How cynically undemocratic is this NAct government? …. determined to push ahead with it’s programme assisting corproates, at home and abroad, to fleece Kiwis of their hard earned assets and rights:
The Government will not delay the passage of the bill allowing share floats of state-owned enterprises until after the Waitangi Tribunal has held its urgent hearings on the matter.
Ministers are insisting such sales would not affect the rights and interests of iwi and will not set aside any shares for future settlement.
But SOE Minister Tony Ryall says the Government could be prepared at a later stage to “stand in the market” and buy shares for some iwi as part of Treaty of Waitangi settlements.
When will the media hold the government to account, and challenge their way of treating democracy like a business enterprise where rights and social justice are just products and services to be bought and sold in the marketplace?
John Armstrong is beginning to give it a go, and not for the first time. He’s been having a few digs recently. It seems like he’s getting a cynical about this self-serving government (unlike his colleague Fran O’Sullivan).
The talk about contraception was designed to get John Key’s controversy-plagued Government back on the front foot and regain control of the political agenda for the first time in weeks.
It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last, welfare reform is wheeled out to perform that function.
Rosy, don’t talk to me about the blind Fran O’Sullivan who has all the discernment of a weed! Yes, I think we can call her “dear John” a weed, anyway! Fran’s problem is not being able to find a way to “fall out of love” with that handsome stag (sorry – I changed the analogy from weed)!!.
But whatever his problems, TV News continues to consult JK on anything and everything. He looks sublimely happy with that.
RT is playing the very forthright documentary The War in Iraq over the next few days, May 11,12,13. It is a compelling and well researched investigation into the ideas and ideals behind the illegal invasion and ongoing destruction of Iraq. In short it is a terrifying exposé of the manipulation and deceipt that is contemporary Geo-Politics.
Muzza What against poverty.This is the same attitude they had in southern states of the US last century Eugenics.Divide and conquer the human right commission should get into Paula Bennett.
Every body should be treated as equal.
Thats right Mike E – The playbook is simply a rehash, the agenda nothing new…I was trying to point out the ease at which the medias complicity to relaying the messages can be called out!
Everyone equal….LOL, yes they will all be forced vaccinations if this gets off the ground…Not for the decision makers of course….just the cattle!
Another option is that the government thinks it’s taking a hit on the poverty-related kiddie-illness issue. It can blame kids eating slops on bad parenting, but disease is not so easily dismissed.
So rather than spending money on making doctors more accessible, or reducing overcrowding, or making sure homes are warm enough, I think they figure that forcing beneficiaries to immunize is an easy and free (if not cost-positive) way to drop vaccine-preventable diseases by 5-10%. And making it easier for them to fuck the economy for another three years.
As for me, I think that addressing inequality and housing, alongside beefing up the education system, would do a lot mre to prevent communicable diseases than compulsory vaccination to catch the tail-end of nutbars.
Although there might be something to be said for restricting school and ECE attendance to vaccinated kids only, but that might just be a first-stage response to an emerging epidemic.
Under these arrangements, an American corporation, for example, would be given far more extensive rights against our government than any New Zealand company would ever have. It would mean that a future government, perhaps elected to change policy in an area like environmental protection or health and safety (smoking comes to mind), could be threatened with a crippling lawsuit unless it backed off.
I heard Tony Ryall on the radio yesterday reassuring us Lanth. He said that there was no way that we would lose our sovereignty and that what Government would sell our rights away in a Treaty? So that’s alright then.
Sheesh, anyone watching the Nation this morning? The introduction piece about Shearer gagging DC and preventing him from coming on to debate asset sales – fear of stepping on Parkers toes. Parker cant compete with National MP’s on this issue- he simply is not powerful, intelligent and articulate enough. Labour are like a really shit AB’s line up right now, the players are in the wrong places – I cringe when they hit the public field.
Fancy Shearer appointing Parker Finance Spokesperson. If promotions are merit based then Cunliffe should be the finance spokesperson. He should at least be allowed to debate things publicly occasionally.
And it looks like the leaks are continuing. Someone high up has told Garner that Cunliffe was gagged. If Labour really wants to look like a Government these leaks need to stop.
Shearer gagging Cunliffe wouldn’t surprise me especially after the speech that Cunliffe gave a few weeks ago which seemed to be almost totally against what Shearer has been saying.
Utterly odd that with Shearer AGAIN muzzling Cunliffe, there was no-one to go on The Nation this morning to hold the Government to account.
So instead Tony Ryle as Minister of SOE’s got what amounted to an Opposition-free hall pass to talk about the great asset selloff.
