Occupiers always can get power on , as they are paying for it.
The law is on the new owners side , but he doesnt seem to be using it properly, Tenancy Tribunal hasnt enforcement capabilities ( as many tenants find out as well), he needs the High Court for that.
hes a fool at that age and without experience of mortgagee sales to go down that path and left to fester over 4 years
It's only tangential to what I used to do, but my impression is that an eviction order is used when there's some reasonable dispute about whether the person actually has to leave a place they occupy.
If they get evicted then come back, they're no different from a trespasser or burglar. No colour of right to occupy. Bugger eviction, do them for breaking and entering.
As there appears no indication there was a tenancy arrangement I would assume the order was a trespass order rather than a tenancy tribunal finding that the bailiffs enacted.
Terrible story about a wife who dies during childbirth and the baby soon after. It must have been harrowing circumstances as the baby was delivered late at night by emergency Cesarean in the ambulance with a team from St Johns.
This jumped out for me
'Meepegama, an IT technician, also called and texted Silva's midwife to say she was having difficulties breathing but the midwife didn't respond."
So much for the 24 hr service private midwives are contracted to deliver ( including a backup contact) I wonder how many new mothers get the same response but its not a dire emergency.
Wierd scenes ! An online petition against a movie recounting the events of 3/15 muslims an non muslims objecting to the idea of a central character {jacinda}being a white woman ?? 15 thousand so far according to rnz
Seems reasonable on the face of it. Why should Hollywood get to make money by telling the story of Ardern as Hero and not the people who were shot by a white supremacist? They appear to not have even talked with survivors and family.
While i agree they should definitely have talked to the survivors, making a film about Arderns reaction and swift action removing military style weapons is a story worth telling.
If they wanted to do it on the actual killing they would be accused of glorifying it.
The story is about a mass killing of Muslims and how the trauma at the time was lessened by our PM and authorities. The nub of it all is the killings, so don't try and slant it as being a handbook guide on how a good politician should behave in tragedies. Naturally the Muslim people are upset that their tragedy is being used as a drawcard for profit. Particularly as the PM's attention wavered to other pressing matters; support for the bereaved mothers and wives quickly lessened and soon they were being treated with the disdain that NZ administers to solo parents and being told they should be getting a job as well as properly caring for their children's upbringing.
About 5 mothers have returned to their home countries for various reasons of difficulties. One had a 14 year old daughter in trauma after their fence was painted with hostile graffiti; she feared for her mental health.
The film idea is disgraceful, and disrespectful, and callous. It is an example of how people don't count in a business, profit-making world and what we can expect under the economic system that we stupidly signed up to by our mendacious politicians.
The 2006 movie "Out of the Blue" is based on the Aramoana massacre that occurred over a period of two days in mid-November 1990.
The film has received positive reviews but had a controversy during production. It faced a lot of opposition from the town, and as a result no filming was done in Aramoana. Some members of the community were against the movie being filmed, but they would get to see the movie first before it was released to the public, and it would not be called 'Aramoana.'
It's been 2 years and 3 months since the Christchurch mosque massacres, so way too soon imho, although you can't fight "I want it now" – everything's "on demand".
This "on-demand" generation is used to gathering information and arriving at conclusions quickly…
What – I have to wait?! How inconvenient.
In a statement to RNZ today, Ardern said that film-makers did not consult her in any form about their plans.
She stopped short of condemning the film, despite the public petition asking her to do so.
But she said plenty of stories from 15 March could be told and she does not consider hers to be one of them.
The prime minister added the attacks on the two mosques remain very raw for New Zealand.
Never bothered watching that one, either. Or any of the ones about 9/11, etc.
There are very few movies of that ilk that I can be bothered watching. However "sensitive" or "accurate" they claim to be, it's usually just a shallow, money-grubbing, ham-fisted pastiche of nothing we haven't seen before.
They either run it on the same template as Jaws, or end up ignoring "accuracy" for everything except near-pornographic recreations of the last moments people spent on this earth.
Just that they’re leveraging other people’s pain to make a profit.
This is applicable to many excellent and/or important movies and documentaries. The extent to which this undermines their value is a (personal) judgement call.
Unlike you, I watched "Out of the Blue" – it wasn't an easy watch.
There are several well-received NZ movies (from 'Once Were Warriors' to 'Savage') that I've never been able to bring myself watch because it seems (to me) that they would be too confronting.
I'm not saying these are bad movies, but if I'm going to watch a film that portrays the misery of the human condition, my preference is for based-on-fact offerings.
About the Film [Out of the Blue]
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Introduction
I lived in nearby Dunedin during the Aramoana tragedy in 1990. I remember the surreal feeling of that day when we all knew a gunman was on the loose just a few kilometres down the road. It was warm. Not a cloud in the sky. It all seemed so incongruous.
