The idea of a level playing field is certainly not new. It just does not mention that in the 3 dimensional it is slanted towards poverty lane for many.
There are 3 articles today in Staff that catches the eye:
1/ A whole generation has been failed in Mathematic. And English lets just add this too.
This has been pointed out more than 20 years ago by University Lecturers, the estimated that some 30% of entry students are functionally illiterate. Why? Any answers?
2/ Where did the wage subsidy really go?
Well we know that the rich just made a grab for money that is now missing to remedy poverty, infrastructure etc. I am still in utter disbelieve that a finance minister can approve so much money without thinking through foreseeable consequences. In my view, something does not make sense. But what does make sense is that the blackmailing money class has NZ by the short and curlies.
3/New Zealand is a ridiculous name.
No its not. It reflects the history of this country over the last 380 odd years.
Maori would translate NZ: Nu Tereni. Aotearoa traditionally was used as a name for the North Island. (Land of the long white cloud). It is a beautiful name but it neither of them are inclusive. NZ has a long tradition of immigrants from all over the world. If this is to be seen as a partnership, any new name should reflect this and put to a referendum. Just not the laser kiwi please.
One reason for the increase in the estimates of functional illiteracy might be the increase in volumes of students following the introduction of student loans and opening up of universities to all.
"A whole generation has been failed in Mathematic. And English lets just add this too."(Sic.)
The answer is simple. We need to revolutionise the way things are done in primary schools. Tell you what, we'll have a system to improve standards. It'll be nationwide, schools must use the system.
Since it's about standards and it's nationwide we'll call it 'National Standards.' That has a lovely ring to it. Yes, 'National,' sounds good. It will be brilliant, it will work wonders and it'll keep tabs on teachers, make them accountable. Results will be on the rise.
The results of international testing from about 2015 on should show the results of this great innovative move as the cohorts advantaged by the wisdom move through the schooling system.
I think we should look at teachers and their standard. Weather they understand the subject to start with. True story: a teacher told a 15 year old student that they will learn a mathematical solution by research and do it themselves! ???? true response. No wonder the kids need to grow additional fingers, (sarc) Reading? Yep… easy, "recognize the word" that will be extremely helpful when reading a manual of all things with some mathematic tables. This method of teaching is just lazy. And to top it all off the number of school breaks is just ridiculous. Unless your child is in a private school, it will be disadvantaged from the start.
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn". Benjamin Franklin
Yes it is, my apologies. Was a bit in the hurry to get the dog reigned in. Weather certainly played a role . And may I add, here is a word that can be easily misspelled, misread and added to the infamous “recognize the word” vocabulary. 🙂
Pretty funny you choose to shoot the messenger, over what could be a result of poor education, rather than engage. Because you know, teachers feelings are far more important than kids achieving
Teachers are part of the equation, and I doubt there are many NZ teachers who want their students to fail. If the profession had higher status then we might make progress, but in NZ the single biggest metric for ranking occupations is not work-life balance, satisfaction and/or contribution to society, but rather how much money you can make. And so it goes.
Finland’s high level of education and expertise is based on high-quality teacher education. Teachers in Finland are highly educated and respected professionals. Teaching is a popular profession and universities can select the most motivated and talented applicants. The profession has high status and teachers are autonomous in their work, as the system is based on trust rather than control.
There is learning mathematics and there is learning how to learn. Both can be taught at the same time – and it's easier to do in maths because a student can see if they are right and wrong. For a 15 year old, researching how to do something should be well within their abilities.
Yep. It is common to think that Teaching is the transfer of knowledge from the Teacher to the student.
If that is all we, as a Teacher are doing, then we have failed.
No one person “knows” enough for a start.
The aim is to Teach students to learn and go beyond our knowledge.
When a student takes off and begins to research for themselves, question, argue and analyse what I've taught them, and delves deeper into the subject. I know I'm winning. I want the student to end up more "educated' than me. Not less!
Yes, this is true but mathematical formula are better not learned by browsing through the internet. Or maybe we can all forget about Pythagoras, Galileo Galilei, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, Paul Erdős, Newton, Albert Einstein etc. We don't need them, we can research this all by ourselves. (sarc) By extension, maybe we don't need teachers at all?
"True story: a teacher told a 15 year old student that they will learn a mathematical solution by research and do it themselves! ???? true response."
What was the context? What was the teacher trying to get the pupil to achieve with that kid at that time? Did the teacher use that strategy only and with all lessons?
Using that as an example of why our kids don't score well in international tests?
The comment about children being disadvantaged from the start by not being in a private school is nonsense.
No, the teacher was actually calling for a parent evening and in that context it was mentioned that this is what is expected. Now, if a teacher does not want to teach then maybe he/she should do something else? It is for many parents very frustrating to deal with this kind let down. I am not the only one saying this. But naturally, there will be a lot of defensiveness. I also do know that many parents who are able to afford this, send their children to private schools to make sure that they succeed in an every increasing competitive world.
All I am saying is that, if we don't equip the teacher we cant expect the kids to succeed.
