Open mike 14/07/2019

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, July 14th, 2019 - 200 comments
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200 comments on “Open mike 14/07/2019 ”

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  1. johnm 1
    14 July 2019 at 7:18 am

    In this episode of the Summer Solutions 2019 for the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy are joined by Dr. Michael Hudson, author of many books, including “And Forgive Them Their Debts,’ for his ideas on solutions to the ever growing wealth and income gap currently ‘solved’ with ever increasing amounts of debt. They discuss the reason for the huge surge in this wealth and income gap that began in the early seventies as the top once percent ran off with all the productivity gains. What role, if any, does the post-Bretton-Woods-all-fiat-dollar-reserve-system play in this economic injustice? The discussion then moves to Representative Brad Sherman’s recent claim that, "An awful lot of our international power comes from the fact that the U.S. dollar is the standard unit of international finance and transactions. Clearing through the New York Fed is critical for major oil and other transactions.”

  2. johnm 2
    14 July 2019 at 7:25 am

    https://web.archive.org/web/20190620143250/https://topnewsrussia.ru/09/06/2019/japan-abandoned-the-development-of-5g-networks-for-the-health-of-citizens.html

    Красная Армия Japan will not develop and invest in the creation of fifth-generation mobile networks. This is stated on the official website of the Ministry of High Technologies of the country. Officials expressed the opinion that the creation of a faster Internet than previously is dangerous for the population and may adversely affect people’s health and labor productivity.

    Источник: https://web.archive.org/web/20190620143250/https://topnewsrussia.ru/09/06/2019/japan-abandoned-the-development-of-5g-networks-for-the-health-of-citizens.html

    • johnm 2.1
      14 July 2019 at 7:48 am

      Small Cells are NOT welcome here

      Concerned citizens express outrage, heartache and concern regarding the Town's lack of due diligence, lack of solidarity with the citizens and lack of fortitude to STOP the small cell installation in Huntington NY. Facts regarding 5G and a list of the new small cell sites are listed in this video!

  3. reason 3
    14 July 2019 at 7:37 am

    This is part one of a good audio podcast giving the history of tRump …

    You'll learn a lot, gain insights and get a few laughs ….

    Listen to part 2 if you want to skip to the more current stuff

    It actually starts at 8mins 25 secs

  4. marty mars 4
    14 July 2019 at 8:05 am

    sad – they tried and they failed. We need to know why this was such a fail.

    Fish and Game is horrified by reports that nearly 1000 native fish have died in a botched transfer project. Wellington branch manager Phil Teal says virtually none of the 921 rare brown mudfish transferred to a new site by the Carterton District Council have survived.

    …He said the wetland site at Daleton Road in Carterton was also used to discharge partially treated wastewater from the council's treatment plant.

    The transfer project cost Wairarapa ratepayers $161,000 and Mr Teal said the public should be demanding answers from the council.

    He said an independent inquiry by the Department of Conservation was also needed.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/394290/hundreds-of-native-fish-die-in-botched-transfer

    • tc 4.1
      14 July 2019 at 8:31 am

      Haha haha good one expecting something from that.

      WDC can't stop raw sewage spewing into raglan harbour yet still allow the Rongatai dev to connect to it.
      They also aren't touching the single lane bridge across the harbour whereas the dev has a flash new bridge of its own to ensure they join the growing jams.

      Developers do as they please in NZ as they’ve the Legal guns and legislative terrain to blow opposition away.

    • WeTheBleeple 4.2
      14 July 2019 at 8:46 am

      These fish are extremely sensitive like the Galaxiids – lacking scales. Any number of things could have taken them out but I think the problem was putting them where sewage discharges. Poisoned by bacteria or fungi or xenobiotics or metal.

      The sewage plant sounds like a mish-mash of ideas rather than a comprehensive treatment plant but I'd need to see if to see if it's as bad as it sounds. Sounds like an accountants sewage plant with add-ons after public outcry for environmental issues.

      A big white (man) elephant.

      https://cdc.govt.nz/services/wastewater/

      As for the price to move some fish, there's cronyism in there someplace. It's ridiculous.

      Possibly the same cronyism delivering piss poor wastewater management.

    • Adrian Thornton 4.3
      14 July 2019 at 3:32 pm

      If anyone was actually serious about our native fish surviving into the future they would making whitebaiting bi annual (at the lest) and eradicate trout from our water ways.

      I once interviewed Rod McDowell and he told me off the record that in his view with out major government intervention NZ native fresh water fish were heading for mass extinction.

      I mean seriously, an introduced apex predator like the trout that is not only allowed to be in our waters, but is still actively introduced and has more protections than our own fish is fucking insane…they are nothing more than ferrets of the watersways, the natives haven't got a chance, kill them on sight I say, I know I do.

  5. Observer Tokoroa 5
    14 July 2019 at 8:38 am

    Hi There JohnM

    I am not for one minute suggesting that Americans and Japanese are mentally disabled.

    But I am praising them for having used electricity in their households and Skyscrapers for over a hundred enlightened years.

    Prior to that they used coal and oil. Which are deadly. And which you seem to want to return to. They are in fact the highest Carcinogens that we have in daily use. Thousands thousands of people die from Diesel daily.

    All because people are supporting the Oil Companies.

    May I ask when will you be taking electricity out of the houses of America and Japan ? Are you really that stupid ?

    • johnm 5.1
      14 July 2019 at 9:18 am

      Concerned citizens express outrage, heartache and concern regarding the Town's lack of due diligence, lack of solidarity with the citizens and lack of fortitude to STOP the small cell installation in Huntington NY. Facts regarding 5G and a list of the new small cell sites are listed in this video!

      The people of the above video have electricity, but they obviously consider cell phone 4g 5g and wifi etc an order of magnitude more dangerous and intrusive. Especially the concentrated intensity of the cell phone towers permeating the very atmosphere we need to live in.

  6. lprent 6
    14 July 2019 at 9:21 am

    Lera Lynn: The Only Thing Worth Fighting For

  7. Ed1 7
    14 July 2019 at 10:03 am

    A couple of days ago Kiwiblog got excited about a new development in Wellington:

    https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/07/the_wellington_party_-_vote_for_competence.html

    which Stuff duly reported:

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/114209468/rightwing-wellington-party-to-contest-council-elections

    Farrar claims that “Certainly things have gone horribly wrong in Wellington in the last couple of years.”, and among a list he gives, the first is

    “The two Councils have destroyed the bus network, and can’t even work together to fix it.”

    Now it is my understanding that the Council responsible for transport is the regional council – perhaps Farrar is thinking Wellington should have had all Councils amalgamated as in Auckland – that has gone so well for National . . .

    But regarding the bus contracts, they were let before the last election, under rules set by Gerry Brownlee (they were available on a website, but I can’t find it now – I do hope it has been changed!).

    The rules Regional Council had to follow for public transport contracts were to seek competitive tenders, to enable contracts for parts of the region to encourage competition, and to base contracts on price. This the regional council did, and it is arguable that Wellington got just what National wanted. After all, who would argue in favour of a more expensive contract, and why would you look for competence? Of course the fragmentation of services meant a re-design of routes by yet another agency, complex contracts, and when some routes needed further change then the lawyers must have fed on contract changes. More opportunities to clip the ticket – neo-liberal heaven! Now we find that the companies cannot pay the wages to recruit enough drivers (and the multiple contracts make moving drivers harder). Given the contract is with the public sector, the neo-lib answer is probably that the Council should pay more – but if the contracts did not allow for adequate wages that is again just what the government wanted . . . – of course the implication has been that the Council has erred in not paying more . . .

    So now some services are being cancelled for lack of drivers – again that is as designed – almost certainly they will be those where the number of passengers did not justify the service anyway – Brownlee knew what he was doing!

    The comments on Kiwiblog are amusing – various posters see a great future in the principle behind the name, and are calling for an Auckland Party (cit-rats became a joke, com-res hasn’t done well, why not an “Auckland Party”!). If the various city parties combined, they could even call themselves the New Zealand Party, or, dare we say it, the National Party!

    The party website is informative as anyone would expect : https://thewellingtonparty.org/ but from the Stuff article, having Hughes, Morrison and Mihaka all running in wellington Central, and four or five other candidates, how could they possibly lose!

    • Pat 7.1
      14 July 2019 at 10:13 am

      Councils everywhere are incapable of addressing that which needs to be addressed, be it basic services, transport, climate change impacts or whatever….they are structurally flawed and growth is simply highlighting the deficiencies. It is delusional to believe that any grouping can or will change that.

      Deck chairs on the Titanic

  8. marty mars 8
    14 July 2019 at 10:29 am

    50 years ago this was released

    … planet earth is blue and there's nothing we can do…

    • Sacha 8.1
      14 July 2019 at 10:32 am

      Stands up amazingly well. #respec

      • Morrissey 8.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 11:20 am

        #respec

        ???

        Lori Mattix, who had a liaison with him aged 15, explained: ‘I never thought of David Bowie as a paedophile. He would f**k anything. If he liked it he would f**k it.’

