Last time the Colmar Brunton – Reid Research sampling period significantly overlapped (late August) = CB had Labour 4 points higher & the Nats 2 points lower than RR
It’s generally accepted though that the swing to Labour that won that election was its late pitch to students and their families with interest free student loans. Will Labour be able to do something similar this time round?
swordfish
That’s good to know; CB certainly seem to be a lot more frequent during the election. Would I be right in supposing that the Roy Morgan is likely on Friday too (sampling 26/8 – 10/9)?
It began with an interview on RNZ (which was revealing, exposing their support for the TPP with a housing carve out and their preference of maintaining a surplus over spending more on addressing child poverty). Ardern also said neoliberalism has failed, yet largely ruled out overturning its underpinning of the economy.
While I’m willing to make concessions as there is no perfect party, it’s become clear from our discussions I’m not willing to lower the bar as far as you.
As for Labour’s headlining promises, they’re a little misleading. For example, take the headline free education, it equates to only 1 year free in their first term. And as I’ve often pointed out, a number of others also fall short.
And how is this for contradictory? Jacinda said “Any expectation that we just simply allow that the market to dictate our outcomes for people is where I would want to make sure that we were more interventionist.” Yet, entering into the TPP with only a housing carve out will curtail the Governments ability to intervene in the wider market.
Are you now going to make excuses and accept this form of double speak?
“The term ‘neoliberal’ is often said to be excessively vague, but its value in this context was in fact to give specificity to Espiner’s line of questioning. Most obviously: would Ardern consider revisiting the Reserve Bank Act, the Public Finance Act or any of the other legislative instruments that have allowed the last four governments to put neoliberal reforms into practice?
The answer – need I say it – was no. And in the process of the fairly gentle interrogation that followed, the much-vaunted boldness of the Ardern project evaporated. She thinks that climate change is the ‘nuclear-free’ issue of our time, but wouldn’t commit to divesting from coal or even ceasing to issue new licenses for deep-sea oil exploration. She wants to end child poverty, but wouldn’t resile from her predecessor’s foolish commitment to contain spending to 30% of GDP and keep guaranteeing operating surpluses – one of the main causes of the staggering, crippling rise of our household debt – nor does she think that the government needs to seek more revenue through taxation. ”
and…..
” For there really was a window. An opportunity. Instead of playing her part in the political assassination of Metiria Turei, Ardern could have used her new position and her extraordinary popularity to stand by her side. Together, she and Turei could have broken the siege that has prevented beneficiaries – which is to say, a significant portion of the working class – from leading a dignified life and participating in society. Such a decision would have carried its own risks, naturally. But then this is what defines political courage, and it’s nothing if not courage that we desperately need. ”
I too am struggling with having to limbo low to vote Labour.
For example, take the headline free education, it equates to only 1 year free in their first term.
And builds up over time as they can afford it while maintaining the same failed economic system…
Yet, entering into the TPP with only a housing carve out will curtail the Governments ability to intervene in the wider market.
Yep. We actually need to drop out of FTAs so that we can start to take back our sovereignty rather than signing up to more of them.
Labour doesn’t want to scare business by actually promising to do what needs to be done. But, of course, they actually think that the failed ideology of the 19th century works.
If this ‘Reid’ poll was ‘doctored’ by Joyce, (I have assessed) there is no way to confirm accuracy .
We contacted some of these polling companies last year after we looked into the methods used by requesting details from them.
Results of several polling companies was disturbing.
We found, it is all based on trust that they are accurate nothing else.
They confirmed there is no ability for them to conduct any rechecks of voters stated choices on any with these ‘polls’ they told us.
The same applies to the general election, the electoral commission sent us an email confirming “there no no way we can confirm voters choice was recorded accurately.
Overseas now many countries are using a ‘Voter Verified Audit Paper Trail’ (VVPAT) voting systems (even with the manual paper voting system we still use) as they use electronic counting of paper votes after we surrender our paper vote at the polling centre, and we have confirmed that is where false recording of votes can take place.
Here in NZ they only do a sample manual rechecking of a fraction of all votes taken during our General Election System, so there are many flaws left inside our voting system today.
So we asked the NZ Electoral Commission to switch to VVPAT and they refused so we are left to take their word for any poll conducted, so we must be wary of this lack of verification from any poll conducted now.
James Shaw today on TV one said their ‘internal’ polling showed the election will be very tight and every vote will count for them, so they will re-double their door knocking if able.
Bill English says some farmers may have to pay 50K for water if Labour win.
According to a chap on Natrad, if he did, that farmer would be using the same amount of water as 38,000 people. Or to put it another way, 50 such farmers would use more water than the entire city of Auckland.
Apparently, some dairy farmers on the dry plains of Canterbury use over three million litres of water per annum.
In total, agriculture uses 80% of all fresh water consumed in New Zealand. TIME TO PAY UP FARMER BROWN.
I thought the figure on Nat Radio this morning was an extra $70,000 for a farm (or was it $350,000?)- and he was concerned that the reduction in income would reduce the amount of purchasing in the local community. Imagine the positive effect of increasing the minimum wage!
If you want to see why not to do it, have a look at the last 50 60 years of fallow farming subsidies in the US.
Probably the longest blackmail experience that I have ever read about and one that has been distorting their agricultural practices without changing them in the intended manner significantly.
The only link I have was the history book I was reading about it in
On that recent Polluted Paradise Al Jazeera documentary they showed one typical dairy farmer in Canterbury who they calculate uses 12% of the total water Wellington does each year. Jaw dropping.
If a cow drinks 30 litres a day (about avg) and you have a herd of 350 cows, that is 10,500 litres a day just on drinking. Per annum that is 3.8 million litres. That at a 2 cent per litre levy would cost a farmer $76,000 per year extra.
So? What is your point? Apart from merely spinning a meaningless pile of cowshit.
For just myself and my partner I personally spend more than $1200 per year on getting drinking water and dealing with waste water. It is a resource that we use and for which we pay for.
The business that I work for pays for their water and sewerage for nearly 200 employees at a similar rate. Their bill would be heading up towards half a million dollars annually.
My point is that farmers should do the same. They should pay for the use of the common property of NZ.
If your business model and processes aren’t sustainable without a ‘free’ resource that you don’t care for properly and that others wind up having to pay for, then you should shut down the business. We aren’t prepared to give you that charity anymore bearing in mind the state you have been leaving the waterways and aquifers in.
If nothing else, putting price on your ‘free’ resource should cause you to start treating it like any other business input. Figuring out ways to use it more efficiently and without causing problems to those downstream.
Updated: And I missed the 3 orders of magnitude of cost that blackops lied about…..
I thought the proposed figure for water charges was to be per cubic metre which would be 2 cents per 1000 litres, not per litre, so about 7,600 dollars not 76,000 dollars.
It’s even more stupid – at $1 for 50,000 litres, you’d be looking at $76 per year for 3.8 mil litres of water. The fact is that farming is using so much water that such a nominal charge still adds up to plenty of money for improving water quality.
Per annum that is 3.8 million litres. That at a 2 cent per litre levy would cost a farmer $76,000 per year extra.
Yeah, that would be ridiculous, right?
Howver, Labour is talking 1 to 2 cents per thousand litres, not per litre. It would be nice if the media made it a bit clearer that we’re talking about $76 per year, not $76,000. You’ve been reading too much National bullshit.
It is intended that the tax will only be on people who are taking for irrigation so the average farmer who isn’t doing this is going to be just fine. It is the people farming in a way that is unsuited to the local environment and therefore creating a burden on that environment that will finally have to pay a small amount for something that they have polluted in the name of profit for far too long.
Water will be the new oil. We must do all we can to protect our clean water and take the maximum benefit as a country not as individuals for it’s use.
Another canard from the same right-wing stable as “This country used to have great race relations until the left started encouraging Maori to complain” and “Employment relations would be great if the unions weren’t instigating trouble.”
Well, that was over quickly. I feel like I won the lottery on Friday only to piss it all against a wall by Monday to be back where I started.
