Connoisseurs and students of the human condition would be crazy to miss the latest episode, Ep10, of How Not to Be an Asshole – and probably crazy to want to hear it. Wow, these guys are really white-knuckling it now, and it delivers some exceptional performances, extended periods of chaos, interspersed with interesting tales and ideological definitions of certainty, as only ideology can supply.
This week the guys interview a feminist/sexologist, former BFM feature host, Sarin Moddle. She talks about what cisgender is, the difference between sex and gender, living “outside your bubble of understanding”, accuses the guys of being “oppressors” (that bit was hilarious… I thought he was going to snap) and how she pities anyone who hasn’t slept with more than ten people. The guys talk about their foray into vigilante justice – sans capes or lycra – distrust of the cops, and how their various relationships ended.
This may be the last one I listen to, not because it’s bad, but because I have a much lower tolerance for the kind of Jane Austin-Emily Emily Brontë style of violence and irony these guys and their guests eagerly subject themselves. I might need a cup of tea to calm down. Whatever it is they’re after, I hope it’s worth it. If becoming less of an asshole can be learned by being around assholes, I applaud these guy’s courage. In the meantime, it just keeps getting “better”.
“Legislation giving U.S. President Barack Obama authority to speed trade deals through Congress failed a crucial procedural test on Tuesday, delaying a measure that may be key to President Barack Obama’s diplomatic pivot to Asia.
In a setback to the White House trade agenda, the Senate voted 52-45 – eight votes short of the necessary 60 – to clear the way for debate on the legislation, which would allow a quick decision on granting the president so-called fast track authority to move trade deals quickly through Congress.”
Thank you, Wikileaks, for providing a counter to the antidemocratic secrecy that was employed in these negotiations. Tim Groser’s ideas of democracy differ markedly from mine.
Obama’s plans for trade deals with Asia and Europe in tatters after Senate vote
Senate legislation fails to pass after Democrats put concerns about US jobs ahead of president’s argument that trade deals will boost global economy.
Barack Obama’s ambitions to pass sweeping new free trade agreements with Asia and Europe fell at the first hurdle on Tuesday as Senate Democrats put concerns about US manufacturing jobs ahead of arguments that the deals would boost global economic growth.
A vote to push through the bill failed as 45 senators voted against it, to 52 in favor. Obama needed 60 out of the 100 votes for it to pass.
Failure to secure so-called “fast track” negotiating authority from Congress leaves the president’s top legislative priority in tatters.
It may also prove the high-water mark in decades of steady trade liberalisation that has fuelled globalisation but is blamed for exacerbating economic inequality within many developed economies with the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Internet activists had said the deal would curb freedom of speech, while other critics charged it would enshrine currency manipulation.
Drama over the landmark trade negotiations has been escalating for weeks, propelling Obama into a public feud with Democrats – going so far as to accuse opposing members within his party of lying about the fast-track bill. The vote marked a rare moment in which Republicans lined up to support the president’s agenda, even as GOP leadership pointed to Obama’s failure to rally his own party in favor of the legislation.
Opponents have been emboldened by the growing influence of liberal senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and were joined by all but one Senate Democrat in voting against moving forward with TPA.
Even Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for the 2016 presidential race and historically a supporter of free trade, has been cautious amid growing concern over the effect of globalisation on middle-class jobs, warning against “trade for trade’s sake”.
—-
This is AMAZING news! Nearly unanimous opposition from the Democrats and it looks like fast-track might be thwarted. This is important because if Obama can’t make progress on the TPP soon, he won’t bother expending political capital on it so close to the election season.
Can somebody please explain to me exactly why 60 votes are required to pass this bill?
I realise that 60 votes are required to invoke cloture, terminating debate, but that wasn’t what was being voted on here was it?
In terms of your last comment, why shouldn’t he try and pass things? By this stage in his term Obama, who will be FORMER President Obama after the next election is surely interested solely in his legacy. If he doesn’t get things done now he never will. He certainly has no reason at all to wait as he will have no political capital at all after next years Presidential vote.
Obama’s interested in his “legacy”? I would say he’s more interested in well paid post-public office corporate board positions. That’s why he wants to get the TPPA fast tracked for the multinationals.
You sound a bit cynical, but you may be correct.
On the other hand an ex-President, like Bill Clinton, can get almost any number of very highly paid speaking gigs which would be much easier.
Accepting your view though simply adds weight to my view that saying “he won’t bother expending political capital on it so close to the election season” is patently wrong.
Cynical would be saying that the Clinton foundation would accept millions from Russian doners roughly around the same time that Hilary was considering approving natural resource sales to Russian companies…and even though that has come out it hasn’t appeared to cost her any political capital.
Doesn’t it make you rather sorry about the nasty things said about the Bush’s, father and son?
They appear to have both made very dignified exits, with not even a single nasty comment about their successors. Actually George Bush was a pretty good President in my view.
George W? Pretty good as an ex-President. Pity about the time before the “ex” bit though.
“an ex-President, like Bill Clinton, can get almost any number of very highly paid speaking gigs”
Well yeah, that’s how they bribe their politicians.
No-one really thinks it’s worth half a million bucks to hear Clinton speak before dinner, but it looks slightly less corrupt than throwing him half a mill while he’s in office.
Thank you McFlock. I hadn’t realised that it had got to the point where you didn’t even have to speak to create a filibuster.
The article you linked to is rather funny. We really do have a case of “they did it so we are going to do it too”, haven’t we?