        Early girlfriend Dana Gillespie concurred, telling me: ‘As far as sex went, if it moved, he was there. Man, woman, old or young. Times have changed and it doesn’t always look so good in black and white now, but in those days we were just having fun; there were no rules.’

        …. The sexual free-for-all characterised his open marriage to Angie, whom he wed in 1970. She wrote in her autobiography: ‘David made a virtual religion of slipping the lance of love into almost everyone around him.’

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6684325/Two-women-reveal-flings-David-Bowie-aged-15.html

        https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-talking-about-bowies-sexual-misconduct-matters_b_9009230

        https://jezebel.com/what-should-we-say-about-david-bowie-and-lori-maddox-1754533894

        • Psycho Milt 8.1.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 12:19 pm

          Are you feeling jealous? He's dead, Morrissey – there's no chance of him fucking you now.

          • Morrissey 8.1.1.1.1
            14 July 2019 at 12:27 pm

            I don't think his personal sins and foibles should stop anyone listening to his music. But Yadana Saw and her hiveminded colleagues at RNZ National obviously do.

          • Adrian Thornton 8.1.1.1.2
            14 July 2019 at 3:53 pm

            This is really strange coming from you guys, I remember only too well and also very recently that all you lot ( Sacha, marty mars and others ) were losing your shit over Assange over what you said was his mistreatment of woman, and now defending Bowie fucking 15 year old girls, holy shit what a bunch of hypocrites.
            Guess if you can write a few good tunes you get a free pass, is that how it goes for you?
            Assange should have practiced his guitar a bit more eh.

            • Morrissey 8.1.1.1.2.1
              14 July 2019 at 4:04 pm

              Bowie's crimes are exhaustively documented, and he and his followers boasted about them incessantly. Assange committed no crime, unless journalism is now a criminal enterprise. The lurid Soviet-style sex fantasy concocted by the British and U.S. intelligence services has as much rigour as that case cooked up against Peter Ellis by the Christchurch Police and a few demented psychiatrists.

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 July 2019 at 4:19 pm

                Problem is many on here don't seem to be able to produce an original thought in their head, and lack what seems to be any critical thought process at all.

                It they read it in The Guardian or whatever..it must be true..end of story for this lot.

                • Morrissey …
                  14 July 2019 at 4:23 pm

                  It they read it in The Guardian or whatever..it must be true..end of story for this lot.

                  The propaganda that daily emanates from the Guardian and the very similar BBC is dutifully repeated in our media by the likes of John Campbell, Kathryn Ryan, Kim Hill, Bernard Hickey, and Patrick Gower.

                  Over at NewstalkZzzzzB, meanwhile, they recycle Fox News and the Spectator as reflexively and as irresponsibly.

            • Psycho Milt 8.1.1.1.2.2
              14 July 2019 at 4:44 pm

              I remember only too well and also very recently that all you lot ( Sacha, marty mars and others ) were losing your shit over Assange over what you said was his mistreatment of woman, and now defending Bowie fucking 15 year old girls…

              Why does the word "consent" seem either completely unheard-of or just plain irrelevant to so many men when it comes to the morality of sex?

              Also: despite the enthusiastic participation of the 15-year-olds in question, if the Police had been made aware of the incident they would have wanted to interview Mr Bowie, and if he'd instead resisted extradition, jumped bail and spent years hiding out in a foreign embassy, I'd probably have a fairly low opinion of him too.

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 July 2019 at 4:59 pm

                Whatever..you hypocrites, you guys are so full of shit it defies logic, but then as I have seen first hand through parts of my life, some humans can justify and defend and/or enable almost any type of bad behaviour if they get cornered and feel they need too…guess you are in that club, well done.

              • marty mars …
                14 July 2019 at 5:07 pm

                yep pretty basic stuff but too much for the wee adrian

                • Adrian Thornton …
                  14 July 2019 at 5:40 pm

                  Haven't seen you or your pals show the moral outrage toward Bowie that you all spewed out towards Assange when you were told to do so by the Guardian is all I''m saying.

                  Or is 'enthusiastic participation' from a 15 yo girl OK in your books..,,because as far as I know wether that 15 yo girl consents or not, is it is still considered illegal,and that girl would be considered a minor, so in other words and according to the law, Bowie was fucking children.

                  Now I am not actually offering moral judgment on this, i am just stating what the law is, and undisputed stories about who Bowie had sex with, in this case a under age girl…no you are the ones who presented yourselves as the rulers on what is considered moral when it comes to sexual relations in your stances on Assange..wee man.

                  • marty mars …
                    14 July 2019 at 5:52 pm

                    put up ONE post that I have done in support or against assange – you can't cos you're a fucken liar – fuck off bullshit artist.

                  • Psycho Milt …
                    14 July 2019 at 6:36 pm

                    Or is 'enthusiastic participation' from a 15 yo girl OK in your books…

                    For me? No. For other people? Not really my business. Might be of interest to the Police if there's a complaint, though. Don't you think?

              • The Chairman …
                14 July 2019 at 6:53 pm

                Why does the word "consent" seem either completely unheard-of or just plain irrelevant to so many men when it comes to the morality of sex?

                In the case of 15 year olds, perhaps it's to do with them not being considered mature enough to give their consent.

                Also: despite the enthusiastic participation of the 15-year-olds in question, if the Police had been made aware of the incident they would have wanted to interview Mr Bowie, and if he'd instead resisted extradition, jumped bail and spent years hiding out in a foreign embassy, I'd probably have a fairly low opinion of him too.

                So as Bowie didn't resisted extradition, jumped bail and spend years hiding out in a foreign embassy are you saying you condone him having sex with underage girls?

                • Psycho Milt …
                  14 July 2019 at 8:22 pm

                  In the case of 15 year olds, perhaps it's to do with them not being considered mature enough to give their consent.

                  What the law says, and what individuals choose to do, are sometimes not the same. The law says a 15-year-old isn't allowed to drink alcohol, and yet I did so (and drove afterwards, often enough). I would also have been more than happy if someone wanted to fuck me, hell anyone let alone a famous celebrity, which sadly no-one at the time did (don't cry, readers, someone took pity on me later on).

                  …are you saying you condone him having sex with underage girls?

                  Somehow I can't imagine Bowie was living in fear of what Psycho Milt might think of him for having fucked underage girls. My point, which somehow seems to need making over and over again on these threads, is that if sex with you leaves a woman feeling the need to visit a police station, ur doin it wrong.

            • McFlock 8.1.1.1.2.3
              14 July 2019 at 5:05 pm

              Not sure anyone's argued that wikileaks should be boycotted specifically because Assange is an accused rapist.

              Caravaggio was a murderer. Good paintings, though.

              The outcome of boycott/noboycott is binary, but the decision-making is not.

              Work quality and uniqueness is one factor. Severity and frequency of crimes is another (as a judge might look at sentence length). Degree of input the criminal had into the work is another (e.g. boycott Deadwood because Jeffrey Jones is in it? What if Swearengen were played by [alleged criminal]Kevin Spacey?). How long ago were the crimes, and were they a lifetime practise? Will my boycott affect the criminal's ability to profit from this or future work, or help deter future criminals?

              From my perspective, all this and probably more mushes into a single boycott/noboycott outcome. Sometimes it's a conscious "argh, shit, I really liked him, he's not on my playlist until he owns it" (louisCK). Sometimes it's just that the abuser is no longer a selling point, the billing they get in the cinema might as well be a blank space or even a shitstain.

              So I'm not going to parse what Bowie did. It was wrong. Is he on my playlist? not really. Did I play the embed? Yup. Was that wrong or inconsistent? Maybe. But fuck it, it's a Sunday and I'm at the office.

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 July 2019 at 5:47 pm

                @ McFlock , I grew up in the AKL art scene in the late 1960's, and have been involved in one way or another with artists in all fields since, so believe me this whole issue is nothing new to me, I learnt long long ago to separate art from art creator, in both the fine arts and in music.

                • McFlock …
                  14 July 2019 at 6:03 pm

                  Yeah, that line has always been bullshit.

                  A great song or painting about romantic love would forever be coloured if you discovered that it was created a few weeks after the creator beat their lover to death, or a few weeks after they'd met the person they would be in love with for the next fifty years, or both. The context of the creation adds texture to it, whether we want it or not.

              • Morrissey …
                14 July 2019 at 6:53 pm

                …. because Assange is an accused rapist.

                He's not. There were, and are, no charges for rape against him. You're simply smearing him, for the umpteenth time in your case.

                • McFlock …
                  15 July 2019 at 12:40 pm

                  He has been accused of rape.

                  You are adamant, without any basis, that he is innocent of that accusation. That is a stupid position to take, but not uncommon in a society where women are routinely disbelieved. But your bias goes so far as to have you deny the literal truth that he has been accused of rape. What little judgement you have has been clouded by your ego.

                  • Morrissey …
                    15 July 2019 at 1:23 pm

                    …where women are routinely disbelieved.

                    Ha! As if this pursuit of Assange is driven by women and not the secret police of two rogue nations. The young women badgered and inveigled to go along, for a short time, with this murderous travesty almost immediately made it clear they wanted no charges brought against him. Your zealous desire to see him destroyed stands in stark contrast to their courage.

                    the literal truth that he has been accused of rape.