And here we are less than 2 weeks away from the Government’s budget, so where the hell is the supposed Opposition Finance Spokesperson David Parker? Utterly absent, from the guy who five months ago who wanted to lead the entire Labour Party.
And not to put too fine a point on it, Cunliffe has done the only effective set-piece speech from Labour since the election.
Great Labour can go “me too” to absolutely every political scandal going in the let month, but when it comes to leading the attack, they are simply willful eunuchs. Shame on Shearer – grow a pair man.
@patrickgowernz
Cunliffe no-show on @theNationtv3 clearly shows he’s been gagged by Labour hierachy fearing he appears up for leadership challenge
This could be a good sign though, that finally Shearer is starting use some authority. If he can keep building on that – and if the party visibly unites behind him – he can let the spokespeople do their thing – next year is plenty of time to develop that.
You have to be joking. A senior member of the Labour Party being prevented from going on TV to take the fight to the Government? What are Labour going to do? Not say or do anything just in case the leader feels threatened?
A real leader would support his spokespersons getting media traction and arguing Labour policy. Helen certainly did.
No, I doubt very much that Shearer is the type of guy who would try to dumb down his front bench spokerspersons. Goff seems to have done that to get his personality popularity figures up: they all know that didn’t work.
Shearer is a tall man and hopefully a MAN. He would have learned from the mistakes of the Goff strategy. He would definitely be encouraging all of his team to front-up and make strong speeches that push the Labour brand. I hope his replacement of advisors and office staff works out for the better.
“Waiting for Copernicus: On the Slow-Death of Neoliberalism”
“It’s happening in Buenos Aires. It’s happening in Paris and in Athens. It’s even happening at the World Bank headquarters.
The global economy is finally shifting away from the model that prevailed for the last three decades. Europeans are rejecting austerity. Latin Americans are nationalizing enterprises.”
“Argentina is by no means the only country in the region to roll back the privatization mania. The Brazilian government increased its control over the oil company Petrobras a couple years ago. In Bolivia, the government of Evo Morales recently renationalized the electricity grid, which had also been in Spanish hands. This move comes after the nationalization of hydroelectric facilities and telecommunications. Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, has made enlarging the state sector a populist rallying cry. And Ecuador has followed suit with laws to allow the government to seize oil and gas companies that don’t comply with national regulations.”
The rest of the World except the U$$$$ (Also known as the Banana republic of the US$$$) and the UK$$$$ have woken up to the disaster that is NeoLiberalism. Alas though Shonkey and his mates haven’t and they’re making the ordinary kiwi pay for their willful blindness and stupidity continuing with the Privatisation impoverishment rort which only benefits their class mates.
Privatisation and Austerity are major ideological planks for National. Can yo see them backing off? When you pull a few scaffolding planks away the structure would fall.
The sort of outrageous abuse of consumers one gets with Privatisation example in the UK$$$:
“£130 a year on your gas and electricity bill: British Gas owner threatens rises… as it approves a £9m pay package for its bosses
Household bills could reach record highs
Shareholders don’t back pay deal for chief exec”
Profit has always been on the backs of the consumers. That’s why the politicians and corporates push higher and higher consumption even though it’s not sustainable and why, interestingly enough, they both treat the average person as drain rather than as a person.
I heard Winston Peters on Radionz Wed-Fri I think on Morning Report dissing Whanau Ora and Tariana Turia giving a spirited defence of it.
Government and people need to get beyond having a hissy fit every time something goes wrong with Maori initiatives. She made the point that when working for and with people who have been on the bottom strata of society there would be times when there were unsatisfactory outcomes.
And I think this is inevitable so let’s face up to it and set up good monitoring and scrutiny and not use the bad to stop good from being encouraged. And the bad can’t be prevented completely – we can only work out regular checks so they get caught early and then the good that is happening can reach out to all levels of Maori society faster.
After all the whites aren’t so good either, if Maori are supposed to look at the white wealthy as towers of aspiration, we had better step up to our lofty myths and act to stop pakeha business and charitable scams. And the unregulated permissive business and government practices with casinos, jobs for our friends without tender, etc etc (fill in this gap with your own examples) smooths the way to dishonesty and contempt of probity.
So the one sure way to prevent adequate spending programs on Maori social, employment and SME development, of a legal sort, is to explode with disgust any time that associated wrongdoing comes to light and throw out the baby with the bathwater. Result is a big -0.
Good on old Winnie, the crafty old bugger, he’s always putting a cat among the pigeons.
“Why would the Government pay for a TV programme [ The GC ] that shows Kiwis earning high Aussie wages while living a degenerate party lifestyle?
