looks familiar…’The second change with personalization is that it’s not just entertainers whose PR crews carefully hone an image of ordinariness. It is now much more apparent in politicians, Nigel Farage being an obvious example. Widely publicised photographs of Farage holding a pint of beer conform to an older tradition in election-time iconography. But more sinister is his tactic of appearing humbly and “amusingly” tongue-tied at least once in most of his filmed appearances (a habit proven winsome by Bush and, subsequently, Boris Johnson).’ from a critique of R.Hoggarts…’The Uses of Literacy’.
The Herald have been pimping this finance billionaire for a while.
Now we find out that Bill English has been helping make moment of of education in New Zealand.
‘An American equity fund manager who wants to open charter schools in New Zealand was introduced to Ngai Tahu leaders by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill English.’
This country continues to slide further and further downhill.
And the NZ education system ends up as an. If you can pay, your child will be educated system. Free education killed off within 9 years by the NACTS. Really makes me want to meet an NACT Polly in a dark alley one night. Charter Schools what a nightmare. I really do worry about what sort of world my son will grow up in.
Not sure what the link is between ‘If you can pay, your child will be educated…’ and your reference to charter schools. Charter schools are not fee paying.
Your statement that ‘Free education killed off within 9 years by the NACT’ isn’t true either. Are you claiming that state education was free at the end of the last Labour government but is fee-paying now? Really.
You also seem to have a few personal issues with aggro if you are making threats about meeting ‘an NACT Polly in a dark alley one night.’
I think posters here on the Standard have been banned for far less than threatening fellow NZers with violence.
That’s a bit harsh. 😉 Charter Schools or Partnership Schools (CS/PS) are not the issue.
Poorly planned, poorly run Charter Schools and Partnership Schools certainly are.
CS/PS ;
;receiving per child funding of up to seven times that of State Schools are a problem.
;not answerable to the same education standards as State Schools are a problem.
;not answerable to the Official Information Act are a problem.
;not answerable to the Ombudsman are a problem.
;not having to report the same information as State Schools are a problem.
But Charter Schools or Partnership Schools as an idea are fine. They already exist throughout NZ and have done so for many years in many different forms and have regularly proven to be successful and popular. Those that existed before 2008 seem to have two major differences to the new bunch though. Firstly they are more closely aligned to the reporting, standards, accountability, protocols and the funding levels of State Schools. The other, more important difference would be those Schools were set up to help educate kids, not simply profit off them.
Doctors in NZ and Australia demand transparency over the TPPA.
‘But despite a letter published today in The Lancet — and signed by 27 health leaders in Australasia as well as the US, Canada, Malaysia and Chile — Trade Minister Tim Groser this afternoon reaffirmed the Government’s stance of not releasing controversial TPP negotiating documents.’
A government of the corporates, for the corporates, by the corporates.
@Paul. Dr Monasterio has explained very clearly the potential impact of TPPA on this country in the Herald article.
“Otago University senior clinical lecturer Dr Erik Monasterio, one of the co-lead authors of the letter, claimed the agreement threatened governmental ability to deliver affordable health care and legislate to protect public health and reduce health inequities.
“And all the while, the text is shrouded in secrecy,” he said.
“The negotiations are not about the way most of us think of trade — you and me buying and selling things.
“Instead they are protecting the massive investment profits of multinational companies that are bigger than the whole New Zealand economy.”
Dr Monasterio described the TPP as “an unprecedented expansion” of intellectual property rights that would “push up the cost of affordable and life-saving medicines, hitting hardest the already vulnerable households in New Zealand and other countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia”.
He also feared governments could be sued for protecting health — but governments cannot sue back.
NZ could be sued by mining corporations if we make laws that prevent them from exploiting our environment.
Here is an example of how Investor-State Dispute Settlements work from the Canadian NAFTA experience.
“Quebec Fracking Ban Lawsuit Shows Perils Of Free Trade Deals:
OTTAWA – Free trade critics say a $250-million damage suit being pursued as a result of Quebec’s moratorium on fracking is proof Canada needs to be careful in negotiating trade pacts around the world.
The Council of Canadians, the Sierra Club and Quebec-based Eau secours say the suit by Lone Pine Resources Inc. (TSX:LPR) shows that trade deals that include investor protection clauses are a bad idea because they can prevent governments from passing laws to protect the environment.
The groups are asking Lone Pine to drop the suit before a NAFTA panel, but company president Tim Granger says he is going ahead unless Quebec lifts its moratorium on fracking for natural gas under the St. Lawrence River.
If you, like me, are concerned about the loss of sovereignty if the TPPA contains an Investor-State Dispute Settlement clause, then the following article will show you are not alone.
The following link is to a scholarly study carried out to assess the impact of ISDS rules on environmental regulation with respect to the TTIP (a parallel Trade agreement to TPPA between US and EU.)
“Investor-state Dispute Settlement under TTIP – a Risk for Environmental Regulation?”
