Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
These estimates, which all come from a new study published today in Nature by scientists from the University of Hawaii, reflect a concerning trend that some scientists believe will define the arrival of climate change’s effects on the planet: It’ll arrive in tropical, biodiverse areas first.
It also links to an interactive map where you can access graphs showing prediction of trends for each country, including NZ.
PS: This Open Mike had yesterday’s date (11/10/2013) in the title – I changed it.
Dropped in my voting form to the Wgtn City Council yesterday. Preety crowded in there! Good to see that we don’t have total apathy in local elections : )
Now lets add some context: where the ‘Maori Economy’ was valued by Pita Sharples in 2010 as being worth $37B. Therefore ‘being brown’ and not being supported by ‘businessmen’ is now a much more interesting question than it used to be.
[lprent: The old plugin is now back in place. We will see if that is in fact the problem. ]
The Nation , with the luvly Rachael;
David Cunliffe on the TPP,
-Pharmac protection “bottom line”
-IP protection important consideration
on the RBA,
-governor should have independence
-although “open minded”
-as Parker has indicated a preference for a ‘monetary committee’ (export, manufacturing, union representation for example)
-with the independence intended by the RBA remaining.
on Mining,
-“responsible balance between economic and environmental objectives”
on relationship to the Greens and Green policy
-“my job as leader of the Labour Party is to maximize the Labour Party vote”.
NB: Japan entering the TPP is of huge benefit to the US (and Japan) with the US farm lobby endorsement. Consequently, agriculture will be the most problematic negotiating issue.-Groser.
Cunliffe gave her a good going over, I thought. She needs better questions.
The usual trick of asking the same question again when it has been decisively answered so as to create doubt about the answer does not appear to work against Cunliffe.
“… sorry, Rachel, you are putting words in my mouth on a very important matter. We will do what anybody … give you a corporate analogy … if we were a company looking at a joint venture, we would have to do due diligence on the contract. The Labour Caucus will do due diligence on the TPPA when we get it.”
This got a resounding VERY loud applause in our lounge.
Just superb. He will be a fine Prime Minister for NZ. We can hold our heads high for having someone who thinks and speaks so clearly among leaders of other larger, richer and more powerful countries.
I laughed out loud (actually, out loud) when he responded to a journo’s question after his CTU conference speech by saying something like, “I think you’ve asked that question based on what you assumed I was going to answer to an earlier question, but since I didn’t, it’s not relevant.” It was fucking beautiful.
No No weaknesses. She was excellent but Cunliffe’s brilliance outshone her and she accepted it graciously. It was like a good hard talk interview and he responded with super competence.
If you need inspiration, go see it on TV3 Nation.
I’d love to see Key in the same kind of interview. Oh that’s right I did see it and he tried to treat her like a silly girl, but she persisted and he just came across as a buffoon blithering on about fish or something.National supporters must have cringed.
Well done Cunliffe! you have my vote…and many others I reckon.
I grew up in Napier when the twin cities had two proper newspapers (Napier Daily Telegraph and Hastings Herald Tribune) that covered local affairs and the local ZB station broadcast the bulk of it’s daytime content from a local studio. I remember my parents listening to the (bi-weekly? weekly?) hour long discussions with the mayor and of all sorts of discussions about local issues. There was even, briefly, regional TV breakouts on TVNZ.
Now, the merged “newspaper” Hawkes Bay Today is barely a step up on the free rags. Local popular state radio is but a distant memory. TV treats the provinces the same way it treats stories from the third world – it takes either a disaster or a crime for a story to be covered.
When people talk about the decline in interest and participation in local body elections some blame excessive centralisation making voting irrelevant, some blame a disinchanted, lazy and uninformed public. But it seems to me that the eviscerating of local outlets for democracy has to be a major candidate in destroying avenues for communication and reducing interest and knowledge in local issues and candidates. The decline of voting in local body elections is worrying evidence of the hollowing out of our democracy and the slow death of civic society – and it paves the way for democracy to die not with a bang, but with the whimper of a corporate takeover.
…Every channel or radio station that broadcasts in New Zealand ought to be required to devote 5% of it’s 7am-7pm airtime to commercial free, civic broadcasting (I would call it the “civic quota”). No exceptions. Everything from MTV to the shopping channel to the History Channel to the ZB network to Mai FM. They would be required to use it to cover local and national political issues of importance to their target audience.
“The decline of voting in local body elections is worrying evidence of the hollowing out of our democracy and the slow death of civic society…”
The slow death of civic society also shows in the fact that the right no longer offers any kind of view of a civic society, just an ongoing series of economic rationalisations.
“…The Red Cross will this winter start collecting and distributing food aid to the needy in Britain for the first time since the Second World War, as welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe…”
The UK’s economy is the sixth biggest in the world.
Tweedle-dum Cameron won’t care, and neither does his cooker-cutter tweedle dee counterpart in New Zealand, John Key.
personally, when I get the time, I glean more information about the intricacies of the local community from reading the “free” weekly newspapers, when I have the time. (gotta pile awaiting)
I worked at the DT (Napier) for 33 years and also 3 years at Hawke’s Bay Yesterday.
You are dead right Sanctuary. HBT is a nothing newspaper. When I moved to that paper we were printing 32,000 papers. Now, just on 20,000 (I hear from ex workmates).
What does that tell you about the MSM. And yes the free papers keep you informed of the local news. Don’t even bother buying a printed paper. Heil the freepress. TS, TDB et al.
Cheers
How is it that we fight for an uplift in pay in the order of 2-3% minimum pay increases by $0.40 hour and yet house prices are increasing by $1,500/ week in the burbs.
How can this dicotomy exist when money can be so hard to earn yet prices increase by so much?
How can this dicotomy exist when money can be so hard to earn yet prices increase by so much?