“We are all sick of the chardonnay-sipping liberals creating this sort of rubbish – we need to put people on the NZ On Air board who show a bit more intelligence than those who chose to fund this brain-dead show.”
NZ On Air funds programmes with cultural value, and Mr Peters says that’s rubbish as well.
“The much-hyped Maori cultural content is virtually non-existent. Just showing a few scribbles on their faces hardly satisfies the requirement.”
24th of May, Thursday week, is budget day. The National Party had a free run on the Nation this morning. The Labour Party declined an invitation. WTF. Tory Ryall got away with murder on selling our Assets: no Labour person there to challenge him. WTF. Who is responsible and accountable for business management in the Labour Opposition?
Well Balanced – Could the people demand a by-election on electorates of Opposition members who aren’t doing the job we are paying them for? A very adequate income indeed these days. Never heard of it but they are being paid while they are in Parliament and they are expected to be holding the government to account not playing pretty positional and psychological games choosing when to expose themselves and their programs and beliefs to scrutiny.
In sport coach positions are reviewed quick smart when their team doesn’t perform. We people are supposed to be the backbone of the democracy, the real job creators with our tax money and investment of savings and work skills, so we should have more to say and more control over our political agents in the way that investors in paid sports sectors have.
It may be a good idea to hold fire for now, let Government Ministers shoot their bolts and keep the Opposition powder dry until the blowup of the Budget itself. Let the Minister hoist their own petards and dare them to damn the torpedoes in the winter of our discontent after the Dreaded Budget.
Ianmac – Yes I see your point but it seems necessary to make a show up so that people know they have a sparking Opposition. If they have definite policy trends that they believe are important, even if they can’t actually carry every policy that would be beneficial, then they could refer back to that trend. The comment would illustrate how government was not achieving good change with the latest thrash of programs. It would be a broken record approach – ‘But how will that return us to more employment and full-time jobs allowing discretionary spending?’for instance.
We still haven’t seen Joyce being held to account for whatever this big Ministry of Big Business and Screw You All is supposed to deliver.
Duncan Garner should do a show with Joyce versus Cunliffe, and see where we really are toe to toe.
Actually the next set piece speech I want to see, once the smoke is cleared from Greece, is about The Economy and The Environment. Something about biosecurity and agricultural risk, something about our future as a food producer, and something about the necessity of the Greens to New Zealand politics.
Strange we don’t hear the Labour leadership ready and willing to work with the Greens.
Would the Greens leadership want one bar of Labour? Greens have all the intelligent policies, where Labour seems unable to come up even with UNintelligent policies, none at all!
Who knows who’s in charge these days. I won’t vote for em in this state, and Shearer to me? a big mistake making him leader. Cunliffe should have been there to keep the crap to a`minimum, where was he ????
If one decile of 400000 people has more babies than another decile of 400000, then yeah, they have more births. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s a fact.
My guess is that deprivation is largely proportional to age, and probably reproduction itself (DINKs vs 2.4kids). Just controlling for age would probably be interesting. Also if there’s a gender skew in the dep06 indices, that might be an issue. If it were really dissected, we might just find that people most likely to be poor are young women.
Ianmac: the Labour Brand today was very weak. And it will be even more so tomorrow if the Front Bench does not Front-up. Where was Shearer, Robinson or Parker? A week out from the be budget and you suggest we give them a free run!! We need to get all our best front bench people making appearances on these opinion forming forums. Every MP hold have Pre-Budget scene setting speeches or newsletters out in their electorates to set a context in which voters can hear the budget. Every MP should have a Post-Budget speech booked or newsletter planned that will highlight the deficiencies.
Ianmac, if we are not shaping the story, the Nats will. Take your pick. Mine is that we shape the the story. Today we failed abysmally. The responsible Labour Party manager should get a written warning. The accountable person should prepare to replace the poor performers.
Slater is quoted as saying they didn’t come from a burglary but won’t say where they came from.
I refuse to give his site the traffic of following this up but assume others here may have seen what Slater’s been doing and could guess as to why he’s doing this? Personal? Professional? Insane?
Slater is of course not divulging where he acquired the data, but its likely to have come from Blomfield’s stolen computer and therefore Slater could be looking at a bit of jail time…
I keep an eye on Whaleoil but have avoided looking at this in any detail, it’s an alleged business related scandal in Auckland, not somewhere I want to spend any time looking, especially if information is illegally obtained – which if true don’t help Whale’s very mixed reputation.
The number of comments on those threads started high but dropped fairly quickly, I don’t think it’s riveting for most of his audience.