There is hugely significant movement on the NSA and the complicit behaviour of 5 eyes members going on outside of these cloistered walls. I can understand that thestandard wants to protect you from the subversive influence of dotcom but the waves are crashing higner and higher against the walls that protect you. raise your eyes for a moment and take a look. a good place to start might be .coms twitter
Thanks but I know how to find a twitter account. I meant links that would tell us what you are talking about, because the comment on its own doesn’t make much sense.
1. Investors in Auckland will require 30% LVR deposit
2. Owner-occupiers in Auckland still only require 20% LVR deposit, and existing 10% ‘speed limit’ on banks remain for this lending
3. Lending outside of Auckland has the 10% bank ‘speed limit’ increased to 15%.
While applauding that something has been done I can’t see that this will much effect at all.
I’d be far more impressed to see the government do something – low to no chance of that of course.
What we need is tightening rules on who can purchase – only permanent residents, instituting a comprehensive capital gains tax and bringing forward the local body elections in Auckland so we can evict the odious Len Brown and his council.
I hope you mean two transactions, rather than one.
I was considering moving to a smaller house sometime. That would mean
1. Selling one house.
2. Buying a new house.
“hefty stamp duty” the man says.
Hey, that comment was really more of a joke.
My next one is mostly meant seriously though.
Actually I don’t think that high stamp duty works that well.
I bought a place in Melbourne about 25 years ago, while living there. From memory it cost about $450,000 and the stamp duty was something over $22,000.Didn’t seem to have much effect on sales in the city. People still wanted somewhere to live.
It is always the introduction of a tax that changes behaviour to a new level. Classic supply and demand curve – increasing price will lead to decreased demand.
Once the tax has been in place for a while, the market will get used to it and factor it in to pricing. If you were to then take the tax off, you would see a step-change back up in demand.
“instituting a comprehensive capital gains tax”
Why do people have such faith in a proposal that a capital gains tax will have any effect on house prices in Auckland? It wouldn’t even be a comprehensive one as all the parties that propose such a tax plan to exclude the primary home. Once you do that you merely open up an enormous loophole. After all, if you want to sell a property you simply move into it, claim that it is now your primary home and sell it CGT free.
Ignoring that of course you have to explain why, if it is such a great idea, it simply hasn’t worked in Australia, which has had such a tax for more that 20 years. The price of houses in Melbourne and Sydney is at least as bad as the situation in Auckland. If CGT has had no effect there why should it work here?
The problem is one of supply, and particularly the supply of land, in Auckland. Fix that and you have some chance of fixing the price spiral.
Your final point says “evict the odious Len Brown and his council”. Actually, if you want to hold down house prices Len is helping. Wind the rates up, I say. No 10% increases. Make them at least 25% per annum and continue it until the house prices crumble. Who is going to buy a $2.5 million doer-upper, as DC and his wife did, if the rates were $250,000 per year?
The price of houses in Melbourne and Sydney is at least as bad as the situation in Auckland.
[citation needed]
That said, there are many instances of CGTs around the world where the CGT is lower than both corporate taxes and top personal taxes which means that the imbalance of not having a CGT is still there. It may not be as much of an imbalance as not having a CGT but it would still create housing bubbles.
Why do people have such faith in a proposal that a capital gains tax will have any effect on house prices in Auckland?
Most of us recognise that there needs to be a range of policies implemented with the CGT being only one of those policies. Others would include the government building huge amounts of state housing and banning offshore ownership.
Here is an example. Have a look at the bit on the Inner Suburbs, but I suggest you ignore Toorak and its $3.3 million. That is a special case and I would say there was nothing in Auckland that compares.
Hawthorn, Camberwell and Malvern are nothing special. They are pleasant but not exceptional. You should also note that “Inner Suburbs” means within 10 km of the City.
Extracts are
“$1,164,500 median price for the first three months of this year was up from $1,099,000 in the December quarter – a six per cent increase. ”
“June 2012 when the median price was $848,500. ”
““By the September quarter of 2013 the median price of $971,500 broke the previous record, set in March 2010. Since then, there has been an increase every quarter and with it, a new record. By March last year the inner Melbourne median had broken the $1,000,000 barrier.”
“for metropolitan Melbourne for this year’s March quarter was $688,000, up 3.5 per cent on the December quarter’s $664,500 median. That’s a year-on-year change of 10 per cent.”
If I were to think like a banker, I’d encourage speculators to finance any shortfall in their 30% deposit by borrowing against the equity in their own homes. If there’s something in these measures to stop that kind of behaviour, then this may have greater effect.
Indeed, Ovid. Failing to avert investors ability to leverage off equity renders LVR restrictions somewhat toothless, largely minimizing the impact.
Moreover, the Reserve Bank confirmed it had no plans to extend deposit rules to cover P2P lending, providing investors with another way round the restrictions.
Considering the acceleration in house prices, one would expect restrictions to be a little more robust, thus boosting their overall effect.
I’m not convinced 30% deposit is the way to go, I think it’ll make it harder for young couples to get the money needed together
I was thinking that lowering the deposit needed as long as kiwisaver is used might be a way to go but then that might just make it eaiser for the kids of wealthy parents to get into houses
It’s not Tommo and it wasn’t Aranda either. For some reason other peoples details keep coming up on my idevices (iPad and iPhone). Clearly there is a security issue at your end. I have no interest in Tommo or Arandar and their email addresses remain intact. I will leave it to the great lprent to work out how this happened and be thankful that I am not Rawshark, Rachinger or Whaleoil.
Having had my bit of fun, mainly just to check that your site security is indeed rubbish, I will leave you alone. A passing thought though, if these details come up on my devices, they are also coming up on others’ who may not be as charitable as I am.