Aramoana always felt like the most peaceful place on earth to me. Its two beaches are breathtakingly beautiful and as a teenager I enjoyed biking out there and sitting at the end of the mole. It's a contemplative place. It feels like the edge of the world.
This tragedy shocked New Zealand in a profound way. It cut to the core of our idyllic self-image of our country – 'gods own country', 'a great place to bring up kids'. Before Aramoana, random violence seemed to happen elsewhere. After 13 November 1990 the violence of the world had come home. For my generation it was the moment New Zealand lost its innocence.
Why tell this story?
The Aramoana tragedy is one of the more significant events in New Zealand's recent history. It was an event that deeply affected New Zealanders at the time. I think it is important to look at significant events like this, to reflect and hopefully learn from them.
These events highlight the positive side of the kiwi spirit as much as darkness of the actions of one man. The people of Aramoana and the police involved acted selflessly to help each other get through that night and I think that is worth remembering, and paying tribute to.
As a filmmaker I was attracted to the way this story involved an entire community in a period of sustained tension. I was intrigued that David Gray was a member of the community rather than an outsider, and by the way other members of the community reacted and helped each other. The story seemed to have something distinctively New Zealand about it. It seemed like an opportunity, framed by tragedy though it is, to explore who we are as a people, or perhaps who we were.
Thing about Once Were Warriors is that although it was a true story, it wasn't specific person's true story.
It explored true themes, but without distorting someone's actual truth.
Your Sarkies blurb makes that point: the filmmakers was exploring themes he was drawn to, not the entire truths of the people involved.
I'm sure it was indeed hard viewing. Reproductions of the murders of kids always are. Did this one make any novel explorations of our society (like Once Were Warriors), or make a case for viewers to be outraged at the callous injustices of a corrupt system (e.g. Beyond Reasonable Doubt)?
Or did a depersonified Big Bad terrorise a small group of salt-of-the-earth noble characters, the survivors rallying together to recover from the tragedy?
In other words, was it thematically different from "a perfect storm", or even "2012" for that matter?
It explored true themes, but without distorting someone's actual truth.
Why would the exploration of "true themes" (?) be any less prone to distortion than the exploration of real events? Plenty of themes and real events are explored and discussed on The Standard.
Way to soon to explore the events and themes/memes of the Christchurch mosque massacres in a major movie, imho, but we explored them here almost in real time.
In other words, was it thematically different from "a perfect storm", or even "2012" for that matter?
Didn't see 'A Perfect Storm', but yes, quite different thematically to the '2012' fantasy, imho.
Why would the exploration of "true themes" (?) be any less prone to distortion than the exploration of real events?
Because 90 or 120 minutes is not long enough to accurately show a complete individual, let alone an ensemble. That's why so many movie characters are archetypes – the hero, the coward, the bad guy, the adventurer.
Lots of people met someone like Jake the Muss, sometimes even in themselves. Those themes permeate through New Zealand. Through that story, he had character development, an arc.
But so close to the actual events, firstly making the murderer a living human being who started out as a baby and somehow became the person that could do that thing? That would take more than 120 minutes and be all about him. So the bad guy has to be a caricature, not any different from "the neutrinos are mutating and warming the planet". The murderer is just a pretext for the obstacles our plucky heros have to overcome.
But then the people who were shot at and those who were responders, a movie close to the events can't develop them, either. Takes too long, and muddies who the audience is supposed to support (because it's entertainment). Maybe there's a token "coward" or "obstructive bureaucrat", but good luck giving any of them an arc. And then half the details will be changed, and characters chopped or amalgamated, and timelines confused, just to fit the story the movie makers want to tell.
So what's the value of any movie "based on real events"?
educating people that events actually happened (things that had been covered up at the time and shortly afterwards)
expose covered-up misconduct by the authorities
build public support if the things that happened still need to be addressed and answered for, especially by corrupt individuals still alive
throw some hollywood cash at people involved
I doubt any of those apply to most recent NZ events. Although a film about Pike River might uncover some stuff and embarrass some responsible parties, especially in regards to deals being cut and evidence being lost.
Plenty of themes and real events are explored and discussed on The Standard.
Nobody here is doing it for money. And it's a dialogue, not one final cut.
edit: and how many of those movies were based on events only a decade or two before, and then how many of those were anything other than hagiographies or propaganda? And then how many were any good?
Because 90 or 120 minutes is not long enough to accurately show a complete individual, let alone an ensemble.
Agreed, that would take a lifetime. Is it possible to accurately portray a “true theme” that has been distilled from the experiences of real people in 90-120 minutes? Maybe you're asking/expecting too much.
Fwiw, I don't believe Sarkies set out to portray Gray as a "Big Bad"; rather some effort was made (early on) to help the audience get inside Gray's head, unsettling and demoralising (the banality of 'evil') as that was. Gray did murder four children, although these murders weren't shown on screen – imagine my disappointment.
Just finished watching another movie based on real events – the cleverly named 'BlacKkKlansman' (2018), directed by Spike Lee. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, no less.