There seems to be a lack of desire from the Police to test the new anti-hacking laws. They’re pretty specific except for the bit about knowledge which is subjective;
“252 Accessing computer system without authorisation
(1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years who intentionally accesses, directly or indirectly, any computer system without authorisation, knowing that he or she is not authorised to access that computer system, or being reckless as to whether or not he or she is authorised to access that computer system.”
If the emails are from a stolen computer then I would think that Slater would then be an accessory to a crime. In that scenario the emails look to have been accessed in the manner described above. It might be called anti-hacking law but it’s not expressed as such, it clearly applies equally to accessing someone’s computer directly.
Not sure. I think that was one of the reasons they brought in the new legislation, digital content created some ambiguities on the law front that gave the defence lawyer plenty to argue against. The computer was stolen but if data was copied from it was the copied data still stolen goods? Also.. how can you prove that copied data came directly from the stolen computer; could have come from a hacked PC, backup device or other unknown source.
Just saw Jonathan Young, the National MP for New Plymouth, park in a metered parking space and walk into a nearby cafe without even looking at the meter. It appears the rules don’t apply when you’re an MP. Hope he gets a ticket 😉
Weird editorial in the Dompost today.
Making vaguely complimentary noises about mothers who look after children.
Are they trying to send all women back to the kitchen or are the Nact focus groups showing women to be dead sick of all the attacks being launched on them and/or the children?
Student loans & allowances interest free were very popular when introduced not only with the students but parents and grandpaprents. Is this going to unravel Nact support some more?
Making vaguely complimentary noises about mothers who look after children.
Are they trying to send all women back to the kitchen
That seems a bit of a stretch, Red Baron! Mothers look after children and ought to be allowed to! Saying every mother should work outside the home, is a good line for bene bashing, and reminds me that Rosemary McLeod of all people had a column in North & South or Metro in the 80s, in which she speculated that a lot of the hatred of DPB mothers was simply jealousy that they got to stay home and actually look after their children!
I know I am a cynic, but what in heaven or earth would it take to unravel Nact support in a country whose brightest and best are wallowing in Australia? Those of us (unfortunately) remaining do not rate highly in discernment of human beings (if that is what Tories are).
We take the Fran O’Sullivans of the country for our models!!
“”A coeducational Christian college, Y1–13, of over 1500 students. Our emphasis is on applying biblical principles to all aspects of school life. Commitment to the college’s special character and a willingness to take part in related instructional programmes are a condition of all appointments””.
A State integrated school, (Tax funded) ad for a TECHNOLOGY teacher.
Can’t anyone see what is wrong with this?
If you want a job you must participate in brainwashing kids with unproven irrational beliefs.
If you want a job you must participate in brainwashing kids with unproven irrational beliefs.
Sorry, I think you’re wrong – your comment shows a very strong bias the other way, and would you be so angry if the advert was for a Muslim school, a Steiner school or a Jewish one? I can’t see an atheist applying other than to create a huge fuss…
State schools should be secular. Not pushing religious beliefs.
If religious believers want to pay for their own schools to brainwash their kids I can’t stop them.
But schools funded by all of us should not be allowed to discriminate in their employment practices on the grounds of willingness to help with the brainwashing.
At least sanity is prevailing. Less and less people participate in religion every year.
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
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TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
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My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
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. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
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 ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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How cynically undemocratic is this NAct government? …. determined to push ahead with it’s programme assisting corproates, at home and abroad, to fleece Kiwis of their hard earned assets and rights:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10805345
When will the media hold the government to account, and challenge their way of treating democracy like a business enterprise where rights and social justice are just products and services to be bought and sold in the marketplace?
“When will the media hold the government to account …?”
Carol, i am going to go with never!
John Armstrong is beginning to give it a go, and not for the first time. He’s been having a few digs recently. It seems like he’s getting a cynical about this self-serving government (unlike his colleague Fran O’Sullivan).
And Joyce’s Student Loan adjustments unsupported by any paperwork or rationale. Off the cuff as a cynical distraction?
Rosy, don’t talk to me about the blind Fran O’Sullivan who has all the discernment of a weed! Yes, I think we can call her “dear John” a weed, anyway! Fran’s problem is not being able to find a way to “fall out of love” with that handsome stag (sorry – I changed the analogy from weed)!!.
But whatever his problems, TV News continues to consult JK on anything and everything. He looks sublimely happy with that.
They have murdoched our media
http://rt.com/programs/schedule/
RT is playing the very forthright documentary The War in Iraq over the next few days, May 11,12,13. It is a compelling and well researched investigation into the ideas and ideals behind the illegal invasion and ongoing destruction of Iraq. In short it is a terrifying exposé of the manipulation and deceipt that is contemporary Geo-Politics.
