“The sprawling political refugee camp that Labour is busily turning itself into will find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the “No Discussion of Beliefs Permitted” rule it is currently enforcing in order not to upset its National refugees, and a position which denies the importance of espousing coherent political beliefs altogether.”
Chris Trotter in a thought provoking mood in his Bowlalleyroad blog. Have a read. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
Not really political but that shouldn’t stop a good moan. Who is sick of the media running their own trial with these high profile court cases? Every day we get the media version of the Guy/MacDonald saga; a days court proceedings condensed into a few column inches of ghoulish voyeurism. The media take a sick delight in parading the private lives of the participants, gorging on gossip, innuendo and rumour. There’s no justice in it, they’re neither judge nor jury, its all about ratings and they don’t care who they hurt in the process.
If it’s not that it is disgusting grief-porn. All cheap copy that sells newspapers and apparently that’s all that matters.
Speaking of the Guy case, I’ve been interested in the number of workers on that farm who were not being paid, and were doing some kind of “work experience”. More agrarian welfare for the rich.
Raises both hands! The second the latest gruesome details of the latest murder trial comes on TV
it is the OFF button for me. If everybody did the same thing they would soon stop. It is the victim’s families who must stand to be the most affected by this media obsession with murder and mayhem. What long term damage is being done to them I hate to think.
Another hazard that is often overlooked… I know there are many parents of young families who can no longer watch the 6pm news because they will not allow their children to be exposed to the daily diet of murder trials with all it’s attendant blood and gore.
Dh I agree. A brief mention of the progress of the Guy case would be satisfactory not all this background about what the farm worker said and thought, family feelings and on. One thing emerges – the emotional pull to farmland is strong here. There was a murder of a wife in a divorce who in wanting her half share of property was forcing the sale of a hard-built farm and the husband reacted against her.
My moan is about the extensive coverage, with money wasted on USA commentators, of the USA political circus. Let them ride their roundabouts there, with again, brief updates. But the fight for presidential candidates, the ridiculous manipulated party addresses and loud cries of approval from their fans, we don’t need this. It’s a waste of money. There are 172? countries in the world. When is there time to hear about the others with the USA crowding out other news?To get any airtime they have to have riots or disasters yet they lead very interesting and internationally important lives.
When is there time to hear about the others with the USA crowding out other news?To get any airtime they have to have riots or disasters yet they lead very interesting and internationally important lives.
Exactly! What really irks me is when a grinning Hil’ry Berry or Mike McRoberts, plays some trivial local American item, the sort of thing that would be a paragraph in a local newspaper.. it’s not as if there isn’t plenty else to discuss!
We gave this trial matter some thought recently; DYNASTY or DALLAS comes to mind.Having worked for and socialised with sectors of our glorious rural community over the decades can advise that the sorts of dynamics being revealed in this publicised expose are very common between family members, families, neighbors, managers etc. It is not so bucolic amongst the california thistles, mastitis and mongrels. ENVY and GREED reeks from a lot of these people, and yes, getting paid like getting blood out of pumice.
Emmerdale on steroidal hormones.
Well, with corporate farming expansion, falling commodity prices, reduced commodity orders, devaluation of the dollar likely, interest rate rises, increased regulation and environmental requirements, Trading in Fonterra shares, fuel price and ruc increases etc….
SamHall
Interesting comment which I understood this time. You sound as if you are well-versed in the healthy country lifestyle. By the way who are ‘we’? Do you arise from a think tank or is it the royal we? Haha.
Lets not forget it is always handy to a Government that is dealing with sensitive and/or volatile policies to have a juicy murder to distract the public with. This was highlighted for me this morning when National Radio had an interview about Australia and How The Dingo Did It. The commentator mentioned how the whole Azaria case came to light and began its protracted media prescence just as the Mabo land case was gaining traction.
Who is sick of the media running their own trial with these high profile court cases?
I absolutely agree! The Guy/McDonald saga is particularly boring/annoying… Said about Kylie Guy “she still wears her rings” – well, most widows do! What was their point?
With the increase of Road User Charges I assume we will have John Banks encouraging the roading industry to block Auckland Roads with trucks again in protest as he did when the Labour Party were in Government /sarc. He was so enthuisiastic over the protest then. Hypocrites.
We should start the discussion now. National may choose to stay out of it for now, but they will have to join at some stage.
Suggested progress:
– Involve all willing parties and any groups and organisations with an interest in the future of NZ Super in discussion and proposal of policies.
– Open it to wide public discussion.
– Gather as much information and opinion as possible.
– National and United Future have a Confidence and Supply commitment to public discussion on flexi-super – this can be used to develop the Super debate further.
– In time for next election campaign have a commitment from all (willing) parties on the future direction of NZ Super and a timeframe for dealing with it.
– Include NZ Super in parliamentary business early in the next term (first half of 2015)
– get the poodle to not vote for the next budget unless it addresses the Superannuation time bomb.
– get all the pollies to read the very interesting and comprehensive posts and comments in the Standard on the subject.
Your first point is either pathetic or woefully ignorant.
Your second point is very good – why don’t you make it happen? I could give you some practical advice if you like. If you can generate some positive and balanced discussion here I’d be happy to promote and support it. Cross-blog discussion on Super is something I’ve suggested.
What are you doing on your blog about Super? I’d be happy to link that in too.
Because C&S responsibilities don’t allow for the bringing down of the government at the request of some random blog commenter. This is a standard coalition provision, and will have protected the Clark government from first year collapse due to Redbaiter asking a party to break their agreement (similar to you he’s currently asking for banishment of the entire National contingent).
Perhaps you think any coalition between between Labour and Greens would be as flimsy and temporary as you seem to think the current one should be.
