their mortgage repayments.
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/statistical-report/statistical-report-2008/supplementary-benefits/accommodation-supplement.html#expenditure
The CPAG has ‘Housing Subsidies’ attracting $1.8 billion in the 2015 budget.
Surely the rental market should be able to survive without being subsidised by the government…when the rent is too high for most people to afford…then reduce the rent.
“Was there ever a comprehensive study last time around as to whom did not vote? As a break down by gender, race, location etc? It sure would be interesting.”
Here….ask and ye shall receive…
http://www.elections.org.nz/events/2014-general-election/election-results-and-reporting/voter-and-non-voter-satisfaction-survey
“About a third (32%) said they put a lot of thought into the decision about whether or not to vote, a third (31%) some thought, ”
Just what I thought….
The wiifm is a huge factor at election time, as we all know, and will be again next year. Hence the sniff of a tax cut and the mantra of “Labour will increase taxes”. Actually I wonder if this wiifm is as big a factor as ‘middle NZ’.
“The wiifm is a huge factor at election time, as we all know, and will be again next year. ”
You think?
I personally think that so many have been negatively impacted by the actions of this current mob that votes for them will decline.
Votes for the left will rise…only if the Left is truly left.
Those who stubbornly insist on the wiifm factor guiding their election choices should perhaps consider the ever increasing numbers of New Zealanders who have been marginalised and disenfranchised by successive governments.
There will come a tipping point, where those with nothing to lose will take action and at least attempt to overthrow the oppressors.
The wiifm mob might need to factor that into their decision making process.
Well Mana/Internet (surely the Left) certainly did not mobilise them, and not for want of money or effort.
So Rosemary, how left would a party/political activist have to be to mobilise them?
But in any event, wouldn’t a populist of whatever stripe be more likely to mobilise the non voters?
Trump seemed to mobilise at least part of the working class who hitherto had good industrial jobs in the American mid west. These folks (and their NZ equivalent) will never be swayed by elitist metro socialists. They want someone more connected to them if not by experience, at least by understanding (and without a hint of sneering).
You’re analysing what’s going on with left-wing voters from a right-wing perspective, Wayne, which is likely causing you to miss some obvious answers.
There is a big motivation gap between left-wing and right-wing voters. The demographics that drive right-wing points of view are also many of the same ones that drive voter participation, (such as wealth and age) so all you really need is a party to exist espousing a certain point of view for Right-wingers to fairly consider it. There’s also not as large a credibility gap, as most politicians espousing right-wing ideas will make a concerted effort to implement them. This actually makes things siginificantly easier for the ACTs of the world in comparison to the Mana Parties of the world. You’ll note that even with allegations that the Internet Party merger made them sellouts and untrustworthy, IMP still did better than ACT in the Party Vote, which would suggest that there’s some truth to the idea that there are untapped leftwing spaces in New Zealand politics, it just hasn’t been done correctly yet.
As to whether any type of populist does better with non-voters, sure, because populists, even right-wing ones, typically speak the language of left-wing economics, or provide semi-plausible right-wing standins like “the immigrants are taking your jobs.” Trump was excellent at speaking the language of left-wing populist frustration, and is making absolutely no moves to deliver on it, with even his infrastructure package full of corporate giveaways. I fully expect his coalition to have collapsed by 2020 because of the very fact of his entry into government.
You couldn’t run a Trump-style campaign in New Zealand, though. A lot of the things that worked in his favour would be unsaleable to our electorate, the closest you’re likely to get to that is actually John Key.
The Internet party was left? I didn’t realise that.
“Trump seemed to mobilise at least part of the working class … They want someone more connected to them if not by experience, at least by understanding (and without a hint of sneering).”
so they voted for a billionaire with a track record of employment disputes?
All youve done is highlight that people can and do make bad choices – and that powerful people will try an leverage that to their own gain
It’s interesting to note, there seems to be some correlation between the increase in the growing number of non-voters and Labour moving right and to the centre
http://www.elections.org.nz/events/past-events/general-elections-1853-2014-dates-and-turnout
Yes. There was a death in the whanau.
Hope died.
Without Hope, what’s the point?
Voting for the best of a bad bunch merely tells who you’re voting for that they are maybe not quite as bad as the other mob.
Consciously, and with conscience choosing NOT to vote because none offer any real hope is sending a message.
Do better.
Be different.
