I'd put benefits up to the super rate – as they used to be.
Lower the age back to 60 and slightly increase taxation from the point of NZS + NZS equivalent in extra earnings.
This would mean you could earn super plus super again without any further impact but once you got over twice the NZS you'd pay more tax to help cover the cost of NZS.
Why – money needs to circulate through the economy. Giving the people with the least more helps do that.
I can recall 50 or so local businesses shutting up shop after the Richardson benefit cuts. Mainly small ones and locally owned. Opened the doors up for the chains to take over and the fake competition as many are owned by the same parent companies.
Interesting. Someone people I know have put forward similar idea targeting those who will never work again, but obviously it would be very beneficial if everyone had the same base.
Julian Assange has served out his sentence for bail jumping.It would have to be one of the most severe sentences for that relatively minor crime.
It has been decided that he will remain in prison, even though he hasn't been convicted of anything.I suspect the US , with the connivance of the UK is hoping he will die of an "unforeseen pre existing condition " Perhaps there will be an Epstein type suicide There will be earnest articles in newspapers on how the prison system needs to be reformed.
Denizens of TS pack will sneer and compete to come up with the most puerile jibes, say he only has himself to blame , exonerating whats happening to him right here and now and exemplifying what Nils Melzer of the UN has said
" there has been a relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation against Mr. Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador.” According to the expert, this included an endless stream of humiliating, debasing and threatening statements in the press and on social media, but also by senior political figures, and even by judicial magistrates involved in proceedings against Assange."
In effect the UK elites are holding an increasingly frail Assange with his arms tied behind his back so the bully boys of the US can take turns at beating the shit out of him for daring to expose war crimes
Chelsea Manning still stands by him, refusing to commit perjury by testifying against him For that she remains in prison and continues to be fined $1000 a day . Ludicrous!
The Swedes , after 7 years of dilatory paper shuffling, opening and closing the rape case can still not decide whether charges should be laid.Can anyone say this is justice for the accused or complainant? The Swedish Court declared that prosecutors could travel to the UK and question Assange.This was back in early June, .still no moves towards this.
Cue "No rush.He's not going anywhere".. snort smirk fist bumps from other red blooded males on TS
I consider the Assange case to be pivotal , far more so than the Dreyfus affair was in the 19th early 20 th century.If Assange is destroyed, to pretty much universal public indifference, ( as a result of the very successful campaign Melzer refers to), the bastards have won and we're totally screwed Anyone can be shut down, all of us.
The shame is collective, its on all of us
I've wriiten to various ministers , urging them to uphold UN rulings and honour our commitment to human rights, but I'm afraid the special relationship is very special indeed
Not interested in sparring matches with the usual sportsmen on TS
If you're "not interested in sparring matches with the usual sportsmen on TS", then why the showboating come-ons like "Cue "No rush.He's not going anywhere".. snort smirk fist bumps from other red blooded males on TS" and "Denizens of TS pack will sneer…" ?
I agree that it is poor choice of words and possibly done in or with bad faith, but maybe not necessarily as a “tactic”. I could read it as an expression of frustration rather at the utterly predictable and tedious responses from some commenters on this site, none of which promote understanding other than to demonstrate the limited evolution of thinking of those commenters on the particular topic or issue at hand. I can list a few trigger words that elicit ad nauseam exchanges of arguments opinions and counter-arguments counter-opinions that never ever lead to the discernment of the truth. Some call it post-modernism but I call it boring willy-waving contests of fragile egos.
Actually, I think I said that the last time some doofus complained that the Swedes weren't working according to the preferred schedule of some NZ blog commenter.
And now that the yanks have put through an extradition request, Francesca is complaining that the guy who jumped bail for seven years isn't getting bail again. What a joke.
i was one of those who stood and gave him a standing ovation – when he appeared on the screen at that benchmark in anti-climaxes – the kim dotcom 'great reveal'..
since then i have been discomfited by the fact that everything he did in the 2016 u.s. election – was to help trump get elected…
If you're actually interested in anyone else's opinion of Assange and his situation, well, here's mine:
Assange's work in setting up wikileaks and making it easier to publish information such as that provided by Manning was a huge service to the world in general. Particularly since it did entail some degree of personal risk. Although nowhere near as much risk as the likes of Manning who paid the price while Assange took the credit.
Unfortunately, as others around him started to share his monumentally high opinion of himself, he let his inner asshole off the leash. Which led to a series of increasingly crap personal decisions leading to the situation he is now in.
Yes, it is extremely dangerous to press freedom that Assange is being held for extradition to the US to be punished for publishing factual information, no matter how charges against him may be twisted to make it appear he was operating outside of First Amendment protections. For the sake of all kinds of freedoms, I hope he is able to outright beat the extradition proceedings, or at least drag them out until there is a more rational president and DOJ that reach reach the same conclusion as Obama and Holder in 2013 – that the "New York Times problem" means it would be damaging to US interests as a whole to prosecute Assange.
Yet on a personal level, Assange's activities in 2016 to damage Clinton (which went way beyond just publishing DNC emails) and thereby inflict the Queens loofah-faced shitgibbon on the world, means that I really don't give a shit what happens to Assange personally. It is possible for people that have done extraordinarily positive things to completely wipe out whatever karmic credit they may have earned by also doing extraordinarily crap things.
edit: And phil’s comment was directly related to your original post. But your reply to phil was completely unrelated to anything in phil’s comment.
There's the issue of wikileaks only publishing info harmful to Clinton and Democrats, nothing harmful to Fuckface von Clownstick or Repugs in general. And the way releases were timed to move the news cycle on from things damaging to Grabby McHandsy, such as a bunch of stuff released shortly after the Access Hollywood tape came out.
Wikileaks also played a big part in pushing shit like the Seth Rich nonsense, the Uranium One smears, the lies about Clinton's health etc.
edit: and unrelated to 2016, there’s also wikileaks’ extreme carelessness around some vulnerable peoples’ personal information, putting them at risk. Concerns that Assange didn’t give a rat’s about when it was raised with him, IIRC.
since then i have been discomfited by the fact that everything he did in the 2016 u.s. election – was to help trump get elected…
francesca replied:
Clinton was sunk by Assange exposing the truth?
That's a classic "straw man" fallacy, with a bit of "false dichotomy" thrown in. It's a straw man because phil made no claim that Trump was elected entirely thanks to Assange, and it's a false dichotomy because the implied argument involves only two opposite possibilities: either Assange was responsible for Trump's victory, or he didn't help Trump's campaign at all.
