Mr Brownlee allowing various spivs and spruikers to have swipe access was not unexpected, but the non disclosure of who is slithering in and out should be of concern.
Some of the lobbyists are undermining democracy in my view with their special pleading and interaction with political parties and politicians that an ‘ordinary’ voter does not get.
That is anti-democratic and utterly corrupt. If you have the money, you can pay people for special government access (and influence) – and keep it all a secret.
Other parties in government should make the identities of these people known (unless there is actually a good reason for secrecy – e.g. they represent women's refuge or something – which I doubt!).
"At the time, National's deputy leader Nicola Willis backed the swipe card ban and said there should be a "transparent, publicly accountable register of who's doing the lobbying and who they're lobbying for". "
No doubt she'll provide comment.
Brownlee say, only 4, so with Key and English a given, who are the other 2?
Kris Fafoi, a cabinet minister, reigned to spend more time with his family set up a consultancy business.
Hipkins employed his Chief of Staff 1 day after he reigned from lobbying for the alcohol industry.
The behaviour (secret lobbying) is wrong. As US points out above, it is anti-democratic and undermines trust in the system. Eg why does the trucking industry get away with not paying it's way?
Labour, with unprecedented political capital, tinkered with addressing this – swipe cards gone from 80 folk rather than meaningful reform.
Labour, with unprecedented political capital, tinkered with addressing this – swipe cards gone from 80 folk rather than meaningful reform.
Would 'meaningful reform' have lasted any longer than Labour's tinkering?
One (tinkering) step forward, two steps (swipe card access & privacy) backward.
Seymour doesn't like the wero, thinks it intimidating:
Wero (meaning "to cast a spear"), also known as taki, is a traditional Māori challenge, performed as part of the Māori protocol. Its purpose is to ensure that visitors come in peace*. It also establishes their steadfastness, and the prowess of the challenging warriors.
*No wonder he feels intimidated.
But what next of tikanga Maori would he like to extinguish, waiata, haka…everything?
As you were Mr Foulkes…jeez just leave Chlöe to it this time, I recall the mini circus NZ Labour ran a few years back with several leadership contenders including Grant Robertson, in the end a tiny shift in a union affiliate vote delivered Andrew Little–not going to happen for Alex.
No probs with Mr Foulkes, he says things I support and have done for a long time, but…I like Chlöe better at this time because she has runs on the board in various areas and the proven ability to swat down media channel pundits and Natzos.
A clear run for Chlöe would be ideal. Testing democracy with putting up a counter, sounds fine, but wastes energy that could be going into fine-tuning Chlöe for the role.
Alex said he campaigned for Chlöe previously. Perhaps he'd be better to be doing that this time as well.
As you were Mr Foulkes…jeez just leave Chlöe to it this time, I recall the mini circus NZ Labour ran a few years back with several leadership contenders including Grant Robertson, in the end a tiny shift in a union affiliate vote delivered Andrew Little–not going to happen for Alex.
I don't know why you would compare the Greens to Labour, they have completely different kaupapa and processes around leadership.
The better comparison is with the leadership contest after Metiria Turei left, where we had Julie Ann Genter and Marama Davidson standing. They campaigned within the party and publicly, the profiles of both MPs were raised as well as understanding their similarities and differences, and extra exposure of the Greens and the party policies/positions. This is healthy for the Greens and democracy in NZ.
To give you an idea of how that works,
Friday 2 February – Nominations open
Friday 9 February – Nominations close
Monday 12 February – Full list of nominations announced
Saturday 3 March – Co-leader candidate session held at Green Party policy conference in Napier
Sunday 25 March – Zoom conference to be held between candidates and delegates.
Monday 26 March – End of official campaigning, balloting opens
Saturday 7 April – Balloting closes
Sunday 8 April – Ballots counted and winner announced
and
On 1 March a live-streamed debate between Davidson and Genter was held in the Legislative Council Chambers, Wellington hosted by Henry Cooke.[16] Davidson and Genter again met in a debate hosted by Lisa Owen on Newshub Nation on 10 March,[17] and in another hosted by Mihingarangi Forbes on The Hui on 11 March.[18]
Faulkes comes across really well in that Newshub interview. One of the great things there is showing how people can work alongside each other rather than the dagger in the back of some other parties.