Those rules only apply to labour attempting to work to earn wages/salaries.
The direct answer to your question is:
1) Unearned income accrued by capitalists on positive revenue assets allows them to finance additional asset purchases..
2) Banks willing to lend to those same capitalists at ever higher leverage on the assumption of continuing property asset price increases.
This is a particular worry with regard to the TPP negotiations. Both Tim Groser and Phil Goff cite Pharmac and intellectual property as matters of concern, but do not touch on wages, unions or social services. The worry is that “New Zealand” for them means the asset rich who think such an agreement will make them even asset richer. As long as wages, unions and social services go unmentioned, I fear that these people see the projected gains for themselves and their kind as well worth the cost of trashing the workforce and the poor even more than they are now trashed.
Yet CV as for many, money to survive has great value thru its scarcity yet thanks to the worlds monetary policies the same money is having its value greatly diminished. Why then can so few see this and there can be no “happy endings” or conclusion should the status quo continue.
This property boom that is currently in Auckland just protects many from seeing the issue as we all (property owners) are self congratulating ourselves for our rise in wealth.
Like you and a few others questioning this ability for independent banks to make money appear out of fresh air IMO is the real issue we face and an indirect attack to our sovereignty.
You are very welcome, Brett. Where I am, Electionz is going to inform the local councils directly, and then it’s each councils responsibility to get the word out for their own results. Unfortunately I don’t know if for example the electoral commission is going to collate and publish all the results from across the country.
Just watched The Nation, and I’m wondering why Groser and that other peevish little minister Finlayson are so scathing of Labour. I think they’re afraid, very afraid.
Nah, they are simply playing the role they are very well paid to do [by the suckers, us], by perpetuating/propagating the fraud through the ability to write *the law*, on behalf of [name your family]
“Hedge fund linked to George Osborne’s best man to make millions from privatisation of Royal Mail after ‘buying £50m stake’
“Far from being the unfortunate result of some unavoidable economic catastrophe, the social crisis in Europe is being consciously exploited by the continent’s financial and political elite to affect a major redistribution of wealth from the bottom of society to the top.”
Peter Davies met the Chancellor at Oxford University
Was Osborne’s best man when he married Frances Howell in 1998
Davies is a member of management committee for Lansdowne Partners
Hedge-fund firm has seen value of investment rise by £18million already
City fund made reported £100million from financial crash”
This is all happening and made infinitely worse by the privatisation of the Public’s wealth producing feudal inequality. Post WW11 Britain was socialist and poor and owed immense debts to the USA for the war effort, yet was still able to bring in a social welfare state, the NHS and public housing. One of these houses I grew up in. I can honestly say that not once was there ever a maintenance problem with electricals, plumbing, roofing or literally anything, the house I own now needs regular maintenance, though adequate its building standard leaves a lot to be desired.
Above the city Spivs are cashing in on the privatisation of the Royal Mail in collusion with Osborne.
My point is Key is out of the same stable as these looters ruining the once proud UK. Thatcher started it and Blair intensified it.
“In response to the crisis, the Red Cross plans to commence setting up soup kitchens for the poor in Britain for the first time since the Second World War. Welfare organisations had already revealed in May that more than half a million Britons are now reliant on food handouts, with the number expected to increase over the winter.”
What’s labour and Cunliffe going to do about 5billion$ of tax dodged every year here in NZ????
The welfare state that made us civilised is being destroyed by:
1. Tax dodging and govs who won’t act on it.
2. Privatisation
3. Gross obscene inequality
4. Attacks on the social safety net and its recipients.
5.offshoring of manufacturing and conseq
uent loss of revenue and income for people.
Bread and Wine
Round about the city rests. The illuminated streets grow
Quiet, and coaches rush along, adorned with torches.
Men go home to rest, filled with the day’s pleasures;
Busy minds weigh up profit and loss contentedly
At home. The busy marketplace comes to rest,
Vacant now of flowers and grapes and crafts.
But the music of strings sounds in distant gardens:
Perhaps lovers play there, or a lonely man thinks
About distant friends, and his own youth.
Rushing fountains flow by fragrant flower beds,
Bells ring softly in the twilight air, and a watchman
Calls out the hour, mindful of the time.
Now a breeze rises and touches the crest of the grove-
Look how the moon, like the shadow of our earth,
Also rises stealthily! Phantastical night comes,
Full of stars, unconcerned probably about us-
Astonishingly night shines, a stranger among humans’
Sadly over the mountain tops, in splendour.
I was going to say that it looks like only 10% of voting Hamiltonians are real nut jobs. Though enough of them are stupid enough to elect the former president of the act party as a councillor.
I see google are being evil again. This time forcing gmail users into a single email sign on for all their accounts. Typically, there is a work around (aren’t they nice?).
The Queensland State Government is going so far to the right in its attacks on workers and civil rights that political actions against it must be on the order of the day soon. The Attorney General, Jarrod Bleckie, is passing laws that he fully expects to be overturned by the High Court, but doesn’t care. Queensland Unions, who are openly referred to by the baby faced authoritarian as “union thugs” have a real fight on their hands to survive. Having been nice enough to give them fascism for banana benders part one via Bjelke-Petersen, what can we do to help save them from part 2?
I had a Freewiew before going digital in my area, Whanganui.Since the change over, i keep getting regular interference on all channels.Yet after twelve in the evening it clears up, as opposed to clear viewing prior to the change over.
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A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
It's been a great week of progress: we've celebrated Children's Day, we've made communities safer with 1800 new police, and we've seen almost 90% of eligible schools take up Government funding to scrap school donations - taking pressure off the families of more than 416,000 students. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The Government will further strengthen New Zealand’s wood processing sector as part of our focus on ‘value over volume’ in our forestry industry, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones will today meet with forestry representatives in Northland to signal new measures to help the ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark and Minister for Climate Change James Shaw have announced the release of a Defence Climate Change Implementation Work Plan, titled Responding to the Climate Crisis: An Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a series of recommendations based on the 2018 New Zealand Defence Assessment, The ...