Apart from that it’s ridiculous to threaten a budget that’s eleven months away on an issue that could achieve significant progress in that time, but will probably take longer than that to resolve.
There are no C&S responsibilities that overide Dunne’s responsibilities to NZ, Pete. If he genuinely wants a debate on Super, then the power is in his hands to enforce one. Which he won’t do, because he is too worried about a single aspect of the super debate; his own pension pot.
If he genuinely wants a debate on Super, then the power is in his hands to enforce one.
Dunne has already used his (coalition) power to get a commitment with National to a public discussion paper on Super, which is more than anyone else has been able to achieve.
How effective that discussion will be will depend on how much effort a range of parties, organisations and individuals make to take advantage of the opportunity.
No he hasn’t. Key refuses to join in the debate and the ‘agreement’ you refer to is nothing to do with the wider issue of super. It’s just a sop, as you well know, Pete. Stop dissembling and start putting pressure on your leader. Poodles have teeth, you know. They just have to be trained to use them.
It is a sop; it’s a commitment in the C&S agreement to a (small ‘g’) government paper on a possible flexible retirement age, (ie. straight to Bin 13). Even if it ever makes the light of day, that’s a change which the PM rejected yet again as recently as yesterday.
So stop trying to blow smoke up our collective nether regions and get to work on Dunne. Tell him you’ll walk if he doesn’t threaten to do the same. Go on, mate, show some balls. You can cripple the media arm of UF just by refusing to blog for a day.
I’d rather work positively to see what can be done. Hissy fitting as you suggest doesn’t usually achieve anything.
The Prime Minister’s open to United Future’s flexi-super idea.
“If people want to choose to take more and retire slightly later, that’s their call. Whether it’s workable or not, there are lots of challenges in that but we’re happy to have that discussion.”
Other blogs are getting in on promoting good Super discussion and progress too:
Consensus in our times?
We welcome this move by David Shearer and Russel Norman to make superannuation non-political. And we reckon that John Key would be wise to accept the olive branch being offered to him; after all, failure to do so would leave him vulnerable to the two main parties of the Left.
John Key may well have made superannuation a die-in-a-ditch issue. But David Shearer and Russel Norman have thrown him a rope. We hope that he accepts it; superannuation is far too important an issue to continue to be a political football, and cross-party consensus now could indeed produce a solution that will endure regardless of who occupies the Treasury Benches.
My understanding is that break even today is closer to $75/barrel for new operations.
And that assumes the ongoing ability to use and pollute as much fresh ground water as you like in the process for free AND not clean any of the massive chemical ponds or pollution up afterwards.
Shell gave the $50 figure at the beginning of last year so that’s a long time in the oil business. You could be right on current costs.
The oil companies pretty much have free range in Alberta and from the Harper government. They are desperate to get a pipeline either East or West but are facing huge opposition. They have to give large discounts to the US as they buy 99% of the Albertan oil at the moment.
That $50 is just their assessment of when they make meaningful money. Oilcos have been working the sands for decades at lower prices. Production costs including a reasonable rate of return are much lower.
outsider mad hatters institute a right wing propaganda organisation with very deep pockets.
I smell Murdoch and other robber barons all over this!
No credibility looking after vested interests.
Another brilliant blog analysis by Giovanni Tiso, this time on the temporarily derailed education reforms. And apart from the content, Tiso writes so damn well.
…We aren’t always going to be so lucky. Attacks against public education, here and elsewhere, are going to continue, and they will be launched – against the backdrop of a permanent state of economic crisis – by driving a wedge between the aspirations of the middle class and the realities faced by the working class. Of course league tables and performance pay are damaging to public education understood as a universal good – and I’m going to explain why to John Roughan in a minute – but so long as you feel confident that you will be able to move to the area with the best school, and you have been correctly conditioned to view the education of your children as a form of competition, you might not mind this, or even learn to actively support the idea. And just in case you might harbour some nostalgia for old-fashioned egalitarian myths, we shall disguise the reforms as pious concern for the one in five whom the education system currently fails (never mind it’s more like one in twenty), and who hail in the main from the lower socio-economic classes. This will sway some of the liberals who most need to be made to feel altruistic in exchange for their class interests being served. …
Thanks just saying. You are right about Giovanni’s writing style. And he has captured the essence of dark days of Education that are to come. Larger classes are just the opening shots. Ughh!
I agree, Giovanni Tiso’s writing is lovely to read, and this is an excellent piece. But whichever way you look, the downward squeeze /upward flow gets more and more apparent. Everything works in the manner of a nasty franchise: the owner of the brand squeezes the margins so that the franchisee cannot get his head above water, and in turn squeezes the staff. Dollar-guys attack the Euro Zone through its weakest links, and the strong members squeeze the weaker ones in an attempt to regain their ground. Education is no different; the recent changes to tertiary education, in which interest-free student loans are kept but limits placed upon getting them, essentially means a near-free education for the wealthy (who can invest the loan amount, take the loan, and reduce the cost via the interest received), while the poor are gradually squeezed out. The mooted changes to primary/secondary education follow much the same pattern. Wake up, middle class! You are only a squeeze or two further away from ruin than the people you want to see sterilised.
There have been a few server structural shifts going on overnight. See this comment from yesterday.
Let me know if anyone spots anything outside of the current site flaws. I haven’t been seeing any of significiance apart from a markedly reduced overseas bandwidth.
On my screen, the layout is different, lists of blogs, media etc., is now running single-file down the length of the right side of the screen, and periodically it becomes blurred with the words on top of each other.
No it was there.. One part of it was to do some interesting things to javascripts. A bit too much as it turned out. Took a while for that to come through the system.