The result of the two main parties moving to neo-liberalism.
It would send a stronger and more formal message if we allowed the none of the above option.
Which parties are you talking about? National, United Future, ACT and the Maori Party?
They are all effectively moving towards neo-liberalism as part of a coalition agreement they are not yet prepared to break.
Do you have any evidence that any other party is moving to neo-liberalism?
The two main parties – i.e Labour and National
But I agree, a number of smaller ones have also made the move.
Historically Labour did adopt some extreme policies many years ago, and lost office as a result – they have moved sharply away from the sort of neo-liberal policies espoused by National – and part of National not having yet suffered defeat is because they have gone much more slowly in that direction than many of their supporters would like, and have skilfully dressed up many policies to hide the extremism from the electorate. The reality however cannot be hidden forever, and as a good con-man Key knew that it was time to walk away before it caught up with him – he leaves Bill English to carry the can – if he is able to.
I asked if you had any evidence for your assertion – I accept that National have never left support for neo-liberalism, but do you have any evidence relating to Labour?
Labour has largely failed to overturn (and are currently not offering to overturn) past neo-liberal changes made.
As long as you accept the consequences of not voting and no-one has to ” earn our votes”, we are given them freely to use.
Again could not be bothered to click the link, but clearly Granny is so worried about Andrew Little’s chances, they have to get one of the least respected unemployed TV presenters to undermine him by giving their 2 cents worth.
Don’t click the links on Granny Herald’s spiteful campaign against Andrew Little.
Send them a message.
I seem to remember that the Herald used to put the author’s name below the title-link but no more, which is why I often click and then immediately close the article as soon as I see who wrote the piece; if these are Granny’s pearls I must be a swine. In fact, I’ve become quite paranoid and reluctant to click on these click-bait title-links.
You’d spoil my fun as well as my education there saveNZ?
Golly gosh, have you not heard the expression…”Know thine enemy.”?
Seriously though, there is a very real danger that by making the assumption that the the article is going to be biased/loaded/generally crap simply because it is written by a certain person and/or published in a certain outlet runs the risk of overlooking occasional journalistic gold….or a damn fine belly laugh.
Amusingly, I wrote about the same article, although more from a “you’re sending the right message (be cautious of English) but for the wrong reason” than from a purely populist outrage perspective, although that’s a damn valid one to be writing from nowadays.
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT.
No. 5: Chris Trotter puts on a “funny” South American accent
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 14 June 2013
Jim Mora, Lisa Scott, Chris Trotter, Susan Baldacci
SUSAN BALDACCI: Julian Assange is a little bit paranoid.
JIM MORA: Oh yes? Hur, hur, hur, hur!
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, he claims that being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he is deprived of his human right of getting enough sun.
MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun?
SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He thinks he should be allowed out of his Ecuador embassy hideout to sunbathe.
MORA: He can get out on the balcony, where he gave that speech!
LISA SCOTT: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or get him a sun lamp! THAT’s what he needs!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He he he he he!
CHRIS TROTTER: I suspect the ambassador’s just sick of the sight of him! [affecting a high-pitched mock South American accent] “Are you ever going to LEEEEAAAVE?”
MORA: Sun lamp! Get him a sun lamp!!!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
MORA: Back after the news!
…….
Read the whole thing HERE, if you can bear it…..
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT is an occasional series highlighting some of the worst moments in our pretty shameful history of broadcasting mediocrity and downright failure.
“MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun?
SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw!”
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-deficiency#1
And here in good old Godzone some people also are denied the right to get outdoors and absorb a little bit of that necessary Vitamin D.
These are those with physical disabilities who, under the rules set by the Misery of Health, are not entitled to funding to enable them to go outdoors if they need human or mechanical assistance to do so.
Unless, of course, they are in education or employment….when these, the worthy disabled, can actually have a reasonable expectation of having their funding request accepted. Maybe. Because even if you are a worthy disabled person NOTHING is guaranteed.
There are no entitlements.
I must take this opportunity to thank you Morrissey for providing us with these transcripts. Saves some of us the torture of having to listen to Giggles with Mora….the broadcaster who has committed himself to hosting the single most superficially trite and meaningless hour and a bit of publicly funded radio.
Thanks for your kind thoughts, Rosemary. I’ll post up as soon as I hear these comedians having a laugh at the plight of the physically disabled. I would not put it past the likes of Trotter and Mora.