The Government is considering requiring beneficiaries to immunise their children
Wow what a shock, pretty sure the playbook was called the other day that this was something the govt would use as a move toward forced vaccination!
EDIT: My comment was about the contraception and forced injections, but it took four days for the article above to appear
Who else wants a copy of the playbook ?
Muzza What against poverty.This is the same attitude they had in southern states of the US last century Eugenics.Divide and conquer the human right commission should get into Paula Bennett.
Every body should be treated as equal.
Thats right Mike E – The playbook is simply a rehash, the agenda nothing new…I was trying to point out the ease at which the medias complicity to relaying the messages can be called out!
Everyone equal….LOL, yes they will all be forced vaccinations if this gets off the ground…Not for the decision makers of course….just the cattle!
Another option is that the government thinks it’s taking a hit on the poverty-related kiddie-illness issue. It can blame kids eating slops on bad parenting, but disease is not so easily dismissed.
So rather than spending money on making doctors more accessible, or reducing overcrowding, or making sure homes are warm enough, I think they figure that forcing beneficiaries to immunize is an easy and free (if not cost-positive) way to drop vaccine-preventable diseases by 5-10%. And making it easier for them to fuck the economy for another three years.
And what about you McFlock?
Musing about the possible facist intentions of the current government, could lead one to thinking that you could find some common ground with them….
In fact having read your posts on the other vaccine thread, it seems you might could well be quite the little tyrant in your own mind!
At least I’m only one person in my own mind.
As for me, I think that addressing inequality and housing, alongside beefing up the education system, would do a lot mre to prevent communicable diseases than compulsory vaccination to catch the tail-end of nutbars.
Although there might be something to be said for restricting school and ECE attendance to vaccinated kids only, but that might just be a first-stage response to an emerging epidemic.
TPP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10804415
I heard Tony Ryall on the radio yesterday reassuring us Lanth. He said that there was no way that we would lose our sovereignty and that what Government would sell our rights away in a Treaty? So that’s alright then.
Tony Ryall’s reassurance counts for nothing. He has zero credibility.
All of National has zero credibility.
Sheesh, anyone watching the Nation this morning? The introduction piece about Shearer gagging DC and preventing him from coming on to debate asset sales – fear of stepping on Parkers toes. Parker cant compete with National MP’s on this issue- he simply is not powerful, intelligent and articulate enough. Labour are like a really shit AB’s line up right now, the players are in the wrong places – I cringe when they hit the public field.
Actually its deliberate sabotage of the party…
Parker is a complete lighweight, non entity, so why is he being left in that position…
Parliamentarians for Global Order , all of them!
This is so crazy.
Fancy Shearer appointing Parker Finance Spokesperson. If promotions are merit based then Cunliffe should be the finance spokesperson. He should at least be allowed to debate things publicly occasionally.
And it looks like the leaks are continuing. Someone high up has told Garner that Cunliffe was gagged. If Labour really wants to look like a Government these leaks need to stop.
Shearer gagging Cunliffe wouldn’t surprise me especially after the speech that Cunliffe gave a few weeks ago which seemed to be almost totally against what Shearer has been saying.
Utterly odd that with Shearer AGAIN muzzling Cunliffe, there was no-one to go on The Nation this morning to hold the Government to account.
So instead Tony Ryle as Minister of SOE’s got what amounted to an Opposition-free hall pass to talk about the great asset selloff.
And here we are less than 2 weeks away from the Government’s budget, so where the hell is the supposed Opposition Finance Spokesperson David Parker? Utterly absent, from the guy who five months ago who wanted to lead the entire Labour Party.
And not to put too fine a point on it, Cunliffe has done the only effective set-piece speech from Labour since the election.
Great Labour can go “me too” to absolutely every political scandal going in the let month, but when it comes to leading the attack, they are simply willful eunuchs. Shame on Shearer – grow a pair man.
If Labour cannot or do not want to front up, then another spokesperson from the opposition should be there, eg Mana, NZ First or Greens.
If Labour want to give the role of major Opposition to one of the other parties, I’m sure the other parties will gladly take the ball and run with it.
We know the PM shoots blanks but is it clear that Labour has balls?
How on earth could Cunliffe NOT seem totally against what Shearer is “saying”!
And Bloody Farrar is now running the story. He also says Shearer’s office gagged Cunliffe.
Labour get your shyte together. Cunliffe is your biggest asset. Use him.
Not just him saying it.
This could be a good sign though, that finally Shearer is starting use some authority. If he can keep building on that – and if the party visibly unites behind him – he can let the spokespeople do their thing – next year is plenty of time to develop that.