With respect to Assange's motivations, I suspect it was more Hillary-hate and a desire to fuck with the US as a whole, rather than any fondness for the waddling spray-tan warning label.
That's a bit of a distinction without a difference, though. In either case, the resulting actions and results are the same.
Yeah, I'd be at least 80/20 that President Hillary and her DoJ would have come to the same conclusion as Obama and Holder about the "New York Times problem". And that she would be professional enough to take Assange trying to damage her electorally as just politics, that the interests of press freedom for the US as a whole would take precedence over getting a petty personal vengeance.
So let me get this right – rather than be a journalist and publish leaks like they always have – they should have not said anything – so h.r.c got elected?
Or was the rest of us knowing about TPP and our own government spying on us irrelevant?
Because I'm confused – you seem to be adding a layer of motivation on top of what wikileaks already did as standard practice – you know, holding the powerful to account.
Interesting to watch Ole Rog's body language on The Nation (as I write).
Still a complete ideologue, not at all interested in hearing an alternative view (that of St John) – except possibly once. He even came equipped with a couple of pages of a crib sheet
If we are to put any credence on S’Rog’s views, we’d all end up living in a caged pig farm.
He's been slurring for quite a while @ Cinny. Quite concerning I guess for his disciples. It must be a real worry for them – should they be "efficient and effective" and shove him on Dancing With The Stars, or be kind and transformational and book him into a Rymancare facility with CLV providing the pastoral care
"An outcome of this reform was a general move to accrual based financial statements with New Zealand being the first country to provide national financial statements on an accrual basis in 1992."
["Accrual accounting was adopted by the Government in the 1980s during Sir Roger's stint as Finance Minister in the Fourth Labour Government. "
Complete fantasy , it didnt happen for NZ till early 1990s]
I think accrual accounting was adopted by the 4th Labour government in the 1980s, even if the the first set of government accounts prepared on that basis didn't appear until 1992. So Sir Roger's comment was not entirely "fantasy".
…here was Sir Roger Douglas on the other end of the line, inviting me to assess his latest ideas for improving New Zealand – kanohi ki te kanohi – over coffee.
It is not my place to summarise or in any other way represent those ideas, Sir Roger has his own plans for that. Suffice to say that they extend and elaborate upon ideas foregrounded in his books Towards Prosperity and Unfinished Business.
I did over-generalise, in that there will be people on the left who don't value freedom of speech and don't refer to it as "freeze peach." I don't think it's a straw man, though – after all, who would come up with a term of ridicule for something they value?
who would come up with a term of ridicule for something they value?
People who give nicknames?
The straw man is that you characterise people who disagree with your interpretation of what is 'free speech' as "people who do not value freedom of speech".
Some of us value balanced public speech. Those who say 'free' often seem to be backing only hateful varieties that harm social groups other than their own. They can merrily freeze their little fruits in their own circles as far as I'm concerned.
"Free speech" has been used to advance some rather diverse agendas, from issuing pornography to political donations. It might be better to narrow rather than broaden free speech definitions so that issues pretending to the title are obliged to make their arguments on their merits.
Not sure what you are suggesting but IMO putting restrictions on what defines as “free speech” is oxymoronic. I think it should be as open and broad as possible.
Only if the content invites people toward violence or uncivil behaviour should speech be banned.
Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, was awarded the prize for making peace with the country's bitter foe, and former province, Eritrea.
Only one side won the prize because "Eritrea’s Isaias leads one of the most repressive military dictatorships in the world; his government has been compared to North Korea and accused of possible crimes against humanity."
Want to engage more people in the voting process? Then don't ban the electoral commission from going to speak to high schools. JS
Looking forward to the electoral commission talking to our high school students after three years of being prevented from doing so. And the principal thought no one would notice……. caught out big time.
Yes, pretty sure the other schools in our region are ok with the electoral commission visiting. But it did make me think if any other NZ high schools were doing the same, which in my opinion should be illegal.
I feel it's really important for our youth to pre enroll at 17, and high school is the best place to capture that and make it happen, that way when they turn 18 they are already sorted.
I'd be much more in favour of lowering the age if advocates were first pressing for civics to be taught comprehensively in primary, secondary and tertiary schools.
Cheers for the links Duke. That was another thing that bugged me, all the resources and info are in place, making it easy for schools to work with the electoral commission, so why would any school prevent their students from such knowledge.
If our local high school doesn't educate the students or engage with the electoral commission for the coming general election, I might have to contact the press and the principal can explain to the public what his issue is.
I fear that overall the result for the left is not going to be good. I base this on the fact it looks like it's going to be one of the lowest voter turn-outs ever and that usually counts against left-leaning candidates.
Maybe it's not such an important factor in local body elections, but coupled with the over abundance of candidates nation-wide it is likely to put a lot of people off voting.
Phil Goff should make it in Auckland but after that……
Goff is not really 'left' – but then that role will always need to connect across the whole spectrum, like Len Brown also did. The Mayor of Auckland will always be seen at both food kitchens and shiny corporate soirees.
He was well to the left in his younger days but he gravitated to the centre as he grew older. Even so, he still refers to some people as Comrade So and So. Perhaps that was a family trait dating back to childhood. Iirc, his parents and grandparents were staunch Labour.
I first met him in the early 1970s. He was into Mickey Savage and co. then. In the 1980s he flirted with the Rogernomes. By the 1990s he was pulling back from them and now he sits on the centre-left of the spectrum.
Btw, put him in a room full of Labour people and you'd think he was back in his youth. It's where his political heart still lies.
It certainly is – but then when she got in the way of the Orange Grabbem Führer's nefarious plans for the 1000 year Reich she had to go.
Meanwhile, just in, is this report that the it wasn't just Bullsh*tter In Chief who was solely responsible..
Trump Diplomats Drafted An Official Statement For Ukraine To Announce Investigation Of Biden
In more evidence that Donald Trump was trying to use his position to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, The New York Times reports that senior diplomats in the administration had pushed Ukraine to commit – on paper – to investigations into the president’s political rivals.
According to the report, “Two of President Trump’s top envoys to Ukraine drafted a statement for the country’s new president in August that would have committed Ukraine to pursuing investigations sought by Mr. Trump into his political rivals, three people briefed on the effort said.”
The report notes that Trump was seeking to “bend American foreign policy to [his] political agenda” by obsessively pushing Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden and Hillary Clinton.