More to the point … the government getting on with providing more houses, state houses, and tailoring them to need not more space for individuals to spread themselves. Both Labour and now National have been complete failures on this point.
So heartland is going in a granny emotive piece I skipped through which made no mention of the fact that sky actually air it or detailed reasons for its demise.
WTF is really going on as it is a rerun channel FFS.
Great minds thinking alike.
Note how eager Josie Pagani is to agree with everything Farrar says. The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Farrar, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
3:45 p.m. ……
JIM MORA: And good afternoon, very nice to have your company. 2101 if you’re contacting us, or the panel@radionz.co.nz. W-w-w-what the World is Talking About with Noelle shortly: Is Seymour Hersh’s account of the SEAL attack on Osama bin Laden fact or fantasy? The superbug strain of typhoid is spreading, the end of independence for Norfolk Island, the end of American Idol, Bear Grylls’s island show embroiled in an animal cruelty stoush, the plan to get rid of the names of well known diseases: why? And, er, when you donate to Wikipedia, where does your money go? Also what happens when you rotate your dinner plate? And our —ha ha, ha ha!—aahhh, and—I’m sorry Noelle, that was—
NOELLE McCARTHY: Slightly to the right.
MORA: Yes, or slightly to the left. Ah, our love of bottled water shows no sign of f-f-f-f-fizzing. Speaking of slightly to the right and slightly to the left, on the Panel today are David Farrar and Josie Pagani!
JOSIE PAGANI: He he he.
DAVID FARRAR: What’s this “slightly”?
JOSIE PAGANI: Hallo! Yes, he’s a RABID right winger.
DAVID FARRAR: Miss former ALLIANCE staffer!
JOSIE PAGANI: Tory bastard.
MORA: Ha!
DAVID FARRAR: What—how is the Alliance going, Josie?
JOSIE PAGANI: Um, I’ve no idea, David!
DAVID FARRAR: Ha ha ha ha!
MORA: We’ve made a good beginning!
DAVID FARRAR: Ha ha ha!
JOSIE PAGANI: We have!
MORA: Facial hair on schoolboys, Prince Harry looking for love, the awfully bad weather—I’ll ask you two about that later, Guy Carawan is dead—ahh, what was his claim to fame? Well he never found much fame, but something he did made the world better. Terrorism across the ditch but don’t worry, we’re good here, and the art of Quaxing with Josie and David after 4 o’clock. Noelle McCarthy, What the World is Talking About, good afternoon.
NOELLE McCARTHY: Good afternoon, all. Well we talked yesterday, didn’t we, about journalist Seymour Hersh and his report on the killing of Osama bin Laden, where he said that the White House version of these events was basically a fairy story. He said that the Pakistani authorities knew about the raid, contrary to what we heard from the President at the time. Well the reactions to this are coming in now, critics calling him a conspiracy theorist, ahhhm, and questioning his source, we talked about the source briefly yesterday, ahhhhm, Seymour Hersh said he had a “retired intelligence official” who was the person who told him that the Pakistani authorities had been holding Osama bin Laden this whole time. Ahhhhmmm, the, those who are questioning his account now say, well THIS guy isn’t exactly a key player, and he’s anonymous.
MORA: Not enough of a source, Seymour.
DAVID FARRAR: Interesting if you go through, as a journalist did, all of Seymour Hersh’s recent writings, he claims to have anonymous* sources in more than thirty foreign governments, and every U.S. department of state. He’s written some great stuff in the past, but the last ten years, almost every article he’s written has been anonymous* sources, and you do have to be skeptical when that is your only, ahhhh, validity.
JOSIE PAGANI: And you have to ask, what is the motive? What would be the motive to have this incredibly complicated alternative version of reality?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Yes, and the scope of the accusations is something else that’s attracting attention. If what Seymour Hersh is saying is true, then hundreds of people in at least two governments have been lying in unison for years.
JOSIE PAGANI: And no one leaked? [bemused snickering]
DAVID FARRAR: Part of his theory or article is that Saudi Arabia was behind protecting him in Pakistan. Now, he is the mortal enemy of the House of Saud. They expelled him from Saudi Arabia because he tried to overthrow them effectively, so the notion that—
JOSIE PAGANI: David’s just segueing into an episode of Game of Thrones now!
DAVID FARRAR: A ha ha ha ha ha!
MORA: Yeah, it does sound a bit like that!
DAVID FARRAR: It does, doesn’t it! But I think the point being that, y’ow, it’s pretty, even if, y’ow, there was better verification, you just apply the logic test, and almost everything in this article just doesn’t really add up in terms of motivations.
MORA: Well it’s got Seymour’s name in the headlines again.
NOELLE McCARTHY: That’s right. Mike Morell who used to be head of the CIA is FURIOUS, he says he has ABSOLUTELY no idea what he was talking about, EVERY one of those sentences he’s written is wrong. He says the Pakistanis didn’t know, they were FURIOUS, and HE was sent to Pakistan to sort it out.
MORA: Mmkay, that’s the latest on Seymour Hersh. ….[Loudly shuffling papers]…. Now, typhoid! Pink spots on the chest, isn’t it….
I see NBC has come up with elements which corroborate Seymour Hersh’s report on what actually happened around Osama’s death. Specifically, that a walk in from the Pakistani intelligence services told the CIA where Bin Laden was and that Pakistan had been holding Bin Laden for years. Of course, getting Bin Laden was a key rationale for the US to be in Afghanistan, so having Bin Laden on hand was very inconvenient.
“When you have a boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, you’re discriminating against Israel,” Cardin told a packed auditorium at the pro-Israel gathering. “And the United States should take a stance to make sure other countries that want trade agreements with the United States do not participate in BDS against Israel.”
