Now who said this? “Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?”
Its not fair that the Lab NZF part of our government is signing away OUR future TO the gangs of Big business the tpp these people are just evil self serving organizations.
In your reality is it impossible for you to think that 200 years ago that some busness people got together and made a long term plan to dominate the worlds society .
They would have pooled there money together to use to manipulate nz society to benefit the one%. that is quite plausible to ECO Maori as these people will get more money and more control by these actions I know what data you have access to of mine Breaks fast people every bit ECO knows Ka pai water off a ducks back
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Yes if the government signs the TPP, future governments hand will be tied if they want to tackle housing, inequality, obesity, suicide, in a meaningful way,
Corporations already run the country.
The signing of the TPP will set that rule in stone.
I am concerned that NZ citizens will lose even more control of their sovereignty to big business once it is signed.
I am not party political on this.
Both 2017 Labour and 2017 National are parties that support the neoliberal globalist agenda of multinational corporations.
Are you concerned by the fact our sovereignty will be eroded?
I wanted the TPP signed in the first place so I’m well pleased with what Labours is doing , they’re putting NZs interests ahead of thier own ideology and should be congratulated for that
I’ll admit I was a little disappointed with the election result but Labour thus far has shown me to be a center-left government so I can live with that
What do the chapters say Ed.
You appear to be aware of all the information that the rest of us mere mortals have had kept from them.
What are the contents of these “chapters” you refer to and that so upset you? Please tell.
It really isn’t research, you know: finding articles you agree with on the internet. “What happened to Mexico” is at least as well described in the lyrics of Los Cuates De Sinaloa. NAFTA had nothing to do with that, although the USA certainly played its part.
That they be tied at all is problematic. Treaties between nations impose responsibilities, our courts constrain Parliament’s excesses. That I can live with. And defend.
Limited liability private business concerns, not so much. Hire a lawyer and go to court like everyone else.
At last night’s anti-TPPA-11 meeting in Auckland, Laila Harre said that there is no protection for NZ sovereignty over it’s labour/employment laws in the TPP agreement our government plans to sign on 8th March.
Harre has been researching and writing a thesis on it.
She says such agreements cannot protect our labour laws and this needs to be done through the ILO.
Under the TPPA that our government plans to sign, they could be sued for the labour regulations the government is planning to implement.
Harre and Kelsey say that if this agreement is signed, it will be used as a model for other trade agreements.
Kelsey said some in the labour caucus won’t to maintain such a model. But this model is in crisis, and we need to respectful campaign to shift the balance in the government to something more progressive.
National Day of anti-TPPA action on Sunday 4th March.
How will future governments hands be tied in relation to housing, inequality, obesity and suicide if the CPTPP is entered into ?
They can’t go against the agreement. So, say the NZ government decides to build 100,000 homes and the decide that the best way to do that would be to reinstitute the Ministry of Works and have it all done in house.
Well, they can’t do that. The FTAs, including the TPP, demand that the government put it out to tender instead. And even in doing that they can’t choose a NZ company over a foreign company in NZ’s interests.
But the contents of the treaty remain secret. And you’re happy about that?
You trust Labour and NZFirst to do what’s best for you?
But you didn’t vote for either.
Why not?
Why’s The Guardian teaming up with the government to “do a number” on Oxfam?
Some workers in Haiti used prostitutes = loss of government funding with The Guardian leading the charge? Wtf?
Anyone remember War on Want getting buried because they were “too political”?
Oxfam have released a number of good reports on poverty/inequity etc. Anyone want to tell me that’s not why they’re in the firing line?
And if Oxfam UK goes down the gurgler, then what of Oxfam NZ. And where in the name of fuck is the next NGO speaking out against the bullshit effects of global capitalism?
He don’t agree leaders of the world are responsible for the state its in …
And he don’t agree that putting children into poverty is abuse …
In Keys case … when he was creatively helping u.s.a corporations become Irish ones ….. the result was less money for things like schools and infrastructure in the u.s.a. ….. How much money did that deprive from the poor in the u.s.a ?
When Key got bailed out …. he took even more money from the long suffering u.s.a taxpayers .
And then the greedy dirt bag plugged New Zealand into the Tax Haven net-work …. The biggest cause of inequality and poverty in the world …. as high lighted by Oxfam.
Please tell us all how stealing from poor children is not child abuse James …
Explain yourself without looking like a dirt bag yourself …. if you can.
Unless I’ve missed something, there was no abuse of children. Some employees paid prostitutes for sex. No allegations of paying for underage sex have been made as far as I’ve read.
Now sure, it’s not the best look to be all “I’m here to help, and by the way, how much for a blow-job around these parts?”
But I guess we need to understand that no business in receipt of government assistance or support (like say an arms manufacturer) has employees who go to prostitutes. And if they did have, then government would of course, cut said company loose.
And next time a government MP goes to a prostitute and is sprung, they won’t just resign, but the government will throw a vote of no confidence against itself and a general election will ensue.
I think one of the things you’ve maybe missed, Bill, is that prostitution is often fine when everyone is on an equal power footing, but not so much when the customer is well resourced and secure but the “prostitute” is struggling to find basic essentials for life. Especially when the customer is also responsible for the distribution of those essentials.
There is always a power differential in prostitution, it’s why our law around prostitution is a crook. It makes little difference if the place is Haiti or if it is South Dunedin.
I did not see anywhere where they didn’t pay. Or curried favour for the client/john/user of prostitutes. Did you see that?
And the employees employments were terminated regardless of any power at play. I don’t know whether these guys “created” prostitutes due to peoples circumstances or paid pre-existing prostitutes.
But either way, it’s a howling bullshit excuse for government and whatever media lackeys to leverage in a way that could bury the entire organisation.
Do you believe for even one second that the following statement is meant to apply to any and all organisations government works with? Or just those those that “show it up” from time to time?
I suspect the outrage of the government is cynical as you suggest.
But given that some of your links refer to problem men flowing from one organisation to another, employment termination isn’t the solution it might seem at first glance.
Why should an org. be held accountable for the fact an ex-employee secured employment elsewhere? Are they meant to hire Private Dicks, monitor and surveil them?
Beyond not giving references (and there are potential issues with that in a NZ context), what the fuck are they legally capable of doing?
Well sure. Some poorly handled shit justifies sinking an entire org that just happens to be vocally critical….how?
No winks and nods to the EU from the UK to follow suit and rid themselves of an annoying thorn in the side? Just upstanding governments, aye?
Fuck. I’d hate to be running the next arms fair given this upstanding morality government’s discovered for itself!
The Guardian “reporting”. Anything new in those dozen pieces from the past two days that wasn’t previously reported last October? (I don’t think there is.) So, if not a campaign of righteous indignation and condemnation then, why now?
edit – and when did paying another person for sex become a definition for abuse?
edit no. 2 “Two staff members resigned before investigations were complete” Not much can be done about that.
I think if the UK outright begged the EU to do something at the moment, the EU would fucking laugh in their face. Seems to be the norm with the brexit negotiations.
edit – and when did paying another person for sex become a definition for abuse?
sounds like capitalism is always a free exchange between indiciduals, eh. No power imbalance there, even if one party has no shoes.
edit no. 2 “Two staff members resigned before investigations were complete” Not much can be done about that.
Except continue the investigations and deliver your findings to the police if something illegal turns up.
A mutual interest in silencing Oxfam requires no begging on any party’s part. And there’s been a fair amount of this silencing of dissident opinion lately. (Yes, I know you disagree on that front)
Prostitution and power imbalances exist right here in NZ. You against the legalisation of sex work? You think Johns should be jailed or some-such?
Oxfam has referred cases to the police.
But the headline case involves paying for sex in Haiti. That’s illegal in
Haiti. You think Oxfam should refer that to the English police? You think the UK would/should extradite someone to answer allegations of having paid for sex in Haiti?
You think Oxfam should refer that to the English police? You think the UK would/should extradite someone to answer allegations of having paid for sex in Haiti?
That depends entirely on the circumstances in which the transaction was made.
Frankly, if the person who was paid for sex felt coerced into it or received unfair advantage in aid, then either the local police or the British ones should be involved.
Prostitution and power imbalances exist right here in NZ. You against the legalisation of sex work? You think Johns should be jailed or some-such?
The reason sex work is legal in NZ is because it helps create safe spaces for sex workers. I’m unconvinced that it’s an apt metaphor for a disaster zone, expect inasmuch as NZ is an ongoing “free” “market” disaster itself.
It was a comparison, not a metaphor. But let me put it this way. Paying people for sex has been normalised. There are possible debates and arguments around that fact, but it’s the fact I’m pointing to.
So a guy paid someone for sex in a country where that’s not legal. And an entire aid agency that has a habit of producing “embarrassing” reports (from a government perspective) has its future put in jeopardy by government.
As I asked in my originla comment – anyone remember War on Want and how they were silenced and shut down? Because I’m seeing parallels, though the pre-text for hitting Oxfam is different.
“So a guy paid someone for sex in a country where that’s not legal.”
In addition to the comment I made below about minimising, let me put it another way. Your critique of the Guardian would carry more punch if you stopped minimising the rape culture and gender issues here.
If the argument is that the Guardian are blowing something out of proportion in order to manipulate the public against an NGO, you’re going to run up against the problems I outlines below. We don’t know what happened, and there are still issues to look at about what Oxfam did even if what you say about the Guardian is true.
As a sidebar, this is another example of how one can frame things that undermines other politics. If the problem here is that the Guardian has an agenda of supporting the status quo, that seems reasonable to critique. But one doesn’t actually have to do that by way of minimising the issues around the thing being badly reported.
Prostitution includes children doing sex work, including in NZ and irrespective of legislation. When we change the subject in that sentence, we can say that by definition someone using sex work services is committing rape if the worker is underage. Because of the nature of the patriarchy, that is very hard to address, so politically I think it’s better to not assume that no underage people were involved as a base line. If you think that’s daft, consider how many men can’t tell the difference between an 18 year old and a 15 year old. Or don’t want to. The way you are putting your arguments here makes that stuff less visible.
I haven’t followed the story much, but afaik there is at least question of whether underage people were involved.
Prostitution in Haiti is illegal. Again, given the nature of the powers involved, it makes more political sense to me to include the problems inherent in that. For instance a population that is eating mud pies due to lack of food is much more likely to have high numbers of women, transgender people, children and men doing sex work in conditions that are coercive.
That’s not necessarily a comment on *your politics, but on the framing that *might be going on here. For instance, this sentence,
“Now sure, it’s not the best look to be all “I’m here to help, and by the way, how much for a blow-job around these parts?”
seriously minimises the broader politics in the situation. The critique of the Guardian doesn’t require that.
Making a sardonic comparison with arms dealers and MPs likewise. I mean, I get it, it’s funny and pointed if one is looking at the hypocrisy of the establishment in the West. It’s less funny if one is looking at rape culture politics.
There hasn’t been any allegation of underage sex in what I’ve read.
And the comparisons to arms fairs/arms dealers and MPs and the reaction (obvious lack of) isn’t meant to be funny.
The critique isn’t about “supporting the status quo” but that a newspaper is quite overtly running a government’s political agenda out to the public. (Nothing new in that, I know)
As disgusting as it might seem, as authorities crack down on paedophilia in the developed world, predatory paedophiles are now going to the developing world to gain access to children. One of their preferred methods is to join a children’s charity
Shocking revelations on BBC’s Newsnight on Friday 9 February saw former Oxfam head Dame Barbara Stocking admit that she “knew for years” after an internal Oxfam investigation that sexual exploitative behaviour has been going on at Oxfam. The behaviour included hiring prostitutes in earthquake-torn Haiti – who may have been underage – and downloading illegal material. It was revealed that the aid workers involved in such acts moved from aid job to aid job with spotless references.
Yep. I think it’s safe to assume that there is probably abuse going on, rather than not. We can wait for an investigation for details about specific people, but in terms of discussing the general politics, I can’t see that Oxfam should be given the benefit of the doubt as an organisation. No-one should.
You suggesting I google Oxfam workers in Haiti paying for underage sex? Or what? Presumably what I’ll get will be in line with the dozen or so links I provided in my original comment.
none of that addresses the issues I am raising, and that you haven’t yet read more widely doesn’t mean the issues aren’t pertinent.
If you google Oxfam Haiti underage you will find some reading.
“And the comparisons to arms fairs/arms dealers and MPs and the reaction (obvious lack of) isn’t meant to be funny.”
Take out the word funny then, and reread it. The point stands.
“The critique isn’t about “supporting the status quo” but that a newspaper is quite overtly running a government’s political agenda out to the public. (Nothing new in that, I know)”
Good to have the clarification, but again, it avoids the point I was making.
I’m not “avoiding” your point so much as simply not focusing on it. You and who-ever can look at all this through lenses of gender, but you can’t reasonably insist that everyone else does.
A publication running government attack lines. Where we seen that before?
If the pieces focused on the men, who are known, and investigated their past behaviours, allegations against them, positions held and which other orgs money they had spent for personal gratification (though I think it’s reasonable to assume it was their own money and on their own time), then that would be entirely different to what is actually happening.
These men having paid for sex is being used to attack and silence an organisation that is a reasonable and vocal critic of governments and their policies. And media are willfully running governments attack lines against that org. I think that’s hugely important.
What I’m suggesting is that you have an opportunity here to engage in some solidarity politics. That’s a good thing, because solidarity, but also it means you won’t get as much push back on your actual points because of the framing. At the moment I’m just seeing dismissal and minimising, so I’m not convinced this is simply choosing not to focus on it. Looks more like discounting it.