More from the report:
The drafting of the statement marks new evidence of how Mr. Trump’s fixation with Ukraine began driving senior diplomats to bend American foreign policy to the president’s political agenda in the weeks after the July 25 call between the two leaders.
The statement was drafted by Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt D. Volker, then the State Department’s envoy to Ukraine, according to the three people who have been briefed on it.
…
The statement was written with the awareness of a top aide to the Ukrainian president, as well as Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and the de facto leader of a shadow campaign to push the Ukrainians to press ahead with investigations that could be of political benefit to Mr. Trump, according to one of the people briefed on it.
The statement would have committed Ukraine to investigating the energy company Burisma, which had employed Hunter Biden, the younger son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. And it would have called for the Ukrainian government to look into what Mr. Trump and his allies believe was interference by Ukrainians in the 2016 election in the United States to benefit Hillary Clinton.
But wait! There's more!
The entire Trump administration was in on the Ukraine scheme
This scheme to extort a foreign power into handing over dirt on a political opponent is not one of those instances in which Trump went off on his own and did something impeachable.
Instead, this operation appears to be administration-wide – from Donald Trump and Mike Pence to William Barr and Mike Pompeo. Thanks to The New York Times report on Thursday, we now know that senior diplomats on Trump’s team were in on it as well.
This is no longer about one phone call Donald Trump had with the president of Ukraine, or even about one whistleblower complaint that set the political world on fire.
This is about a president of the United States who is using all the powers of the American government and foreign policy apparatus for nefarious purposes – and a growing number of officials inside the administration were accomplices in his criminal efforts.
Wow.
So for shit's and giggle's went to look at former contributor to The Standard, Colonial Viper (or Tat Loo as he is also known), Twitter feed and it is clear the guy has gone completely around the bend. Anti-Feminism, Global Warning denying, Trump supporter and Woo based 'medicine' promoter.
Have a look if you feel like multiple face-palming…
True – it is a sad case to behold. I think it is one of those instances where someone is completing the circle – going hard left, and then merging into the hard right.
Still he didn't peddle mindless Russia and Trump conspiracies, or repeat the establishment narrative. Probably what made him quite a popular commentator in some quarters.
Some time ago I commented that trade unions, and the like, have been too successful in pushing for more money for us normals. I didn't bookmark it so I could see what response I got if any but today listening the 9-Noon programme on dogs the thought struck me that the way we all want more money is one of the problems with today's world …. My wife who now lives in a pensioners' flat would like a dog but Council says NO …. but the reason why my wife doesn't have cat [Council permitted] is as a responsible person the possible likelihood of vet bills puts her off as she lives on a pension. I think this is rather sad.
Lindsey Graham thought he was talking to Turkey's defence minister. He says the Kurds are a big problem and a threat to Turkey and says Trump wants to be helpful to Erdogan's money launderer and Giuliani client Reza Zarrab.
Graham then raised an issue that’s been top of mind for Erdogan for years—the U.S. case involving Zarrab, who was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 32 months in prison stemming partly from bribes he paid to Turkish bank officers.
“And this case involving the Turkish bank, he’s very sensitive to that,” Graham said of Trump. “The president wants to be helpful, within the limits of his power.”
[…]
Zarrab also had ties to the Turkish government, according to a memo written in 2016 by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, and was “engaged in a massive bribery scheme… paying cabinet-level [Turkish] governmental officials and high-level bank officers tens of millions of Euro and U.S. dollars” to facilitate his transactions.
Erdogan, wary of corruption being revealed in open court, fiercely lobbied high-level Obama administration officials for Zarrab's release after his 2016 arrest, the Washington Post reported at the time. At one point he even asked Vice President Joe Biden to have Bharara fired. Erdogan also sent his justice minister at the time to meet with then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and argue that the case was "based on no evidence."
The Hater Supremo is determined to have blood on his tiny hands before he is removed.
Fortunately the crowds are growing smaller and the mood of the nation is turning against him; and he knows that – but his only known response is to up the vitriol, hatred, and raving to new levels of unbalanced, dangerous, mindlessness cant.
Monica Lewinsky was bombarded with threats of rape and death, “Overnight, I went from being a completely private person to being a publicly humiliated one worldwide,”…luckily she had the sistership #metoo support of Hilary Clinton….
"In a CBS interview on Sunday, correspondent Tony Dokoupil asked Clinton if she thought her husband should have resigned after his affair with Lewinsky, then a White House intern, became public.
“Absolutely not,” Clinton said.
Clinton also said the relationship wasn’t an abuse of power on the former president’s part. Lewinsky was “an adult,” she said, before changing the subject to talk about sexual harassment and assault allegations against President Donald Trump."
Trump is an abomination..Hillary is 'better'…better was never, and will never be good enough.
… better was never, and will never be good enough.
So why should a politician even try for the support of anyone with an attitude like that, since they will never be good enough? If you're looking for political wins, it's far better trying to get the support of people that are persuadable realists, rather than the unattainable perfectionists.
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani broke lobbying laws in his dealings in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the inquiry.
The investigators are examining Mr. Giuliani’s efforts to undermine the American ambassador to Ukraine, Marie L. Yovanovitch, one of the people said. She was recalled in the springas part of Mr. Trump’s broader campaign to pressure Ukraine into helping his political prospects.
The investigation into Mr. Giuliani is tied to the case against two of his associates who were arrested this week on campaign finance-related charges, the people familiar with the inquiry said. The associates were charged with funneling illegal contributions to a congressman whose help they sought in removing Ms. Yovanovitch.
Imagine the shit fight when they start looking into the recipients of all that NRA cash.
At least 14 Republican candidates and groups directly received a total of $675,500 in campaign contributions last year from Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the Soviet-born Florida businessmen indicted this week on campaign-finance violations.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say six of their donations involved either a shell company used to hide the men’s identities or foreign money meant to curry favor with U.S. politicians. The pair made numerous contributions between February and July, many of them to umbrella political groups that then parceled out money to dozens of GOP politicians, a Wall Street Journal review of state fundraising and Federal Election Commission records found.
And not before time – the NRA is under serious threat.
A new Senate report is the latest threat to NRA’s tax-exempt status — and maybe its survival
Leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) traveled to Moscow using NRA funds, according to a new Senate report, raising the question of whether the organization broke laws governing nonprofit spending. If the association did in fact break those laws, it could lose its tax-exempt status — and according to a former IRS official, without its tax-exempt status the NRA could be forced to shut down.