                    No he has not.

                    There were never any rape charges against Assange. What happened is this. Two Swedish women took Assange into their beds in their homes and had consensual sex with him. No condom was used. The women or one of them wanted Assange to take a test so she could be reassured that he had no disease that could be sexually transmitted. Assange foolishly refused. The woman went to the police to see if Assange could be coerced to take the test. Out of this came the investigation that was closed without charges. Assange was free to leave Sweden.

                    He foolishly went to the UK, Washington’s prime puppet state. Once there Washington prevailed on a female Swedish prosecutor to reopen questioning of Assange.

                    No real reason was ever given for the female Swedish prosecutor to reopen the questioning. One possible reason is Washington’s money. It was clear to Assange’s lawyers that the extradition request was a trick to get him back in Swedish hands so that he could be handed over to Washington. Assange fought the extradition, but a corrupt British court to comply with Washington ruled that Assange could be extradited for questioning even though there were no changes against him. This ruling shocked everyone who thought British judges had integrity.

                    https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2019/04/16/the-fake-charge-against-julian-assange-proves-that-the-us-government-has-no-integrity/

                    • McFlock …
                      15 July 2019 at 1:30 pm

                      Two Swedish women took Assange into their beds in their homes and had consensual sex with him. Consent was granted on the explicit basis that he used a condom. No condom was used. Therefore it was non-consensual sex, which is more properly known as "rape". The women or one of them wanted Assange to take a test so she could be reassured that he had no disease that could be sexually transmitted.

                      Fixed it for you.

                      Also: details of the rape allegations here.

            • Sacha 8.1.1.1.2.4
              14 July 2019 at 5:33 pm

              Have never commented about Assange. You must be thinking of somebody else.

              • Adrian Thornton …
                14 July 2019 at 6:28 pm

                Sorry about that, my apologies.

                • marty mars …
                  14 July 2019 at 7:29 pm

                  What about my apology too? Or have you found some non existent post of mine.

                  • Morrissey …
                    14 July 2019 at 7:56 pm

                    What about my apology too? Or have you found some non existent post of mine.

                    On Wednesday 17 April, shortly after Julian Assange had, at the behest of the Trump regime, been dragged out of political asylum, put in front of a biased and abusive "judge", and imprisoned, Te Reo Putake instigated a gloating, outrageous thread entitled "Assange Must Be Extradited." He summarily banned half a dozen people who dared to defend journalism and the rule of law, and he excised their posts. Later in the thread he admitted (to Brigid, who had protested about his conduct) that he had devised the "admittedly click baity title" in order to "get people to read the post, Brigid. Obviously, some of my fans here love being outraged, so it was a good way to get their blood pressure up." Such antics constituted, he joked, "churnalism at its finest."

                    At 10.33 p.m. you chose to add the following comment to that Red China-style festival of abuse, contempt, denunciation, and malice:

                    yep – it’s pretty basic consent issue – if no consent then rape – simple.

                    https://thestandard.org.nz/assange-must-be-extradited/#comment-1609041

                    So you supported the bullies and the slanderers, by amplifying their callous lies. It's a post of yours all right, and it's anything but "non-existent."

                    • marty mars …
                      14 July 2019 at 8:38 pm

                      You're a liar too moonbreem

                      the context of that comment was in relation to the law around consent in NZ. It was a comment on the difference between Sweden and NZ and NOT about what you implied it was about.

                    • McFlock …
                      14 July 2019 at 8:41 pm

                      Paraphrasing a dictionary defnition of "rape" only amplifies people opposed to rape.

                      Last I looked, journalism didn't involve rape.

                      I think that somehow you might have inadvertantly conflated two distinct issues. I'm sure you haven't realised it and that this is the first person to explain that the subject of a person's "journalism" is distinct from the subject of whether that journalist is also a rapist.

                      I look forward to you acknowledging the disinction betwen the two subjects in a calm and dignified manner in the near future.*

                      *actual results may vary

    • Morrissey 8.2
      14 July 2019 at 10:52 am

      I hope you don't mind me saying that THAT song is a LITTLE bit of a controversial CHOICE, a-a-a-a-and I'm really interested why you were brave enough to be choosing a David Bowie clip at this time. Marty, w-w-what will happen is that, I'm pretty sure this thread is going to get very BUSY with this choice.

      What would you SAY to-o-o-o Standard readers, who may say "We CAN'T listen to this music any more"?

  9. Morrissey 9
    14 July 2019 at 10:46 am

    Yenta Hodge's daughter is Deputy Editor for BBC News at Six and News at Ten: the British State Propaganda organ is blatantly biased to the extreme right.

    Thought I would put up a link to some who feature in the BBC Who's Who.

    1.) Amol Rajan is the voluble BBC Media Editor, always appearing and giving his take on events. He was one time editor of Levedev's Independent and was at the FCO early on for a year.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38054561

    2.) James Harding was the Head of News. He arrived at the BBC along with James Purnell, one time chair of LFoI and ex Labour MP, and Ceri Thomas.

    Apologists for Israel take top posts at BBC
    23 April 2013 https://electronicintifada.net/content/apologists-israel-take-top-posts-bbc/12395

    3) Tony Hall was a successor to Mark Thompson, the Director General who presided over the Savile evil. Thompson is married to Jane Blumberg, daughter of a US physicist. Thompson visited Sharon in Israel in 2005 to reassure him that BBC reports on Israel were fair! It was originally said he was accompanied by his wife but the BBC would not confirm that.

    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Thompson_(media_executive)#Accusations_of_pro-Israeli_editorial_stance

    4.) Under Thompson's watch, the DEC appeal for Gaza after the Cast Lead slaughter was not aired by the BBC. Caroline Thomson, no longer at the BBC, was his sidekick who also took a decision not to broadcast Caryl Churchill's Seven Jewish Children, a radio play. Thompson is now CEO at the New York Times. At the BBC in 2010 he was being paid just under £1million.

    5.) Ms Thomson is now the chair of OXFAM. (YCNMIU)

    6.) Harding left the BBC and set up his own media outfit called Turquoise.

    7.) James Purnell is still at the BBC as Head of Radio, Head of Strategy and Digital. Before, he had worked privately for Blair, was a SPAD at No 10 and was given two jobs (DCMS and Pensions) by Brown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Purnell

    8.) Lastly, Lizzi Watson, Margaret Hodge's daughter from her first marriage, is currently the Deputy Editor for BBC News at Six and News at Ten, i.e. the country's main news provider. As you know, Hodge (MP Lab Barking) has been instigating the anti-Semitism smears against Jeremy Corbyn.
    https://twitter.com/islingtonlizzi?lang=en

    Does the anti-Corbyn bias that we see and hear get passed down the line?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hodge

    9.) All in all, 'Bought by and Sold to Israel' and Paid For by the licence fee payers. Just some of the stuff that is in the public domain. There is probably much more that we will never know about.

    Orig. posted by Mary at The Lifeboat News…. http://members5.boardhost.com/xxxxx/msg/1563039156.html

    • greywarshark 9.1
      14 July 2019 at 11:07 am

      This is good backgrounding Morrissey thanks for links.

    • Ad 9.2
      14 July 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Joseph McCarthy tried the same trick you're trying. Just read out the names and make them sound as Jewish as possible. Generally the media can just let such vile fools hang themselves; the bias is with those who are hunting people down.

      Here's how the real pro's did what you are trying:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnKTgmOJr78

      You can do similar slurs with those 30 Jewy-sounding names who are testifying on the issue within Labour UK to the Equality and Human Right Commission.

      Failing that, you could stop the slurs and listen to the evidence they have to say about anti-semitism within the Labour Party instead of attacking the messengers.

      https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jul/11/labour-antisemitism-30-whistleblowers-to-give-evidence-to-ehrc

      Corbyn has been as weak and pushed around by activists on the anti-semitic issues within his party as has has been on Brexit. This is not surprising from a person who has actually never before stood successfully for any legislation in Parliament, proved totally unwhippable, or led anything in his life.

      To catch you up, the EHRC launched a formal investigation into whether Labour “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people” from the Jewish community in May, saying it had received a number of complaints about Labour’s handling of allegations. It's not the BBC doing this.

      Not even sunlight can disinfect Labour UK from the damage that Corbyn has now done.

      • Morrissey 9.2.1
        14 July 2019 at 1:08 pm

        Your ignorance is astounding, as are your cynicism and dishonesty. I pay no attention to what you say.

        • Ad 9.2.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 1:21 pm

          That is because you are a bigot who is afraid to hear the truth of submissions in a public hearing on the matter.

          Your McCarthyism won't work.

          • Morrissey 9.2.1.1.1
            14 July 2019 at 1:25 pm

            Nope, you ain't got it. Sorry.

            • Ad 9.2.1.1.1.1
              14 July 2019 at 1:48 pm

              I just knew you couldn't help yourself.

              People like you never take any kind of criticism because their righteousness drives and blinds them.