A forth term for National will break a lot of people. If you don’t own a mortgage-free house or farm or earn more than $60000 a year, then expect your living standards to slide, as National lowers wages and social spending.
A fourth term for National won’t be so bad, even Jacinda said NZ is doing pretty good, but theres still plenty of twists and turns still to come in this election I fel
Always nice to find a dumbarse troll who can’t quote properly and can’t link to the source of their quote. The key word that you missed out as you lied by omission was economically.
And I’d argue even that – I think that she is being charitable.
Because it looks to me like it is currently being sustained artificially on levels of nett inwards migration and inwards debt to pay for excessive property prices rather than on anything of sustainable use. Essentially my business trained sensors are detecting a ponzi scheme perpetuated by National to produce good figures without any particular substance.
And yet as she also points out we have a rapidly growing homeless problem, an epidemic of suicides, pollution, a massive sustained under investment in critical infrastructure and housing, inequality, and a large number of other issues that will cause the economy to tank in the medium term.
None of which National has shown ANY real inclination to change. Instead we just get the spewing of lies from Nick Smith or Steven Joyce, ineffectually supported by their mate Bill.
If you want to comment here, then I suggest you do better. We aren’t a place for stupid astroturfing parrots.
People do place a lot of stock of how well the country Is going economically and, not withstanding your business acumen, theres a lot of people who believe NZ is doing well
Is it enough for a fourth term though? I don’t know, this election has been very topsy-turvy so far
A lot of people taken in by Nationals propaganda. Even in right wing terms such as per capita GDP, balance of trade and productivity New Zealand is going downhill. Propped up only by the reserve banks excessive interest rates , immigration and natural disasters.
I would just like to know whether there is a difference in undecided between their last few polls and I find it odd that they are refusing to provide that information.
I like Tauraga the people are nice and friendly you can grow vegetables all year round its nice and warm being close to the sea and located were it’s.
Tauranga is a jewel in our beautiful country.
But I remember seeing sand on the road in the Mount and flooding was just about to happen the residents of Tauranga did not get flooded out this time.
But with OUR ocean warming up and the fact that heat is energy in the near future there will be major flooding and damage to the residents property’s.
This scenario is a when and not a if so WE must plan for the worst weather that could hit Tauranga and if WE don’t plan for climate change the residents of Tauranga will be in the shit.
Now I no most Tauranga residents adore
Winston Peters but I say that because cause Winston doesn’t have a plan to mitigate climate change that you people of Tauranga will be up a creek with out a paddle when the next BIG storm or BIG hurricane strikes as a lot of Tauranga is just above sea level and the sea has a huge and powerful force.
I did Not speak against Winston until he showed that he would side with national and if national and Winston get into parliament there will be no planning for climate change and no plans to protect you the residents of Tauranga or your properties.
I am not letting you no this out of malice for Winston as this is not the way I work I’m letting you people no out of concern for your future and your safety. So I plead for your safety don’t vote Winston in or national because national is hiding the climate report they don’t care for your safety. So vote for the anyone but the two party’s that are ignoring climate change it is your future and your grandchildren future your voting for.
Yes I did – sorry if I wasn’t clear – I meant I think they will still vote National – they are quite a conservative ‘head-in-the-sand’ society like a lot of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region
Thinking of business and why we have to keep on doing things to nurse our businesses along as they are always doing it hard, can’t find workers etc. Then we can’t afford to pay ordinary workers much while the people at the top live on the fat of the land for just doing a job that requires extra skills.
How about this for wage progression -Bottom under $40,000, few extra skills $60,000 (50% more), advanced experience $80,000, top managers $110,000 and Chief executive $150,000. But someone I know who I think is in human resources is getting $140,000 and is probably smart but just at keeping up with the others. So we are going backwards in NZ with he middle class going up or some getting lost and going down, the middle class is under pressure in western countries. The lower class is increasingly the precariat. Social mobility is now hard-won, not encouraged. Mainly to keep inflation low. To satisfy those with money to invest?
Hardly, how does low inflation, low interest help old age pensioners who were counting on interest to provide extras to the benefit?
If we are going to go backwards let’s try to put money into the regions’ pockets that stays there. Go back to where we encouraged small domestic industries which then branched out into export of excellent products. Let’s build a basecourse of solid small initiative ‘pop ups’ all over the country shouting look at us New Zealanders come and visit your own, and try us out. Nurture regional areas of excellence in what they do best. Ricardo economics within a domestic framework not over-extended as under free market machinations hand in hand with nasty neolib.
In an economic model, agents have a comparative advantage over others in producing a particular good if they can produce that good at a lower relative opportunity cost or autarky price, i.e. at a lower relative marginal cost prior to trade.[2] One does not compare the monetary costs of production or even the resource costs (labor needed per unit of output) of production.
Instead, one must compare the opportunity costs of producing goods across countries.[3] The closely related law or principle of comparative advantage holds that under free trade, an agent will produce more of and consume less of a good for which they have a comparative advantage.[4]
David Ricardo developed the classical theory of comparative advantage in 1817 to explain why countries engage in international trade even when one country’s workers are more efficient at producing every single good than workers in other countries.
He demonstrated that if two countries capable of producing two commodities engage in the free market, then each country will increase its overall consumption by exporting the good for which it has a comparative advantage while importing the other good, provided that there exist differences in labor productivity between both countries.[5][6] Widely regarded as one of the most powerful[7] yet counter-intuitive[8] insights in economics, Ricardo’s theory implies that comparative advantage rather than absolute advantage is responsible for much of international trade.
David Ricardo – Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/david-ricardo.asp
David Ricardo was a classical economist known for his Iron Law of Wages, labor theory of value, theory of comparative advantage and theory of rents. David Ricardo and several other economists also simultaneously and independently discovered the law of diminishing marginal returns.
“Hardly, how does low inflation, low interest help old age pensioners who were counting on interest to provide extras to the benefit?”
And yet we still see the relentless promotion of Kiwisaver… Not to mention the eternal damnation of pension-age ‘Boomers’ whose little bits of money add to the income of shops and services.
Unless successive governments can protect the investments made by the citizens – what’s the use of saving for your retirement, eh? You’ll end up like Don Brash’s pa after he’d sold the farm and the inflation rate took off. A comfortable nest egg turned into less than an average year’s pay.
National has presided over the death of kids’ learning in New Zealand being important.
Real learning, proper learning, according to who and what the children are themselves , and capable of, have given way to checklists, targets and percentages.
What the kids could be and the type people we need in the world are incidental to charts and graphs.
When the teacher force is completely dumbed down to play the dumb game, and those who should be the leaders in the profession are singing from the Tolley/Parata/Kaye song sheet, we are totally stuffed. We are well on the way to that already.
Education in that sense is not an issue in the election yet that to me that is the real issue of the times. Are we to give Kaye the hammer and nails again to drive into the coffin they have fashioned? Also are we to give henchman Seymour a nail gun again?
Clearly committed to regional rail & restoring the regions.
September 13, 2017
gisborneherald.co.nz
On the hustings in Gisborne with Winston Peters
by Wynsley Wrigley Published: September 13, 2017 10:33AM
ON THE ATTACK: New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claims Gisborne does not have the ear of Wellington and “the old parties”. In Gisborne yesterday, Mr Peters said New Zealand First would provide financial support to regional airports, including Gisborne’s, and support reinstatement of the Gisborne to Napier rail line.
NEW Zealand First supports reinstatement of the Gisborne to Napier rail line and state funding of regional airports such as Gisborne’s, said party leader Winston Peters when he was in Gisborne yesterday.
He told the Herald that Land Transport funding of Railways of National Importance, such as the Gisborne line, had long been party policy, but was disappointed that many Gisborne people would not know that.
“We will provide much-needed funding for regional airports owned by local authorities to help pay for infrastructure improvements and to meet safety and amenity standards,” he said.
“Unlike big airports they don’t have large revenues to help pay for the things they need. Every OECD country subsidises regional airports and air services, except New Zealand.
“Even the USA, home of the market, knows and does that. These countries know airports are crucial for communications, business development, air ambulances, and tourism, and must be supported by central government.”
