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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‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The people have spoken, in their hundreds. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton has been overwhelmingly voted the favourite New Zealand book of 2023 as nominated by ReadingRoom readers. The vote can informally be regarded as the People’s Choice award – ahead of tonight’s Ockham book awards, where Catton’s novel is competing ...
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What happens when cash is king – and then your bank leaves. A businessman in a town that hasn’t had a bank for three years says the Reserve Bank’s plans to put more cash in the hands of its people and introduce digital cash could save hours of time. John ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
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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.