You have to be joking. A senior member of the Labour Party being prevented from going on TV to take the fight to the Government? What are Labour going to do? Not say or do anything just in case the leader feels threatened?
A real leader would support his spokespersons getting media traction and arguing Labour policy. Helen certainly did.
While Natz are trying to cut the economy out of the doldrums and telling tall stories, let’s hope Labour are not trying to cut down tall poppies.
No, I doubt very much that Shearer is the type of guy who would try to dumb down his front bench spokerspersons. Goff seems to have done that to get his personality popularity figures up: they all know that didn’t work.
Shearer is a tall man and hopefully a MAN. He would have learned from the mistakes of the Goff strategy. He would definitely be encouraging all of his team to front-up and make strong speeches that push the Labour brand. I hope his replacement of advisors and office staff works out for the better.
“Waiting for Copernicus: On the Slow-Death of Neoliberalism”
“It’s happening in Buenos Aires. It’s happening in Paris and in Athens. It’s even happening at the World Bank headquarters.
The global economy is finally shifting away from the model that prevailed for the last three decades. Europeans are rejecting austerity. Latin Americans are nationalizing enterprises.”
“Argentina is by no means the only country in the region to roll back the privatization mania. The Brazilian government increased its control over the oil company Petrobras a couple years ago. In Bolivia, the government of Evo Morales recently renationalized the electricity grid, which had also been in Spanish hands. This move comes after the nationalization of hydroelectric facilities and telecommunications. Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, has made enlarging the state sector a populist rallying cry. And Ecuador has followed suit with laws to allow the government to seize oil and gas companies that don’t comply with national regulations.”
Link:http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/09-1
The rest of the World except the U$$$$ (Also known as the Banana republic of the US$$$) and the UK$$$$ have woken up to the disaster that is NeoLiberalism. Alas though Shonkey and his mates haven’t and they’re making the ordinary kiwi pay for their willful blindness and stupidity continuing with the Privatisation impoverishment rort which only benefits their class mates.
Privatisation and Austerity are major ideological planks for National. Can yo see them backing off? When you pull a few scaffolding planks away the structure would fall.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/09-10
Apologies this is the correct link for the above article “Waiting for Copernicus…”
The sort of outrageous abuse of consumers one gets with Privatisation example in the UK$$$:
“£130 a year on your gas and electricity bill: British Gas owner threatens rises… as it approves a £9m pay package for its bosses
Household bills could reach record highs
Shareholders don’t back pay deal for chief exec”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143260/130-year-gas-electricity-British-Gas-owner-threatens-rises–approves-9m-pay-package-bosses.html#ixzz1ubYzlnsb
“British Gas profits are expected to rise from £522million in 2011 to £592million this year.”
Profits off the backs of consumers and still the price rises keep coming!
Profit has always been on the backs of the consumers. That’s why the politicians and corporates push higher and higher consumption even though it’s not sustainable and why, interestingly enough, they both treat the average person as drain rather than as a person.
I heard Winston Peters on Radionz Wed-Fri I think on Morning Report dissing Whanau Ora and Tariana Turia giving a spirited defence of it.
Government and people need to get beyond having a hissy fit every time something goes wrong with Maori initiatives. She made the point that when working for and with people who have been on the bottom strata of society there would be times when there were unsatisfactory outcomes.
And I think this is inevitable so let’s face up to it and set up good monitoring and scrutiny and not use the bad to stop good from being encouraged. And the bad can’t be prevented completely – we can only work out regular checks so they get caught early and then the good that is happening can reach out to all levels of Maori society faster.
After all the whites aren’t so good either, if Maori are supposed to look at the white wealthy as towers of aspiration, we had better step up to our lofty myths and act to stop pakeha business and charitable scams. And the unregulated permissive business and government practices with casinos, jobs for our friends without tender, etc etc (fill in this gap with your own examples) smooths the way to dishonesty and contempt of probity.
So the one sure way to prevent adequate spending programs on Maori social, employment and SME development, of a legal sort, is to explode with disgust any time that associated wrongdoing comes to light and throw out the baby with the bathwater. Result is a big -0.
Maori rip off $20,000 all hell breaks loose
European rips off millions get to become prime minister
Good on old Winnie, the crafty old bugger, he’s always putting a cat among the pigeons.
“Why would the Government pay for a TV programme [ The GC ] that shows Kiwis earning high Aussie wages while living a degenerate party lifestyle?
“We are all sick of the chardonnay-sipping liberals creating this sort of rubbish – we need to put people on the NZ On Air board who show a bit more intelligence than those who chose to fund this brain-dead show.”