              You seek bias in every person in the media, and you'll find it because that perfect place your righteousness drives you towards does not even exist in your mind, so it’s invented as a future no-place. U-topia.

              Try another comment. You know you want to.

              • Poission …
                14 July 2019 at 2:14 pm

                Human nature stands in the way of social engineers (see Pinker the bland slate)

                https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-64tfoU8AM4MV7.jpg:large

                Societies grow into systems. The systems require management and are therefore increasingly wielded, like a tool or a weapon, by those who have power. The rest of the population is still needed to do specific things. But the citizens are not needed to contribute to the form or direction of the society. The more "advanced" the civilization, the more irrelevant the citizen becomes.

                Voltaire's Bastards (1992)

                • Ad …
                  14 July 2019 at 3:33 pm

                  There are better descriptions of human agency around.

                  JR Saul's version stands as pretty pre-internet and pre-social media.

                  If you can get hold of it, he does a really good one comparing the development of Canada and the United States as societies and as geographies: Confessions of a Siamese Twin.

                  It's a pretty good analogue for the New Zaland – Australia relationship.

                  • Poission …
                    14 July 2019 at 4:03 pm

                    we have seen the effects of networked systems and the outcome of catastrophic collapse eg Haldane and May.

                    In the run-up to the recent financial crisis, an increasingly elaborate set of financial instruments emerged, intended to optimize returns to individual institutions with seemingly minimal risk. Essentially no attention was given to their possible effects on the stability of the system as a whole. Drawing analogies with the dynamics of ecological food webs and with networks within which infectious diseases spread, we explore the interplay between complexity and stability in deliberately simplified models of financial networks. We suggest some policy lessons that can be drawn from such models, with the explicit aim of minimizing systemic risk.

                    https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09659

                    Sauls outcomes for a corporate coup d'etat held up well.

                    • Ad …
                      14 July 2019 at 4:37 pm

                      Sorry the link doesn't work for me.

                      Could you explain the reference to Haldane and May.

                    • Poission …
                      14 July 2019 at 6:40 pm

                      a lack of diversity in risk models as networking increased or to put it another way a sterility of thinking. as HM suggest.

                      The analytic model outlined earlier demonstrates that the topology ofthe financial sector’s balance sheet has fundamental implications for thestate and dynamics of systemic risk. From a public policy perspective,two topological features are key15.First, diversity across the financial system. In the run-up to the crisis,and in the pursuit of diversification, banks’ balance sheets and risk management systems became increasingly homogenous. For example,banks became increasingly reliant on wholesale funding on the liabilities side of the balance sheet; in structured credit on the assets side of thei rbalance s eet; and managed the resulting risks using the same value -at- risk models. This desire for diversification was individually rational from a risk perspective. But it came at the expense of lower diversity across the system as whole, thereby increasing systemic risk. Homogeneity bred fragility

                      Similarly if a profession's textbooks (widely cited by social engineers) were wrong in their assumptions on statistical testing,would you not feel a little uncomfortable or indeed cynical.

                      https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/textbook-analysis-uncovers-erroneous-explanations-of-statistical-significance.html

              • Morrissey …
                14 July 2019 at 3:00 pm

                Criticism? All you offer is rancid abuse. If it were witty, or clever, that might be a mitigating factor.

                • Ad …
                  14 July 2019 at 3:36 pm

                  Now you can look back on all your comments in 9, and feel what you've tried to do to others.

                  Funny the way weak and cowardly analysts such as yourself turn on themselves.

                  As you are about to see with UK Labour, eventually such slurs end up in court.

        • greywarshark 9.2.1.2
          14 July 2019 at 5:34 pm

          It is foolish to not pay attention to what Ad says. He is likely to get to solid ground in a sentence, compared to yourself Morrissey in numbers of paragraphs.

          • Morrissey 9.2.1.2.1
            14 July 2019 at 7:03 pm

            It is foolish to not pay attention to what Ad says.

            So far today he's peddled Blairite black propaganda, i.e. lies, about Jeremy Corbyn, and he's called me a McCarthyite.

            He is likely to get to solid ground in a sentence,

            If by "solid ground" you mean abusive, demeaning and not terribly creative name-calling, then, yes, he quickly gets to "solid ground."

            compared to yourself Morrissey in numbers of paragraphs.

            ???? I work hard at writing lean, well organized pieces, whether they're short replies like this or longer essays or, on the odd occasion, play scripts. I'd put up anything from my oeuvre against his complacent and self-satisfied little rants.

      • Psycho Milt 9.2.2
        14 July 2019 at 3:25 pm

        Failing that, you could stop the slurs and listen to the evidence they have to say about anti-semitism within the Labour Party instead of attacking the messengers.

        Will there be some evidence at some point? So far it all seems to be a very successful anti-Corbyn propaganda campaign with nothing to back it up.

        • Ad 9.2.2.1
          14 July 2019 at 3:30 pm

          The joy of this is that there are now two legal avenues in which the evidence against the Labour Party handling of anti-semitism will play out as evidence.

          BBC's programme has alerted everyone to what is to come.

          Labour has gone on the attack rather than front it, so now it will all play out in the courts, and get further amplified in the media.

          That's where the likes of Morrisey will find the evidence, rather than attacking the BBC.

          • Psycho Milt 9.2.2.1.1
            14 July 2019 at 4:35 pm

            This is a propaganda campaign against Corbyn that's been going on for a year already, and we might finally see some evidence to back it up at some point in the future? I'll believe it when I see it. My money is on both the EHRC investigation and any libel case being entirely about how Labour handled allegations of anti-semitism, with pretty much no evidence of anti-semitism actually presented.

    • TootingPopularFront 9.3
      14 July 2019 at 11:38 pm

      @Morissey and @Psycho Milt, there are a couple of links about the astonishing Panorama episode aired in the UK, made by a former Sun journalist, about the alleged "crisis of anti-semitism" in the UK Labour Party:

      Jeremy Corbyn's take:

      https://www.thecanary.co/breaking-news/2019/07/13/corbyn-many-inaccuracies-in-panorama-probe-into-anti-semitism-in-labour/

      A former BBC staffer's point of view:

      https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2019/07/13/ex-bbc-presenter-exposes-the-dark-side-of-panoramas-incredibly-suspect-episode-on-corbyn/

      A debunking:

      https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1149426426665455622.html

      And hilariously, the British public are not buying it:

      https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2019/07/13/bbc-hatchet-job-on-jeremy-corbyn-immediately-backfires-as-labour-takes-remarkable-poll-lead/

      • Morrissey 9.3.1
        15 July 2019 at 1:25 pm

        Thanks for that, Wolfie. Very interesting indeed.

        Oh, I nearly forgot—Power to the People!

  10. Anne 10
    14 July 2019 at 11:13 am

    For anyone interested in the ongoing crisis re- the baiting of Iran by the Trump regime and the effects on Britain and ultimately the rest of us… the following link is a must read:

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/13/this-death-star-presidency-is-no-ally-for-modern-britain

    The final sentence sums up the situation well:

    Trump’s America is an ugly, dangerous creation from which old certainties recoil. The US alliance can no longer be relied upon. The Darroch affair is a timely warning to step back and take stock. And it’s no good saying Trump will soon be gone. The way the divided Democrats are behaving, he could still be calling the shots in 2025.

    This "death star" presidency is no ally for NZ either, and our government should accordingly base their decisions relating to this regime on reality and not the past!

    • Morrissey 10.1
      14 July 2019 at 11:33 am

      Trump didn't start the baiting of Iran. It started in 1953, when the U.S. and its U.K. vassal conspired to smash Iranian democracy.

      Trump's instability and unpredictability, and especially the presence of John Bolton, only make things more dangerous, but the policies, and these utterly unjust "sanctions", were not dreamed up by him or his crazy inner cabal.

      • Anne 10.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 12:18 pm

        Agree. Trump didn't start it. Successive US governments have been using the baiting technique and yes… other nations have followed suit. However Trump and Co. are taking it to a whole new level which has the potential to destroy our very existence and he can only be stopped if western governments stop cow-towing to the maniacal regime and conspire to be rid of this regime.

    • greywarshark 10.2
      14 July 2019 at 12:06 pm

      The 'death star' presidency – a great appellation. The warnings are there for any sane politicians to see also the jerks pulling the strings on we puppets, passing their jerks on to us.

  11. The Chairman 11
    14 July 2019 at 11:49 am

    The National Addiction Centre say the Government's lack of action over alcohol regulation, following recommendations made in a recent mental health inquiry, suggests outside influences are involved.

    Health Minister Dr David Clark said he wouldn't dignify such suggestions with a response.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/07/government-accused-of-pandering-to-alcohol-industry.html

    • Psycho Milt 11.1
      14 July 2019 at 12:14 pm

      "You gotta follow the money and ask who is benefiting from the status quo," Simon Adamson, the National Addiction Centre director, said.

      …

      "There is a lot of money being made by the alcohol industry and the supermarket industry so we could speculate that there's been some strong lobbying going on," said Adamson.

      I expect he's right and there is a lot of lobbying going on, just like there is from every other industry or interest group. That's water off Clark's back.