The UK, for the opening of the Olympics is setting up a picture of a country idyll with happy cows and people – must be like a glossy Midsomer Murders background. Very Marie Antoinette who used to have tableaus with her entourage dressed as rustics I understand.
And funny in a nightmarish way when one thinks of residential buildings in London having their roofs turned into sites for anti-missile etc surveillance. This will have to be set up earlier than the opening and people screened in and out. The people there will have this burden of suspicion and checking systems for months perhaps, and feel like targets for damage. Not an idyll.
lprent
I have struck a wee problem. I put an item on 12/6 open mike and then realised I wanted it in 13/6 so tried to delete it and that gave me a blank page with -1 at the top of it. I thought okay it’s been deleted, and put the item in 13/6 and then checked back on 12/6 but it was still there. Pressed delete again got the pink line that I wasn’t allowed to do this and blue Close. I pressed this and nothing happened. I couldn’t get reaction either from the return/refresh arrow at top so was locked there in Ajax and had to close out to get out.
Alert from Avaaz.org. An online petition re Asset Sales:
Tomorrow, John Key is planning to ram controversial asset sales legislation through parliament — despite thousands of citizens taking to the streets in protest. Let’s create a massive outcry and stop the sale of New Zealand’s key assets:
That’s the question most people who watched TV3 News last night were pondering, confused by Boag’s lurking appearance in political reporter Patrick Gower’s piece to camera.
[…]
She was there, then she wasn’t, then she peeked out in front of the pole once again.
Gower, on Twitter, called it “one of the truly great lurking incidents on the Parliamentary precinct”.
Turns out neither Boag nor Gower knew she was on camera – Boag only found out later in the evening when her husband asked her what she was doing.
“I happened to be walking down the stairs and I saw Paddy was about to go on and I wasn’t going to have the chance to watch what he said so I just hung around to listen,” she said.
[..]
A UK-based journalist with the same name – Patrick Gower – said he’d received “a slightly unnerving set of tweets about a woman behind me”.
secret taping lurking round parliament spying on reporters i smell a rat a natrat from the brat pack.
Boag will not be the flavour of the month in most Nact circles right now.
Helping undermine her leaders aspirations.
The Boag Con stictor. Sqeezing the life out of her prey.
Another Nactional meddling muddler
Well spotted Carol! Just what the hell was she doing there? Is this awful woman still an office-holder within National? I guess that she is another “asset” on the side, but one (unfortunately) they will never sell!
Bob Jones treads a shaky line in his column in the Herald:
Still, when one recalls his mincing catwalk performance a year back and given his hedging response to the homosexual marriage proposition, well who knows? Might we yet see an out-of-the-closet Prime Ministerial announcement, with a tearful Bronagh in the background?
Time for some predictions.
In the movie The Truman Show, Truman is talking to the woman who will later be his girlfriend. She is wearing a button saying “How’s it going to end?”
How’s our Truman Show going to end?
Around the world, elected and un-elected officials developing unworkable economic solutions to problems created by corporates and banks seeking profits that are now being paid for from austerity measures placed on the innocent.
The use of taxes earned off the backs of the workers to purchase worthless “assets” from private interests who manipulated, deluded and defrauded so they could use other people’s money to make personal profit.
Banks, corporations, executives, bankers escaping prosecution for the misery they created around to world in the form of job loses, mortgagee sales, business failures and all the attendant mental, emotional damage.
The development of a corporate aristocracy for whom the rules applied to lesser beings do not apply. Golden parachutes given to people who cause loss or harm to their company. Corporate boxes for politicians when public servants could be sacked for receiving such a gift. Horrendously large salaries and bonuses for jobs that, some times, could be done by a well trained chimp.
A worker goes to work knowing that a percentage of their labour and time will be exchanged for money that will fund a life of entitlement for politicians who do not undergo a performance review. An election every three years by an uninformed or indifferent populace is NOT a performance review.
Taxes used to fund corporate welfare projects based on flawed calculations of how many jobs it will create. Instead, private investors who have some degree of wealth profit from the sweat of those who don’t.
A world economic system that is soooo flawed that it needs radical reform but the lunatics are the ones running the asylum.
The list goes on…..
How’s it going to end? Are we all just a Truman Burbank? Content to live in a world where everything is a corporate product and nothing is real? Christof: If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there’s no way we could prevent him.
Christof: “I’ve given Truman the chance to lead a normal life. The world, the place you live in is the sick place. Seahaven is the way the world should be.”
Financial systems are a constant mystery also those involved in them. On Radionz I think on Sunday afternoon there was a piece on auditors. There used to be 9 big ones, now there are only four. Consideration is being given to legislating for a change of auditor every 6 years to prevent client capture or moral hazard or whatever name for cosiness. The auditors spoken to were very confident that everything was fine as it is. Auditing relationships have been known to last 48 years. Of course that rarely applies now as businesses average about 10 years before fading.
Finance Minister Bill English admits rebalancing of NZ economy towards exporting yet to happen due to high NZ$ and quake; also sees tax switch benefits taking 5-7 years
However, “one way or another they will muddle through.
Only LPrent knows for sure, but it seems to me that there has been a steady increase in the number of women commenting on the Standard in the couple of years I’ve been coming here. I’m extrpolating to a certain extent from the pseudonyms people are using, and assuming can make an ass….
I don’t know for sure, I generally have to guess. And I frequently find I am wrong both ways. I’ve had people tell me that they deliberately pick opposite gender names…. The whole point about the site is that unless people choose to rely on parts of the life outside of pure argument and use those in the conversation, you can’t tell.