NZ On Air funds programmes with cultural value, and Mr Peters says that’s rubbish as well.
“The much-hyped Maori cultural content is virtually non-existent. Just showing a few scribbles on their faces hardly satisfies the requirement.”
24th of May, Thursday week, is budget day. The National Party had a free run on the Nation this morning. The Labour Party declined an invitation. WTF. Tory Ryall got away with murder on selling our Assets: no Labour person there to challenge him. WTF. Who is responsible and accountable for business management in the Labour Opposition?
Well Balanced – Could the people demand a by-election on electorates of Opposition members who aren’t doing the job we are paying them for? A very adequate income indeed these days. Never heard of it but they are being paid while they are in Parliament and they are expected to be holding the government to account not playing pretty positional and psychological games choosing when to expose themselves and their programs and beliefs to scrutiny.
In sport coach positions are reviewed quick smart when their team doesn’t perform. We people are supposed to be the backbone of the democracy, the real job creators with our tax money and investment of savings and work skills, so we should have more to say and more control over our political agents in the way that investors in paid sports sectors have.
It may be a good idea to hold fire for now, let Government Ministers shoot their bolts and keep the Opposition powder dry until the blowup of the Budget itself. Let the Minister hoist their own petards and dare them to damn the torpedoes in the winter of our discontent after the Dreaded Budget.
Ianmac – Yes I see your point but it seems necessary to make a show up so that people know they have a sparking Opposition. If they have definite policy trends that they believe are important, even if they can’t actually carry every policy that would be beneficial, then they could refer back to that trend. The comment would illustrate how government was not achieving good change with the latest thrash of programs. It would be a broken record approach – ‘But how will that return us to more employment and full-time jobs allowing discretionary spending?’for instance.
ianmac. “Keeping your powder dry” applies when you have caches and stockpiles of arms and munitions ready to use at a moments notice.
Where do you think Labour is keeping these.
We still haven’t seen Joyce being held to account for whatever this big Ministry of Big Business and Screw You All is supposed to deliver.
Duncan Garner should do a show with Joyce versus Cunliffe, and see where we really are toe to toe.
Actually the next set piece speech I want to see, once the smoke is cleared from Greece, is about The Economy and The Environment. Something about biosecurity and agricultural risk, something about our future as a food producer, and something about the necessity of the Greens to New Zealand politics.
Strange we don’t hear the Labour leadership ready and willing to work with the Greens.
Would the Greens leadership want one bar of Labour? Greens have all the intelligent policies, where Labour seems unable to come up even with UNintelligent policies, none at all!
Who knows who’s in charge these days. I won’t vote for em in this state, and Shearer to me? a big mistake making him leader. Cunliffe should have been there to keep the crap to a`minimum, where was he ????
Myth-busting rightwing prejudices
I happened to be reading through the Fifth Annual Report of the Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee (PDF) and came across some data that was obviously wrong! Namely the graph on page 20 that makes it look like people in poor areas are having on average more children…
Shit, good job dude.
Congratulations on wading through those statistics and not emerging brain damaged let alone discovering anything substantive from them.
What is that saying about ‘damn lies and statistics’?
Not sure about that.
If one decile of 400000 people has more babies than another decile of 400000, then yeah, they have more births. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s a fact.
My guess is that deprivation is largely proportional to age, and probably reproduction itself (DINKs vs 2.4kids). Just controlling for age would probably be interesting. Also if there’s a gender skew in the dep06 indices, that might be an issue. If it were really dissected, we might just find that people most likely to be poor are young women.
Ianmac: the Labour Brand today was very weak. And it will be even more so tomorrow if the Front Bench does not Front-up. Where was Shearer, Robinson or Parker? A week out from the be budget and you suggest we give them a free run!! We need to get all our best front bench people making appearances on these opinion forming forums. Every MP hold have Pre-Budget scene setting speeches or newsletters out in their electorates to set a context in which voters can hear the budget. Every MP should have a Post-Budget speech booked or newsletter planned that will highlight the deficiencies.
Ianmac, if we are not shaping the story, the Nats will. Take your pick. Mine is that we shape the the story. Today we failed abysmally. The responsible Labour Party manager should get a written warning. The accountable person should prepare to replace the poor performers.
Cameron Slater apparently has published emails stolen from Hell Pizza.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10805338
Slater is quoted as saying they didn’t come from a burglary but won’t say where they came from.
I refuse to give his site the traffic of following this up but assume others here may have seen what Slater’s been doing and could guess as to why he’s doing this? Personal? Professional? Insane?