In France, the law has for years criminalized hate speech based on national origin, and authorities there have in recent years been using it to prosecute BDS advocates. To date, more than 20 have been convicted.
Listen very carefully, I will says this onleez once…
You know how it’s well known that National equals self interest, and that once upon a time Labour equaled collective good? Well, everyone knows that. And you know how Labour hasn’t been doing so well in the polls lately? Yeah, bummer about that.
And you know how The NZ Herald, and associated media outlets are percieved as anti-Labour government/Socialism etc etc. Well, everyone now knows that, too.
And you know how, if Labour says anything directly critical of the Nats, or anyone else, the stories in the media will spend all their words focussing on the negative that was said, even if it was just 50% of the whole speech?
Yeah, well everyone knows that. Except for you it seems. Even though the rest of the time all we hear is moaning about a biased media and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
So today in the NZ Herald we find that Andrew Little said some things about the Nats in a pre-budget speech. They’re irresponsible, he says, how are they irresponsible? Let him count the ways… and anyone who says otherwise is a fraud. What were you thinking? This isn’t a forum flame-war, it’s national politics.
Unsurprisingly, the ways in which the Nats were irresponsible became 7/8th of an influencial newspaper report. The coverage of the speech made him sound bitter and small-minded, all from ideas you wrote, and this part:
” “Tackling New Zealand’s problems takes commitment, perseverance, vision, and the willingness to take risks,” he said. “Doing the right thing for New Zealand requires focus, not focus groups.” A responsible Government would deliver a surplus, a solution to the housing crisis, vibrant regions, and a plan to diversify the economy.” ”
…barely had any space to breathe.
So why not try this, for all future speeches: why not just talk about the committment you have, the vision you have, the willingness, the focus, the policy, and not even once mention the Nats, or associated frauds, or how you’ll expose bludgers, track down dodgy dudes, hold bogeymen to account, sanction nose-pickers or shoot wild pigs on the farm? Because everyone knows about the Nats – they are their own endlessly absurd advertisement, with no indication of self-restraint any time soon. The media don’t like your Party much, and you’re not helping the line they play on that you lot are negative and nasty.
Good idea maybe? Even if the media then made up stories about you, the people that heard you in person would get the picture – and it is they who you seek in influence, yes? Everyone now knows how the Nats are, and will, screw them. They see it everyday, they live it. It goes without saying. Tell them how you won’t screw them, then you’ll pick up the missing million voters, easy. Or don’t, and struggle along into obscurity by trying to convinvce a marginal percentage of the people who are more comfortable with National to momentarily jump ship, for a single term, by using methods they theoretically don’t condone.
Yours sincerely, and not holding my breath for a cheque for advisory services,
Charles.
Labour had a “vote positive” message for their 2014 election campaign. It was widely derided, and really screwed them when DP came out of left field because they could barely mention it, despite it being what everyone was talking about.
These days the economic right often sound more humanist and progressive than the left on immigration. We need a serious dose of class politics and internationalism.
There isn’t one. The problem with open borders in a world that is over-populated is that you’ll end up with most of that over-population heading for the Promised Land of the Western Nations which will, inevitably, result in the collapse of those nations and the inevitable war that follows.
Now, it’s true that many of those Western Nations are only rich because of the slave labour in the poorer nations from which the Western Nations are importing huge amounts of resources. And this shows the real problem – that national resources are being used to support the living standards of other nations.
The right of workers to move and live wherever they please is a pretty fundamental workers’ right. You may as well say that workers from rural NZ should stay there and not come into the main cities because that’ll wreak havoc here.
The left has abandoned far too much in the way of basic freedoms, like the right of workers to move to where jobs and conditions are better. The right and left have almost swapped places on some issues, like this.
It’s time to get back to some very basic issues of class and class solidarity.
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Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
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Connoisseurs and students of the human condition would be crazy to miss the latest episode, Ep10, of How Not to Be an Asshole – and probably crazy to want to hear it. Wow, these guys are really white-knuckling it now, and it delivers some exceptional performances, extended periods of chaos, interspersed with interesting tales and ideological definitions of certainty, as only ideology can supply.
https://hownottobeanasshole.wordpress.com/
also available on The Daily Blog.
This week the guys interview a feminist/sexologist, former BFM feature host, Sarin Moddle. She talks about what cisgender is, the difference between sex and gender, living “outside your bubble of understanding”, accuses the guys of being “oppressors” (that bit was hilarious… I thought he was going to snap) and how she pities anyone who hasn’t slept with more than ten people. The guys talk about their foray into vigilante justice – sans capes or lycra – distrust of the cops, and how their various relationships ended.
This may be the last one I listen to, not because it’s bad, but because I have a much lower tolerance for the kind of Jane Austin-Emily Emily Brontë style of violence and irony these guys and their guests eagerly subject themselves. I might need a cup of tea to calm down. Whatever it is they’re after, I hope it’s worth it. If becoming less of an asshole can be learned by being around assholes, I applaud these guy’s courage. In the meantime, it just keeps getting “better”.
there is a problem with pot – for ladies…
..it’s called cotton-vagina..
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/pot-problems-dreaded-cotton-vagina
“Legislation giving U.S. President Barack Obama authority to speed trade deals through Congress failed a crucial procedural test on Tuesday, delaying a measure that may be key to President Barack Obama’s diplomatic pivot to Asia.