A medium-scale adverse event has been declared for the South Canterbury district, which will see up to $50,000 in funding made available to support farming communities which have been significantly affected by recent heavy rain and flooding in the area, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two weeks of solid rain ...
Thank you Professor Juliet Gerrard and your team for the comprehensive and extremely helpful report and recommendations. Thank you too to all the stakeholders and interested parties who have contributed ideas and thinking to it. “Making best practice, standard practice” is a great framework for change and the action plan ...
The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealandreport, released by her Chief Science Advisor ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
I want to talk about one of the most pressing issues in our national life: the housing crisis and the poor performance of our cities. The argument I want to make to you is that generations of urban land use policy have lacked a decent grounding in economics. The consequences ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Ethnic communities will be able to plan and deliver more community initiatives thanks to an increase in Government funding, Minister for Ethnic Communities Hon Jenny Salesa said today. “Ensuring Aotearoa New Zealand is a place we can all be proud to call home has been a key priority of our ...
Healthier waterways, better productivity and farmer wellbeing are front and centre in a new project involving more than 1000 Southland farmers and growers. Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor today announced that the Thriving Southland Change and Innovation Project is the first region-wide extension programme supported by the $229 million Sustainable ...
Work to look after nature and restore freshwater quality in Te Hoiere/Pelorus River catchment is getting a significant boost, thanks to new Government funding support Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Canvastown today. “Every New Zealander should be able to swim in their local river without getting sick, and ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. “The new criterion was included this year. It emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
Onslow College in Wellington will get 20 new classrooms for more than 400 students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The much-needed investment will relieve growth pressure the school has been experiencing for some time. Seven existing classrooms which have deteriorated over time will also be replaced, bringing the total ...
More than 250 young New Zealanders will add international experience to their education, thanks to the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) and Latin America (PMSLA), Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This round of scholarships supports 252 recent graduates or current students to undertake study, research or internships ...
Consumers will benefit from a more competitive, transparent retail fuel market as a result of changes the Government will be making in response to the findings of the Commerce Commission’s study of the fuel sector. “We accept the Commission’s findings and, as the Prime Minister has said, we’re ready to ...
Five new cancer medicines have now been funded this year, meaning thousands of people have more treatment options PHARMAC has today announced that it has approved two new medicines for funding – fulvestrant for breast cancer and olaparib for ovarian cancer. This follows earlier decisions on advanced lung cancer treatment alectinib, ...
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says the Government will consider making changes to local electoral legislation before the 2022 elections to fix the problems that have arisen where elections are settled by a coin toss. The Minister says the recount process in the Murupara- Galatea ward at ...
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Subject to completion of the Parliamentary treaty examination process, New Zealand will sign up to Annex VI of MARPOL, an ...
New legislation to transform our urban areas and create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities will tomorrow be introduced to Parliament, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said. “The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities the tools it needs to partner with councils, communities, mana whenua and private developers to ...
Today’s launch of He taonga te Tamaiti: Every child a taonga: The Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 provides the foundation for long-lasting changes to early learning, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Early learning will be one of the Government’s top education priorities going into 2020,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
Those reflecting on the aftermath of the White Island eruption might take a little time to study this article in Discover Magazine by Erik Klemetti.Published in August 2012, he asked the question “How Dangerous is Visiting New Zealand’s White Island?” and offered some sober opinions.On the inherent risk ...
The Chief Ombudsman is launching a follow up investigation to see whether government agencies have improved their Official Information Act compliance. ...
How to watch the Rugby World Cup? How to make spaghetti bolognese? Who is James Charles? Google just released what New Zealanders looked for the most in 2019, and it says a lot about us.Another year on the internet, another year of Google searches you hope nobody excavates. Until now!Our Google ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Burgin, Research associate, Monash University The NSW Law Reform Commission will hand down its final recommendations for a reformed definition of sexual consent in the new year, following draft proposals in October. The commission’s inquiry is largely the result of the ...
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says he welcomes the government’s announcement of $12 billion in extra infrastructure investment, including $6.8 billion for new transport projects, and looks forward to working with the government to ensure that a fair ...
“We’re delighted with today’s announcement of $12 billion in new capital investment by the Government,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Brymer, Reader, Psychology with Outdoor and Adventure studies, Leeds Beckett University Review: Finke: There & Back, directed by Dylan River The Finke Desert Race takes place in the harsh desert environment near Alice Springs. Scores of motorbikes and cars are raced ...
Climate action organisations 350 Aotearoa and Coal Action Network Aotearoa commend New Zealand’s Crown Research Institutes’ phase-out of coal burning in their operations, with the final two users, Plant and Food Research and Landcare Research decommissioning ...
The government’s books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion.The government will borrow $12 billion to spend on transport, schools, hospitals and investment in the regions over the next five ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blanche Verlie, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Sydney I moved to Sydney less than five weeks ago and the city has been shrouded in smoke haze on and off since then. I joke this is my “Sydney hazing” but it’s only now ...
Curator and art writer Justin Paton on the process of writing McCahon Country, homesickness, and uncontemporary art. Plus his top tips for art writers. Justin Paton is theauthor of the award-winning How to Look at a Painting. A book so popular it inspired aTV series of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacob Blokland, Palaeontology PhD Candidate and Casual Academic, Flinders University A new species of extinct penguin has been discovered. It’s helping us bridge the gap between modern penguins and their counterparts from the Paleocene epoch – the 10-million-year period following dinosaur extinction. ...