      To get the real situation, ignore the money and ask who's benefiting from the status quo. The answer is "Me and hundreds of thousands of others like me who buy alcohol at the supermarket every week, and most of us vote in general elections." Now, that the Minister does care about…

      • The Chairman 11.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 12:41 pm

        I suspect there is more than just lobbying go on, there will most likely also be party donations given from those sectors.

        But is sounds like you are arguing that the damaged caused is the price we have to pay to keep the price of booze low for the piss heads.

        • Psycho Milt 11.1.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 1:26 pm

          I'm arguing that attempting to eradicate drug addiction from a society is a doomed enterprise regardless of the proposed mechanism, but the mechanism of taking a punitive approach to recreational drug users has been proven beyond dispute to be among the more stupid ones. Clamp down on one drug, people start using others – there is no drug-free society just waiting for us to get the right policy mix in place. Repairing the damage done by over-indulgence in recreational drugs is a cost society just has to bear, much like it does for the damage done by over-eating, playing sports, fucking etc.

          • The Chairman 11.1.1.1.1
            14 July 2019 at 3:11 pm

            Who do you believe is attempting to eradicate booze?

            Moreover, most that drink aren't addicted.

            • Psycho Milt 11.1.1.1.1.1
              14 July 2019 at 3:32 pm

              Who do you believe is attempting to eradicate booze?

              Anti-alcohol lobbyists, for a start. Like the alcohol industry, they also are lobbyists with an agenda and should be seen in that light. And the fact that you call people who drink alcohol "pissheads" but use no pejoratives to describe tobacco smokers suggests you're in the same camp.

              Moreover, most that drink aren't addicted.

              Which makes the anti-alcohol lobby's constant attempt to fuck with us all the more annoying.

        • The Al1en 11.1.1.2
          14 July 2019 at 1:42 pm

          the damaged caused is the price we have to pay to keep the price of booze low for the piss heads.

          Good to know, with this stance on alcohol and it's users, you've also now dropped your objection to high taxation of tobacco products for the cancer makers.

          • The Chairman 11.1.1.2.1
            14 July 2019 at 3:07 pm

            Apples and oranges

            Unlike booze, most tobacco users are highly addicted to the product.

            Moreover, the price of tobacco is far from low. And it tends to damage the user and not the wider society. Increasing the cost is what is driving the wider damage with the vast increase in shop holdups.

            • The Al1en 11.1.1.2.1.1
              14 July 2019 at 3:14 pm

              You called the alcoholics 'piss heads', not me, so as addicts, it's apple for apple.

              Yeah, the reason tobacco is not cheap is because of the taxes, the same sort of taxes you want to put on booze to minimise the uptake and usage. An orange for an orange.

              Will you also be a hypocrite, if the high taxes come in, and slam the government if and when scum rip off bottle shops?

              • The Chairman …
                14 July 2019 at 3:29 pm

                You called the alcoholics 'piss heads

                No. I didn't say anything about alcoholics. You are clearly clutching.

                Thus, my position holds. The majority of those that drink aren't addicted as smokers are, so lifting the price will have a better effect as most don't need to have that drink. Unlike smoking.

                Additionally, taxes on tobacco have largely exceeded their effectiveness. We are largely down to the hardcore addicts that won't quit regardless the tax.

                Moreover, it's not just about lifting prices. However, I'm sure your already knew that, but it didn't fit with you narrative.

                • The Al1en …
                  14 July 2019 at 3:34 pm

                  Some one is clutching, and it aint me.

                  Taxes raised on drinks, for exactly the same reason as those raised on tobacco, make it exactly the same thing you've been whining on about here since for ever.

                  You just can't have it both ways.

                  • The Chairman …
                    14 July 2019 at 3:50 pm

                    Those that drink are not largely addicts opposed to those that smoke. And that is the difference you are continually failing to see.

                    • The Al1en …
                      14 July 2019 at 4:19 pm

                      Don't you like to say, along the lines of 'who will it affect most'?

                      So you're full of compassion for smokers but not drunks.

                      Again, will you condemn the government if and when slimeballs start to rob off licences because of the tax policy you want introduced?

                • Psycho Milt …
                  14 July 2019 at 3:35 pm

                  …so lifting the price will have a better effect as most don't need to have that drink.

                  You don't need to have that computer you're using, either. Our thoughts on what someone else needs or doesn't need has a net value of $0.00.

                  • The Chairman …
                    14 July 2019 at 3:54 pm

                    It's not just my thoughts. The reality is, most drinkers aren't addicts, thus they don't need that drink as a smoker needs that smoke. Which clearly is the point you missed.

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      14 July 2019 at 4:58 pm

                      There's a point there? I guess there's an implied one that you personally believe addicts shouldn't have their fix taxed but recreational users should. Good luck turning that into a coherent and enforceable policy.

                  • The Chairman …
                    14 July 2019 at 5:23 pm

                    Taxing the fix of an addict doesn't stop them from being addicted.

                    Whereas, taxing recreational users will have a far better impact on their recreational use.

                    Drinking is over rated anyway. There are far better recreational drugs out there for when it comes to partying and creativeness.wink

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      14 July 2019 at 8:07 pm

                      Taxing the fix of an addict doesn't stop them from being addicted.

                      That bold assertion is somewhat undermined by the numbers of smokers who've given up due to cost increases via taxation. (NB: like you, I'm unhappy with the level of taxes charged on cigarettes, but that's based on a general principle that it's beyond the state's remit to punish people for their recreational drug choices, not because I bullshit myself about addiction. Also NB: I'm not and never have been a tobacco smoker.)

                      Whereas, taxing recreational users will have a far better impact on their recreational use.

                      People's recreational drug use is none of the government's business. It's entitled to tax the drug to recover health costs, but anything beyond that is just arbitrary exercise of authority.

                      Drinking is over rated anyway. There are far better recreational drugs…

                      Your opinions on what recreational drugs people should or shouldn't use are of value only to you.

                    • The Chairman …
                      15 July 2019 at 12:27 am

                      That bold assertion is somewhat undermined by the numbers of smokers who've given up due to cost increases via taxation.

                      Only slightly, you are talking around 5% opposed to the 13.8 that continue to smoke, hence strengthening my assertion. Along with the 45 per cent of Maori women between 18 and 24 that smoke now, and which the number isn't reducing.

                      Addiction to smoking is not bullshit, it's the main factor people aren't giving up.

                      Along with the fact that users are addicted, my opposition is based on the fact it's gone too far and is hurting the poor who are already hurting, while destroying our once safe and peaceful society. We are getting down to the hardcore smokers that aren't going to give up easily. Hell, some of them actually enjoy it. It's their vice and they are never going to stop.

                      People's recreational drug use is none of the government's business. It's entitled to tax the drug to recover health costs, but anything beyond that is just arbitrary exercise of authority.

                      Cover health costs? What about the costs of the wider damaged it creates?

            • Drowsy M. Kram 11.1.1.2.1.2
              14 July 2019 at 3:39 pm

              Could you quantify the tobacco price-fuelled "vast increase in shop holdups"?
              I know the idea is common ‘knowledge’, but I'm having trouble finding the supporting evidence using Google searches.

              ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, or ‘Smoke in (Y)Our Eyes’?

              "The authors note it is difficult to assess adverse impacts, because of the lack of high quality trend and current data. For example, they describe increasing media reports of retail robberies involving cigarettes, and growing retailer concerns. However, they also note that lack of reliable longitudinal data on tobacco-related crimes makes it impossible to assess whether such robberies are actually increasing, and, if so, whether any observed increases are due to higher tobacco excise taxes, points we have made previously. Similarly, there are few data on trends in imported or crime-related illicit tobacco supply, making it difficult for the Report authors to verify or disprove claims that these are increasing."

              https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/2019/01/24/what-does-the-ey-tobacco-excise-tax-evaluation-report-mean-for-reaching-the-smokefree-2025-goal/

              • The Chairman …
                14 July 2019 at 4:08 pm

                A total of 1237 aggravated robberies were recorded at dairies and petrol stations from June 2016 to May 2017, up 87 per cent on the previous 12 months.

                • Drowsy M. Kram …
                  14 July 2019 at 4:44 pm

                  Thanks Chair; what proportion of that shocking annual increase in robberies was due to the increase in tobacco excise tax?

                  Regardless of the reasons, that's an appalling increase in aggravated robberies under a National-led government. Aren't they supposed to be tough on Law'n'Order? No doubt you were critical of National's poor performance at the time, in your own "lefty" "more left than most" way laugh

                  • Ad …
                    14 July 2019 at 4:49 pm

                    It's a bit brutal to let the market of law-and-order determine who can still retail tobacco.

                    Any government (Labour or National-led) should be able to regulate dispensaries for combusted cancerous products, just like alcohol shops are.

                  • The Chairman …
                    14 July 2019 at 5:09 pm

                    What proportion of that shocking annual increase in robberies was due to the increase in tobacco excise tax?

                    Zero. It was all just a big coincidence – not.

                    I was critical of the tax, and have been for sometime now.