Are the Uyghur muslims the first muslims the right wing of New Zealand have paid any attention to?
It would seem the right wing of New Zealand are using the Uyghur muslims for political purposes.
These people might very well be persecuted. But I find it interesting The West has happily trades with, and profited from that trade with China for some decades now despite clear human rights abuses, and now suddenly it's all a big problem.
I think some people have deliberately not been paying attention until it is politically expedient to do so.
According to the right wing Uyghur muslims are suddenly the most important muslims, for some strange reason.
For instance, you wouldn’t find the same right wing of New Zealand advocating for Palestinian muslims, would you?
Suddenly China's human rights abuses are a big problem but in reality we've turned a blind eye for decades. We've worn their cheap goods and happily heated our meals in their cheap microwave ovens for years without a thought to justice.
We've even got rich off their cheap money by allowing their citizens to buy up vast swathes of NZ residential property!
New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Amendment Bill came into force in October 2018, officially banning foreigners not intending to live in New Zealand from buying existing homes. The aim was to make residential properties more affordable to locals as the government blamed foreign buyers for driving up home prices beyond the reach of locals.
This spooked Chinese buyers and home transfers to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship, or a resident visa fell by 81 per cent in the March 2019 quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to Statistics New Zealand. The number of sales to Chinese buyers also plunged by 80 per cent.1
In the past before the ban, New Zealand was a hotspot for Chinese home buyers.
Thanks, but that doesn’t state what you think it states. For example, what was the proportion of all sales? The text in (your) bold was simply marketing clickbait.
Aucklanders like to brag that Chinese buyers will pay more for their property. For the first time leaked sales figures suggest they may be right.
It seems everyone in Auckland has a story to tell about Chinese buyers wanting their house.
One elderly Takapuna man was startled to hear a Chinese syndicate was interested in buying his well-established family home.
His place wasn't even on the market when a real estate agent door-knocked the 82-year-old last month, said a relative.
"A Chinese syndicate was wanting to buy a series of sections to build a block of apartments. The hard-sell was on apparently, but thankfully he resisted the temptation."
Thanks again, but not compelling. Mostly urban legend stuff, and Phil Twyford’s infamous surname ‘analysis’, based on a small sample from “one unidentified real estate company from February to April”. You’re just continuing the propaganda BS and flawed factoids from the past 🙁
That was Twyford at his zenith. It brought about real change when the government of the time sought to ignore the issue. The last decent thing he did. It's all been downhill from there.
You asked for links to mainland Chinese buying lots of New Zealand property. I have provided that. A simple thank you would suffice.
You asked for links to mainland Chinese buying lots of New Zealand property. I have provided that.
You’re sadly misguided and misinformed. I can now understand better your assertion, which is based on your misconception and ignorance. However, not everybody likes to spread BS and some even push back on it. Maybe it was too much to ask you for a proper analysis with facts, e.g. from Stat NZ, but you took the piece of rope and showed yourself to be a spreader of populist memes instead of a critical independent thinker and commenter.
This comment shows you didn't read the link I posted at 5.1.1.1.1 because the information in the StatsNZ link is the same.
But on top of that your criticism tries to say that a drop in offshore ownership means that there was not a problem in the first place???
I can't work this one out.
Back to the original point at 5 which was to draw attention to the hypocrisy of the West engaging with China the way we have for 3 decades now despite obvious and ongoing human rights and worker rights breaches.
I watched Tiananmen Square as a 19 year old and was shocked like everyone else. What censure or punishment for China? Nothing. There was no punishment, only reward. The reward was a huge increase in trade, and a proliferation of sweatshops and dodgy manufacturers with which a few players in the West got rich and we all got nice shoes.
I find it gross that some people cry about Uyghur muslims now while for years they conveniently ignored years of China's abuses, because they benefitted from those same abuses.
That money funnelled into the New Zealand residential property market by mainland Chinese and new resident property purchases was tainted with corruption, poor justice, and the abused rights of manual workers.
Over 30 years of civil rights abuse was ignored by us because it was convenient. So for some on the political right to suddenly have newfound sympathy for a group of muslims sticks in the craw.
I did read the link and it did not answer my question and thus it did not support your assertion that Chinese citizens “buy up vast swathes of NZ residential property”.
If you had actually bother to delve into the NZ Stats link I provided you would have known that the percentage of overseas buyers is actually very low. For example, in the March-2019 Quarter, only 0.6% (i.e. 204 from a total of 31,728) so-called Home transfers involved buyers who were not NZ citizens or NZ resident visa holders. Only 90 buyers in that period had the PRC as Country of tax residence (which is not the same as nationality!).
If you had said that there is no NZ register of property owned by overseas people, you’d be 100% correct, which is also mentioned in the NZ Stats link.
I understand your views on PRC but these should not cloud your views on the few Chinese buyers in the NZ housing market, IMO, which you used to support your anti-China narrative and sentiments.
As to whether the Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 addressed a problem, which may have been overblown for a number of reasons, remains to be seen. The worsening situation since its introduction and even more so since Covid, when overseas buyers cannot even enter into NZ, suggests that it was a red herring and possibly more of a political stunt.
