“..People who pay a large part of their household income for rent or a mortgage, or who save assiduously for a huge down payment, don’t have much cash left to contribute to the overall economy.
Most of their income simply gets confiscated by inflated home prices, or the resulting high rents and associated expenses.
It’s channeled to landlords, PE firms, and REITs that own the homes; banks and investment funds that own the mortgages or the mortgage-backed securities; and a million other entities.
Most of it becomes part of the grease that keeps Wall Street from squealing.
But nothing happens with that money to move the real economy forward..”
😀
This housing thing has got me thinking….are the costs lower to the government to support a social housing provider, or to pay accommodation supplement?
The answer will depend on whether or not social housing providers can charge market rent or at least enough for their tenants to qualify for AS. Could be a story here…
This housing frenzy to divest by government. It seems to me like a Richard Prebble moment as with our rail system. I think he said he would be prepared to give it away, because of the usual hperbole – gummint can’t be efficient, no good as managers, can’t being the proper commercial controls on running, and finally it would be better if some private organisation could lick into shape.
Which usually means run cheaper and better and be profitable. Which is an oxymoron I think? Can’t be done in a public service, which by their nature are costly and to be affordable and reasonably priced, can at best just meet costs. To give their best value they need thorough examination for viability and usefulness when started, and regular review and monitoring for successful performance along the way. That’s how gummint should be running housing, and providing what is needed in an appropriate way.
Which is important when our banks (mostly) export their profits so it doesnt get re-introduced…. ANZ NZ made a 500m half yearly profit to go with its Aussie heads 3bn…
I tried to live in an impossible city, once. It was impossible. Nothing was possible. So I moved to a possible city, which is marginally better, because while not everything works, there is the hope that something might work if approached in the right way. I pity the fool that saves for 37 years to go live in an impossible city. My dream is to build a plausible city, and if successful, move forward onto building highly likely communities.
TPPA: This from an interview with Elizabeth Warren in which she explains how the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system (ISDS) works.
PLUM LINE: Is it theoretically possible to write ISDS in a way that precludes it from overriding regulation?
WARREN: It doesn’t directly tell countries to repeal regulations. It imposes a financial penalty, which has caused countries to change their regulations…[ISDS mechanisms] never had the authority to override regulations. What they had was the authority to impose a monetary penalty directly against the government and its taxpayers. That’s the point at which governments have backed up and said, “we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-fires-back-at-obama-heres-what-theyre-really-fighting-about/
We need our journalists to drill Tim Groser and John Key about this. $6million for the Saudi businessman over the live sheep ban will be very small beer compared to the figures in the ISDS cases. It will be so costly to preserve the environment and our citizens rights.
How can our Nat politicians not see that? Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
They can see that – they don’t care. In fact, I’d say that that’s the entire point. Taking governments to the cleaners will be a nice profit making scheme.
““we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.””
So they can claim the TPP wasn’t the problem, but the Govts BUT the threat of law suits makes the govt change the law to “save” the taxpayer money from the lawsuit…
More insidious to me is that the decision-making process of the dispute is closed and the adjudicators are former corporate lawyers…
but they see it.
it is just you pretending to believe that they don’t see it.
IF we all would admit that they see it, know it, talk about and take it into account, than we would be really really scared, as we realise that we are nothing but cattle or chattel, utterle expendable and of no value to them what so ever.
The national party that supports the TPPA and the labour party and any other polititian in nz that supports this abomination should be charged with treason.
Yes drill Tim Groser and John Key till all the small beer leaks out. Makes no sense?
Neither does anything they say when studied closely. Let’s all talk politic (otherwise known as gobblegook while they treat us as turkeys to be roasted.)
And of course to balance the ISDS provisions, when regulations are changed that result in increased profits for corporates those corporates are required to pass that profit over to the government….
My puzzlement this morning comes from the fact that nobody seems to want to tell me where the bulk of the 2010 Liberal Democratic voters went. Did they go to the Conservative Party? And did the Conservative pParty lose a quarter of its 2010 votes to UKIP? Or is it that the Liberal Democratic voters see their identity as being neither Labour nor Conservative, and so jumped to UKIP when Nick Clegg turned the Liberal Democrats into Conservatives-not-so-light?
The rest of the rather short article also asks some interesting questions about the UK election.
Over the last few days, I’ve read many sweeping assertions about the swings and counter-swings that supposedly took place between the various parties in the UK Election. Almost always based on hunches or anecdotal evidence. But presented as cold, hard fact.
The vast body of data from pre-Election Opinion Polls remains the only reliable source in my opinion (although anecdotal evidence via discussions with an array of locals – including party activists – in specific electorates is useful as supplementary evidence). Probably most useful of all, though, will be the British Election Study data (from post-Election interviews) when it comes out.
All the polling evidence I’ve seen – both since 2010 in general and, more specifically, over the last few months – suggests Lib Dem deserters were disproportionately heading Labour’s way. How that dovetails with Labour’s woeful inability to win that vast array of Tory Marginals is another matter. Did an unusually large proportion of Lib Dem deserters have a last minute change of heart ?
Or was the Lib Dem swing to Labour nullified by an even greater swing from Labour-to-UKIP or Labour-to-the-Conservatives ?
No wonder the tories fought hard against a change to the electoral system…. Why Labour fought hard too is beyond me.
Labour very much likes two party privilege. Also, Labour Parties throughout the world see all minor left wing political parties as political enemies to be suppressed and sidelined where at all possible, lest they metastasize into left wing nightmares for them like the SNP.
Also remember that in NZ, the National Party were the ones who introduced MMP.
Yep, it’s clear the Non-Vote won in the vast majority of Labour-held seats (Merseyside and parts of Greater London being the key exceptions).
And despite the impressive turnout in Scotland overall, I see the Apathy Party also came first in Greater Glasgow (home of the “Yes” vote) and in poor old Orkney and Shetland (possibly allowing the Lib Dems to hang on by their fingertips in the latter constituency).
What the United States is in fact worried about is independence, what’s called the “threat of a good example,” or a rotten apple which might spoil the barrel, or some formulation of “the domino theory”: The idea that if one country decides to develop crazy ideas about democracy and popular control, other countries might do the same, leading to a widespread revolution.
This is directly antithetical U.S. business interests, so it must be rooted out, brutally and quickly, so that others get the message.
Noam Chomsky writes in Interventions that,
The United States has long reacted harshly to the “successful defiance” of Third World countries like Cuba that sought a path to independent development, assigning priority to domestic needs rather than those of foreign investors and Washington planners.
After the “virus” is removed, “stability” must be established, often through a nasty, corrupt dictator or a national security state which will not give in to such petty concerns as human rights and living conditions.
We can see these types of interventions of the US into other nations around the world. Iran and Iraq are the two most well known interventions but other countries have also fallen under US hegemony.
Been going on for some time. I remember doing an essay at uni in ’73 based around the CIA in cahoots with ITT, getting rid of Allende in Chile cos he nationalised the phone network.
Successive US governments have all had the arrogance to achieve imperialism, but they’ve also lacked the style that a decent imperial power needs. There’s a reason almost all the baddies in the original Star Wars were RADA-trained 😉
In a wee discussion the other day on The Standard, I suggested the Greens were nowhere near as toxic to voters as some pundits (both Left and Right-leaning) seem to assume.
Here’s some data to back-up my argument:
UMR November 2013
Potential Coalition Partners “How good a job do you think the following parties would do if they were part of a coalition government with one of the major parties”
Good = Will do Good Job
Bad = Will do Bad Job
G+N = Good+Neutral combined score
G/B Diff = Good/Bad Difference
Table One: Entire Sample Party…….Good…..Neutral….Bad….Unsure…G+N……..G/B Diff
(In order of Highest to Lowest Good+Neutral) Greens………26………31………..36………….7………..57………. – 10 Maori………..12………39…………41…………8………..51………. – 29 NZF…………..12……….31…………47……….10……….43………. – 35 ACT……………4………..25…………59……….12……….29………. – 55 Cons………….4………..24…………48……….24……….28………. – 44
Clearly, NZ voters are not particularly enamoured of any of the minor parties when it comes to coalition politics. But, taking a Glass Half Full approach, you can see that 57% of voters can live with the Greens as a coalition partner (64% if you include those Unsure). That makes them more popular than the Maori and NZF parties and vastly more acceptable to the voting public than ACT and the Conservatives.
The Greens are even acceptable to a significant minority of National voters:
Table Two: Views of National Party Voters Only Maori………….8………..36………..52………….4………..44………. – 44 Greens……….9…………31………..56………….4………..40………. – 47 ACT…………….6…………31………..56………….7………..37………. – 50 Cons…………..6…………29………..45…………20……….35………. – 39 NZF…………….6…………29………..59………….6………..35………. – 53
The Māori Party was willing to compromise their principles for a place at the table – even if it was sitting on the floor begging for crumbs. Now all but one of the Māori seats have returned to Labour, and the MP face total obliteration at the next election.
PR actually said “outside of Parliament”, not “outside of government”.
Labour are in Parliament and they, and the Greens, played a part in the zero-hours contract debate. Labour got Parliamentary Services to ditch them for the catering staff.
Or they could look at what happens to left/liberal parties who prop up Tory governments (cf LibDems last week). The Greens would accomplish nothing inside a NACT government. Or at least, nothing of substance; for example, can anyone tell me wtf ‘whanau ora’ is or what it has achieved?
As for achievements – I know of quite a few really good outcomes for families and individuals both in Auckland and around the country. I think it is a wonderful approach to accessing services. Holism seems to be a good approach, and contrary to many misguided comments here – I’ve only ever dealt with true professionals within the Whanau Ora framework.
That’s a heartening bit of number crunching there Swordfish. However, I do note that the data comes from November 2013. Now that Mana no longer have a parliamentary presence, the Overton window has moved rightwards and GP can once more be attacked as the Devil-Beast of leftward extremism.
One depressing tidbit from the weekend; I was talking to a GP member who had been at the; male coleader candidate speeches in Dunedin. They seemed to be leaning towards supporting Shaw at the delegate meeting next week, mainly due to him looking good in a suit. They were particularly scathing about Hughes rocking up to speak in more casual dress, especially his wearing scuffed shoes. However, while they were clear about what Hughes and Hague stood for (though unimpressed by Hague’s body language), they were unable to say much about Shaw’s or Tava’s accomplishments or principles.
It says something when even the Green Party is embracing style over substance.
How come Gwynn Compton (the new Dirty Politics guy in John Key’s office) went to such effort yesterday to bleach his online profiles of any mention of the fact that he works in the PM’s Office?
A new word is being used around the world: “Quaxing.” It means: “to shop, in the western world, by means of walking, cycling or public transit.”
Dick Quax wrote “no one in the entire Western world uses the train for their shopping trips…the very idea that people lug home their supermarket shopping on the train is fanciful”.
And now around the world people are sending examples of Quaxing. Dopey Dick eh? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11447071
Well, it’s normal exasperated politician hyperbole. If we give him the benefit of the doubt (and why would we, really. He’s paid to be articulate, and he worked for ACT), what he might mean is, “Not many people carry eight bags of a weekly grocery shop onto the train or bus by themselves, regularly, because it’s too heavy, the silly plastic bag handles cut into your hands or break and there’s nowhere safe to put it so the bags don’t split or get trampled, or so you can move fast enough to get off the train before the doors close for the next station.”
And he’d be right. What people do is make multiple trips with smaller loads over several days. If you don’t own a car, you do what you have to do. This method requires specific knowledge to identify, but not the same kind you need to run for parliament with ACT Party.