He's not going to win, that's not the purpose. The purpose is as he says, to put out some additional ideas on party direction and get those talked about and considered.
I don’t write novellas at The Standard. No need to sea lion me.
My sole point is that sometimes a contested leadership is unnecessary if there is an outstanding candidate. Going through the process to demonstrate “hey we have a process” and are democrats, is good to have but in this case not needed imho.
sealioning is harassing someone faux politely with endless requests for evidence and backup. I didn't do that, I pointed out the problem with your position. This is what we do here, we arguing our positions.
You want the Greens to just put CS in without contest, I explained why the contest is a good thing. It's not simply about demonstrating process. I already explained the value.
There may be value in contest, but there is also value in Tiger Mountain's point.
Given it's widely felt that the outcome is a win for Chlöe, there's less value in hearing what Alex would do, imo. If the race was tight, the prospectives equally strong, as with Metiria Turei and Sue Bradford, a contest would be necessary.
I wrote less value. Presumably, if Alex was to win, his ideas would have a greater chance of being implemented than they would have if he was to lose; an individual Green Party member in Dunedin does not have the same influence as the Leader of the Party.
Therefore, if Chlöe wins, time invested in listening to, and discussing, Alex's ideas, is lessened in value.
Foulkes isn’t going to win. The contest gives a range of ideas a chance to be aired, that wouldn’t be aired if there was no contest. Diversity of ideas is a good thing, I have to admit to being puzzled at the resistance to this.
The contest gives CS more MSM and SM coverage as well.
I also think it’s good for CS to have to present and defend her leadership ideas in this relatively benign context before she becomes co-leader.
Maybe I’m not understanding your point.
Therefore, if Chlöe wins, time invested in listening to, and discussing, Alex’s ideas, is lessened in value.
pretty easy to rig up how? Let’s say Joe Blogs decides to rig the contest. He becomes a member and waits for the next opportunity. He gets five others to do the same. When a co-leader steps aside he throws his hat in the ring with the support of five member nominations.
If it’s not known to any one in the party, how many votes do you think he will get? It’s the delegates that vote, and they have to talk to their local members after those members have been given information about the candidates. What do you think the members and the delegates will do with a candidate with no background in the Greens?
Doesn't matter. They get the opportunity to draw attention to themselves in the media, get to broadcast their message, get to comment on their competition and the Party, should they choose to, etc. etc.
Like going through US Primaries, which were invented in 1972 to get stronger internal mandate for candidates, rather than stitch up Party leaders in the dealbroking of 'smoky back rooms' or statewide contests.
However, on average the play for membership-based democracy doesn't actually yield a better candidate than just the caucus putting the new leader up there fait accompli.
Was Cunliffe really better than Goff, with the huge internal fight for democratic process? Probably not.
Was Ardern really better than Little, with no Membership input at all? Not really.
And Shaw rose to the top to lead the Greens to their best result, despite the best internal efforts of its own mid-term selection process.
With a decade of hindsight, I prefer not see how sausage is made.
Members chose Shaw. I'm not sure that the Caucus necessarily would have. From memory there was a lot of support for Hague.
Also, Vernon Tava put his hand up, which was very useful in exposing him for the bluegreen that he was.
And Shaw rose to the top to lead the Greens to their best result, despite the best internal efforts of its own mid-term selection process.
As with Faulkes, the purpose of that challenge to Shaw wasn't to win (they didn't even have a candidate). It was to shake the party awake from its sleep. Shaw himself said afterwards that it was a useful thing in terms of understanding where the membership was at. There's a direct line between that and CS's plan for leadership and taking the Greens down the more radical path.
With a decade of hindsight, I prefer not see how sausage is made.
sure, but that's not how the GP rolls. Those that don't want to know can look away.
Tava was a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand until resigning from the party in late February 2017.[3]While a member of the Green Party, he served as their Auckland co-convenor, Standing Orders Convenor on the National Executive, and as their electorate candidate for Northcote in 2011. In 2015, Tava contested the Green Party's male co-leadership election. He campaigned on returning to the party's roots and core values as neither left nor right wing and placing the environment back at the top of party priorities.[2] The male co-leadership contest was ultimately won by first-term List MP and former management consultant, James Shaw, with Tava coming third-equal with Gareth Hughes MP, both receiving one delegate vote each.[5][2]
In late February 2017, Tava quit the Green Party, claiming that the party had strayed away from environmentalism and become "too socialist." During the 2017 New Zealand general election, he joined the 2017 campaign team of the centre-right National Party's East Coast Bays candidate Erica Stanford.[3] Tava then sought the National Party nomination in the 2018 Northcote by-election.[6] He did not make National's candidate shortlist.