Imho, films based on real events are not inherently inferior to films that eschew the dramatisation of real events. They too can have value beyond their primary purpose of being sufficiently entertaining to make money. Fwiw, ‘entertaining’ is not the first adjective that comes to mind when I recall ‘Out of the Blue’.
Is it possible to accurately portray a “true theme” that has been distilled from the experiences of real people in 90-120 minutes?
The difference is that the director isn't selling anyone short or (in the opposite direction) idolising them. And in the case of Once Were Warriors, really making NZ have a look in the mirror.
BlacKkKlansman was a good movie, but played quite loosely with some of the facts and characters. But it also had a very clear warning for society, and told a little-known story.
What little-known story did you learn from the sarkies movie? What fundamental warning or message about society did it deliver?
Or did it simply take the audience on a little self-contained emotional journey with a cathartic resolution, and then everyone could go get a cup of tea?
Because the latter is purely entertainment. It might not be a comedy, but it is just entertainment. Using the pain of real people.
Because the latter is purely entertainment. It might not be a comedy, but it is just entertainment. Using the pain of real people.
Adapting Robert Sarkies’ Film Out of the Blue: The At-Home and Abroad Reception of a New Zealand Tragedy
The film is based on a book written by Senior Sergeant Bill O’Brien, Aramoana: Twenty-Two Hours of Terror.
…
However, in the final analysis, I believe a film like Out of the Blue can give hope, although that may be the last descriptor most would attach to such subject matter, and clearly not simply at the level of breaking out of nationally-preconceived categories of genre. I say ‘hope’ because although Aramoana is the place where this tragedy happened (and Out of the Blue does not shy from this fact), it is also the place that survived that tragedy. It is, in the end, the place and the people that continue. No one is more aware of this, I would argue, than those who were touched by the events at Aramoana; Sarkies’ film manages to both represent and respect that.
I don't believe Out of the Blue is purely an entertainment and/or exploitative film. If you believe that it is, then we must agree to disagree – doubt that anyone who actually viewed the film could persuade you otherwise; just a waste of your time and mine.
Critics consensus (Rotten Tomatoes)
A dramatization of real-life terror that's rendered all the more powerful through its sensitivity, Out of the Blue succeeds as a gripping drama as well as a moving commemoration.
Out of the Blue (100 mins, 15) Directed by Robert Sarkies; starring Matthew Sunderland, Karl Urban, Lois Lawn, Simon Ferry
As a piece of film-making about an event that gripped a nation, Out of the Blue is altogether leaner and more gripping than Children of Glory. A documentary-style reconstruction of a small-town massacre that rocked New Zealand in 1990, the whole film takes place in 24 hours, as a crazy 33-year-old loner is tipped over the edge by being charged at his bank for cashing a cheque. Getting out an automatic weapon of a sort no private citizen should possess, he kills 13 people and wounds several others before being shot down. I'm not sure what Robert Sarkies's film tells us, but it is a memorable account of a community uniting under pressure.
Interesting that Simon Ferry, who was the artistic director of our local Centrepoint Theatre from 2005-2008, had a role in the film – you learn something new every day.
Fifteen years later I have such clear memories of Out of the Blue that I have no need, or wish to watch it again – but I'm glad that I did. Maybe one day I'll be able to bring myself to watch Once Were Warriors, and its sequels, too, but I doubt it. No interest in Nitram either – that film may focus more on events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre.
Unlike you, I watched "Out of the Blue" – it wasn't an easy watch.
That was my experience as well.
I am against this Hollywood production. 'Out of the Blue' was a very sensitively made film (docudrama?) and focused on the people involved and the tragedy and heroism of that event. At the end of the film no-one moved or made a sound in the theatre until the credits ended.
I dread where this ne production is going to go. Our PM must feel very uncomfortable that her 'celebrity politician' position in the world is going to be prostituted in the name of Hollywood profit.
If they were to pledge 90% of profits to the rehabilitation of the victims of that event I might be slightly happier. But they haven't, they won't, and you cannot trust 'Hollywood accounting' anyway.
And it won't change the gun culture in the USA one jot. Sandy Hook didn't, so there is no hope for that country.
JA stepped up to the plate immediately and without reservation earning her a huge amount of credit in nz and around the world .As our prime minister what has the fact of her being white have to do with anything ?
@ weston (3.1.2) … I agree with your comments. Mentioning the fact that Jacinda Ardern being "a white woman" is quite unnecessary in the case you point out.
IMHO I consider a movie about the massacre is disrespectful to those NZers suffering the rawness from the pain of the event, Besides, it is not a form of entertainment. For that reason alone I signed the petition. And I'm not "woke"!
