There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand….Centre and Centre Right…..The Centre is a political ideology…which is what Labour is.
His premise is that there is a large undetermined vote–that obviously has not early voted–and that this “soft” vote may well lean toward Labour. He also outlines Winston’s close relationship with Hobson’s Choice.
Three polls yesterday suggested that if National is to form the next government, it will have to do a deal with both ACT and NZ First, and that will mean adopting a harder line on race relations and the Treaty of Waitangi. The preference of National Leader Christopher Luxon that there be simply a National-ACT coalition looks highly unlikely.
None of the polls, the Guardian Essential poll, the One News Verian poll and the Newshub Reid Research poll, show National and ACT with enough support to form a government. All of them show support for the combined centre-right vote, which has lost momentum and is falling or stalled. That didn’t stop leader Christopher Luxon from emailing party members last night saying, “We have the momentum.” https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/ | Politik
Harman subtly points us to Luxon's delusion re momentum. An influential media mainstreamer suggesting that the Nat leader is in perverse denial of polling reality is likely to seem entertaining to his readers.
I Voted yesterday. 2 ticks for ourLeft (unsurprisingly : )
When I arrived at the Poll station there was an "older" couple standing in the doorway having a bit of a discussion with a friendly Polling helper .
She looked past them to me asked if I had my EasyVote card….I showed her, she smiled and pointed over to the Polling checkers.
I got verified and given voting paper….meanwhile the doorway discussion was still going on, and another Polling helper had joined them. Seems it was all about their address and where.. to actually vote ! (I was hearing all of this ..)
OK, so me being me, I asked the guy who had taken my EasyVote card, if there had been urgent action to get the process moving (1 million not sent ?)
He seemed maybe not so pleased to be asked this ? And said it was mainly South Auckland.
That didnt really answer my question. The doorway discussion still going.
Anyway I left..having voted Left… and got on my bike and the Sun was shining.
Ah. That might explain him. And maybe the others were just Helpers? Still doesnt help the EasyVote situation. Which was my concern. IMO really not good enough. Especially with the lack/apathy around..Voting !
I am, by the way, basing my reply on my own experience working at the polls in previous elections. I am not doing it at this election because I am laid up after a leg operation.
As polling booth officials, we are given strict instructions on what we can and can't say and do at the venue At times we are challenged by unusual enquiries and events and have to rely on our own common sense when there is no obvious rule to consult.
I would say that polling officials get it right mostly, because they are often very interested in our democratic system of voting and want to participate in helping it, as well as the money. But being human errors can happen. There are a lot of checks designed to spot errors in registration and the voting process but humans can make mistakes. I myself once had occasion to tell my booth officer that all ballot boxes had to be opened before the general electorate count could be started, she had thought only the general electorate box should be opened until I reminded her that almost inevitably at least one person puts their vote in the wrong box and should a general electorate vote end up in the maori electorate box the count would have to be done from scratch again – a time consuming process. I was right, but not particularly popular with her for the rest of the night.
I think there has been a lot of media misinformation spread about voting problems. People in rural areas whining that they can't vote at the exact time it suits them should be reminded that in the old days they had one day only to vote and didn't have the choices that they had today. Some people expect to have a voting booth open at every sheep station along the backroad. That costs a lot of money for not a lot of gain.
Folks ought to watch keenly for co-governance aka treaty rights in tonight's debate!
The alliance between Hobson’s Pledge and NZ First was cemented with the selection of Hobson’s Pledge’s vice president, Casey Costello, as Number Three on their list and, ironically, as their candidate for Port Waikato.
Her speech to New Zealand First’s convention in July was highly critical of National of its signing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, of its replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed legislation and its inclusion of iwi participation clauses in the Resource Management Law reform of 2017.
“What is clear to me now is that the three years of the absence of New Zealand First has seen enormous harm to race relations in this country,” she told the conference and then announced that she would be a candidate.