After all that happened this week, Heather Du Plessis-Allan decided to use her national platform to launch an uninformed rant against Andrew Little. Who is this vacuous tart? What are her qualifications to be given this high profile gig? Is she just famous for being famous, like half of our supposed journalists? (Hosking, Henry in particular).
Heather du Plessis-Allan: Andrew Little needs to get a grip
She is married to Barry Soper, for heaven’s sake – what do you expect?
Many years ago there used to be the stereotype of the newspaper journalist …. and it certainly wasn’t that of the mild mannered Clark Kent of the Daily Planet.
The whiskey and crass behaviour used to reside at was once “The Fourth Estate Club” above an electrical egineering firm in Hobson St. Auckland. (I guess that folded because we no longer ekshully have a Fourth Estate).
Raucus, spirit soaked raspy voices abounded.
Those were the days eh fellas? …. when it used to be ok to get pissed till all hours of the night, bypassing the six o’clock swill. Then you go home and beat shit out of the missus confident in the knowledge it’d go unreported.
There’d even be crass jokes about ‘carny killers’ and ‘cradle snatchers’ …… guffaw guffaw guffaw.
Now a good many of them (mainly blokes) just pretend to be half-civilised. One or two of them were also “bloody closet pooftas” as well. None of them have aged very well, which might be one reason they now cluster together in a bubble providing each other with the necessary narcissist support (telling each other how fucking gorgeous each other is)
/sarc (of course)
She makes some valid points, particularly:
“As tired as we are of listening to and looking at Nick Smith, Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce, they’re still a preferable option to the ideas vacuum on the other side.”
Labour is bereft of new ideas, and if one is even close it is delivered in such a clumsy way that it comes across as half-baked.
+1, Ben.
And Labour think they are ready to go into the election, what a joke.
Missed the Mt Roskill by election result and effort did you?
Not at all.
It seems you missed my post in open mike yesterday.
Interestingly enough, it seems Labour’s Mt Roskill win has erased Labour’s memory of trailing in the polls.
While Key leaving has no doubt improved Labour’s chances, the question is has it improved their chances enough for voters to now welcome Labour’s policy that they have so far largely rejected in the polls to date?
Sure, it recently worked for Labour in Mt Roskill, but the Mt Roskill by-election is a different kettle of fish compared to a general election.
Could be true @ The Chairman’ but I’m looking at a pile of mail after a return from The Whurl.
In amongst it is a card from Labour with 3 main points
1 BUILD HOUSES more policy with three ways to get there
2 CRACK DOWN ON SPECULATORS with two
and …
3 SUPPORT PEOPLE IN NEED with four.
Now I’m the ultimate cynic but it certainly has more policy and an aspirational approach to it than the do-nothing kaka from Natzis over the past 8 years.
I’m not sure the msm ‘journalist’ could cope with it ‘ekshully’ – which is why we’ve probably heard nothing of it in paper based rags or on hessian screens where auto-cue readers feign journalistic creds.
“CRACK DOWN ON SPECULATORS”
Dig a little deeper into the policy headlines.
Labour are going to help property developers (some of the biggest speculators in the market) further cut red tape.
Sounds disingenuous and rather right-wing.
Banning foreign speculators from buying existing homes doesn’t prevent them from speculating on land, thus adding to the overall cost of housing as the cost of land is further driven up.
That’s pretty much about it.
I figure that they’re purposefully missing the fact that the people actually want a complete ban on foreign ownership.
Ben, it would be a fair point if you had simply written that, yes, Andrew Little does have deficiencies and weaknesses. But your argument collapses when you claim that Nick Smith, Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce are a “preferable option to the ideas vacuum on the other side.” That’s simply nonsense—the National government, and those three more than any—is bereft of serious and long-term thinking.
Your words suggest that you are a National Party diehard.
They were Heather du Plessis-Allan’s words. It was a quote.
She was illustrating National’s high polling indicates voters sill find them a preferable option.
That’s not a valid point. It’s not even a point. It may well be du Plessis Allen’s opinion that looking at certain people’s faces is preferable to whatever ideas are or are not coming from Labour, but that isn’t a case for there being more ideas in National than in Labour, nor does she make one elsewhere.
No one was saying National have more ideas. Ben said “Labour is bereft of new ideas, and if one is even close it is delivered in such a clumsy way that it comes across as half-baked.”