The report, which was compiled by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee and released on Friday, investigates the relationship between NRA leadership and Russian nationals with Kremlin ties. Those nationals include Maria Butina, a 30-year-old Russian who was convicted last year of conspiring to act as a foreign agent. As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explained, her alleged goal was to “try to influence the Republican Party to be friendlier to Russia, by way of the NRA.”
Part of that relationship involved a 2015 trip to Russia during which Butina promised to introduce top NRA executives to powerful officials, and during which those executives were told they would be given opportunities to advance personal business interests.
The problem — aside from the fact that the NRA is accused of willingly establishing relationships with Russian nationals with close ties with the Kremlin — is that tax-exempt nonprofits aren’t allowed to use their funds for personal gain, as NPR has reported.
“This was an official trip undertaken so NRA insiders could get rich — a clear violation of the principle that tax-exempt resources should not be used for personal benefit,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement to CNN.
I found this video from MSNBC very interesting with the links being drawn to billionaire Firtash under house arrest in Vienna and "Giuliani Role In Trump Ukraine Scheme".
Trump is reinforcing Saudi, trying to prop up the balance of power he tilted the other way with decisions in Syria. It's looking likely to be a long lesson in why empires use local auxiliaries – which Trump isn't.
You may be right – though there are a bunch of people who are ashamed of it.
I'm expecting Saudi are in for a rough ride as foreign backed Yemeni forces give them an insurgency on steroids that an unsupported minority could not. Hard though it may be to sympathize with princes who cut people up to fit them in cake boxes, the consequences of a Saudi collapse would hit our little oil dependent nation pretty hard. Saudi has phosphate too.
Oh dear. Now even Tulsi is against pulling out US troops to leave the Kurds to get slaughtered by the Turks. There goes her cred with the self-styled "anti-war" delusionals.
US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that tackling the climate crisis will involve making dramatic economic changes in a passionate closing speech at the C40 World Mayors summit in Copenhagen on Friday…
…“Our current logic created this mess and operating in the same way will not get us out.”
This uncompromising message won her a powerful round of applause. But it was when she came to the impact climate change had had on her own life, and on her family in Puerto Rico, that she became emotional.
“I speak to you as a human being, a woman whose dreams of motherhood now taste bittersweet because of what I know about our children’s future,” she said, her voice breaking as if she was struggling to hold back tears.
“That our actions are responsible for bringing their most dire possibilities into focus.”
From the moment she began speaking, the main hall at the summit became completely still, and when she finished, the ovation she received far exceeded that received by the veteran climate campaigner and former vice-president Al Gore, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen; or the UN secretary general, António Guterres.
Trump denies knowing Giuliani's arrested associates who bragged about their close relationship with the White House.
Of course he doesn't know them! He has never even met them. He is PERFECTLY INNOCENT. It was a PERFECT phone call as well! Everything he does is perfect, and he has a perfect memory – it is completely blank.
Donald Trump tried to distance himself from the latest scandal that threatens his presidency on Thursday by saying he didn’t know either of the foreign-born Rudy Giuliani associates that his own Justice Department had just indicted for alleged campaign finance violations.
But that’s not what one of the men said three years ago — while attending Trump’s
In fact, Lev Parnas described himself to a foreign correspondent at the cash-bar event in midtown Manhattan as a friend of the president-elect who didn’t live far from his South Florida winter home.
Scoop: Trump pins Ukraine call on Energy Secretary Rick Perry
President Trump told House Republicans that he made his now infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the urging of Energy Secretary Rick Perry — a call Trump claimed he didn’t even want to make.
Behind the scenes: Trump made these comments during a conference call with House members on Friday, according to 3 sources on the call.
Per the sources, Trump rattled off the same things he has been saying publicly — that his call with Zelensky was "perfect"and he did nothing wrong.
But he then threw Perry into the mix and said something to the effect of: "Not a lot of people know this but, I didn't even want to make the call. The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant," one source said, recalling the president's comments. 2 other sources confirmed the first source's recollection.
Argentinian historian on how fascism is making a comeback under Bolsonaro and Trump.
Despite the growing allegations about his misconduct, President Trump remains idolized by many of his supporters. His campaign rallies feature fans whose devotion is unwavering. When Trump insulted a supporter he mistook for a protester for being overweight, for example, the supporter later said he was not insulted: “Everything’s good. I love the guy.” Trump counts among his fans not only voters but also fellow world leaders. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, also explicitly told Trump “I love you” when they met at the United Nations.
These expressions of love should be concerning. They share features with the unconditional form of love typical of political cults that has often manifested in dangerous ways.
Historically, idolizing the “leader” is a key dimension of fascism. In the 1930s and 1940s, different fascist leaders inspired cults of personality, which came in different colors across the globe. In China, supporters of Chiang Kai-shek wore blue shirts, while Brazilian supporters of Plínio Salgado wore integralista green shirts. Argentina’s dictator José F. Uriburu, Romania’s Corneliu Codreanu and Spain’s Francisco Franco similarly inspired loyal followings. Supporters of fascism fervently believed in the heroic, even Godlike nature of their leaders. Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propaganda minister, wrote in his diaries about his feelings for Adolf Hitler: “I love him … I bow to the greater man, to the political genius.” Such devotion ultimately allowed leaders to insulate themselves from criticism and accountability.
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This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
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The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
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The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
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Curious to know…what would be your justification for increasing the rate of pension at this point in time?
Nobody?
so that lots of old people don't have live the end stages of their lives in poverty.
I'd put benefits up to the super rate – as they used to be.
Lower the age back to 60 and slightly increase taxation from the point of NZS + NZS equivalent in extra earnings.
This would mean you could earn super plus super again without any further impact but once you got over twice the NZS you'd pay more tax to help cover the cost of NZS.
Why – money needs to circulate through the economy. Giving the people with the least more helps do that.
I can recall 50 or so local businesses shutting up shop after the Richardson benefit cuts. Mainly small ones and locally owned. Opened the doors up for the chains to take over and the fake competition as many are owned by the same parent companies.
Interesting. Someone people I know have put forward similar idea targeting those who will never work again, but obviously it would be very beneficial if everyone had the same base.
And here we are, another demographic that needs an increase in funds
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/116494305/millennial-money-woes-financial-stress-making-one-in-five-young-adults-physically-ill
The graph shows under 65s least stressed
Aye which is why my priority would be to first increase benefits – and get rid of the youth rate that was pushed up from 17 to 24.
In short make benefits back to the same rate as NZS and remove the age discrimination.
Yea…that youth rate seems to assume their living costs are lower (like they live on the floor or something). Completely unrealistic.
the top 20..