ACT has, in the meantime, developed its own hardline on race relations, wanting to put a statement on what the Treaty means, which would go back to before the 1987 Appeal Court judgement of Judge Robin Cooke, which said the Treaty of Waitangi established a partnership between Maori and the Crown. That statement would then be put to a referendum. ACT leader David Seymour said last weekend that policy would be at the top of his list in any coalition negotiation with National. https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/ | Politik
Harman has outlined what this election outcome is likely to hinge on. Aotearoa seeks a better way forward, politicians adopt postures accordingly, then supply what the situation seems to demand. Supply & demand being market forces, the public will buy any agreed deal that seems better than the current situation.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces is moving to a “full offense” against the Gaza Strip… …“I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense,” Gallant said…"
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
That mutual hatred arose from dispossession after conquering. Jews & Palestinians are both semitic people so orthodox ethnic relations experts have a commons basis for reframing, should they choose to use it.
Do the UN use such experts? Not to my knowledge. What's the point of developing expertise in that field if you don't use it when crises happen??
The average of the last two polls, which were taken within 4 days of election day is:
Lab/Gr/TPM 44.4
Nat/ACT/NZF 51.0
While it is closing, there is still too much of a gap at 6.6.
There is one glimmer of hope-NZF average 6.4 in those last two polls. Just a faint chance they will still come in at 4.9 which would make the election too close to call.
It is also possible the polls understate TPM’s vote and that they do not fully take into account overseas votes, both of which favour the Left.
The pondering of a closing gap and the overall closeness reminds me of a final flourish of a rugby team which gives them a sniff at the end of a game which suggests they could have done it.
The silly penalties and dropped balls earlier are what put them in the position, what eroded their chances.What you might term the ‘Stuart Nash factors.’
the worm made its debut during the first MMP election. Its most notorious moment came when then-PM Jim Bolger had the temerity to acknowledge that “death is always associated with healthcare”.
The worm hated Bolger’s uncontroversial and obviously true statement, and Bolger hated the worm. “I think it’s a total irrelevancy that has no place in intelligent discussion,” he said at the time.
Spinoff founder Duncan Greive plays analytic historian culture vulture:
it is still with us in a way. In fact, it feels like we live in the worm’s world now – you never have to wonder what anyone thinks about anything a politician says. That final year, 2011, is around the time that social media went mainstream and became a giant always-on, all-of-population worm.
And declares us in “vibes era of politics”. Vibes being field effects in physics, he's not wrong. Then outlines the push-me, pull you theory:
our would-be prime ministers are so hyper-aware of this dynamic that public statements and policy announcements are largely driven by a combination of polling, focus groups and the pulse of social media sentiment.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has asked for official advice on whether Hamas – the Islamist military group behind a deadly attack on Israel – should be designated as a terrorist organisation and “disagrees” with Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson who suggested the Israeli Defence Forces should also undergo a terrorist assessment.
I'm with Marama on this. James disagrees with the shift:
Inasmuch as peacemaking requires a negotiating body, I'm with James. The basic problem is ethnicity as basis for sovereignty. Politicians are reluctant to admit this. Just because the old testament God told the Israelites to use genocide to take possession of the promised land doesn't mean such exclusivity is morally right – when it's morally wrong!
But on Wednesday, Hipkins said he disagreed with Davidson’s characterisation.
To err is human. He has every right to demonstrate humanity.
John Key is such a slime. His faux praise for Chris Hipkins being "a man of his word" to remind everyone, especially Hipkins, that if Labour goes with Peters then "he's not a man of his word". Then just yesterday warns everyone that the nats' tax cuts and other promises are at risk because of all the palaver and chaos NZF will cause if part of a coaltion with the nats. What a schmuck.
If Hipkins is a "man of his word" it might be a reason to vote for him. Meanwhile Luxon is man of many words, all pre-scripted and repeated endlessly and irrelevantly upon the stimulus of seeing a microphone. Is he Air NZ's first embarrassing attempt to replace their cabin crews with AI? And you do know that traducing the personal ethics of Saint John is a thought crime?
"Rather than undertaking its duty of protecting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Israel has been placing Palestinians under a suffocating blockade, which constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment in a stark violation of international humanitarian law."