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is placing greater controls on the use of the herbicide paraquat. Paraquat is the first active ingredient on our priority chemicals list, announced in October 2018, to be reassessed. ...
Today the Government revealed its plan to spend an extra $12bn on infrastructure projects following public pressure for them to do more. Irrigation New Zealand supports government investment to ensure New Zealand is future-ready however, the organisation ...
The grim statistics set out in the Child Poverty Monitor report issued this week underscore yet again the need for bolder action to reduce entrenched inequality, Peter Malcolm, spokesperson for the income equality project Closing the Gap, said ...
The Public Service Association strongly supports Labour MP Ginny Andersen’s bill to give three days paid leave to parents who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth. ...
From Waipukurau to Waipawa, Hastings to Havelock North, how did a humble crumbed meatball reach cult status? Fiona Fraser investigates the origins of this east coast delicacy.I was halfway out the door of a client’s premises when he bellowed “Have you had lunch? I’m just nipping out to get some ...
Back in September, when the NZ Herald issued its supplement “Mood of the Boardroom”, Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi featured as the politician who most impressed top chief executives on ministerial performance. The newspaper reported it was the first time in the history of the Mood of the Boardroom survey that ...
"The Government’s announcement that an additional $12 billion capital will be available to address backlogs in our deteriorating schools, hospitals and rail infrastructure and for regional development is welcome news and sensible policy", ...
Whether tourists should have been allowed to visit Whakaari-White Island in the past and whether tourists should be allowed to visit in future are among the questions inevitably raised in the aftermath of the tragic volcanic eruption this week. Concerns have extended beyond the operations of White Island Tours, which ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
Responding to the Minister of Finance’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update , which includes a $900 million deficit for the next financial year, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “At at time of high commodity ...
The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) is pleased the Waitangi Tribunal’s report has agreed that the Crown was correct to recognise it as the appropriate body to hold the settlement mandate for Maniapoto. ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
Government books are now expected to go into the red this financial year with a forecast deficit of $900 million, down from a Budget forecast surplus of $1.3 billion. ...
In this hard-hitting episode of current affairs show OTR 24/7, lady journalist Leonie Hayden comes face to face with one of society’s most elusive figures.“Hey baby, show us ya [insert weird word for body part here]!”To many women and non-binary folks this is a common greeting, usually delivered with great ...
Start learning te reo Māori anywhere in Aotearoa with this list of introductory, part-time classes.‘Learn te reo Māori’ is at the top of a lot of people’s New Year’s resolutions. The problem is, it can be hard to enrol after the new year, which is typically when resolutions are meant ...
Last year, we published the anonymous account of a Koru Club member who was denied their mandated birthright entry into the Koru Club. This Koru Club member returns to give us their harrowing, haunting account of the day the Koru Lounge went dry.“Bye, bye miss American Pie. Drove the Chevy ...
A Labour MP’s private members bill which allowed for bereavement leave for a miscarriage has been withdrawn and resubmitted , in seemingly a deliberate attempt to exclude post-abortive women who may also be suffering grief and loss. It will receive its ...
The police are not ruling out starting the recovery operation today for eight people missing after the Whakaari / White Island eruption but say safety comes first ...
Power Play - The latest report on moving the bulk of Auckland's port operations to Northport will be released tomorrow, but Jane Patterson asks whether it will be possible for Cabinet to press ahead prior to next year's election. ...
Toby Manhire gazes back at the last almost-10 years in New Zealand politics, leadership and tragedy.When I returned to New Zealand after 11 years away in 2010, John Key had been prime minister for a couple of years and it felt like he’d been prime minister forever. He was a ...
The Chief Ombudsman is launching a new inquiry into whether central government agencies have addressed any weaknesses identified in a landmark investigation five years ago. ...
Op-Ed by Kaveh Zahedi and Van NguyenKaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).“The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary General at the opening of the first SDG Summit, a quadrennial event for ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Whakaari/White Island eruption Gordon Campbell: On the Whakaari/White Island eruption MIchael Lueck (Stuff): Should NZ look again at risky adventure tourism? Brook ...
The senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, is welcoming a report from the Medical Protection Society which provides further evidence of doctor burnout and high workload pressures. ...
Responding to reports of New Plymouth District Council’s $1.6 million rates surplus, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “A rates surplus means the Council has taken more from the people of New Plymouth than it needs. It ...
The fatal eruption on Whakaari on Monday may force the tourism industry to review its current rules, writes tourism professor Michael Lueck.The official death toll is six and eight people are still missing, presumed to have died, in Monday’s volcanic eruption at Whakaari/White Island. The people on the island were ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) is calling out Police for stepping up their intimidation campaign of licenced firearms owners as the deadline for firearms compensation draws near. ...
Belong Aotearoa alongside leading organisations working in the resettlement (refugee background) sector is calling on the New Zealand Government to play a greater role in responding to the international refugee crisis, ahead of the Global Refugee Forum ...
Protest groups and human rights supporters are preparing to “unwelcome” bulk carrying cargo ship ‘Federal Crimson’ as it arrives in Dunedin on Wednesday. The ship has carried over 50,000 tonnes of ‘conflict phosphate’ from the non-self ...
Tower boss quits after turning around $6.3m loss with risk-based insurance pricing strategy; and Prime Minister meets with rescuers of Whakaari / White Island survivors. ...
Should we modify the process of government formation to ensure no future incoming PM has the authority and mana of their office compromised from the outset? ...
A petition to Government that would see e-scooters and other personal transport devices banned from New Zealand footpaths is to be presented to the Honorable Tracey Martin, Minister for Children and Seniors on Thursday, 12th December, at 1.00 pm on the steps ...
All eyes today will be on Treasury and Finance Minister Grant Robertson when he releases his "significant infrastructure spending package" at 1pm today. ...