But I think that there has been a steadily increasing numbers of women commenting over the years and that they are commenting more than they used to.
Some do. Some make my cynical rants designed to perform experimental literay inguinal orchiectomy on trolls look relatively tame. You should see some of the compliments I get after each excision from our modestly polite but robust debate.
Personally I rather like that our other gender has a healthy dislike of idiots. Makes me more hopeful about the kids with that level of discrimination against the socially inept with a self assessed Priapus problem.
As I say, it is sometimes hard to tell. But very few act like trolls.
China is a kleptocracy of a scale never seen before in human history. This post aims to explain how this wave of theft is financed, what makes it sustainable and what will make it fail. There are several China experts I have chatted with – and many of the ideas are not original. The synthesis however is mine. Some sources do not want to be quoted.
The macroeconomic effects of the Chinese kleptocracy and the massive fixed-currency crisis in Europe are the dominant macroeconomic drivers of the global economy. As I am trying a comprehensive explanation for much of the world’s economy in less that two thousand words I expect some kick-back.
Foreign Minister Murray McChardonnay – receives todays ROTFL award for his outstanding comedy skit performed recently at the Institute of International Affairs in Wellington.
He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand with the seemly candid admission that the Security Council is a sham:
“That view holds that contested Security Council seats will always fall to the highest bidder of aid dollars, or to the holder of the most flexible positions on the controversial foreign policy issues of the day,”
And then came the punch line:
“The Prime Minister’s approach and my own approach is that we would rather lose with honour than trade overseas development assistance or policy positions for Security Council votes.”
I have had many doubts about Mr McCully, Mr Key and the National government, and those doubts of course remain, but now I think I finally understand them – they are actually a stealth comedy act, gone deep cover, their strategy – to kill off the opposition with the most potent of all weapons – uncontrollable laughter.
Our fishing is certainly under threat with ships like the Korean one in the case being tried in Court. But the Korean officers have left the country apparently. You would think we would have some legal means of stopping them leaving so they could answer to their wrongs.
The crew have been brutalised, the observer tried to intervene on some of the practices but got very curt responses and feared for her safety. Why should they be able to get away with bad practices like this major dump of fish worth I think a million dollars when apparently all they needed to do was bring the net up earlier. It’s such careless and wasteful and inefficient practice and our seas are the losers to these marauding sods.
So Paula Benefit is planning some “tough love” for teenagers likely to go on the unemployment benefit. This involves extra surveillance, advice on budgeting and parenting…… but apparently no jobs???!!!
Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett has reinforced her tough love approach to stopping the flow of young people getting the unemployment benefit after dropping out of school.
In Parliament today, while speaking during the second reading of the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, Ms Bennett said “major reforms would stop an inter-generational cycle of dependence.”
[…]
Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett has reinforced her tough love approach to stopping the flow of young people getting the unemployment benefit after dropping out of school.
In Parliament today, while speaking during the second reading of the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, Ms Bennett said “major reforms would stop an inter-generational cycle of dependence.”
[…]
The bill will allow the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to share information about school leavers, so that the MSD can identify youth before they sign up for a benefit.
“As Minister of Social Development I will continue to push, cajole, incentivise, obligate and at the end of the day put all my belief in those people on welfare,” she said.
So just a lot of additional harassment, surveillance and window-dressing, nothing useful like ACTUAL jobs …. and, the kicker!…. it’ll save the government $1billion!
In Parliament today, while speaking during the second reading of the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill, Ms Bennett said “major reforms would stop an inter-generational cycle of dependence.”
No they won’t, far more likely to entrench them.
“As Minister of Social Development I will continue to push, cajole, incentivise, obligate and at the end of the day put all my belief in those people on welfare,” she said.
What she means is that she’ll force more into poverty so that they’re forced to work to make some bludger richer for lower wages than they get already.
That is all rote stuff that Petulant Bean learned at USA University isn’t it. I think she did a pressure cooker course on how to cook the books? so as to make welfare beneficiaries seem to be a mix between vampires and the devil’s spawn. Was it at Wisconsin, a name that occurs when talking about meanness, and they would be big on using the terms welfare dependence also learned helplessness is another favourite.
Paula Bennett is a sick piece of work…so is this concept of ‘welfare dependency’ .
Its time we took back the word dependency and use it to vilify the rich.
Within the relationship between the rich and the poor, there is only one direction that dependency exists. The concept of dependency was made famous by the theorist andre gunder frank who exposed how under capitalism, on a world wide scale, the rich are dependent on the poor. Somehow this term has been highjacked and is used to stigmatise victims, and champion the abusers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory
Points about Gabriel Makhlouf, Secretary to the Treasury, NZ. He fits my prejudice about the hardening effect on children of absent parents sent to boarding schools at long distance from their parents, as in school in Britain while parents work for UN in various countries.
“his father pursued a career in the UN. From age 11, he was separated from his family to continue his education at a British boarding school.
After graduating with an honours degree in economics at the University of Exeter, he spent a year as a treasurer for a student union, then did a masters degree in industrial relations at the University of Bath. His thesis was on “intra-union relationships in academia” As a PhD beckoned, Makhlouf realised it was either a life in academia “or I had to get out”, and he landed his first job in 1984, as a tax inspector.”
About our teachers “However, Makhlouf doesn’t have backing from Hattie on the alleged failure of the New Zealand education system. In the book’s foreword Hattie says, “We have a nation of excellent teachers, as shown in the country’s ranking in the top half-dozen nations in reading, mathematics and science. http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/interview-gabriel-makhlouf/
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
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We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
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It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
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Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
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 ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
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. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
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 ...