"“this is an extraordinary warning sign, an alarming trend in the overall situation not only of health for infants but also the health of entire Palestine refugee population in Gaza. Moreover, it is a warning sign on the overall social and economic situation of Gaza, as the Palestine refugees account for more than seventy per cent of the entire populations in Gaza. Infant mortality is a barometer of the health of an entire population”.
Population growth from immigration of temporary workers to replace and supplement emigrating local workers rose to more than 2% in the last year, without nearly enough infrastructure built or planned for two decades at that level, and without any real debate just days before an election.
Nat/Labs will be delirious with joy at this resumption of the Ak property escalator. True neolib believers are already salivating. Make the rich richer, asap!
The reason I say it was a stupid question is that I don't know any fundies who don't believe in dinasours.
A much better question to have asked is if he believes dinasours were alive at the same time as humans. I know fundies who believe the earth is literally 6000 years old who hold that view.
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
And they know what will happen at the end time because they read the Left Behind books (thought they will be taken to an airport for rapture to escape it all).
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
People with those sort of beliefs usually have better evidence than that to support their views!.
That sort of thinking usually involves finding evidence that confirms a particular theory but ignores the vast amount of evidence that refutes it. For example, fossilized foot-prints of humans and dinosaurs, suggesting they were walking together. The various historical pictures of dragons that looked remarkably similar to some of the historical dinosaurs. And one explanation for how light could have been travelling for billions of years if the universe is only 6000 years old, is the conjecture by some scientists that light has been slowing down.
I don't know if they have given much thought to how much light actually would have needed to slow to explain the fairly stark difference between 14 billion years and 6 thousand years.
As for Guy Williams, he usually isn't very funny, although "NZ Today" had some good moments. He stopped Leo Molloy becoming Auckland mayor, at least. (Wayne Brown was only the second worst candidate in the race).
They have got a bit more scientific about this sort of stuff these days. But, the arguments are still stupid. For instance, if you point to carbon dating of some fossil showing it to be a million years old or something, they will point to some dubious result where, for instance, a live penguin was carbon dated and found to be millions of years old or something.
The inference being that one dodgy result disproves the whole history of carbon dating as a science.
One of the more absurd explanations that I have heard from a fundy to explain the existence of fossils is that that were 2 creations. In the 1st God stuck all these bones and so on in the ground (for what reason I have never been able to fathom) and then of course the 2nd with Adam and Eve.
It's easy to forget how well run our elections are. Compared to the shambles in some other democracies (see Trump), NZ's is a model of efficiency and accessibility. If we take it for granted, we shouldn't. What would our turnout be if we had to queue for hours?
No ID either, something used to block participation in other jurisdictions (again, see USA). EasyVote card, ballot paper, done.
Luxon unsure if he'll lower rents on homes he owns despite policy promise [10 Sept 2023]
Christopher Luxon is unsure whether he will lower the rents on his own investment properties if National's housing policy is enacted despite saying the plans would put a "downward pressure on rents" if the party is elected.
Nats aim to reheat the property market – donors are fuming over falling house prices.
It should be no surprise that the real estate sector, who stand to gain from an influx of affluent foreign buyers, have been the most vocal in their enthusiasm for National’s tax plan.
Along with the dextrous reciprocity we get small owl calls, Marama's whanau & her parlimentary career. This is the best kind of journalism, revealing the dimensions of a politicians connection to community, so we see them in their operating contexts.
Luxon's coined a new election campaign meme: 'up the lux'. Wonderfully fitting. Reminds me of my old mum complaining she's lost something: "oh no, it's probably gone up the lux."
Given that National and their supporters' typical way of communication is negative, dishonest and often abusive, hopefully the moderator on tonight's leaders' debate will have the professionalism to acknowledge this, and not persist with the false narrative that this has been, and is, Labour's usual style.
Dylan Asafo: "Opinion: Last Friday, a study was released finding that 94.5 percent of the National Party’s Facebook posts from September 11 to September 24 had been negative. The academic leading the study, Victoria University’s Dr Mona Krewel, said this finding was “not unexpected, given Labour is the incumbent and National is wanting to change the government”. To many of us, this finding was also unsurprising because it reflected the intense fear that’s been driving its campaign and the campaigns of Act and NZ First".