The other point being made was National’s high polling indicates voters sill find them a preferable option, despite what Labour have so far offered.
Yet, Labour think they are now ready to fight and win the next election.
That wasn’t my point. My point was that du Plessis Allen isn’t making a point. Saying that looking at Smith, Joyce et al is better than Labour’s “ideas vacuum” is like saying that a tomato is better than riding a horse. She may as well just say “National is better than Labour”. It’s an opinion, not a point, but it’s being dressed up as though there were a substantive idea in there, which there isn’t. It’s pure propaganda.
Ben’s saying Labour is bereft of new ideas is also just an opinion, and a useless one unless the implication is that National has some.
Basically, that’s what she was saying (National is better than Labour) because that’s what the polls show us voters are saying, hence the point.
As for Labour being bereft of new ideas, it might explain why we are still waiting for them to make further policy announcements.
On the one hand they tell us there is more policy to come, and on the other, they claim they are ready to fight and win the next election.
What a dog’s breakfast of a comment. The polls don’t tell us anything about ideas, or about how much people like looking at Nick Smith. There has been enough comment swirling about from all sides suggesting that Key is the reason for National’s polling, and equally nothing to suggest that the wider public are particularly tired of Smith. If Ms. du Plessis Allen simply wanted to say that National are polling in the forties, she should have done so. Instead, she fabricated a post out of opinion and speculation, which she presented as if it were analysis.
Labour have presented a number of ideas (on the future of work, wages, education and housing, for instance), and msking a point about an “ideas vacuum” would require a lot more than just comparing the ideas to Nick Smith’s mug.
In terms of their simultaneously saying that more policy will be forthcoming, and that they are ready to fight the election, there is bo contradiction there, since the campaign trail is the traditional theatre for policy releases.
Much of the criticism and distrust of Labour is justified, but it is ludicrous to state that Ms. du Plessis Allen made any points about it in her vacuous, analysis-free article.
Announcing a raft of policy on the campaign just before an election risks overwhelming voters.
After the last election, Labour claimed voters failed to understand their policy. Therefore, loading voters up with a number of policies on the campaign just before an election suggests they are willing to risk making that past mistake again.
The polls are an indication of whom voters prefer. Policy is a main reason why voters opt for one party over another.
In regards to listening to and looking at Nick Smith etc… you’re taking her analogy far to literally.
What’s she is saying is despite voters becoming tired of seeing and listening to National, the polls show they still prefer them over Labour.
Despite their recent MT Roskil win, their trailing in the polls is not something Labour should overlook. There is no denying Labour have challenges to overcome.
The vacuum she is alluding to could be the fact Labour haven’t got a full policy format.
Or it could be that what’s on offer thus far isn’t cutting it, hence there is a vacuum of new and resonating policy.
Labour has far more ideas than National. That’s why National tends to copy and them even if they do then twist them to benefit their benefactors.
Still, Labour does need to drop the neo-liberal paradigm with a lot more force. They have to realise that the people are not are not enthusiastic about the FTAs that have been dropping their living standards.
Perhaps if their ideas were more to the left National wouldn’t be so inclined to adopt them.
From the outside a number of Labour’s policy sounds left, but on deeper digging, their neo-liberalism tends to lay in the details within.
I think that Labour’s problem is not unique to NZ and that is to provide a viable real alternative to neo-liberalism capitalism; nobody yet has an answer. In any case, no politician will want to scare the horses and there is no point campaigning with or on a new set of ideas and policies that is so different that it will alienate the voters; people will always vote for the devil they know even when they know there are negative consequences.
Labour’s problem is they are failing (going by the polls) to be a viable alternative.
Neo-liberalism is far from the perfect model. And when dealing with the masses, there will never be an alternative everybody will deem perfect.
However, as we all know, Labour doesn’t have to win-over every voter to be seen as a viable alternative.
I’m not suggesting Labour should alienate and scare voters. I’m suggesting they can gain their attention and win them over while maintaining their core principles.
Labour recently proposed a youth employment scheme. A short-term scheme providing very basic skills introduced to address unskilled, long-term youth unemployment.
One would expect something a little more meaty, designed to actually address the long-term problem.
Moreover, solutions could be designed in a way that they also address and help solve other problems.
For example, there is a critical shortage of hotel rooms resulting in a loss of tourist dollars.