I don't know about relaxed (you would have to be more specific in the scenario you have in mind eg what negative things would happen), but I still support the GP process on this.
I'd probably be less relaxed in an election year, but I still trust the party.
Support and trust the GP process, sure, but here we are sharing our opinions on whether we would enjoy the process more if Chlöe were to be given a cleared path. I don't think anyone's saying that it's wrong to have Alex challenge, just that they favour the simpler option (at least, that's what I think the several here are meaning).
yes, I understand there are people here saying give CS a clear run, but I'm not seeing the rationale explained.
If the rationale is that you would enjoy the process more, that I can understand. I'm not sure that it carries much political weight for me personally when held up against the benefits of having a contest. But each to their own.
You may think Green Party people are somehow special. But they ain't. They're just folks. And the point of democracy in leadership contests is that it's a spectacle in which no one looks away.
The Greens have had a fulsome share of internal stoushes involving both members and MPs. The real outliner to internal cohesion is found in the more secretive parties in ACT and NZFirst. They are rewarded for their stability no matter what is happening behind the curtain.
And you may well believe this is no place for a Labour member to have an opinion. Except more than ever our political interests align.
"However, on average the play for membership-based democracy doesn't actually yield a better candidate than just the caucus putting the new leader up there fait accompli."
However, on average the play for membership-based democracy doesn't actually yield a better candidate than just the caucus putting the new leader up there fait accompli.
I'm not sure about that. May have avoided the ACT party hostile takeover of Labour in 1984, for one.
Removed Vernon Tava when he showed his true colours, and I suspect a couple more after this term.
Great work Matt and the team there for having a functioning historical memory with actual facts.
I really don't mind the course correction to concentrate on road maintenance, and to complete the existing projects, and fix the deadly SH1 link from Karapiro through to the Kaimai's.
But in reality what this government is doing is simply eradicating the entire RLTP and LTP consultation process that was set up way back in 2003 in the Land Transport Management Act. This is a huge erasure of democratic process and consultative power.
Louise Upston, Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters and David Seymour of the National, NZ First and ACT will ALL be responsible for atrocities that will result from the new welfare legislation.
During the election, National pledged to introduce more sanctions for unemployed beneficiaries who "persistently" do not meet benefit obligations. The sanctions could include mandatory community work experience of up to three months, benefit suspensions or reductions, and Work and Income having a greater role in managing a beneficiary's money.
Do not forget that the most vulnerable Kiwis are on the welfare system. The overwhelming majority of the people on income payments are there through no fault of their own.
As humans, you owe it to your humanity to protest against this oncoming attack.
Also, how to throw a massive distraction from smoking, Maori bashing etc. Look over there, bad beneficiaries need to be punished. And plenty of people (and media) more than happy to lap it up without question. Works every time.
Dealing with WINZ – or whatever it is called these days is not easy. I had to do a lot of it on behalf of some of my refugee friends who were on various benefits. It seemed to me that if they could make it awkward for my friends – they would do just that.
I did get my revenge at a later date when a chap from WINZ rang me to try and track down one of my friends who had gone to Australia with some of her family. He said that she owed them some money and did I have an address for her? I took great pleasure in reminding him that the Privacy Act can be used by more than one party and as WINZ had refused to even let me make an appointment for my friend when she had just come out of hospital and needed me to take her to see them, I was not in any mood to give them any information.
I did tell him not to bother wasting the taxpayers $$$$ by ringing people with the same surname in Melbourne, as her culture does not have family names which are passed down the generations.
Rolling-on-gravel Get your extra copies of everything. Find a really good Advocate. I know how manipulative their systems become.
Reporters are beginning to pick holes in the fabric of their "Policies" or rather .. the lack of them. Thinking of you and Kay and others under threat of their austerity push. You are correct, we need to question, complain and demonstrate to keep the Public up with the nasty changes.
Very interesting to see Department of Internal Affairs take a civil case against Sky City on money laundering etc.