Dr Mona Krewel.“Results show National is far more negative than Labour, which is campaigning from an incumbent’s position and that means mostly staying positive and trying to emphasise achievements in government.
“If we subtract negative posts from positive posts, about 63 percent more Labour posts included positive self-presentation than negative attacks. In comparison, when we do the same for National, it had a net positivity score of just 5.5 percent".
Viewers surely can expect insightful questions, to help the undecided voters make informed decisions. I hope the moderator lets Chris Hipkins finish his responses rather than talking over him, and gives him equal time as is given to Christopher Luxon.
Paula Bennett!!!. Really!!!! Could not believe it. How in the heck was she brought on as a panelist. She who believed there was no such thing as Poverty, GOLLY GOSH. I’m done.
Not watching any more of this travesty. Straight in delivering the NP lines. Accusing Chris Hipkins of negative accusations against The Lux. Oh, the irony. Do they all sleep in the same bed.
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Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
An additional bonus of a left win this election, is that Hosking might have a final tanty and shift camp to aus as he has frequently threatened to do.
I imagine they are financially independent, so being unemployable won't be an issue
Sorry, but there’s no final tanty coming, no shifting of camp.
Being aggrieved is oxygen to Hosking. Peters being elected and being in a position of power will energise and invigorate him.
The broadcaster will look on the election as the classic – coming up with a gold watch but having to fall down a sewer to get it.
At last – something good to vote for!
There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand….Centre and Centre Right…..The Centre is a political ideology…which is what Labour is.
There is no serious Left wing political party active in New Zealand
Watch out, Marama will give you a severe telling-off! You've been a naughty boy.
However, with the messiah as precedent you can easily pull a Monty Python on her.
Richard Harman laments “it’s about to get difficult for Luxon” in his latest piece.
https://www.politik.co.nz/its-about-to-get-difficult-for-luxon/
His premise is that there is a large undetermined vote–that obviously has not early voted–and that this “soft” vote may well lean toward Labour. He also outlines Winston’s close relationship with Hobson’s Choice.
An appraisal of yesterday's 3 polls:
Harman subtly points us to Luxon's delusion re momentum. An influential media mainstreamer suggesting that the Nat leader is in perverse denial of polling reality is likely to seem entertaining to his readers.
I Voted yesterday. 2 ticks for our Left (unsurprisingly : )
When I arrived at the Poll station there was an "older" couple standing in the doorway having a bit of a discussion with a friendly Polling helper .
She looked past them to me asked if I had my EasyVote card….I showed her, she smiled and pointed over to the Polling checkers.
I got verified and given voting paper….meanwhile the doorway discussion was still going on, and another Polling helper had joined them. Seems it was all about their address and where.. to actually vote ! (I was hearing all of this ..)
OK, so me being me, I asked the guy who had taken my EasyVote card, if there had been urgent action to get the process moving (1 million not sent ?)
He seemed maybe not so pleased to be asked this ? And said it was mainly South Auckland.
That didnt really answer my question. The doorway discussion still going.
Anyway I left..having voted Left… and got on my bike and the Sun was shining.
Positively Left as it were : )
Officers are supposed to query addresses to ensure the correct electorate is selected but not to discuss turnout or any other EC business.
Ah. That might explain him. And maybe the others were just Helpers? Still doesnt help the EasyVote situation. Which was my concern. IMO really not good enough. Especially with the lack/apathy around..Voting !
I am, by the way, basing my reply on my own experience working at the polls in previous elections. I am not doing it at this election because I am laid up after a leg operation.
As polling booth officials, we are given strict instructions on what we can and can't say and do at the venue At times we are challenged by unusual enquiries and events and have to rely on our own common sense when there is no obvious rule to consult.