Mr Peters said the sky around Gisborne was “darkening” because of the “old parties”.
“Politicians come here and say what they want to do for you. I’ve seen years of them doing stuff all for you. I see Gisborne and what it’s become.
“It still has the same people, resources and assets. It has everything, but it does not have the ear of Wellington.”
Mr Peters said nothing could be more compelling in his argument than closure of Gisborne’s rail line.
New Zealand First supported it from beginning
“No one put their hand up to defend it other than one party: New Zealand First. Not now, not last month, not last year, but when it happened and since then.
“You give us a chance in this campaign, we are going to open it.”
He said no treasury analysis was required. No transport infrastructure was efficient everywhere. There could be both inefficient and efficient sectors, which together made a successful operation.
If inefficient areas were wound back, efficient areas were affected because overall numbers diminished.
He said regional airports were part of the national grid.
“If the United States and other OECD countries understand that, why not New Zealand?”
Mr Peters said other regional airports to benefit from the policy included Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Kaitaia, Chatham Islands, Hokitika, Masterton, Taupo, Timaru, Westport, Whakatane and Whanganui.
“Eleven airports are being told to put up or shut up. This is astonishing. Who do they think goes through Auckland Airport? A lot of them are going to places like Gisborne, they all add up.”
Public pronouncements
At a public meeting at the Cosmopolitan Club Mr Peters said:
• New Zealand First would ensure continuity of forestry supply for local processors, and keep forestry sustainable.
• The New Zealand Forestry Service would be reinstated. “This plan is so good the Labour Party swiped it a few days ago.”
• New Zealand First is committed to a massive campaign to seal rural roads, improve road quality and double-lane bridges where sensible. “We want Gisborne to have a fully co-ordinated transportation strategy with road, rail and coastal shipping.”
• New Zealand First would return the GST paid by international tourists in this region for tourism infrastructure and roads, and to stimulate job training and opportunities.
• Any water rights for exports in this region would pay serious royalties, which would return to Gisborne.
• New Zealand First will help exporters, farmers and others by fixing the Reserve Bank Act.
• Devaluation of the dollar would help export-orientated provinces like Gisborne.
I no I’m of topic but I have to say this.
The only way we are going to get the state to heal is not a commission’s investigation. We need someone to champion the issue of the harm done to those people in state care and use people power and start the court process and sue the state for the injustices that happened to those people
It could be. I think it has been done in other countries. This bunch don’t see treating all people with care and hopefully with respect as part of their core duties.
The job of pollies is wheeling and dealing for their class, which they have established over the last 30 years since the idea of equality was set aside as an impediment to business.
I have spoken to some of the wealthy and there mind set is totally different to mine.
They don’t want to shear there lollies they don’t care about our poor and vulnerable people they don’t agree with my thoughts which are that these people are OURS they are part of our SOCIETY we are all kiwis we are all humans .
So we have the responsibility to care for these people and we have the responsibility to make sure that the government that gets elected will care for these peoples future even if they are brown white or yellow they are our people to care for.
Now these people that don’t care about there neighbors or the environment well 99 % of these people will vote and in my view they are about 20 % of the population and the elderly will be about 20 % and 99 % of these people will vote. Now the elderly care about our poor but they don’t like change as they will be worried that change means hardship for them. So these two groups of our people will vote national and NZ first if only 60 % of the total population vote . Then these two groups of people are going to decide our whole country fate which will be shit. So every one that has left leaning principals
please do your duty to yourself the poor vulnerable and your children and go and vote for any party except national and NZ first This is our country and we must vote to clean up nationals MESS.
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This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
Last week, the ongoing democracy protests in Hong Kong saw a pro-Hong Kong student assaulted at the University of Auckland. The Chinese consulate in Auckland followed this up with a press release "express[ing] its appreciation to the students for their spontaneous patriotism" - effectively condoning the assault and inciting further ...
Only those who close their eyes and minds to the evidence can still be in any doubt that we are facing a climate change crisis. The evidence is conclusive that the world is not only getting inexorably hotter, but also that the rising temperatures are creating a number of other ...
Rural communities are wailing about forestry conversions "taking land out of production" and putting it into locking up carbon. Its driven purely by economics: there's more money and lower costs in carbon than in sheep or beef, and if carbon prices rise, there'll be more net money than dairy even. ...
This week, the government introduced its (underwhelming) Abortion Legislation Bill. And despite having negotiated the text of the bill through the coalition process, Winston Peters is now suggesting that he will demand a referendum on it:NZ First leader Winston Peters has hinted that his party may only support the Government's ...
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...
Last night the police dramatically incresed their numbers at Ihumātao, shoving over protestors and threatening them with arrest. Despite police talk about the need to maintain "public order" and prevent a "breach of the peace", there appeared to be absolutely no justification for this: the protest camp is, was, and ...
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...
Today's abortion reform announcement is just the latest in a long line of disappointing decisions or outright failures from the Labour government. The 90-day law. KiwiBuild. A capital gains tax. Climate change. Every time they make one of those decisions, we hope for better next time. No repeal of the ...
The Greens used their party conference over the weekend to push for a rent-to-own scheme, where people would be able to work towards home ownership by renting from the government. Its a sensible policy, and one which could make a real difference to home ownership rates. But its also basicly ...
by Daphna Whitmore Over the past fortnight, thousands of people have come to the Ihumātao land protest in South Auckland. On 23 July police prepared to evict a few dozen people who had maintained the encampment at Ihumātao for the past three years. As hundreds of supporters arrived the ...
The following article is translated from an article in Lutte de Classe (Class Struggle), the magazine of the French revolutionary workers’ organisation Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle). The United States’ blacklisting of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which took shape in Google’s ban on Huawei using its systems on its phones, marks a ...
There is a military phrase: “Full spectrum dominance”. It refers to the all-encompassing policy to dominate across all spheres of war. Lately, that has come to include the internet – in other words, cyberwarfare initiatives. That is in addition to land, sea, air and the like. Now, if ...
The IMF issued a Report on the state of the Economy as it is at present. Some of it points out significant issues that certainly warrant attention, but that we know already exist. Some of it is very much tied to the very obvious context of global concerns, that everyone ...
I'm glad to see the Lib Dems won.I had a moment of terror yesterday thinking that the Conservatives might cling on, due to a combination of Johnson's elevation to the premiership, the apparent uselessness of the Lib Dem candidate (who had failed to be elected in other constituencies) and the ...
. . Current Leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges gave the usual rah-rah speech to the Loyal & Faithful in Christchurch today (27 July). With National’s party polling and his own personal popularity sliding steadily in the polls, Mr Bridges has not much left to reverse his fortunes. ...
Those concerned for Langridge’s wellbeing say they hope he’ll change his mind when he sees the ocean coming. The protester who has vowed to stand outside Parliament every day until the Government announces a climate emergency says he accepts that his quest will most likely end in drowning. Ollie Langridge, ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the report of the Small Business Council will help maintain the momentum for innovation and improvements in the sector. Mr Nash has thanked the members of the Small Business Council (SBC) who this week handed over their report, Empowering small businesses to aspire, succeed ...
Extra Police officers are being deployed from Northland to Southland with the graduation of a new wing of recruits from the Royal New Zealand Police College. “The graduation of 78 constables today means that 1524 new constables have been deployed since the government took office,” says Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Ongoing drug-test sanctions contradicts Government’s rhetoric on drugs Reports that two-thirds of beneficiaries who fail drug tests are still having their benefit sanctioned contradicts the Government’s so-called health approach to drugs. Auckland ...
An Auckland Homelessness Collective is optimistic extra government support for sustaining tenancies signals a commitment to a multi-pronged approach to tackling homelessness. ...
Wanaka-based trust ONE New Zealand will be hosting six days of talks, workshops and hands-on activities with local and national experts to educate, inspire and enable grassroots action towards a sustainable future. ...
In last week’s episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discussed why Jacinda Ardern has been lecturing our friends overseas, why Andrew Little called ACT's three strikes law “fascism”, whether he will give prisoners the right to ...