He might also mean, “In the entire Western World, it is becoming less likely that a person could afford to buy eight bags of shopping in a weekly supermarket shop, therefore relying on local suppliers, which require no special transport or equipment to carry the food, and in living in cheaper accomodation far from what is now solely commuter transport, never see or use a train during the span of their lives.” However this would require thoughts and abilities that ACT supporters don’t have.
I prefer the interpretation that, “In the entire Western World, there weren’t any supermarkets, and trains ran off into the desert, often following telegraph lines and were ultimately attacked by bandits. This discouraged the problems of suburban living. There were no taxes and everyone considered the natives a nuisance. I dream of a NZ like this. Please vote ACT.”
Using re-usable shopping bags largely resolves the ‘cutting into your hands’ problem, and each bag can individually hold more weight so you won’t need as many of them, so it’s less cumbersome. Doesn’t help with the total weight of course.
Have we contact details for Dick Quax so I can enlighten him on how I, a 64 year old non-driver transport my groceries when I don’t have an obliging niece or foster son to drive me?
I can also describe how I managed in earthquake riven Christchurch should he need more examples.
Sometime soon I hope to find a calm place within myself that helps me to feel empathy for the over-privileged pontificators who seem to be inhabiting Planet Key. Alternatively, perhaps I could find a way to live and experience life as the out of work, unwell and elderly ‘enjoy’ it as a consequence of NACTdom.
How’s this for a leadership comment on the current issue of road safety.
Prime minister John Key, “We have to balance what the police advise with wider public opinion on road speeds.”
but it is funnier when having said that he vehemently denies that he is at all swayed by wider public opinion, possibly against lower limits, and backlash as a result.
You can take the piss out of Key’s approach all you want, but it is far more effective and popular than say, Labour talking about getting trucks out of fast lanes so that holiday makers have it easier.
C.R.
Labour might have been better advised to have suggested getting most trucks off most lanes period and putting freight on trains to strategic rail-heads for distribution by smaller vehicles.
Explain the logic of this one – last week travelling north from Tauranga to Paeroa I was following a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs. As we passed through the narrow Karangahake gorge, we encountered a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs heading south.
Locals advise that this a regular occurrence. Perhaps you could remind us why the Kaimai tunnel was created?
My comment was not about roads. It was about Pry Minister Key being glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll-guided, and then he fails. You missed it CR.
Is everyone having a reading comprehension difficulty day? I mentioned roads primarily in the context of Key’s “glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll guided” approach, which I commented on as being quite an effective tactic despite peoples inclinations to ridicule it; and certainly more effective than some of Labour’s attempts.
I have opposed the TPPA for always, but reading this today, a couple of extra jigsaw pieces fell into place about why Goldman Sachs Merrill Lynch BOA sock puppet John Key wants this signed at any cost.
The brilliant Elizabeth Warren points out TPPA fastrack could be used in the USA to weaken, prevent or overcome any Wall St or banking reforms. WOW.
This is the nub of it that I had not understood until now. Worth a look.
“WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at President Barack Obama in their tussle over “fast track” authorization to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a power she says could be used in the future to weaken Wall Street reforms.
Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and prominent liberal voice, stuck to her argument in an interview published on Monday with a left-leaning Washington Post blog, saying Obama should release details of the Pacific trade talks so legal experts can determine if a pact could be used to weaken U.S. bank rules.”
I’m begging to wonder if some of the more enlightened US millionaires are bank rolling these candidates to get an alternative narrative out there. Revolutions are costly
I see that Andrew Little, according to this morning’s Dom/Post is wandering of the reservation.
Labour Party claims are that a large increase in the minimum wage won’t cause any job losses don’t they? Say go to $16.00/hour and no jobs will be lost.
Now he is quoted as saying in the paper, and I can’t find it on-line, that the Government must immediately cut the ACC worker levy by 20c per $100 of earnings because not to do so is costing jobs!
How can it be that a 10% increase in the minimum wage won’t cost any jobs but a 0.2% step in the ACC rates costs jobs?
You’re right.
I needed it for my first reaction to his opinion when I had to put it in front of the comment that came to mind.
My thought was “uck! He’s a total idiot.”
No doubt there is something incredibly witty about your remarks.
For the life of me I don’t see what it is or what you are trying to say.
Still if it makes you happy ………
No, its a terrible argument. Funding ACC just funds the government, its the equivalent of taking that spending and locking it in a safe. The government can always fund ACC, even if it doesn’t receive full funding up front anyway. Meanwhile the governments marginal propensity to spend (especially ACC levies) is clearly not influenced by the higher take. Raising the minimum wage the extra business expenditure contributes back to spending, because of who receives it.
Minimum wage increases give more spending power to low-income people, which then gets spent in the local economy and ends up being neutral on job losses (or even gains some jobs.)
ACC levies by comparison are just going to the government to pad a surplus. That money isn’t being spent by workers or invested by businesses. So it costs jobs because it is a deadweight loss that is just money being taken out of the economy when it could be going to consumer spending or investment.
Exactly. It either needs to go to ACC to provide better services, or needs to be returned to the economy. Otherwise it’s just a deadweight loss that is padding National’s budget
Wages tend to be sticky in the upwards direction but really both of these $ are in the same direction.
Increasing wages puts more money in the pockets of the low paid which as it is spent increases jobs and certainly doesn’t cut them. Cutting the ACC levy by 2% also increases money in the pocket, spend among the working and increases jobs.
Quite clear
I heard on Radionz that David Milliband is badmouthing Ed. A good headline for Brit news would be Ed is sinister says David. But in fact they both are, and not, and the word dexter doesn’t apply either. I’ve been looking up etymology. I think,now that Humpty Dumpty has fallen and cracked open. they are inventing new terms of language, so that left doesn’t mean what we thought.
The interesting thing that Bob Jones didn’t mention is the fact that neo-liberalism has been shown by the present world economic situation to be as least as bad a failure as Marxist-Leninism under the USSR.
Once this fact is accepted – and it needs to be repeated over and over again until even people who only read/watch MSM get it – then Bob Jones comments become more about how you can become more selfish as you grow old, than why John Campbell is dangerous
If you are a Whangarei resident you will have heard about the Hundertwasser project. It will be a huge tourist attraction in your city that will attract money-spending people from all over NZ and indeed the world and increased employment. In two days the Referendum about the Hundertwasser-Wairau Maori Art Centre is being sent out.
If you are not local and eligible to vote, and like the idea and have progressive contacts in the city, you could phone them and point out what a good idea it is. People who are too small thinking and provincial often find it difficult to consider the benefits that will result and get stuck on whatever the cost is.
Donate: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/hacnorth
(We’ve raised $4million! We only need $1m more to build the fantastic Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre, the last Hundertwasser-designed bu Givealittle is …)
Info on Referendum
Not sure how to vote?
0800 922 822
Election Services
Voting Period
Thursday 14 May until 12 noon Friday 5 June
Result
9th June 2015
News
YES! Blog
Contact us
On Facebook
On Twitter
By Email
Hundertwasser HQ
has posters, caps, t-shirts, bumper stickers at their pop-up shop in Whangarei’s CBD.
Everything purchased raises funds for Prosper Northland Trust to spread more information about the project.
It is worrying – how much effort is going in to cover up something, which is supposed to be nothing.
Even jumping on here to defended her position and the Tory maggots who have jumped in as well. Is at best odd. At worst…
I believe Cactus Kate is a post-fascist. Which is essentially calling someone Ideologically dishonest and a unprincipled opportunist. But hey, you play in the dirt – you get dirty.
Seymour Hersh: official account of Bin Laden’s killing a complete lie
Osama had been captured by the Pakistanis and held since 2006. Seems like the US then sent in a SEAL team to execute the sick old, crippled, man after all. There was no firefight, Osama had no guards (the Pakistani security services had been ordered to leave the compound the moment they heard the US helis closing in), he did not pick up an AK47. He was just shredded on the spot by the SEALs. Stories about Osama’s burial at sea were a fiction improvised by the White House after Barack Obama decided to use the killing to boost his own electability. Also the story that Osama had been tracked down via an elaborate spy game following Al Qaeda couriers who were carrying orders from Osama was utterly false. Bin Laden appears to have been isolated and out of control of Al Qaeda; the compound where he was found was not an operations centre; it was a home detention centre.
Just got an email from Julie Anne Genter and it had this bit of info in it:
He [KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy] also gave me some numbers. By KiwiRail’s estimate, it would cost just $2 billion to electrify the entire North Island, and get 60 new electric locomotive engines up and running. That’s the same amount as it cost to finish building the Western Ring Route, just one of the National Government’s motorway extensions.
There you go, friggen cheap really and the savings, both monetary and environmental, over time from not having to burn diesel would be immense. And it’d be an excellent incentive to get more solar power feeding into the grid out to homes as well.
I just saw this flag petition on Change.org and signed it, Here is the link if you would like to support the petition against changing the flag at this time:
Leading Kiwi thinkers guffaw at “conspiracy theorist” Seymour Hersh The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Pagani, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
This afternoon, Seymour Hersh joined a long list of journalists and intellectuals—including Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky, Julian Assange, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden—to be scorned by the intellectual luminaries on the Panel. I’ll try to put up a transcript of this depressing episode, but I did manage to send the constantly laughing host the following email….
Quelle surprise! Your Panelists are having a go at Seymour Hersh.
Dear Jim,
Seymour Hersh is one of the world’s most respected journalists. His reporting is renowned for being thorough, rigorous and scholarly.
I was not amused at all to hear your panelists scoffing, dismissing him as a conspiracy theorist, and guffawing that “This is all turning into a Game of Thrones.”
I am concerned at the lack of standards on your show,
The panelists are not the only one’s referring to the story as a conspiracy Morrissey. This one does put up a strong argument for that being the case….
Thanks very much for that, sheep. Maybe Max Fisher is correct, and Hersh is indeed wrong on this one.
I am just concerned when I hear know-nothings like the four people this afternoon calling Hersh a “conspiracy theorist”, as if he is some 9/11 Truther. I’m quite prepared to read the views of serious writers like Fisher; Noelle McCarthy, Josie Pagani and David Farrar on the other hand have a track record of trivialising serious issues.
I was not necessarily endorsing Sy Hersh, I was contesting the competence and the seriousness of those four chattering, vapid numbskulls.
Morrissey / Felix.
I come from a small town where a favourite saying is..
“Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.
And then I always apply Trotsky’s immortal dictum that ‘You can deduce the truth by a comparison of the lies’.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
With Bin Laden though, does it really matter how he died? If I can deduce anything from the lies, it would be a sense that he was fully aware and accepted the ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ ethos.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
Hersh’s piece, for the most part, was not editorialising. Did the US learn about Osama’s location through spying on Al Qaeda’s courier network or did that information walk in the door seeking the CIA reward? Did the US SEAL team kill a crippled, unarmed, elderly man for the sake of imperial vengeance, or was there really a firefight with Osama trying to kill the SEAL team members with an AK47.
Like 9/11, the official narrative on Osama’s death, and even his burial at sea, stinks to high heaven. Hersh goes some way to explaining why.
The expression ‘conspiracy theorist’ is used by the establishment to shut down dissent.
Sad to see you’ve fallen for their lines over 9/11, Morrissey.
It was lie that allowed the US to take over Central Asia and suppress civil rights in their homeland.
The US were already planning to implement mass surveillance over their own citizens pre 9/11. Their pre-9/11 approach to Quest for unhindered access to their telecoms network shows that. 9/11 gave the developing security and surveillance state the best PR in the world for going ahead with what they were going to do any way.
What amused me was Josie Pagani talking about how she had a friend who was a fellow student of Prince Edward’s (youngest son of Queen) and how she went to have tea with the prince several times but romance apparently never blossomed because Josie decided he wasn’t her type. Incredible!