I would say that polling officials get it right mostly, because they are often very interested in our democratic system of voting and want to participate in helping it, as well as the money. But being human errors can happen. There are a lot of checks designed to spot errors in registration and the voting process but humans can make mistakes. I myself once had occasion to tell my booth officer that all ballot boxes had to be opened before the general electorate count could be started, she had thought only the general electorate box should be opened until I reminded her that almost inevitably at least one person puts their vote in the wrong box and should a general electorate vote end up in the maori electorate box the count would have to be done from scratch again – a time consuming process. I was right, but not particularly popular with her for the rest of the night.
I think there has been a lot of media misinformation spread about voting problems. People in rural areas whining that they can't vote at the exact time it suits them should be reminded that in the old days they had one day only to vote and didn't have the choices that they had today. Some people expect to have a voting booth open at every sheep station along the backroad. That costs a lot of money for not a lot of gain.
My easy vot card got delivered to a previous address, but had my current one on the card itself??!!
Yes. All seems quite…disjointed ? Not like they only had weeks to sort it out? IMO its slack.
Anway…I did read you got early voting. And Tactically too.
Onya Matey : )
Folks ought to watch keenly for co-governance aka treaty rights in tonight's debate!
Harman has outlined what this election outcome is likely to hinge on. Aotearoa seeks a better way forward, politicians adopt postures accordingly, then supply what the situation seems to demand. Supply & demand being market forces, the public will buy any agreed deal that seems better than the current situation.
So, they’re going to seriously piss off the poor and disenfranchised. At the same time, give them right to buy AR15s. Mmmmmm.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces is moving to a “full offense” against the Gaza Strip… …“I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense,” Gallant said…"
https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-go-back-to-what-it-once-was/
Israel basically just issued its own version of the severity order.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severity_Order
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
Classic landlord/tenant relationship.
That two groups of humans can come to hate each other so much is just shocking beyond description.
That mutual hatred arose from dispossession after conquering. Jews & Palestinians are both semitic people so orthodox ethnic relations experts have a commons basis for reframing, should they choose to use it.
Do the UN use such experts? Not to my knowledge. What's the point of developing expertise in that field if you don't use it when crises happen??
One of them has powerful friends. Doesn't help. The world is f****d.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lindsey-graham-declares-were-in-a-religious-war-suggests-israel-level-the-place/ar-AA1i3tn7?fullscreen=true&cvid=4c91f609ed684a49ac91a85827630e9c&ei=26#image=2
The average of the last two polls, which were taken within 4 days of election day is:
Lab/Gr/TPM 44.4
Nat/ACT/NZF 51.0
While it is closing, there is still too much of a gap at 6.6.
There is one glimmer of hope-NZF average 6.4 in those last two polls. Just a faint chance they will still come in at 4.9 which would make the election too close to call.
It is also possible the polls understate TPM’s vote and that they do not fully take into account overseas votes, both of which favour the Left.
The pondering of a closing gap and the overall closeness reminds me of a final flourish of a rugby team which gives them a sniff at the end of a game which suggests they could have done it.
The silly penalties and dropped balls earlier are what put them in the position, what eroded their chances.What you might term the ‘Stuart Nash factors.’
Worm-world in retrospect:
Spinoff founder Duncan Greive plays analytic historian culture vulture:
And declares us in “vibes era of politics”. Vibes being field effects in physics, he's not wrong. Then outlines the push-me, pull you theory:
That's an impressive triad he's pointing to!
A shift is pending:
I'm with Marama on this. James disagrees with the shift:
Inasmuch as peacemaking requires a negotiating body, I'm with James. The basic problem is ethnicity as basis for sovereignty. Politicians are reluctant to admit this. Just because the old testament God told the Israelites to use genocide to take possession of the promised land doesn't mean such exclusivity is morally right – when it's morally wrong!
To err is human. He has every right to demonstrate humanity.
John Key is such a slime. His faux praise for Chris Hipkins being "a man of his word" to remind everyone, especially Hipkins, that if Labour goes with Peters then "he's not a man of his word". Then just yesterday warns everyone that the nats' tax cuts and other promises are at risk because of all the palaver and chaos NZF will cause if part of a coaltion with the nats. What a schmuck.