In a setback to the White House trade agenda, the Senate voted 52-45 – eight votes short of the necessary 60 – to clear the way for debate on the legislation, which would allow a quick decision on granting the president so-called fast track authority to move trade deals quickly through Congress.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/12/us-usa-trade-idUSKBN0NX0B320150512
Yay
Audio on the significance of the failed Fast Track Vote on TPPA from RNZ.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201754132/hopes-for-trans-pacific-free-trade-deal-dealt-blow
plus Tim Groser’s response.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201754147/t-p-p-a-dealt-blow
Thank you, Wikileaks, for providing a counter to the antidemocratic secrecy that was employed in these negotiations. Tim Groser’s ideas of democracy differ markedly from mine.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/68437377/riding-the-conservative-revolution
– Food for thought or Tory wish-fulfillment?
Have said similar meself – definitely a time for conservatives…
why?
the populace is fed fear and uncertainty (think terrorists, gfc, precariat, labour settings (zero hour contracts), troops in Iraq at war)
when there is fear and uncertainty the conservatives rise
human nature
Hooton taking to his bed today? Or round 2?
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/12/obama-trans-pacific-partnership-senate-vote
Obama’s plans for trade deals with Asia and Europe in tatters after Senate vote
Senate legislation fails to pass after Democrats put concerns about US jobs ahead of president’s argument that trade deals will boost global economy.
Barack Obama’s ambitions to pass sweeping new free trade agreements with Asia and Europe fell at the first hurdle on Tuesday as Senate Democrats put concerns about US manufacturing jobs ahead of arguments that the deals would boost global economic growth.
A vote to push through the bill failed as 45 senators voted against it, to 52 in favor. Obama needed 60 out of the 100 votes for it to pass.
Failure to secure so-called “fast track” negotiating authority from Congress leaves the president’s top legislative priority in tatters.
It may also prove the high-water mark in decades of steady trade liberalisation that has fuelled globalisation but is blamed for exacerbating economic inequality within many developed economies with the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. Internet activists had said the deal would curb freedom of speech, while other critics charged it would enshrine currency manipulation.
Drama over the landmark trade negotiations has been escalating for weeks, propelling Obama into a public feud with Democrats – going so far as to accuse opposing members within his party of lying about the fast-track bill. The vote marked a rare moment in which Republicans lined up to support the president’s agenda, even as GOP leadership pointed to Obama’s failure to rally his own party in favor of the legislation.
Opponents have been emboldened by the growing influence of liberal senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and were joined by all but one Senate Democrat in voting against moving forward with TPA.
Even Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for the 2016 presidential race and historically a supporter of free trade, has been cautious amid growing concern over the effect of globalisation on middle-class jobs, warning against “trade for trade’s sake”.
—-
This is AMAZING news! Nearly unanimous opposition from the Democrats and it looks like fast-track might be thwarted. This is important because if Obama can’t make progress on the TPP soon, he won’t bother expending political capital on it so close to the election season.
Can somebody please explain to me exactly why 60 votes are required to pass this bill?
I realise that 60 votes are required to invoke cloture, terminating debate, but that wasn’t what was being voted on here was it?
In terms of your last comment, why shouldn’t he try and pass things? By this stage in his term Obama, who will be FORMER President Obama after the next election is surely interested solely in his legacy. If he doesn’t get things done now he never will. He certainly has no reason at all to wait as he will have no political capital at all after next years Presidential vote.
Obama’s interested in his “legacy”? I would say he’s more interested in well paid post-public office corporate board positions. That’s why he wants to get the TPPA fast tracked for the multinationals.
You sound a bit cynical, but you may be correct.
On the other hand an ex-President, like Bill Clinton, can get almost any number of very highly paid speaking gigs which would be much easier.
Accepting your view though simply adds weight to my view that saying “he won’t bother expending political capital on it so close to the election season” is patently wrong.
Cynical would be saying that the Clinton foundation would accept millions from Russian doners roughly around the same time that Hilary was considering approving natural resource sales to Russian companies…and even though that has come out it hasn’t appeared to cost her any political capital.
Doesn’t it make you rather sorry about the nasty things said about the Bush’s, father and son?
They appear to have both made very dignified exits, with not even a single nasty comment about their successors. Actually George Bush was a pretty good President in my view.
George W? Pretty good as an ex-President. Pity about the time before the “ex” bit though.
“an ex-President, like Bill Clinton, can get almost any number of very highly paid speaking gigs”
Well yeah, that’s how they bribe their politicians.
No-one really thinks it’s worth half a million bucks to hear Clinton speak before dinner, but it looks slightly less corrupt than throwing him half a mill while he’s in office.
here.
To get to any vote, debate needs to be closed. US politics is at the stage that petulant legislators just refuse to close the debate.
Thank you McFlock. I hadn’t realised that it had got to the point where you didn’t even have to speak to create a filibuster.
The article you linked to is rather funny. We really do have a case of “they did it so we are going to do it too”, haven’t we?
There is hugely significant movement on the NSA and the complicit behaviour of 5 eyes members going on outside of these cloistered walls. I can understand that thestandard wants to protect you from the subversive influence of dotcom but the waves are crashing higner and higher against the walls that protect you. raise your eyes for a moment and take a look. a good place to start might be .coms twitter
got a link?
https://twitter.com/kimdotcom
Thanks but I know how to find a twitter account. I meant links that would tell us what you are talking about, because the comment on its own doesn’t make much sense.
from that Twitter link .. this is serious …
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150326/18041530458/how-us-government-legally-stole-millions-kim-dotcom.shtml
So it was legal. Thus it is not stealing.