Can anyone remember the trade that PM John Key made over a decade ago for huge weakening of gambling regulations and specific gaming concessions to Sky City in exchange for the huge future benefit of a national convention centre?
Over a decade later, not so much as a single Punch and Judy show at the national convention centre let alone anything resembling the massive negative hit New Zealand has taken on the basis of that big fat barely legal deal.
But oh sure we should trust the next National government to make similarly massive swinging deals and expect a different result.
Re the latest candidate for the GP co-leadership: is it Faulkes or Foulkes, folks? Both spellings seem to be getting used interchangeably, sometimes within the same post.
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ACT up the game on division politicsEmmerson’s take on David Seymour’s claim Jesus would have supported ACTACT’s announcement it is moving into local politics is a logical next step for a party that is waging its battle on picking up the aggrieved.It’s a numbers game, and as long as the ...
1. What will be the slogan of the next butter ad campaign?a. You’re worth itb.Once it hits $20, we can do something about the riversc. I can’t believe it’s the price of butter d. None of the above Read more ...
It is said that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. That may be an exaggeration but an even better response is to point out economists do know the difference. They did not at first. Classical economics thought that the price of something reflected the objective ...
Political fighting in Taiwan is delaying some of an increase in defence spending and creating an appearance of lack of national resolve that can only damage the island’s relationship with the Trump administration. The main ...
The unclassified version of the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review (IIR) was released today. It’s a welcome and worthy sequel to its 2017 predecessor, with an ambitious set of recommendations for enhancements to Australia’s national intelligence ...
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The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
“Make New Zealand First Again” Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you for being here today. We know your lives are busy and you are working harder and longer than you ever have, and there are many calls on your time, so thank you for the chance to speak ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
Labour does not support the private ownership of core infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons, which will only see worse outcomes for Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is disappointed the Government voted down Hūhana Lyndon’s member’s Bill, which would have prevented further alienation of Māori land through the Public Works Act. ...
The Labour Party will support Chloe Swarbrick’s member’s bill which would allow sanctions against Israel for its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. ...
The Government’s new procurement rules are a blatant attack on workers and the environment, showing once again that National’s priorities are completely out of touch with everyday Kiwis. ...
With Labour and Te Pāti Māori’s official support, Opposition parties are officially aligned to progress Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in Palestine. ...
Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
Increases in water charges for Auckland consumers this year will be halved under the Watercare Charter which has now been passed into law, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. The charter is part of the financial arrangement for Watercare developed last year by Auckland Council ...
There is wide public support for the Government’s work to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity protections, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The Ministry for Primary Industries recently completed public consultation on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act and the submissions show that people understand the importance of having a strong biosecurity ...
A new independent review function will enable individuals and organisations to seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation, Acting Transport Minister James Meager has announced today. “Today we are making it easier and more affordable ...
The Government will invest in an enhanced overnight urgent care service for the Napier community as part of our focus on ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown has today confirmed. “I am delighted that a solution has been found to ensure Napier residents will continue to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey attended a sod turning today to officially mark the start of construction on a new mental health facility at Hillmorton Campus. “This represents a significant step in modernising mental health services in Canterbury,” Mr Brown says. “Improving health infrastructure is ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed confirmation the economy has turned the corner. Stats NZ reported today that gross domestic product grew 0.7 per cent in the three months to December following falls in the June and September quarters. “We know many families and businesses are still suffering the after-effects ...
The sealing of a 12-kilometre stretch of State Highway 43 (SH43) through the Tangarakau Gorge – one of the last remaining sections of unsealed state highway in the country – has been completed this week as part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the safety and resilience ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says relations between New Zealand and the United States are on a strong footing, as he concludes a week-long visit to New York and Washington DC today. “We came to the United States to ask the new Administration what it wants from ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed changes to international anti-money laundering standards which closely align with the Government’s reforms. “The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) last month adopted revised standards for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism to allow for simplified regulatory measures for businesses, organisations and sectors ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he welcomes Medsafe’s decision to approve an electronic controlled drug register for use in New Zealand pharmacies, allowing pharmacies to replace their physical paper-based register. “The register, developed by Kiwi brand Toniq Limited, is the first of its kind to be approved in New ...