If Hipkins is a "man of his word" it might be a reason to vote for him. Meanwhile Luxon is man of many words, all pre-scripted and repeated endlessly and irrelevantly upon the stimulus of seeing a microphone. Is he Air NZ's first embarrassing attempt to replace their cabin crews with AI? And you do know that traducing the personal ethics of Saint John is a thought crime?
Luxon is absolutely a man of of his words – his weasel words.
Reports of Israeli 'white phosphorus' use in Gaza
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-gaza-report-israeli-white-phosphorus
Suffocation and Isolation
17 Years of Israeli Blockade on Gaza
"Rather than undertaking its duty of protecting the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Israel has been placing Palestinians under a suffocating blockade, which constitutes an unprecedented form of collective punishment in a stark violation of international humanitarian law."
Infant Mortality In Gaza No Longer In Decline “Alarming Trend” According to New Report by UNRWA
"“this is an extraordinary warning sign, an alarming trend in the overall situation not only of health for infants but also the health of entire Palestine refugee population in Gaza. Moreover, it is a warning sign on the overall social and economic situation of Gaza, as the Palestine refugees account for more than seventy per cent of the entire populations in Gaza. Infant mortality is a barometer of the health of an entire population”.
Nat/Labs neolib wet-dream spurts this:
Nat/Labs will be delirious with joy at this resumption of the Ak property escalator. True neolib believers are already salivating. Make the rich richer, asap!
From the "ask a stupid question" category, I see Guy Williams has asked Luxon if he believes in dinosaurs. Luxon confirmed he did believe in dinasours.
The reason I say it was a stupid question is that I don't know any fundies who don't believe in dinasours.
A much better question to have asked is if he believes dinasours were alive at the same time as humans. I know fundies who believe the earth is literally 6000 years old who hold that view.
Sure it was on TV, Dino was pet of the Flintstone family in Bedrock.
And they know what will happen at the end time because they read the Left Behind books (thought they will be taken to an airport for rapture to escape it all).
People with those sort of beliefs usually have better evidence than that to support their views!.
That sort of thinking usually involves finding evidence that confirms a particular theory but ignores the vast amount of evidence that refutes it. For example, fossilized foot-prints of humans and dinosaurs, suggesting they were walking together. The various historical pictures of dragons that looked remarkably similar to some of the historical dinosaurs. And one explanation for how light could have been travelling for billions of years if the universe is only 6000 years old, is the conjecture by some scientists that light has been slowing down.
I don't know if they have given much thought to how much light actually would have needed to slow to explain the fairly stark difference between 14 billion years and 6 thousand years.
Your last point is a good one.
As for Guy Williams, he usually isn't very funny, although "NZ Today" had some good moments. He stopped Leo Molloy becoming Auckland mayor, at least. (Wayne Brown was only the second worst candidate in the race).
Fossils were planted in the rocks by God to test the faith of humans. Carbon dating is the devil's handiwork. How can you not know this tsmith?
They have got a bit more scientific about this sort of stuff these days. But, the arguments are still stupid. For instance, if you point to carbon dating of some fossil showing it to be a million years old or something, they will point to some dubious result where, for instance, a live penguin was carbon dated and found to be millions of years old or something.
The inference being that one dodgy result disproves the whole history of carbon dating as a science.
Carbon dating doesn’t work on/with dinosaur fossils.
Thanks incognito. Like Maureen Pugh, I'll need to do some reading this weekend.
One of the more absurd explanations that I have heard from a fundy to explain the existence of fossils is that that were 2 creations. In the 1st God stuck all these bones and so on in the ground (for what reason I have never been able to fathom) and then of course the 2nd with Adam and Eve.
lol
I voted today.
It's easy to forget how well run our elections are. Compared to the shambles in some other democracies (see Trump), NZ's is a model of efficiency and accessibility. If we take it for granted, we shouldn't. What would our turnout be if we had to queue for hours?
No ID either, something used to block participation in other jurisdictions (again, see USA). EasyVote card, ballot paper, done.