Reserve Bank is finally taking action against Auckland housing: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news/2015/fsr-13-may-2015.html
1. Investors in Auckland will require 30% LVR deposit
2. Owner-occupiers in Auckland still only require 20% LVR deposit, and existing 10% ‘speed limit’ on banks remain for this lending
3. Lending outside of Auckland has the 10% bank ‘speed limit’ increased to 15%.
While applauding that something has been done I can’t see that this will much effect at all.
I’d be far more impressed to see the government do something – low to no chance of that of course.
What we need is tightening rules on who can purchase – only permanent residents, instituting a comprehensive capital gains tax and bringing forward the local body elections in Auckland so we can evict the odious Len Brown and his council.
And a hefty stamp duty on anything more than one home transaction a year.
I hope you mean two transactions, rather than one.
I was considering moving to a smaller house sometime. That would mean
1. Selling one house.
2. Buying a new house.
“hefty stamp duty” the man says.
Clearly CR is talking about buying houses attracting a stamp duty. In your example, you have only bought one house.
Hey, that comment was really more of a joke.
My next one is mostly meant seriously though.
Actually I don’t think that high stamp duty works that well.
I bought a place in Melbourne about 25 years ago, while living there. From memory it cost about $450,000 and the stamp duty was something over $22,000.Didn’t seem to have much effect on sales in the city. People still wanted somewhere to live.
It is always the introduction of a tax that changes behaviour to a new level. Classic supply and demand curve – increasing price will lead to decreased demand.
Once the tax has been in place for a while, the market will get used to it and factor it in to pricing. If you were to then take the tax off, you would see a step-change back up in demand.
Well, we could word it so such could be considered a single move.
“instituting a comprehensive capital gains tax”
Why do people have such faith in a proposal that a capital gains tax will have any effect on house prices in Auckland? It wouldn’t even be a comprehensive one as all the parties that propose such a tax plan to exclude the primary home. Once you do that you merely open up an enormous loophole. After all, if you want to sell a property you simply move into it, claim that it is now your primary home and sell it CGT free.
Ignoring that of course you have to explain why, if it is such a great idea, it simply hasn’t worked in Australia, which has had such a tax for more that 20 years. The price of houses in Melbourne and Sydney is at least as bad as the situation in Auckland. If CGT has had no effect there why should it work here?
The problem is one of supply, and particularly the supply of land, in Auckland. Fix that and you have some chance of fixing the price spiral.
Your final point says “evict the odious Len Brown and his council”. Actually, if you want to hold down house prices Len is helping. Wind the rates up, I say. No 10% increases. Make them at least 25% per annum and continue it until the house prices crumble. Who is going to buy a $2.5 million doer-upper, as DC and his wife did, if the rates were $250,000 per year?
[citation needed]
That said, there are many instances of CGTs around the world where the CGT is lower than both corporate taxes and top personal taxes which means that the imbalance of not having a CGT is still there. It may not be as much of an imbalance as not having a CGT but it would still create housing bubbles.
Most of us recognise that there needs to be a range of policies implemented with the CGT being only one of those policies. Others would include the government building huge amounts of state housing and banning offshore ownership.
http://www.reiv.com.au/Property-Research/Median-Prices
Here is an example. Have a look at the bit on the Inner Suburbs, but I suggest you ignore Toorak and its $3.3 million. That is a special case and I would say there was nothing in Auckland that compares.
Hawthorn, Camberwell and Malvern are nothing special. They are pleasant but not exceptional. You should also note that “Inner Suburbs” means within 10 km of the City.
Extracts are
“$1,164,500 median price for the first three months of this year was up from $1,099,000 in the December quarter – a six per cent increase. ”
“June 2012 when the median price was $848,500. ”
““By the September quarter of 2013 the median price of $971,500 broke the previous record, set in March 2010. Since then, there has been an increase every quarter and with it, a new record. By March last year the inner Melbourne median had broken the $1,000,000 barrier.”
“for metropolitan Melbourne for this year’s March quarter was $688,000, up 3.5 per cent on the December quarter’s $664,500 median. That’s a year-on-year change of 10 per cent.”
If I were to think like a banker, I’d encourage speculators to finance any shortfall in their 30% deposit by borrowing against the equity in their own homes. If there’s something in these measures to stop that kind of behaviour, then this may have greater effect.
Indeed, Ovid. Failing to avert investors ability to leverage off equity renders LVR restrictions somewhat toothless, largely minimizing the impact.
Moreover, the Reserve Bank confirmed it had no plans to extend deposit rules to cover P2P lending, providing investors with another way round the restrictions.
Considering the acceleration in house prices, one would expect restrictions to be a little more robust, thus boosting their overall effect.
I’m not convinced 30% deposit is the way to go, I think it’ll make it harder for young couples to get the money needed together
I was thinking that lowering the deposit needed as long as kiwisaver is used might be a way to go but then that might just make it eaiser for the kids of wealthy parents to get into houses
The requirement is for investors, not owner occupiers.
Finally indeed, Lanthanide. The Reserve Bank should have acted long ago.
It’s not Tommo and it wasn’t Aranda either. For some reason other peoples details keep coming up on my idevices (iPad and iPhone). Clearly there is a security issue at your end. I have no interest in Tommo or Arandar and their email addresses remain intact. I will leave it to the great lprent to work out how this happened and be thankful that I am not Rawshark, Rachinger or Whaleoil.
Having had my bit of fun, mainly just to check that your site security is indeed rubbish, I will leave you alone. A passing thought though, if these details come up on my devices, they are also coming up on others’ who may not be as charitable as I am.
JUST MAKING SURE LPRENT HAS SEEN THIS COMMENT AS THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ONGOING SECURITY ISSUE. CHEERS “TOMMO”
Thanks but I’m not Tommo. That is the point. And I wasn’t Arandar in the weekend either. God knows who I will not be tomorrow.