“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 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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
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 ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
“The sprawling political refugee camp that Labour is busily turning itself into will find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the “No Discussion of Beliefs Permitted” rule it is currently enforcing in order not to upset its National refugees, and a position which denies the importance of espousing coherent political beliefs altogether.”
Chris Trotter in a thought provoking mood in his Bowlalleyroad blog. Have a read.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
I’d rather rub ground glass into my eyes than read Trotter’s “dudes only!11!!” centred bullshit.
I like it! Thanks BillODrees…
Not really political but that shouldn’t stop a good moan. Who is sick of the media running their own trial with these high profile court cases? Every day we get the media version of the Guy/MacDonald saga; a days court proceedings condensed into a few column inches of ghoulish voyeurism. The media take a sick delight in parading the private lives of the participants, gorging on gossip, innuendo and rumour. There’s no justice in it, they’re neither judge nor jury, its all about ratings and they don’t care who they hurt in the process.
If it’s not that it is disgusting grief-porn. All cheap copy that sells newspapers and apparently that’s all that matters.
Speaking of the Guy case, I’ve been interested in the number of workers on that farm who were not being paid, and were doing some kind of “work experience”. More agrarian welfare for the rich.
Who is sick of the media running their own trial with these high profile court cases?
*Raises hand*
Raises both hands! The second the latest gruesome details of the latest murder trial comes on TV
it is the OFF button for me. If everybody did the same thing they would soon stop. It is the victim’s families who must stand to be the most affected by this media obsession with murder and mayhem. What long term damage is being done to them I hate to think.
Another hazard that is often overlooked… I know there are many parents of young families who can no longer watch the 6pm news because they will not allow their children to be exposed to the daily diet of murder trials with all it’s attendant blood and gore.
Dh I agree. A brief mention of the progress of the Guy case would be satisfactory not all this background about what the farm worker said and thought, family feelings and on. One thing emerges – the emotional pull to farmland is strong here. There was a murder of a wife in a divorce who in wanting her half share of property was forcing the sale of a hard-built farm and the husband reacted against her.
My moan is about the extensive coverage, with money wasted on USA commentators, of the USA political circus. Let them ride their roundabouts there, with again, brief updates. But the fight for presidential candidates, the ridiculous manipulated party addresses and loud cries of approval from their fans, we don’t need this. It’s a waste of money. There are 172? countries in the world. When is there time to hear about the others with the USA crowding out other news?To get any airtime they have to have riots or disasters yet they lead very interesting and internationally important lives.
Exactly! What really irks me is when a grinning Hil’ry Berry or Mike McRoberts, plays some trivial local American item, the sort of thing that would be a paragraph in a local newspaper.. it’s not as if there isn’t plenty else to discuss!
We gave this trial matter some thought recently; DYNASTY or DALLAS comes to mind.Having worked for and socialised with sectors of our glorious rural community over the decades can advise that the sorts of dynamics being revealed in this publicised expose are very common between family members, families, neighbors, managers etc. It is not so bucolic amongst the california thistles, mastitis and mongrels. ENVY and GREED reeks from a lot of these people, and yes, getting paid like getting blood out of pumice.
Emmerdale on steroidal hormones.
Well, with corporate farming expansion, falling commodity prices, reduced commodity orders, devaluation of the dollar likely, interest rate rises, increased regulation and environmental requirements, Trading in Fonterra shares, fuel price and ruc increases etc….
Good Luck to Them. NOT.
SamHall
Interesting comment which I understood this time. You sound as if you are well-versed in the healthy country lifestyle. By the way who are ‘we’? Do you arise from a think tank or is it the royal we? Haha.
Seems to suffer from multiple personality disorder.
Lets not forget it is always handy to a Government that is dealing with sensitive and/or volatile policies to have a juicy murder to distract the public with. This was highlighted for me this morning when National Radio had an interview about Australia and How The Dingo Did It. The commentator mentioned how the whole Azaria case came to light and began its protracted media prescence just as the Mabo land case was gaining traction.
I absolutely agree! The Guy/McDonald saga is particularly boring/annoying… Said about Kylie Guy “she still wears her rings” – well, most widows do! What was their point?
With the increase of Road User Charges I assume we will have John Banks encouraging the roading industry to block Auckland Roads with trucks again in protest as he did when the Labour Party were in Government /sarc. He was so enthuisiastic over the protest then. Hypocrites.
Sorting out Super – what now?
We should start the discussion now. National may choose to stay out of it for now, but they will have to join at some stage.
Suggested progress:
– Involve all willing parties and any groups and organisations with an interest in the future of NZ Super in discussion and proposal of policies.
– Open it to wide public discussion.
– Gather as much information and opinion as possible.
– National and United Future have a Confidence and Supply commitment to public discussion on flexi-super – this can be used to develop the Super debate further.
– In time for next election campaign have a commitment from all (willing) parties on the future direction of NZ Super and a timeframe for dealing with it.
– Include NZ Super in parliamentary business early in the next term (first half of 2015)
Let’s make it happen. Starting now.
Suggested progress:
– get the poodle to not vote for the next budget unless it addresses the Superannuation time bomb.
– get all the pollies to read the very interesting and comprehensive posts and comments in the Standard on the subject.
Lets really make it happen. Starting now.
Your first point is either pathetic or woefully ignorant.
Your second point is very good – why don’t you make it happen? I could give you some practical advice if you like. If you can generate some positive and balanced discussion here I’d be happy to promote and support it. Cross-blog discussion on Super is something I’ve suggested.
What are you doing on your blog about Super? I’d be happy to link that in too.
Your first point is either pathetic or woefully ignorant.
Why is that Petey?
Sounds like ignorance.