The Auckland Rotuman Fellowship Group Incorporated (ARFGI) is marking today’s International Human Rights Day to draw attention to the NZ Government’s discriminatory policy of only supporting selective Pacific Island languages. ...
Western Australia’s move to legalise voluntary assisted dying continues a worldwide trend supported by a clear majority of New Zealanders, the End-of-Life Choice Society’s President, Dr Mary Panko, said on Wednesday. ...
School support staff have voted to accept collective agreement offers from the Ministry of Education, with the Living Wage of $21.15 as the new minimum pay rate. ...
Our pop culture superfans at The Real Pod look back at the local celebrities who defined the last decade in Aotearoa.If there’s any group of people we can turn to in these uncertain times, it’s celebrities. And lucky for us, New Zealand suddenly seems to have heaps of them. The ...
Wellington’s newest local body political party, the Wellington Party , welcomes the news that if returned to Government, the National Party will accelerate the construction work on the proposed duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel. Party President, David Lloyd, ...
Sweeping law changes proposed by an official inquiry into last year's election and foreign interference have taken too long to be of use for next year's election. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Lecturer and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Mosquito-borne disease is a concern for health authorities around Australia. Each year, thousands fall ill to Ross River virus disease caused by mosquito bites. Tracking mosquito populations can help us respond ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elaine Pearson, Adjunct Lecturer in Law, UNSW As we approach the last days of the decade, it’s important to reflect on the fight for human rights, the setbacks and successes over the past year in Australia and around the world. Our list ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kettlewell, Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Economics Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney Every year private health insurers raise premiums and every year we rue the hit to our hip pocket. This cycle is heavily regulated: insurers apply to the health minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Johnston, Lecturer in Primary Education, Southern Cross University It’s the end of the first year of school for many children and proud parents. Some children may be reading quicker than their classmates, others slower; some can add double digits, others only ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide For the thousand or so farmers in Canberra in the past week venting their anger at the federal government, it’s the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to blame for destroying their livelihoods and forcing ...
A collective of former refugee leaders, resettlement, human rights, faith-based and humanitarian organisations have signed and sent an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The letter asks the Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland As bushfires rage and our cities lie shrouded in smoke, climate change is shaping as a likely topic of conversation at the family dinner table this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeff Seadon, Senior Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
Open mike 12/10/2013 
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step right up to the mike…
I am not making this up.First few lines of the Dail Mail write up:Boris Johnson's exasperated media minder swore on live TV today as the PM refused to speak to Good Morning Britain before trotting into a fridge as he started an early milkround in Yorkshire. Piers Morgan was visibly ...4 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz I was in Switzerland recently and discovered that they haven’t ...11 hours ago
Back in 2015, then Ombudsman Beverley Wakem conducted a review of the OIA, Not a game of hide and seek. The "review" was a whitewash, which found no need for legislative change, and instead criticised the media and requesters - which destroyed Wakem's reputation, and undermined that of the Office ...14 hours ago
Sheer Loopiness: Many of those expressing bemusement at the antics of these #turnardern effacers, were convinced that they were yet another expression of the National Party’s increasingly spiteful anti-government propaganda campaign. They marvelled at the oddness of the perpetrators’ mindset and questioned the common-sense of allowing the rest of New Zealand ...16 hours ago
I love data. It’s amazing the sort of “discoveries” I can make given a data set and computer statistical package. It’s just so easy to search for relationships and test their statistical significance. Maybe relationships which ... 2 days ago
by Daphna Whitmore Last week France passed a law that equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. It is based on a definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of Israel such as: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist ...2 days ago
The state of the United Kingdom is fractured, torn up, shredded. The Empire is gone, it died a long time ago. And yet, the country is still tracking with a lead in favour of the ones who play to the ingrained, class-bound division for political gain. It is a disgrace ...4 days ago
It should be obvious by now but let’s be clear: The same folk who regularly traffic in disinformation, misinformation and “fake news” are also those who most strongly claim that their freedom of expression rights are being violated when moves are made to curb hate speech (as opposed to protected ...4 days ago
“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. A long and bitter court feud between former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and Jordan Williams has been settled, with an apology and compensation from Williams. On Tuesday, Craig sent out ...6 days ago
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...7 days ago
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...1 week ago
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...1 week ago
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New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...10 hours ago
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...1 week ago
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...9 hours ago
Those reflecting on the aftermath of the White Island eruption might take a little time to study this article in Discover Magazine by Erik Klemetti. Published in August 2012, he asked the question “How Dangerous is Visiting New Zealand’s White Island?” and offered some sober opinions. On the inherent risk ...2 hours ago
The infrastructure industry is pleased, but wants more detail. ...6 hours ago
The Chief Ombudsman is launching a follow up investigation to see whether government agencies have improved their Official Information Act compliance. ...6 hours ago
How to watch the Rugby World Cup? How to make spaghetti bolognese? Who is James Charles? Google just released what New Zealanders looked for the most in 2019, and it says a lot about us.Another year on the internet, another year of Google searches you hope nobody excavates. Until now!Our Google ...8 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Burgin, Research associate, Monash University The NSW Law Reform Commission will hand down its final recommendations for a reformed definition of sexual consent in the new year, following draft proposals in October. The commission’s inquiry is largely the result of the ...8 hours ago
Will reform of the Resource Management Act and a brand new Future Generations Act put an end to wind farm Nimbyism? ...9 hours ago
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says he welcomes the government’s announcement of $12 billion in extra infrastructure investment, including $6.8 billion for new transport projects, and looks forward to working with the government to ensure that a fair ...9 hours ago
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Jim Kayes says Ian Foster was a good steady first-five for Waikato who could make a good steady All Black head coach. ...11 hours ago
Back in September, when the NZ Herald issued its supplement “Mood of the Boardroom”, Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi featured as the politician who most impressed top chief executives on ministerial performance. The newspaper reported it was the first time in the history of the Mood of the Boardroom survey that ...12 hours ago
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Interesting Simthsonian article on how climate change will impact on different parts of the world:
It also links to an interactive map where you can access graphs showing prediction of trends for each country, including NZ.