The Coalition Government’s drive for regional economic growth through the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is on track with more than $550 million in funding so far committed to key infrastructure projects, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. “To date, the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) has received more than 250 ...
[Comments following the bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; United States State Department, Washington D.C.] * We’re very pleased with our meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. * We came here to listen to the new Administration and to be clear about what ...
The intersection of State Highway 2 (SH2) and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop. “The current intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road is ...
The Ocean Race will return to the City of Sails in 2027 following the Government’s decision to invest up to $4 million from the Major Events Fund into the international event, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says. “New Zealand is a proud sailing nation, and Auckland is well-known internationally as the ...
Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme. “I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened the new East Building expansion at Manukau Health Park. “This is a significant milestone and the first stage of the Grow Manukau programme, which will double the footprint of the Manukau Health Park to around 30,000m2 once complete,” Mr Brown says. “Home ...
The Government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “In recent years there has been increased antisocial and criminal behaviour in our CBD. The Government ...
The Government is moving to strengthen rules for feeding food waste to pigs to protect New Zealand from exotic animal diseases like foot and mouth disease (FMD), says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. ‘Feeding untreated meat waste, often known as "swill", to pigs could introduce serious animal diseases like FMD and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held productive talks in New Delhi today. Fresh off announcing that New Zealand and India would commence negotiations towards a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the two Prime Ministers released a joint statement detailing plans for further cooperation between the two countries across ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the forestry sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges. The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts. Annette Gray Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU). “This unit will boost critical care services in the lower North Island, providing extra capacity and relieving pressure on the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and emergency department. “Wellington Regional Hospital has previously relied ...
Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. What an honour it is to stand on this stage - to inaugurate this august Dialogue - with none other than the Honourable Narendra Modi. My good friend, thank you for so generously welcoming me to India and for our ...
Check against delivery.Kia ora koutou katoa It’s a real pleasure to join you at the inaugural New Zealand infrastructure investment summit. I’d like to welcome our overseas guests, as well as our local partners, organisations, and others.I’d also like to acknowledge: The Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and other Ministers from the Coalition ...
The Children’s Commissioner describes the current situation as “untenable, inequitable and inadequate”, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ‘Untenable, inequitable and inadequate’ Earlier this week, RNZ’s Anusha Bradley reported that the country’s only publicly funded paediatric palliative care ...
Analysis: A fancy new stadium for the Auckland waterfront has yet again been vanquished by the wily ageing edifice in Mt Eden, but ratepayers aren’t yet off the hook.Eden Park ‘won’’ the’ milestone vote by Auckland councillors, who for now will put no money into its development project. But, essentially, ...
Amid rising concerns over the state of paediatric palliative care in New Zealand, Emma Gilkison reflects on the short life of her son Jesús Valentino, who died with the people who loved him best, comfortably and with the care he needed – yet this happened in spite of, not because ...
Three criminologists explain how a history of negative experiences of policing will affect how some communities view the police – and it’s crucial that the opinions of these communities are heard. Over the last day, a media frenzy has erupted over Green Party MP for Wellington Central Tamatha Paul’s comments ...
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A survey of New Zealand coaches and referees on sideline behaviour in children’s team sports has revealed disturbing results.Released by Aktive, the Regional Sports Trust for the wider Auckland region, the survey revealed more than 60 percent had witnessed inappropriate behaviour at least once or twice a season and most ...
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Sigh SSDD. This is the speaker of the house
At least he's not "facilitating commercial activities" for lobbying firms.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/508914/lobbyists-are-back-at-parliament-with-a-new-privacy-measure-hiding-their-identities
Mr Brownlee allowing various spivs and spruikers to have swipe access was not unexpected, but the non disclosure of who is slithering in and out should be of concern.
Some of the lobbyists are undermining democracy in my view with their special pleading and interaction with political parties and politicians that an ‘ordinary’ voter does not get.
That is anti-democratic and utterly corrupt. If you have the money, you can pay people for special government access (and influence) – and keep it all a secret.
Other parties in government should make the identities of these people known (unless there is actually a good reason for secrecy – e.g. they represent women's refuge or something – which I doubt!).
"At the time, National's deputy leader Nicola Willis backed the swipe card ban and said there should be a "transparent, publicly accountable register of who's doing the lobbying and who they're lobbying for". "
No doubt she'll provide comment.