How fortunate we are to have such things to be outraged over. In the meantime Amnesty International have just released this report:
Since 2017, under the guise of a campaign against “terrorism”, the government of China has carried out massive and systematic abuses against Muslims living in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang). Far from a legitimate response to the purported terrorist threat, the government’s campaign evinces a clear intent to target parts of Xinjiang’s population collectively on the basis of religion and ethnicity and to use severe violence and intimidation to root out Islamic religious beliefs and Turkic Muslim ethno-cultural practices. The government aims to replace these beliefs and practices with secular state-sanctioned views and behaviours, and, ultimately, to forcibly assimilate members of these ethnic groups into a homogenous Chinese nation possessing a unified language, culture, and unwavering loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert has asked a senior US government official if changing the moon’s orbit around the Earth, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun, might be a solution for climate change.
Bizarrely, the question was not posed to anyone from Nasa or even the Pentagon. Instead it was asked of a senior forestry service official during a House natural resources committee hearing on Tuesday.
Science Fiction has a lot to answer for. Send a special forces squad and use a large bomb- the solution to all problems.
The question behind this man's ignorance is how did he get to his age and experience, and especially his position, with schooling, training, general knowledge etc- and still even consider that such a solution is possible?
Shades of the vetting and selection procedures of our National Party version of the Republican Party, from Trump on down.
And these men run hugely powerful states and governments?
US political parties dont 'vet' candidates, they hold primaries and registered voters decide who the 'party candidate' will be from a list of hopefuls. Its a very loose party loyalty system and they dont hold allegiance to the central party.
The NY City democratic primary on June 22 for the later mayoral race has around 8 major candidates plus 5 others and around 10 'withdraws'
''During a hearing into his mental state, McGregor told the medical council that if they had “any understanding of politics, you would understand that the beliefs that are actually put on the blog are actually the directives from President Trump”.When the council chair called to say his registration had been suspended, he called her a “filthy dirty fucking leftwing slut” and claimed she “knowingly used the power of political correctness to inflict woman to male intimidation and assault against [him]”.
Qanon seems to reach right up to the people around Aussie PM Scott Morrison, and explained in a ‘delayed’ ABC Four Corners episode.
1 home schooled. 2 religious narrow schooling 3 a school were pupils challenge teachers about the correctness of their knowledge 4 a believer than technology is intrinsically good, man using it is the same, and it will solve every problem.
My youngest daughter was home schooled, along with her friends. We ran a small home school for 6 children.
She has recently served as deputy chairperson for the local community board and is currently writing. Her friend topped her class in Auckland med school and is now a psychiatrist. Another is an engineer, another is a farmer and qualified motor mechanic, another is the practise manager for a law firm. All have successful careers.
It was towards the final time of 30+ years in education, in state and private teaching from primary to tertiary, from chalk-face to administration.
We realised our daughter was never going to succeed in her state school education, and a different direction was needed. I became involved with the small class of 6 after a couple of years. The move had been very successful for her, but the initial teacher was moving on, and that meant that someone new had to take over. I have to say it was the most enlightening and most enriching teaching experience of my whole career. Our first main lesson was the English novel. Previously I had taught Maths and Physics and Computing Studies! Then followed, The French Revolution, A Play – Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara", Art , Colonisation, Communication, and a host of others. I learnt as much as the children, and when that happens you know you are on the right path.
Interesting. Both my children went through the Steiner system which isn't the same as home-schooling I know, but definitely steps outside of the standard curriculum.
One of my pet ideas is that subjects should be taught as a rough historic progression, the idea being that the order in which humanity as a whole discovered new ideas is not a bad starting point to also teach children. Giving them a sense of how and when ideas first arose and how they changed the world – embedding history into every curricula as it where – whether it be a science, humanity or art, always struck me as potentially interesting and engaging. Almost certainly this isn't an original idea I'd think, but I've never seen it discussed anywhere.
Astonishingly, it's probably not the stupidest thing he's said in Congress. I mean, simple ignorance is sufficient to explain asking that kind of question. I've worked with plenty of people on manufacturing floors that were plenty bright with good problem solving skilz, but were never educated, and might have asked a similar question.
But there are plenty of other occasions he's verbally covered himself in feces on topics where he has allegedly been educated and should know better.
Yes, I saw that. The pictures show clearly the rotor has cut the tail section clean off…as they do. They will say its pilot error and but its a repeated error as that is the main reason they crash in NZ . Will the Aviation Safety stand up to the vested interests and Robinson and ban this type for its design issues. Aviation Safety had an appalling record of bad culture and lax oversight of the helicopters and light planes , but have recent shakeups changed anything
One police unit attended, spoke to the parties involved and advised there were no issues,” she said.
“There is nothing in the information we have been able to obtain to suggest a gang fight – there is no mention in the job of any injuries to anyone and there do not appear to have been any arrests.”
Local staff have since reviewed CCTV footage of the incident and confirmed it didn't involve gang members.