                    Hard on crime you say. So how is putting a bad ass motherfucker in jail with a bunch of other bad ass motherfuckers meant to result in them being rehabilitated once they come out? The whole system seems flawed from the get go.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram …
                      14 July 2019 at 5:13 pm

                      We can agree it wasn't zero, but I didn’t ask what it wasn't.

                      Asking if you had any idea what it was? It’s OK if you’ve no idea at all.

                    • The Chairman …
                      14 July 2019 at 5:32 pm

                      Data is yet to be kept on that. Although, cigarettes were often targeted in these robberies. And it's logical to assume the main related cause for such an sharp and sudden increase was the tax.

                      Do you see any other new or outstanding reasons for it? Apart from the tax, little if anything had changed in that year.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram …
                      14 July 2019 at 5:43 pm

                      Wonder if at least some of the increase might be related to another rather soggy National parrty attack line that The Chairman was peddling here a few days ago? https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09-07-2019/#comment-1635449

                      “If this was a National Government…”

                      So much sogginess – how do you avoid becoming bogged down?

                    • Incognito []
                      14 July 2019 at 6:03 pm

                      Today has been another particularly soggy day. When I read Chair’s comments, my screen fogs up.

                    • The Chairman …
                      14 July 2019 at 7:07 pm

                      National party attack line?

                      As you can clearly see (in that linked comment) I merely stated a few genuine facts and made a little summary at the end.

                      Next minute, you Labour Party cheerleaders get all offended and see these true facts as an attack.

                      You lot need to face reality and deal with it.

                      Shooting the messenger doesn't change the facts.

                      “Wonder if at least some of the increase might be related… ”

                      Unlikely to explain the sudden spike. Albeit the hardship and whatnot would most likely be behind the normal rate of robberies.

                    • solkta …
                      14 July 2019 at 7:14 pm

                      He's as wet as the weather.

                    • McFlock …
                      14 July 2019 at 7:34 pm

                      I did like the bit where he diverged from the link and showed his had:

                      I suspect there is more than just lobbying go on, there will most likely also be party donations given from those sectors.

                      Party donations are public record. If the industry donated anything of note, the notes would be online, and they'd be thrown around with soggy abandon.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram …
                      14 July 2019 at 7:43 pm

                      I consider myself a ‘lefty‘, indeed a friend of left and “more left than most“.

                      The Chairman is adept with speculation masquerading as fact – and to what end?

                      "the vast increase in shop holdups" is a result of governments (National and Labour) increasing excise tax on tobacco?

                      Aren’t these tax increases a rare and much-needed example of bipartisan political agreement? Why undermine that?

                      https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/news-media-and-events/well-done-on-tobacco-tax-prime-minister-why-not-for-alcohol/
                      [28 April 2010]

                    • Drowsy M. Kram …
                      14 July 2019 at 11:52 pm

                      Dr Nick Wilson: https://www.otago.ac.nz/wellington/departments/publichealth/staff/otago024455.html

                      To achieve the smokefree goal, the team of researchers led by Nick Wilson says the Government needs "to massively increase investment" in established interventions, including cessation support and mass media campaigns, while also continuing with substantial tobacco tax increases, "or else add substantive new strategies into the intervention mix."

                      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/113896113/smokefree-2025-the-evermutating-government-plan-to-stamp-out-smoking [9 July 2019]

                      "Indigenous peoples experience disproportionately high rates of commercial tobacco use, and consequently disproportionately high rates of tobacco-related death and disease. Philip Morris International (PMI) appears to be interested in building a veneer of social responsibility, so that it can bolster corporate credibility and leverage this to influence political debates about tobacco control policy. If PMI was serious about its aims for a smoke-free world, it would cease its opposition to evidenced-based measures to reduce smoking rates, such as advertising bans, tax increases and plain packaging. Further, the tobacco industry would cease commercial tobacco manufacturing, marketing, lobbying and litigation. The tobacco industry has a long history of deliberately colluding in covering up, denying, confusing and questioning the science on smoking-related morbidity and mortality. As a business, PMI’s goal is to safeguard and extend shareholder profits, thus it is rapidly expanding into the lucrative AND markets. PMI has never demonstrated genuine concern for the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples, and has a history of ignoring and undermining scientific evidence. The tobacco industry’s interest in Indigenous peoples has been to appropriate our names and imagery along with the tobacco plant itself, with the sole intent of furthering tobacco sales and profits."

                      https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2019/05/10/tobaccocontrol-2018-054792.full

                    • Incognito []
                      15 July 2019 at 12:07 am

                      Indeed, alcohol and tobacco are two important contributing factors to NZ health inequalities and not only in NZ. Junk food and sugary drinks would be another one.

  12. The Chairman 12
    14 July 2019 at 11:52 am

    The process of removing Tamariki has stirred anger among Māori not seen in 15 years.

    "So it's the first kotahitanga or unity meeting since foreshore and seabed," said Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chief executive John Tamihere.

    Helen Clark's Foreshore and Seabed comments triggered a political movement. Delegates say the Newsroom video of the attempted removal of a baby from its mother had a similar impact.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/07/oranga-tamariki-m-ori-leaders-issue-strong-call-to-action-over-uplifts.html

    • Psycho Milt 12.1
      14 July 2019 at 12:17 pm

      I was thinking last night I've yet to see a TV news report on this subject that gave any hint the removal of babies from parents is done for a reason, rather than being a dastardly plot by central government to kidnap children. Have any journos bothered to mention it?

      • The Chairman 12.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 12:31 pm

        That reason (at times) may merely be a suspicion of harm leading to the Family Court making an interim Order and removing the child without talking to the child’s parent, guardian or caregiver first.

      • Pat 12.1.2
        14 July 2019 at 12:40 pm

        that would require addressing the cause rather than the symptom….too hard basket

      • marty mars 12.1.3
        14 July 2019 at 2:25 pm

        the Minister has defended from this very position, even crasher collins has said 'just stop hitting the kids' – although to be fair, i've only heard it on the radio cos we don't have telly.

  13. greywarshark 13
    14 July 2019 at 12:04 pm

    Can we match this in NZ for attractiveness.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apcLT_F5VYc Flash mobs singing like this – perhaps popping up everywhere in song month = to be organised and put in our events calendars?

    and a lovely holiday park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbgcWnHuO9M

    And what flash mobs are up on youtube under New Zealand.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLzPgBXHAJQ NZ Symphony – only NZ one that stands out.

  14. marty mars 14
    14 July 2019 at 12:58 pm

    The correct names will set you free

    With its renowned Church of the Good Shepherd, pristine blue waters and crystal clear night skies, Lake Tekapo in the Mackenzie Basin is one of the must-do stops in any tour of the South Island.

    But it turns out its name has been misspelt for more than 100 years.

    Takapō, meaning "to leave in haste at night", is the traditional Māori name given to the lake, and many feel it should be reinstated.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113994852/tekapo-or-takap-one-of-nzs-world-famous-lakes-could-be-in-for-a-name-change

    and if you want a real treat – go and have a look at this amazing site

    http://www.kahurumanu.co.nz/atlas

  15. ianmac 15
    14 July 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Getting specialist training to turn our kids into World champions has been in the news lately. Should schools be grabbing kids to train them to be All Blacks?

    One infant was learning to putt before he could walk and constant support from his Dad turned him into a golfing prodigy and a World champion. Guess who that is?

    Another lad was very skilled but from an early age he was encouraged to try any sport that he fancied. By the time he was in his 20s he specialised in tennis and became a World Champion. Guess who that is?

    The professed necessity of hyperspecialisation forms the core of a vast, successful and sometimes well-meaning marketing machine, in sport and beyond.

    And what about doctors and engineers and lawyers?https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/12/generalise-dont-specialise-why-focusing-too-narrowly-is-bad-for-us?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

  16. Morrissey 16
    14 July 2019 at 1:22 pm

    This Day in History: July 14, 2010

    Happy Bastille Day everyone! If you were unwise enough to be watching breakfast television exactly nine years ago, you would have been repulsed by the following little exchange….

    https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/07/paul-henry-calls-susan-boyle-retarded.html

    If you'd been up a bit earlier, however, you would have heard something far more uplifting….

    https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/07/lloyd-scott-upset-at-having-to-read.html

    Football fans exactly forty years ago were treated to an awesome spectacle of Gallic speed, power and flair….

    • beewee 16.1
      14 July 2019 at 1:53 pm

      A great game that abs played a big part in with some great tries of their own Who was nz halfback Loveridge or Donaldson, some shocking passing, accepting quality of ball in those days, also ruck area a mess compared to protection halfbacks get today I also note TV coverage has improved out of sight

  17. Ad 17
    14 July 2019 at 2:10 pm

    First there will be evidence before the Equality and Human Rights Commission on anti-semitism within UK Labour. 30 activists will testify so far.

    And now we will get to see what it looks like to people thinking about voting Labour when they see how their party is run, when it's exposed in open court as well.

    "Two of the whistleblowers who featured in last week’s explosive BBC Panorama programme entitled Is Labour Anti-Semitic? – Sam Matthews and Louise Withers Green – contacted the Observer last night to say they had instructed the prominent media lawyer Mark Lewis to act on their behalf because they believed the party had defamed them in its response to their claims. Others who spoke to Panorama are also understood to be considering contacting Lewis to represent them in libel actions.