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions
'New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers..’
they need to be moved against – and soon..
the question being the mechanics of this..
how will we do it..?
Julian Assange has served out his sentence for bail jumping.It would have to be one of the most severe sentences for that relatively minor crime.
It has been decided that he will remain in prison, even though he hasn't been convicted of anything.I suspect the US , with the connivance of the UK is hoping he will die of an "unforeseen pre existing condition " Perhaps there will be an Epstein type suicide There will be earnest articles in newspapers on how the prison system needs to be reformed.
Denizens of TS pack will sneer and compete to come up with the most puerile jibes, say he only has himself to blame , exonerating whats happening to him right here and now and exemplifying what Nils Melzer of the UN has said
" there has been a relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation against Mr. Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador.” According to the expert, this included an endless stream of humiliating, debasing and threatening statements in the press and on social media, but also by senior political figures, and even by judicial magistrates involved in proceedings against Assange."
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24665
In effect the UK elites are holding an increasingly frail Assange with his arms tied behind his back so the bully boys of the US can take turns at beating the shit out of him for daring to expose war crimes
Chelsea Manning still stands by him, refusing to commit perjury by testifying against him For that she remains in prison and continues to be fined $1000 a day . Ludicrous!
The Swedes , after 7 years of dilatory paper shuffling, opening and closing the rape case can still not decide whether charges should be laid.Can anyone say this is justice for the accused or complainant? The Swedish Court declared that prosecutors could travel to the UK and question Assange.This was back in early June, .still no moves towards this.
Cue "No rush.He's not going anywhere".. snort smirk fist bumps from other red blooded males on TS
I consider the Assange case to be pivotal , far more so than the Dreyfus affair was in the 19th early 20 th century.If Assange is destroyed, to pretty much universal public indifference, ( as a result of the very successful campaign Melzer refers to), the bastards have won and we're totally screwed Anyone can be shut down, all of us.
The shame is collective, its on all of us
I've wriiten to various ministers , urging them to uphold UN rulings and honour our commitment to human rights, but I'm afraid the special relationship is very special indeed
Not interested in sparring matches with the usual sportsmen on TS
If you're "not interested in sparring matches with the usual sportsmen on TS", then why the showboating come-ons like "Cue "No rush.He's not going anywhere".. snort smirk fist bumps from other red blooded males on TS" and "Denizens of TS pack will sneer…" ?
I'm wondering that too.
"Denizens of TS pack will sneer…" is a classic bad faith tactic that promotes disruption rather than understanding. Do we need that here?
I agree that it is poor choice of words and possibly done in or with bad faith, but maybe not necessarily as a “tactic”. I could read it as an expression of frustration rather at the utterly predictable and tedious responses from some commenters on this site, none of which promote understanding other than to demonstrate the limited evolution of thinking of those commenters on the particular topic or issue at hand. I can list a few trigger words that elicit ad nauseam exchanges of
argumentsopinions andcounter-argumentscounter-opinions that never ever lead to the discernment of the truth. Some call it post-modernism but I call it boring willy-waving contests of fragile egos.Actually, I think I said that the last time some doofus complained that the Swedes weren't working according to the preferred schedule of some NZ blog commenter.
And now that the yanks have put through an extradition request, Francesca is complaining that the guy who jumped bail for seven years isn't getting bail again. What a joke.
i was one of those who stood and gave him a standing ovation – when he appeared on the screen at that benchmark in anti-climaxes – the kim dotcom 'great reveal'..
since then i have been discomfited by the fact that everything he did in the 2016 u.s. election – was to help trump get elected…
does that dichotomy puzzle you at all..?
Clinton was sunk by Assange exposing the truth?
Clinton actually won the popular vote.
Blame the electoral college
Nice work putting words into Phil's mouth and diverting from Phil's actual point.
And once more Andre, you fail to actually address the point of my post , but never mind , Mars and Venus and all that
All the best to you
If you're actually interested in anyone else's opinion of Assange and his situation, well, here's mine:
Assange's work in setting up wikileaks and making it easier to publish information such as that provided by Manning was a huge service to the world in general. Particularly since it did entail some degree of personal risk. Although nowhere near as much risk as the likes of Manning who paid the price while Assange took the credit.
Unfortunately, as others around him started to share his monumentally high opinion of himself, he let his inner asshole off the leash. Which led to a series of increasingly crap personal decisions leading to the situation he is now in.
Yes, it is extremely dangerous to press freedom that Assange is being held for extradition to the US to be punished for publishing factual information, no matter how charges against him may be twisted to make it appear he was operating outside of First Amendment protections. For the sake of all kinds of freedoms, I hope he is able to outright beat the extradition proceedings, or at least drag them out until there is a more rational president and DOJ that reach reach the same conclusion as Obama and Holder in 2013 – that the "New York Times problem" means it would be damaging to US interests as a whole to prosecute Assange.
Yet on a personal level, Assange's activities in 2016 to damage Clinton (which went way beyond just publishing DNC emails) and thereby inflict the Queens loofah-faced shitgibbon on the world, means that I really don't give a shit what happens to Assange personally. It is possible for people that have done extraordinarily positive things to completely wipe out whatever karmic credit they may have earned by also doing extraordinarily crap things.
edit: And phil’s comment was directly related to your original post. But your reply to phil was completely unrelated to anything in phil’s comment.
can you give a brief explanation of the evidence/argument that Assange sabotaged Clinton during the election campaign?
There's the issue of wikileaks only publishing info harmful to Clinton and Democrats, nothing harmful to Fuckface von Clownstick or Repugs in general. And the way releases were timed to move the news cycle on from things damaging to Grabby McHandsy, such as a bunch of stuff released shortly after the Access Hollywood tape came out.
Wikileaks also played a big part in pushing shit like the Seth Rich nonsense, the Uranium One smears, the lies about Clinton's health etc.
Here's a few pieces for more reading:
https://qz.com/1533847/roger-stones-indictment-reveals-plan-to-discredit-hillary-clintons-health/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/wikileaks-trump-mueller-roger-stone-jerome-corsi/576940/
https://www.vox.com/2016/9/15/12929262/wikileaks-hillary-clinton-julian-assange-hate
edit: and unrelated to 2016, there’s also wikileaks’ extreme carelessness around some vulnerable peoples’ personal information, putting them at risk. Concerns that Assange didn’t give a rat’s about when it was raised with him, IIRC.
thanks, I didn't know about the timing issue.