Simon Bridges, National, and NZH are hand-in-glove. We won’t see any of them correct, withdraw, or apologise. Ever. Unless forced by a Court or when they make a personal promise to their children in a valedictory speech.
I don’t mind politicians having convictions and standing (up) for these. I prefer them standing for values. Problem is that some convictions are stoked by values. Here is the paradox, for me.
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In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
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This is ridiculous. Surely the law must be on the new owner's side as he has paid for the property.
Squatters turn Taranaki pensioner's $46,000 house bargain into expensive headache | Stuff.co.nz
It is…but I suspect he will never gain possession of an intact house.
I was interested that he got the power shut off, but the squatters we able to get it put back on under another name.
Occupiers always can get power on , as they are paying for it.
The law is on the new owners side , but he doesnt seem to be using it properly, Tenancy Tribunal hasnt enforcement capabilities ( as many tenants find out as well), he needs the High Court for that.
hes a fool at that age and without experience of mortgagee sales to go down that path and left to fester over 4 years
https://www.justice.govt.nz/fines/about-civil-debt/collect-civil-debt/warrants-to-evict-debtors/
Unfortunately these are the risks you take when buying a property in a mortgage sale.
The risk that the law will not be followed nor enforced (in a timely manner)?…..sounds like a recipe for chaos
Surely the bailiffs to forcibly remove the occupiers doesnt take 4 years, or is there something the story isnt telling us.
The story (as reported) told us the bailiffs vacated the property twice…only for it to be reoccupied.
not sure why trespass orders don't apply
Assume bailiffs used one to evict, though perhaps not….curious that the Police appear to need legal clarification after 2 evictions.
It's only tangential to what I used to do, but my impression is that an eviction order is used when there's some reasonable dispute about whether the person actually has to leave a place they occupy.
If they get evicted then come back, they're no different from a trespasser or burglar. No colour of right to occupy. Bugger eviction, do them for breaking and entering.
As there appears no indication there was a tenancy arrangement I would assume the order was a trespass order rather than a tenancy tribunal finding that the bailiffs enacted.
Terrible story about a wife who dies during childbirth and the baby soon after. It must have been harrowing circumstances as the baby was delivered late at night by emergency Cesarean in the ambulance with a team from St Johns.
This jumped out for me
'Meepegama, an IT technician, also called and texted Silva's midwife to say she was having difficulties breathing but the midwife didn't respond."
So much for the 24 hr service private midwives are contracted to deliver ( including a backup contact) I wonder how many new mothers get the same response but its not a dire emergency.
8I wouldn't trust most midwives to deliver Warehouse brochures, let alone babies.
The amount of mothers and babies who have died because of their useless midwives….
Were that my wife I would have rung 111 straight away.
[you used the wrong e-mail address]
There are hospital midwives or private midwives who deliver in a hospital and provide ante and post natal care at a clinic or at home.
Interesting that the DHBs pay offer for their midwives will put then at $83k to $130k salary range and they arent on call.
Wierd scenes ! An online petition against a movie recounting the events of 3/15 muslims an non muslims objecting to the idea of a central character {jacinda}being a white woman ?? 15 thousand so far according to rnz
Seems reasonable on the face of it. Why should Hollywood get to make money by telling the story of Ardern as Hero and not the people who were shot by a white supremacist? They appear to not have even talked with survivors and family.
While i agree they should definitely have talked to the survivors, making a film about Arderns reaction and swift action removing military style weapons is a story worth telling.
If they wanted to do it on the actual killing they would be accused of glorifying it.
Yes. Its not a documentary its a 'story based on actual events'
Have we even had a documentary done about the events of the day or is that too soon.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/444567/they-are-using-us-how-is-it-okay-for-others-to-profit-off-our-pain
The story is about a mass killing of Muslims and how the trauma at the time was lessened by our PM and authorities. The nub of it all is the killings, so don't try and slant it as being a handbook guide on how a good politician should behave in tragedies. Naturally the Muslim people are upset that their tragedy is being used as a drawcard for profit. Particularly as the PM's attention wavered to other pressing matters; support for the bereaved mothers and wives quickly lessened and soon they were being treated with the disdain that NZ administers to solo parents and being told they should be getting a job as well as properly caring for their children's upbringing.
About 5 mothers have returned to their home countries for various reasons of difficulties. One had a 14 year old daughter in trauma after their fence was painted with hostile graffiti; she feared for her mental health.
The film idea is disgraceful, and disrespectful, and callous. It is an example of how people don't count in a business, profit-making world and what we can expect under the economic system that we stupidly signed up to by our mendacious politicians.
"he economic system that we stupidly signed up to by our mendacious politicians."
Politicians didnt sign us up to anything…. the country was colonised under the same principles.
You have bizzare ideas about business and profit making, or would you prefer the leninist-party-state model?
You are a bit of a cheese cutter ghost. Everyone has to be cut down to size if they don't fit your narrow interpretations.