Luxon's "new favourite dinosaur"? "The TaxReliefosaurus" – except it's not new, is it Chris, nor anywhere near as big as Willux would have voters believe. Can't trust these “bottom feeders“.
Get
Our CountryUnearned LandLORD Income Back on TrackVery National in deed – self-serving scammers absolutely in thrall to Mammon.
Nats aim to reheat the property market – donors are fuming over falling house prices.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/10/election-2023-video-labour-s-chris-hipkins-on-why-he-didn-t-sleep-for-weeks-where-his-trouble-with-pastries-may-have-started.html
Hipkins seeming pretty calm, measured, and philosophical about it all.
Marama does a co-knitting session with Lloyd Burr of Newshub: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/10/election-2023-video-the-greens-marama-davidson-faces-new-level-of-political-pressure-knitting-with-newshub.html
Along with the dextrous reciprocity we get small owl calls, Marama's whanau & her parlimentary career. This is the best kind of journalism, revealing the dimensions of a politicians connection to community, so we see them in their operating contexts.
Luxon's coined a new election campaign meme: 'up the lux'. Wonderfully fitting. Reminds me of my old mum complaining she's lost something: "oh no, it's probably gone up the lux."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300987385/nz-election-2023-live-national-up-the-lux-and-on-the-defensive-over-nz-first
😆
Lol. To me, up the Lux sounds like something stuck in a very questionable, unpleasant, uncomfortable place.
Same. It sounds more like something his non-supporters would say 😖
Definitely does. He's so obviously trying to imitate the "up the Wahs" catchphrase.
Will he go ‘full imitation’ & dip out in a preliminary final? Hope so – suck it up Lux.
True, but as unpleasant as it is, would he rather be in Hipkins' place?
I stole that for twitter 😉
Some would say that Unilever hired him because he was on lux brand.
Trying to over egg it is a little trumpian.
https://www.dealercreative.com/blog/branding-the-denny-crane-way
PS Note that Winston Peters has been wearing his suit as a brand since …
Given that National and their supporters' typical way of communication is negative, dishonest and often abusive, hopefully the moderator on tonight's leaders' debate will have the professionalism to acknowledge this, and not persist with the false narrative that this has been, and is, Labour's usual style.
Dylan Asafo: "Opinion: Last Friday, a study was released finding that 94.5 percent of the National Party’s Facebook posts from September 11 to September 24 had been negative. The academic leading the study, Victoria University’s Dr Mona Krewel, said this finding was “not unexpected, given Labour is the incumbent and National is wanting to change the government”. To many of us, this finding was also unsurprising because it reflected the intense fear that’s been driving its campaign and the campaigns of Act and NZ First".
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/a-chance-to-cut-through-the-fear-and-find-the-best-of-us
Dr Mona Krewel.“Results show National is far more negative than Labour, which is campaigning from an incumbent’s position and that means mostly staying positive and trying to emphasise achievements in government.
“If we subtract negative posts from positive posts, about 63 percent more Labour posts included positive self-presentation than negative attacks. In comparison, when we do the same for National, it had a net positivity score of just 5.5 percent".
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2023/10/negative-campaiging-in-the-2023-new-zealand-election
Viewers surely can expect insightful questions, to help the undecided voters make informed decisions. I hope the moderator lets Chris Hipkins finish his responses rather than talking over him, and gives him equal time as is given to Christopher Luxon.
The moderator is told what to do by the Nats, and the media, before the leaders debate gets started. my opinion.
So the IDF are bombing homes of journalist now. And first responders going to peoples aid.
We are just going to attack Hamas – yeah right.
https://twitter.com/AbbyMartin
Paula Bennett!!!. Really!!!! Could not believe it. How in the heck was she brought on as a panelist. She who believed there was no such thing as Poverty, GOLLY GOSH. I’m done.
Not watching any more of this travesty. Straight in delivering the NP lines. Accusing Chris Hipkins of negative accusations against The Lux. Oh, the irony. Do they all sleep in the same bed.
Blatant put up job. Sick.
She and other Nats made people on the benefits' lives miserable IMO.
I haven't forgotten what she did with Training Incentive Allowance 😡🤬