Am aware of the personal info issue, it was probably the final straw for me.
phillip ure wrote:
since then i have been discomfited by the fact that everything he did in the 2016 u.s. election – was to help trump get elected…
francesca replied:
Clinton was sunk by Assange exposing the truth?
That's a classic "straw man" fallacy, with a bit of "false dichotomy" thrown in. It's a straw man because phil made no claim that Trump was elected entirely thanks to Assange, and it's a false dichotomy because the implied argument involves only two opposite possibilities: either Assange was responsible for Trump's victory, or he didn't help Trump's campaign at all.
Seems quite likely Assange personally doesn't like Clinton. Didn't she say she would be personally more than happy to see him dead or something?
But on the other hand if Assange only/mostly gets interesting material on Clinton rather than Trump then whats to do?
Assanges politics should be irrelevant.
Disagree phillip ure, the NSA Targets World Leaders for US Geopolitical Interests seemed to me too have go at the whole establishment.
https://wikileaks.org//nsa-201602/
Are you saying the whole Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership reveal was to help trump?
https://wikileaks.org/ttip/
Case could be made for the DNC leaks, but no one believed them – so why do you think they had an impact?
Mind you this is one after the election, but boy howdy did the FSB have a melt down over this.
https://wikileaks.org//spyfiles/russia/
i am not debating whether or not his help-trump plans succeeded or not..
my concerns are around that he had those plans in the first place…
and did what he could to makes those plans succeed/get the orange ball of pus elected..
there lies the dichotomy – as i see it…
With respect to Assange's motivations, I suspect it was more Hillary-hate and a desire to fuck with the US as a whole, rather than any fondness for the waddling spray-tan warning label.
That's a bit of a distinction without a difference, though. In either case, the resulting actions and results are the same.
My enemy's enemy is my.. oops.
Yeah, I'd be at least 80/20 that President Hillary and her DoJ would have come to the same conclusion as Obama and Holder about the "New York Times problem". And that she would be professional enough to take Assange trying to damage her electorally as just politics, that the interests of press freedom for the US as a whole would take precedence over getting a petty personal vengeance.
So let me get this right – rather than be a journalist and publish leaks like they always have – they should have not said anything – so h.r.c got elected?
Or was the rest of us knowing about TPP and our own government spying on us irrelevant?
Because I'm confused – you seem to be adding a layer of motivation on top of what wikileaks already did as standard practice – you know, holding the powerful to account.
his hatred of the clintons is well-documented..
and everything he did he did to help trump..
so yes..there likely was 'motivation' in his/those actions..
"….the sparring matches with the usual sportsmen on TS."
But, but! Watching the willy-wagging is sooo much fun!
The finger-tapping cliche brigade.
Interesting to watch Ole Rog's body language on The Nation (as I write).
Still a complete ideologue, not at all interested in hearing an alternative view (that of St John) – except possibly once. He even came equipped with a couple of pages of a crib sheet
If we are to put any credence on S’Rog’s views, we’d all end up living in a caged pig farm.
I watched the same and was left wondering if ole rog was all there. Did you notice he was slurring?
He's been slurring for quite a while @ Cinny. Quite concerning I guess for his disciples. It must be a real worry for them – should they be "efficient and effective" and shove him on Dancing With The Stars, or be kind and transformational and book him into a Rymancare facility with CLV providing the pastoral care
The Nation must have been hard pressed finding people to interview today.
Maybe seymour could teach him some moves and rog could take to the floor and find out what it feels like to live a bit 🙂
why was he on the Nation?
Indeed. Whose interests does that serve?
I guess for the same reason John Key has been popping up as a rent-a-voice on MSM over the past week or so.
(I should have stuck with my idol Kim on that Red Radio)
The Newshub story is wrong
"Accrual accounting was adopted by the Government in the 1980s during Sir Roger's stint as Finance Minister in the Fourth Labour Government. "
Complete fantasy , it didnt happen for NZ till early 1990s
As this academic paper from Victoria Uni lays out
"An outcome of this reform was a general move to accrual based financial statements with New Zealand being the first country to provide national financial statements on an accrual basis in 1992."
["Accrual accounting was adopted by the Government in the 1980s during Sir Roger's stint as Finance Minister in the Fourth Labour Government. "
Complete fantasy , it didnt happen for NZ till early 1990s]
I think accrual accounting was adopted by the 4th Labour government in the 1980s, even if the the first set of government accounts prepared on that basis didn't appear until 1992. So Sir Roger's comment was not entirely "fantasy".
Judging by this post from Chris Trotter, the old codger's planning a comeback:
Natch, Trotter was most impressed.
jfc, on both counts.
The right will all be booking in cosy chats with Colonel Trotter now that he's more comfortable on their side of things. Frozen peaches for all.
frozen peaches?
People on the left who don't value freedom of speech tend to refer to it as "freeze peach."
That's a classic "straw man" fallacy, with a bit of "false dichotomy" thrown in.
I did over-generalise, in that there will be people on the left who don't value freedom of speech and don't refer to it as "freeze peach." I don't think it's a straw man, though – after all, who would come up with a term of ridicule for something they value?
People who give nicknames?
The straw man is that you characterise people who disagree with your interpretation of what is 'free speech' as "people who do not value freedom of speech".
Some of us value balanced public speech. Those who say 'free' often seem to be backing only hateful varieties that harm social groups other than their own. They can merrily freeze their little fruits in their own circles as far as I'm concerned.
"Free speech" has been used to advance some rather diverse agendas, from issuing pornography to political donations. It might be better to narrow rather than broaden free speech definitions so that issues pretending to the title are obliged to make their arguments on their merits.
Not sure what you are suggesting but IMO putting restrictions on what defines as “free speech” is oxymoronic. I think it should be as open and broad as possible.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/116443386/the-complicated-issue-of-hate
Did Douglas want an assessment or an endorsement from Trotter?
Nobel Peace Prize Winner announced
Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, was awarded the prize for making peace with the country's bitter foe, and former province, Eritrea.
Only one side won the prize because "Eritrea’s Isaias leads one of the most repressive military dictatorships in the world; his government has been compared to North Korea and accused of possible crimes against humanity."
Want to engage more people in the voting process? Then don't ban the electoral commission from going to speak to high schools. JS
Looking forward to the electoral commission talking to our high school students after three years of being prevented from doing so. And the principal thought no one would notice……. caught out big time.
is that just your high school?
Yes, pretty sure the other schools in our region are ok with the electoral commission visiting. But it did make me think if any other NZ high schools were doing the same, which in my opinion should be illegal.