You've picked numbers post Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018. It did what it was designed to do.
That house prices have increased this year is not proof that offshore investors, including those from China, did not have a significant effect on our housing market.
Back to my original point, that we've so long been happy for cheap and tainted foreign cash to prop up our economy, so getting upset for persecuted peoples in China now is more than a little ironic.
You didn’t click on the NZ Stats link because it contains a nice wee bar graph with before and after Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 came into place. Overseas buyers came from a high (!) of 3.3%, a whopping 3.3% and that includes more than just Chinese buyers.
Getting back to my original point, your assertion is piss-poor and you have no evidence to support it other than your belief. Such a shame that you don’t want to face the facts 🙁
And even that is not the true story because trusts are included as NZ citizens if just one trustee is a NZ citizen.
As always with housing data in this country, this is not a complete picture.
It also shows in March 2018, 7.8% of Auckland homes were sold to people with no NZ citizenship or residency. Not even including the above points, that is significant.
Imagine how much worse the situation would be right now if we hadn't put a stop to it.
Inquiries from Chinese buyers looking at New Zealand real estate have increased 32 per cent since the outbreak of coronavirus, property website Juwai's executive chairman says.
The website offers international property listings to Chinese purchasers.
Executive chairman Georg Chmiel said only Vietnam had seen a bigger increase in activity, up 43 per cent.
But he said in-person activity was likely to remain subdued because Chinese consumers were restricting their travel.
The piece is based on increased interest, i.e. literally just clicks on a website. As such, it does not support your assertion at all.
I do question whether you actually read it before you copied & pasted it here!?
New Zealand's foreign buyer restrictions mean people who are not ordinarily resident can only buy new build properties in large developments.
"Most so-called 'Chinese' buyers in New Zealand today actually are either legal residents or have even become citizens. We don't have the data, but we do believe that most of these inquiries are from Chinese speakers with legal residence in New Zealand who intend to buy for their own use."
In other words, just speculation about speculation.
NZ is not the only property market to have been affected by Chinese buyers. Being a relatively small market, such groups can have disproportionate influence. This from Vancouver:
@Incognito – you are, without contrary facts, trying to dismiss Muttonbird's thesis, that Chinese property accumulation has become a problem.
We know the Key government declined to collect such statistics, most probably because it would embarrass the group concerned, who were major funders.
You have dismissed the Chinese names data – but I am, among other things, in linguistics. It is quite possible, and perfectly proper to obtain meaningful data from names in that fashion.
Stuart talked about Vancouver and I asked about NZ, just as I’ve asked you about NZ. But nothing useful so far. Meanwhile, “mainland Chinese buying lots of New Zealand property” according to you @ 3:35 pm and seemingly also according to Stuart!? But you now claim there are no data to back this up!? So, did you pluck that assertion out of your orifice just as Phil Twyford did?
It wasn't dismissed because it was crap, but because the usual media suspects weren't up to understanding how it worked. The failure was political, not factual.
In a field where data is scarce, imperfect data is better than none. It may well be corrected by subsequent full data, if it were collected. But what can be learned from partial data doesn't go away just because the Chinese speculators howled 'racism!' Just as the Indian prospective husbands, denied the end-run allowed under the Key administration, made similar claims of oppression, but went silent as the trope surfaced.
Our property register has (irresponsibly) not been collecting the data. Comparative data sets like behaviours of the same expatriate community in other countries form a reasonable estimate of their activity here, in the absence of the figures any responsible administration would collect as a matter of course. As do name frequency analyses, which revealed a disproportionate activity level among Chinese purchasers.
Phil Twyford’s ‘data analysis’ was crap. Crap data in, crap ‘conclusions’ out. Pretty much what happened 🙁
Blablablah, irrelevant diversion.
As do name frequency analyses, which revealed a disproportionate activity level among Chinese purchasers.
Did they now? So, a “name frequency” analysis equals a “linguistic” analysis? Shame that they, which or whatever they (any links besides to Twyford’s crap one?), seem to be inconsistent with Stats NZ data. You didn’t read my comment @ 10:11 pm, did you? Or you didn’t understand it, or wilfully ignored it.
The data it generated is consistent with market behaviour, which is not even discernable from Stats' failure to measure.
“name frequency” analysis equals a “linguistic” analysis?
Yes, in fact. Ethnicity is reasonably correlated with names, which are linguistic data. We can predict Irish ancestry from names with an O patronymic, or Georgian from a -shvili, or Chinese from a surname like Zhou. Though the match is not perfect, as people change their names, emigrate, or intermarry, the correlation is strong enough to use for some purposes, such as determining whether the NZ property market has enjoyed an inexplicable immunity from the problems created by an inflow of Chinese real estate investment in comparable communities like Vancouver.
Mainland Chinese purchased $1.5 billion of residential real estate in New Zealand last year, according to a real estate website for Chinese investors.
Juwai.com said that was an increase of US$130 million (NZ$197.2m) on the year before, although there was a lack of reliable data in 2016.