“Community safety must be the paramount consideration when releasing an offender, and the only way for that to be achieved is for the offender to acknowledge their crimes.” ...
“District Health Boards are failing to foster a culture of distributed clinical leadership, despite its demonstrated benefits to the sector,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
Ratepayers around Auckland were spitting out their morning coffees listening to Phil Goff’s incredible claims on breakfast radio today that this election is about ‘honesty’ and that Aucklanders can trust him on his promises. Auckland Ratepayers’ ...
The Hōkai Rangi plan for reducing Māori reoffending announced today fails to fulfil the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations, says justice organisation People Against Prisons Aotearoa. Minister Kelvin Davis announced the plan this morning, which aims ...
Waatea News at the invitation of the North Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency will exclusively broadcast the next Māori-led Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki starting today at 1pm. ...
Staff at the Ministry of Social Development say they are enthusiastic about the government’s $54 million investment in housing the homeless, with many describing it as a welcome change. ...
Today posters have gone up outside ANZ branches across New Zealand to expose ANZ’s sponsorship of an exclusive oil industry group, ‘The Petroleum Club’. The satirical posters play on ANZ’s recent ad campaigns, replacing the banks’ tagline ‘healthy ...
Imagine a country where children look forward to walking or cycling to school, parents arrive home safely, and the journeys we take for work or pleasure do more than leave us alive or uninjured, they also improve our lives. This is happening now in countries ...
Sunday, 18 August, 2019 - Environmental groups and well known New Zealanders are preparing to deliver a 55,000 strong petition to the steps of Parliament tomorrow, calling on the Government to protect the world’s smallest dolphin. ...
The Government’s proposed rescue plan must be strengthened because it is the last chance to save Māui dolphins from extinction and secure the future for Hector’s dolphins, Forest & Bird says. ...
Simon Shepherd: Roads, schools, hospitals, prisons, the building blocks that keep society functioning. And we don't have enough. It's called the infrastructure deficit and will be the focus of a major conference this coming week. The man charged with ...
New Zealand has been issued a stark challenge from Pacific leaders to dramatically upscale its action to address climate breakdown, Oxfam says, after a clear rallying cry from nations at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum. ...
Support for Recreational Dope Going ‘Up in Smoke’ Family First NZ is welcoming yet another poll showing plummeting support for legalising cannabis in New Zealand. The Horizon Research poll shows support for legalising has plummeted from 60% last ...
The prospect of ending wider cannabis prohibition looks increasingly unlikely. Over the last nine months, the percentage of New Zealanders who would vote for legalising the personal use of cannabis has declined at a near linear rate of around 10% per ...
“It’s disappointing that news out of the United States of hospitalisations linked to illegal street drugs is somehow seen as relevant to the New Zealand vaping scene,” says Ben Pryor, Director of Alt New Zealand – the largest Kiwi-owned vaping company. ...
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the successful passing of Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill through parliament, by the New Zealand Government. ...
Today’s news from the Electoral Commission has provided the party with the clarity it was seeking around use of the word “Coalition” being used as the brand name of the party. ...
A recently released Otago University study has provided further evidence that low-quality housing is a significant problem in Aotearoa. This has prompted the Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACENZ) Paul Evans to question “why ...
With the BNZ-Business NZ PMI signaling manufacturing is contracting , the Government needs to seriously consider tax relief, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . ...
The New Zealand Maori Council has called for an overhaul of the Public Services executive ranks as the Corrections debacle shows mis-management and incompetence at the highest level. Matthew Tukaki, Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council has said ...
Findings from the 2018 New Zealand Consumer Survey have been released and the results are in; 48 per cent of respondents consider their purchases based on how ethically employees are treated. ...
The responsibility for the fact that Westland Milk Products is now in the hands of an overseas conglomerate 25% owned by the Chinese government can be laid fair and square at our government's doorstep. ...
As Fonterra is projecting multi million dollar losses for the second year in a row, it is clear the writing is on the wall for dairy as more and more Kiwis turn to plant milks. 22nd August is International Plant Milk Day and there is now a different plant ...
The $65,000 granted to Interislander so it can install electric vehicle chargers on its ferries is the most absurd waste of money yet to be delivered by the “Low Emissions” vehicle fund, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
Wellingtonians will have the chance to hear international child rights experts from Ireland, Scotland and Samoa speak at the Making Child Rights Real in Aotearoa New Zealand seminar to be held in the city on Wednesday 21 August. ...
Paul Evans, Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACENZ), is advocating a balanced approach to the development of productive land. ...
CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group) says that new research from the University of Otago provides a solid foundation for why the Government must not delay instating a comprehensive Warrant of Fitness for tenanted homes in Aotearoa-New Zealand, and ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer drove carelessly during a pursuit and that this was the primary cause of a collision with a motorcycle that injured the rider. ...
Responding to the Prime Minister’s commitment of $150 million in funding for climate change response in the Pacific, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “It is no secret that many Pacific nations lack serious oversight when it ...
AUT research not only shows an increase in political affiliation, but that candidates affiliated to a central political party are more likely to win seats in Auckland local government. ...
On the 23rd of August School Strike NZ will join Ollie Langridge in his 100th day of sitting outside of New Zealand Parliament calling for the government to declare a climate emergency. School Strike 4 Climate NZ also demand that Parliament acknowledge ...
You have stood up for what is fair, and I am sure you will speak for over 7 million people who have been muted and rendered voiceless in Indian occupied Kashmir for more than a 10 days now. I am writing to bring to your notice the plight of Kashmiri ...
In the last 10 months alone, 11 petitions have been delivered to Parliament calling for medicines to be funded by Pharmac. Today, another nine petitions have been launched by Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) members asking that life changing, saving and extending ...
When we were first working to get Miscanthus approved for import into New Zealand, the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) waived the fee for their work because they thought that having Miscanthus in New Zealand was so very much in the ...
PHARMAC’s recent decision to fund two additional drugs from December this year has been widely welcomed by patients and the general public alike. The drugs, Kadcyla and Ibrance, are used in the treatment of advanced lung and breast cancers and will ...
Animal rights organisation SAFE is urging the Government to include experts and advocates from outside the agriculture industry on its newly announced winter crop grazing taskforce. ...
The Government’s plans to prohibit housing on ‘productive’ farmland will serve as yet another regulatory tax on housing, and is a shameful breach of Jacinda Ardern’s promise to fix housing supply, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . ...
The latest round of the Ethnic Communities Development Fund opens today, supporting projects that grow the leadership and capability of ethnic groups, improve cultural understanding, and ensure our ethnic communities are a vibrant and celebrated part ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is warning of the dangers of hiking excise tax, in response to calls from a former Prime Minister for stronger action on alcohol harm. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It seems inevitable ...
The new joint from the team behind one of Wellington’s favourite craft beer bars is dedicated to minimal-intervention, organic wine – and more exciting things are coming to the heritage building it’s housed in.Before the Cadbury factory opened in Dunedin in 1930, New Zealanders ate Cadbury chocolate made in England. ...
Alex Casey chats to Bree Tomasel about hosting Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, farting in the ZM studio and going viral on the regular. The most important thing you need to know about Bree Tomasel is not the fact that she peed her pants during Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, but the glee ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – The election race is on. The nominations process for local government positions has now closed, and the political campaign is officially underway. But does the public care? Will many of us even vote for any of the various mayoral or council ...
At Eden Park on Saturday night, the Wallabies were on the receiving end of a ruthless players’ revenge, writes Scotty StevensonThe rain came. It always seems to at Eden Park, just as the Wallabies warm up on the pitch, dreaming of ending a drought. It came from the west, the ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Michael Fallow (Stuff): Your council – what’s its job description? Dileepa Fonseka and ...
Protesters occupying land at Ihumātao will begin a four-hour hikoi to Mt Albert on Thursday to present a petition calling on the Prime Minister to visit the land. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Walvisch, Lecturer, Monash University This morning an Extinction Rebellion protester was arrested after hanging from a rope over the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane, blocking all lanes to peak hour traffic. And earlier this month in Brisbane, more than 70 climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Jobson, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Monash University Many of us enjoy writing in a diary, reading autobiographies or nostalgically reflecting with others about past times. Why is remembering our past so important? Are there downsides? And what can we do ...