What really appalled me about her behaviour this afternoon was the way she repeatedly tried to ingratiate herself with Farrar. Their “banter” was cringe-inducing.
He pointed to the way his circle of friends had made it into their own homes.
“I look at most of my friends, lawyers, doctors or engineers. All of them went to Auckland Grammar, or St Cuthberts. All of them have done it with parental help.”
With house prices rising up to a reported $1000 a day “houses in Auckland are earning more than people”, he said.
I suppose ACT has to act surprised despite being told that this is the inevitable result of their policies over the last few decades.
The funny thing about this is that Seymour doesn’t think that lawyers, doctors, engineers and others that went to Auckland Grammar aren’t among the privileged.
If these ‘friends’ of his had all bought houses without parental help, then I’m sure this idea that only the privileged can buy houses wouldn’t have even occurred to him…
I am amazed the Labour are suggesting penalising working class people by making Working for Families subject to enrolment to vote. I would have expected such a policy from National and not the Party who claims to support workers.
Will this proposed policy also relate to those on benefits and National Super?
Is this a sign that Labour is starting to panic about their poor showing last election?
won’t do Labour much good if they do….people will just vote Green, NZF or Mana/Int…Labour Party will never get these voters back ….so they are stuck on about 30% imo
….Labour Party has taken no opposition leadership stand on opposing the the TPPA or the mass surveillance Spy Bill
….for many who have abandoned Labour …..they are just a watered down Nact Party
CLIMATE CHANGE UPDATE IN IMAGES 2022I am just wondering how hot is too hot before we commit to real global action to reduce our emissions and save our climate and natural environment. The images below are what has occurred in the northern hemisphere summer and it is likely we will ...
Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while on stage in New York where he was about to give a talk. He is now undergoing surgery. The British novelist has lived under death threats since the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him in 1989 and put a $3 ...
Two-and-a-half years on, the Government’s merged mega-polytechnic, the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology – Te Pūkenga, is facing a deficit which is double the planned one. Will Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) be facing similar troubles in December 2024?Why did the Government centralise the 20 ...
A couple of months ago, in response to a Newsroom piece about what endemic covid means for Aotearoa, I asked Treasury and the Ministry of Health what advice they'd produced on the impacts of "long covid" on the economy and health system. Treasury responded quickly, admitting that they hadn't been ...
On The Way Out: Gaurav Sharma has clearly had enough of Parliament and is more than ready to return to his life as a medical professional. What he has been willing to do on the way out, however, is draw aside the curtain, if only for a moment, and let ...
The Empire Within Which Bullying Never Ceased: The bitter truth about Great Britain’s “public” schools (and their many imitators in the Empire’s far-flung dominions) is that they were consciously designed to produce a very particular kind of imperial administrator. These men needed to be courageous, but not compassionate; clever, but ...
A most amazingly air-tight conspiracy Not research, but research-related. Skeptical Science reader John G. writes to point out an omission in our collection of rebuttals: "You are failing to rebut a prevailing narrative which blames a Globalist Elite for promoting CC as part of The Great Reset."Thank you John, ...
The travails of National MP Sam Uffindell are bad news for the National party in more ways than one. The obvious question is as to how an applicant with such a disreputable history could have secured the nomination as the National candidate in the Tauranga by-election. National’s vetting procedures seem ...
The “A View from Afar” podcast with Selwyn Manning and I resumed after a months hiatus. We discussed the PRC-Taiwan tensions in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s visit and what pathways, good and bad, may emerge from the escalation of hostilities between the mainland and island. You can find it ...
A ballot for one member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill (Eugenie Sage) The bill is pitched as protecting conservation land, and it does immediately do that. But it also goes further, doing exactly what it ...
Sam Uffindell’s defenders keep reminding us that he was only 16 at the time of the King’s College incident, and haven’t we all done things in our teens that, as adults, we look back on with shame and embarrassment? True. Let’s be honest. Haven’t we all at one time or ...
Our media insists on telling us that Ukraine is a unified country suffering aggression from its neighbour the Russian Federation. But it is hardly unified. A violent civil war has raged there since the overthrow of the democratically elected government in February 2014. This civil war arose from deep ...
If National causes yet another by-election to be held in Tauranga, not only will it cost the taxpayers another unnecessary $1m for the taxpayers after Simon Bridges called it quits earlier in the year, but National will also pay a big price in terms of its reputation and integrity. A ...
Representing Pakeha Racism: The important thing to remember about Rob Muldoon, and the racist policies with which his name is associated, is that he drew his power from the hundreds-of-thousands of anxious, angry, and yes – racist – Pakeha who voted for him, and that his most effective campaign slogan was: “New Zealand the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act by a single vote on Sunday, August 7. The bill, headed to the House of Representatives within days, includes by far the largest and most consequential measures to reduce domestic climate pollution in the nation’s ...
I remember feeling anxious before making the phone call, although not at anxious I might have expected. But what sticks most in my mind is how the phone call ended. It was the late 1990s. I was deputy editor of the NZ Listener and I had to ring a guy ...
National is dripping “blue blood” again. The revelations over Sam Uffindell’s violent assault indicate that the National Party under Christopher Luxon hasn’t quite shed the toxicity and internal damage of the last few years. The crises besetting the party have recently been well documented in journalist Andrea Vance’s new book ...
Most of us believe in redemption and atonement… But the timing, the nature and the semantics of Sam Uffindell‘s apology for his role in a gang that beat a younger kid (reportedly) with wooden bed legs, has left much to be desired. The victim seems pretty clear about the motivation ...
Yesterday the news broke that newly elected National MP Sam Uffindell was asked to leave private Auckland school King’s College at the end of his fifth form year after being part of a group that viciously beat a younger student one night. There are many elements to this latest political ...
You’ve got to wonder why the National Party knowingly hid information from the public about their newest MP, Sam Uffindell. Surely they must’ve realised that their secret would eventually leak into the public domain. New Zealand is far too small for cover-ups of this kind to be effective.Despite his violent ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk With high energy prices and increasing urgency to reduce fossil fuel burning, it makes sense to get the most out of every gallon of gasoline or kilowatt-hour of electricity. A previous post showed that charging an EV costs around $1.41 per gallon ...
Back in the 1990s, Tony Blair rebranded The British Labour Party as “New Labour”, to try and draw a line under past failures. It’s as if Christopher Luxon is attempting to follow suit, and launch “New National” at the moment – a party that’s fresh-looking, has made some big breaks ...
Back in June Sam Uffindell was elected to parliament in the Tauranga by-election. Turns out he's a bully who beat a kid with a bed-leg at school: The National Party’s newest MP, Sam Uffindell, was asked to leave his exclusive boarding school after viciously beating a younger student late ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Electoral Amendment Bill. Submissions are due by Wednesday, 31 August 2022, and can be made at the link above. The bill improves disclosure of party finances, lowering the declaration threshold to $5,000 and requiring parties to disclose their annual financial statements. ...
Laughing With The Poor Folks - Or At Them? Christopher Luxon took rapper LunchMoney Lewis’s lyrics at their face value. “Bills”, as heard by Luxon, is a cri-de-cœur from a hard-working man determined to pull himself and his family up by their own bootstraps. It simply wouldn’t occur to him ...
On the rare occasions when it ever gets asked, the public keeps rejecting tax cuts as such, as a policy priority. It keeps saying it wants tax levels to either stay the same or be increased, so that public services can be maintained, or even (perish the thought) improved. In ...
Europe has been baking in a heatwave, of course. Not so much this part of the world, which benefits by still being in Winter (though let’s just say I am not looking forward to January 2023). Not that it’s been a particularly cold Winter – we haven’t had one ...
The Wagner Group is a private military company – effectively mercenaries. It has been used for the military activity of the Russian Federation in various parts of the world. Currently, it is operating in Ukraine and apparently has a reputation as a very brave and effective force in the ...
I have said this in other forums, but here is the deal: PRC military exercises after Pelosi’s visit are akin to male gorillas who run around thrashing branches and beating their chests when annoyed, disturbed or seeking to show dominance. They are certainly dangerous and not to be ignored, but ...
From July 7 to 26 we tried something new on our Facebook page by sharing one Cranky Uncle cartoon each day for 20 days in a row. There were two reasons for doing this: firstly, we wanted to ensure that at least one post would get published each day while I was ...
Too many commentators on current price pressures have not understood that this time it is very different from the 1970s. Their prescriptions may accelerate inflation.The New Zealand economy is experiencing an external price shock arising from the Covid pandemic and the Ukrainian invasion compounded by related supply chain difficulties. It ...
During the years of the Key government one hardy perennial of political journalism was that whenever the Labour Opposition would suggest a policy alternative to the status quo, the hard bitten response from the Gallery realists would be “But how’re you gonna pay for it?” National in Opposition has been ...
In The Wizard’s Garden: George Dunlop Leslie, 1904IT ALL SEEMS so long ago now, and, to be fair, in human terms, 48 years is a long time. New Zealand was a different country in 1974. Someone unafraid of courting controversy might say it had achieved “Peak Pakeha”. Although the Labour Government of ...
Proximate Cause: Tellingly, it was Helen Clark who was seated close by when, earlier this week, Jacinda Ardern delivered a speech carefully crafted to keep New Zealand’s dairy exports heading China’s way. Photo by PolitikPURISTS WOULD ARGUE that New Zealand’s foreign policy should not be determined by who its Prime Minister ...
We have a new clip out of The Rings of Power. It sees Galadriel and the affectionately nicknamed Gigwit* venturing into dark places in search of evil. At fifty-odd seconds, it also constitutes the longest single piece of show dialogue we have seen thus far. *An acronym. “Galadriel Is ...
Rising To The Challenge: Te Pāti Māori is reassuring the angry and the alienated that in 2023 voting will make a difference. Aotearoa is changing. Pakeha – especially young Pakeha – are changing. The racism is still there, of course, heightened, it would seem, by the prospect of Labour, the ...
"CAGW." A thing? With its provocative title and remarks grounded in respected published research, the perspective Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has caused a few ripples reaching into popular media. "Endgame" and "catastrophic" lean hard in the direction of "pay ...
In the past there's been a few interesting data points about the New Zealand Intelligence Community's desire to covertly manipulate public opinion through media and academic mouthpieces. In 2015 the Council for Civil Liberties revealed the existence of an NZIC "Strategic Communications Group" tasked with persuading the public that spying ...
Inflation is through the roof, and "coincidentally" so is oil company profiteering. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls it what it is: grotesque: The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described the record profits of oil and gas companies as immoral and urged governments to introduce a windfall tax, using ...
What on earth is going on with the main opposition parties at the moment? Both National and ACT have been making numerous flip-flops and miscommunications, clearly indicating that they aren’t a viable alternative to the current Labour led Government.Of particular note is the duplicitous reasoning given for why they support ...
A ballot for two member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Housing Infrastructure (GST-sharing) Bill (Brooke van Velden) Prohibition on Seabed Mining Legislation Amendment Bill (Debbie Ngarewa-Packer) Ngarewa-Packer's bill looks likely to start a shitfight with Labour, and not just because the ...
As you might have noticed, I have an on-going interest in working my way through old and intellectually influential reading material. Occasionally I even share my thoughts on it, which allows me to take a break from my generally-dominant Tolkien analysis. Well, today I thought I would take a ...
Golriz Ghahraman's Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill will probably face its first reading today. And three months after it was introduced - pissing on the "as soon as practicable" requirement of Standing Order 269 - it has received a section 7 report from Attorney-General David Parker stating that its proposed ...