Carrie Law, chief executive and director of Juwai.com said the $1.5b estimate was based on official data which showed mainland Chinese buyers made nearly 1600 purchases in New Zealand last year, not including corporations.
This is getting tedious. The only ‘hard’ number is “nearly 1600” but it does not state where that figure came from and what fraction of the total number it represents. The piece also suggests that the number was what it was because “a desire to beat New Zealand's new partial foreign buyers ban buoyed the local market”.
Data released by Labour suggests impact of Chinese buyers on Auckland property market much bigger than expected, the party's housing spokeman says.
While ethnic Chinese make up 9% of Auckland's population, 39.5% of Auckland houses sold from February to April this year were to buyers with Chinese surnames, according to figures from one large real estate firm that represent a significant minority of all Auckland sales, Phil Twyford says.
To be honest, the crocodile tears shed by the right about what is happening in Xinjiang province seem to happen when the Chinese government is starting to:
1) slow its privatisation and market reform programs
Mediaworks are in trouble again. They have failed to recognise an abuser in their ranks, probably one which delivers some sort of profit to them.
Staff have gone to directly to social media to out this predator such is their power and now the bigwigs are scrambling to cover their tracks.
I'm reminded of the popularity of such 'boys will be boys' behaviour at radio stations such as this which were so very popular with the serial pony-tail puller, Sir John Key.
What the Key government did when it came to not fully acknowledging though ACC the damage (not addressing the full impact) which a schedule 3 event can cause showed me how out of touch Key was when it came to a sexual offence causing a mental injury.
I am going to call out the Ardern government for not addressing the damage and impact which a person who has PTSD is not covered unless they have a physical injury.
Little should not have been given the job to implement changes due to 15 March 2019. How can Little be impartial when he is the Minister of the SIS and GCSB?
Fair go,Treetop, how the fuck was Little supposed to know what the arsehole was up to when his own mother and other people he lived with didn’t have a clue?
You are just sniping for snipings sake.
Anker you or I could go into the city highly intoxicated and fall over and smash our face in and ACC will cover you.
ACC give cover using the 1961 Crimes Act, which they refer to as a schedule 3 injury for mental injury cover. Some physical accidents also have a mental injury component such as pain and they are assessed for this. A lot of interpretation goes on. Is this what parliament intended when they deny cover for a no fault accident?
In 1992 the then National government took cover away for a mental injury which did not have a physical cause.
Most people are not aware of what PTSD can do to the body. The physical effects need to be acknowledged such as autoimmune conditions and the effects that the trauma has on the central nervous system. This is what exposure to a high magnitude event will do.
This is WA, the opportunity to tell the eastern states, and especially Federal Government / Canberra to go forth and multiply is electoral gold for any incumbent politician. A complete separation / secession would be just fine with most of the State's residents.
That is a big stretch for you to think that I hold Little responsible for the actions of a deranged gunman. Little is the face of the government on the direction of the matter.
The President of the Islamic Council of NZ on The Nation yesterday everything she said I agree with.
Little cannot drag his heels when it comes to not looking into the future of those who have PTSD but are not covered because they do not have a so called physical injury. It needs to be fully acknowledged that the PTSD was caused by a high magnitude event which government agencies were unprepared for.
Hi Treetop, just remember that right now there are voices asking for extended cover for those who are contributing to the system. ACC is funded by taxpayers under a model of user pay, i.e. payroll deduction, employer contribution, car rego. etc. Do not confuse any welfare provision that is being paid by setting aside a fund from general taxation with this self funding mechanism.
Also remember, in NZ medical services and not even the Ambulance service is being fully funded by the tax allocations. ACC is NOT part of that at all.
Interesting interview with an old school diplomate re; China/USA (ie the rest of the western world)..
Biden’s China Policy: A More Polite Trump – Amb. Chas Freeman
"Retired Ambassador Chas Freeman, Nixon's translator during his 1972 trip to China, says U.S. policy to China remains a desire to hold on to primacy globally and regionally. Biden's approach so far is not much different than the aggressive posture of Trump."
Their chosen instrument: the Covid restrictions (which weren't actually being violated till the flatfoots themselves invaded the bandstand where the organisers were). I suppose it’s at least different from the usual "fire regulations" catch-all.
Worth noting because the same sort of crap might be tried on by our own boys in blue at some point when they see something going down that offends their ideas of order.
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Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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The idea of a level playing field is certainly not new. It just does not mention that in the 3 dimensional it is slanted towards poverty lane for many.
There are 3 articles today in Staff that catches the eye:
1/ A whole generation has been failed in Mathematic. And English lets just add this too.
This has been pointed out more than 20 years ago by University Lecturers, the estimated that some 30% of entry students are functionally illiterate. Why? Any answers?
2/ Where did the wage subsidy really go?
Well we know that the rich just made a grab for money that is now missing to remedy poverty, infrastructure etc. I am still in utter disbelieve that a finance minister can approve so much money without thinking through foreseeable consequences. In my view, something does not make sense. But what does make sense is that the blackmailing money class has NZ by the short and curlies.