Roll Red Roll is a brutal, painfully illuminating documentary on the Steubenville High School rape case, a shocking crime that made headlines worldwide. Emily Writes reviews. This review discusses rape and sexual violenceAugust 11, 2012: two teenage boys rape an unconscious teenage girl as two of their peers watch and ...
By RNZ Pacific Tuvalu’s Prime Minister has condemned the Australian Prime Minister’s conduct at last week’s Pacific Islands Forum, calling Scott Morrison’s attitude “unfortunate” and “neo-colonial,” and questioning Australia’s future in the 18-member body. In an interview with RNZ on Sunday, Enele Sopoaga also threatened to pull Tuvaluan labour from ...
The second hui of the Māori-led inquiry into Oranga Tamariki takes place in Hamilton today. Newsroom, in partnership with Radio Waatea, are broadcasting it live from 1pm. ...
Prolific, award-winning Palmerston North poet Paula Harris somehow manages to be stroppy and properly vulnerable all at once. Here, she writes about her first slam competition – and why she cried all the way home. I am old enough to have given birth to most of the people here.Sure, there’s a ...
High speed rail links between cities could play a massive role in revitalising regional New Zealand, says a visiting transport infrastructure expert. Professor Andrew McNaughton spoke to Alex Braae. Imagine commuting from Hamilton to Auckland, and it only taking an hour to get there. It’s a vision of how the right ...
On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change.This piece originally appeared on Bike AucklandMy first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was ...
It's not since 1989 that a mayoralty campaign in the southern city has been so unpredictable - a record 14 candidates have put their names forward. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Hon Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney On the morning of the last Monday in April, 2019, federal election officials opened the doors of more than 500 pre-poll voting centres around Australia, and waited for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Veronica Alfano, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University Memorising poetry was once common in classrooms. But it has, for the most part, gone out of style. There are good reasons for this. Memorisation can clash with creativity and analytical thought. Rote learning can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darren Paul Fisher, Head of Directing, Department of Film, Screen and Creative Media, Bond University What do J.J. Abrams, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shonda Rhimes, David Lynch, Aaron Sorkin, Donald Glover, Jenji Kohan, Jordan Peele, Tina Fey, and Joss Whedon have in common? They ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mayors launch bids to return in Auckland and Wellington, Hamilton’s skyline could change significantly, and support for cannabis legalisation plummets in poll.Two incumbent mayors have launched their re-election campaigns over the weekend, with a bigger fight on their hands than ...
MediaWorks has been lobbying the Government to turn TVNZ 1 into a non-commercial channel to help stem its own financial bleeding. Frustrated, and getting nowhere, it’s decided to change tack. ...
Customs has cracked down on a GST rort, leaving Trade Me to pay back thousands of dollars to customers who had new cameras and smartphones seized at the border. ...
The 37-8 result meant the Black Ferns finished with a handy 5-1 record for the year, suggesting they are tracking well enough towards a successful defence of the 2021 World Cup. ...
New Zealand has long been the world’s imagined lifeboat – and increasingly for something more than just escape, writes Elle Hunt.One Friday morning in January 1847, Charles Dickens wrote to his friend John Forster that he was “disposed to go to New Zealand and start a magazine”. The quote was ...
New Zealand is one of only two developed countries, along with the US, that permits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, and it needs to stop, writes Dr David Menkes. It’s been a long time coming: a new Consumer report makes it clear that most New Zealanders want to see a ban ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has a sharp lecture for bureaucrats about their KPIs, in a comprehensive speech laying down how he expects the Australian Public Service to operate under his government. Morrison stresses the service must be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has issued a timetable for the government’s dealing with the recommendations from the royal commission into banking, superannuation and financial services, which aims to have all measures needing legislation introduced by the ...
By Ghinan Salman in Surabaya As many as 43 Papuan students were taken to the district police headquarters after Indonesian police fired teargas and forced their way into a student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya at the weekend. The Papuan students were forcibly removed from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Each new generation of Australians since Federation has enjoyed a better standard of living than the one that came before it. Until now. Today’s young Australians are in danger of falling behind. A new Grattan Institute ...
Jamie Wall reviews Jonah, the two-part Three telefeature that follows the life of our most famous All Black, and finds it an effective but mixed retelling of the legend.Honestly, it’s a wee bit disappointing that the only notable on-screen dramatisation of the All Blacks in recent years was centred on replacement ...
We love it battered and served with chips, but tarakihi stocks aren’t doing well and another big cut to commercial catch limits is in the works. Ah yes, terrakee, that’s a fish, right?Well, first things first, let’s say it correctly. Pronounce every syllable, remember the Māori vowel sounds (A-E-I-O-U), roll the ...
Open Mike 13/09/2017 
by Philip Ferguson This weekend just past marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the most famous of the great 1960s music festivals. It was held over the weekend (Friday-Monday) of August 15-18, 1969. Woodstock was a highpoint of the US ‘counter-culture’, and also the beginning of its end. When exploring the ...5 hours ago
Last week, Australia sabotaged the Pacific Forum by opposing action on climate change. Their Deputy Prime Minister followed that up by saying that Pacific Peoples could always pick Australian fruit - just as they had done in the era of blackbirding. And now, that arrogant, tone-deaf approach has drawn a ...5 hours ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...1 day ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...1 day ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...3 days ago
3 days ago
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...3 days ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...5 days ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...5 days ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...5 days ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...5 days ago
Most economists agree that a currently slowing economy could do with some stimulus – and they would also agree that there is no shortage of infrastructure projects which could be brought to productive fruition with help from that stimulus. In view of the current practice of sub-contracting economic policy decisions ...5 days ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...5 days ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 5 days ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...6 days ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...1 week ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...1 week ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...1 week ago
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...2 weeks ago
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...2 weeks ago
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...2 weeks ago
There is a military phrase: “Full spectrum dominance”. It refers to the all-encompassing policy to dominate across all spheres of war. Lately, that has come to include the internet – in other words, cyberwarfare initiatives. That is in addition to land, sea, air and the like. Now, if ...2 weeks ago
The IMF issued a Report on the state of the Economy as it is at present. Some of it points out significant issues that certainly warrant attention, but that we know already exist. Some of it is very much tied to the very obvious context of global concerns, that everyone ...2 weeks ago
I'm glad to see the Lib Dems won.I had a moment of terror yesterday thinking that the Conservatives might cling on, due to a combination of Johnson's elevation to the premiership, the apparent uselessness of the Lib Dem candidate (who had failed to be elected in other constituencies) and the ...2 weeks ago
. . Current Leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges gave the usual rah-rah speech to the Loyal & Faithful in Christchurch today (27 July). With National’s party polling and his own personal popularity sliding steadily in the polls, Mr Bridges has not much left to reverse his fortunes. ...2 weeks ago
Those concerned for Langridge’s wellbeing say they hope he’ll change his mind when he sees the ocean coming. The protester who has vowed to stand outside Parliament every day until the Government announces a climate emergency says he accepts that his quest will most likely end in drowning. Ollie Langridge, ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...2 weeks ago
Ongoing drug-test sanctions contradicts Government’s rhetoric on drugs Reports that two-thirds of beneficiaries who fail drug tests are still having their benefit sanctioned contradicts the Government’s so-called health approach to drugs. Auckland ...23 mins ago
After alleged Christchurch terrorist wrote to a supporter, Jacinda Ardern says our laws may need an update for the digital age. ...48 mins ago
The Commerce Commission's first market study will wade into the complex fuel market - here's what you need to know. ...3 hours ago
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Colmar Brunton Poll due tomorrow
Last time the Colmar Brunton – Reid Research sampling period significantly overlapped (late August) = CB had Labour 4 points higher & the Nats 2 points lower than RR
Michael Appleton looks to polls during last close NZ election – 2005.