The 2006 movie "Out of the Blue" is based on the Aramoana massacre that occurred over a period of two days in mid-November 1990.
It's been 2 years and 3 months since the Christchurch mosque massacres, so way too soon imho, although you can't fight "I want it now" – everything's "on demand".
What – I have to wait?! How inconvenient.
Never bothered watching that one, either. Or any of the ones about 9/11, etc.
There are very few movies of that ilk that I can be bothered watching. However "sensitive" or "accurate" they claim to be, it's usually just a shallow, money-grubbing, ham-fisted pastiche of nothing we haven't seen before.
They either run it on the same template as Jaws, or end up ignoring "accuracy" for everything except near-pornographic recreations of the last moments people spent on this earth.
For entertainment.
Unpleasant material, but a fairly realistic potrayal of events by most accounts – a worthy contribution to NZ's Cinema of Unease?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramoana_massacre#Causes
Director Robert Sarkies also co-wrote and directed the entertaining Scarfies.
By-and-large I agree with you – too many 'exploitamentaries' on NZ screens.
I'm not saying they're all bad directors or actors or screenwriters.
Just that they're leveraging other people's pain to make a profit.
This is applicable to many excellent and/or important movies and documentaries. The extent to which this undermines their value is a (personal) judgement call.
Unlike you, I watched "Out of the Blue" – it wasn't an easy watch.
There are several well-received NZ movies (from 'Once Were Warriors' to 'Savage') that I've never been able to bring myself watch because it seems (to me) that they would be too confronting.
I'm not saying these are bad movies, but if I'm going to watch a film that portrays the misery of the human condition, my preference is for based-on-fact offerings.
Thing about Once Were Warriors is that although it was a true story, it wasn't specific person's true story.
It explored true themes, but without distorting someone's actual truth.
Your Sarkies blurb makes that point: the filmmakers was exploring themes he was drawn to, not the entire truths of the people involved.
I'm sure it was indeed hard viewing. Reproductions of the murders of kids always are. Did this one make any novel explorations of our society (like Once Were Warriors), or make a case for viewers to be outraged at the callous injustices of a corrupt system (e.g. Beyond Reasonable Doubt)?
Or did a depersonified Big Bad terrorise a small group of salt-of-the-earth noble characters, the survivors rallying together to recover from the tragedy?
In other words, was it thematically different from "a perfect storm", or even "2012" for that matter?
Why would the exploration of "true themes" (?) be any less prone to distortion than the exploration of real events? Plenty of themes and real events are explored and discussed on The Standard.
Way to soon to explore the events and themes/memes of the Christchurch mosque massacres in a major movie, imho, but we explored them here almost in real time.
Didn't see 'A Perfect Storm', but yes, quite different thematically to the '2012' fantasy, imho.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_actual_events
Because 90 or 120 minutes is not long enough to accurately show a complete individual, let alone an ensemble. That's why so many movie characters are archetypes – the hero, the coward, the bad guy, the adventurer.
Lots of people met someone like Jake the Muss, sometimes even in themselves. Those themes permeate through New Zealand. Through that story, he had character development, an arc.
But so close to the actual events, firstly making the murderer a living human being who started out as a baby and somehow became the person that could do that thing? That would take more than 120 minutes and be all about him. So the bad guy has to be a caricature, not any different from "the neutrinos are mutating and warming the planet". The murderer is just a pretext for the obstacles our plucky heros have to overcome.
But then the people who were shot at and those who were responders, a movie close to the events can't develop them, either. Takes too long, and muddies who the audience is supposed to support (because it's entertainment). Maybe there's a token "coward" or "obstructive bureaucrat", but good luck giving any of them an arc. And then half the details will be changed, and characters chopped or amalgamated, and timelines confused, just to fit the story the movie makers want to tell.
So what's the value of any movie "based on real events"?
I doubt any of those apply to most recent NZ events. Although a film about Pike River might uncover some stuff and embarrass some responsible parties, especially in regards to deals being cut and evidence being lost.
Nobody here is doing it for money. And it's a dialogue, not one final cut.
edit: and how many of those movies were based on events only a decade or two before, and then how many of those were anything other than hagiographies or propaganda? And then how many were any good?
Agreed, that would take a lifetime. Is it possible to accurately portray a “true theme” that has been distilled from the experiences of real people in 90-120 minutes? Maybe you're asking/expecting too much.
Fwiw, I don't believe Sarkies set out to portray Gray as a "Big Bad"; rather some effort was made (early on) to help the audience get inside Gray's head, unsettling and demoralising (the banality of 'evil') as that was. Gray did murder four children, although these murders weren't shown on screen – imagine my disappointment.
Just finished watching another movie based on real events – the cleverly named 'BlacKkKlansman' (2018), directed by Spike Lee. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, no less.
Imho, films based on real events are not inherently inferior to films that eschew the dramatisation of real events. They too can have value beyond their primary purpose of being sufficiently entertaining to make money. Fwiw, ‘entertaining’ is not the first adjective that comes to mind when I recall ‘Out of the Blue’.