Therefore, Labour could propose a policy that would help fill this critical void while also providing the employment and skills learning opportunity (from the building of the new environmentally friendly hotels to the running of them) which would not only help address unskilled, long-term youth unemployment, but would also create a number of other jobs and related business opportunities.
The goal would be for them to become profit making long-term ventures, providing on-going employment opportunities. With profits attained going on to broaden and increase Government revenue streams, diversifying their reliance on tax.
This more hands on approach also provides better input opportunities for things such as wage structures, ensuring everybody shares in the fiscal benefits going forward.
You’re talking way off topic, though. Apparently, Ms. du Plessis Allen was making a good point, but the idea that Labour’s policies should be more left-wing (which I agree with) is exactly the opposite of her thrust.
That is the danger of mindless opinion pieces öike hers. They peddle shallow, repeated lines like “Labour lacks ideas”, and people like you say, “Good point, Labour needs to grow a pair and move to the left,” National voters think, “Yeah, National have ideas like tax cuts and growing the economy,” and those with little interest in politics think, “Yeah, Labour’s boring; when did André Lytton last mince down a catwalk or wash Max Key’s car on YouTube?” (Note how Ms. du Plessis Allen didn’t compare Labour’s ideas with National’s, but with how much one would like to see them on TV). Ms. du Plessis Allen didn’t make any of those points. Of course not, since if she had made a point, it would have been easier to dismiss without confusion and unwitting (if well-intentioned) obfuscation like yours.
While her thrust may have been the opposite, it wasn’t the point noted above.
The fact Labour haven’t got a full policy format highlights their policy is lacking.
Often watched Story (couldn’t watch Seven Sharp) because of Mike Hosking and his giggling co-host) but Heather DPA was more often than not showing off and wanting the attention to be on her and was as shallow as a puddle. How she qualifies to have own column is a mystery. Don’t miss her one little bit.
” How she qualifies to have own column is a mystery”
Well it is the NZH ….. a rag that even that overpaid bullshit artist, ringer and soak PH describes as such.
She’s got to earn a crust I guess and prostitution is not only the oldest profession, but one that’s perfectly acceptable these days apparently
/giggle giggle
Worked It out.– Gollins told Key that Bronnah said she wouldn’t go to Oconnors wedding unless he resigned.
And we’re ekshully expected to feel sorry for all these cnuts!
Oh poor poor poor John, and Bronagh, and Mex ‘n’ Stiffy.
It must have been a rilly rilly tough loif eh? Giving 8 years of your loif to poltiks…. en what thenks do you get?
Awe. Ya neva saw ya sun groan up, en Stiffy missed eart en near Bronagh is neggin ya ears orf.
And the media!.
The poor poor starving kud of a solo mum struggliny along in a State Hess with a torlit in the bek yard….. (when every other torlit was the same and probably not even on a septic tank, but rather “the night cart”
My fucking heart bleeds – truly it does.
And what’s worse is the poor poor bugger had to suffer ChCh Boy’s Hoi rather than Christ’s!
Where’s a woodwork teacher when you need him!!! Oh that’s right, doing his best to fuck over the rest of Chroischuch (unfortunately aided and abetted by that parliamentary consensus that conferred on him the status of Tsar
Beyond the Post-Truth Society
And that is pretty much where the RWNJs are. Denying reality so that they can continue with the fantasy that capitalism works.
Well said, and so today’s discovery is that if all are bereft of an idea the one that tells the best porkies wins.
How contracting can breed corruption.
How can you have transparency or accountability without full and accurate written records available for public scrutiny?
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11763963
“Claims the relationship between Noone and Projenz was informal and verbal-only during the seven-year duration of the relationship – explaining the total lack of documentation – “defies common sense,” Justice Fitzgerald said.
….”
Surely it also defies the statutory obligations arising from s.17 of the Public Records Act 2005?
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345729.html
17.Requirement to create and maintain records
(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an independent contractor.
____________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-privatisation / anti-corruption Public Watchdog / WHISTLE-BLOWER’.
Why do they even bother? The dismal standard
of commentary on RadioLive mimics that on NewstalkZB
RadioLive, Sunday 11 December 2016, 10:55 a.m.
Just had the misfortune of straying onto RadioLive for a few minutes this morning. A very angry Clinton supporter masquerading as a “reporter” called Carol Ramos was in full flight, ranting about how Hillary Clinton lost to Trump not because of her own dire record and her foolish campaign, but because of those evil, dastardly Russians.