PS: This Open Mike had yesterday’s date (11/10/2013) in the title – I changed it.
Dropped in my voting form to the Wgtn City Council yesterday. Preety crowded in there! Good to see that we don’t have total apathy in local elections : )
Two things come immediately into my mind when I hear a businessman has been fighting his corner.
what happens to innocent folk who dont attract the attention of a monied person either through their networks or publicity?
And how many brown people have had a businessman get in behind them?
Now%20lets%2520add%2520some%2520context%253A%2520where%2520the%2520’Maori%2520Economy’%2520was%2520valued%2520by%2520Pita%2520Sharples%2520in%25202010%2520as%2520being%2520worth%2520%252437B.%2520Therefore%2520’being%2520brown’%2520and%2520not%2520being%2520supported%2520by%2520’businessmen’%2520is%2520now%2520a%2520much%2520more%2520interesting%2520question%2520than%2520it%2520used%2520to%2520be.
[translated]
Now lets add some context: where the ‘Maori Economy’ was valued by Pita Sharples in 2010 as being worth $37B. Therefore ‘being brown’ and not being supported by ‘businessmen’ is now a much more interesting question than it used to be.
[lprent: The old plugin is now back in place. We will see if that is in fact the problem. ]
lol 😈
Same thing happened with an an xtasy comment last night/early hours.
It’s been happening to a few people, I think Lynn mentioned a bug in the edit function.
Edit: but doesn’t seem to be affecting me 🙂
Cheers, lprent.
Been wondering the same. All the evidence indicates that justice is only available to those with money in NZ.
Especially now thanks to the changes to the public defenders service.
Cunliffe on the Nation right now.
The Nation , with the luvly Rachael;
David Cunliffe on the TPP,
-Pharmac protection “bottom line”
-IP protection important consideration
on the RBA,
-governor should have independence
-although “open minded”
-as Parker has indicated a preference for a ‘monetary committee’ (export, manufacturing, union representation for example)
-with the independence intended by the RBA remaining.
on Mining,
-“responsible balance between economic and environmental objectives”
on relationship to the Greens and Green policy
-“my job as leader of the Labour Party is to maximize the Labour Party vote”.
NB: Japan entering the TPP is of huge benefit to the US (and Japan) with the US farm lobby endorsement. Consequently, agriculture will be the most problematic negotiating issue.-Groser.
Cunliffe gave her a good going over, I thought. She needs better questions.
The usual trick of asking the same question again when it has been decisively answered so as to create doubt about the answer does not appear to work against Cunliffe.
Yes, he revealed her weaknesses, not being a fawning, drooling Tory ‘bloke’ and all that. although, drooling is not exclusive to Tories. 😀
I guess interviewers have got so used to politicians not answering questions directly that they don’t know what to do when one of them does.
They pause, rinse, and repeat.
This one?
http://www.3news.co.nz/Cunliffe-promises-a-red-Labour-Party/tabid/1348/articleID/316957/Default.aspx
Good onya, David Cunliffe!
DC on TPPA at 7’41’
“… sorry, Rachel, you are putting words in my mouth on a very important matter. We will do what anybody … give you a corporate analogy … if we were a company looking at a joint venture, we would have to do due diligence on the contract. The Labour Caucus will do due diligence on the TPPA when we get it.”
This got a resounding VERY loud applause in our lounge.
A striking contrast with some other current, and former, party leaders. Doing well.
Brilliant stuff in there.
Substance, description, explanation, clarification, counter-response.
Just superb. He will be a fine Prime Minister for NZ. We can hold our heads high for having someone who thinks and speaks so clearly among leaders of other larger, richer and more powerful countries.
composure
I laughed out loud (actually, out loud) when he responded to a journo’s question after his CTU conference speech by saying something like, “I think you’ve asked that question based on what you assumed I was going to answer to an earlier question, but since I didn’t, it’s not relevant.” It was fucking beautiful.
No No weaknesses. She was excellent but Cunliffe’s brilliance outshone her and she accepted it graciously. It was like a good hard talk interview and he responded with super competence.
If you need inspiration, go see it on TV3 Nation.
I’d love to see Key in the same kind of interview. Oh that’s right I did see it and he tried to treat her like a silly girl, but she persisted and he just came across as a buffoon blithering on about fish or something.National supporters must have cringed.
Well done Cunliffe! you have my vote…and many others I reckon.
Cunliffe: “due diligence……due diligence…….” – the expertly piped cream on a very digestible cake served up by a man obviously cut out for the job.
Rachel Smalley: repeatedly – “Right OK” – on to the next question.
Which means he triumphed.
I suspect Rachel Smalley finished that interview with advanced respect for her subject.
Which is to say – quoting Rodel @ 4.1.1.1.2 – “…and many others I reckon.”
Is this why our current gig is Little Churchill World Leader ?
And just in case you haven’t seen it go to..
..http://www.3news.co.nz/Cunliffe-promises-a-red-Labour-Party/tabid/1348/articleID/316957/Default.aspx
and show your mates/family/etc..anybody who is wavering ( and your nat friends too.
I grew up in Napier when the twin cities had two proper newspapers (Napier Daily Telegraph and Hastings Herald Tribune) that covered local affairs and the local ZB station broadcast the bulk of it’s daytime content from a local studio. I remember my parents listening to the (bi-weekly? weekly?) hour long discussions with the mayor and of all sorts of discussions about local issues. There was even, briefly, regional TV breakouts on TVNZ.