It’s generally accepted though that the swing to Labour that won that election was its late pitch to students and their families with interest free student loans. Will Labour be able to do something similar this time round?
swordfish
That’s good to know; CB certainly seem to be a lot more frequent during the election. Would I be right in supposing that the Roy Morgan is likely on Friday too (sampling 26/8 – 10/9)?
Another glorious rant from the god of swivel-eyed loons.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ahem-alex-jones-now-says-donald-trump-is-being-covertly-drugged_us_59b7d93de4b031cc65cca681?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
And in news we all already knew deep down but never really cared about, Ted Cruz’s twitter account gets honest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-porn-like_us_59b76b91e4b031cc65cc1be4?section=us_politics
What’s the chance of a thread on one or all of the following?
A. Rachel Stewart’s article ‘Dont feel sorry for farmers.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11921404
B. Al Jazeera’s documentary ‘ Polluted Paradise.’
C. Bryan Bruce’s documentary ‘Who owns New Zealand?’
https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/who-owns-new-zealand-now/S1344-012
Bryan Bruce’s documentary (‘Who owns New Zealand now?’) was great and is a must see.
I think there’s a post about the doco later the morning.
Very good.
Oooooou, I like all three
The effects of Irma, as seen from space.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/9/11/16290234/hurricane-irma-2017-power-outages-florida-miami-naples-keys-space
The kind of fucked-up development that makes coastal region damage so expensive.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2017/09/irma_made_marco_island_a_symbol.html
Twas a bad day for Labour yesterday.
It began with an interview on RNZ (which was revealing, exposing their support for the TPP with a housing carve out and their preference of maintaining a surplus over spending more on addressing child poverty). Ardern also said neoliberalism has failed, yet largely ruled out overturning its underpinning of the economy.
The day ended with a drop in the polls.
I beg your pardon they never promised you a rose garden, along with the sunshine there’s got to be a little rain sometimes…
😀
I never expected a “rose garden”, Marty.
While I’m willing to make concessions as there is no perfect party, it’s become clear from our discussions I’m not willing to lower the bar as far as you.
As for Labour’s headlining promises, they’re a little misleading. For example, take the headline free education, it equates to only 1 year free in their first term. And as I’ve often pointed out, a number of others also fall short.
And how is this for contradictory? Jacinda said “Any expectation that we just simply allow that the market to dictate our outcomes for people is where I would want to make sure that we were more interventionist.” Yet, entering into the TPP with only a housing carve out will curtail the Governments ability to intervene in the wider market.
Are you now going to make excuses and accept this form of double speak?
If you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go downtown…
;-D
sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe…
Giovanni Tiso has hit nail squarely on head….https://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.co.nz/2017/09/the-neoliberalism-question-notes-on.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BatBeanBeam-AWeblogOnMemoryAndTechnology+(Bat,+Bean,+Beam+-+A+Weblog+on+Memory+and+Technology)
“The term ‘neoliberal’ is often said to be excessively vague, but its value in this context was in fact to give specificity to Espiner’s line of questioning. Most obviously: would Ardern consider revisiting the Reserve Bank Act, the Public Finance Act or any of the other legislative instruments that have allowed the last four governments to put neoliberal reforms into practice?
The answer – need I say it – was no. And in the process of the fairly gentle interrogation that followed, the much-vaunted boldness of the Ardern project evaporated. She thinks that climate change is the ‘nuclear-free’ issue of our time, but wouldn’t commit to divesting from coal or even ceasing to issue new licenses for deep-sea oil exploration. She wants to end child poverty, but wouldn’t resile from her predecessor’s foolish commitment to contain spending to 30% of GDP and keep guaranteeing operating surpluses – one of the main causes of the staggering, crippling rise of our household debt – nor does she think that the government needs to seek more revenue through taxation. ”
and…..
” For there really was a window. An opportunity. Instead of playing her part in the political assassination of Metiria Turei, Ardern could have used her new position and her extraordinary popularity to stand by her side. Together, she and Turei could have broken the siege that has prevented beneficiaries – which is to say, a significant portion of the working class – from leading a dignified life and participating in society. Such a decision would have carried its own risks, naturally. But then this is what defines political courage, and it’s nothing if not courage that we desperately need. ”
I too am struggling with having to limbo low to vote Labour.
Looking like Two Ticks Green for me….
And builds up over time as they can afford it while maintaining the same failed economic system…
Yep. We actually need to drop out of FTAs so that we can start to take back our sovereignty rather than signing up to more of them.
Labour doesn’t want to scare business by actually promising to do what needs to be done. But, of course, they actually think that the failed ideology of the 19th century works.
Horse manure is supposed to be good for roses too isn’t it?
Doesn’t get rid of the pricks though ☺
marty mars
Vote now while your brain is at its sharpest!
If this ‘Reid’ poll was ‘doctored’ by Joyce, (I have assessed) there is no way to confirm accuracy .
We contacted some of these polling companies last year after we looked into the methods used by requesting details from them.
Results of several polling companies was disturbing.
We found, it is all based on trust that they are accurate nothing else.
They confirmed there is no ability for them to conduct any rechecks of voters stated choices on any with these ‘polls’ they told us.
The same applies to the general election, the electoral commission sent us an email confirming “there no no way we can confirm voters choice was recorded accurately.
Overseas now many countries are using a ‘Voter Verified Audit Paper Trail’ (VVPAT) voting systems (even with the manual paper voting system we still use) as they use electronic counting of paper votes after we surrender our paper vote at the polling centre, and we have confirmed that is where false recording of votes can take place.
Here in NZ they only do a sample manual rechecking of a fraction of all votes taken during our General Election System, so there are many flaws left inside our voting system today.
https://www.verifiedvoting.org/resources/vvpr-legislation/
So we asked the NZ Electoral Commission to switch to VVPAT and they refused so we are left to take their word for any poll conducted, so we must be wary of this lack of verification from any poll conducted now.
James Shaw today on TV one said their ‘internal’ polling showed the election will be very tight and every vote will count for them, so they will re-double their door knocking if able.
If this ‘Reid’ poll was ‘doctored’ by Joyce…
No! Joyce is a mere puppet of the Lizard People! The poll was in fact doctored by the Illuminati.
The Illuminatui?
I thought it was the Blocklayers that did that.
If it is a National win = ‘we wind up with more poisoned water to drink and swim in’ and ‘truck gridlocked roads’ we will die on.
If National win, more people die cold and poor on the streets.
LOL Ed
Bill English says some farmers may have to pay 50K for water if Labour win.
According to a chap on Natrad, if he did, that farmer would be using the same amount of water as 38,000 people. Or to put it another way, 50 such farmers would use more water than the entire city of Auckland.
Apparently, some dairy farmers on the dry plains of Canterbury use over three million litres of water per annum.
In total, agriculture uses 80% of all fresh water consumed in New Zealand. TIME TO PAY UP FARMER BROWN.
I thought the figure on Nat Radio this morning was an extra $70,000 for a farm (or was it $350,000?)- and he was concerned that the reduction in income would reduce the amount of purchasing in the local community. Imagine the positive effect of increasing the minimum wage!
The answer is to stop farming and get a credit in cash for the water you could have used.
Smart, being paid for not using, or farming even. A useful subsidy. Didn’t they do this in Britain at one time?
If you want to see why not to do it, have a look at the last
5060 years of fallow farming subsidies in the US.Probably the longest blackmail experience that I have ever read about and one that has been distorting their agricultural practices without changing them in the intended manner significantly.
The only link I have was the history book I was reading about it in
It might be a practical way of easing the b…s out of using more than rationed water, and overstocking! Or shorten their pipes surgically.
Ed in a morning report on RNZ an expert said in ‘real terms’ now all these farms that use water ‘irrigation’ use 80% of our total water in NZ.
I am betting we will not hear this staggering fact on any other MSM today and anytime till after election time.
On that recent Polluted Paradise Al Jazeera documentary they showed one typical dairy farmer in Canterbury who they calculate uses 12% of the total water Wellington does each year. Jaw dropping.
My dairy farming neighbour reckons 200 litres a day the cows can drink.
Plus watering crops, plus hose out of shed, plus rinsing milking gear….