I feel it's really important for our youth to pre enroll at 17, and high school is the best place to capture that and make it happen, that way when they turn 18 they are already sorted.
One of the best arguments for reducing the voting age to 16 is being able to use schools as a vehicle for engagement.
ok that's the first argument for lowering the age that's made sense to me.
Get em young. 🙂
I'd be much more in favour of lowering the age if advocates were first pressing for civics to be taught comprehensively in primary, secondary and tertiary schools.
I’d argue that they cannot teach civics comprehensively without teaching history comprehensively.
Nice, I was just thinking that (esp re the recent debate about teaching NZ history).
I've heard advocates asking for exactly that – use the resources of our schools to involve young people in the community's civic life.
Heres the High Schools program
https://elections.nz/your-community/teaching-voting-at-schools
Plus these Teaching Units
Votes for Women – New Zealand Curriculum level 4
Tūranga Mua, Tūranga Tika – Te Marautanga o Aotearoa level 5
Be Heard – New Zealand Curriculum level 5
Have Your Say – New Zealand Curriculum levels 3 and 4
Cheers for the links Duke. That was another thing that bugged me, all the resources and info are in place, making it easy for schools to work with the electoral commission, so why would any school prevent their students from such knowledge.
If our local high school doesn't educate the students or engage with the electoral commission for the coming general election, I might have to contact the press and the principal can explain to the public what his issue is.
Good luck to those on the left, looking to win a council seat or 3 today, all around the country. Hopefully some Rotarian ass will be kicked today.
No one seems to be marking the 30th anniversary of the abolishment of the counties and boroughs in this country. Which is sad.
Another anniversary that past 2 weeks ago is the Tomorrow's Schools reforms.
@ millsy
My comment at 8 was supposed to be a reply to yours @ 7. Not hitting 'reply' is getting to be a habit. 🙁
Yep, one of my voting criteria was if I recognised their name from hoardings I would not vote for them.
The logic is that to have lots of hoardings= lots of money. The last thing I want from my representatives is for them to be wealthy.
I fear that overall the result for the left is not going to be good. I base this on the fact it looks like it's going to be one of the lowest voter turn-outs ever and that usually counts against left-leaning candidates.
Maybe it's not such an important factor in local body elections, but coupled with the over abundance of candidates nation-wide it is likely to put a lot of people off voting.
Phil Goff should make it in Auckland but after that……
Goff is not really 'left' – but then that role will always need to connect across the whole spectrum, like Len Brown also did. The Mayor of Auckland will always be seen at both food kitchens and shiny corporate soirees.
He was well to the left in his younger days but he gravitated to the centre as he grew older. Even so, he still refers to some people as Comrade So and So. Perhaps that was a family trait dating back to childhood. Iirc, his parents and grandparents were staunch Labour.
He didn't seem especially left anymore during the 4th Lab govt. Twenty years earlier before he had any power, sure.
I first met him in the early 1970s. He was into Mickey Savage and co. then. In the 1980s he flirted with the Rogernomes. By the 1990s he was pulling back from them and now he sits on the centre-left of the spectrum.
Btw, put him in a room full of Labour people and you'd think he was back in his youth. It's where his political heart still lies.
Although sports is anathema to some it occasionally provides opportunities for reflecting on the 'real' world, the way things are done and values.
The way things are, the value of money is significantly more important than other values.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12275814
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/400820/trump-impeachment-ambassador-says-she-was-ousted-over-false-claims
Looks like her crime was… she had been appointed by Obama.
It's a wonder she lasted as long as she did.
It certainly is – but then when she got in the way of the Orange Grabbem Führer's nefarious plans for the 1000 year Reich she had to go.
Meanwhile, just in, is this report that the it wasn't just Bullsh*tter In Chief who was solely responsible..
But wait! There's more!
This is about a president of the United States who is using all the powers of the American government and foreign policy apparatus for nefarious purposes – and a growing number of officials inside the administration were accomplices in his criminal efforts.
Image reads
"Introducing the new Trump Super Bus with room under it for Everybody!"
Wow.
So for shit's and giggle's went to look at former contributor to The Standard, Colonial Viper (or Tat Loo as he is also known), Twitter feed and it is clear the guy has gone completely around the bend. Anti-Feminism, Global Warning denying, Trump supporter and Woo based 'medicine' promoter.
Have a look if you feel like multiple face-palming…
No thanks.
How is that different to when he was active here?
He seems much more virulent now. And I don't recall him being a AGW denier before
True – it is a sad case to behold. I think it is one of those instances where someone is completing the circle – going hard left, and then merging into the hard right.
just as Act sprang from Labour..
Very different to when he was first on the Standard.
Still he didn't peddle mindless Russia and Trump conspiracies, or repeat the establishment narrative. Probably what made him quite a popular commentator in some quarters.
Some time ago I commented that trade unions, and the like, have been too successful in pushing for more money for us normals. I didn't bookmark it so I could see what response I got if any but today listening the 9-Noon programme on dogs the thought struck me that the way we all want more money is one of the problems with today's world …. My wife who now lives in a pensioners' flat would like a dog but Council says NO …. but the reason why my wife doesn't have cat [Council permitted] is as a responsible person the possible likelihood of vet bills puts her off as she lives on a pension. I think this is rather sad.
There's a mangy old stray cat hanging around Flowers Street @ John looking for a home.
It's guaranteed to have private insurance to pay the vet's bills
Lindsey Graham thought he was talking to Turkey's defence minister. He says the Kurds are a big problem and a threat to Turkey and says Trump wants to be helpful to Erdogan's money launderer and Giuliani client Reza Zarrab.
Graham then raised an issue that’s been top of mind for Erdogan for years—the U.S. case involving Zarrab, who was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 32 months in prison stemming partly from bribes he paid to Turkish bank officers.
“And this case involving the Turkish bank, he’s very sensitive to that,” Graham said of Trump. “The president wants to be helpful, within the limits of his power.”
[…]
Zarrab also had ties to the Turkish government, according to a memo written in 2016 by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, and was “engaged in a massive bribery scheme… paying cabinet-level [Turkish] governmental officials and high-level bank officers tens of millions of Euro and U.S. dollars” to facilitate his transactions.
Erdogan, wary of corruption being revealed in open court, fiercely lobbied high-level Obama administration officials for Zarrab's release after his 2016 arrest, the Washington Post reported at the time. At one point he even asked Vice President Joe Biden to have Bharara fired. Erdogan also sent his justice minister at the time to meet with then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and argue that the case was "based on no evidence."
