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.
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 ?
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 17, 2021 through Sat, Jan 23, 2021Editor's Choice12 new books explore fresh approaches to act on climate changeAuthors explore scientific, economic, and political avenues for climate action ...
This discussion is from a Twitter thread by Martin Kulldorff on 20 December 2020. He is a Professor at Harvard Medical School specialising in disease surveillance methods, infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety. His Twitter handle is @MartinKulldorff #1 Public health is about all health outcomes, not just a single ...
The Treasury forecasts suggest the economy is doing better than expected after the Covid Shock. John Kenneth Galbraith was wont to say that economic forecasting was designed to make astrology look good. Unfair, but it raises the question of the purpose of economic forecasts. Certainly the public may treat them ...
Q: Will the COVID-19 vaccines prevent the transmission of the coronavirus and bring about community immunity (aka herd immunity)? A: Jury not in yet but vaccines do not have to be perfect to thwart the spread of infection. While vaccines induce protection against illness, they do not always stop actual ...
Joe Biden seems to be everything that Donald Trump was not – decent, straightforward, considerate of others, mindful of his responsibilities – but none of that means that he has an easy path ahead of him. The pandemic still rages, American standing in the world is grievously low, and the ...
Keana VirmaniFrom healthcare robots to data privacy, to sea level rise and Antarctica under the ice: in the four years since its establishment, the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund has supported over 30 projects.Rebecca Priestley, receiving the PM Science Communication Prize (Photo by Mark Tantrum) Associate Professor ...
Nothing more from me today - I'm off to Wellington, to participate in the city's annual roleplaying convention (which has also eaten my time for the whole week, limiting blogging despite there being interesting things happening). Normal bloggage will resume Tuesday. ...
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponscame into force today, making the development, possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal in international law. Every nuclear-armed state is now a criminal regime. The corporations and scientists who design, build and maintain their illegal weapons are now ...
"Come The Revolution!" The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 percent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected ...
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...
Last night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
“If today’s probable case of Covid-19 in Northland turns out to be community transmission the Government’s overarching objective must be avoiding another lockdown,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The best news would be that this is a false alarm, ...
E tū Lifewise homecare members have been taking strike and picket action since December 2020 for basic improvements in their working conditions. Members are asking for increased sick and bereavement leave, a collective agreement, and more guaranteed ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 24. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz1.15pm: Suspected community case in NorthlandHealth officials are investigating a suspected community case of Covid-19 in Northland, related to someone who was recently released from managed isolation and quarantine, the NZ Herald is reporting.A spokesperson for Covid-19 response ...
We’re only a few weeks into the year, and already there are two new seasons of Drag Race. Are we in danger of reaching peak Drag Race? In the first month of this year, there’s been more RuPaul’s Drag Race than ever. The 13th season of the flagship US version debuted ...
In her first years of adulthood, Jai Breitnauer found herself living in a bold and hopeful nation. More than two decades on, she laments on how the Britain we know now came to be.Apparently, fish off the coast of the United Kingdom are happier because they’re British. This is what ...
Dunedin writer Victor Billot resumes his weekly odes to New Zealanders in the news. This week: the blogging firm of Michael Bassett, Don Brash and Rodney HideThree Men in a BoatIt sounds like a conveyancing firm in Levin.It sounds like TV funny guys who’ll ...
Under a thick layer of concrete at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacramentin Christchurch is a metal box likely containing hundreds of holy relics – a historical treasure trove set to be uncovered after 50 years of near total obscurity.As the earth shook and buildings crumbled, a statue of ...
Bananas are unequivocally the best fruit in the world, and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind, writes Alice Webb-Liddall.I was about 15 when I realised that halftime banana cake wasn’t a tradition outside of my family. On the day of an All Blacks game a banana cake ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as On the Rag looks at how the world around us has been built by men, for men. First published December 7, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...
At an antagonistic hearing yesterday, the internet giant laid out the ‘worst case scenario’. And Facebook is also considering an ‘amputation’. Hal Crawford was watching.Google is poised to hit self-destruct in Australia according to a fractious Senate hearing into an unprecedented law that will force digital giants to pay money ...
It’s great to hear Phil Twyford celebrating a success. Not a personal ministerial success, it’s fair to say, but a success nevertheless related to arms control. The arms on which Twyford is focused, it should be noted, will make quite a mess if they are triggered. They tend to be ...
Duncan Greive and Leonie Hayden were young hip hop heads and music journalists during the era captured in a new documentary about the rise and fall of South Auckland hip hop label Dawn Raid. Here they discuss the film and their memories (what’s left of them) of that time. Warning: contains ...
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture.Used ...
"The young boy leaps, the muscles in his thighs tensing and twisting as he lifts from the handrail": the noble art of bombing, by Pātea writer Airana Ngarewa A beautifully muscled boy is posted on the side of a pool, his feet fixed to the top of a pair of ...
How Waiwera Hot Pools went from New Zealand’s most visited water park to dereliction and decay. Many who grew up in Auckland likely have fond memories of Waiwera Hot Pools. Like me, they remember summer days spent racing down the slides and playing in the naturally hot pools. But how did ...
A government contract for a P rehab programme was canned after half a million dollars of taxpayer money was given out. Aaron Smale investigates. The Ministry of Health spent over half a million dollars on a P Rehab contract before pulling the pin because there were no results or progress reports. ...
Kia Koropp and her husband John Daubeny have been cruising the Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean over the past decade with their two children onboard their 50ft yacht, Atea. Starting in 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand, they have sailed more than 64,000 kilometres and just completed their longest ...