I was disappointed but not really surprised to hear host Lloyd Burr swallowing what she said wholesale, and agreeing with everything.
Hilariously, RadioLive’s current slogan is “YOUR NEWS. YOUR VIEWS.” It should, of course, be changed to: “FALSE NEWS. ILL-INFORMED VIEWS”, but I guess that doesn’t fit on the advertising signs so neatly.
More RadioLive “highlights”…
The Democrats are the Republicans….Trump is Obama….they are both owned by Wall St, Big Corporations, etc ….same policies, etc…. So how different is Labour going to make itself from the Natzis….
1. Kiwi Build
2. Climate Change Overhaul
3. Drop National Standards / Charter Schools
4. Small Business massive investment
5. Health Doctors Budget increase
6. Open Pike River
I think the Democrats are different from the Republicans. You’re correct that it’s often hard to distinguish between them, just as it often is between National and Labour. But the differences are real, and if Labour has any sense, it will emphasize those differences, rather than trying to minimize them.
Come on Morrissey, I’m sure you know the masters are the same whether you vote right or left in our pretend democracy.
Yes, you’re right to an extent, garibaldi, but I think there are still real differences between the parties. I am continually disappointed and even outraged by the Labour Party, but I would still prefer it in power rather than the National-ACT horror show we have now.
I’m aware, however, that it’s very difficult to differentiate the parties sometimes. Labour is still recovering from the devastation resulting from Lange’s ceding effective control of the party to Douglas, Prebble, Moore and DeCleene; few people trust anything that Labour says, and it’s made even harder for us to support them when they do things like declaring Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics to be a “distraction.”
@Morrisey…. Yes I would prefer Labour… In fact they, Greens, NZF are going to win next year imo…… Kiwi build is a great relatable action.
Kiwibuild is a great example of how the left can remain left and win-over the middle (and even some on the right) without Labour having to depart from its core principles.
Labour require to formulate more of their policy like that.
I agree, I also would prefer a Labour govt, but the difference is so small between them getting me to vote for them is another thing.
7. Reinstate cuts to DOC budget
8. Reverse RMA changes
“Trump is appointing people who hate the agencies they will lead”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/10/opinions/government-is-the-problem-jacobs/index.html
Surprise, surprise.
When you play pay for play, you take what you’re given.
#Payforplay
Unlike Bush I and II, Reagan and even Nixon, the Trump administration will not know where to stop or exercise restraint. All bets are off come Jan 20.
Loose change?
“The Herald on Sunday can reveal Gan spent $15 million at Sky City in a 15 month period, as well as making large deposits into her casino account and transfers to other high-roller accounts.
One of these VIPs was Yingzi Zeng, a mother of two who lives in Auckland’s eastern suburbs, who spent $38 million at Sky City in 15 months.”
A million every month and the other $2.5 mllion a month. Loose change. Fortunately the Convention Centre is Sky City eh?
You do realise they use Sky City to launder money don’t you? If IRD asks where they got it – they show the Sky city receipts.
good for gdp growth figures so our leaders will be all good with it
First up – drill baby drill and then bomb bomb Iran.
/
Donald Trump is expected to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, two sources close to the transition process told NBC News on Saturday.
The 64-year-old veteran oil executive has no government or diplomatic experience, although he has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pick would put to rest weeks-long speculation of who would earn the post as the U.S.’s top diplomat, and would place Tillerson fourth in line to the presidency.
He will also be paired with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as his deputy secretary of state, one of the sources added, with Bolton handling day-to-day management of the department.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/rex-tillerson-exxon-mobil-expected-be-named-trump-s-secretary-n694371
If Labour wants to build affordable houses then they should probably look at developing/importing this sort of technology:
Get just ten of them and that’s ~3000 houses per year. Just need to look to ensuring supply of resources and preparations for the sites.
Trump’s pick to head the DEA.
Craig Foss to step down, another National Party MP resigns for ‘family reasons’ and does not want to stand down until next year to avoid a by election.
Told ya’s the National Party is falling apart, most of their MP’s hearts aren’t in the job, but they are happy to collect the salary until next year using the excuse of ‘avoiding the tax payer the cost of a by election”
FFS THE CITIZENS OF NZ DEMAND AN EARLY ELECTION!!
WHERE ON EARTH HAS OUR DEMOCRACY GONE ?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11766805