There’s a limit to how much support can be given to strategies that misuse gender and rape culture issues to address this kind of issue. That’s not new either.
Sorry Bill … the Guardians blitz of stories, combined with James …. our king of grubby toilet sex using the word “bad” … lead me to assume it was something like underage prostitutes …. and memories of UN sex trafficking sucked me in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse_by_UN_peacekeepers
That it is not …. shows a contrived Guardian hit job ….and pathetic excuse for the Tory Tax haven party to threaten Oxfams funding.
James hypocrisy and criticism of Oxfam ……….. stands in stark contrast to his excuses and support of Rugby players abusing sex workers … or rooting strangers in public toilets…. while being in a relationship.
‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it’ is his advice over toilets …. but sex with prostitutes is bad.
Indicating both his morals and taste …….. are located up his arse.
Hopefully good Poms …. decent ones like Corbyn …. fight against this Guardian / Tory abuse.
“An Associated Press investigation revealed in 2017 that more than 100 UN peacekeepers ran a child sex ring in Haiti over a 10 year period and none were ever jailed.”
I know that a lot of Maori leaders are saying you Ngati Porou sided with the crown during the turmoils of the early days of out country been turned into NZ why should we listen to you Eco Maori .
In reality when one is swimming and gets caught in a big a Rip tide if one does not swim with the rip tide one will get tired swimming against the tide that one drowns ka pai.
So If Ngati Porou Great leaders Ropata Wahawaha. Kohere Mokena. Potae Henare sided with other Maori and we killed all the settlors this would have given the neo liberals the power to up set the Killer Whale I.E rally Great Briton against Aoetearoa . She was the Superpower in those days we would have been at war for years a lot of tangata would have been lost and in reality we would not have any Mana now we would all be living on the Ruapehu the desert road and the neo librels would have total control .
IF we lett the government sign the tpp go have a look at America look at its roads look at its dams are running dry look at its ghettos look at its health systems look at its finance systems .
Is this what you want to leave behind for all OUR Mokos ECO MAORI says NO .
We are but caretakers of Papatuanuku for the very short time we are here OUR main job is to pass her on to OUR mokos in a good healthy state .
That is a good point Jack and Haley the state of our poor housing the Tidal wave of inequality instigated by nationals shonky and bills polices will still be rolling in for years . Ana to kai
Ka kite ano
Rock Rumble I know what to say I dont want this tpp to stuff up Aotearoa and I wont fall for the bait others are putting out there I get to chose what I talk about I will forgive them I see the bigger picture .Give us a sore face P.S the sandflys delete things out of my inbox for me IPCA files
Ka pai ka kite ano
All the best on your new journey Bill English.
Time for he tangata of Aotearoa to take a new path to ensure all OUR mokos are all treated equally time for New Zealanders to respect Papatunuku / Mother Earth and all her creatures .So all our mokos can be guarantee a health prosperous future.
Hilary & Jeremy some think that I should have deleted my e-mail encourageing Tops party to help me to stop this farcical ttp trade our sovereign away contract .
New Zealand doesn’t need that the whole world wants our food that is the best food on Papataunuku we are not even known in a lot of countries we just have to tell the World our beautiful story about our clear sky’s green grass ect.
I told people that I would hold them accountable for there actions .
I was disappointed with one policy I bit my tongue .Eco Wil not bite his tongue on this farcical trade our sovereignty away contract tpp. Anyway I’m not a person who does things behind-the-scenes or behind one’s back .I want everyone to know my view on the reality of the ttp . I new labour would find out /be informed from the sandflys about my e-mail to Gareth Morgan .This action of mine puts labour on notice don’t underestimate ECO MAORI . I still back Labour lead Government I just want some of Tops researched good policies to be legislated into our laws sooner or later he got us all talking about Maori receiving 1cent in the dollar for compensating for our land being stolen by the NZ Company he is a great good hounerable Kiwi who put his money were his mouth is . Ka kite ano
National’s legacy. Not content with elevating NZ to the top of domestic abuse statistics, they underfund support services so badly, under the banner of restructuring, no-one answers the phone.
I’m seeing some evidence by way of hit and run comments on other blogs that the dirty politics brigade is going to target Clark Gayford’s past as a way to attack JA and the government.
The Nats know this is a very, very dangerous strategy but I think they’re incapable of changing their ways, and it worked with Metiria Turei after all, even though they lost the election in the end.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Gayford’s past is in the spotlight soon.
These “innuendoes” have been going on for about three weeks with several kiwiblog commentators chiming in as if they know something. Farrar, as per his instructions, is letting it go and the shit slinging is continuing. Much like the innuendoes regarding Ardern’s mental health status pre election. There are a few specific commentators who kept that one up with regularity.
Depends what they are – and who says its dirty politics – what if its a #MeToo type issue?
(Not saying it is (nor have I read anything suggesting that this is the case – Just using this as an example of something in his past that isnt dirty politics and may indeed be a valid complaint from somebody).
If the revealing and dirt digging is being run by a political party and/or their proxies then it is dirty politics regardless of the nature of the accusations.
A self-described drug dealer claims to have supplied ecstasy and “speed” to a third party. It’s all part of a big conspiracy against journalists and writers, apparently.
While he hasn’t run for office hes certainly been front and centre, he accepted the wiro at Waitangi, has wrote some pieces about why we should vote for Jacinda
Hes not like Peter Davis or Bronagh Key in that respect so if you want to have influence you need to accept the negative with the positive
He’s had a bigger profile than Ardern over much of his career through his radio and tv work. I actually think he’s done a good job of being in the background considering. It doesn’t look like he’s going to use his new found fame to get tv jobs either.
And his wife, Mary English, who was also with him today when he resigned along with three of the sons.
Mrs English (or rather Dr) also featured in a number of fluff pieces in the Herald etc as well as Gayford about their relationships with their respective partners.
Mary English didn’t start doing much campaigning until late in the picture, she was fairly anonymous for much of Bills career (which is a shame as shes quite the catch)
And kids should be off limits up until they start chiming in so, as an example, criticism of Max Key is fine but criticism of Stephanie Key isn’t
As Maui says, Gayford has had a public profile for almost 20 years through his TV and radio work.
He left his safe TV and radio jobs about three years ago to take a gamble and follow his dream of creating his own TV series combining travel, fishing and food, and marine sustainability and protection – with Jacinda Ardern’s blessing and encouragement.
The third series of “Fish of the Day” is due to run here in NZ soon on Prime TV (it was previously on Choice TV) and in about 38 countries through the National Geographic’s network (up from about 20 countries for the previous two series).
Brilliant (award winning) photography, particularly underwater, by his partner in this venture – Mike Bhana, a NZer also known as ‘Mr Shark’ as one of the creators of the largest shark exhibition in the world – Planet Shark http://www.planetshark.com – a huge educational installation designed to promote awareness, conservation and understanding of sharks and our oceans. Bhana is also known for his photographic/video work in documenting the work of the Red Cross teams worldwide.
Gayford and Bhana also do a lot of other work in relation to marine sustainability and protection both in NZ and in the Pacific, eg the proposed Niue Marine Sanctuary and the annual Humpback Whale migration. The ‘Fish of the Day’ also focuses on these issues.
That place is a cinematographers dream. We've just been back again filming this years Humpback migration, even better footage to come pic.twitter.com/bD53erNlth
They have also done a series of short travel promotion videos for Niue – keeping in with the ‘father in law’! – Ross Ardern, NZ High Commissioner to Niue, soon to return to NZ and become the NZ Administrator of Tokelau, based in Auckland.
Gayford will be putting most of the above on hold to become the prime caregiver of their child, so he deserves credit for this.
[And no, Ed – I am not getting paid for this promo.]
Turei tried to paint the picture she had no other choice but to commit fraud. Which is only half a step away from telling NZ that her former partner and his family did bugger all to help support their daughter/granddaughter
When in fact Turei had massive support from them, they were always going to hit back at Turei. Of course, you do know who the grandmother is of Metiria Turei baby?
[if you’re going to make statements of fact about a public/political figure on this political blog, you need to back them up. I’d now like to see some credible back up for the statement that Turei had ‘massive support’ from her family. Putting you in moderation so I can pick it up when it comes through – weka]
For context, many lies have been told about Turei, and much of them were politically motivated. If you want to make claims in the future, don’t make me ask for back up, provide it at the time.
Turei claim of she had to commit fraud was BS. She received massive support (her own words were “really fantastic support”).
It belittled the sole parents who do not have the support of their family or friends.
Sorry, but Turei was caught out.
[You need to provide evidence of your assertion of fact. i.e. actual links that are credible, and quotes from those links that explicitly support what you are saying. Your reckons aren’t enough, nor are vague references to other commenters. The onus is on *you to do the work. Note that for future reference too in what I said in the other note. Please also read the Policy about wasting moderator time. I’ve asked twice now, don’t make me come back at it again because I’m more likely just to ban you – weka]
“I’d now like to see some credible back up for the statement that Turei had ‘massive support’ from her family.”
Quote from Turei: “I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.
If you want me to link to Turei admitting she did not have to cheat…well I can’t.
[good. Because now we can see the difference between what Turei actually said, and what you claimed as fact. People can then respond to your comment without having to deal with you asserting opinion as fact. From now on I suggest that at the time you either don’t assert fact but instead state clearly that things are in your opinion, or you put up a link and quote to back up the claim of fact. I don’t want to have to waste my time on this again, nor do I think it’s ok to have this cleared up a day after the conversation is moved on. You are allowed to express opinion on this site (within bounds), but misusing statements of facts to take part in a long attack on a public figure is not ok – weka]
Turei: I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.
You: When in fact Turei had massive support from them
There is nuance in what Turei is saying. Obviously she is sending a message to her family and friends that she really appreciated the support she received from. We don’t know how much of the ‘really fantastic support’ was financial, or of the financial support, what weekly or yearly amount that was.
We also don’t know what shortfall she had in her budget over time. That she had wealthy in laws who gave some financial support doesn’t mean that they were giving her what she needed.
The crux of the issue here is whether Turei needed the additional money from the benefit or not. Again, we don’t know the figures involved, so there is no way to assess this from a maths point of view. What we do know is that at that time, the benefit wasn’t enough to live on. It is widely held opinion that benefits were already at that time set below the poverty line in order to force people into work. For a single parent raising a child and going to law school there is very little space to take on extra work to supplement income. This is why most compassionate and knowledgeable people either understand what Turei did or actively support it.
Further, as Bill pointed out, financial support from family (or anyone) is technically considered income by WINZ and had she declared it she would have had a portion of her benefit taxed. Catch 22.
I don’t actually care who Turei’s in laws are. There are plenty of middle class beneficiaries whose families help in some ways but where the beneficiary still struggles and the family is either aware or unaware. This is neither news nor surprising. The only people that don’t understand this social reality are people who are ignorant. And far too many people are wilfully ignorant and want their bigotry to trump everything else. That is what I see in your series of posts. You are willing to believe second or third hand information and rumour instead of looking at what was most likely to have been going on.
John Campbell is a very compassionate man. But in this instance he did one of the worst things I have ever seen him do. He did that interview from a place of utter ignorance of the reality of being a beneficiary and he chose to amplify the voices of reactionaries rather than vulnerable people. He ran a line of sex workers and drug addicts might be justified in needing more income, but that law students with wealthy in laws aren’t. That is as fucked up as it comes, and I don’t care what someone’s politics are at that point, if they are abusing their position of power by promoting bludger memes. Campbell should be ashamed of himself.
You mean when the family contacted the press to say that her comments were ‘galling’
“The allegations were put to Turei by RNZ Checkpoint who said a family member told them the extended family found Turei’s comments about the hardships she faced in her 20s and her benefit fraud “galling”.
Fuck off James. Any financial aid from a family member would have been viewed as income, and if not declared to WINZ (so they could dock payments accordingly) then said aid becomes a matter of fraud.
Bill English a millionaire lives in a house owned by his trust … but claims $900 per week in rent expenses … the motive was pure greed …but he ADMITS nothing
James and our dirty politics goons go on and on about a solo mum getting a fraction of that to try and live on a benefit that the national party set at punitive poverty levels …..
James ADMITS his clearly dirty stinking morals …. underpinned by hypocrisy.
All good? As a species, we’ve made our bed. What a world we lived in. At least Binglish is gone (small mercies; anyone feeling for Paula?) – like Key, toddling off to those greener pastures…
If anything happens to me like the games the sandflys are playing with me on the roads every time I get in a vehicle.
That will turn ECO MAORI into a Martyr then YOU will have really big problems you create OK sandflys. Ana to kai
Bill English stepping down? Our caption contest had a sharp edge? Listen in to Radionz.
And if you have been doing so and heard Rod Oram, there seemed some very interesting points raised. Ad would have some comments about this I imagine. Trade with Russia and Fonterra. Possible unhappiness with Fonterras initiatives of recent years by shareholders.
NZ government revenue is highly leveraged Rod says. When times are good this works well, but when there is a drop gummint needs to be prepared to borrow and initiate activity? (and there is room to do so within conservative management policies.)
English goes on Tuesday 27 February. (I misheard and thought it was 22 Feb.) He referred to the weight of service hanging over the whole family for many years, and it was an emotional moment for him. (This is not verbatim and my take on it.)
Interesting. Let me put it this way, while I can imagine a world in which I could actually vote for Bill English, there just isn’t one in which I ticked a party led by any of his probable successors.
Well that was a long career and in years to come he’ll be remembered a bit like Jim Bolger, ‘for a Tory he could’ve been a lot worse’.