There's an interesting select committee report out today, from the Petitions Committee on the Petition of Conrad Petersen: The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA). The petitioner raises some concerns about the slowness of the IPCA process and its lack of oversight, and suggests some solutions. The committee doesn't seem keen ...
Today is a Member's Day, but likely to be a boring one. There's no general debate today, and instead the House will move right into the third reading of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill, which will add unelected, inherently conflicted Ngai Tahu representatives to ECan. Then there's ...
That gormlessly glum picture of Christopher Luxon in Samoa graphically tells us what kind of image New Zealand would be projecting abroad if there’s a change of government next year. The glumness is understandable. For months, National and ACT had been dog whistling to the bigots who oppose the creation ...
There is no corruption in New Zealand. At least that’s what authorities want the public to believe. For decades now our system of political finance regulation has been portrayed as highly rigorous, ensuring our politicians cannot be bought. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. Although politicians and officials have claimed tight ...
Pundits have come out of the woodwork to defend the Greens co-leader, after he was stripped of his leadership last week by unhappy party members. The defences have all stuck to basically the same script: Shaw is a successful leader and minister who’s handed the party big victories in politics ...
Meghan Murphy talks with Batya Ungar-Sargon the author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy. The book charts the trajectory of journalism in the US as it shifted from being a blue collar occupation producing the penny press for the masses, to a profession for Ivy League university ...
Co-Leaders? The uncomfortable truth is: not the Army, not the Police, not the Spooks, and not even a combination of all three, could defeat the scale and violence of White Supremacist and Māori Nationalist resistance which the imposition of radical decolonisation – or its racism-inspired defeat – would unleash upon ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters Torrents of rain that began before dawn on Tuesday, July 26, gave St. Louis, Missouri, its highest calendar-day total since records began in 1873. And the deadly event is just the latest example of a well-established trend ...
Completed reads for July: The Prince, by Niccolo MachiavelliFaust, Part I, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheFaust, Part II, by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheParadise Lost, by John MiltonParadise Regained, by John MiltonThe NibelungenliedAgricola, by TacitusGermania, by TacitusDialogue on Orators, by TacitusThe Gods of Pegana, by Lord DunsanyTime and the Gods, ...
A couple of weeks ago the High Court exposed a loophole in our electoral donations law, enabling corrupt parties to take in unlimited amounts of secret money and explicitly sell policy to the rich. Pretty obviously, this is unacceptable in a country which wants to call itself a democracy, and ...
This morning, National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis managed to get top of the bulletin news coverage by pointing out that some Kiwis living abroad might receive the government’s cost of living payment. Quelle horreur. What is the problem here? Inflation is a global problem, and Kiwis living abroad may be ...
Beyond Fixing? The critical question confronting New Zealanders is whether we any longer have the resources to repair our physical and human infrastructure?WHO WILL MAKE the New Zealand of the next 50 years? We had better hope that, whoever they are, they make a better job of it than those ...
Today’s speech by Jacinda Ardern to the China Business Summit in Auckland was full of soothing words for Beijing. The headline-grabber was Ardern’s comment that ‘a few plans are afoot’ for New Zealand ministers to return to China – and that the Prime Minister herself hopes to return to the ...
Rule-Breaker? It is easy to see why poor James Shaw found himself brutally deposed as the Greens’ co-leader. By seeking the responsibilities of leadership – and exercising them – he violated the first rule of Green Party governance. Then, by accepting the limitations of the Green Party’s electoral mandate (7.8 ...
After the incredibly sad story about the deaths of over 50 Ukrainian POWs in a Ukrainian missile attack on the prison they were housed in (see Over 50 POWs killed. A military accident or a cynical war crime?)I came across the heartwarming story about another Ukrainian POW. It’s about a ...
British mercenary Aiden Aslin, now a prisoner in the Donetsk People’s Republic, expressed real concern that he may die from the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk. He has experienced many missile attacks that came close to the prison.Is he still alive? Understandably, we are always shocked about the losses ...
Politics is largely reported as theatre: tragedy and comedy, thriller and farce. Andrea Vance captures it all very successfully in Blue Blood. But it is the politics of personality, not of policy – of the impact of government on the people’s wellbeing. Even so, we can see from the book ...
This year the government finally got its clean car feebate scheme into place. But there's a problem: it's been too successful: Transport Minister Michael Wood will shortly review the cost of the fees and rebates in the Government's "feebate" scheme after the runaway success of the policy has meant ...
Given how the pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar, no-one would begrudge our elite athletes their chance to compete at international level. What with the war in Ukraine and the cost of living, there are also not many ‘good news” stories out there. So… I suppose the strenuous efforts the ...
Everybody Having A Say: Democracy commands us to look outward; it demands our trust; it tells us what is expected of our humanity; it elevates the collective above the self; it celebrates the things we have in common; it defines our morals and values; it calculates what we owe one ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to ensure that as a nation which produces enough food to feed 40 million people, everyone in New Zealand can put an abundance of nourishing, nutritious kai on the table. ...
Following months of work by the Green Party and community and environmental organisations, Parliament will have the opportunity to pass legislation to protect public conservation land and waters from mining. ...
New evidence released today by Alcohol Healthwatch shows there’s never been a better time for Parliament to pass Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s Alcohol Harm Minimisation Bill. ...
We’re helping more Kiwis into work, to help support whānau, grow our skilled workforce and secure our economy for future generations. During our time in Government, we’ve delivered record low unemployment rates, as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit, and we’re ...
The Green Party once again calls on the Government to ban bottom trawling on all seamounts following the release of an industry white paper on so-called ‘sustainable’ trawling. ...
Urgent reform is essential to ensure disabled people have equal access to the care and support they need, the Green Party says in response to a new report that challenges politicians to fix the current system. ...
COVID-19 is here to stay and so the Government needs to put in place long-term protection measures, including mandatory ventilation standards, the Green Party says. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to overhaul the Recognised Seasonal Employers scheme in the wake of revelations of shocking human rights violations. ...
The Green Party is calling for a cross-party commitment to guaranteeing at least a living wage and safe working conditions to people seeking employment, instead of continuing benefit sanctions. ...
The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to announce its support for a moratorium on deep sea mining, and to support a member’s bill going to select committee. ...
The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party said. ...
The Government’s employment initiatives led by the Ministry of Social Development must guarantee liveable incomes and fair working conditions, the Green Party says. ...
New Zealanders deserve a health system that works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you live. Our Government has a plan to make this a reality, and we’re taking the next steps. We now have thousands more health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, working in New ...
During her time as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has navigated New Zealand through unprecedented times. Through it all, she’s become known as someone who leads with kindness, compassion and strength, while keeping the wellbeing of Kiwis at the heart of her approach. To celebrate five years of Jacinda leading the ...
Since taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. ...
The Government must use the opportunity of the Electoral Amendment Bill in Parliament to close the loophole in the political donations regime, the Green Party says. ...
Thanks to political pressure from the Green Party and the more than 900 personal stories of birth injury and trauma delivered to Minister Sepuloni, more injuries have been added to the ACC birth injuries bill. ...
Supporting New Zealanders is at the heart of our approach as a Government, and we’re working hard to tackle the big issues Kiwis are facing. While long term challenges like child poverty won’t be solved overnight, we’re putting in place policies that make a real difference for New Zealanders. Here ...
As-salamu alaykum, Tena tatou katoa, Thank you all for being here today. To the Afghan human rights defenders and your family members, welcome to Aotearoa. And thank you Your Excellency for hosting us all here at Government House. We have with us today from Afghanistan, human rights advocates, journalists, judges, ...
It’s my great pleasure to be able to speak with you about a really positive move for the Build-to-Rent sector. As you know, we announced changes last year to help steer property investors way from the existing pool of housing and toward solving New Zealand’s grave housing shortage - by ...
· Tax changes aimed at growing quality, secure rental supply · New and existing build-to-rent developments exempt from interest limitation rules in perpetuity, when offering ten-year tenancies · Exemption to apply from 1 October 2021. The Government is encouraging more long-term rental options by giving developers tax incentives for as ...
The Government has marked another milestone in its push for better rural connectivity, welcoming the delivery of Rural Connectivity Group’s (RCG) 350th tower. Waikato’s Te Ākau, which sits roughly 50 kilometres out of Hamilton is home to the new tower. “The COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted the ever-increasing importance of ...
Biosecurity co-operation topped the agenda when Australia and New Zealand’s agriculture ministers met yesterday. Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Murray Watt met with his New Zealand counterpart, Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture, Biosecurity, and Rural Communities in a conference call, which had particular focus on foot and ...
People could spend less time in hospital, thanks to a smart new remote device that lets patients be monitored at home, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Technology has the potential to really change the way we do things – to do things that are better for patients and at the ...
Concrete steps to clarify inclusive, evidence-informed teaching practices Strengthen capability supports along the professional pathway Enhance partnerships between the education system and whānau, iwi, communities Embed equitable additional learning supports and assessment tools that help teachers effectively notice and respond to the needs of students Improved student achievement is a ...
Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to strengthen global prevention, preparedness and responses to future pandemics with seed funding for a new World Bank initiative, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We cannot afford to wait until the next pandemic. We must all play our part to support developing countries ...
A law change to ensure that forestry conversions by overseas investors benefit New Zealand has passed its final reading in Parliament. Previously, overseas investors wishing to convert land, such as farm land, into forestry only needed to meet the “special forestry test”. This is a streamlined test, designed to encourage ...
International tourism recovery well underway with higher level of overseas visitor arrivals than previously expected UK and US card spend already back at pre-COVID levels Visitors staying in New Zealand longer and spending more compared to 2019 Govt support throughout pandemic helped tourism sector prepare for return of international ...
The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has released its first strategy, setting out the actions it will take over the next few years to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for ethnic communities Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan announced today. “The Strategy that has been released today sets out ...
The Prime Minister has officially opened the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre today saying it is a huge asset to the region and to the country. “This is a world class facility which will be able to host national and international events including the world championships. With a 10-lane Olympic ...
The Associate Minister of Education, Aupito William Sio, has today announced the recipients of the Tulī Takes Flight scholarships which were a key part of last year’s Dawn Raids apology. The scholarships are a part of the goodwill gesture of reconciliation to mark the apology by the New Zealand Government ...
96% of estimated menstruating students receive free period products 2085 schools involved 1200 dispensers installed Supports cost of living, combats child poverty, helps increase attendance Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti today hailed the free period products in schools, Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata, a huge success, acknowledging ...
The Tourism Industry Transformation Plan outlines key actions to improve the sector This includes a Tourism and Hospitality Accord to set employment standards Developing cultural competency within the workforce Improving the education and training system for tourism Equipping business owners and operators with better tools and enabling better work ...
Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications Dr David Clark welcomes Google Cloud’s decision to make New Zealand a cloud region. “This is another major vote of confidence for New Zealand’s growing digital sector, and our economic recovery from COVID 19,” David Clark said. “Becoming a cloud region will mean ...
A package of changes to NCEA and University Entrance announced today recognise the impact COVID-19 has had on senior secondary students’ assessment towards NCEA in 2022, says Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti. “We have heard from schools how significant absences of students and teachers, as a result of COVID-19, ...
Te Reo Māori tauparapara… Tapatapa tū ki te Rangi! Ki te Whei-ao! Ki te Ao-mārama Tihei mauri ora! Stand at the edge of the universe! of the spiritual world! of the physical world! It is the breath of creation Formal acknowledgments… [Your Highness Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and Masiofo] ...
The Government’s commitment to combatting firearms violence has reached another significant milestone today with the passage of the Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill, Police Minister Chris Hipkins says. The new law helps to reduce firearm-related crime by targeting possession, use, or carriage of firearms by people whose actions and behaviours ...