3/New Zealand is a ridiculous name.
No its not. It reflects the history of this country over the last 380 odd years.
Maori would translate NZ: Nu Tereni. Aotearoa traditionally was used as a name for the North Island. (Land of the long white cloud). It is a beautiful name but it neither of them are inclusive. NZ has a long tradition of immigrants from all over the world. If this is to be seen as a partnership, any new name should reflect this and put to a referendum. Just not the laser kiwi please.
One reason for the increase in the estimates of functional illiteracy might be the increase in volumes of students following the introduction of student loans and opening up of universities to all.
Inclusion matters.
https://www.tiktok.com/@skanassa/video/6938628132861676805
"A whole generation has been failed in Mathematic. And English lets just add this too."(Sic.)
The answer is simple. We need to revolutionise the way things are done in primary schools. Tell you what, we'll have a system to improve standards. It'll be nationwide, schools must use the system.
Since it's about standards and it's nationwide we'll call it 'National Standards.' That has a lovely ring to it. Yes, 'National,' sounds good. It will be brilliant, it will work wonders and it'll keep tabs on teachers, make them accountable. Results will be on the rise.
The results of international testing from about 2015 on should show the results of this great innovative move as the cohorts advantaged by the wisdom move through the schooling system.
Ah…..
Yes Hekia Parata did really well as the Minister of Ed with her 'Learnings'.
I think we should look at teachers and their standard. Weather they understand the subject to start with. True story: a teacher told a 15 year old student that they will learn a mathematical solution by research and do it themselves! ???? true response. No wonder the kids need to grow additional fingers, (sarc) Reading? Yep… easy, "recognize the word" that will be extremely helpful when reading a manual of all things with some mathematic tables. This method of teaching is just lazy. And to top it all off the number of school breaks is just ridiculous. Unless your child is in a private school, it will be disadvantaged from the start.
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn". Benjamin Franklin
"Weather they understand the subject to start with."
Ironic in a post about declining English surely the word is whether.
Yes it is, my apologies. Was a bit in the hurry to get the dog reigned in. Weather certainly played a role . And may I add, here is a word that can be easily misspelled, misread and added to the infamous “recognize the word” vocabulary. 🙂
"Reigned" is the appropriate word if you're describing how a cat interacts with its hooman.
"Reined" is the appropriate word for a human attempting to control their dog.
“Rained” is the appropriate word when it rains cats and dogs.
Surely the word "surely" commences a new sentence.
Indeed, and sentence adverbs are followed by a comma.
Did I make my point yet? Or has none cottoned on to what this was about? Were you able to "recognize" words?
Pretty funny you choose to shoot the messenger, over what could be a result of poor education, rather than engage. Because you know, teachers feelings are far more important than kids achieving
Teachers are part of the equation, and I doubt there are many NZ teachers who want their students to fail. If the profession had higher status then we might make progress, but in NZ the single biggest metric for ranking occupations is not work-life balance, satisfaction and/or contribution to society, but rather how much money you can make. And so it goes.
And. Only 3% private schools, and no “for profit schools”..
So the wealthy have an incentive to support a good State system.
As successive Governments refuse to listen to Teachers, or evidence, you can hardly put the blame on Teachers.
There is learning mathematics and there is learning how to learn. Both can be taught at the same time – and it's easier to do in maths because a student can see if they are right and wrong. For a 15 year old, researching how to do something should be well within their abilities.
Yep. It is common to think that Teaching is the transfer of knowledge from the Teacher to the student.
If that is all we, as a Teacher are doing, then we have failed.
No one person “knows” enough for a start.
The aim is to Teach students to learn and go beyond our knowledge.
When a student takes off and begins to research for themselves, question, argue and analyse what I've taught them, and delves deeper into the subject. I know I'm winning. I want the student to end up more "educated' than me. Not less!
Yes, this is true but mathematical formula are better not learned by browsing through the internet. Or maybe we can all forget about Pythagoras, Galileo Galilei, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, Paul Erdős, Newton, Albert Einstein etc. We don't need them, we can research this all by ourselves. (sarc) By extension, maybe we don't need teachers at all?
See above.
This is just yet another effort to step up privatisation of education in this country.
"True story: a teacher told a 15 year old student that they will learn a mathematical solution by research and do it themselves! ???? true response."
What was the context? What was the teacher trying to get the pupil to achieve with that kid at that time? Did the teacher use that strategy only and with all lessons?
Using that as an example of why our kids don't score well in international tests?
The comment about children being disadvantaged from the start by not being in a private school is nonsense.
No, the teacher was actually calling for a parent evening and in that context it was mentioned that this is what is expected. Now, if a teacher does not want to teach then maybe he/she should do something else? It is for many parents very frustrating to deal with this kind let down. I am not the only one saying this. But naturally, there will be a lot of defensiveness. I also do know that many parents who are able to afford this, send their children to private schools to make sure that they succeed in an every increasing competitive world.
All I am saying is that, if we don't equip the teacher we cant expect the kids to succeed.
Noting that if you control for socio economic background, private schools do not do as well as State schools.