Brownlee say, only 4, so with Key and English a given, who are the other 2?
🙂
Tobacco and gun lobbyists is my guess,
Goddamn disgusted with this shifty move.
I hope these corrupt pillocks are run out of our country when the time comes.
It's moments like this when you wish there was a revolution sometimes. If it can even defy the actual history of revolutions…
God, I am so not proud of being Kiwi when we allow this crap.
Just pause and consider the last regime.
Kris Fafoi, a cabinet minister, reigned to
spend more time with his familyset up a consultancy business.Hipkins employed his Chief of Staff 1 day after he reigned from lobbying for the alcohol industry.
The behaviour (secret lobbying) is wrong. As US points out above, it is anti-democratic and undermines trust in the system. Eg why does the trucking industry get away with not paying it's way?
Labour, with unprecedented political capital, tinkered with addressing this – swipe cards gone from 80 folk rather than meaningful reform.
Would 'meaningful reform' have lasted any longer than Labour's tinkering?
One (tinkering) step forward, two steps (swipe card access & privacy) backward.
Seymour doesn't like the wero, thinks it intimidating:
*No wonder he feels intimidated.
But what next of tikanga Maori would he like to extinguish, waiata, haka…everything?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/act-leader-david-seymour-says-a-lot-of-customs-traditions-at-waitangi-designed-to-intimidate.html
The wero, intimidating?
It'd be terrifying, imo, especially if you'd antagonised everyone there.
The celebrations at Waitangi are not designed to be intimidating.
Some of the actions are though.
Well!
He comes across…well.
Pity someone didn't advise him about creating optimal conditions for a Zoom interview 🙂
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/green-party-activist-alex-foulkes-pitches-radical-manifesto-in-leadership-bid.html?ref=ves-vid1
As you were Mr Foulkes…jeez just leave Chlöe to it this time, I recall the mini circus NZ Labour ran a few years back with several leadership contenders including Grant Robertson, in the end a tiny shift in a union affiliate vote delivered Andrew Little–not going to happen for Alex.
I dunno so much.
One demographic where the Greens can pick up more votes.is in the stale, pale, male crowd.
Foulkes looks a bit like some of them. (Not for a moment do I think 41 is stale).
Plus, isn't a bit of this sort of competition good for an outfit such as The Greens?
No probs with Mr Foulkes, he says things I support and have done for a long time, but…I like Chlöe better at this time because she has runs on the board in various areas and the proven ability to swat down media channel pundits and Natzos.
A clear run for Chlöe would be ideal. Testing democracy with putting up a counter, sounds fine, but wastes energy that could be going into fine-tuning Chlöe for the role.
Alex said he campaigned for Chlöe previously. Perhaps he'd be better to be doing that this time as well.
Perhaps he is.
I don't know why you would compare the Greens to Labour, they have completely different kaupapa and processes around leadership.
The better comparison is with the leadership contest after Metiria Turei left, where we had Julie Ann Genter and Marama Davidson standing. They campaigned within the party and publicly, the profiles of both MPs were raised as well as understanding their similarities and differences, and extra exposure of the Greens and the party policies/positions. This is healthy for the Greens and democracy in NZ.
To give you an idea of how that works,
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Green_Party_of_Aotearoa_New_Zealand_female_co-leadership_election
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/03/green-party-co-leader-debate-marama-davidson-and-julie-anne-genter.html
Faulkes comes across really well in that Newshub interview. One of the great things there is showing how people can work alongside each other rather than the dagger in the back of some other parties.
He's not going to win, that's not the purpose. The purpose is as he says, to put out some additional ideas on party direction and get those talked about and considered.
I don’t write novellas at The Standard. No need to sea lion me.
My sole point is that sometimes a contested leadership is unnecessary if there is an outstanding candidate. Going through the process to demonstrate “hey we have a process” and are democrats, is good to have but in this case not needed imho.
sealioning is harassing someone faux politely with endless requests for evidence and backup. I didn't do that, I pointed out the problem with your position. This is what we do here, we arguing our positions.
You want the Greens to just put CS in without contest, I explained why the contest is a good thing. It's not simply about demonstrating process. I already explained the value.
There may be value in contest, but there is also value in Tiger Mountain's point.