Minister for Veterans, Hon Meka Whaitiri sends her condolences to the last Battle for Crete veteran. “I am saddened today to learn of the passing of Cyril Henry Robinson known as Brant Robinson, who is believed to be the last surviving New Zealand veteran of the Battle for Crete, Meka ...
Legislation to repeal the ‘Three Strikes’ law has passed its third reading in Parliament. “The Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill ends an anomaly in New Zealand’s justice system that dictates what sentence judges must hand down irrespective of relevant factors,” Justice Minister Kiri Allan said. “The three strikes law was ...
Work is under way on preliminary steps to improve the Government’s support for survivors of abuse in care while a new, independent redress system is designed, Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins says. These steps – recommended by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry – include rapid payments for ...
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki Online Forum 77 years ago today, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Three days earlier, on the 6th of August 1945, the same fate had befallen the people of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands died instantly. In the years that followed 340,000 ...
An agreement signed today between the New Zealand and United States governments will provide new opportunities for our space sector and closer collaboration with NASA, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said. Stuart Nash signed the Framework Agreement with United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman. The signing ...
An agreement signed today between New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will strengthen global emergency management capability, says Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. “The Government is committed to continually strengthening our emergency management system, and this Memorandum of Cooperation ...
New Zealand will remain at the Orange traffic light setting, while hospitalisations remain elevated and pressure on the health system continues through winter. “There’s still significant pressure on hospitals from winter illnesses, so our current measures have an ongoing role to play in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and ...
Streets will soon be able to be transformed from unsafe and inaccessible corridors to vibrant places for all transport modes thanks to new legislation proposed today, announced Transport Minister Michael Wood. “We need to make it safe, quicker and more attractive for people to walk, ride and take public transport ...
More young minds eyeing food and fibre careers is the aim of new Government support for agricultural and horticultural science teachers in secondary schools, Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Government is committing $1.6 million over five years to the initiative through the Ministry for Primary ...
Kākāpō numbers have increased from 197 to 252 in the 2022 breeding season, and there are now more of the endangered parrots than there have been for almost 50 years, Conservation Minister Poto Williams announced today. The flightless, nocturnal parrot is a taonga of Ngāi Tahu and a species unique ...
The relationship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Malaysia is to be elevated to the status of a Strategic Partnership, to open up opportunities for greater co-operation and connections in areas like regional security and economic development. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met her Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah today during a ...
With additional trains operating across the network, powered by the Government’s investment in rail, there is need for a renewed focus on rail safety, Transport Minister Michael Wood emphasised at the launch of Rail Safety Week 2022. “Over the last five years the Government has invested significantly to improve level ...
The Foreign Minister has wrapped up a series of meetings with Indo-Pacific partners in Cambodia which reinforced the need for the region to work collectively to deal with security and economic challenges. Nanaia Mahuta travelled to Phnom Penh for a bilateral meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
Kia ora koutou Firstly, thank you to the President of the Criminal Bar Association, Fiona Guy Kidd QC, for her invitation to attend the annual conference this weekend albeit unfortunately she is unable to attend, I’m grateful to the warm welcome both Chris Wilkinson-Smith (Vice-President, Whanganui) and Adam Simperingham (Vice-President, Gisborne) ...
Extension of Aotearoa Touring Programme supporting domestic musicians The Programme has supported more than 1,700 shows and over 250 artists New Zealand Music Commission estimates that around 200,000 Kiwis have been able to attend shows as a result of the programme The Government is hitting a high note, with ...
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare will depart tomorrow for Solomon Islands to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. While in Solomon Islands, Minister Henare will also meet with Solomon Islands Minister of National Security, Correctional Services and Police Anthony Veke to continue cooperation on security ...
The Government is partnering with Ngāi Tahu Farming Limited and Ngāi Tūāhuriri on a whole-farm scale study in North Canterbury to validate the science of regenerative farming, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The programme aims to scientifically evaluate the financial, social and environmental differences between regenerative and conventional practices. ...
52.5% of people on public boards are women Greatest ever percentage of women Improved collection of ethnicity data “Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees is now 52.5 percent, the highest ever level. The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. ...
I am honoured to support the 2022 Women in Governance Awards, celebrating governance leaders, directors, change-makers, and rising stars in the community, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. For the second consecutive year, MPP is proudly sponsoring the Pacific Governance Leader category, recognising Pacific women in governance and presented to ...
Today Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash turned the sod for the new Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour, cut the ribbon for the revitalised Whakatāne Wharf, and inspected work underway to develop the old Whakatāne Army Hall into a visitor centre, all of which are part of the $36.8 million ...
New Zealanders are not getting a fair deal on some key residential building supplies and while the Government has already driven improvements in the sector, a Commerce Commission review finds that changes are needed to make it more competitive. “New Zealand is facing the same global cost of living and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Big business wants a “catch up boost” to permanent migration, with at least two thirds of the places going to skilled workers, In proposals for next month’s jobs and skills summit, the Business Council ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Australia’s top economists are divided about how to tackle ballooning inflation of 6.1% that’s forecast to climb to a three-decade high of 7.75% by ...
ANALYSIS:By Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific In Fiji’s politically charged context, national elections are historically a risky period. Since the 2022 campaign period was declared open on April 26, the intensity has been increasing. Moreover, with three governments toppled by coups after the 1987, 1999 ...
RNZ Pacific The Queen’s Representative in the Cook Islands, Sir Tom Marsters, has confirmed Mark Brown as the Prime Minister. In a statement issued from Mark Brown’s office, Sir Tom said he was “satisfied” that Mark Brown had the majority of the MPs elected to Parliament. Following the final count ...
Former list MP Aaron Gilmore, who resigned in 2013 after he used his position as a threat to a hotel employee, says there has been "outrageous behaviour" by those in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pasi Sahlberg, Professor of Education, Southern Cross University Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and his state colleagues met in Canberra on Friday.Lukas Coch/AAP Last Friday, Australia’s state and federal education ministers met with emotional teachers, who spoke of working on weekends ...
Despite an 11th-hour rush of nominations for this year's local body elections, Local Government New Zealand says the numbers could still be too low. ...
A political analyst says people who would have voted for Leo Molloy in Auckland's mayoral election may now turn to Efeso Collins, because both candidates have working-class appeal. ...
Podcast - After one of the fastest political downfalls in New Zealand's history, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher examines how both major parties now face bullying accusations. ...
The government has unveiled what it is calling a radical plan to overhaul reading, writing and maths teaching after two decades of sliding literacy rates. ...
ANALYSIS:By Russel Norman, executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa Only people power can ensure genuine enduring progress on climate and people need to know the truth if they are to act on it. For that reason greenwashing is the enemy of progress on climate and where you stand on ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai says he will seek a further extension from the Governor-General for the return of writ for Southern Highlands provincial seat which has faced protracted delays in counting. He said any discussions and talks of “failing” an election and calling for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Shutterstock Australia’s energy ministers on Friday voted to make emissions reduction a key national energy goal, in a major step forward in the clean energy transition. Federal, state and territory energy ministers agreed to ...
Labour MP Gaurav Sharma has launched another broadside at his own party, posting a lengthy statement on social media that details his interactions with Parliamentary Service and the Labour whips. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wadham, Director, Open Door: Understanding and Supporting Service Personnel and their Families, Flinders University The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has released its interim report after more than 1,900 submissions and 194 witnesses. It includes recommendations considered so urgent ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mathieu O’Neil, Associate Professor of Communication, News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra GettyImages Donald Trump derided any critical news coverage as “fake news” and his unwillingness to concede the 2020 presidential election eventually led to the January 6, 2021 ...
The Government’s esteem for science and science-based research findings can be gauged from a press statement released by the Ministry for Primary Industries. The statement gives a progress report on a New Zealand Forest Services’ partnership with a marae-based tree-growing project and its grant of nearly $500,000 over two years ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stan Karanasios, Associate professor, The University of Queensland Rob Hampson/Unsplash On August 9 2022, Australia’s COVIDSafe app was officially decommissioned, and all its features removed. People were encouraged to uninstall the app. Reports of its closure have made international news. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon talk about this week in politics. They discuss Australia’s relationship with China as tensions rise over Taiwan, the inquiry into ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Allen, Associate Professor, Monash University Photo by Sora Shimazaki/Pexels, CC BY You might have heard of jobseekers being asked to complete a “personality test” as part of a job application, or been through the process yourself. The questions can ...
Buzz from the Beehive Some readers might be surprised to learn from Associate Finance Minister David Parker that the law has been changed to ensure forestry conversions by overseas investors benefit New Zealand. Did the law previously allow forestry conversions by overseas investors that would be to ...
The government is giving long-term build-to-rent developments a tax break in a bid to increase secure rental supply for tenants for at least 10 years. ...
Aucklanders now have a clear choice between continuing the failing status quo or choosing a candidate who can fix Auckland, Mayoral candidate Wayne Brown says. “They can choose more of the same from current councillor Efeso Collins, or a new proactive ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk The head of the Solomon Islands state-owned broadcaster has defended its role in the face of the government tightening control — a move that critics say is squarely aimed at controlling and censoring the news. The government said last Friday that the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation ...
What a difference less than a week can make: National lurching from success to controversy and Labour facing its own bombshell, Political Editor Jane Patterson writes. ...
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Te Pāti Māori co-leader and list MP based in Te Tai Hauāuru will this weekend share in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Pātea Māori club anthem, Poi E. “Iwi of Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui will be reminiscing ...
Labour's Whip's office says it has always acted in good faith with Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma, after he made explosive allegations about bullying. ...
Today, XR Whakatū are blocking the Trafalgar St to launch “The People” in the form of Te Tiriti based peoples assemblies as their candidate for this year's local body elections. “The climate and ecological crisis proves our political system ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Mehigan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Canterbury Getty Images However you look at it, the National Party has selected someone who once committed an act of criminal violence to represent the Tauranga electorate in parliament. It’s an unfortunate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patricia Davidson, Vice-Chancellor, University of Wollongong Shutterstock Demand for health care is soaring as the population ages, medical treatments become more widely available and more people live with chronic and complex illnesses. However, there is global shortage of health professionals ...
A sexual abuse survivor group SNAP says the Government’s decision to allow faith-based institutions like the Catholic Church to continue providing redress to survivors would just re-traumatise Catholic Church survivors. SNAP’s national leader, Christopher ...
The 2022 round of the Rainbow Wellbeing Legacy Fund (RWLF) will see $299,999 in grants being distributed to programmes with a focus on mental health in rainbow communities thanks to a partnership with Foundation North. Foundation North, the community trust ...
The Government continuing to push through a Wairarapa treaty settlement without addressing serious flaws in it, is a slap in the face to natural justice and rank hypocrisy from the Crown. That’s the submission today to Parliament’s Maori Affairs ...
The rental price indexes measure the changes in prices that households pay for housing rentals. Key facts Monthly change In July 2022 compared with June 2022: the index for the stock measure of rental property prices rose 0.2 percent the index for the ...
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has been found wanting, after his response to a letter from Groundswell NZ lacked any evidence that New Zealand agriculture is contributing to climate warming, Groundswell NZ emissions spokesperson Steve Cranston ...
New research from HelloFresh bites into the nation’s changing diets and reveals what’s impacting the way we eat Leading meal-kit provider, HelloFresh serves up fresh research that explores New Zealand’s changing diets, revealing how eating ...
“The marked increase in violent youth crime has been long predicted and is being met by a chorus of excuses instead of admitting the soft youth system is a demonstrable failure,” says Darroch Ball Leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “Its time to ...