The contacts made and the access to the "old boy network" is, of course, invaluable.
Question:
Are the Uyghur muslims the first muslims the right wing of New Zealand have paid any attention to?
It would seem the right wing of New Zealand are using the Uyghur muslims for political purposes.
These people might very well be persecuted. But I find it interesting The West has happily trades with, and profited from that trade with China for some decades now despite clear human rights abuses, and now suddenly it's all a big problem.
I think some people have deliberately not been paying attention until it is politically expedient to do so.
According to the right wing Uyghur muslims are suddenly the most important muslims, for some strange reason.
For instance, you wouldn’t find the same right wing of New Zealand advocating for Palestinian muslims, would you?
Can you please point to millions Pakistani Muslim’s suffering genocide by a communist government?
Suddenly China's human rights abuses are a big problem but in reality we've turned a blind eye for decades. We've worn their cheap goods and happily heated our meals in their cheap microwave ovens for years without a thought to justice.
We've even got rich off their cheap money by allowing their citizens to buy up vast swathes of NZ residential property!
It's all too convenient to be crying foul now.
Given that you asserted that as a statement of fact, please back it up with a link.
https://list.juwai.com/news/2020/01/chinese-show-interest-new-zealand-properties-despite-ban
Thanks, but that doesn’t state what you think it states. For example, what was the proportion of all sales? The text in (your) bold was simply marketing clickbait.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/weve-got-chinese-buyers/RQR6KUAUKMNJ5VPBAYKCMNIZLI/
Thanks again, but not compelling. Mostly urban legend stuff, and Phil Twyford’s infamous surname ‘analysis’, based on a small sample from “one unidentified real estate company from February to April”. You’re just continuing the propaganda BS and flawed factoids from the past 🙁
That was Twyford at his zenith. It brought about real change when the government of the time sought to ignore the issue. The last decent thing he did. It's all been downhill from there.
You asked for links to mainland Chinese buying lots of New Zealand property. I have provided that. A simple thank you would suffice.
You’re sadly misguided and misinformed. I can now understand better your assertion, which is based on your misconception and ignorance. However, not everybody likes to spread BS and some even push back on it. Maybe it was too much to ask you for a proper analysis with facts, e.g. from Stat NZ, but you took the piece of rope and showed yourself to be a spreader of populist memes instead of a critical independent thinker and commenter.
For your perusal and edification:
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/drop-in-home-transfers-to-overseas-buyers
This comment shows you didn't read the link I posted at 5.1.1.1.1 because the information in the StatsNZ link is the same.
But on top of that your criticism tries to say that a drop in offshore ownership means that there was not a problem in the first place???
I can't work this one out.
Back to the original point at 5 which was to draw attention to the hypocrisy of the West engaging with China the way we have for 3 decades now despite obvious and ongoing human rights and worker rights breaches.
I watched Tiananmen Square as a 19 year old and was shocked like everyone else. What censure or punishment for China? Nothing. There was no punishment, only reward. The reward was a huge increase in trade, and a proliferation of sweatshops and dodgy manufacturers with which a few players in the West got rich and we all got nice shoes.
I find it gross that some people cry about Uyghur muslims now while for years they conveniently ignored years of China's abuses, because they benefitted from those same abuses.
That money funnelled into the New Zealand residential property market by mainland Chinese and new resident property purchases was tainted with corruption, poor justice, and the abused rights of manual workers.
Over 30 years of civil rights abuse was ignored by us because it was convenient. So for some on the political right to suddenly have newfound sympathy for a group of muslims sticks in the craw.
I did read the link and it did not answer my question and thus it did not support your assertion that Chinese citizens “buy up vast swathes of NZ residential property”.
If you had actually bother to delve into the NZ Stats link I provided you would have known that the percentage of overseas buyers is actually very low. For example, in the March-2019 Quarter, only 0.6% (i.e. 204 from a total of 31,728) so-called Home transfers involved buyers who were not NZ citizens or NZ resident visa holders. Only 90 buyers in that period had the PRC as Country of tax residence (which is not the same as nationality!).
If you had said that there is no NZ register of property owned by overseas people, you’d be 100% correct, which is also mentioned in the NZ Stats link.
I understand your views on PRC but these should not cloud your views on the few Chinese buyers in the NZ housing market, IMO, which you used to support your anti-China narrative and sentiments.
As to whether the Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 addressed a problem, which may have been overblown for a number of reasons, remains to be seen. The worsening situation since its introduction and even more so since Covid, when overseas buyers cannot even enter into NZ, suggests that it was a red herring and possibly more of a political stunt.
You've picked numbers post Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018. It did what it was designed to do.
That house prices have increased this year is not proof that offshore investors, including those from China, did not have a significant effect on our housing market.
Back to my original point, that we've so long been happy for cheap and tainted foreign cash to prop up our economy, so getting upset for persecuted peoples in China now is more than a little ironic.
You didn’t click on the NZ Stats link because it contains a nice wee bar graph with before and after Overseas Investment Amendment Act 2018 came into place. Overseas buyers came from a high (!) of 3.3%, a whopping 3.3% and that includes more than just Chinese buyers.