I can’t. He is a pseudo nice guy. He engaged lawyers and accountants to steal from us with a veil of legitimacy, he denied a housing cris, he denied poverty, he proppped up Ruth Richardson and her lot. he lied about a hole when he knew the real hole was 21b which he and Joyce hid from PREFU. ALL of his actions enabled the appalling attack and denigration on our vulnerable that is prevalent today. He oversaw a campaign designed to set kiwi against kiwi.
Anti gay marriage (an dcivil union) anti aborton
Fed farmers given adavnc enotice of the decision furthe rproving their place as a Nat lobby group (and NO they do not represent farmers in NZ, only about 15-20% of the despite what they Nats and media portray)
Nope, cannot envisage a world where he would ever have got my vote.
Former Prime Ministers MPs should always be allowed to do this when they step down. If they want to hang on until the next election that is fine but they shouldn’t continue past that.
Lange and Muldoon are two who hung on and on.
They both ended up as sad figures from the past hanging around the House. Lange admitted when he finally quit, in failing health, in 1996 that he should have gone earlier but he wanted the money.
Muldoon also stayed on, a thorn in his parties side, until he also stood down in ill health at the end of 1991 not long before his death.
Both should have gone long before their actual retirement date.
English has the time to try a new career. He is, after all, only just 56.
They haven’t cottoned on to the George Constanza method of success –
When you are a loser – just do everything the opposite and by a sort of logic you should then be sure of success, with your fingers crossed.
The sandflys master are really upset about me cutting there farcical Tpp to pieces they are playing all the low down moves today people here is a music video to show them ECO MAORI Mana
Technology annoying. Woogle have to have a noise start when going to the search line. It is something to do with some game they have devised. It’s not a toy so stop trying to amuse the punters will you developers; just stay out of my head.
Its supposed to be something to do with the winter olympics, a blizzard type noise or the sound the luge makes…who knows? Damned annoying, and until I muted things I thought my laptop had finally caught fire.
I know, I know – just had that same feeling myself. Have I got tinnitus, are there cicadas in the room, is there something collapsing behind the computer? Everyone is trying to be so clever these days. Its exhausting, I wish they would stop and spend 30 minutes having a drink and pondering about life. I think that’s what’s needed these days – more pondering time.
We have been pondering how to utilise the sadly deceased crickets invading our home at the moment. Deceased, because they are so numerous stepping upon them is unavoidable. Someone in the house just told the dogs they have to develop a taste for them…
What did you expect from Winston Peters?
Once an a*hole, always an a*hole.
And he is, supposedly the “Right Honourable” Winnie the Pooh.
That is one title that should definitely be dumped.
You might think exactly the same thing.
It certainly doesn’t say much for your character then.
I guess, if that is the way you really think, the second line of my comment must apply to you as well.
What sort of character makes banal platitudes when a mediocre leader with a history of failure is finally put out to pasture by his supposed colleagues?
The public “servant” was on double or treble what most NZers get for the better part of three decades, still felt the need to double-dip on his accommodation allowance, and during his career participated in some of the worst economic abuses of society’s most vulnerable we’d seen in a century.
Ka pai Duncan & Zane from Rock radio your segment with Johnny K the lawyer is a good service for he Tangata the kumara
never tells how sweet it is but I got the welcome home sirens again they are up set ECO gets blamed for lots of phenomenon Ka kite ano
Nelson, Chch, and Dunedin meetings still have a bit more time before they occur if you want to plan around them.
(If I had spotted this earlier, I would have posted it, but with all the news today and as a last minute notification… lol no. I hope plenty of you showed in Auckland!)
Image credit: Publish Peer Reviews. Illustration by David Parkins Scientific peer-review is often touted as a guarantee of the quality of published research. But how good is peer-review? Does it guarantee poor ...
If you like any article please help promote it (and the blog). Link to it on facebook and other social media, write about it anywhere or re-blog it. We’re very happy to have other people re-blog our material, all we ask is that you mention the original source and put ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women John Fenaughty is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. In a recent column Fenaughty suggested that school teachers should use students’ “correct names and pronouns (e.g., he, him, they, them, she, her, etc.)” ...
Heard this on Radio NZ this afternoon. Perfectly captures how I'm feeling just now.It's always good to find new music, though it would be nice to be hearing something celebratory. Even "Things Can Only Get Better" would be welcome, if it was accompanied by a thumping Labour victory. ...
by Don Franks Like New Zealand, Britain is officially a country of equal opportunity under the rule of law, with increasing hardship for those at the bottom. When there’s an election, and the party most obviously callous towards poor people wins, decent folks are dismayed and bewildered. “What the hell ...
UKanians went to the polls yesterday in early elections aimed at resolving the Brexit impasse. And they certainly have, delivering a huge majority to the Tories, and (barring internal rebellions of the sort which delayed Brexit) giving them the power to do whatever they want. And thanks to the UK's ...
by Karim Pourhamzavi Mass protests are occurring across Iran, taking place in over 100 cities. The protests have been sparked by the government’s cutting of fuel subsidies, a measure which caused fuel prices to double overnight. Mass protests are hardly new in Iran, but there is an important difference ...
What other song could we play as the UK's political rule book gets torn up and thrown away?Video courtesy of YouTubeThis post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Legendary in my own mind, I mean. All times are NZ, which is an hour10.00am (NZ) There's about an hour to go until the exit poll is released. At that point, half of the British voting public will devastated, and the other half celebrating wildly. Unless everyone is simply confused.Turnout seems ...
Forlorn Hope: When the call came down to make Corbyn unelectable, the Establishment's journalists and columnists rose to the challenge. Antisemitism was only the most imaginative of the charges levelled against the old democratic-socialist. There were many more and, sadly, they appear to have worked. Boris Johnson may not be much ...
"Rendezvous" by David Low, September 1939.DUNEDIN IS THE BIRTHPLACE of, for my money, the world’s greatest cartoonist, David Low. At the height of his powers, in 1930s London, Low’s cartoons represented the visual conscience of the civilised world. His most famous cartoon, “Rendezvous”, penned a few weeks into the Second ...
If you want to study propagandist techniques, you are typically told to study Dictatorships. Not unfair, but what’s always been more interesting to me is so-called “democratic” countries and their broader information systems.Why? Because people opt for it, even as they decry “totalitarian regimes!”.. It’s quite an eye ...
Introducing legislation which shits on the public's right to know seems to have become a daily occurrence for this government. Today's example is the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The bill establishes a framework for the establishment of "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) to hide debt from local government balance sheets ...
Below is the longlist of words and phrases generated in the korero phase of Public Address Word of the Year 2019, with some editorial moderation. Now it's time to vote. As you'll doubtless be able to see, you get three ranked choices. Use your power wisely. Or frivolously, whatever.As usual, ...
The University of Waikato and New Zealand Law Foundation have released a report today on the law around encryption in New Zealand. There's stuff in there about principles and values, and how proposed government policies to provide for "lawful access" by creating backdoors would destroy the trust which makes encryption ...
A ballot for two Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill (Stuart Smith) Social Security (Exemption for Ex Gratia and Compensation Payments) Amendment Bill (Willow-Jean Prime) Neither bill seems likely to be particularly controversial. This is ...
Earlier in the month, Bougainvilleans went to the polls in a landmark referendum to decide on whether they would remain part of Papua New Guinea or become independent. Yesterday, the results came in, with over 97% support for independence. The referendum wasn't binding - instead it means negotiations with the ...
by Daphna Whitmore This week 800 unionised bus drivers in Auckland were suspended from work after they refused to collect fares as part of a campaign of industrial action. Drivers working for Auckland’s largest bus company NZ Bus are asking for more pay and better working conditions after being offered ...
As details emerge about what unfolded on Whakaari / White Island two days ago, my thoughts go out to all the families affected by this terrible event. My thoughts are also with the first responders who worked in perilous circumstances to assist and protect those affected. Both local and ...
BMG research have unleashed their final poll of the 2019 campaign:Westminster voting intention: CON: 41% (-)LAB: 32% (-)LDEM: 14% (-)GRN: 4% (-)BREX: 3% (-1)via @BMGResearch , 06 - 11 Dec Chgs. w/ 06 Dec That's a bit of a "Dunno why we bothered" sort of poll. "Phillip, I'm afraid I've been a ...
Grant Keeps On Trucking: Out of the $12 billion Robertson has announced for infrastructure investment, $8 billion will be allocated to specific projects, with the balance of $4 billion held in reserve. What does it say about this Government's "transformational" ambitions that 85 percent of that $8 billion is to ...
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 ...
In previous elections pollsters have bemoaned the 'shy Tory' - the respondent who is so fearful of being judged as a cruel and heartless bastard by an anonymous pollster, or their spouses, workmates and friends, that they lie about their intention of voting Conservative, skewing the poll figures in Labour's ...
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.nzI was in Switzerland recently and discovered that they haven’t ...
So, You Gov's MRP poll - the weird one that tries to reflect what will happen at a constituency level and which pretty much nailed the hung parliament in 2017 - is not looking too good for Labour:
We've known about climate change for over forty years now,and it has been a major political issue for twenty. And yet fossil fuel companies have kept polluting with impunity, while government have looked the other way and twiddled their thumbs and refused to do anything because "the economy", or just ...
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 ...
Brad Scott, GNS Science VolcanologistThis post was originally published by GeoNet.Following the 9 December devastating eruption at Whakaari/White Island we have put together some information about the island. New Zealand’s most active volcano Whakaari/White Island is currently New Zealand’s most active volcano, it has been since an eruptive episode ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on its Inquiry into the 2017 General Election and 2016 Local Elections, with a host of recommendations about how to improve our electoral systems. Some of their recommendations are already incorporate din the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, but there's also a recommendation ...
Back in 2017, in order to make themselves "electable" in the eyes of rich people who oppose everything they stand for, the Greens signed up for NeoLiberalism, adopting a restrictive set of "Budget Responsibility Rules" which basicly prevented them from using government to make things better. Now, they're finally abandoning ...
Since invading in 2001, the US has consistently claimed that their war in Afghanistan has been going well, even when it continued year after year after year. Of course, they were lying, and thanks to the Washington Post and the US Freedom of Information Act, we get to see just ...
How should we think about artificial intelligence and the implications that it has for our work and leisure? There are many articles on artificial intelligence and its potential impacts on jobs, and the ethics of applications. These are important topics, but I want to focus on some less discussed aspects, ...
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 ...
The other big story concerning Leeds Hospital is Boris Johnson's bizzare behaviour at Leeds Hospital, where he was confronted by a journalist and challenged about a four year old boy with suspected pneumonia who was left sleeping on the floor, rather than getting abed like a sick kid would in ...
So, for a brief period of history, it was alleged that a protester had punched Matt Hancock's SPAD (not a euphemism; special adviser) when Hancock visited Leeds Hospital.This was reported by the likes of Robert Peston and Laura Keunssberg, as well as the less credible Guido Fawkes. It also quickly ...
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 ...
Over the past year we've seen major bus problems in Hamilton and Wellington, as drivers have sought better wages and an end to the bullshit of split shifts, which basicly see them "married to the job". And now its Auckland's turn. When NZBus's drivers planned low-level strike action of not ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. But those targets are insufficient. Meanwhile, Denmark is showing us how its done:Denmark’s parliament adopted a new climate law on Friday, committing to reach 70% below its 1990 emissions in ...
Another day, another piece of legislation with a secrecy clause. This time its the innocuous-seeming Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill, which (after establishing a new body and making it subject to the OIA in three different ways) includes the rapidly-becoming-standard clauses enabling it to request information from other public ...
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 ...
On 27 September, Greta Thunberg addressed a crowd of 500,000 at the School Strike for Climate in Montreal, saying: “You are a nation that is allegedly a climate leader. And Sweden is also a nation that is allegedly a climate leader. And in both cases, it means absolutely nothing. Because ...
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 ...
Michael SchulsonWhen Shane Burcaw flies on an airplane, he brings along a customized gel cushion, a car seat, and about 10 pieces of memory foam. The whole arsenal costs around $1,000, but for Burcaw it’s a necessity. The 27-year-old author and speaker — who, alongside his fiancée, Hannah ...
We are very pleased to publish this submission is from Lucinda Stoan. She is a social justice activist, mother, and educator, based in Washington State in the US. This detailed and comprehensive source-linked overview of trans issues and what is at stake will be useful for many people, especially in ...
New Zealand's Underarm Banker: It bears recalling that the “independence” of the Reserve Bank Governor was for decades held up by neoliberal capitalists as the most compelling justification for passing the Reserve Bank Act. Interesting, is it not, how the ruling class’s support for the Bank’s independence lasted no longer than ...
Rubbish In, Rubbish Out: Put all this together, and it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that anyone who responds positively to a pollster’s request to “answer a few questions” is just ever-so-slightly weird. Desperately lonely? Some sort of psephological train-spotter? Political party member primed to skew the poll for or against ...
“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 ...
Samuel Becher, Victoria University of Wellington and Jessica C Lai, Victoria University of WellingtonEarlier this year, the New Zealand-based pizza chain Hell Pizza offered a limited-edition “Burger Pizza”. Its customers weren’t told that the “meat” was plant-based. Some customers complained to the Commerce Commission, which enforces consumer law in ...
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker has the shameful reality: those targets are insufficient:While New Zealand is showing leadership by having passed the world’s second-ever Zero Carbon Act in November 2019, under ...
The government introduced a Racing Industry Bill today. As an urban who horse racing as pointless-to-cruel, and gambling as a tax on stupidity and/or hope, this isn't normally a bill which would interest me in the slightest, beyond grumpiness at more government money for a dying industry. But there is ...