If a cow drinks 30 litres a day (about avg) and you have a herd of 350 cows, that is 10,500 litres a day just on drinking. Per annum that is 3.8 million litres. That at a 2 cent per litre levy would cost a farmer $76,000 per year extra.
This is excluding all other water.
So? What is your point? Apart from merely spinning a meaningless pile of cowshit.
For just myself and my partner I personally spend more than $1200 per year on getting drinking water and dealing with waste water. It is a resource that we use and for which we pay for.
The business that I work for pays for their water and sewerage for nearly 200 employees at a similar rate. Their bill would be heading up towards half a million dollars annually.
My point is that farmers should do the same. They should pay for the use of the common property of NZ.
If your business model and processes aren’t sustainable without a ‘free’ resource that you don’t care for properly and that others wind up having to pay for, then you should shut down the business. We aren’t prepared to give you that charity anymore bearing in mind the state you have been leaving the waterways and aquifers in.
If nothing else, putting price on your ‘free’ resource should cause you to start treating it like any other business input. Figuring out ways to use it more efficiently and without causing problems to those downstream.
Updated: And I missed the 3 orders of magnitude of cost that blackops lied about…..
Brilliant comment lprent
I suggest we each keep a copy of it and remind ourselves of the basis of the argument regularly.
I thought the proposed figure for water charges was to be per cubic metre which would be 2 cents per 1000 litres, not per litre, so about 7,600 dollars not 76,000 dollars.
It’s even more stupid – at $1 for 50,000 litres, you’d be looking at $76 per year for 3.8 mil litres of water. The fact is that farming is using so much water that such a nominal charge still adds up to plenty of money for improving water quality.
Per annum that is 3.8 million litres. That at a 2 cent per litre levy would cost a farmer $76,000 per year extra.
Yeah, that would be ridiculous, right?
Howver, Labour is talking 1 to 2 cents per thousand litres, not per litre. It would be nice if the media made it a bit clearer that we’re talking about $76 per year, not $76,000. You’ve been reading too much National bullshit.
http://www.labour.org.nz/fact_check_water_royalty
Thanks Psycho M – my glasses got misted when the spraying arm went past.
C’mon blackcap, that’s not cricket.
It is intended that the tax will only be on people who are taking for irrigation so the average farmer who isn’t doing this is going to be just fine. It is the people farming in a way that is unsuited to the local environment and therefore creating a burden on that environment that will finally have to pay a small amount for something that they have polluted in the name of profit for far too long.
Water will be the new oil. We must do all we can to protect our clean water and take the maximum benefit as a country not as individuals for it’s use.
English often laments the urban rural divide. Yet who exactly is creating and promoting the divide? English is and it is a cynical ploy.
Another canard from the same right-wing stable as “This country used to have great race relations until the left started encouraging Maori to complain” and “Employment relations would be great if the unions weren’t instigating trouble.”
Well, that was over quickly. I feel like I won the lottery on Friday only to piss it all against a wall by Monday to be back where I started.
A forth term for National will break a lot of people. If you don’t own a mortgage-free house or farm or earn more than $60000 a year, then expect your living standards to slide, as National lowers wages and social spending.
Yep whoever makes body bags is in for a killing.
A fourth term for National won’t be so bad, even Jacinda said NZ is doing pretty good, but theres still plenty of twists and turns still to come in this election I fel
Always nice to find a dumbarse troll who can’t quote properly and can’t link to the source of their quote. The key word that you missed out as you lied by omission was economically.
And I’d argue even that – I think that she is being charitable.
Because it looks to me like it is currently being sustained artificially on levels of nett inwards migration and inwards debt to pay for excessive property prices rather than on anything of sustainable use. Essentially my business trained sensors are detecting a ponzi scheme perpetuated by National to produce good figures without any particular substance.
And yet as she also points out we have a rapidly growing homeless problem, an epidemic of suicides, pollution, a massive sustained under investment in critical infrastructure and housing, inequality, and a large number of other issues that will cause the economy to tank in the medium term.
None of which National has shown ANY real inclination to change. Instead we just get the spewing of lies from Nick Smith or Steven Joyce, ineffectually supported by their mate Bill.
If you want to comment here, then I suggest you do better. We aren’t a place for stupid astroturfing parrots.
Hear Hear!! Iprent you said what I was thinking.
Ok then: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_the_economy,_stupid
“The key word that you missed out as you lied by omission was economically. ”
NZ is doing well economically:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_rankings_of_New_Zealand
NZ is improving the pay gap:
http://www.globalwomen.org.nz/news-and-events/blog/2017-women-in-work-index-places-nz-pay-gap-at-6/
People do place a lot of stock of how well the country Is going economically and, not withstanding your business acumen, theres a lot of people who believe NZ is doing well
Is it enough for a fourth term though? I don’t know, this election has been very topsy-turvy so far
A lot of people taken in by Nationals propaganda. Even in right wing terms such as per capita GDP, balance of trade and productivity New Zealand is going downhill. Propped up only by the reserve banks excessive interest rates , immigration and natural disasters.
Numerous people have asked Newshub to provide the figures for undecided voters from their poll last night. They are ignoring all requests. Why?
Boonman @boonman 30m30 minutes ago
“Still waiting for @patrickgowernz OR @NewshubNZ OR @NewshubPolitics to tell us the number of undecided voters from the poll last night”
Newshub RR have always been the least methodologically transparent of Pollsters
In stark contrast to Colmar Brunton
Nevertheless this obsession with Undecided voters = clutching at straws
(Like weka’s
)
I would just like to know whether there is a difference in undecided between their last few polls and I find it odd that they are refusing to provide that information.
By my reckoning New Zealand’s most militant “union” by a good margin would be Federated Farmers. Any chance of them having their wings clipped …
I like Tauraga the people are nice and friendly you can grow vegetables all year round its nice and warm being close to the sea and located were it’s.
Tauranga is a jewel in our beautiful country.
But I remember seeing sand on the road in the Mount and flooding was just about to happen the residents of Tauranga did not get flooded out this time.
But with OUR ocean warming up and the fact that heat is energy in the near future there will be major flooding and damage to the residents property’s.
This scenario is a when and not a if so WE must plan for the worst weather that could hit Tauranga and if WE don’t plan for climate change the residents of Tauranga will be in the shit.
Now I no most Tauranga residents adore
Winston Peters but I say that because cause Winston doesn’t have a plan to mitigate climate change that you people of Tauranga will be up a creek with out a paddle when the next BIG storm or BIG hurricane strikes as a lot of Tauranga is just above sea level and the sea has a huge and powerful force.
I did Not speak against Winston until he showed that he would side with national and if national and Winston get into parliament there will be no planning for climate change and no plans to protect you the residents of Tauranga or your properties.
I am not letting you no this out of malice for Winston as this is not the way I work I’m letting you people no out of concern for your future and your safety. So I plead for your safety don’t vote Winston in or national because national is hiding the climate report they don’t care for your safety. So vote for the anyone but the two party’s that are ignoring climate change it is your future and your grandchildren future your voting for.
Tauranga may be a jewel, Eco maori, but it still votes National 🙁
Did you not read right through JanM?
Yes I did – sorry if I wasn’t clear – I meant I think they will still vote National – they are quite a conservative ‘head-in-the-sand’ society like a lot of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region
Thinking of business and why we have to keep on doing things to nurse our businesses along as they are always doing it hard, can’t find workers etc. Then we can’t afford to pay ordinary workers much while the people at the top live on the fat of the land for just doing a job that requires extra skills.
How about this for wage progression -Bottom under $40,000, few extra skills $60,000 (50% more), advanced experience $80,000, top managers $110,000 and Chief executive $150,000. But someone I know who I think is in human resources is getting $140,000 and is probably smart but just at keeping up with the others. So we are going backwards in NZ with he middle class going up or some getting lost and going down, the middle class is under pressure in western countries. The lower class is increasingly the precariat. Social mobility is now hard-won, not encouraged. Mainly to keep inflation low. To satisfy those with money to invest?
Hardly, how does low inflation, low interest help old age pensioners who were counting on interest to provide extras to the benefit?