Getting back to my original point, your assertion is piss-poor and you have no evidence to support it other than your belief. Such a shame that you don’t want to face the facts 🙁
That bar graphs shows under 80% of NZ houses were sold to Kiwis before the Overseas Investment Act amendment 2018.
Not good enough.
And even that is not the true story because trusts are included as NZ citizens if just one trustee is a NZ citizen.
As always with housing data in this country, this is not a complete picture.
It also shows in March 2018, 7.8% of Auckland homes were sold to people with no NZ citizenship or residency. Not even including the above points, that is significant.
Imagine how much worse the situation would be right now if we hadn't put a stop to it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/residential/119643341/chinese-buyers-seek-boltholes-in-new-zealand-property-market
More variations on the same theme 🙁
The piece is based on increased interest, i.e. literally just clicks on a website. As such, it does not support your assertion at all.
I do question whether you actually read it before you copied & pasted it here!?
In other words, just speculation about speculation.
NZ is not the only property market to have been affected by Chinese buyers. Being a relatively small market, such groups can have disproportionate influence. This from Vancouver:
Why Vancouver's Housing Market Hinges on China's Economy | Smart Cities Dive
Sure, but do you have some solid numbers (AKA stats) for the NZ situation?
Not being a demographer, no. Do you have figures that show the contrary?
You joined this discussion thread and I assumed because you have information to share on NZ.
The contrary of what?? Your Q makes no sense.
@Incognito – you are, without contrary facts, trying to dismiss Muttonbird's thesis, that Chinese property accumulation has become a problem.
We know the Key government declined to collect such statistics, most probably because it would embarrass the group concerned, who were major funders.
You have dismissed the Chinese names data – but I am, among other things, in linguistics. It is quite possible, and perfectly proper to obtain meaningful data from names in that fashion.
Nice of you to join the convo again but please have a coffee first before you start talking nonsense.
Muttonbird asserted a fact.
I asked them to back it up.
I’m still waiting but it looks like I’ll be waiting till the cows come up because they’re not playing ball.
Waiting =//= dismissing.
Feel free to apply your linguistics skills and tools to the question. What/which database(s) are you going to use? The same crap one as Phil Twyford?
Further, see my comment @ 10:11 pm (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14-03-2021/#comment-1783274).
This is the New Zealand residential property market, there are no stats.
Have you been in a coma the last 10 years?
Huh?
Stuart talked about Vancouver and I asked about NZ, just as I’ve asked you about NZ. But nothing useful so far. Meanwhile, “mainland Chinese buying lots of New Zealand property” according to you @ 3:35 pm and seemingly also according to Stuart!? But you now claim there are no data to back this up!? So, did you pluck that assertion out of your orifice just as Phil Twyford did?
The same crap one as Phil Twyford?
It wasn't dismissed because it was crap, but because the usual media suspects weren't up to understanding how it worked. The failure was political, not factual.
In a field where data is scarce, imperfect data is better than none. It may well be corrected by subsequent full data, if it were collected. But what can be learned from partial data doesn't go away just because the Chinese speculators howled 'racism!' Just as the Indian prospective husbands, denied the end-run allowed under the Key administration, made similar claims of oppression, but went silent as the trope surfaced.
Our property register has (irresponsibly) not been collecting the data. Comparative data sets like behaviours of the same expatriate community in other countries form a reasonable estimate of their activity here, in the absence of the figures any responsible administration would collect as a matter of course. As do name frequency analyses, which revealed a disproportionate activity level among Chinese purchasers.
Phil Twyford’s ‘data analysis’ was crap. Crap data in, crap ‘conclusions’ out. Pretty much what happened 🙁
Blablablah, irrelevant diversion.
Did they now? So, a “name frequency” analysis equals a “linguistic” analysis? Shame that they, which or whatever they (any links besides to Twyford’s crap one?), seem to be inconsistent with Stats NZ data. You didn’t read my comment @ 10:11 pm, did you? Or you didn’t understand it, or wilfully ignored it.
The data it generated is consistent with market behaviour, which is not even discernable from Stats' failure to measure.
“name frequency” analysis equals a “linguistic” analysis?
Yes, in fact. Ethnicity is reasonably correlated with names, which are linguistic data. We can predict Irish ancestry from names with an O patronymic, or Georgian from a -shvili, or Chinese from a surname like Zhou. Though the match is not perfect, as people change their names, emigrate, or intermarry, the correlation is strong enough to use for some purposes, such as determining whether the NZ property market has enjoyed an inexplicable immunity from the problems created by an inflow of Chinese real estate investment in comparable communities like Vancouver.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/106836362/chinese-pour-15-billion-into-nz-housing-market-last-year
This is getting tedious. The only ‘hard’ number is “nearly 1600” but it does not state where that figure came from and what fraction of the total number it represents. The piece also suggests that the number was what it was because “a desire to beat New Zealand's new partial foreign buyers ban buoyed the local market”.