The difference is that the director isn't selling anyone short or (in the opposite direction) idolising them. And in the case of Once Were Warriors, really making NZ have a look in the mirror.
BlacKkKlansman was a good movie, but played quite loosely with some of the facts and characters. But it also had a very clear warning for society, and told a little-known story.
What little-known story did you learn from the sarkies movie? What fundamental warning or message about society did it deliver?
Or did it simply take the audience on a little self-contained emotional journey with a cathartic resolution, and then everyone could go get a cup of tea?
Because the latter is purely entertainment. It might not be a comedy, but it is just entertainment. Using the pain of real people.
I don't believe Out of the Blue is purely an entertainment and/or exploitative film. If you believe that it is, then we must agree to disagree – doubt that anyone who actually viewed the film could persuade you otherwise; just a waste of your time and mine.
Interesting that Simon Ferry, who was the artistic director of our local Centrepoint Theatre from 2005-2008, had a role in the film – you learn something new every day.
Fifteen years later I have such clear memories of Out of the Blue that I have no need, or wish to watch it again – but I'm glad that I did. Maybe one day I'll be able to bring myself to watch Once Were Warriors, and its sequels, too, but I doubt it. No interest in Nitram either – that film may focus more on events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre.
Jesus, even the critics you quote call it a "gripping drama" and "I'm not sure what Robert Sarkies's film tells us".
Blackkklansman has the first bit (as well as funny bits), but it's message was very clearly stated.
There's the difference.
That was my experience as well.
I am against this Hollywood production. 'Out of the Blue' was a very sensitively made film (docudrama?) and focused on the people involved and the tragedy and heroism of that event. At the end of the film no-one moved or made a sound in the theatre until the credits ended.
I dread where this ne production is going to go. Our PM must feel very uncomfortable that her 'celebrity politician' position in the world is going to be prostituted in the name of Hollywood profit.
If they were to pledge 90% of profits to the rehabilitation of the victims of that event I might be slightly happier. But they haven't, they won't, and you cannot trust 'Hollywood accounting' anyway.
And it won't change the gun culture in the USA one jot. Sandy Hook didn't, so there is no hope for that country.
JA stepped up to the plate immediately and without reservation earning her a huge amount of credit in nz and around the world .As our prime minister what has the fact of her being white have to do with anything ?
@ weston (3.1.2) … I agree with your comments. Mentioning the fact that Jacinda Ardern being "a white woman" is quite unnecessary in the case you point out.
IMHO I consider a movie about the massacre is disrespectful to those NZers suffering the rawness from the pain of the event, Besides, it is not a form of entertainment. For that reason alone I signed the petition. And I'm not "woke"!
Since when have we moved to the horrible US date style? The Chch terrorist attack took place on 15/3 ie 15th of March not 3/15.
Cultural takeover, mm by mm
How fortunate we are to have such things to be outraged over. In the meantime Amnesty International have just released this report:
I feel guilty about that. Have we paid enough attention to the Falun Gong? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong
Pure bollocks
Sweet! We just need to move the moon…
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1402385847673032711/vid/640×360/78e12mrT1qXGm9gF.mp4?tag=14
The Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert has asked a senior US government official if changing the moon’s orbit around the Earth, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun, might be a solution for climate change.
Bizarrely, the question was not posed to anyone from Nasa or even the Pentagon. Instead it was asked of a senior forestry service official during a House natural resources committee hearing on Tuesday.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/09/texas-republican-louie-gohmert-climate-change
Science Fiction has a lot to answer for. Send a special forces squad and use a large bomb- the solution to all problems.
The question behind this man's ignorance is how did he get to his age and experience, and especially his position, with schooling, training, general knowledge etc- and still even consider that such a solution is possible?
Shades of the vetting and selection procedures of our National Party version of the Republican Party, from Trump on down.
And these men run hugely powerful states and governments?
US political parties dont 'vet' candidates, they hold primaries and registered voters decide who the 'party candidate' will be from a list of hopefuls. Its a very loose party loyalty system and they dont hold allegiance to the central party.
The NY City democratic primary on June 22 for the later mayoral race has around 8 major candidates plus 5 others and around 10 'withdraws'
That sort of bizarre fantasy of the Texas Congressman is nothing compared to this now struck off Sydney Psychiatrist
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/07/psychiatrist-struck-off-for-posting-bizarre-qanon-conspiracy-theories
''During a hearing into his mental state, McGregor told the medical council that if they had “any understanding of politics, you would understand that the beliefs that are actually put on the blog are actually the directives from President Trump”.When the council chair called to say his registration had been suspended, he called her a “filthy dirty fucking leftwing slut” and claimed she “knowingly used the power of political correctness to inflict woman to male intimidation and assault against [him]”.