    On the evening the programme was aired, a Labour spokesman said: “It appears these disaffected former officials include those who have always opposed Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, worked to actively to undermine it and have both personal and political axes to grind. This throws into doubt their credibility as sources.”

    Anyone want to work for Labour after that?

    With that kind of attitude from UK Labour's leadership, it's going to be something else when their next sexual harassment or bullying case comes around.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/13/whistleblowers-to-sue-labour-as-antisemitism-row-deepens

    • Drowsy M. Kram 17.1
      14 July 2019 at 2:19 pm

      Dirty Politics? (‘How attack politics is poisoning…’, etc.)

      http://www.nickyhager.info/crosby-v-hager-defamation-proceedings-as-political-weapon/

      • ianmac 17.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 2:57 pm

        Fascinating and terrifying Drowsy M Kram. So many cases seem to end in "settlement out of court" which takes us in a different direction. Giving in because the cost is too high and not because of justice?

        And the efforts that the Crosby Textor goes to to use anti-democratic processes and close down people like Nicky Hager is appalling. If Key had been a good man he would have refused to be part of the process.

        So thank goodness we have Steven Price and Nicky to help us all.

        I have just been through an eleven month defamation case. Fortunately, we mostly won. About 20 to 1 if it was a score. If I was ever going to be sued like this, I am pleased that the suer was a man of Lynton Crosby’s standing and that his case against me was so weak….

        Unfortunately, defamation is a tool that can be used by any well resourced company or individual against people who have annoyed them or who they do not like. This has serious implications for journalism and public accountability — potentially chilling freedom of speech about the people who most deserve scrutiny and criticism — since the sad fact is that it is much safer for a news organisation to criticise poor people than rich and powerful ones.

        Again thanks to Drowsy:

        http://www.nickyhager.info/crosby-v-hager-defamation-proceedings-as-political-weapon/

    • Morrissey 17.2
      14 July 2019 at 2:55 pm

      The Grauniad? Yes, you would be dumb enough to cite that discredited propaganda weapon.

      http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/2019/894-dump-the-guardian.html

      • Ad 17.2.1
        14 July 2019 at 3:37 pm

        That's the spirit. Keep attacking messengers centre, left, and right, and rely only on the flakiest and most histrionic of sources.

        After their attacks on those who came forward, UK Labour are going to pay for it all.

        • Morrissey 17.2.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 4:00 pm

          ???

          The only person around here who supports the attacking of messengers is you. I'm not the only one to read your attacks on Julian Assange.

          And what would you know about whether a source is “flaky” or not? You don’t read enough to make such a statement.

          • Ad 17.2.1.1.1
            14 July 2019 at 4:46 pm

            Your citation was a copy-and-paste from LifeboatNews; a raw and uncritiqued tribute to the Momentum-maddened extremists boiling into a fully benzadrine-popped, arm-waving, foam-flecked, beat-the-messenger, do-what-the-Leaders-office-pays-you-to medically-assisted pink frothy head explosion worthy of Alec Jones on a five-day Sandy Hook jag.

            The results will be the same for them both, in court.

    • Psycho Milt 17.3
      14 July 2019 at 3:40 pm

      Anyone want to work for Labour after that?

      Depends on whether the description was accurate or not, doesn't it?

      • Ad 17.3.1
        14 July 2019 at 4:38 pm

        Which will now play out in court.

        This is going to go really badly, and turn more towards the Liberal Democrats when they are rising.

        • Psycho Milt 17.3.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 4:54 pm

          That does seem to be the aim of the propaganda, yes. The Israeli lobby get what they want, the anti-Corbyn faction in Labour get what they want, left-of-centre voters get shafted.

          Clearly, parties are learning from it – the bogus claim from the NZ Jewish Council the other day that Golriz Ghahraman had insulted Jews saw an immediate, humiliating apology from James Shaw rather than the laughter that their bogus claim warranted. That reaction may be a lot more politically astute than UK Labour's, but it's also poisonous to political discourse.

  18. millsy 18
    14 July 2019 at 3:13 pm

    Happy 35th birthday Rogernomics.

    Though you could argue that:

    1) During 1984-90, much of the social welfare and services net was still more or less kept in place, those laid off during those years were able to "hang in there", as the cuts to welfare and steep increases in state housing rents didnt kick in until 1991-95.

    2) The corporatisation wasnt a *bad* thing, but selling everything off to the private sector was.

    3) Much of the larger changes werent brought in until 1987-90.

    4) The Muldoon goverment was already starting to bring in measures to deregulate the economy. The Think Big projects had heavy private sector involvement (part of the Clyde Dam project was designed and built via the contracting process we take for granted today).

    5) The SMP's that everyone were complaining about were only brought in about 1975-76.

    I think people need to let the idea of everything being wonderful before 1984 and then turning to shit thereafter go, and realise that the truth is much more complicated. Personally I think the real damage was done after 1990, with deregulation and privatisation of electricity, slashing of health and education, the changes to housing policy, and of course, the benefit cuts and ECA.

    • Ad 18.1
      14 July 2019 at 3:40 pm

      You might want to have a look at McAloon's economic history "Judgements of All Kinds", which has a good bibliography on that section of our political history, as well as earlier policy frameworks.

      He's pretty kind, but you can see the counterfactual New Zealand that might have emerged without the policy violence of that Lange-Douglas first term.

    • greywarshark 18.2
      14 July 2019 at 5:00 pm

      millsy The opportunities to make changes and fight our way out of our strong paper bag got limited, then decimated, and we were subsumed under neo lib models that were The Only Thing.

  19. greywarshark 19
    14 July 2019 at 4:56 pm

    USA Pence visits migrants ' tough stuff' but it is the Democrats (Demon-rats) fault.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/13/pence-visits-caged-unwashed-overcrowded-migrants-tough-stuff

  20. Sacha 20
    14 July 2019 at 5:40 pm

    Obedient scribe gets in early with a convenient puff piece on long-time tory Glenda Hughes before she throws her hat in the Welli council race: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114181635/glenda-hughes-the-unlikely-conservative

  21. greywarshark 21
    14 July 2019 at 5:42 pm

    Who killed Cock Robin?

    We now know who to look for when trying to identify the sneaker-leaker or the most unreliable one in the clan.. Anyone with a Mike Hosking haircut.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/394339/police-identify-suspect-for-ambassador-s-leaked-memos

  22. joe90 22
    14 July 2019 at 5:48 pm

    Because who needs bees?

    https://twitter.com/KnickmeyerEllen/status/1149747869961687040

    Washington (CNN)The US Department of Agriculture has suspended data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report, citing cost cuts — a move that robs researchers and the honeybee industry of a critical tool for understanding honeybee population declines, and comes as the USDA is curtailing other research programs.
    It’s also another step toward undoing President Barack Obama’s government-wide focus on protecting pollinators, including bees and butterflies, whose populations have plummeted in recent years.

    https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html

    • beewee 22.1
      14 July 2019 at 6:26 pm

      Doesn’t sound good but is nzh only US source the Washington Post, it’s hardly an impartial source

      • Macro 22.1.1
        14 July 2019 at 6:43 pm

        Doesn’t sound good but is nzh only US source the Washington Post, it’s hardly an impartial source

        Oh yes it's accurate alright. Did you know that since June 2017 the WH has not had any Scientific advice whatsoever.* All scientific staff at the WH who were there to advise the President on Scientific matters have left and have not been replaced. Meanwhile this is not the first attack on bees (an insect absolutely essential to humans survivability) by this administration.

        The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) annual honeybee count has fallen victim to budget cuts, CNN reported Saturday.

        The suspension of the Honey Bee Colonies report is at least the third bee-related data set to be halted or reduced under the Trump administration, and comes three weeks after Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the emergency use of bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor on 13.9 million acres. It also comes as the population of bees, which help pollinate a third of edible crops, has been declining since 2006.

        "This is yet another example of the Trump administration systematically undermining federal research on food safety, farm productivity and the public interest writ large," Union of Concerned Scientistseconomist Rebecca Boehm told CNN.

        The survey began in 2015 and tracks the number of honeybees in each state by quarter. The most recent report, scheduled to be released in August, will only include data taken from January 2018 to April 2019, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service said in a statement released July 1.

        "The decision to suspend data collection was not made lightly but was necessary given available fiscal and program resources," the statement said.

        A USDA spokesperson told CNN the suspension was "temporary" but did not say how long it might last.

        The loss of the data set comes at a crucial time for honeybees. A University of Maryland-led study released in June found that U.S. beekeepers lost 38 percent of their colonies last winter, the greatest winter loss since the university's research began in 2006,

        https://www.ecowatch.com/usda-suspends-honeybee-survey-2639125764.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

        https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/452528-critics-worry-trump-turning-blind-eye-to-honeybee-decline

        Meanwhile:

        The US will soon have an Acting Labor Sec, an Acting DHS Sec and no Dep Sec, an Acting Defense Sec and no Dep Sec, an Acting White House Chief of Staff, an Acting CBP Commiss., an Acting ICE Dir, an Acting USCIS Dir, an Acting UN Ambassador, an Acting FDA Commiss., An Acting OMB Director, an Acting Secretary of the Army, an Acting Secretary of the Air Force, an Acting DHS Under Secretary for Management, no DHS Under Secretary for Science & Tech, no DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, and an Acting FEMA Director. (PS: it’s hurricane season!)