Now, the merged “newspaper” Hawkes Bay Today is barely a step up on the free rags. Local popular state radio is but a distant memory. TV treats the provinces the same way it treats stories from the third world – it takes either a disaster or a crime for a story to be covered.
When people talk about the decline in interest and participation in local body elections some blame excessive centralisation making voting irrelevant, some blame a disinchanted, lazy and uninformed public. But it seems to me that the eviscerating of local outlets for democracy has to be a major candidate in destroying avenues for communication and reducing interest and knowledge in local issues and candidates. The decline of voting in local body elections is worrying evidence of the hollowing out of our democracy and the slow death of civic society – and it paves the way for democracy to die not with a bang, but with the whimper of a corporate takeover.
+!00 Sanctuary
If I were king for a day…
…Every channel or radio station that broadcasts in New Zealand ought to be required to devote 5% of it’s 7am-7pm airtime to commercial free, civic broadcasting (I would call it the “civic quota”). No exceptions. Everything from MTV to the shopping channel to the History Channel to the ZB network to Mai FM. They would be required to use it to cover local and national political issues of importance to their target audience.
“The decline of voting in local body elections is worrying evidence of the hollowing out of our democracy and the slow death of civic society…”
The slow death of civic society also shows in the fact that the right no longer offers any kind of view of a civic society, just an ongoing series of economic rationalisations.
Life in the right’s vision of the future:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-red-cross-launches-emergency-food-aid-plan-for-uks-hungry-8872496.html
“…The Red Cross will this winter start collecting and distributing food aid to the needy in Britain for the first time since the Second World War, as welfare cuts and the economic downturn send soaring numbers of people to soup kitchens and food banks across Europe…”
The UK’s economy is the sixth biggest in the world.
Tweedle-dum Cameron won’t care, and neither does his cooker-cutter tweedle dee counterpart in New Zealand, John Key.
These dreams have gone
http://www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_c86Gwsb5LY
personally, when I get the time, I glean more information about the intricacies of the local community from reading the “free” weekly newspapers, when I have the time. (gotta pile awaiting)
Did you know…smurfs wear Phrygian caps ! 😀
and, and, that David Cunliffe received the “All the better for a Metaphor” Award on Te Radar’s Best Bits
I worked at the DT (Napier) for 33 years and also 3 years at Hawke’s Bay Yesterday.
You are dead right Sanctuary. HBT is a nothing newspaper. When I moved to that paper we were printing 32,000 papers. Now, just on 20,000 (I hear from ex workmates).
What does that tell you about the MSM. And yes the free papers keep you informed of the local news. Don’t even bother buying a printed paper. Heil the freepress. TS, TDB et al.
Cheers
You would probably know my uncle and my mother, they worked there for years.
How is it that we fight for an uplift in pay in the order of 2-3% minimum pay increases by $0.40 hour and yet house prices are increasing by $1,500/ week in the burbs.
How can this dicotomy exist when money can be so hard to earn yet prices increase by so much?
Those rules only apply to labour attempting to work to earn wages/salaries.
The direct answer to your question is:
1) Unearned income accrued by capitalists on positive revenue assets allows them to finance additional asset purchases..
2) Banks willing to lend to those same capitalists at ever higher leverage on the assumption of continuing property asset price increases.
This is a particular worry with regard to the TPP negotiations. Both Tim Groser and Phil Goff cite Pharmac and intellectual property as matters of concern, but do not touch on wages, unions or social services. The worry is that “New Zealand” for them means the asset rich who think such an agreement will make them even asset richer. As long as wages, unions and social services go unmentioned, I fear that these people see the projected gains for themselves and their kind as well worth the cost of trashing the workforce and the poor even more than they are now trashed.
Yet CV as for many, money to survive has great value thru its scarcity yet thanks to the worlds monetary policies the same money is having its value greatly diminished. Why then can so few see this and there can be no “happy endings” or conclusion should the status quo continue.
This property boom that is currently in Auckland just protects many from seeing the issue as we all (property owners) are self congratulating ourselves for our rise in wealth.
Like you and a few others questioning this ability for independent banks to make money appear out of fresh air IMO is the real issue we face and an indirect attack to our sovereignty.
Exactly correct. Reminds me of the bankster Rothschild quote
“Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws!”
When do the local body election results get announced?
When do the local body election results get announced?
From late afternoon, I believe, and then continuing staggered throughout the evening. Polls are still open for another 15 minutes…
Viper:
Thanks for the info, is their a page when you can follow the results coming in?
You are very welcome, Brett. Where I am, Electionz is going to inform the local councils directly, and then it’s each councils responsibility to get the word out for their own results. Unfortunately I don’t know if for example the electoral commission is going to collate and publish all the results from across the country.
Just watched The Nation, and I’m wondering why Groser and that other peevish little minister Finlayson are so scathing of Labour. I think they’re afraid, very afraid.
Nah, they are simply playing the role they are very well paid to do [by the suckers, us], by perpetuating/propagating the fraud through the ability to write *the law*, on behalf of [name your family]
As long as the democrats retain strong support of the unions in the usa the tppa wont be as harsh to labour relations as if repubs had tge w house
“This is not a recession it’s a robbery.”
Public money being robbed into private hands. Selling our Power Companies for private profit.
“New reports warn of mass poverty and social decline in Europe”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/10/12/eurp-o12.html
“Hedge fund linked to George Osborne’s best man to make millions from privatisation of Royal Mail after ‘buying £50m stake’
“Far from being the unfortunate result of some unavoidable economic catastrophe, the social crisis in Europe is being consciously exploited by the continent’s financial and political elite to affect a major redistribution of wealth from the bottom of society to the top.”