Why doesn’t the poodle withhold his vote on next year’s budget if the Government refuses to confront the baby boomer bulge now?
Because C&S responsibilities don’t allow for the bringing down of the government at the request of some random blog commenter. This is a standard coalition provision, and will have protected the Clark government from first year collapse due to Redbaiter asking a party to break their agreement (similar to you he’s currently asking for banishment of the entire National contingent).
Perhaps you think any coalition between between Labour and Greens would be as flimsy and temporary as you seem to think the current one should be.
Apart from that it’s ridiculous to threaten a budget that’s eleven months away on an issue that could achieve significant progress in that time, but will probably take longer than that to resolve.
There are no C&S responsibilities that overide Dunne’s responsibilities to NZ, Pete. If he genuinely wants a debate on Super, then the power is in his hands to enforce one. Which he won’t do, because he is too worried about a single aspect of the super debate; his own pension pot.
Dunne has already used his (coalition) power to get a commitment with National to a public discussion paper on Super, which is more than anyone else has been able to achieve.
How effective that discussion will be will depend on how much effort a range of parties, organisations and individuals make to take advantage of the opportunity.
No he hasn’t. Key refuses to join in the debate and the ‘agreement’ you refer to is nothing to do with the wider issue of super. It’s just a sop, as you well know, Pete. Stop dissembling and start putting pressure on your leader. Poodles have teeth, you know. They just have to be trained to use them.
It’s just a sop
I’m certain you have no idea what it will be yet.
Au conraire, Pompous George.
It is a sop; it’s a commitment in the C&S agreement to a (small ‘g’) government paper on a possible flexible retirement age, (ie. straight to Bin 13). Even if it ever makes the light of day, that’s a change which the PM rejected yet again as recently as yesterday.
So stop trying to blow smoke up our collective nether regions and get to work on Dunne. Tell him you’ll walk if he doesn’t threaten to do the same. Go on, mate, show some balls. You can cripple the media arm of UF just by refusing to blog for a day.
I’d rather work positively to see what can be done. Hissy fitting as you suggest doesn’t usually achieve anything.
And…
So that’s where the only common ground is at the moment, so it’s worth doing as much as possible with it.
Other blogs are getting in on promoting good Super discussion and progress too:
From: http://keepingstock.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/consensus-in-our-times.html
Canadian tar sands break even between $50-$75 per barrel http://awe.sm/aKsc Price is currently $40 http://awe.sm/aKsX #peakoil
My understanding is that break even today is closer to $75/barrel for new operations.
And that assumes the ongoing ability to use and pollute as much fresh ground water as you like in the process for free AND not clean any of the massive chemical ponds or pollution up afterwards.
Shell gave the $50 figure at the beginning of last year so that’s a long time in the oil business. You could be right on current costs.
The oil companies pretty much have free range in Alberta and from the Harper government. They are desperate to get a pipeline either East or West but are facing huge opposition. They have to give large discounts to the US as they buy 99% of the Albertan oil at the moment.
That $50 is just their assessment of when they make meaningful money. Oilcos have been working the sands for decades at lower prices. Production costs including a reasonable rate of return are much lower.
For established conventional fields in the prime of production, I agree.
But for new deep sea wells and other unconventional sources, financial break even is not far off US$75/bb.
As for energy break even (EROEI) that’s another matter again.
Break even in terms of raw production costs. Not break even in terms of CO2 and environmental destruction.
A few years back lifting costs were only about $15
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_wsj-oil_oil.htm
outsider mad hatters institute a right wing propaganda organisation with very deep pockets.
I smell Murdoch and other robber barons all over this!
No credibility looking after vested interests.
Another brilliant blog analysis by Giovanni Tiso, this time on the temporarily derailed education reforms. And apart from the content, Tiso writes so damn well.
http://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.co.nz/
…We aren’t always going to be so lucky. Attacks against public education, here and elsewhere, are going to continue, and they will be launched – against the backdrop of a permanent state of economic crisis – by driving a wedge between the aspirations of the middle class and the realities faced by the working class. Of course league tables and performance pay are damaging to public education understood as a universal good – and I’m going to explain why to John Roughan in a minute – but so long as you feel confident that you will be able to move to the area with the best school, and you have been correctly conditioned to view the education of your children as a form of competition, you might not mind this, or even learn to actively support the idea. And just in case you might harbour some nostalgia for old-fashioned egalitarian myths, we shall disguise the reforms as pious concern for the one in five whom the education system currently fails (never mind it’s more like one in twenty), and who hail in the main from the lower socio-economic classes. This will sway some of the liberals who most need to be made to feel altruistic in exchange for their class interests being served. …
embolding mine.
Thanks just saying. You are right about Giovanni’s writing style. And he has captured the essence of dark days of Education that are to come. Larger classes are just the opening shots. Ughh!
I agree, Giovanni Tiso’s writing is lovely to read, and this is an excellent piece. But whichever way you look, the downward squeeze /upward flow gets more and more apparent. Everything works in the manner of a nasty franchise: the owner of the brand squeezes the margins so that the franchisee cannot get his head above water, and in turn squeezes the staff. Dollar-guys attack the Euro Zone through its weakest links, and the strong members squeeze the weaker ones in an attempt to regain their ground. Education is no different; the recent changes to tertiary education, in which interest-free student loans are kept but limits placed upon getting them, essentially means a near-free education for the wealthy (who can invest the loan amount, take the loan, and reduce the cost via the interest received), while the poor are gradually squeezed out. The mooted changes to primary/secondary education follow much the same pattern. Wake up, middle class! You are only a squeeze or two further away from ruin than the people you want to see sterilised.
Well-said, Olwyn!