Check. Check. One, two, three, four. Is this thing ON? Hello readers, I logged in last night (yeah, it’s been a while) to mark THE END of the landmark legal case, Jordan Williams v Colin Craig, which (gulp) reached The Supreme Court, in which New Zealand’s most-defamed man was suing the politician he ...
Before The Birth: Israel’s most fervent supporters set their clocks ticking in Biblical times. They cite the kingdoms of David and Solomon as proof that, in the words of the Exodus movie’s theme-song: “This land is mine.” The majority of Israel’s backers, however, start their clocks in 1933 – the year Adolf ...
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, ...
Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage and they know how to fix practically anything. A similar story could be told about their generation’s experience in the workforce – being a generalist was not unusual and ...
When it was revealed that NZ First had tried to enrich itself from public office via the Provoncial Growth Fund, the Prime Minister assured us that everything was OK as Shane Jones, the Minister responsible for the fund, had recused himself. Except it seems that that recusal came very late ...
Today is a Member's Day, and probably the last one of the year. After the marathon of the End of Life Choice Act, most of the bills up for debate today are uncontentious. First up is the second reading of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. This will be followed ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has reported back on the government's odious and tyrannical control orders bill. As expected, the fraudulent select committee process has made no significant changes (partly because they couldn't agree, but mostly because it was a stitch-up from the start, with no intention of ...
Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
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.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
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 ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Paramedics have reiterated their support for New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball's bill to impose mandatory prison sentences on those who assault our first responders and prison officers. There are more than 50 cases of abuse and assault against New Zealand paramedics each week. The figure has remained largely unchanged ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has revealed the Party’s stance on a proposed single public broadcaster. He said it had been the NZ First policy to support and strengthen public sector media. "For this reason, we welcome the initiative of Minister Faafoi to progress work in this area. Both ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Introduction Good morning, and thank you for your attendance here today. Let us start by acknowledging the work of all the media outlets and reporters, particularly the regional reporters, who have been covering this week’s tragedy at Whakaari White Island. It ...
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 ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
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 ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
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 ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development A $261,000 loan from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has helped a family-run business in Manawatū to scale up manufacturing capacity, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced at its opening today. Ashhurst-based skin-care business The Herb Farm is on track to ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Regional Freight Hub near Palmerston North has taken a step forward with the completion of the master plan, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said. Shane Jones unveiled the high-level design of the new Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) backed rail-road hub ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $772,000 in opportunities for growth in Manawatū-Whanganui, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.NZ Bio-Forestry Limited will receive a $380,000 boost for game-changing research which could unlock significant growth in the wood processing sector, ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Sustained high growth in primary industry exports looks set to continue over the next two years with strong prices predicted for farmers, fishers, growers and rural communities. Minister of Agriculture and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor today released the latest Situation and Outlook report for ...
Auckland’s growing screen sector is the catalyst for a new partnership between the Ministry of Social Development and Auckland’s economic development agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). The launch today at FilmFX in Henderson, is to celebrate the partnership which looks to capitalise on the social and economic development opportunities ...
A minute’s silence will be observed at 2.11pm on Monday 16 December in honour of the victims of the Whakaari White Island eruption, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed. “Wherever you are in New Zealand, or around the world, this is a moment we can stand alongside those who have ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$1 million of funding towards the joint United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) Pacific Regional Action Plan for Measles. “Prevention through vaccination is the most effective way of avoiding illness and a costly health emergency. ...
New Zealand is today remembering one of our true sporting heroes, triple Olympic gold medal winner Sir Peter Snell. “He was a legend, here and around the world,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “Our thoughts are with Sir Peter’s wife Miki and their family.” “Sir Peter is recognised as New ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory. “New Zealand and the United Kingdom are close friends and despite our distance we are strongly connected by our history and people,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I look forward to continuing to work with Prime ...
The Government has released its long term vision for a sustainable 21st Century rail network that gets our cities moving, connects our regions and gets more freight off the roads. Deputy Prime Minister and State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters said the Government is committed to rebuilding New Zealand’s ...
I want to start by acknowledging the families who have experienced such grief and such loss since the extraordinary tragedy on Monday. Today was all about reuniting them with their loved ones. We've just come from the airport where many of them were gathered and in amongst what you can ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further support for Samoa’s longer term needs as it continues to respond to a devastating measles epidemic. “Samoa’s health system has experienced massive strain in the wake of the measles epidemic. The volume of patients needing care during this outbreak, and the number of ...
Discounted electric bikes will be offered up to public sector staff across the country as part of the Government’s work to reduce transport emissions and support healthier transport options. Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter officially launched the new initiative at Wellington Hospital today. “The Government has negotiated bulk-purchase ...
The Australian and New Zealand Governments today launch an historic joint bid to bring the FIFA Women’s World Cup to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Australian Minister for Youth and Sport, Richard Colbeck and New Zealand Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson will announce the bold campaign, ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has approved a $15 million loan to help re-establish a gold mining operation at Blackwater Gold Mine, near Reefton, Rural Communities Minister and local MP Damien O’Connor announced at an event on the West Coast today. “This is great news for the Coast that could ...
Papakāinga model inspires whānau well-being A housing project by Kohupātiki whānau in Hastings is an outstanding example of a Māori-led housing initiative that can reduce financial pressure and reconnect whānau to their whakapapa says the Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Minister Mahuta officially opened the Aroha Te Rangi ...
Restoration efforts for a significant wetland in the Hawke’s Bay are getting more support announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. “Wetlands are vital to healthy landscapes and ecosystems. They function as nature’s ‘kidneys’, filtering and protecting water quality, acting as nature’s sponges after rain and are home to ...
Nelson has today seen the launch of Housing First Nelson Tasman. Today’s launch marks the expansion of the Government’s homelessness programme, Housing First, to the top of the South Island. “Housing First is a proven programme that puts people who are experiencing homelessness and multiple, high and complex needs into ...
New Government funding announced today will help communities make a difference in tackling environmental issues Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage announced in Hawkes Bay today. The Ministry for the Environment’s Community Environment Fund is dedicating $243,101 to growing the capacity and capability of the Environment Hubs Aotearoa’s (EHA) ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 Provincial Growth Fund giving $13 million to a gold mining project under DOC land on the West Coast is a disgraceful waste of public money says Coromandel Watchdog, a group fighting gold mining in Hauraki. ...
CEAC reviewed the NZTA National Land Transport Programme “2021–24 NLTP development” plan to see the support for rail funding was there, and NZTA is now seen as ‘anti-rail’ in their NLTP plans, contrary to Government policy to use rail - heads must roll. ...
Kiwi startup founder Jenene Crossan has spent two years enduring jetlag and heinous London Airbnb prices as she builds her latest business.Jenene Crossan, co-founder and CEO of beauty booking service Flossie, has spent most of the past two years sitting in airport lounges and living out of suitcases in a bid ...
From New Zealand’s biggest band selling out Western Springs to a landmark moment for Pasifika women onstage, these are the live events that shaped New Zealand this decade.An anchor in the middle of the deep blue sea: Daffodils, 2014 Todd Emerson and Colleen Davis in Daffodils, on stage at the Traverse ...
Is there something to be learned from TVNZ’s Wild West-meets-WWE-meets-19th-century-New Zealand web series? After all, writes Sharon Mazer, colonisation, like professional wrestling, is a fixed match.The premise underlying TVNZ’s new web series Colonial Combat is anachronistic and preposterous, even by WWE standards. It’s also fascinating.Transported from American popular culture to ...
For a lot of people, there’s not much joy to be found at Christmas. Emily Writes spoke to Dr Sarah Bell-Booth and Gwendoline Smith about how to deal with the hard stuff in the face of all that relentless holiday cheer.Despite my anxiety, I generally enjoy Christmas now that I ...
This contained incorrect information regarding the remuneration of Alexandra Allan. The item has now been deleted and Scoop unreservedly apologises to Ms Allan for the distress caused due to this publication. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At the December 12 UK election, the Conservatives won 365 of the 650 House of Commons seats (up 48 since the 2017 election), Labour 202 (down 60), the Scottish National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics, University of Bristol So for all the talk of narrowing polls, tactical voting, and possible shocks leading to a hung parliament, Boris Johnson achieved a crushing victory over Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party in the UK’s ...
Sir Peter Snell has died, aged 80, at his home in Dallas, Texas. James McOnie remembers arguably New Zealand’s greatest ever athlete.Sir Peter Snell was so great that small towns still engage in custody battles over the legendary runner.His birthplace Opunake (where he spent his first 11 years) claims him, ...
Māori Injustice Issues Will Have More Visibility Thanks to New Panel Advising Ombudsman A prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon believes Māori injustice issues will be seen much more now thanks to Pūhara Mana Tangata, a first-time Māori panel appointed ...
“It was right there in the waiting room that Jack first told me he was finding it hard to separate his fingers”: a parent’s nightmare, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. ...
We started picking a top 10 ourselves and puttered out at about #3, sick of the sound of our own voice. Bugger it, we thought, and sent for assistance. It’s been like Christmas ever since, an inbox flowing over with gorgeous, sincere little gifts. Here’s the nonfiction selection, in no ...
The leadership shown by tangata whenua at every national disaster and tragedy should be recognised and honoured by all of us, writes Catherine Delahunty.I do appreciate having a prime minister who is capable of expressing decent, human emotions when tragedies descend on us. It’s a sadly low bar that she ...
From the pockmarked rugby paddock of Apiti, to the smooth, iridescent-blue turf of Albany, Black Sticks defender Steph Dickins' hockey journey has come a long way. ...
If you want to shock and amaze your friends and family this Christmas, look no further than the deep recesses of $1 reserve Trade Me. Folks, I’m going to let you in on a huge Christmas secret here: you can get all your presents for $1 if you know where to ...
To celebrate the 50th birthday of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth, Walters Prize-winning artist Ruth Buchanan has rehung their collection, bringing previously unseen works and skeletons out of the closet. Her new exhibition The scene in which I find myself/Or, where does my body belong examines ...
It is hard to remember a year in which New Zealand was so repeatedly in global headlines, writes Kamahl Santamaria, a Kiwi journalist based in Doha.Time zones are a strange thing. You go to sleep, and then for eight hours or so, you miss out on everything happening on the ...
Napoleon demanded that his generals be lucky. Conservative PM Boris Johnson, as he surveys a thumping victory in the British general election, would meet that criterion.His luck bears a resemblance to that of Margaret Thatcher. Like her, he has made a decisive break with orthodox establishment thinking. That presents ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has rejected or sidelined a number of recommendations from the long-awaited Thodey review of the public service that might have constrained his and his government’s power. Not surprisingly, a proposal to ensure changes ...
Analysis - The "do nothing" government announces a big spend-up on infrastructure, moving the Port of Auckland, and Winston Peters throws his weight behind NZME's bid to buy Stuff. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]For their last video for the year, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan look backwards to the big issues which have shaped political discourse. They discuss the surprise election results, and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged Ngāti Awa for their role as tangata whenua (people of the land) in leading and caring for affected whānau (family members), following the Whakaari / White Island eruption and recovery operation earlier today. ...
The Environment Committee has opened for public submissions on the Urban Development Bill. The bill follows on from the Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities bill, which disestablished Housing New Zealand and set up a Crown entity in the same name. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Loader, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Murdoch University, Murdoch University This article is part of our Gender and Christianity series. To understand contemporary Christian ideas about gender, and specifically masculinity, we need to go all the way back to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Gissing, General Manager, Risk Frontiers, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University Calls are growing for a national bushfire plan, including from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who says they are an issue of national security and the federal government must provide hands-on leadership. ...
Pro-democracy lobby group Democracy Action welcome New Zealand First’s commitment to hold firm rejecting the Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene’s bill to entrench the Māori seats. The Bill, which would require any changes to the seats to require the ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.Sometimes you are just doing a podcast as usual and then Colin Mathura-Jeffree gives you a call and throws your world off its axis. In a very special edition of Colin’s Cranny: Live, ...
We get a handle on the artists and artworks that shaped this decade in Aotearoa.As 2019 draws to a close, the four nominees for this year’s Turner Prize subverted the competition – they asked to receive the award as a collective. Meanwhile, at Art Basel Miami Beach, a banana taped ...
The second and final report of Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora, the Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group, contains nothing we didn’t know 30 years ago. Yet generations of politicians have ignored the same advice, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.Between the 1950s and 1990s, New Zealand experienced seismic social, economic ...
Fuel company Z Energy has cut its earnings forecast for the year by 10 percent because of tougher competition and falling margins, and is forecasting a big cut in dividends. ...
Liquidators of the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have travelled to the United States, to retrieve customers' information and certain crypto-assets. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology Popular commentary on dating apps often associates their use with “risky” sex, harassment and poor mental health. But anyone who has used a dating app ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania Australian shoppers are set to spend $52.7 billion this Christmas. In the words of the retail industry, we are “stampeding” to empty our wallets, both online and ...
NZ Herald and many other media outlets ran a story on a man whose farts could repel mosquitos, despite the story coming from a satire news site and not being verified in any way, writes Dan Satherly for Newshub.“Man’s farts so deadly he kills mosquitoes in a 6m radius” is ...
Timing right to borrow our way to a stronger economy in 2020 The Government’s announcement of its intent to invest significantly in the county’s infrastructure could turbo charge an economic recovery that was already showing positive signs for ...
A poem by writer, journalist, and former Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani.Forgive me my loveTranslated by Moones Mansoubi, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, 2018 Forgive me my bird as I am not able to embrace you.But here,in this corner,I know some migrating birds that I smile to at dawn.I embrace them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Powles, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies, Massey University The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, a chain of islands that lie 959 kilometres northwest of Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, has voted unequivocally for independence. The referendum saw 85% voter turnout during ...