Given it's widely felt that the outcome is a win for Chlöe, there's less value in hearing what Alex would do, imo. If the race was tight, the prospectives equally strong, as with Metiria Turei and Sue Bradford, a contest would be necessary.
That's not the case here.
why?
Is anyone at all excluded from making a challenge for leadership?
afaik the only criteria is that they have to be a member, and they have to get 5 other members to nominate them.
can you please answer my question.
I wrote less value. Presumably, if Alex was to win, his ideas would have a greater chance of being implemented than they would have if he was to lose; an individual Green Party member in Dunedin does not have the same influence as the Leader of the Party.
Therefore, if Chlöe wins, time invested in listening to, and discussing, Alex's ideas, is lessened in value.
Foulkes isn’t going to win. The contest gives a range of ideas a chance to be aired, that wouldn’t be aired if there was no contest. Diversity of ideas is a good thing, I have to admit to being puzzled at the resistance to this.
The contest gives CS more MSM and SM coverage as well.
I also think it’s good for CS to have to present and defend her leadership ideas in this relatively benign context before she becomes co-leader.
Maybe I’m not understanding your point.
Is the issue about time invested?
"the only criteria is that they have to be a member, and they have to get 5 other members to nominate them."
Pretty easy to rig that up.
Not saying this is the case here. NOT saying 🙂
The method has been employed since time immemorial, even in the animal kingdom (vague white ant allusion).
pretty easy to rig up how? Let’s say Joe Blogs decides to rig the contest. He becomes a member and waits for the next opportunity. He gets five others to do the same. When a co-leader steps aside he throws his hat in the ring with the support of five member nominations.
If it’s not known to any one in the party, how many votes do you think he will get? It’s the delegates that vote, and they have to talk to their local members after those members have been given information about the candidates. What do you think the members and the delegates will do with a candidate with no background in the Greens?
"how many votes do you think he will get?"
Doesn't matter. They get the opportunity to draw attention to themselves in the media, get to broadcast their message, get to comment on their competition and the Party, should they choose to, etc. etc.
Sometimes, I despair!
Like going through US Primaries, which were invented in 1972 to get stronger internal mandate for candidates, rather than stitch up Party leaders in the dealbroking of 'smoky back rooms' or statewide contests.
However, on average the play for membership-based democracy doesn't actually yield a better candidate than just the caucus putting the new leader up there fait accompli.
Was Cunliffe really better than Goff, with the huge internal fight for democratic process? Probably not.
Was Ardern really better than Little, with no Membership input at all? Not really.
And Shaw rose to the top to lead the Greens to their best result, despite the best internal efforts of its own mid-term selection process.
With a decade of hindsight, I prefer not see how sausage is made.
Members chose Shaw. I'm not sure that the Caucus necessarily would have. From memory there was a lot of support for Hague.
Also, Vernon Tava put his hand up, which was very useful in exposing him for the bluegreen that he was.
As with Faulkes, the purpose of that challenge to Shaw wasn't to win (they didn't even have a candidate). It was to shake the party awake from its sleep. Shaw himself said afterwards that it was a useful thing in terms of understanding where the membership was at. There's a direct line between that and CS's plan for leadership and taking the Greens down the more radical path.
sure, but that's not how the GP rolls. Those that don't want to know can look away.
" It was to shake the party awake from its sleep."
Which is fine, if the shaker has the Party's best interests at heart.
If a Seymour clone put their hand up to challenge Chlöe and seized the media opportunities that come with that, would you be so relaxed?
Do you mean like Vernon Tava?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Tava
I don't know about relaxed (you would have to be more specific in the scenario you have in mind eg what negative things would happen), but I still support the GP process on this.
I'd probably be less relaxed in an election year, but I still trust the party.
Support and trust the GP process, sure, but here we are sharing our opinions on whether we would enjoy the process more if Chlöe were to be given a cleared path. I don't think anyone's saying that it's wrong to have Alex challenge, just that they favour the simpler option (at least, that's what I think the several here are meaning).
yes, I understand there are people here saying give CS a clear run, but I'm not seeing the rationale explained.
If the rationale is that you would enjoy the process more, that I can understand. I'm not sure that it carries much political weight for me personally when held up against the benefits of having a contest. But each to their own.
You may think Green Party people are somehow special. But they ain't. They're just folks. And the point of democracy in leadership contests is that it's a spectacle in which no one looks away.