Hallelujah Olwyn!
+1
There have been a few server structural shifts going on overnight. See this comment from yesterday.
Let me know if anyone spots anything outside of the current site flaws. I haven’t been seeing any of significiance apart from a markedly reduced overseas bandwidth.
On my screen, the layout is different, lists of blogs, media etc., is now running single-file down the length of the right side of the screen, and periodically it becomes blurred with the words on top of each other.
All clear on my screen.
I sometimes suspect my computer of being a bit of a hypochondriac.
No it was there.. One part of it was to do some interesting things to javascripts. A bit too much as it turned out. Took a while for that to come through the system.
Should be fixed now.
It is 🙂
The UK, for the opening of the Olympics is setting up a picture of a country idyll with happy cows and people – must be like a glossy Midsomer Murders background. Very Marie Antoinette who used to have tableaus with her entourage dressed as rustics I understand.
And funny in a nightmarish way when one thinks of residential buildings in London having their roofs turned into sites for anti-missile etc surveillance. This will have to be set up earlier than the opening and people screened in and out. The people there will have this burden of suspicion and checking systems for months perhaps, and feel like targets for damage. Not an idyll.
lprent
I have struck a wee problem. I put an item on 12/6 open mike and then realised I wanted it in 13/6 so tried to delete it and that gave me a blank page with -1 at the top of it. I thought okay it’s been deleted, and put the item in 13/6 and then checked back on 12/6 but it was still there. Pressed delete again got the pink line that I wasn’t allowed to do this and blue Close. I pressed this and nothing happened. I couldn’t get reaction either from the return/refresh arrow at top so was locked there in Ajax and had to close out to get out.
That’s been happening for a while.
Alert from Avaaz.org. An online petition re Asset Sales:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Oppose_NZ_Asset_Sales/?boNMXab&v=15125
You said it ianmac! New Zealand’s “Key” assets, indeed!! He must have at least 3 people supporting him, I guess.
Lurker Boag goes viral:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7094218/Boag-keeps-eagle-eye-on-ACC-story
“What was Michelle Boag doing?”
Tee hee.
From accounts about a decade ago, the Lady does not do “demure” (please correct this if this is not accurate). “It was that simple.”
Btw, being “short” (courtesy from Crushless) does not preclude having bionic ears.
secret taping lurking round parliament spying on reporters i smell a rat a natrat from the brat pack.
Boag will not be the flavour of the month in most Nact circles right now.
Helping undermine her leaders aspirations.
The Boag Con stictor. Sqeezing the life out of her prey.
Another Nactional meddling muddler
Well spotted Carol! Just what the hell was she doing there? Is this awful woman still an office-holder within National? I guess that she is another “asset” on the side, but one (unfortunately) they will never sell!
Bob Jones treads a shaky line in his column in the Herald:
shonkey might be buysexual
BJ is a lout.
And: BREAKING NEWS
ACC CEO Ralph Stewart to leave… details soon
Even worse for National, Speaker Roy has allowed an urgent debate on ACC with him chairing. It is going to be a blood bath …
Time for some predictions.
In the movie The Truman Show, Truman is talking to the woman who will later be his girlfriend. She is wearing a button saying “How’s it going to end?”
How’s our Truman Show going to end?
Around the world, elected and un-elected officials developing unworkable economic solutions to problems created by corporates and banks seeking profits that are now being paid for from austerity measures placed on the innocent.
The use of taxes earned off the backs of the workers to purchase worthless “assets” from private interests who manipulated, deluded and defrauded so they could use other people’s money to make personal profit.
Banks, corporations, executives, bankers escaping prosecution for the misery they created around to world in the form of job loses, mortgagee sales, business failures and all the attendant mental, emotional damage.
The development of a corporate aristocracy for whom the rules applied to lesser beings do not apply. Golden parachutes given to people who cause loss or harm to their company. Corporate boxes for politicians when public servants could be sacked for receiving such a gift. Horrendously large salaries and bonuses for jobs that, some times, could be done by a well trained chimp.
A worker goes to work knowing that a percentage of their labour and time will be exchanged for money that will fund a life of entitlement for politicians who do not undergo a performance review. An election every three years by an uninformed or indifferent populace is NOT a performance review.
Taxes used to fund corporate welfare projects based on flawed calculations of how many jobs it will create. Instead, private investors who have some degree of wealth profit from the sweat of those who don’t.
A world economic system that is soooo flawed that it needs radical reform but the lunatics are the ones running the asylum.
The list goes on…..
How’s it going to end? Are we all just a Truman Burbank? Content to live in a world where everything is a corporate product and nothing is real?
Christof: If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there’s no way we could prevent him.
Christof: “I’ve given Truman the chance to lead a normal life. The world, the place you live in is the sick place. Seahaven is the way the world should be.”
How do you think it will end?
Financial systems are a constant mystery also those involved in them. On Radionz I think on Sunday afternoon there was a piece on auditors. There used to be 9 big ones, now there are only four. Consideration is being given to legislating for a change of auditor every 6 years to prevent client capture or moral hazard or whatever name for cosiness. The auditors spoken to were very confident that everything was fine as it is. Auditing relationships have been known to last 48 years. Of course that rarely applies now as businesses average about 10 years before fading.
What we need is another Australian with a socialist background to lead this country out of recession…
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/lessons-in-history.html
Oops
Finance Minister Bill English admits rebalancing of NZ economy towards exporting yet to happen due to high NZ$ and quake; also sees tax switch benefits taking 5-7 years
However, “one way or another they will muddle through.
http://www.interest.co.nz/
Actual Link
Thanks Draco
Muldooms light at the end of the tunnel con.Austerity and think big robs vision.