Fisheries New Zealand starts consultation today on proposed changes to catch settings for rock lobster and scallops for the new fishing year beginning 1 April 2020. ...
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. This was the declaration of the pigs who control the government in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm– a tart comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but gives power and privileges ...
SPCA has been working flat out to desex more than 80 animals a day over the last year, which is the most desexing SPCA has done since recording the figures. ...
“The fact so many families are struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table must be addressed urgently if we’re to provide the foundations for a good life for the next generation of New Zealanders,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton, $40)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize.2The Body: ...
This holiday season Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs wants to offer parents and caregivers some advice on how to help keep your family safe online. ...
A report released by the Chief Victims advisor Kim McGregor advising there needs to be an Independent Victims body is being welcomed by Victim Rights lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust. National spokesperson Jess McVicar says the trust have ...
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in.9.30am: So, with polls about 90 minutes away from closing, the top line is this – we’ve got ...
Winston Peters will back an NZME proposal to buy Stuff with a 'Kiwishare' guarantee the merged news company will keep regional news and separate websites for at least two years. ...
The Executive Director of Dapaanz (Addiction Practitioners’ Association Aotearoa New Zealand), Sue Paton says the announcement that Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment court would become permanent immediately, following successful pilots in Auckland ...
Online marketplace Sidekicker is taking advantage of people who have little choice but to juggle multiple low-paying jobs to make ends meet, writes artist and freelancer Ben Markley.After graduating early this year with one of the least vocational degrees, I didn’t expect the largest array of job prospects. Nevertheless, I ...
National is vowing to bring back and expand health sector targets dropped by the current Government and mulling whether to scrap elected District Health Boards. ...
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition launched a week ago, calling for better support and funding for community midwives. The 10k figure was reached after the first four days. Chief executive of the College of Midwives, Alison Eddy, said last ...
Information obtained by animal rights organisation SAFE has revealed rodeo organisers are refusing to halt calf-roping events in rodeo, despite the Government’s animal welfare advisors’ recommendation that they do so. ...
Subject; Deputy PM said quote; “New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has challenged his Cabinet colleagues for the delay over a Northport decision, criticising it as "paralysis by analysis". https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/405385/paralysis-by-analysis-winston-peters-assessment-of-the-delay-over-northport ...
If the Productivity Commission's report on local government funding, released yesterday, had been relied on by NASA as the basis for getting astronauts to the moon, its greatest achievement by now would have been launching a $2 skyrocket 40 feet into the air ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Mayne, Molecular biologist and bioinformatician, CSIRO Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analysing their DNA. Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Evans, Professor of Governance and Director of Democracy 2025 – bridging the trust divide at Old Parliament House, University of Canberra A new, ongoing survey on how young Australians understand and imagine their democracy is already challenging long-held stereotypes. The survey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesco Paolucci, Associate Professor; Head of Health Policy Program, Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, University of Newcastle Private health insurance has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, as it becomes clear health insurers are failing to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Zaphir, Researcher for the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project; and Online Teacher at Education Queensland’s IMPACT Centre, The University of Queensland This is the second of two essays exploring key theories – cognitive load theory and constructivism – underlying teaching ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW On Monday the Australian government will release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This will – as required by the Charter of Budget Honesty – provide an update on the key assumptions made in this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia It seems like every time we switch on the idiot box we are confronted with news footage of another disaster. Bushfires in Australia. A hurricane in North America. A tsunami ...
Open Mike 13/02/2018 
Image credit: Publish Peer Reviews. Illustration by David Parkins Scientific peer-review is often touted as a guarantee of the quality of published research. But how good is peer-review? Does it guarantee poor ... 5 hours ago
If you like any article please help promote it (and the blog). Link to it on facebook and other social media, write about it anywhere or re-blog it. We’re very happy to have other people re-blog our material, all we ask is that you mention the original source and put ...1 day ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women John Fenaughty is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. In a recent column Fenaughty suggested that school teachers should use students’ “correct names and pronouns (e.g., he, him, they, them, she, her, etc.)” ...1 day ago
Heard this on Radio NZ this afternoon. Perfectly captures how I'm feeling just now.It's always good to find new music, though it would be nice to be hearing something celebratory. Even "Things Can Only Get Better" would be welcome, if it was accompanied by a thumping Labour victory. ...1 day ago
by Don Franks Like New Zealand, Britain is officially a country of equal opportunity under the rule of law, with increasing hardship for those at the bottom. When there’s an election, and the party most obviously callous towards poor people wins, decent folks are dismayed and bewildered. “What the hell ...1 day ago
UKanians went to the polls yesterday in early elections aimed at resolving the Brexit impasse. And they certainly have, delivering a huge majority to the Tories, and (barring internal rebellions of the sort which delayed Brexit) giving them the power to do whatever they want. And thanks to the UK's ...2 days ago
What other song could we play as the UK's political rule book gets torn up and thrown away?Video courtesy of YouTubeThis post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...2 days ago
If you want to study propagandist techniques, you are typically told to study Dictatorships. Not unfair, but what’s always been more interesting to me is so-called “democratic” countries and their broader information systems. Why? Because people opt for it, even as they decry “totalitarian regimes!”.. It’s quite an eye ...3 days ago
Below is the longlist of words and phrases generated in the korero phase of Public Address Word of the Year 2019, with some editorial moderation. Now it's time to vote. As you'll doubtless be able to see, you get three ranked choices. Use your power wisely. Or frivolously, whatever.As usual, ...3 days ago
As details emerge about what unfolded on Whakaari / White Island two days ago, my thoughts go out to all the families affected by this terrible event. My thoughts are also with the first responders who worked in perilous circumstances to assist and protect those affected. Both local and ...4 days 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 ... 6 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
Paramedics have reiterated their support for New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball's bill to impose mandatory prison sentences on those who assault our first responders and prison officers. There are more than 50 cases of abuse and assault against New Zealand paramedics each week. The figure has remained largely unchanged ...2 days ago
Just after 2pm on Monday this week, Whakaari / White Island erupted. Read the Prime Minister's statement here, and watch her statement to the House below. ...2 days ago
Sustained high growth in primary industry exports looks set to continue over the next two years with strong prices predicted for farmers, fishers, growers and rural communities. Minister of Agriculture and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor today released the latest Situation and Outlook report for ...13 hours ago
The cycleway fine is part of the party's transport ideas that will be announced tomorrow. ...4 hours ago
COLFO Confirms Number of Banned Firearms in New Zealand at Upper End of Police Estimates SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER 2019 ...7 hours ago
Kiwi startup founder Jenene Crossan has spent two years enduring jetlag and heinous London Airbnb prices as she builds her latest business.Jenene Crossan, co-founder and CEO of beauty booking service Flossie, has spent most of the past two years sitting in airport lounges and living out of suitcases in a bid ...14 hours ago
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At the December 12 UK election, the Conservatives won 365 of the 650 House of Commons seats (up 48 since the 2017 election), Labour 202 (down 60), the Scottish National ...1 day ago
“It was right there in the waiting room that Jack first told me he was finding it hard to separate his fingers”: a parent’s nightmare, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. ...2 days ago
From the pockmarked rugby paddock of Apiti, to the smooth, iridescent-blue turf of Albany, Black Sticks defender Steph Dickins' hockey journey has come a long way. ...2 days ago
Napoleon demanded that his generals be lucky. Conservative PM Boris Johnson, as he surveys a thumping victory in the British general election, would meet that criterion. His luck bears a resemblance to that of Margaret Thatcher. Like her, he has made a decisive break with orthodox establishment thinking. That presents ...2 days ago
The ACT leader says his arguments haven't changed - but the circumstances that make them relevant have. ...2 days ago
Three Otago institutions are teaming up to improve the future of rural health care. ...2 days ago
Fuel company Z Energy has cut its earnings forecast for the year by 10 percent because of tougher competition and falling margins, and is forecasting a big cut in dividends. ...2 days ago
House prices are on the rise again with record increases in 10 regions, but with fewer sales overall. ...2 days ago
Liquidators of the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have travelled to the United States, to retrieve customers' information and certain crypto-assets. ...2 days ago
The Government’s homelessness program ‘ Housing First’ has expanded to the top of the South Island. ...2 days ago
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Thoughts with the people of Tonga this morning.
There was a brief item on the new on mon? where a shop had opened in tonga for a couple of hours on sun afternoon for emergency supplies.
The police shut them down, cause there is NO trading on sunday.
Seemed a bit over the top.
Never underestimate the stupidity of people.
Now who said this? “Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?”
That person understood Christianity in action.
Indeed. Just reading about it this morning. Hard to imagine seeing your beautiful country devistated like that.
(Ps – let’s just agree on something and not make this a cc debate)
Its not fair that the Lab NZF part of our government is signing away OUR future TO the gangs of Big business the tpp these people are just evil self serving organizations.
In your reality is it impossible for you to think that 200 years ago that some busness people got together and made a long term plan to dominate the worlds society .
They would have pooled there money together to use to manipulate nz society to benefit the one%. that is quite plausible to ECO Maori as these people will get more money and more control by these actions I know what data you have access to of mine Breaks fast people every bit ECO knows Ka pai water off a ducks back
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Yes if the government signs the TPP, future governments hand will be tied if they want to tackle housing, inequality, obesity, suicide, in a meaningful way,
Corporations already run the country.
The signing of the TPP will set that rule in stone.
And it will impact on the Treaty.
Don’t know what you’re worrying about, don’t you remember this:
https://thespinoff.scdn5.secure.raxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/TPPA-billboard_feat.jpg
I am concerned that NZ citizens will lose even more control of their sovereignty to big business once it is signed.
I am not party political on this.
Both 2017 Labour and 2017 National are parties that support the neoliberal globalist agenda of multinational corporations.
Are you concerned by the fact our sovereignty will be eroded?
I wanted the TPP signed in the first place so I’m well pleased with what Labours is doing , they’re putting NZs interests ahead of thier own ideology and should be congratulated for that
I’ll admit I was a little disappointed with the election result but Labour thus far has shown me to be a center-left government so I can live with that
Are you not worried by the main chapters of the TPP that will restrict your rights as a NZ citizen ?
Are you aware of the contents of these chapters?
Have you? Considering labour have kept them secret.
I have listened to Jane Kelsey.
How is it possible to “put NZ’s interests ahead of their (sic) own ideology”?
chris73?
Except that they’re not. They’re putting ideology ahead of NZ’s interests.
Nope. I’ve always been for the signing of the TPPA. But like a lot thought labour were going to cause it to fail (which I thought was stupid)
Turns out they just assumed voters were stupid and did a bait and switch.
Are you aware of the contents of these chapters?
Have you? Considering labour have kept them secret.
What do the chapters say Ed.
You appear to be aware of all the information that the rest of us mere mortals have had kept from them.
What are the contents of these “chapters” you refer to and that so upset you? Please tell.
Listen to Jane Kelsey.
Go on the It’s our future website.
Which corporations run NZ ?
How will future governments hands be tied in relation to housing, inequality, obesity and suicide if the CPTPP is entered into ?
Google is your friend.
Tin foil hats must be yours?
Are you aware of the contents of these chapters?
Have you? Considering labour have kept them secret.
Research what happened to Mexico after NAFTA.
We disagree.
What a surprise.
“Research”.
It really isn’t research, you know: finding articles you agree with on the internet. “What happened to Mexico” is at least as well described in the lyrics of Los Cuates De Sinaloa. NAFTA had nothing to do with that, although the USA certainly played its part.
That they be tied at all is problematic. Treaties between nations impose responsibilities, our courts constrain Parliament’s excesses. That I can live with. And defend.
Limited liability private business concerns, not so much. Hire a lawyer and go to court like everyone else.
At last night’s anti-TPPA-11 meeting in Auckland, Laila Harre said that there is no protection for NZ sovereignty over it’s labour/employment laws in the TPP agreement our government plans to sign on 8th March.
Harre has been researching and writing a thesis on it.
She says such agreements cannot protect our labour laws and this needs to be done through the ILO.
Under the TPPA that our government plans to sign, they could be sued for the labour regulations the government is planning to implement.
Harre and Kelsey say that if this agreement is signed, it will be used as a model for other trade agreements.
Kelsey said some in the labour caucus won’t to maintain such a model. But this model is in crisis, and we need to respectful campaign to shift the balance in the government to something more progressive.
National Day of anti-TPPA action on Sunday 4th March.
Demo in Wellington on day of signing, 8 March.
FUrther meetings around NZ before then.
All of them.
It’s generally how oligarchies operate.
They can’t go against the agreement. So, say the NZ government decides to build 100,000 homes and the decide that the best way to do that would be to reinstitute the Ministry of Works and have it all done in house.
Well, they can’t do that. The FTAs, including the TPP, demand that the government put it out to tender instead. And even in doing that they can’t choose a NZ company over a foreign company in NZ’s interests.
It’s not IF it’s when they sign it.
But the contents of the treaty remain secret. And you’re happy about that?
You trust Labour and NZFirst to do what’s best for you?
But you didn’t vote for either.
Why not?
Housing us the top issue but I’m more concerned about the commercialisation of water.
Signing the TPPA in any form will ensure that gap between have/have not expands.
The special protection for foreign investors remains.
Sorry
Hey, eco maori
Can you please tell me; what does, “Ana to kai” mean?
http://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/222
Take that!
Aha!
Why’s The Guardian teaming up with the government to “do a number” on Oxfam?
Some workers in Haiti used prostitutes = loss of government funding with The Guardian leading the charge? Wtf?