The Greens have had a fulsome share of internal stoushes involving both members and MPs. The real outliner to internal cohesion is found in the more secretive parties in ACT and NZFirst. They are rewarded for their stability no matter what is happening behind the curtain.
And you may well believe this is no place for a Labour member to have an opinion. Except more than ever our political interests align.
I go with your comment further up the thread:
"However, on average the play for membership-based democracy doesn't actually yield a better candidate than just the caucus putting the new leader up there fait accompli."
do you think the party would be better off with the caucus choosing the leaders? Why?
I'm not sure about that. May have avoided the ACT party hostile takeover of Labour in 1984, for one.
Removed Vernon Tava when he showed his true colours, and I suspect a couple more after this term.
I still haven't had time to sit down and do a piece on what this government is doing to local government.
But in the meantime this is GreaterAuckland doing a good summary of what the new Minister of Transport is doing to Auckland Council.
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2024/02/12/the-governments-war-on-auckland/
Great work Matt and the team there for having a functioning historical memory with actual facts.
I really don't mind the course correction to concentrate on road maintenance, and to complete the existing projects, and fix the deadly SH1 link from Karapiro through to the Kaimai's.
But in reality what this government is doing is simply eradicating the entire RLTP and LTP consultation process that was set up way back in 2003 in the Land Transport Management Act. This is a huge erasure of democratic process and consultative power.
Louise Upston, Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters and David Seymour of the National, NZ First and ACT will ALL be responsible for atrocities that will result from the new welfare legislation.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/02/11/more-beneficiaries-to-face-sanctions-under-new-govt-minister
Do not forget that the most vulnerable Kiwis are on the welfare system. The overwhelming majority of the people on income payments are there through no fault of their own.
As humans, you owe it to your humanity to protest against this oncoming attack.
Make this government ONE TERM!
Also, how to throw a massive distraction from smoking, Maori bashing etc. Look over there, bad beneficiaries need to be punished. And plenty of people (and media) more than happy to lap it up without question. Works every time.
Dealing with WINZ – or whatever it is called these days is not easy. I had to do a lot of it on behalf of some of my refugee friends who were on various benefits. It seemed to me that if they could make it awkward for my friends – they would do just that.
I did get my revenge at a later date when a chap from WINZ rang me to try and track down one of my friends who had gone to Australia with some of her family. He said that she owed them some money and did I have an address for her? I took great pleasure in reminding him that the Privacy Act can be used by more than one party and as WINZ had refused to even let me make an appointment for my friend when she had just come out of hospital and needed me to take her to see them, I was not in any mood to give them any information.
I did tell him not to bother wasting the taxpayers $$$$ by ringing people with the same surname in Melbourne, as her culture does not have family names which are passed down the generations.
Rolling-on-gravel Get your extra copies of everything. Find a really good Advocate. I know how manipulative their systems become.
Reporters are beginning to pick holes in the fabric of their "Policies" or rather .. the lack of them. Thinking of you and Kay and others under threat of their austerity push. You are correct, we need to question, complain and demonstrate to keep the Public up with the nasty changes.
Very interesting to see Department of Internal Affairs take a civil case against Sky City on money laundering etc.
Can anyone remember the trade that PM John Key made over a decade ago for huge weakening of gambling regulations and specific gaming concessions to Sky City in exchange for the huge future benefit of a national convention centre?
Over a decade later, not so much as a single Punch and Judy show at the national convention centre let alone anything resembling the massive negative hit New Zealand has taken on the basis of that big fat barely legal deal.
But oh sure we should trust the next National government to make similarly massive swinging deals and expect a different result.
I do remember.
Johnny’s infrastructure conduit for money going overseas? A monument to greed? imo.
Tough day at Allegiant Stadium for the GOP, the 49ers (blue state, liberal as, Chad property values) or team Swiftie.
Those who are not aware of how unhinged the right are in Auckland, read this X concrete – the hate for left wing women politicians is palpable.
The not so hidden message, that the white race heritage and culture rule of man by right wing men is the natural order under God.
https://twitter.com/LeoMolloyNZ/status/1756456859467383050?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email
Re the latest candidate for the GP co-leadership: is it Faulkes or Foulkes, folks? Both spellings seem to be getting used interchangeably, sometimes within the same post.