        Trump prefers acting heads because he can control them more easily. The sheer volume of acting heads shows

        -A) Trump has an unstable government

        -B) Trump isn’t interested in congressional oversight inherent in the confirmation process – more chiseling away at the constitution.

        *https://www.cbsnews.com/news/science-division-of-white-house-office-now-empty-as-last-staffers-depart/?fbclid=IwAR13igwXNuQWOraSXRGQLyZpSsJAHyPiDtyiPzMtb86TDoUk4anRlJyqgEE

        • Anne 22.1.1.1
          14 July 2019 at 6:50 pm

          Meanwhile:

          Leak number two has been revealed:

          https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48978484

          I thought we all knew it at the time but it has now been confirmed.

          Edit: I think the British Public Servants might have it wrong. This particular release is not so much an undermining of them, but an important message to the British people about what is going on with the current US Administration. They have a right to know just as we would have a right to know in similar circumstances.

          The plot indeed thickens.

        • joe90 22.1.1.3
          14 July 2019 at 7:26 pm

          Of course tRump's pick to replace Acosta is a vile human who argued sweatshops should be allowed to use indentured labour.

          On July 12, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta will be replaced on an acting basis by Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella. As Mother Jones reported after reviewing hundreds of pages of billing records and emails, Pizzella worked in the late 1990s with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to promote a sweatshop economy in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory.

          […]

          The agreement between the islands and the United States granted two exemptions. First, the CNMI could set its own minimum wage. Second, the commonwealth would be allowed to make its own immigration laws. CNMI officials initially requested control of immigration to ensure that the indigenous population would not be overwhelmed by newcomers. But a decade later, garment manufacturers and the CNMI’s government decided to use the exemption to import unlimited guest workers to make clothes for companies like Brooks Brothers and Banana Republic. The clothes they produced were stamped “Made in the USA” and exported to the United States tariff-free. Between 1985 and 1998, CNMI garment exports grew from almost nothing to more than $1 billion annually—over a third of total CNMI business revenue.

          “Things were just completely out of control,” says Allen Stayman, the top Interior Department official assigned to the CNMI from 1993 to 1999. Recruiters illegally required many foreign workers to pay fees in order to land jobs in the CNMI, causing them to go into debt that they’d have to work to pay off. Others signed “shadow contracts” in which they promised their employers not to unionize, date, or practice a religion while working in the CNMI. Some were made to sleep a dozen to a room, with barbed wire surrounding their barracks. If workers complained, the CNMI government, which had close ties to the garment industry, could deport them immediately. In 1992, Willie Tan, a top garment industry baron, paid a $9 million settlement in a Labor Department suit alleging he’d failed to pay workers overtime and the CNMI’s minimum wage of $2.15 an hour—compared with $4.25 elsewhere in the United States. The settlement was the largest in Labor Department history at the time.

          https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/trump-pick-to-run-labor-department-promoted-sweatshops-on-remote-us-islands/

          • Macro 22.1.1.3.1
            15 July 2019 at 8:21 pm

            Tiny statues of Trump with signs inviting dogs to 'pee on me' appear across Brooklyn

    • greywarshark 22.2
      14 July 2019 at 8:45 pm

      Lower level than toxic USA and their playful politicians who will in time, kill everything worthwhile in the world.

  23. A 23
    14 July 2019 at 6:54 pm

    I was leaving ANZ anyways but this just seals the deal. Sounds like they have multiple issues at every level.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/114105242/daughter-complains-over-anz-bank-managers-deathbed-visit-to-her-mother

  24. Ad 24
    14 July 2019 at 8:38 pm

    I'm beginning to warm to Elizabeth Warren.

  25. greywarshark 25
    14 July 2019 at 8:38 pm

    Hooray we win on the world stage!!

    New Zealand has the highest house price to rent ratio in the world, and the highest house price compared to income (a ratio of 156.8), while Canada has the highest real house prices and the biggest percentage of credit to households, with New Zealand just behind, according to Shah [Bloomberg economist Niraj Shah]…

    New Zealand household credit is the equivalent of 94 per cent of gross domestic product. That compared with 100.7 per cent of GDP in Canada, 76.3 per cent in the US, and Australia's 120.3 per cent…

    The Government's foreign buyer ban, an attempt to curb house prices, has seen a significant drop in home ownership by overseas residents. House sales to overseas buyers dropped 81 per cent in the March quarter compared to the same time last year, Statistics New Zealand data shows.

    The 5 Eyes don't see what's in front of them. Australia is stuffed and too much milk will pollute the country in a big way. At lease coal and mining can be left in the ground, left piled up and the pollution will not stink like sour milk. Please keep buying our milk peeps out in the world, till we can wean ourselves off this panacea, and on to paracetamols, or anything.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/114227809/new-zealand-at-risk-of-a-house-price-crash-bloomberg

  27. joe90 27
    14 July 2019 at 10:07 pm

    Gotta be a coincidence.

    It’s not like Mnuchin or any other administration appointees have ties to Wall Street.

    Is Donald Trump’s erratic behavior fueling a business model? Some Wall Street options traders are beginning to suspect so. They’ve taken note, with increasing alarm, of people making strange bets tied to Trump’s actions and then cashing in bigly when the odd bets pay off. “If you had the ability to make hundreds of millions of dollars, or billions, and you knew how to hide it and it was impossible to find, wouldn’t you do it?” a longtime Wall Street options trader asks me sarcastically.

    There is an old saw on Wall Street about how if you could somehow get tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal today, you could make a fortune. Advance knowledge of presidential actions might provide a similar advantage, and some unusual trading patterns are fueling gossip and suspicion on the Street.

    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/the-mystery-of-the-wall-street-trump-trades

  28. joe90 28
    14 July 2019 at 10:49 pm

    Thirty four years ago, Freddie Mercury conquered the world.

  29. Eco Maori 29
    16 July 2019 at 6:50 pm

    Kia Ora Te So Maori News.

    Condolences to Matua Prime Whanau for there great loss of a leader.

    Mike Smith it's cool that you have consersens about our mokopuna future environment But Papatuanuku wasn't built in a day all in good time our government is changing our policy on climate change I know it's looks slow but time are changing and the oil barons money pulls alot of strings in there effort to convince people climate is not happening Yeah Right

    Eco Maori Tau toko the tangata whenua who are protesting there whenua been sold by camping on te whenua ka Pai

    Ka Pai to our rangatihi for going to Parlament that's what we need more Maori standing up and becoming Leaders. That gives Eco Maori a sore face. I was listening to some of Ngati Porou up and coming Leaders a few weeks ago on Radio Ngati Porou.

    Ka kite ano

  30. Eco Maori 30
    17 July 2019 at 8:49 am

    Kia Ora The Am Show.

    There you go the wealth make there own rules. Eco Maori knows what it like not trusting the people on street Zoie as they will be sandfly's that are swarming at the minute.

    It's awesome that NIWA is helping dairyfarmer with the measurements of there methane gas from bovine it's not a big change but the it's a start. A lot better than the last lot.

    Garth and Tom all the best in your goals it's a good cause The John charity Kerwin foundation for mental health. P.S. I'm having problems with my viewing devices

    Ka kite ano

  31. Eco Maori 31
    17 July 2019 at 6:25 pm

    Kia Ora Newshub.

    I think it's good our government is changing roads rules and spending more money on safety features

    Ask Dick if the common poor people can afford his safety driving course or does he plan that only wealth tangata can drive in the future.

    I think it's awesome that furniture is going to be legerslated so the furniture is fire restint.

    Noverpay is nationals stuff up that Labour is cleaning up national should have used local tangata to develop the software not foreign people who stuff it up.

    kellyann conner/ conway is a redneck like her boss.

    The Himalayan trust does good mahi for the poor people that part of Papatuanuku.

    Ingrid I hope tawhitimate doesn't tangi as much as he did on Sunday when I was on the Napier Taupo road .

    Ka kite ano

  32. Eco Maori 32
    17 July 2019 at 6:49 pm

    Kia Ate Ao Maori News.

    Condolences to Kens Eruea Whanau .

    Condolences to the 100 year old kuia sorry I missed her name Whanau.

    The taxpayers union is irrelevant .He jordan is just a altright national attack MUT.

    Ka Pai to the Grand Rod tribes for there celebratetion of there Waka traveling gathering it cool that tangata whenua O Aotearoa is invited to there celebratetion.

    Eco Maori backs the Hawaiians who are protesting that huge telescope being planted on there sacred Monga / Mountain the ruling class of Hawaii don't even consider te tangata whenua O Hawaii cultural reason for protesting that telescope being forced on them.

    Ka kite ano

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    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

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