Anyone remember War on Want getting buried because they were “too political”?
Oxfam have released a number of good reports on poverty/inequity etc. Anyone want to tell me that’s not why they’re in the firing line?
And if Oxfam UK goes down the gurgler, then what of Oxfam NZ. And where in the name of fuck is the next NGO speaking out against the bullshit effects of global capitalism?
This piece is from last October.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/31/oxfam-says-it-has-sacked-22-staff-in-a-year-over-sexual-abuse-allegations
Then there’s nothing until …well, here’s the Guardian articles from the past two days.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/oxfam-staff-raise-concerns-over-charity-vetting-processes-haiti-abuse
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/haiti-demands-oxfam-identify-workers-who-used-prostitutes
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/oxfam-hit-cancelled-donations-charity-shop-volunteers-shock
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/we-fear-whats-next-oxfam-reels-from-prostitution-scandal
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/oxfam-show-moral-leadership-lose-government-funds-prostitutes-haiti
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/oxfam-faces-allegations-staff-paid-prostitutes-in-chad
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/12/the-oxfam-scandal-shows-colonialism-is-alive-and-well
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/12/aid-worker-oxfam-scandal-haiti-abuse-bullying-culture
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/how-has-recent-news-affected-oxfam-donations-where-you-are-tell-us
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/monday-briefing-oxfam-pleads-for-charity-amid-sex-scandal
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/feb/11/penny-mordaunt-oxfam-moral-leadership-video
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2018/feb/10/i-am-deeply-ashamed-says-oxfam-ceo-of-the-haiti-sex-scandal-video
If they don’t want bad press – don’t do bad things.
They are only getting what they caused.
That’s not doing a number – that’s reporting.
So James. You’re saying that any org. receiving government funds should have those funds pulled if a staff member pays someone for sex?
The matter was reported last October. Once.
Twelve articles in two days that excuse and condone government moves to pull funding isn’t reporting. It’s campaigning.
This is much worse.
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/30/world/france-un-car-sex-abuse-claims/index.html
Oxfam were doing a good job in highlighting Tax havens as being the biggest drivers of inequality and poverty in the world ….
Starving children in poor countries … Student loans and ‘Austerity’ for kids in rich ones.
In a world with decent leaders oxfam would not be needed.
Abuse of children starts with sick leaders …. like our own John Key.
He personally would have abused thousands of times more children than oxfam ..
And he’d be happier than James about the Guardians oxfam campaign …
I wonder if they have written as much about vulture capitalists ? … another group of prolific family and child abusers.
“Abuse of children starts with sick leaders …. like our own John Key.
He personally would have abused thousands of times more children than oxfam”
Now there is a perfectly sane and reasonable comment / sarc.
James is the lowest form of argument …
He don’t agree leaders of the world are responsible for the state its in …
And he don’t agree that putting children into poverty is abuse …
In Keys case … when he was creatively helping u.s.a corporations become Irish ones ….. the result was less money for things like schools and infrastructure in the u.s.a. ….. How much money did that deprive from the poor in the u.s.a ?
When Key got bailed out …. he took even more money from the long suffering u.s.a taxpayers .
And then the greedy dirt bag plugged New Zealand into the Tax Haven net-work …. The biggest cause of inequality and poverty in the world …. as high lighted by Oxfam.
Please tell us all how stealing from poor children is not child abuse James …
Explain yourself without looking like a dirt bag yourself …. if you can.
You can’t.
Unless I’ve missed something, there was no abuse of children. Some employees paid prostitutes for sex. No allegations of paying for underage sex have been made as far as I’ve read.
Now sure, it’s not the best look to be all “I’m here to help, and by the way, how much for a blow-job around these parts?”
But I guess we need to understand that no business in receipt of government assistance or support (like say an arms manufacturer) has employees who go to prostitutes. And if they did have, then government would of course, cut said company loose.
And next time a government MP goes to a prostitute and is sprung, they won’t just resign, but the government will throw a vote of no confidence against itself and a general election will ensue.
I think one of the things you’ve maybe missed, Bill, is that prostitution is often fine when everyone is on an equal power footing, but not so much when the customer is well resourced and secure but the “prostitute” is struggling to find basic essentials for life. Especially when the customer is also responsible for the distribution of those essentials.
There is always a power differential in prostitution, it’s why our law around prostitution is a crook. It makes little difference if the place is Haiti or if it is South Dunedin.
I did not see anywhere where they didn’t pay. Or curried favour for the client/john/user of prostitutes. Did you see that?
No, I get all that McFlock.
And the employees employments were terminated regardless of any power at play. I don’t know whether these guys “created” prostitutes due to peoples circumstances or paid pre-existing prostitutes.
But either way, it’s a howling bullshit excuse for government and whatever media lackeys to leverage in a way that could bury the entire organisation.
Do you believe for even one second that the following statement is meant to apply to any and all organisations government works with? Or just those those that “show it up” from time to time?
Penny Mordaunt. UK’s International Development Secretary –
I am very clear: we will not work with any organisation that does not live up to the high standards on safeguarding and protection that we require.
I suspect the outrage of the government is cynical as you suggest.
But given that some of your links refer to problem men flowing from one organisation to another, employment termination isn’t the solution it might seem at first glance.
Why should an org. be held accountable for the fact an ex-employee secured employment elsewhere? Are they meant to hire Private Dicks, monitor and surveil them?
Beyond not giving references (and there are potential issues with that in a NZ context), what the fuck are they legally capable of doing?
Firstly, try handling the initial complaint about your country director properly, instead of transferring him to the next disaster zone.
Secondly, try firing them rather than allowing resignations. That’ll make it more difficult for them to move into other organisations to abuse.
And it’s not just May’s govet looking at funding, so is the European Union.
BTW, everything I’m saying comes from the list of links you’re outraged over.
Well sure. Some poorly handled shit justifies sinking an entire org that just happens to be vocally critical….how?
No winks and nods to the EU from the UK to follow suit and rid themselves of an annoying thorn in the side? Just upstanding governments, aye?
Fuck. I’d hate to be running the next arms fair given this upstanding morality government’s discovered for itself!
The Guardian “reporting”. Anything new in those dozen pieces from the past two days that wasn’t previously reported last October? (I don’t think there is.) So, if not a campaign of righteous indignation and condemnation then, why now?
edit – and when did paying another person for sex become a definition for abuse?
edit no. 2 “Two staff members resigned before investigations were complete” Not much can be done about that.
I think if the UK outright begged the EU to do something at the moment, the EU would fucking laugh in their face. Seems to be the norm with the brexit negotiations.
sounds like capitalism is always a free exchange between indiciduals, eh. No power imbalance there, even if one party has no shoes.
Except continue the investigations and deliver your findings to the police if something illegal turns up.
A mutual interest in silencing Oxfam requires no begging on any party’s part. And there’s been a fair amount of this silencing of dissident opinion lately. (Yes, I know you disagree on that front)
Prostitution and power imbalances exist right here in NZ. You against the legalisation of sex work? You think Johns should be jailed or some-such?
Oxfam has referred cases to the police.
But the headline case involves paying for sex in Haiti. That’s illegal in
Haiti. You think Oxfam should refer that to the English police? You think the UK would/should extradite someone to answer allegations of having paid for sex in Haiti?
That depends entirely on the circumstances in which the transaction was made.
Frankly, if the person who was paid for sex felt coerced into it or received unfair advantage in aid, then either the local police or the British ones should be involved.
The reason sex work is legal in NZ is because it helps create safe spaces for sex workers. I’m unconvinced that it’s an apt metaphor for a disaster zone, expect inasmuch as NZ is an ongoing “free” “market” disaster itself.
It was a comparison, not a metaphor. But let me put it this way. Paying people for sex has been normalised. There are possible debates and arguments around that fact, but it’s the fact I’m pointing to.
So a guy paid someone for sex in a country where that’s not legal. And an entire aid agency that has a habit of producing “embarrassing” reports (from a government perspective) has its future put in jeopardy by government.
As I asked in my originla comment – anyone remember War on Want and how they were silenced and shut down? Because I’m seeing parallels, though the pre-text for hitting Oxfam is different.
As you know, I think charity is obscene in the first place. From a realpolitik perspective, you’re probably right.
“So a guy paid someone for sex in a country where that’s not legal.”
In addition to the comment I made below about minimising, let me put it another way. Your critique of the Guardian would carry more punch if you stopped minimising the rape culture and gender issues here.
If the argument is that the Guardian are blowing something out of proportion in order to manipulate the public against an NGO, you’re going to run up against the problems I outlines below. We don’t know what happened, and there are still issues to look at about what Oxfam did even if what you say about the Guardian is true.
As a sidebar, this is another example of how one can frame things that undermines other politics. If the problem here is that the Guardian has an agenda of supporting the status quo, that seems reasonable to critique. But one doesn’t actually have to do that by way of minimising the issues around the thing being badly reported.
Prostitution includes children doing sex work, including in NZ and irrespective of legislation. When we change the subject in that sentence, we can say that by definition someone using sex work services is committing rape if the worker is underage. Because of the nature of the patriarchy, that is very hard to address, so politically I think it’s better to not assume that no underage people were involved as a base line. If you think that’s daft, consider how many men can’t tell the difference between an 18 year old and a 15 year old. Or don’t want to. The way you are putting your arguments here makes that stuff less visible.
I haven’t followed the story much, but afaik there is at least question of whether underage people were involved.
Prostitution in Haiti is illegal. Again, given the nature of the powers involved, it makes more political sense to me to include the problems inherent in that. For instance a population that is eating mud pies due to lack of food is much more likely to have high numbers of women, transgender people, children and men doing sex work in conditions that are coercive.
That’s not necessarily a comment on *your politics, but on the framing that *might be going on here. For instance, this sentence,
“Now sure, it’s not the best look to be all “I’m here to help, and by the way, how much for a blow-job around these parts?”
seriously minimises the broader politics in the situation. The critique of the Guardian doesn’t require that.
Making a sardonic comparison with arms dealers and MPs likewise. I mean, I get it, it’s funny and pointed if one is looking at the hypocrisy of the establishment in the West. It’s less funny if one is looking at rape culture politics.
There hasn’t been any allegation of underage sex in what I’ve read.
And the comparisons to arms fairs/arms dealers and MPs and the reaction (obvious lack of) isn’t meant to be funny.
The critique isn’t about “supporting the status quo” but that a newspaper is quite overtly running a government’s political agenda out to the public. (Nothing new in that, I know)
There have been allegations.
As disgusting as it might seem, as authorities crack down on paedophilia in the developed world, predatory paedophiles are now going to the developing world to gain access to children. One of their preferred methods is to join a children’s charity
Shocking revelations on BBC’s Newsnight on Friday 9 February saw former Oxfam head Dame Barbara Stocking admit that she “knew for years” after an internal Oxfam investigation that sexual exploitative behaviour has been going on at Oxfam. The behaviour included hiring prostitutes in earthquake-torn Haiti – who may have been underage – and downloading illegal material. It was revealed that the aid workers involved in such acts moved from aid job to aid job with spotless references.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/oxfam-aid-work-prostitutes-un-workers-child-sex-abuse-harassment-dfid-a8204526.html
Yep. I think it’s safe to assume that there is probably abuse going on, rather than not. We can wait for an investigation for details about specific people, but in terms of discussing the general politics, I can’t see that Oxfam should be given the benefit of the doubt as an organisation. No-one should.
Please look at James’s 2 comments at 6.47 pm on Daily Review.
Personal attacks and clearly stalking me.
you need to provide links Ed
With reference to Oxfam and Haiti, that reads as speculation on the authors part rather than any reporting of an allegation.
Is there anywhere (any article) stating that allegations have been made that Oxfam employees in Haiti had sex with minors?
The Guardian article you posted up thread.
–Oxfam staff in Haiti paid prostitutes – possibly underage – for sex in 2011,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/oxfam-staff-raise-concerns-over-charity-vetting-processes-haiti-abuse
Joe. That’s bloody speculation again. The piece could just as well have said …paid prostitutes – possibly boys – for sex in 2011.
No claim or allegation is made, and no allegation or claim is referred to.
I’ve suggested you google it. Try putting ambassador in the search.
You suggesting I google Oxfam workers in Haiti paying for underage sex? Or what? Presumably what I’ll get will be in line with the dozen or so links I provided in my original comment.
I’ve already said Bill.
Oxfam Haiti underage. Now add ambassador. This isn’t difficult.
Oh. I already did. And predictably got articles in a similar vein to those already posted in my orignal comment.
none of that addresses the issues I am raising, and that you haven’t yet read more widely doesn’t mean the issues aren’t pertinent.
If you google Oxfam Haiti underage you will find some reading.
“And the comparisons to arms fairs/arms dealers and MPs and the reaction (obvious lack of) isn’t meant to be funny.”
Take out the word funny then, and reread it. The point stands.
“The critique isn’t about “supporting the status quo” but that a newspaper is quite overtly running a government’s political agenda out to the public. (Nothing new in that, I know)”
Good to have the clarification, but again, it avoids the point I was making.
I’m not “avoiding” your point so much as simply not focusing on it. You and who-ever can look at all this through lenses of gender, but you can’t reasonably insist that everyone else does.
A publication running government attack lines. Where we seen that before?
If the pieces focused on the men, who are known, and investigated their past behaviours, allegations against them, positions held and which other orgs money they had spent for personal gratification (though I think it’s reasonable to assume it was their own money and on their own time), then that would be entirely different to what is actually happening.
These men having paid for sex is being used to attack and silence an organisation that is a reasonable and vocal critic of governments and their policies. And media are willfully running governments attack lines against that org. I think that’s hugely important.