More to the point … the government getting on with providing more houses, state houses, and tailoring them to need not more space for individuals to spread themselves. Both Labour and now National have been complete failures on this point.
Also we cannot keep stuffing 1/3 of NZ (and probably most of the immigrants) into 0.3% of the land area.
So heartland is going in a granny emotive piece I skipped through which made no mention of the fact that sky actually air it or detailed reasons for its demise.
WTF is really going on as it is a rerun channel FFS.
Great minds thinking alike.
Note how eager Josie Pagani is to agree with everything Farrar says.
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 12 May 2015
Jim Mora, David Farrar, Josie Pagani, Noelle McCarthy
3:45 p.m. ……
JIM MORA: And good afternoon, very nice to have your company. 2101 if you’re contacting us, or the panel@radionz.co.nz. W-w-w-what the World is Talking About with Noelle shortly: Is Seymour Hersh’s account of the SEAL attack on Osama bin Laden fact or fantasy? The superbug strain of typhoid is spreading, the end of independence for Norfolk Island, the end of American Idol, Bear Grylls’s island show embroiled in an animal cruelty stoush, the plan to get rid of the names of well known diseases: why? And, er, when you donate to Wikipedia, where does your money go? Also what happens when you rotate your dinner plate? And our —ha ha, ha ha!—aahhh, and—I’m sorry Noelle, that was—
NOELLE McCARTHY: Slightly to the right.
MORA: Yes, or slightly to the left. Ah, our love of bottled water shows no sign of f-f-f-f-fizzing. Speaking of slightly to the right and slightly to the left, on the Panel today are David Farrar and Josie Pagani!
JOSIE PAGANI: He he he.
DAVID FARRAR: What’s this “slightly”?
JOSIE PAGANI: Hallo! Yes, he’s a RABID right winger.
DAVID FARRAR: Miss former ALLIANCE staffer!
JOSIE PAGANI: Tory bastard.
MORA: Ha!
DAVID FARRAR: What—how is the Alliance going, Josie?
JOSIE PAGANI: Um, I’ve no idea, David!
DAVID FARRAR: Ha ha ha ha!
MORA: We’ve made a good beginning!
DAVID FARRAR: Ha ha ha!
JOSIE PAGANI: We have!
MORA: Facial hair on schoolboys, Prince Harry looking for love, the awfully bad weather—I’ll ask you two about that later, Guy Carawan is dead—ahh, what was his claim to fame? Well he never found much fame, but something he did made the world better. Terrorism across the ditch but don’t worry, we’re good here, and the art of Quaxing with Josie and David after 4 o’clock. Noelle McCarthy, What the World is Talking About, good afternoon.
NOELLE McCARTHY: Good afternoon, all. Well we talked yesterday, didn’t we, about journalist Seymour Hersh and his report on the killing of Osama bin Laden, where he said that the White House version of these events was basically a fairy story. He said that the Pakistani authorities knew about the raid, contrary to what we heard from the President at the time. Well the reactions to this are coming in now, critics calling him a conspiracy theorist, ahhhm, and questioning his source, we talked about the source briefly yesterday, ahhhhm, Seymour Hersh said he had a “retired intelligence official” who was the person who told him that the Pakistani authorities had been holding Osama bin Laden this whole time. Ahhhhmmm, the, those who are questioning his account now say, well THIS guy isn’t exactly a key player, and he’s anonymous.
MORA: Not enough of a source, Seymour.
DAVID FARRAR: Interesting if you go through, as a journalist did, all of Seymour Hersh’s recent writings, he claims to have anonymous* sources in more than thirty foreign governments, and every U.S. department of state. He’s written some great stuff in the past, but the last ten years, almost every article he’s written has been anonymous* sources, and you do have to be skeptical when that is your only, ahhhh, validity.
JOSIE PAGANI: And you have to ask, what is the motive? What would be the motive to have this incredibly complicated alternative version of reality?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Yes, and the scope of the accusations is something else that’s attracting attention. If what Seymour Hersh is saying is true, then hundreds of people in at least two governments have been lying in unison for years.
JOSIE PAGANI: And no one leaked? [bemused snickering]
DAVID FARRAR: Part of his theory or article is that Saudi Arabia was behind protecting him in Pakistan. Now, he is the mortal enemy of the House of Saud. They expelled him from Saudi Arabia because he tried to overthrow them effectively, so the notion that—
JOSIE PAGANI: David’s just segueing into an episode of Game of Thrones now!
DAVID FARRAR: A ha ha ha ha ha!
MORA: Yeah, it does sound a bit like that!
DAVID FARRAR: It does, doesn’t it! But I think the point being that, y’ow, it’s pretty, even if, y’ow, there was better verification, you just apply the logic test, and almost everything in this article just doesn’t really add up in terms of motivations.
MORA: Well it’s got Seymour’s name in the headlines again.
NOELLE McCARTHY: That’s right. Mike Morell who used to be head of the CIA is FURIOUS, he says he has ABSOLUTELY no idea what he was talking about, EVERY one of those sentences he’s written is wrong. He says the Pakistanis didn’t know, they were FURIOUS, and HE was sent to Pakistan to sort it out.
MORA: Mmkay, that’s the latest on Seymour Hersh. ….[Loudly shuffling papers]…. Now, typhoid! Pink spots on the chest, isn’t it….
* Farrar pronounces this word “anomynous”.