Morning Report - This week RNZ and Stuff's political editors Jane Patterson and Luke Malpass discuss the accusations by Labour's Gaurav Sharma, and those against National's Sam Uffindell. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myles Menz, Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology, James Cook University Christian Ziegler Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Author provided Migratory insects number in the trillions. They’re a major part of global ecosystems, helping to transport nutrients and pollen across continents ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Toole, Associate Principal Research Fellow, Burnet Institute As monkeypox vaccination programs roll out and health authorities release information about how to reduce the spread of the virus, progress on another aspect of the outbreak is lagging: its name. On June 14, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Marc Pell/Unsplash, CC BY The world’s focus is sharply fixed on achieving net-zero emissions, yet surprisingly little thought has been given to what comes afterwards. In our new paper, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn Alders, Honorary Professor, Australian National University Foot-and-mouth disease now poses a high threat to Australia. This highly contagious livestock virus is sweeping Indonesia – the closest it’s been to Australia since the 1980s. A large outbreak here could cause decimate the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Wreford, Professor Applied Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images New Zealand’s national adaptation plan, launched last week, offers the first comprehensive approach to how communities can prepare for the inevitable impacts of a changing climate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Larissa McLean Davies, Professor of Teacher Education, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Today, state and federal education ministers will meet in Canberra to discuss the teacher shortage. In their first in-person meeting for more than a year, they will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury HBO HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones dominated television and pop culture discourse for much of a decade. Its upcoming prequel series, House of the Dragon, is similarly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal Liberals are in a parlous state, after an election that was not just lost to Labor but where “teals” stripped them of a batch of traditional seats. In coming months the Liberal ...
By Leah Tebbutt, RNZ News reporter A number of Māori wāhine have put their hat in the ring to become mayor at this year’s Aotearoa New Zealand local body election across the motu in October. Georgina Beyer is believed to be the first and only Māori woman ever elected as ...
By Concy Simon of the PNG Post-Courier Leadership of Papua New Guinea has “gone to the dogs” represented by a rapid increase in prices of goods and services and the “worst national election” ever, says a lawyer. Lawyer Goiye Kondago made the crtiticism during the official declaration of Kerenga Kua ...
COMMENTARY:By Barbara Dreaver, 1News Pacific correspondent Even from the grainy black and white footage of American soldiers wading towards shore while under fire, you can see and sense the fear, resignation and determination in that moment. The Battle of Midway in World War II may have been won, but ...
Cook Islands PressBy Jason Brown Tens of thousands of Cook Islanders celebrated 57th Constitution Day events these last weeks. Not just in the homeland, but overseas as well, with communities across New Zealand, Australia and beyond celebrating language, dance, culture and other arts. How many in all might be ...
A Labour backbencher has launched an extraordinary broadside, claiming MP-on-MP bullying is rampant within Parliament and facilitated by those supposed to prevent it. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rod Sims, Professor in the practice of public policy and antitrust, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Public interest journalism is essential to a well-functioning society, even for those who do not watch or read it. It holds ...
The Greens will continue to push for climate friendly, affordable transport options as part of a new cross-party Parliamentary inquiry into the future of inter-regional passenger rail in New Zealand. “Investing in rail is a great way to connect our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Huw Griffiths, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/ STCReview: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, directed by Kip Williams for Sydney Theatre Company With their new production, Kip Williams and the Sydney Theatre ...
National Party's leader and deputy leader say details of Sam Uffindell's flat are "not great" and "yuck", and the party will continue improving its candidate selection processes. ...
David Timbs from Peter Timbs Butchers has decided not to run in this year’s local body election. Mr Timbs initially said he would be running for council but has now put his support behind independent candidate Ali Jones who is running for the Innes ...
Buzz from the Beehive Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has been busy in the past 24 hours, joining the PM for the opening of a new aquatic centre, enthusing about data from the latest visitor statistics and announcing a new industry strategy. The Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University A record number of female Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander athletes represented Australia at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. While embracing their role model status, it is worth considering the weighty ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnie Blewitt, Head, Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute leah hetteberg/unsplash What if we could inherit more than our parents’ genes? What if we could inherit the ability to turn genes on and off? These possibilities have come ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University Shutterstock This week, one Sydney high school made headlines for banning mobile phones during school hours. Phones can come to school but must stay in locked pouches allowing teachers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Monash University People could have caught the virus from wild shrews.Shutterstock A new virus, Langya henipavirus, is suspected to have caused infections in 35 people in China’s Shandong and Henan provinces. It’s related to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dallas Rogers, Head of Urbanism and Associate Professor of Urban Studies, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney The redevelopment of the 22-hectare Barangaroo precinct on Sydney Harbour has long been a masterclass in poor urban development governance and lack ...
The Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA) is encouraging Kiwis to make a submission on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill by 24 August. They say getting tough on tobacco is well overdue. Now with Parliament’s ...
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/05/11/how-long-to-save-for-down-payment-on-home-mortgage-in-these-top-10-most-impossible-cities-for-first-time-buyers/
(takeaway from that one:..)
“..People who pay a large part of their household income for rent or a mortgage, or who save assiduously for a huge down payment, don’t have much cash left to contribute to the overall economy.
Most of their income simply gets confiscated by inflated home prices, or the resulting high rents and associated expenses.
It’s channeled to landlords, PE firms, and REITs that own the homes; banks and investment funds that own the mortgages or the mortgage-backed securities; and a million other entities.
Most of it becomes part of the grease that keeps Wall Street from squealing.
But nothing happens with that money to move the real economy forward..”
(embrace the teaser-paragraph there – a.w.w…)
😀
This housing thing has got me thinking….are the costs lower to the government to support a social housing provider, or to pay accommodation supplement?
The answer will depend on whether or not social housing providers can charge market rent or at least enough for their tenants to qualify for AS. Could be a story here…
This housing frenzy to divest by government. It seems to me like a Richard Prebble moment as with our rail system. I think he said he would be prepared to give it away, because of the usual hperbole – gummint can’t be efficient, no good as managers, can’t being the proper commercial controls on running, and finally it would be better if some private organisation could lick into shape.
Which usually means run cheaper and better and be profitable. Which is an oxymoron I think? Can’t be done in a public service, which by their nature are costly and to be affordable and reasonably priced, can at best just meet costs. To give their best value they need thorough examination for viability and usefulness when started, and regular review and monitoring for successful performance along the way. That’s how gummint should be running housing, and providing what is needed in an appropriate way.
A flaw in the money system
Of course the rich, who benefit from it, don’t see it as a flaw.
Which is important when our banks (mostly) export their profits so it doesnt get re-introduced…. ANZ NZ made a 500m half yearly profit to go with its Aussie heads 3bn…
taken from oyur economy and put into Aussie’s.
And Labour is worried about a measly ACC levy cut being important for jobs. Talk about focussing on the molehills.
I tried to live in an impossible city, once. It was impossible. Nothing was possible. So I moved to a possible city, which is marginally better, because while not everything works, there is the hope that something might work if approached in the right way. I pity the fool that saves for 37 years to go live in an impossible city. My dream is to build a plausible city, and if successful, move forward onto building highly likely communities.
It’s posts like this that make me smile…
Notice that the Banks are now making public statements ‘there is no Auckland property bubble’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11446922
AKA ‘we are in deep shit if it bursts’ -> PR campaign.
TPPA: This from an interview with Elizabeth Warren in which she explains how the Investor-State Dispute Settlement system (ISDS) works.
PLUM LINE: Is it theoretically possible to write ISDS in a way that precludes it from overriding regulation?
WARREN: It doesn’t directly tell countries to repeal regulations. It imposes a financial penalty, which has caused countries to change their regulations…[ISDS mechanisms] never had the authority to override regulations. What they had was the authority to impose a monetary penalty directly against the government and its taxpayers. That’s the point at which governments have backed up and said, “we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-fires-back-at-obama-heres-what-theyre-really-fighting-about/
We need our journalists to drill Tim Groser and John Key about this. $6million for the Saudi businessman over the live sheep ban will be very small beer compared to the figures in the ISDS cases. It will be so costly to preserve the environment and our citizens rights.
How can our Nat politicians not see that? Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
They can see that – they don’t care. In fact, I’d say that that’s the entire point. Taking governments to the cleaners will be a nice profit making scheme.
YUP
““we can’t afford this, we’ll just change the law.””
So they can claim the TPP wasn’t the problem, but the Govts BUT the threat of law suits makes the govt change the law to “save” the taxpayer money from the lawsuit…
More insidious to me is that the decision-making process of the dispute is closed and the adjudicators are former corporate lawyers…
but they see it.
it is just you pretending to believe that they don’t see it.
IF we all would admit that they see it, know it, talk about and take it into account, than we would be really really scared, as we realise that we are nothing but cattle or chattel, utterle expendable and of no value to them what so ever.
The national party that supports the TPPA and the labour party and any other polititian in nz that supports this abomination should be charged with treason.
red pill or blue pill?
+111
Come on, Labour, Greens, NZ First, start making more noise about this!
Ya Hear???
START MAKING MORE NOISE ABOUT THIS.
Or some of us will start to believe you either …
a) don’t care
b) have, as elected MPs, some ‘inside knowledge’ that precludes/prevents any serious questioning of the Government on this issue.
Signing of this nefarious ‘agreement’ is months away.
Where the bloody hell are you?
Yes drill Tim Groser and John Key till all the small beer leaks out. Makes no sense?
Neither does anything they say when studied closely. Let’s all talk politic (otherwise known as gobblegook while they treat us as turkeys to be roasted.)
And of course to balance the ISDS provisions, when regulations are changed that result in increased profits for corporates those corporates are required to pass that profit over to the government….
The rest of the rather short article also asks some interesting questions about the UK election.
Over the last few days, I’ve read many sweeping assertions about the swings and counter-swings that supposedly took place between the various parties in the UK Election. Almost always based on hunches or anecdotal evidence. But presented as cold, hard fact.
The vast body of data from pre-Election Opinion Polls remains the only reliable source in my opinion (although anecdotal evidence via discussions with an array of locals – including party activists – in specific electorates is useful as supplementary evidence). Probably most useful of all, though, will be the British Election Study data (from post-Election interviews) when it comes out.
All the polling evidence I’ve seen – both since 2010 in general and, more specifically, over the last few months – suggests Lib Dem deserters were disproportionately heading Labour’s way. How that dovetails with Labour’s woeful inability to win that vast array of Tory Marginals is another matter. Did an unusually large proportion of Lib Dem deserters have a last minute change of heart ?
Or was the Lib Dem swing to Labour nullified by an even greater swing from Labour-to-UKIP or Labour-to-the-Conservatives ?
And what role did non-voting play ?
Where did LibDem voters come from originally?
That might help analysis.
My National voting brother told me a week out he was voting Green Party. ON the day he “couldn’t bring myself to do it” and voted National.
No wonder the tories fought hard against a change to the electoral system…. Why Labour fought hard too is beyond me.
Labour very much likes two party privilege. Also, Labour Parties throughout the world see all minor left wing political parties as political enemies to be suppressed and sidelined where at all possible, lest they metastasize into left wing nightmares for them like the SNP.
Also remember that in NZ, the National Party were the ones who introduced MMP.
Did you see this about the “Apathy Party.” Looks to me that even in Labour strongholds, most people could not be bothered to vote for them.
In Scotland, it seems clear that most Lib Dems voters went straight to the SNP.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/the-one-map-that-shows-how-nonvoting-would-have-won-the-general-election-if-it-were-a-party-10238290.html
Cheers for that, CV.
Yep, it’s clear the Non-Vote won in the vast majority of Labour-held seats (Merseyside and parts of Greater London being the key exceptions).