I think it’s important too.
What I’m suggesting is that you have an opportunity here to engage in some solidarity politics. That’s a good thing, because solidarity, but also it means you won’t get as much push back on your actual points because of the framing. At the moment I’m just seeing dismissal and minimising, so I’m not convinced this is simply choosing not to focus on it. Looks more like discounting it.
There’s a limit to how much support can be given to strategies that misuse gender and rape culture issues to address this kind of issue. That’s not new either.
Sorry Bill … the Guardians blitz of stories, combined with James …. our king of grubby toilet sex using the word “bad” … lead me to assume it was something like underage prostitutes …. and memories of UN sex trafficking sucked me in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse_by_UN_peacekeepers
That it is not …. shows a contrived Guardian hit job ….and pathetic excuse for the Tory Tax haven party to threaten Oxfams funding.
James hypocrisy and criticism of Oxfam ……….. stands in stark contrast to his excuses and support of Rugby players abusing sex workers … or rooting strangers in public toilets…. while being in a relationship.
‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it’ is his advice over toilets …. but sex with prostitutes is bad.
Indicating both his morals and taste …….. are located up his arse.
Hopefully good Poms …. decent ones like Corbyn …. fight against this Guardian / Tory abuse.
“An Associated Press investigation revealed in 2017 that more than 100 UN peacekeepers ran a child sex ring in Haiti over a 10 year period and none were ever jailed.”
Odd, you seem to have changed your tune since Sunday, you realise it’s only 2 days and your now running with a different tune.
Get your attack points sorted james, you’re looking unhinged.
.
I know that a lot of Maori leaders are saying you Ngati Porou sided with the crown during the turmoils of the early days of out country been turned into NZ why should we listen to you Eco Maori .
In reality when one is swimming and gets caught in a big a Rip tide if one does not swim with the rip tide one will get tired swimming against the tide that one drowns ka pai.
So If Ngati Porou Great leaders Ropata Wahawaha. Kohere Mokena. Potae Henare sided with other Maori and we killed all the settlors this would have given the neo liberals the power to up set the Killer Whale I.E rally Great Briton against Aoetearoa . She was the Superpower in those days we would have been at war for years a lot of tangata would have been lost and in reality we would not have any Mana now we would all be living on the Ruapehu the desert road and the neo librels would have total control .
IF we lett the government sign the tpp go have a look at America look at its roads look at its dams are running dry look at its ghettos look at its health systems look at its finance systems .
Is this what you want to leave behind for all OUR Mokos ECO MAORI says NO .
We are but caretakers of Papatuanuku for the very short time we are here OUR main job is to pass her on to OUR mokos in a good healthy state .
That is a good point Jack and Haley the state of our poor housing the Tidal wave of inequality instigated by nationals shonky and bills polices will still be rolling in for years . Ana to kai
Ka kite ano
Rock Rumble I know what to say I dont want this tpp to stuff up Aotearoa and I wont fall for the bait others are putting out there I get to chose what I talk about I will forgive them I see the bigger picture .Give us a sore face P.S the sandflys delete things out of my inbox for me IPCA files
Ka pai ka kite ano
All the best on your new journey Bill English.
Time for he tangata of Aotearoa to take a new path to ensure all OUR mokos are all treated equally time for New Zealanders to respect Papatunuku / Mother Earth and all her creatures .So all our mokos can be guarantee a health prosperous future.
Hilary & Jeremy some think that I should have deleted my e-mail encourageing Tops party to help me to stop this farcical ttp trade our sovereign away contract .
New Zealand doesn’t need that the whole world wants our food that is the best food on Papataunuku we are not even known in a lot of countries we just have to tell the World our beautiful story about our clear sky’s green grass ect.
I told people that I would hold them accountable for there actions .
I was disappointed with one policy I bit my tongue .Eco Wil not bite his tongue on this farcical trade our sovereignty away contract tpp. Anyway I’m not a person who does things behind-the-scenes or behind one’s back .I want everyone to know my view on the reality of the ttp . I new labour would find out /be informed from the sandflys about my e-mail to Gareth Morgan .This action of mine puts labour on notice don’t underestimate ECO MAORI . I still back Labour lead Government I just want some of Tops researched good policies to be legislated into our laws sooner or later he got us all talking about Maori receiving 1cent in the dollar for compensating for our land being stolen by the NZ Company he is a great good hounerable Kiwi who put his money were his mouth is . Ka kite ano
Thanks for the tautoko Big man Ka pai E hoa Ka kite ano
National’s legacy. Not content with elevating NZ to the top of domestic abuse statistics, they underfund support services so badly, under the banner of restructuring, no-one answers the phone.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350270/child-abuse-hotline-overwhelmed-by-calls
I’m seeing some evidence by way of hit and run comments on other blogs that the dirty politics brigade is going to target Clark Gayford’s past as a way to attack JA and the government.
The Nats know this is a very, very dangerous strategy but I think they’re incapable of changing their ways, and it worked with Metiria Turei after all, even though they lost the election in the end.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Gayford’s past is in the spotlight soon.
Well if he hasn’t don’t anything to be ashamed of then he’s got nothing to worry about.
He is after all NZ’s first man of fishing.
So you agree with this kind of dirty politics?
If he hasn’t run for public office then he shouldn’t have anything to worry about regardless of whether he “hasn’t don’t anything” (sic).
Some of the accusations are rather serious and if true I can’t see how Ardern could survive.
And yesterday.
Without linking what was the post name from yesterday?
The one about the Chris Bishop smear.
Wow! Who knew that shadowy figures have been murdering NZ journalists and writers for years, and something about the KGB.
Serious stuff. 😆
These “innuendoes” have been going on for about three weeks with several kiwiblog commentators chiming in as if they know something. Farrar, as per his instructions, is letting it go and the shit slinging is continuing. Much like the innuendoes regarding Ardern’s mental health status pre election. There are a few specific commentators who kept that one up with regularity.
Depends what they are – and who says its dirty politics – what if its a #MeToo type issue?
(Not saying it is (nor have I read anything suggesting that this is the case – Just using this as an example of something in his past that isnt dirty politics and may indeed be a valid complaint from somebody).
If the revealing and dirt digging is being run by a political party and/or their proxies then it is dirty politics regardless of the nature of the accusations.
I disagree.
Sure, but that just makes you a very small cog in a rather large machine.
A self-described drug dealer claims to have supplied ecstasy and “speed” to a third party. It’s all part of a big conspiracy against journalists and writers, apparently.
While he hasn’t run for office hes certainly been front and centre, he accepted the wiro at Waitangi, has wrote some pieces about why we should vote for Jacinda
Hes not like Peter Davis or Bronagh Key in that respect so if you want to have influence you need to accept the negative with the positive
Mind you I also haven’t heard any rumours either
He’s had a bigger profile than Ardern over much of his career through his radio and tv work. I actually think he’s done a good job of being in the background considering. It doesn’t look like he’s going to use his new found fame to get tv jobs either.
” It doesn’t look like he’s going to use his new found fame to get tv jobs either.”
Doesn’t matter, he tried to influence the election, he accepted on behalf of either Jacinda or the Labour party the wiro at Waitangi so hes fair game
Then so are (or now were) Bill English’s kids who went around campaigning with him.
And his wife, Mary English, who was also with him today when he resigned along with three of the sons.
Mrs English (or rather Dr) also featured in a number of fluff pieces in the Herald etc as well as Gayford about their relationships with their respective partners.
Mary English didn’t start doing much campaigning until late in the picture, she was fairly anonymous for much of Bills career (which is a shame as shes quite the catch)
And kids should be off limits up until they start chiming in so, as an example, criticism of Max Key is fine but criticism of Stephanie Key isn’t
As Maui says, Gayford has had a public profile for almost 20 years through his TV and radio work.
He left his safe TV and radio jobs about three years ago to take a gamble and follow his dream of creating his own TV series combining travel, fishing and food, and marine sustainability and protection – with Jacinda Ardern’s blessing and encouragement.
The third series of “Fish of the Day” is due to run here in NZ soon on Prime TV (it was previously on Choice TV) and in about 38 countries through the National Geographic’s network (up from about 20 countries for the previous two series).
Brilliant (award winning) photography, particularly underwater, by his partner in this venture – Mike Bhana, a NZer also known as ‘Mr Shark’ as one of the creators of the largest shark exhibition in the world – Planet Shark http://www.planetshark.com – a huge educational installation designed to promote awareness, conservation and understanding of sharks and our oceans. Bhana is also known for his photographic/video work in documenting the work of the Red Cross teams worldwide.
http://fishoftheday.tv/profiles
A teaser video for the third series – https://www.facebook.com/pg/fishofthedaytv/videos/?ref=page_internal
Gayford and Bhana also do a lot of other work in relation to marine sustainability and protection both in NZ and in the Pacific, eg the proposed Niue Marine Sanctuary and the annual Humpback Whale migration. The ‘Fish of the Day’ also focuses on these issues.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11930357
They have also done a series of short travel promotion videos for Niue – keeping in with the ‘father in law’! – Ross Ardern, NZ High Commissioner to Niue, soon to return to NZ and become the NZ Administrator of Tokelau, based in Auckland.
Gayford will be putting most of the above on hold to become the prime caregiver of their child, so he deserves credit for this.
[And no, Ed – I am not getting paid for this promo.]
Of course he does solkta, james has no morals.
So Turei comes out and ADMITS benefit fraud in a speech and that’s nationals dirty politics.
Your tin foil hat is slipping.
They did go after her family. Even you’d have to admit that’s pretty low.
“They did go after her family.”
Metiria Turei pushed “her family” under the bus.
Turei tried to paint the picture she had no other choice but to commit fraud. Which is only half a step away from telling NZ that her former partner and his family did bugger all to help support their daughter/granddaughter
When in fact Turei had massive support from them, they were always going to hit back at Turei. Of course, you do know who the grandmother is of Metiria Turei baby?
[if you’re going to make statements of fact about a public/political figure on this political blog, you need to back them up. I’d now like to see some credible back up for the statement that Turei had ‘massive support’ from her family. Putting you in moderation so I can pick it up when it comes through – weka]
moderation note for you to respond to.
For context, many lies have been told about Turei, and much of them were politically motivated. If you want to make claims in the future, don’t make me ask for back up, provide it at the time.
Sure weka.
Read the stuff link that james posted…
Turei claim of she had to commit fraud was BS. She received massive support (her own words were “really fantastic support”).
It belittled the sole parents who do not have the support of their family or friends.
Sorry, but Turei was caught out.
[You need to provide evidence of your assertion of fact. i.e. actual links that are credible, and quotes from those links that explicitly support what you are saying. Your reckons aren’t enough, nor are vague references to other commenters. The onus is on *you to do the work. Note that for future reference too in what I said in the other note. Please also read the Policy about wasting moderator time. I’ve asked twice now, don’t make me come back at it again because I’m more likely just to ban you – weka]
“I’d now like to see some credible back up for the statement that Turei had ‘massive support’ from her family.”
Quote from Turei: “I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/95624422/metiria-turei-says-support-from-her-childs-grandparents-wasnt-financial
Tureis statement was in response to John Campbell putting written questions to her re-extend family contacting Checkpoint.
Now John Campbell is respected on the left…so is he making this up?
I know Ann Hartley and the thought she would let any child let alone her granddaughter go without is just ridiculous.
For those not familiar with Ann Hartley here is a good overview…
https://ancad.org.nz/sites/default/files/Ann%20Hartley_LoRes.pdf
If you want me to link to Turei admitting she did not have to cheat…well I can’t.
[good. Because now we can see the difference between what Turei actually said, and what you claimed as fact. People can then respond to your comment without having to deal with you asserting opinion as fact. From now on I suggest that at the time you either don’t assert fact but instead state clearly that things are in your opinion, or you put up a link and quote to back up the claim of fact. I don’t want to have to waste my time on this again, nor do I think it’s ok to have this cleared up a day after the conversation is moved on. You are allowed to express opinion on this site (within bounds), but misusing statements of facts to take part in a long attack on a public figure is not ok – weka]
Turei: I have always said I did have really fantastic support from friends and family and that Piupiu’s family really supported me especially when I was in law school with things like you know, child care, stuff like that. Like the sort of stuff that you would expect.
You: When in fact Turei had massive support from them
There is nuance in what Turei is saying. Obviously she is sending a message to her family and friends that she really appreciated the support she received from. We don’t know how much of the ‘really fantastic support’ was financial, or of the financial support, what weekly or yearly amount that was.
We also don’t know what shortfall she had in her budget over time. That she had wealthy in laws who gave some financial support doesn’t mean that they were giving her what she needed.
The crux of the issue here is whether Turei needed the additional money from the benefit or not. Again, we don’t know the figures involved, so there is no way to assess this from a maths point of view. What we do know is that at that time, the benefit wasn’t enough to live on. It is widely held opinion that benefits were already at that time set below the poverty line in order to force people into work. For a single parent raising a child and going to law school there is very little space to take on extra work to supplement income. This is why most compassionate and knowledgeable people either understand what Turei did or actively support it.
Further, as Bill pointed out, financial support from family (or anyone) is technically considered income by WINZ and had she declared it she would have had a portion of her benefit taxed. Catch 22.
I don’t actually care who Turei’s in laws are. There are plenty of middle class beneficiaries whose families help in some ways but where the beneficiary still struggles and the family is either aware or unaware. This is neither news nor surprising. The only people that don’t understand this social reality are people who are ignorant. And far too many people are wilfully ignorant and want their bigotry to trump everything else. That is what I see in your series of posts. You are willing to believe second or third hand information and rumour instead of looking at what was most likely to have been going on.