If we are going to go backwards let’s try to put money into the regions’ pockets that stays there. Go back to where we encouraged small domestic industries which then branched out into export of excellent products. Let’s build a basecourse of solid small initiative ‘pop ups’ all over the country shouting look at us New Zealanders come and visit your own, and try us out. Nurture regional areas of excellence in what they do best. Ricardo economics within a domestic framework not over-extended as under free market machinations hand in hand with nasty neolib.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage
The theory of comparative advantage is an economic theory about the work gains from trade for individuals, firms, or nations that arise from differences in their factor endowments or technological progress.[1]
In an economic model, agents have a comparative advantage over others in producing a particular good if they can produce that good at a lower relative opportunity cost or autarky price, i.e. at a lower relative marginal cost prior to trade.[2] One does not compare the monetary costs of production or even the resource costs (labor needed per unit of output) of production.
Instead, one must compare the opportunity costs of producing goods across countries.[3] The closely related law or principle of comparative advantage holds that under free trade, an agent will produce more of and consume less of a good for which they have a comparative advantage.[4]
David Ricardo developed the classical theory of comparative advantage in 1817 to explain why countries engage in international trade even when one country’s workers are more efficient at producing every single good than workers in other countries.
He demonstrated that if two countries capable of producing two commodities engage in the free market, then each country will increase its overall consumption by exporting the good for which it has a comparative advantage while importing the other good, provided that there exist differences in labor productivity between both countries.[5][6] Widely regarded as one of the most powerful[7] yet counter-intuitive[8] insights in economics, Ricardo’s theory implies that comparative advantage rather than absolute advantage is responsible for much of international trade.
David Ricardo – Investopedia
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/david-ricardo.asp
David Ricardo was a classical economist known for his Iron Law of Wages, labor theory of value, theory of comparative advantage and theory of rents. David Ricardo and several other economists also simultaneously and independently discovered the law of diminishing marginal returns.
“Hardly, how does low inflation, low interest help old age pensioners who were counting on interest to provide extras to the benefit?”
And yet we still see the relentless promotion of Kiwisaver… Not to mention the eternal damnation of pension-age ‘Boomers’ whose little bits of money add to the income of shops and services.
Unless successive governments can protect the investments made by the citizens – what’s the use of saving for your retirement, eh? You’ll end up like Don Brash’s pa after he’d sold the farm and the inflation rate took off. A comfortable nest egg turned into less than an average year’s pay.
Doesn’t pay to be prudent or thrifty.
National has presided over the death of kids’ learning in New Zealand being important.
Real learning, proper learning, according to who and what the children are themselves , and capable of, have given way to checklists, targets and percentages.
What the kids could be and the type people we need in the world are incidental to charts and graphs.
When the teacher force is completely dumbed down to play the dumb game, and those who should be the leaders in the profession are singing from the Tolley/Parata/Kaye song sheet, we are totally stuffed. We are well on the way to that already.
Education in that sense is not an issue in the election yet that to me that is the real issue of the times. Are we to give Kaye the hammer and nails again to drive into the coffin they have fashioned? Also are we to give henchman Seymour a nail gun again?
As a retired ece teacher, I spend time as a volunteer in my grandson’s new entrant classroom. It breaks my heart (and that of the experienced teacher)
Press cover of Winston in Gisborne yesterday.
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2990284-135/on-the-hustings-in-gisborne-with
Clearly committed to regional rail & restoring the regions.
September 13, 2017
gisborneherald.co.nz
On the hustings in Gisborne with Winston Peters
by Wynsley Wrigley Published: September 13, 2017 10:33AM
ON THE ATTACK: New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claims Gisborne does not have the ear of Wellington and “the old parties”. In Gisborne yesterday, Mr Peters said New Zealand First would provide financial support to regional airports, including Gisborne’s, and support reinstatement of the Gisborne to Napier rail line.
NEW Zealand First supports reinstatement of the Gisborne to Napier rail line and state funding of regional airports such as Gisborne’s, said party leader Winston Peters when he was in Gisborne yesterday.
He told the Herald that Land Transport funding of Railways of National Importance, such as the Gisborne line, had long been party policy, but was disappointed that many Gisborne people would not know that.
“We will provide much-needed funding for regional airports owned by local authorities to help pay for infrastructure improvements and to meet safety and amenity standards,” he said.
“Unlike big airports they don’t have large revenues to help pay for the things they need. Every OECD country subsidises regional airports and air services, except New Zealand.
“Even the USA, home of the market, knows and does that. These countries know airports are crucial for communications, business development, air ambulances, and tourism, and must be supported by central government.”
Mr Peters said the sky around Gisborne was “darkening” because of the “old parties”.
“Politicians come here and say what they want to do for you. I’ve seen years of them doing stuff all for you. I see Gisborne and what it’s become.
“It still has the same people, resources and assets. It has everything, but it does not have the ear of Wellington.”
Mr Peters said nothing could be more compelling in his argument than closure of Gisborne’s rail line.
New Zealand First supported it from beginning
“No one put their hand up to defend it other than one party: New Zealand First. Not now, not last month, not last year, but when it happened and since then.
“You give us a chance in this campaign, we are going to open it.”
He said no treasury analysis was required. No transport infrastructure was efficient everywhere. There could be both inefficient and efficient sectors, which together made a successful operation.
If inefficient areas were wound back, efficient areas were affected because overall numbers diminished.
He said regional airports were part of the national grid.
“If the United States and other OECD countries understand that, why not New Zealand?”
Mr Peters said other regional airports to benefit from the policy included Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Kaitaia, Chatham Islands, Hokitika, Masterton, Taupo, Timaru, Westport, Whakatane and Whanganui.
“Eleven airports are being told to put up or shut up. This is astonishing. Who do they think goes through Auckland Airport? A lot of them are going to places like Gisborne, they all add up.”
Public pronouncements
At a public meeting at the Cosmopolitan Club Mr Peters said:
• New Zealand First would ensure continuity of forestry supply for local processors, and keep forestry sustainable.
• The New Zealand Forestry Service would be reinstated. “This plan is so good the Labour Party swiped it a few days ago.”
• New Zealand First is committed to a massive campaign to seal rural roads, improve road quality and double-lane bridges where sensible. “We want Gisborne to have a fully co-ordinated transportation strategy with road, rail and coastal shipping.”
• New Zealand First would return the GST paid by international tourists in this region for tourism infrastructure and roads, and to stimulate job training and opportunities.
• Any water rights for exports in this region would pay serious royalties, which would return to Gisborne.
• New Zealand First will help exporters, farmers and others by fixing the Reserve Bank Act.
• Devaluation of the dollar would help export-orientated provinces like Gisborne.
I no I’m of topic but I have to say this.
The only way we are going to get the state to heal is not a commission’s investigation. We need someone to champion the issue of the harm done to those people in state care and use people power and start the court process and sue the state for the injustices that happened to those people
It could be. I think it has been done in other countries. This bunch don’t see treating all people with care and hopefully with respect as part of their core duties.
The job of pollies is wheeling and dealing for their class, which they have established over the last 30 years since the idea of equality was set aside as an impediment to business.
I have spoken to some of the wealthy and there mind set is totally different to mine.
They don’t want to shear there lollies they don’t care about our poor and vulnerable people they don’t agree with my thoughts which are that these people are OURS they are part of our SOCIETY we are all kiwis we are all humans .
So we have the responsibility to care for these people and we have the responsibility to make sure that the government that gets elected will care for these peoples future even if they are brown white or yellow they are our people to care for.
Now these people that don’t care about there neighbors or the environment well 99 % of these people will vote and in my view they are about 20 % of the population and the elderly will be about 20 % and 99 % of these people will vote. Now the elderly care about our poor but they don’t like change as they will be worried that change means hardship for them. So these two groups of our people will vote national and NZ first if only 60 % of the total population vote . Then these two groups of people are going to decide our whole country fate which will be shit. So every one that has left leaning principals
please do your duty to yourself the poor vulnerable and your children and go and vote for any party except national and NZ first This is our country and we must vote to clean up nationals MESS.