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/leaked-data-shows-chinese-offshore-buyers-fuelling-rampant-auckland-property-speculation
What percentage were sold to wealthy offshore buyers, from places other than China?
No idea. But for the purposes of this argument, were those other offshore buyers from countries with such appalling human rights records as China???
I know several from the country that is currently bombing Syria, and supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia.
As well as starving Venezuala and Iran into submission.
But. They are our "friends".
I know Chinese immigrants, and Chinese Kiwi’s, that are not at all happy with the CCP, BTW.
FFS!
To be honest, the crocodile tears shed by the right about what is happening in Xinjiang province seem to happen when the Chinese government is starting to:
1) slow its privatisation and market reform programs
2) jail corrupt billionaires
3) have SOE's invest in 3rd World nations.
Thanks Millsy – my fave comment so far.
Mediaworks are in trouble again. They have failed to recognise an abuser in their ranks, probably one which delivers some sort of profit to them.
Staff have gone to directly to social media to out this predator such is their power and now the bigwigs are scrambling to cover their tracks.
I'm reminded of the popularity of such 'boys will be boys' behaviour at radio stations such as this which were so very popular with the serial pony-tail puller, Sir John Key.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/radios-prison-rape-joke-with-pm-falls-flat/YZJQMY3CSUKDUSVG4K4UQUC6YY/
Seems The Rock and Mediaworks still haven't cleaned up their act.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/investigation-into-sexual-harassment-allegations-at-the-rock-mediaworks-radio-station/YV5UT4VMNU6DTKS2IW5OVUIRGA/
What the Key government did when it came to not fully acknowledging though ACC the damage (not addressing the full impact) which a schedule 3 event can cause showed me how out of touch Key was when it came to a sexual offence causing a mental injury.
I am going to call out the Ardern government for not addressing the damage and impact which a person who has PTSD is not covered unless they have a physical injury.
Little should not have been given the job to implement changes due to 15 March 2019. How can Little be impartial when he is the Minister of the SIS and GCSB?
Fair go,Treetop, how the fuck was Little supposed to know what the arsehole was up to when his own mother and other people he lived with didn’t have a clue?
You are just sniping for snipings sake.
Anker you or I could go into the city highly intoxicated and fall over and smash our face in and ACC will cover you.
ACC give cover using the 1961 Crimes Act, which they refer to as a schedule 3 injury for mental injury cover. Some physical accidents also have a mental injury component such as pain and they are assessed for this. A lot of interpretation goes on. Is this what parliament intended when they deny cover for a no fault accident?
In 1992 the then National government took cover away for a mental injury which did not have a physical cause.
Most people are not aware of what PTSD can do to the body. The physical effects need to be acknowledged such as autoimmune conditions and the effects that the trauma has on the central nervous system. This is what exposure to a high magnitude event will do.
Surprise surprise, border closures are winning strategy.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/wa-election-bloodbath-as-labor-triumph-historic-landslide-victory/f9575b08-8eb3-447c-8b41-316f334cd896
This is WA, the opportunity to tell the eastern states, and especially Federal Government / Canberra to go forth and multiply is electoral gold for any incumbent politician. A complete separation / secession would be just fine with most of the State's residents.
Poor dear's doing it tough.
/
https://twitter.com/mrJeffHowell/status/1370846696054292480
Reply to Adrian @8
That is a big stretch for you to think that I hold Little responsible for the actions of a deranged gunman. Little is the face of the government on the direction of the matter.
The President of the Islamic Council of NZ on The Nation yesterday everything she said I agree with.
Little cannot drag his heels when it comes to not looking into the future of those who have PTSD but are not covered because they do not have a so called physical injury. It needs to be fully acknowledged that the PTSD was caused by a high magnitude event which government agencies were unprepared for.
Correction Islamic Women's Council of NZ
Hi Treetop, just remember that right now there are voices asking for extended cover for those who are contributing to the system. ACC is funded by taxpayers under a model of user pay, i.e. payroll deduction, employer contribution, car rego. etc. Do not confuse any welfare provision that is being paid by setting aside a fund from general taxation with this self funding mechanism.
Also remember, in NZ medical services and not even the Ambulance service is being fully funded by the tax allocations. ACC is NOT part of that at all.
Interesting interview with an old school diplomate re; China/USA (ie the rest of the western world)..
Biden’s China Policy: A More Polite Trump – Amb. Chas Freeman
"Retired Ambassador Chas Freeman, Nixon's translator during his 1972 trip to China, says U.S. policy to China remains a desire to hold on to primacy globally and regionally. Biden's approach so far is not much different than the aggressive posture of Trump."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjmvxeShO2Q&t=29s
UK police trying to shut down publicity for a crime committed by one of their own:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/13/sarah-everard-pressure-for-new-laws-to-curb-violence-against-women
Their chosen instrument: the Covid restrictions (which weren't actually being violated till the flatfoots themselves invaded the bandstand where the organisers were). I suppose it’s at least different from the usual "fire regulations" catch-all.
Worth noting because the same sort of crap might be tried on by our own boys in blue at some point when they see something going down that offends their ideas of order.