Qanon seems to reach right up to the people around Aussie PM Scott Morrison, and explained in a ‘delayed’ ABC Four Corners episode.
Who will counsel the counsellors?
Almost makes injecting bleach to cure covid a good idea.
It seems that even in NZ there are currently a small number of GPs under investigation for spreading wacko anti-vaccine narratives.
mac1 He was possibly –
1 home schooled. 2 religious narrow schooling 3 a school were pupils challenge teachers about the correctness of their knowledge 4 a believer than technology is intrinsically good, man using it is the same, and it will solve every problem.
My youngest daughter was home schooled, along with her friends. We ran a small home school for 6 children.
She has recently served as deputy chairperson for the local community board and is currently writing. Her friend topped her class in Auckland med school and is now a psychiatrist. Another is an engineer, another is a farmer and qualified motor mechanic, another is the practise manager for a law firm. All have successful careers.
Brilliant response!
Your spouse must be an amazing teacher
Well yes she is – but I have to confess that I was the teacher
Good on you
The result is a reward for and confirmation of a ‘job’ well done. I’m sure your daughter and her friends will pass it on and spread the love.
It was towards the final time of 30+ years in education, in state and private teaching from primary to tertiary, from chalk-face to administration.
We realised our daughter was never going to succeed in her state school education, and a different direction was needed. I became involved with the small class of 6 after a couple of years. The move had been very successful for her, but the initial teacher was moving on, and that meant that someone new had to take over. I have to say it was the most enlightening and most enriching teaching experience of my whole career. Our first main lesson was the English novel. Previously I had taught Maths and Physics and Computing Studies! Then followed, The French Revolution, A Play – Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara", Art , Colonisation, Communication, and a host of others. I learnt as much as the children, and when that happens you know you are on the right path.
Yup, education and parenthood are not one-way streets and both ‘sides’ become a unit of learning, (self-)discovery, and development.
Interesting. Both my children went through the Steiner system which isn't the same as home-schooling I know, but definitely steps outside of the standard curriculum.
One of my pet ideas is that subjects should be taught as a rough historic progression, the idea being that the order in which humanity as a whole discovered new ideas is not a bad starting point to also teach children. Giving them a sense of how and when ideas first arose and how they changed the world – embedding history into every curricula as it where – whether it be a science, humanity or art, always struck me as potentially interesting and engaging. Almost certainly this isn't an original idea I'd think, but I've never seen it discussed anywhere.
It's one of the reasons I really enjoyed a couple of books. Each gave you a sense of how X couldn't happen until A B and C had.
1. Descartes Error – Antonio Damasio
https://www.amazon.com/Descartes-Error-Emotion-Reason-Human/dp/014303622X
2. Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society – Bill Bryson
Astonishingly, it's probably not the stupidest thing he's said in Congress. I mean, simple ignorance is sufficient to explain asking that kind of question. I've worked with plenty of people on manufacturing floors that were plenty bright with good problem solving skilz, but were never educated, and might have asked a similar question.
But there are plenty of other occasions he's verbally covered himself in feces on topics where he has allegedly been educated and should know better.
Take your pick:
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Louie_Gohmert
https://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-five-most-idiotic-things-louie-gohmert-who-sees-radical-muslims-anywhere-he-looks-believes-6740337
joe90 @4
The agony of the ignorant.
The flying coffin, aka the Robinson helicopter, claims more victims. Hope everyone recovers well.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/windwhistle-canterbury-wedding-day-helicopter-crash-bride-and-groom-on-board/ACX4U4ABGWYB5KQ2B2X3VLNWLM/
Yes, I saw that. The pictures show clearly the rotor has cut the tail section clean off…as they do. They will say its pilot error and but its a repeated error as that is the main reason they crash in NZ . Will the Aviation Safety stand up to the vested interests and Robinson and ban this type for its design issues. Aviation Safety had an appalling record of bad culture and lax oversight of the helicopters and light planes , but have recent shakeups changed anything
Is Simon Bridges trying to score cheap political points again? Did he call the Police or was he too busy tweeting it?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125425049/police-dismiss-simon-bridges-gang-fight-claims-at-tauranga-hospital-carpark
From the article
Simon’s tweet says it all.
Naturally, the faithful Herald led with Simple Simon's claims without fact-checking and only later amended their headline to reflect reality: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/simon-bridges-witnesses-gang-fight-in-hospital-carpark-police-dismiss-gang-link/EIQQ2IZ23SN47IZELXU4YSBINI/
Simon Bridges, National, and NZH are hand-in-glove. We won’t see any of them correct, withdraw, or apologise. Ever. Unless forced by a Court or when they make a personal promise to their children in a valedictory speech.
Only ones I feel sorry for are their children – imagine being brought up in a moral vacuum like that?
I don’t mind politicians having convictions and standing (up) for these. I prefer them standing for values. Problem is that some convictions are stoked by values. Here is the paradox, for me.