And despite the impressive turnout in Scotland overall, I see the Apathy Party also came first in Greater Glasgow (home of the “Yes” vote) and in poor old Orkney and Shetland (possibly allowing the Lib Dems to hang on by their fingertips in the latter constituency).
John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, and Others on the Shameful History of U.S. Interference in Latin America
We can see these types of interventions of the US into other nations around the world. Iran and Iraq are the two most well known interventions but other countries have also fallen under US hegemony.
Been going on for some time. I remember doing an essay at uni in ’73 based around the CIA in cahoots with ITT, getting rid of Allende in Chile cos he nationalised the phone network.
Goes all the way back to 1823 and the Monroe Doctrine.
Successive US governments have all had the arrogance to achieve imperialism, but they’ve also lacked the style that a decent imperial power needs. There’s a reason almost all the baddies in the original Star Wars were RADA-trained 😉
Not many countries where they haven’t interfered.
http://www.yachana.org/teaching//resources/interventions.html
(given our high rates of obesity – this one is more than useful..)
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/10/what-can-parents-do-to-stop-kids-becoming-obese-children-obesity
In a wee discussion the other day on The Standard, I suggested the Greens were nowhere near as toxic to voters as some pundits (both Left and Right-leaning) seem to assume.
Here’s some data to back-up my argument:
UMR November 2013
Potential Coalition Partners
“How good a job do you think the following parties would do if they were part of a coalition government with one of the major parties”
Good = Will do Good Job
Bad = Will do Bad Job
G+N = Good+Neutral combined score
G/B Diff = Good/Bad Difference
Table One: Entire Sample
Party…….Good…..Neutral….Bad….Unsure…G+N……..G/B Diff
(In order of Highest to Lowest Good+Neutral)
Greens………26………31………..36………….7………..57………. – 10
Maori………..12………39…………41…………8………..51………. – 29
NZF…………..12……….31…………47……….10……….43………. – 35
ACT……………4………..25…………59……….12……….29………. – 55
Cons………….4………..24…………48……….24……….28………. – 44
Clearly, NZ voters are not particularly enamoured of any of the minor parties when it comes to coalition politics. But, taking a Glass Half Full approach, you can see that 57% of voters can live with the Greens as a coalition partner (64% if you include those Unsure). That makes them more popular than the Maori and NZF parties and vastly more acceptable to the voting public than ACT and the Conservatives.
The Greens are even acceptable to a significant minority of National voters:
Table Two: Views of National Party Voters Only
Maori………….8………..36………..52………….4………..44………. – 44
Greens……….9…………31………..56………….4………..40………. – 47
ACT…………….6…………31………..56………….7………..37………. – 50
Cons…………..6…………29………..45…………20……….35………. – 39
NZF…………….6…………29………..59………….6………..35………. – 53
The Greens could pick up more then a few National votes but only if they’re prepared to compromise
The Māori Party was willing to compromise their principles for a place at the table – even if it was sitting on the floor begging for crumbs. Now all but one of the Māori seats have returned to Labour, and the MP face total obliteration at the next election.
If they hadn’t compromised they wouldn’t have got Whanau Ora up and running
If they hadn’t compromised they might not have vanished up their own gunga’s.
400 ppm and rising
spot on there.
You can’t compromise with nature.
400 ppm… there’s nothing negotiable there, pr
You’ll also find it hard to achieve much outside of parliament as well so whats more important your principles or a difference?
Parliament will seem a very abstract idea on an unliveable planet with no food.
Parliament will ensure that they have plenty of food while the rest of us get half sized frozen rations from Compass.
No true, a whole lot of fastfood chains just dumped zero hour contracts, and the dumping had NOTHING to do with the current government
noT true
PR actually said “outside of Parliament”, not “outside of government”.
Labour are in Parliament and they, and the Greens, played a part in the zero-hours contract debate. Labour got Parliamentary Services to ditch them for the catering staff.
I think its fair to say that the Greens could accomplish more in power rather then being outside
They need to ask themselves whats more important, their pride or making changes
Or they could look at what happens to left/liberal parties who prop up Tory governments (cf LibDems last week). The Greens would accomplish nothing inside a NACT government. Or at least, nothing of substance; for example, can anyone tell me wtf ‘whanau ora’ is or what it has achieved?
Sure can tell you what Whanau Ora is – go here – last two paragraphs are the charm
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/05/power-to-right-people-how-neoliberalism.html
As for achievements – I know of quite a few really good outcomes for families and individuals both in Auckland and around the country. I think it is a wonderful approach to accessing services. Holism seems to be a good approach, and contrary to many misguided comments here – I’ve only ever dealt with true professionals within the Whanau Ora framework.
examples?
That’s a heartening bit of number crunching there Swordfish. However, I do note that the data comes from November 2013. Now that Mana no longer have a parliamentary presence, the Overton window has moved rightwards and GP can once more be attacked as the Devil-Beast of leftward extremism.
One depressing tidbit from the weekend; I was talking to a GP member who had been at the; male coleader candidate speeches in Dunedin. They seemed to be leaning towards supporting Shaw at the delegate meeting next week, mainly due to him looking good in a suit. They were particularly scathing about Hughes rocking up to speak in more casual dress, especially his wearing scuffed shoes. However, while they were clear about what Hughes and Hague stood for (though unimpressed by Hague’s body language), they were unable to say much about Shaw’s or Tava’s accomplishments or principles.
It says something when even the Green Party is embracing style over substance.
Shaw represents the professional middle class aspiration that the Green Party is turning towards.
How come Gwynn Compton (the new Dirty Politics guy in John Key’s office) went to such effort yesterday to bleach his online profiles of any mention of the fact that he works in the PM’s Office?
Isn’t that shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?
I think it’s a case of the bolting pony’s tail being caught in the door ??
If he was wrong, and he doesn’t work for the PM’s office, I think we would have heard something from Johnny Four Hats
It is reasonable to assume therefore, that he does work for the PM’s office, and the public needed that fact “sanitised”.
Do we REALLY have to do an OIA to find our if this clown does work for Johnny Four Hats??
It’s been confirmed in one of the articles that he does work in the PMs office but as National Party staff.
A new word is being used around the world: “Quaxing.” It means: “to shop, in the western world, by means of walking, cycling or public transit.”
Dick Quax wrote “no one in the entire Western world uses the train for their shopping trips…the very idea that people lug home their supermarket shopping on the train is fanciful”.
And now around the world people are sending examples of Quaxing. Dopey Dick eh?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11447071
Well, it’s normal exasperated politician hyperbole. If we give him the benefit of the doubt (and why would we, really. He’s paid to be articulate, and he worked for ACT), what he might mean is, “Not many people carry eight bags of a weekly grocery shop onto the train or bus by themselves, regularly, because it’s too heavy, the silly plastic bag handles cut into your hands or break and there’s nowhere safe to put it so the bags don’t split or get trampled, or so you can move fast enough to get off the train before the doors close for the next station.”
And he’d be right. What people do is make multiple trips with smaller loads over several days. If you don’t own a car, you do what you have to do. This method requires specific knowledge to identify, but not the same kind you need to run for parliament with ACT Party.
He might also mean, “In the entire Western World, it is becoming less likely that a person could afford to buy eight bags of shopping in a weekly supermarket shop, therefore relying on local suppliers, which require no special transport or equipment to carry the food, and in living in cheaper accomodation far from what is now solely commuter transport, never see or use a train during the span of their lives.” However this would require thoughts and abilities that ACT supporters don’t have.
I prefer the interpretation that, “In the entire Western World, there weren’t any supermarkets, and trains ran off into the desert, often following telegraph lines and were ultimately attacked by bandits. This discouraged the problems of suburban living. There were no taxes and everyone considered the natives a nuisance. I dream of a NZ like this. Please vote ACT.”
Yes, people shop several times a week instead of once on Saturday as Dickey does… or his wife.
and the grocery shops are closer to home i.e. walking distance.
Using re-usable shopping bags largely resolves the ‘cutting into your hands’ problem, and each bag can individually hold more weight so you won’t need as many of them, so it’s less cumbersome. Doesn’t help with the total weight of course.
a back-pack is even more useful…
And bike panniers can carry tens (if not hundreds) of kilos
You might be looked on suspiciously if you go into a supermarket wearing a backpack.
@ ianmac
LOL
Have we contact details for Dick Quax so I can enlighten him on how I, a 64 year old non-driver transport my groceries when I don’t have an obliging niece or foster son to drive me?
I can also describe how I managed in earthquake riven Christchurch should he need more examples.
Sometime soon I hope to find a calm place within myself that helps me to feel empathy for the over-privileged pontificators who seem to be inhabiting Planet Key. Alternatively, perhaps I could find a way to live and experience life as the out of work, unwell and elderly ‘enjoy’ it as a consequence of NACTdom.
Jack of all trades and master of none.
How’s this for a leadership comment on the current issue of road safety.
Prime minister John Key, “We have to balance what the police advise with wider public opinion on road speeds.”
Which expert is advising him?
David Farrar.
but it is funnier when having said that he vehemently denies that he is at all swayed by wider public opinion, possibly against lower limits, and backlash as a result.
must be awful not to know what you think until a prettypollyparrot like Farrar lets you in on the secret echoes.
You can take the piss out of Key’s approach all you want, but it is far more effective and popular than say, Labour talking about getting trucks out of fast lanes so that holiday makers have it easier.
C.R.
Labour might have been better advised to have suggested getting most trucks off most lanes period and putting freight on trains to strategic rail-heads for distribution by smaller vehicles.
Explain the logic of this one – last week travelling north from Tauranga to Paeroa I was following a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs. As we passed through the narrow Karangahake gorge, we encountered a fully laden logging truck-and-trailer carrying large Radiata logs heading south.
Locals advise that this a regular occurrence. Perhaps you could remind us why the Kaimai tunnel was created?
My comment was not about roads. It was about Pry Minister Key being glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll-guided, and then he fails. You missed it CR.
And mine was?
Is everyone having a reading comprehension difficulty day? I mentioned roads primarily in the context of Key’s “glib and expert on absolutely nothing until poll guided” approach, which I commented on as being quite an effective tactic despite peoples inclinations to ridicule it; and certainly more effective than some of Labour’s attempts.
I have opposed the TPPA for always, but reading this today, a couple of extra jigsaw pieces fell into place about why Goldman Sachs Merrill Lynch BOA sock puppet John Key wants this signed at any cost.
The brilliant Elizabeth Warren points out TPPA fastrack could be used in the USA to weaken, prevent or overcome any Wall St or banking reforms. WOW.
This is the nub of it that I had not understood until now. Worth a look.
“WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at President Barack Obama in their tussle over “fast track” authorization to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a power she says could be used in the future to weaken Wall Street reforms.
Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and prominent liberal voice, stuck to her argument in an interview published on Monday with a left-leaning Washington Post blog, saying Obama should release details of the Pacific trade talks so legal experts can determine if a pact could be used to weaken U.S. bank rules.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-obama-trade_n_7257802.html
I’m begging to wonder if some of the more enlightened US millionaires are bank rolling these candidates to get an alternative narrative out there. Revolutions are costly
I see that Andrew Little, according to this morning’s Dom/Post is wandering of the reservation.
Labour Party claims are that a large increase in the minimum wage won’t cause any job losses don’t they? Say go to $16.00/hour and no jobs will be lost.
Now he is quoted as saying in the paper, and I can’t find it on-line, that the Government must immediately cut the ACC worker levy by 20c per $100 of earnings because not to do so is costing jobs!