I see NBC has come up with elements which corroborate Seymour Hersh’s report on what actually happened around Osama’s death. Specifically, that a walk in from the Pakistani intelligence services told the CIA where Bin Laden was and that Pakistan had been holding Bin Laden for years. Of course, getting Bin Laden was a key rationale for the US to be in Afghanistan, so having Bin Laden on hand was very inconvenient.
He had some sort of speech impediment as a child which resulted in not speaking until the age of 35.
His first words were, “John Key”.
hahaha
teasing people with speech impediments is fun
derp a derp
He’s a big boy.
Yeah, but someone in speech therapy reading this might not be.
And someone who is waiting to be told it’s ok to have a go at people with speech impediments might be too.
The long long arm…
The Harper government is signalling its intention to use hate crime laws against Canadian advocacy groups that encourage boycotts of Israel.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-cites-hate-crime-laws-when-asked-about-its-zero-tolerance-for-israel-boycotters-1.3067497
And don’t think it couldn’t happen here.
“When you have a boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, you’re discriminating against Israel,” Cardin told a packed auditorium at the pro-Israel gathering. “And the United States should take a stance to make sure other countries that want trade agreements with the United States do not participate in BDS against Israel.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/congress-israel-settlements_n_7129064.html
Yes, free speech is for insulting Arabs and Muslims, not for protesting against Israel.
In France, apparently so.
from the CBC link above
In France, the law has for years criminalized hate speech based on national origin, and authorities there have in recent years been using it to prosecute BDS advocates. To date, more than 20 have been convicted.
Freedom of speech can be dangerous
BBC reports Bangladesh blogger Ananta Bijoy Das hacked to death
Dear Andrew Little’s speech writers,
Listen very carefully, I will says this onleez once…
You know how it’s well known that National equals self interest, and that once upon a time Labour equaled collective good? Well, everyone knows that. And you know how Labour hasn’t been doing so well in the polls lately? Yeah, bummer about that.
And you know how The NZ Herald, and associated media outlets are percieved as anti-Labour government/Socialism etc etc. Well, everyone now knows that, too.
And you know how, if Labour says anything directly critical of the Nats, or anyone else, the stories in the media will spend all their words focussing on the negative that was said, even if it was just 50% of the whole speech?
Yeah, well everyone knows that. Except for you it seems. Even though the rest of the time all we hear is moaning about a biased media and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
So today in the NZ Herald we find that Andrew Little said some things about the Nats in a pre-budget speech. They’re irresponsible, he says, how are they irresponsible? Let him count the ways… and anyone who says otherwise is a fraud. What were you thinking? This isn’t a forum flame-war, it’s national politics.
Unsurprisingly, the ways in which the Nats were irresponsible became 7/8th of an influencial newspaper report. The coverage of the speech made him sound bitter and small-minded, all from ideas you wrote, and this part:
” “Tackling New Zealand’s problems takes commitment, perseverance, vision, and the willingness to take risks,” he said. “Doing the right thing for New Zealand requires focus, not focus groups.” A responsible Government would deliver a surplus, a solution to the housing crisis, vibrant regions, and a plan to diversify the economy.” ”
…barely had any space to breathe.
So why not try this, for all future speeches: why not just talk about the committment you have, the vision you have, the willingness, the focus, the policy, and not even once mention the Nats, or associated frauds, or how you’ll expose bludgers, track down dodgy dudes, hold bogeymen to account, sanction nose-pickers or shoot wild pigs on the farm? Because everyone knows about the Nats – they are their own endlessly absurd advertisement, with no indication of self-restraint any time soon. The media don’t like your Party much, and you’re not helping the line they play on that you lot are negative and nasty.
Good idea maybe? Even if the media then made up stories about you, the people that heard you in person would get the picture – and it is they who you seek in influence, yes? Everyone now knows how the Nats are, and will, screw them. They see it everyday, they live it. It goes without saying. Tell them how you won’t screw them, then you’ll pick up the missing million voters, easy. Or don’t, and struggle along into obscurity by trying to convinvce a marginal percentage of the people who are more comfortable with National to momentarily jump ship, for a single term, by using methods they theoretically don’t condone.
Yours sincerely, and not holding my breath for a cheque for advisory services,
Charles.
Reading and concurring.
Labour had a “vote positive” message for their 2014 election campaign. It was widely derided, and really screwed them when DP came out of left field because they could barely mention it, despite it being what everyone was talking about.
Cartoon illustrating today’s Open Mike reminds me of my favourite Gary Larson offering…..Beware of Doug
…..http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6715691973_bca11f829f.jpg
Test message – ignore
These days the economic right often sound more humanist and progressive than the left on immigration. We need a serious dose of class politics and internationalism.
The case for open borders:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/the-case-for-open-borders/
Phil
There isn’t one. The problem with open borders in a world that is over-populated is that you’ll end up with most of that over-population heading for the Promised Land of the Western Nations which will, inevitably, result in the collapse of those nations and the inevitable war that follows.
Now, it’s true that many of those Western Nations are only rich because of the slave labour in the poorer nations from which the Western Nations are importing huge amounts of resources. And this shows the real problem – that national resources are being used to support the living standards of other nations.
The right of workers to move and live wherever they please is a pretty fundamental workers’ right. You may as well say that workers from rural NZ should stay there and not come into the main cities because that’ll wreak havoc here.
The left has abandoned far too much in the way of basic freedoms, like the right of workers to move to where jobs and conditions are better. The right and left have almost swapped places on some issues, like this.
It’s time to get back to some very basic issues of class and class solidarity.
Phil
Despite their success in imposing austerity on the working class in many countries, the ruling class hasn’t been able to produce a *real* new boom. The debate between austerians and Keynesians continues:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/austerity-has-it-really-worked-for-the-capitalists/