Are those three options necessarily mutually exclusive?
Well, I’m pretty sure that professional will never apply to Slater 😈
Not sure about Slater’s motivation to publish Blomfield’s private emails there Tigger. Probably just to be controversial to get attention.
Slater receiving stolen property
Slater is of course not divulging where he acquired the data, but its likely to have come from Blomfield’s stolen computer and therefore Slater could be looking at a bit of jail time…
Excellent.
I keep an eye on Whaleoil but have avoided looking at this in any detail, it’s an alleged business related scandal in Auckland, not somewhere I want to spend any time looking, especially if information is illegally obtained – which if true don’t help Whale’s very mixed reputation.
The number of comments on those threads started high but dropped fairly quickly, I don’t think it’s riveting for most of his audience.
There seems to be a lack of desire from the Police to test the new anti-hacking laws. They’re pretty specific except for the bit about knowledge which is subjective;
“252 Accessing computer system without authorisation
(1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years who intentionally accesses, directly or indirectly, any computer system without authorisation, knowing that he or she is not authorised to access that computer system, or being reckless as to whether or not he or she is authorised to access that computer system.”
If the emails are from a stolen computer then I would think that Slater would then be an accessory to a crime. In that scenario the emails look to have been accessed in the manner described above. It might be called anti-hacking law but it’s not expressed as such, it clearly applies equally to accessing someone’s computer directly.
Well if they are stolen, and he’s got them. Is that not receiving stolen property?
Not sure. I think that was one of the reasons they brought in the new legislation, digital content created some ambiguities on the law front that gave the defence lawyer plenty to argue against. The computer was stolen but if data was copied from it was the copied data still stolen goods? Also.. how can you prove that copied data came directly from the stolen computer; could have come from a hacked PC, backup device or other unknown source.
Either way he seems to be risking a bit there.
The Renegade Economist
A great series of videos that gives economists who have been sidelined by the corporations a real voice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La4JEwyr094&feature=g-user-s
Whew! Just had a cheeky shaker here in Christchurch. Heard it first, then shake shake shake…
Damn, it has been quiet lately, but…
Just saw Jonathan Young, the National MP for New Plymouth, park in a metered parking space and walk into a nearby cafe without even looking at the meter. It appears the rules don’t apply when you’re an MP. Hope he gets a ticket 😉
Hmm, wonder who pays for the ticket. Can I have three guesses?
Hope you took a picture.
No camera unfortunately but he has his name and National Party logos all over the car.
He could go on the wall of shame were the Standard to have a monthly wall of shame.
Weird editorial in the Dompost today.
Making vaguely complimentary noises about mothers who look after children.
Are they trying to send all women back to the kitchen or are the Nact focus groups showing women to be dead sick of all the attacks being launched on them and/or the children?
Student loans & allowances interest free were very popular when introduced not only with the students but parents and grandpaprents. Is this going to unravel Nact support some more?
That seems a bit of a stretch, Red Baron! Mothers look after children and ought to be allowed to! Saying every mother should work outside the home, is a good line for bene bashing, and reminds me that Rosemary McLeod of all people had a column in North & South or Metro in the 80s, in which she speculated that a lot of the hatred of DPB mothers was simply jealousy that they got to stay home and actually look after their children!
I know I am a cynic, but what in heaven or earth would it take to unravel Nact support in a country whose brightest and best are wallowing in Australia? Those of us (unfortunately) remaining do not rate highly in discernment of human beings (if that is what Tories are).
We take the Fran O’Sullivans of the country for our models!!
Sorry, I meant to add Paul Holmes name to that of O’Sullivan! (That is the male version).
In the education Gazette Today.
“”A coeducational Christian college, Y1–13, of over 1500 students. Our emphasis is on applying biblical principles to all aspects of school life. Commitment to the college’s special character and a willingness to take part in related instructional programmes are a condition of all appointments””.
A State integrated school, (Tax funded) ad for a TECHNOLOGY teacher.
Can’t anyone see what is wrong with this?
If you want a job you must participate in brainwashing kids with unproven irrational beliefs.
Sorry, I think you’re wrong – your comment shows a very strong bias the other way, and would you be so angry if the advert was for a Muslim school, a Steiner school or a Jewish one? I can’t see an atheist applying other than to create a huge fuss…
This is a State funded school.
State schools should be secular. Not pushing religious beliefs.
If religious believers want to pay for their own schools to brainwash their kids I can’t stop them.
But schools funded by all of us should not be allowed to discriminate in their employment practices on the grounds of willingness to help with the brainwashing.
At least sanity is prevailing. Less and less people participate in religion every year.