How can it be that a 10% increase in the minimum wage won’t cost any jobs but a 0.2% step in the ACC rates costs jobs?
you seem to have lost an ‘f’. wonder what you have done with it ?
You’re right.
I needed it for my first reaction to his opinion when I had to put it in front of the comment that came to mind.
My thought was “uck! He’s a total idiot.”
no need to lose an ‘f’. that’s just your normal default position 😀
No doubt there is something incredibly witty about your remarks.
For the life of me I don’t see what it is or what you are trying to say.
Still if it makes you happy ………
happy ? oh, no !
Good point Alwyn.
No, its a terrible argument. Funding ACC just funds the government, its the equivalent of taking that spending and locking it in a safe. The government can always fund ACC, even if it doesn’t receive full funding up front anyway. Meanwhile the governments marginal propensity to spend (especially ACC levies) is clearly not influenced by the higher take. Raising the minimum wage the extra business expenditure contributes back to spending, because of who receives it.
I see Michael made this same argument just below.
Minimum wage increases give more spending power to low-income people, which then gets spent in the local economy and ends up being neutral on job losses (or even gains some jobs.)
ACC levies by comparison are just going to the government to pad a surplus. That money isn’t being spent by workers or invested by businesses. So it costs jobs because it is a deadweight loss that is just money being taken out of the economy when it could be going to consumer spending or investment.
… or ACC could actually use it to provide the service it was set up to do.
Exactly. It either needs to go to ACC to provide better services, or needs to be returned to the economy. Otherwise it’s just a deadweight loss that is padding National’s budget
Wages tend to be sticky in the upwards direction but really both of these $ are in the same direction.
Increasing wages puts more money in the pockets of the low paid which as it is spent increases jobs and certainly doesn’t cut them. Cutting the ACC levy by 2% also increases money in the pocket, spend among the working and increases jobs.
Quite clear
I heard on Radionz that David Milliband is badmouthing Ed. A good headline for Brit news would be Ed is sinister says David. But in fact they both are, and not, and the word dexter doesn’t apply either. I’ve been looking up etymology. I think,now that Humpty Dumpty has fallen and cracked open. they are inventing new terms of language, so that left doesn’t mean what we thought.
Dear old Bob Jones is making his usual fool of himself again. If you can say anything about him there’s no shades of grey with him.http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446869
The interesting thing that Bob Jones didn’t mention is the fact that neo-liberalism has been shown by the present world economic situation to be as least as bad a failure as Marxist-Leninism under the USSR.
Once this fact is accepted – and it needs to be repeated over and over again until even people who only read/watch MSM get it – then Bob Jones comments become more about how you can become more selfish as you grow old, than why John Campbell is dangerous
If you are a Whangarei resident you will have heard about the Hundertwasser project. It will be a huge tourist attraction in your city that will attract money-spending people from all over NZ and indeed the world and increased employment. In two days the Referendum about the Hundertwasser-Wairau Maori Art Centre is being sent out.
Information below. See here http://yeswhangarei.co.nz/
If you are not local and eligible to vote, and like the idea and have progressive contacts in the city, you could phone them and point out what a good idea it is. People who are too small thinking and provincial often find it difficult to consider the benefits that will result and get stuck on whatever the cost is.
Donate: https://givealittle.co.nz/org/hacnorth
(We’ve raised $4million! We only need $1m more to build the fantastic Whangarei Hundertwasser Art Centre, the last Hundertwasser-designed bu Givealittle is …)
Info on Referendum
Not sure how to vote?
0800 922 822
Election Services
Voting Period
Thursday 14 May until 12 noon Friday 5 June
Result
9th June 2015
News
YES! Blog
Contact us
On Facebook
On Twitter
By Email
Hundertwasser HQ
has posters, caps, t-shirts, bumper stickers at their pop-up shop in Whangarei’s CBD.
Everything purchased raises funds for Prosper Northland Trust to spread more information about the project.
Bazinga !
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446869
u shd warn people u r linking to that toxic old toad…and his libertarian/neoliberal rants..
Bob Jones in his last line … “But as ever, these deadbeats make lots of noise in lieu of substance,”
ha ha ha – talk about self-description
Interesting seeing the lurkers from Whaleoil piling in on this question of Cactus Kate’s Cheshire cat act.
It is worrying – how much effort is going in to cover up something, which is supposed to be nothing.
Even jumping on here to defended her position and the Tory maggots who have jumped in as well. Is at best odd. At worst…
I believe Cactus Kate is a post-fascist. Which is essentially calling someone Ideologically dishonest and a unprincipled opportunist. But hey, you play in the dirt – you get dirty.
Now this is fascinating – A New super PAC – which is taking a different approach.
Well worth the read.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/05/05/17304/new-super-pac-takes-moon-shot
Seymour Hersh: official account of Bin Laden’s killing a complete lie
Osama had been captured by the Pakistanis and held since 2006. Seems like the US then sent in a SEAL team to execute the sick old, crippled, man after all. There was no firefight, Osama had no guards (the Pakistani security services had been ordered to leave the compound the moment they heard the US helis closing in), he did not pick up an AK47. He was just shredded on the spot by the SEALs. Stories about Osama’s burial at sea were a fiction improvised by the White House after Barack Obama decided to use the killing to boost his own electability. Also the story that Osama had been tracked down via an elaborate spy game following Al Qaeda couriers who were carrying orders from Osama was utterly false. Bin Laden appears to have been isolated and out of control of Al Qaeda; the compound where he was found was not an operations centre; it was a home detention centre.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-10/seymour-hersh-obamas-entire-account-bin-ladens-death-one-big-lie-what-really-happene
Just got an email from Julie Anne Genter and it had this bit of info in it:
There you go, friggen cheap really and the savings, both monetary and environmental, over time from not having to burn diesel would be immense. And it’d be an excellent incentive to get more solar power feeding into the grid out to homes as well.
add 10% to that bill and you could do most of the engineering work in NZ
Now there’s a plank for any progressive left-wing electoral campaign.
Think how many contractors would be kept in business and how many New Zealanders would be employed creating the lines and locomotives…
It is also a plank for a green electoral campaign. Think how much road and rail diesel fuel would be saved…
Looks like Cactus Kate isn’t the only one – Ben Rachinger’s blog and twitter account just got deleted.
Twitter account is still there, meduim.com account has been deleted.
Tweets by B3nRaching3r
Nuked.
That’s not his @ or his current name on twitter, try using his real life name.
I just saw this flag petition on Change.org and signed it, Here is the link if you would like to support the petition against changing the flag at this time:
https://www.change.org/p/john-key-don-t-change-the-new-zealand-flag?tk=8mqxhZQ_DDQMRO7X9Xa3ndRxeRegQlIwFrfuyY8Z2-Y&utm_source=petition_update&utm_medium=email
Leading Kiwi thinkers guffaw at “conspiracy theorist” Seymour Hersh
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Pagani, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
This afternoon, Seymour Hersh joined a long list of journalists and intellectuals—including Robert Fisk, Noam Chomsky, Julian Assange, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden—to be scorned by the intellectual luminaries on the Panel. I’ll try to put up a transcript of this depressing episode, but I did manage to send the constantly laughing host the following email….
Quelle surprise! Your Panelists are having a go at Seymour Hersh.
Dear Jim,
Seymour Hersh is one of the world’s most respected journalists. His reporting is renowned for being thorough, rigorous and scholarly.
I was not amused at all to hear your panelists scoffing, dismissing him as a conspiracy theorist, and guffawing that “This is all turning into a Game of Thrones.”
I am concerned at the lack of standards on your show,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
The panelists are not the only one’s referring to the story as a conspiracy Morrissey. This one does put up a strong argument for that being the case….
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/11/8584473/seymour-hersh-osama-bin-laden
They’re all conspiracy theories, sheepie. Unless you’ve got some kooky lone-assassin theory of your own…
Thanks very much for that, sheep. Maybe Max Fisher is correct, and Hersh is indeed wrong on this one.
I am just concerned when I hear know-nothings like the four people this afternoon calling Hersh a “conspiracy theorist”, as if he is some 9/11 Truther. I’m quite prepared to read the views of serious writers like Fisher; Noelle McCarthy, Josie Pagani and David Farrar on the other hand have a track record of trivialising serious issues.
I was not necessarily endorsing Sy Hersh, I was contesting the competence and the seriousness of those four chattering, vapid numbskulls.
Morrissey / Felix.
I come from a small town where a favourite saying is..
“Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see”.
And then I always apply Trotsky’s immortal dictum that ‘You can deduce the truth by a comparison of the lies’.
But by any standard, I think Hersh, like Pilger, may have lost a bit of perspective with age…
With Bin Laden though, does it really matter how he died? If I can deduce anything from the lies, it would be a sense that he was fully aware and accepted the ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ ethos.
But that might just be a fiction…
Hersh’s piece, for the most part, was not editorialising. Did the US learn about Osama’s location through spying on Al Qaeda’s courier network or did that information walk in the door seeking the CIA reward? Did the US SEAL team kill a crippled, unarmed, elderly man for the sake of imperial vengeance, or was there really a firefight with Osama trying to kill the SEAL team members with an AK47.
Like 9/11, the official narrative on Osama’s death, and even his burial at sea, stinks to high heaven. Hersh goes some way to explaining why.
The expression ‘conspiracy theorist’ is used by the establishment to shut down dissent.
Sad to see you’ve fallen for their lines over 9/11, Morrissey.
It was lie that allowed the US to take over Central Asia and suppress civil rights in their homeland.
The US were already planning to implement mass surveillance over their own citizens pre 9/11. Their pre-9/11 approach to Quest for unhindered access to their telecoms network shows that. 9/11 gave the developing security and surveillance state the best PR in the world for going ahead with what they were going to do any way.
Saying “this must be true because it’s Seymour Hersh” is just an appeal to authority.
Fair comment—but I wasn’t saying that. I was criticizing Noelle McCarthy, Jim Mora and those two cackling, sneering guests.
What amused me was Josie Pagani talking about how she had a friend who was a fellow student of Prince Edward’s (youngest son of Queen) and how she went to have tea with the prince several times but romance apparently never blossomed because Josie decided he wasn’t her type. Incredible!
What really appalled me about her behaviour this afternoon was the way she repeatedly tried to ingratiate herself with Farrar. Their “banter” was cringe-inducing.
Didn’t Farrar refer to Josie at one stage as the charming Josie which prompted her to effusively giggle or was it Mora?
Is Farrar still invited after his involvement in Dirty Politics?
Unbelievable.
Seems like he’s been on more frequently since DP.
Home ownership now for privileged few – ACT
I suppose ACT has to act surprised despite being told that this is the inevitable result of their policies over the last few decades.
The funny thing about this is that Seymour doesn’t think that lawyers, doctors, engineers and others that went to Auckland Grammar aren’t among the privileged.
If these ‘friends’ of his had all bought houses without parental help, then I’m sure this idea that only the privileged can buy houses wouldn’t have even occurred to him…
Breaking News: 7.1 earthquake in Nepal at a depth of 10km.
Oh no, those poor people 🙁
I am amazed the Labour are suggesting penalising working class people by making Working for Families subject to enrolment to vote. I would have expected such a policy from National and not the Party who claims to support workers.
Will this proposed policy also relate to those on benefits and National Super?
Is this a sign that Labour is starting to panic about their poor showing last election?
Labour lost its compass a long time ago.
won’t do Labour much good if they do….people will just vote Green, NZF or Mana/Int…Labour Party will never get these voters back ….so they are stuck on about 30% imo
….Labour Party has taken no opposition leadership stand on opposing the the TPPA or the mass surveillance Spy Bill
….for many who have abandoned Labour …..they are just a watered down Nact Party