We are drowning out the natural world with synthetic sounds, and it’s getting worse, writes Michelle Langstone.It used to be quiet once. Remember that? Remember the hush that settled over the cities like the silence that comes down in a snowstorm? It’s less than a year since Aotearoa first locked ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden in the latest episode of On the Rag as they examine the topic of boobs from every possible angle. First published November 16, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its ...
Seventy-five years after the US detonated the first nuclear tests in the Pacific, New Zealand pledges its support to Joe Biden's first tentative step towards disarmament. Today, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect, making it illegal for New Zealand and the 50 other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Terry, Professor of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland The challenge of bringing the world’s best tennis players and support staff, about 1,200 people in all, from COVID-ravaged parts of the world to our almost pandemic-free shores was always going to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoffrey Browne, Research Fellow in International Urban Development, University of Melbourne The Victorian government has committed to removing 75 road/rail level crossings across Melbourne by 2025. That’s the fastest rate of removal in the city’s history. The scale of the investment — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Stevens, Lecturer in History, University of Waikato In a year of surprises, one of the more pleasant was the recent runaway viral popularity of 19th century sea shanties on TikTok. A collaborative global response to pandemic isolation, it saw singers and ...
The sudden departure of Graine Moss from her Chief Executive role at Oranga Tamariki is a vital first step in a sequence of changes that must take place at the Ministry according to a group of wahine Māori leaders. Dame Naida Glavish, Dame Tariana Turia, ...
A new poem from Dunedin poet Jenny Powell.Her uncle’s eyeShe introduced us to her uncle’s eye floating in a jar.Lost in an accident, he hadn’t wanted to lose it again. He left it to her in his will.We must have looked shocked. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I turn him to ...
The chief executive of Oranga Tamariki is quitting, leaving behind an agency she’s admitted suffers from structural racism. Justin Giovannetti looks at the future of Oranga Tamariki.Grainne Moss’s tenure as head of Oranga Tamariki has been untenable since November when the government’s senior Māori minister wouldn’t express any confidence in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sainsbury, Senior Lecturer Composition, Australian National University Despite having different cultural backgrounds and experiences — Indigenous composers with an Indigenous mentor, and a pianist descended from Anglo-colonial history — it is nevertheless possible to create a project that can serve as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury With new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 detected around the world, and at New Zealand’s border, the risk of further level 3 or 4 lockdowns is increased if those viruses get into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Hogg, Lecturer in Psychology, Charles Sturt University Horse racing is an ethical hotbed in Australia. The Melbourne Cup alone has seen seven horses die after racing since 2013, and animal cruelty protesters have become a common feature at carnivals. The latest ...
Right now, our most fiery national debate is over whether New Zealanders were nice to the singer Amanda Palmer in a café. Desperate to restore peace in our nation, Hayden Donnell went in search of the truth.Joe Biden had barely finished calling for unity when Amanda Palmer posted a tweet ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut (Pushkin Press, $37)Maths, cyanide, suicide, gardening; ye ...
Wellington artist Estère isn’t just breaking boundaries, she’s dissecting them. Maddi Rowe spoke to her about her new album, Archetypes.“That’s the story of pelicans, they’ll stab themselves in the heart to feed their young.”Despite the somewhat dark subject matter, Estère Dalton’s eyes sparkle with fascination. We’ve met to discuss Archetypes, ...
Cycling advocates are welcoming new advice from the Transport Agency on safe cycling. "Cyclists hate it when drivers pass too close. That's scary and dangerous," said Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network. "So it's encouraging to see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Today, many around the world will celebrate the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to enter into force in 50 years. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the creation of a Chief Executive role to lead the public service’s pay equity work, and the appointment of Grainne Moss to this position. "Unions and public service employers are currently working ...
The Council of Trade Unions is warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures out today illustrate that the cost of living is increasing disproportionately for those on lower incomes; resulting in the poor getting poorer. CTU Economist Craig ...
Why are there so many offensive comments on the New Zealand Police Facebook page and are they breaking the law? Janaye Henry investigates. New Zealand Police Facebook pages – there are a number of them, for different regional police districts around the country – are an interesting place to spend ...
Our guide to stopping procrastinating and actually (finally) getting on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it.In part one, we covered some of the basic things you need to know about investing – why do it? ...
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft acknowledges the huge effort and commitment of departing Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Grainne Moss and says her decision to resign today was principled. “The issues facing Oranga Tamariki are beyond individual ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. Two Large Waves versus One Tsunami. Chart by Keith Rankin. With Covid19, Italy shows the classic European pattern, with its early outbreak, substantial recovery thanks to lockdowns and other public health measures, and resurgence thanks to complacency ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW This year has already seen significant progress in the government’s commitment to establish a body – a “Voice” – that would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say when the government ...
Northland farmer Derek Robinson was sentenced earlier today by the District Court in Whangarei for two offences of ill-treating animals at rodeo events. Mr Robinson was found guilty in November last year, following a defended hearing. The charges ...
Under fire Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will resign, effective February 28, Marc Daalder reports After four and a half years at the helm of child protection agency Oranga Tamariki, chief executive Grainne Moss has announced she will be leaving the position at the end of ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand Police acknowledge the sentencing of 36-year-old Aaron Joseph Hutton on charges relating to the possession of child sexual exploitation material, and entering into a dealing involving the sexual exploitation ...
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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.
http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/Budget/2015%20CPAG%20BUDGET%20REVIEW.pdf
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.
https://youtu.be/8qOAGFIvcIc?t=1m34s
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