John Campbell is a very compassionate man. But in this instance he did one of the worst things I have ever seen him do. He did that interview from a place of utter ignorance of the reality of being a beneficiary and he chose to amplify the voices of reactionaries rather than vulnerable people. He ran a line of sex workers and drug addicts might be justified in needing more income, but that law students with wealthy in laws aren’t. That is as fucked up as it comes, and I don’t care what someone’s politics are at that point, if they are abusing their position of power by promoting bludger memes. Campbell should be ashamed of himself.
You mean when the family contacted the press to say that her comments were ‘galling’
“The allegations were put to Turei by RNZ Checkpoint who said a family member told them the extended family found Turei’s comments about the hardships she faced in her 20s and her benefit fraud “galling”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/95624422/metiria-turei-says-support-from-her-childs-grandparents-wasnt-financial
Anonymous family member, eh? Interesting…
to quote you from a couple of days ago “so obviously there was something inappropriate going on.”
Fuck off James. Any financial aid from a family member would have been viewed as income, and if not declared to WINZ (so they could dock payments accordingly) then said aid becomes a matter of fraud.
Bill English a millionaire lives in a house owned by his trust … but claims $900 per week in rent expenses … the motive was pure greed …but he ADMITS nothing
James and our dirty politics goons go on and on about a solo mum getting a fraction of that to try and live on a benefit that the national party set at punitive poverty levels …..
James ADMITS his clearly dirty stinking morals …. underpinned by hypocrisy.
…. his fingers do the talking .
No – James goes on about a self admitted benefit fraud.
you capitalized whats important to you ….
and your past form sticks and stinks ………..
Anyway good to see Bill English flushed from power …. another head for winston …. the key slayer.
Who next ?
There’s a really simple sequence to kill all that:
1. 2018. Prime Minister gives birth. That’s worth a year of publicity including international. WHo will supply the outfits?
2. 2019. Prime Minister take the baby to Waitangi. Solid month of coverage.
He proposes. That’s worth about 6 months of solid magazine covers and tv interviews locally.
3. 2020. They get married at start of campaign.
That’s worth 4% in the polls by itself, because it kills all other political coverage.
They get a second term.
4. 2022. Second baby. Gets a third term. Retires from politics end of Year 8.
Job done.
Pity you think she needs to be a baby factory / get married etc to get re-elected.
So much for substance.
Yeah, that’s a pretty insulting post.
Ad seems to think Arderns main worth is to be a breed mare and grace the covers of the woman’s mags.
You’d think impressing voters with her PM skills would be what gets her reelected, but, nope it’s babies and weddings.
No Ad’s just pointing out the shallow nature of what it takes to get elected in this country.
y’know smile n wave etc using the womens mags, have the msm repeat your spin, photo mop’s with the AB’s, get on the cover of Rugby times etc etc
Weak attempt at diversion BM, you can do better than that.
A woman who gives birth to two babies is a “baby factory”, James?
Pretty scabby stuff from you today. BM’s comments (below) are equally pustular.
using the term for knocking out another baby for the purpose of getting re-elected – yes.
But as usual – you miss the big point.
And you show us once again you have no moral compass.
Each and every day your lack of morals just becomes more and more apparent james.
So today your on a James has no morals kick huh.
Wonder what your pathetic meme of the day will be tomorrow?
to be fair, it’s not like you’ve shown much evidence of having a needle in your moral compass.
Like the March Hare’s fob-watch, stuffed with gobs of butter.
The smears are deranged drivel.
One of the other headlines at the blogsite which has the smears –
‘Exclusive – Is Jacinda Ardern another KGB Tavistock Agent Working for Putin & Netanyahu?’
Batshite lala land stuff.
I had to google for the blog site you hinted at above…”shape-shifting alien lizard conspiracy” kind of says it all 🙂
“deranged drivel”.
Thats the best it could be described as.
Has it all come from that one website?
Oh look if three of them say it , it must be true.
You lot are tired as you are predictable.
Proof, just show some real proof your not scumbags, with no morals, who hate on working people. That’s all we are asking for.
It has only taken our new Government four months to turn this country around.
$600M more tax collected than what National had forecasted.
Let the good times begin
More money collected, but not a single new house built, tree planted or child saved from poverty. The good times are definitely rolling!
But the TPP signing in on-track – so thats good.
It looks like a criminals charter …… judging by the corruption levels of those we are opening up to …
Brunei …. http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2014/04/30/corrupt-sultan-of-brunei-introduces-tough-islamic-penal-code/
Malaysia…… http://www.sarawakreport.org/2014/06/the-sarawak-timber-mafias-global-menace/
Mexico … https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/world/americas/mexico-corruption-commission.html
Singapore …. https://www.oxfam.org/en/even-it/singapore-switzerland-worlds-worst-tax-havens
What type of ‘trade agreement’ signs up such criminal elements ????
Will james be concerned ……….. or do they have to ADMIT something?.
“What type of ‘trade agreement’ signs up such criminal elements ????”
One that Labour will sign.
Its easy to see the greens taking 10% support off them over this …
Good to see the greens getting up around 15% …. because of Labour acting like National with corporate welfare….
The greens will rise further if they attack Nationals Tax Haven pollution…. And reverse Nationals damage to our corruption index ranking.
Seizure of criminal assets … just needs a politician or police officer to get the ball rolling and do the right thing .http://www.sarawakreport.org/2014/06/the-sarawak-timber-mafias-global-menace/
All good? As a species, we’ve made our bed. What a world we lived in. At least Binglish is gone (small mercies; anyone feeling for Paula?) – like Key, toddling off to those greener pastures…
https://earthfirstnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/tpp-shirt-comic.jpg
https://admin62b4b.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Untitled-7-1-2.jpg
https://concisepolitics.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/tpp-free-trade.png
https://images.dailykos.com/images/56606/story_image/NAFTA_Whip.gif?1383851570
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ae/25/1c/ae251c0cd3846c68c950ea17363101a7–agenda-corporate.jpg
http://www.thedawn-news.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/west-virginia-chemical-coal-spill-tpp-cartoon-1024×729.jpg
If anything happens to me like the games the sandflys are playing with me on the roads every time I get in a vehicle.
That will turn ECO MAORI into a Martyr then YOU will have really big problems you create OK sandflys. Ana to kai
Bill English gone.
BREAKING – Bill English holding press conference at 11.30am. Expected to step down.
EDIt – He was late for Nat Party Caucus and Mary and two sons at Parliament with him.
Bill English stepping down? Our caption contest had a sharp edge? Listen in to Radionz.
And if you have been doing so and heard Rod Oram, there seemed some very interesting points raised. Ad would have some comments about this I imagine. Trade with Russia and Fonterra. Possible unhappiness with Fonterras initiatives of recent years by shareholders.
NZ government revenue is highly leveraged Rod says. When times are good this works well, but when there is a drop gummint needs to be prepared to borrow and initiate activity? (and there is room to do so within conservative management policies.)
English goes on Tuesday 27 February. (I misheard and thought it was 22 Feb.) He referred to the weight of service hanging over the whole family for many years, and it was an emotional moment for him. (This is not verbatim and my take on it.)
Umm. Perhaps he shouldn’t have dragged them around on the campaign trail then.
I laugh at how politicians and sportspeople pretend they are doing it for their families…
Interesting. Let me put it this way, while I can imagine a world in which I could actually vote for Bill English, there just isn’t one in which I ticked a party led by any of his probable successors.
Well that was a long career and in years to come he’ll be remembered a bit like Jim Bolger, ‘for a Tory he could’ve been a lot worse’.
Funny that, you could say roughly the same thing about Helen Clark ‘for a leftie he could’ve been a lot worse’.
Wonder what will be said about Jacinda in years to come
I wonder what will be said about you PR in the years you have left? And then – dearly loved …..
I’d imagine it’ll be something like this:
>about Helen Clark ‘for a leftie he could’ve been a lot worse’.<
Attention to detail! – or are you saying Helen Clark is a man?
No thats my bad, I should have been more careful on the cut and paste, heres what I should have said:
“for a leftie she could’ve been a lot worse”
Helen Clark is a better man than Bill English is.
I can’t. He is a pseudo nice guy. He engaged lawyers and accountants to steal from us with a veil of legitimacy, he denied a housing cris, he denied poverty, he proppped up Ruth Richardson and her lot. he lied about a hole when he knew the real hole was 21b which he and Joyce hid from PREFU. ALL of his actions enabled the appalling attack and denigration on our vulnerable that is prevalent today. He oversaw a campaign designed to set kiwi against kiwi.
Anti gay marriage (an dcivil union) anti aborton
Fed farmers given adavnc enotice of the decision furthe rproving their place as a Nat lobby group (and NO they do not represent farmers in NZ, only about 15-20% of the despite what they Nats and media portray)
Nope, cannot envisage a world where he would ever have got my vote.
Well said Tracey Agree 200%
I have often wondered about the stats of how many ordinary farmers – on the land – actually feel that Fed Farmers is good for them and their needs.
Leaving parliament effective 27 Feb
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1802/S00098/bill-english-announces-retirement-from-parliament.htm
Wow, only just caught on he’s not just stepped down as leader but is leaving parliament altogether and immediately.
Former Prime Ministers MPs should always be allowed to do this when they step down. If they want to hang on until the next election that is fine but they shouldn’t continue past that.
Lange and Muldoon are two who hung on and on.
They both ended up as sad figures from the past hanging around the House. Lange admitted when he finally quit, in failing health, in 1996 that he should have gone earlier but he wanted the money.
Muldoon also stayed on, a thorn in his parties side, until he also stood down in ill health at the end of 1991 not long before his death.
Both should have gone long before their actual retirement date.
English has the time to try a new career. He is, after all, only just 56.
Here is link for Rod Oram, economic watchers might think it striking stuff.
Radionz
business economy
Business commentator Rod Oram
From Nine To Noon, 36 minutes ago
Listen duration 16′ :54″
More bad news from Fletcher Building and Fonterra invests in a controversial joint venture in Russia.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018631839/business-commentator-rod-oram
that sounds about right.
Those wealth creators at it again.
They haven’t cottoned on to the George Constanza method of success –
When you are a loser – just do everything the opposite and by a sort of logic you should then be sure of success, with your fingers crossed.
The sandflys master are really upset about me cutting there farcical Tpp to pieces they are playing all the low down moves today people here is a music video to show them ECO MAORI Mana
Ana to kai
Technology annoying. Woogle have to have a noise start when going to the search line. It is something to do with some game they have devised. It’s not a toy so stop trying to amuse the punters will you developers; just stay out of my head.
Its supposed to be something to do with the winter olympics, a blizzard type noise or the sound the luge makes…who knows? Damned annoying, and until I muted things I thought my laptop had finally caught fire.
I know, I know – just had that same feeling myself. Have I got tinnitus, are there cicadas in the room, is there something collapsing behind the computer? Everyone is trying to be so clever these days. Its exhausting, I wish they would stop and spend 30 minutes having a drink and pondering about life. I think that’s what’s needed these days – more pondering time.
“…are there cicadas in the room”
We have been pondering how to utilise the sadly deceased crickets invading our home at the moment. Deceased, because they are so numerous stepping upon them is unavoidable. Someone in the house just told the dogs they have to develop a taste for them…
A tale of two leaders
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1802/S00100/jacinda-ardern-statement-on-bill-english.htm
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11993543
good on peters , english has been part of a government that has dragged politics in nz to new lows.
I did like Ardern’s mention of how English’s children were born and raised while he was an MP – gets a jab in, but with full deniability.
What did you expect from Winston Peters?
Once an a*hole, always an a*hole.
And he is, supposedly the “Right Honourable” Winnie the Pooh.
That is one title that should definitely be dumped.
Stop being so politically correct. On this subject, Peters says what we’re all thinking. Diddums.
You might think exactly the same thing.
It certainly doesn’t say much for your character then.
I guess, if that is the way you really think, the second line of my comment must apply to you as well.
Hi there! I’m your very own asshole.
What sort of character makes banal platitudes when a mediocre leader with a history of failure is finally put out to pasture by his supposed colleagues?
The public “servant” was on double or treble what most NZers get for the better part of three decades, still felt the need to double-dip on his accommodation allowance, and during his career participated in some of the worst economic abuses of society’s most vulnerable we’d seen in a century.
Well done, good and faithful servant, indeed…
Well put. I’ve found the praise of the Double Dipper today nauseating.
I’m not a big fan of Peters but sometimes he nails it.
He brought some healthy perspective to the assessments of English.
Ka pai Duncan & Zane from Rock radio your segment with Johnny K the lawyer is a good service for he Tangata the kumara
never tells how sweet it is but I got the welcome home sirens again they are up set ECO gets blamed for lots of phenomenon Ka kite ano
It’s hard to credit, but the lamentable Richard
Dimblebore is becoming even more obnoxious.
His interruptions and condescending remarks begin at about the 4:00 mark…
Wellington people who want something to do tomorrow evening, there is a public meeting featuring Jane Kelsey and Laila Harre about the TPP-11 at Wesley Church. See:
https://itsourfuture.org.nz/nationwide-public-meetings-tppa-11/
for more details.
Nelson, Chch, and Dunedin meetings still have a bit more time before they occur if you want to plan around them.
(If I had spotted this earlier, I would have posted it, but with all the news today and as a last minute notification… lol no. I hope plenty of you showed in Auckland!)
Yes we should donate as much as we can; we wouldn’t want the Tongan Royal family to dip into their personal massive coffers, would we.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]