Peter Davies met the Chancellor at Oxford University
Was Osborne’s best man when he married Frances Howell in 1998
Davies is a member of management committee for Lansdowne Partners
Hedge-fund firm has seen value of investment rise by £18million already
City fund made reported £100million from financial crash”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2455653/George-Osbornes-best-man-Peter-Davies-make-millions-Royal-Mail-shares.html
This is all happening and made infinitely worse by the privatisation of the Public’s wealth producing feudal inequality. Post WW11 Britain was socialist and poor and owed immense debts to the USA for the war effort, yet was still able to bring in a social welfare state, the NHS and public housing. One of these houses I grew up in. I can honestly say that not once was there ever a maintenance problem with electricals, plumbing, roofing or literally anything, the house I own now needs regular maintenance, though adequate its building standard leaves a lot to be desired.
Above the city Spivs are cashing in on the privatisation of the Royal Mail in collusion with Osborne.
My point is Key is out of the same stable as these looters ruining the once proud UK. Thatcher started it and Blair intensified it.
“In response to the crisis, the Red Cross plans to commence setting up soup kitchens for the poor in Britain for the first time since the Second World War. Welfare organisations had already revealed in May that more than half a million Britons are now reliant on food handouts, with the number expected to increase over the winter.”
“Tax Dodging Soars Under Tories To Seven Times Entire Bill For Unemployment Benefit”
http://thesiegeofbritain.wordpress.com/
What’s labour and Cunliffe going to do about 5billion$ of tax dodged every year here in NZ????
The welfare state that made us civilised is being destroyed by:
1. Tax dodging and govs who won’t act on it.
2. Privatisation
3. Gross obscene inequality
4. Attacks on the social safety net and its recipients.
5.offshoring of manufacturing and conseq
uent loss of revenue and income for people.
In a word economic fascism.
In a phrase economic social cannibalism! 🙂
One of the prices of Australia’s mining “boom”
As you look at these photos, bear in mind that the National Government is quite prepared to let Australian and Brazilian outfits do this in our national parks….
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/most-incredible-earth-scars/16808?image=2
Just so you know, the Superpit was first mined in 1893. Whole bunch of those mines are in Canada too. And they’re awesome
What meaning of awesome are you using here?
Huge or brilliant
Definitely both
Brilliant?
For whom?
Look a the handle name tkh20.
I thought the “shutdown”, had rid some of the trollops. Guess the autos are still up and roaming!
Well, the people that work there, the communities they help sustain and the people who use the minerals they produce…
Off the top of my head…
Test that the ajax edit backdated correctly.
Ok that seems to be working.
The Punk Singer
http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/film/the-punk-singer-is-a-london-film-festival-must-see-1-3138219
The Coming (Climate) Plague
http://www.trust.org/item/20131010012838-80m1x/?source=search
or
Bubonic if that tickles your fancy, or fills your pipe
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/madagascar-faces-possible-bubonic-plague-epidemic-experts-warn-8871958.html
“Iron Man” (through a lense Starkly)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24474336?
I’m NOT a costume
Although about Native Americans I’m sure we can find similar examples here.
a pair of nines and a pouch.
Bread and Wine
Round about the city rests. The illuminated streets grow
Quiet, and coaches rush along, adorned with torches.
Men go home to rest, filled with the day’s pleasures;
Busy minds weigh up profit and loss contentedly
At home. The busy marketplace comes to rest,
Vacant now of flowers and grapes and crafts.
But the music of strings sounds in distant gardens:
Perhaps lovers play there, or a lonely man thinks
About distant friends, and his own youth.
Rushing fountains flow by fragrant flower beds,
Bells ring softly in the twilight air, and a watchman
Calls out the hour, mindful of the time.
Now a breeze rises and touches the crest of the grove-
Look how the moon, like the shadow of our earth,
Also rises stealthily! Phantastical night comes,
Full of stars, unconcerned probably about us-
Astonishingly night shines, a stranger among humans’
Sadly over the mountain tops, in splendour.
Friedrich Holderlin
http://www.3news.co.nz/Hamilton-votes-in-support-of-fluoride/tabid/423/articleID/316964/Default.aspx
– Well done Hamilton for not getting sucked in by nutters
Too right chris.
I was going to say that it looks like only 10% of voting Hamiltonians are real nut jobs. Though enough of them are stupid enough to elect the former president of the act party as a councillor.
Unfortunately nutters and other assorted conspiracy theorists come from both sides of the political spectrum
C73 – Just drink it all down mate, I have no issue with you choosing to drink the raw product all day, that’s your choice!
In fact, just keep swallowing your toothpaste, go have some now, it’ll get you there sooner!
Get it in ya!
You mean dentists with somewhat of a self interest in not seeing fluoridation occur…..yes nutty about their incomes.
I see google are being evil again. This time forcing gmail users into a single email sign on for all their accounts. Typically, there is a work around (aren’t they nice?).
Once google have purchased all the “tech”, it will literally be a case of sign in, or you don’t get to use the service!
Welcome to www 2.0
/Internet off-switch!
The Queensland State Government is going so far to the right in its attacks on workers and civil rights that political actions against it must be on the order of the day soon. The Attorney General, Jarrod Bleckie, is passing laws that he fully expects to be overturned by the High Court, but doesn’t care. Queensland Unions, who are openly referred to by the baby faced authoritarian as “union thugs” have a real fight on their hands to survive. Having been nice enough to give them fascism for banana benders part one via Bjelke-Petersen, what can we do to help save them from part 2?
Ffs 2013 will see the end of analogue transmission, the digital service is quite frankly shit.
have we taken the cheapest technology available ! The vhs would be better.
I had a Freewiew before going digital in my area, Whanganui.Since the change over, i keep getting regular interference on all channels.Yet after twelve in the evening it clears up, as opposed to clear viewing prior to the change over.