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/10/lindsey-graham-trump-hoax-call-043991
He's trying to get this woman killed.
https://twitter.com/MiriamElder/status/1182469068948987904
Anything is better than Clinton though right?
You have a sarc tag with that? 🙂
The Hater Supremo is determined to have blood on his tiny hands before he is removed.
Fortunately the crowds are growing smaller and the mood of the nation is turning against him; and he knows that – but his only known response is to up the vitriol, hatred, and raving to new levels of unbalanced, dangerous, mindlessness cant.
Monica Lewinsky was bombarded with threats of rape and death, “Overnight, I went from being a completely private person to being a publicly humiliated one worldwide,”…luckily she had the sistership #metoo support of Hilary Clinton….
Trump is an abomination..Hillary is 'better'…better was never, and will never be good enough.
… better was never, and will never be good enough.
So why should a politician even try for the support of anyone with an attitude like that, since they will never be good enough? If you're looking for political wins, it's far better trying to get the support of people that are persuadable realists, rather than the unattainable perfectionists.
how many countries do you think clinton would have bombed/invaded by now..?
70,000 displaced and counting..
https://news.yahoo.com/syria-kurds-battle-turkish-invasion-104622127.html
Rudy, meet bus.
https://twitter.com/stevennelson10/status/1182760003423424512
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/i-smell-a-wiretap-ex-fbi-official-suspects-the-feds-have-tapes-of-rudy-giuliani/
lol poor wee rudy – he will make the turnip turd tornado pay for the insult I'm sure – lol burger on rye coming up
And not before time – Rudy is said to be under investigation for Ukraine work.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-investigation.html
Imagine the shit fight when they start looking into the recipients of all that NRA cash.
At least 14 Republican candidates and groups directly received a total of $675,500 in campaign contributions last year from Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the Soviet-born Florida businessmen indicted this week on campaign-finance violations.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say six of their donations involved either a shell company used to hide the men’s identities or foreign money meant to curry favor with U.S. politicians. The pair made numerous contributions between February and July, many of them to umbrella political groups that then parceled out money to dozens of GOP politicians, a Wall Street Journal review of state fundraising and Federal Election Commission records found.
http://archive.li/rg14C
hehehe
And not before time – the NRA is under serious threat.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/28/20888815/nra-russia-senate-report-tax-exempt-investigation-irs-new-york-dc-james-attorney-general
I found this video from MSNBC very interesting with the links being drawn to billionaire Firtash under house arrest in Vienna and "Giuliani Role In Trump Ukraine Scheme".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tr1bGM_FFc
Trump is reinforcing Saudi, trying to prop up the balance of power he tilted the other way with decisions in Syria. It's looking likely to be a long lesson in why empires use local auxiliaries – which Trump isn't.
The US military is Blackwater gone big.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1182769613416882176
You may be right – though there are a bunch of people who are ashamed of it.
I'm expecting Saudi are in for a rough ride as foreign backed Yemeni forces give them an insurgency on steroids that an unsupported minority could not. Hard though it may be to sympathize with princes who cut people up to fit them in cake boxes, the consequences of a Saudi collapse would hit our little oil dependent nation pretty hard. Saudi has phosphate too.
Oh dear. Now even Tulsi is against pulling out US troops to leave the Kurds to get slaughtered by the Turks. There goes her cred with the self-styled "anti-war" delusionals.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/465431-gabbard-rips-trumps-syria-decision-kurds-are-now-paying-the-price
Yay for good people
Rudy made him do it.
https://twitter.com/AriMelber/status/1182811886364037120
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/10/1891669/-Look-at-all-these-photos-with-those-two-alleged-criminals-Trump-doesn-t-even-know?
Of course he doesn't know them! He has never even met them. He is PERFECTLY INNOCENT. It was a PERFECT phone call as well! Everything he does is perfect, and he has a perfect memory – it is completely blank.
I'm sure someone has the videos.
https://twitter.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/1182441506600374272
Lots of interesting people tRump doesn't know.
Donald Trump tried to distance himself from the latest scandal that threatens his presidency on Thursday by saying he didn’t know either of the foreign-born Rudy Giuliani associates that his own Justice Department had just indicted for alleged campaign finance violations.
But that’s not what one of the men said three years ago — while attending Trump’s
In fact, Lev Parnas described himself to a foreign correspondent at the cash-bar event in midtown Manhattan as a friend of the president-elect who didn’t live far from his South Florida winter home.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/11/lev-parnas-giuliani-trump-private-party-044698
heh..!
in happier pre-arrests days/times..
But! But! But! RIck Perry made him do it!
https://www.axios.com/trump-blamed-rick-perry-call-ukraine-zelensky-8178447a-0374-4ac6-b321-a9454b0565d4.html
Guess his Perfect Memory has deleted that data.
Does Nige know what an FTA is?
https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1182554541591552000
How the violent leftists narrative is a curtain-raiser to right-wing violence.
https://twitter.com/DavidNeiwert/status/1182771363469090816
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1182771363469090816.html
Argentinian historian on how fascism is making a comeback under Bolsonaro and Trump.
Despite the growing allegations about his misconduct, President Trump remains idolized by many of his supporters. His campaign rallies feature fans whose devotion is unwavering. When Trump insulted a supporter he mistook for a protester for being overweight, for example, the supporter later said he was not insulted: “Everything’s good. I love the guy.” Trump counts among his fans not only voters but also fellow world leaders. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, also explicitly told Trump “I love you” when they met at the United Nations.
These expressions of love should be concerning. They share features with the unconditional form of love typical of political cults that has often manifested in dangerous ways.
Historically, idolizing the “leader” is a key dimension of fascism. In the 1930s and 1940s, different fascist leaders inspired cults of personality, which came in different colors across the globe. In China, supporters of Chiang Kai-shek wore blue shirts, while Brazilian supporters of Plínio Salgado wore integralista green shirts. Argentina’s dictator José F. Uriburu, Romania’s Corneliu Codreanu and Spain’s Francisco Franco similarly inspired loyal followings. Supporters of fascism fervently believed in the heroic, even Godlike nature of their leaders. Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propaganda minister, wrote in his diaries about his feelings for Adolf Hitler: “I love him … I bow to the greater man, to the political genius.” Such devotion ultimately allowed leaders to insulate themselves from criticism and accountability.
http://archive.li/CmDgs
Skills.
https://twitter.com/taniatare/status/1182696005814214658
Brexit: EU and UK agree to 'intensify' talks
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50016853