Austerity and motorways brighter future Pure spin nosubstance.
I was recently half listening to an interview with author on King Dick Seddon. He sounded like an able politician who achieved a lot.
Only LPrent knows for sure, but it seems to me that there has been a steady increase in the number of women commenting on the Standard in the couple of years I’ve been coming here. I’m extrpolating to a certain extent from the pseudonyms people are using, and assuming can make an ass….
I don’t know for sure, I generally have to guess. And I frequently find I am wrong both ways. I’ve had people tell me that they deliberately pick opposite gender names…. The whole point about the site is that unless people choose to rely on parts of the life outside of pure argument and use those in the conversation, you can’t tell.
But I think that there has been a steadily increasing numbers of women commenting over the years and that they are commenting more than they used to.
And making the most sensible and sensitive comments too.
Some do. Some make my cynical rants designed to perform experimental literay inguinal orchiectomy on trolls look relatively tame. You should see some of the compliments I get after each excision from our modestly polite but robust debate.
Personally I rather like that our other gender has a healthy dislike of idiots. Makes me more hopeful about the kids with that level of discrimination against the socially inept with a self assessed Priapus problem.
As I say, it is sometimes hard to tell. But very few act like trolls.
Hmm, this.
China is a kleptocracy of a scale never seen before in human history. This post aims to explain how this wave of theft is financed, what makes it sustainable and what will make it fail. There are several China experts I have chatted with – and many of the ideas are not original. The synthesis however is mine. Some sources do not want to be quoted.
The macroeconomic effects of the Chinese kleptocracy and the massive fixed-currency crisis in Europe are the dominant macroeconomic drivers of the global economy. As I am trying a comprehensive explanation for much of the world’s economy in less that two thousand words I expect some kick-back.
Foreign Minister Murray McChardonnay – receives todays ROTFL award for his outstanding comedy skit performed recently at the Institute of International Affairs in Wellington.
He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand with the seemly candid admission that the Security Council is a sham:
“That view holds that contested Security Council seats will always fall to the highest bidder of aid dollars, or to the holder of the most flexible positions on the controversial foreign policy issues of the day,”
And then came the punch line:
“The Prime Minister’s approach and my own approach is that we would rather lose with honour than trade overseas development assistance or policy positions for Security Council votes.”
I have had many doubts about Mr McCully, Mr Key and the National government, and those doubts of course remain, but now I think I finally understand them – they are actually a stealth comedy act, gone deep cover, their strategy – to kill off the opposition with the most potent of all weapons – uncontrollable laughter.
At last some common sense – just not from NZ.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/falling-dollar-be-careful-what-you-wish-for-says-stevens-20120613-20946.html
grumpy more BS from a neo con. Australias savings are among the best in the world/
Nup, normal RWNJ scaremongering about high prices.
Our fishing is certainly under threat with ships like the Korean one in the case being tried in Court. But the Korean officers have left the country apparently. You would think we would have some legal means of stopping them leaving so they could answer to their wrongs.
The crew have been brutalised, the observer tried to intervene on some of the practices but got very curt responses and feared for her safety. Why should they be able to get away with bad practices like this major dump of fish worth I think a million dollars when apparently all they needed to do was bring the net up earlier. It’s such careless and wasteful and inefficient practice and our seas are the losers to these marauding sods.
So Paula Benefit is planning some “tough love” for teenagers likely to go on the unemployment benefit. This involves extra surveillance, advice on budgeting and parenting…… but apparently no jobs???!!!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10812818
So just a lot of additional harassment, surveillance and window-dressing, nothing useful like ACTUAL jobs …. and, the kicker!…. it’ll save the government $1billion!
Vampire lurve!
No they won’t, far more likely to entrench them.
What she means is that she’ll force more into poverty so that they’re forced to work to make some bludger richer for lower wages than they get already.
That is all rote stuff that Petulant Bean learned at USA University isn’t it. I think she did a pressure cooker course on how to cook the books? so as to make welfare beneficiaries seem to be a mix between vampires and the devil’s spawn. Was it at Wisconsin, a name that occurs when talking about meanness, and they would be big on using the terms welfare dependence also learned helplessness is another favourite.
Learned helplessness has a specific meaning in educational psychology, and should never be used outside that specific discipline!
Paula Bennett is a sick piece of work…so is this concept of ‘welfare dependency’ .
Its time we took back the word dependency and use it to vilify the rich.
Within the relationship between the rich and the poor, there is only one direction that dependency exists. The concept of dependency was made famous by the theorist andre gunder frank who exposed how under capitalism, on a world wide scale, the rich are dependent on the poor. Somehow this term has been highjacked and is used to stigmatise victims, and champion the abusers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory
Points about Gabriel Makhlouf, Secretary to the Treasury, NZ. He fits my prejudice about the hardening effect on children of absent parents sent to boarding schools at long distance from their parents, as in school in Britain while parents work for UN in various countries.
“his father pursued a career in the UN. From age 11, he was separated from his family to continue his education at a British boarding school.
After graduating with an honours degree in economics at the University of Exeter, he spent a year as a treasurer for a student union, then did a masters degree in industrial relations at the University of Bath. His thesis was on “intra-union relationships in academia” As a PhD beckoned, Makhlouf realised it was either a life in academia “or I had to get out”, and he landed his first job in 1984, as a tax inspector.”
About our teachers “However, Makhlouf doesn’t have backing from Hattie on the alleged failure of the New Zealand education system. In the book’s foreword Hattie says, “We have a nation of excellent teachers, as shown in the country’s ranking in the top half-dozen nations in reading, mathematics and science. http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/interview-gabriel-makhlouf/