Rules on ISDS in TTIP could have a chiling effect on environmental regulation in the EU and the US”
“The authors conclude that rules on ISDS are not necessary in an agreement between two highly evolved, rule of law legal systems. By contrast, such rules create significant risks for environmental regulation, because of the broad wording of investment rules and the largely unpredictable manner in which they are interpreted by investment tribunals. States may have to compensate investors for taking legitimate environmental measures. The study recommends not to include such rules in TTIP”
Chomsky says the US was unhappy to lose control of China in 1949 when they became independent so the US felt that they no longer controlled all of the world and now US corporations want the TTPA established mainly to isolate China and minimize its influence in the world of commerce. China is apparently not included in the TPPA even though it is a major Pacific country.
Is Chomsky wrong?
Thanks, freedom. I might have been a bit harsh calling Bomber mindless. Thoughtless might have been better. That certainly applies to his misunderstanding about the diverse nature of the authors here and his apparent belief that TS the official blog of the NZLP.
I’ve left a comment correcting Pat’s misunderstanding about POAL, EDDIE and me.
That is because he has Winston Peters doing the moderating.
He only lets a comment show after he has checked that the “grey” in your curtains matches the “grey” in your carpet.
Takes time you know.
“i want to put a short, straight forward message on it, to act as a seed in the minds of those who read it.
ideally the message would be unifying, apolitical, and not a single issue (pollution, economy, food politics.”
What is the purpose of the billboard, gsays? If it’s not political and you want it to reach everyone in a way that brings them together, what is the intended result?
hi tracey,
as bill hicks says, if we realize we are all one, we will not keep building nuclear weapons.
to get folx to aspire to higher ideals.
to perhaps get them to throw off some of their self imposed chains (money, being left or right wing, sexuality).
when we realize and act as we are one, it will not matter what lying prime ministers say and do.
1) He who dies with the most toys…
2) A life of caring is a life of meaning
3) We are stronger working together.
4) Co-operation not competition.
5) Human freedom not market freedom.
cheers freedom, i am right with you ref wtc 7, however as i have found when you dip your toes in that pool, people seem real fixed in their thinking and are quick to pigeon hole you, (and therefore ‘know’ what you are about).
i was accused of being right wing last time i was involved in a 12/9 discussion here on t.s.
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one” (Einstein)
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started” (Mark Twain)
“If you are going through hell, keep going” (Churchill)
Depending on your size. I’m thinking you need a series of signs, with a little bit of humour and pertinent points.
An easy theme is to do it in the style of upcoming television shows, and change the sign monthly. People – even if they don’t agree – will be watching for the next one.
Eg. coming soon:
Sabin’s Heroes – with a picture of Key as Sgt. Schulz – I know nuzzink!
Groucho Marx – with sign about not wanting to be a member of the club etc.
I’ve been out shopping, and am totally non creative at present but the book covers/posters being posted pre election would have a few good ideas.
I get where you are coming from… so perhaps the most pertinent for the Manawatu crowd would be –
A Tui kind of graphic along the lines of:
Government debt:
2008 $18 billion
2015 $100 billion
Good economic manager – Yeah, right!
On reflection, that approach could be used for highlighting a number of issues.
One hour a week counted as employed – Yeah, right
Legislation pass under urgency – yeah, right
Iraq because we care – …
Dirty Politics is OK because “everyone” does it …
TPPA is secret because it is so good – …
We do not collect data on ordinary NZers – ….
I don’t ackshully remember what my office was told – ….
Gay liberation and marxism on Redline. I’ve collected the articles we’ve had on the blog together. They’re mainly about gay marriage, because that’s been the dominant issue in the three years-plus since the Redline blog started, but there’s also a feature one on the 1986 law reform and there’s also one by an Irish gay activist questioning whether gay *liberation* is served by what he sees as mimicking straight, middle class values.
Thanks Phil. Amazing collection of very significant questions. I have been trying to imagine such questions addressed to John Key but really, I come up blank. A straight answer? Never!
-reply patiently awaiting moderation of course but I will say this here & now-
I for one am very confused by the ongoing actions of TDB host. He is apparently on some crusade to attack the vitality and diversity of discussion here at The Standard. For some reason, offering a common platform to people with differing points of view is a bad thing.
Is it really so damaging to the left to admit that within its ranks are those who think hitting people solves problems? This is not exactly news!
Bomber as a passionate man with a big ego that’s been publicly humiliated by the alpha male (Lynn) and reacting in kind (or trying to). Now O’Dea taking his ban from ts personally and spreading lies and conspiracy. Macho politics, it’s probably not a bad reflection of what happens further up the chain, and it shows us how far we still have to go in terms of basic human relations and power.
“it shows us how far we still have to go in terms of basic human relations and power.” this can not be said strongly enough right now
Yet to mention it is to invite pyromaniacs to light up the tumbleweeds of opportunity rolling through this ramshackle town we call Democracy.
-Have enjoyed watching the scifi show Defiance. The community of diverse species shows humanity is basically really lousy at resolving problems of power dynamics.
I have, and always have had, had a particular distaste for Bradbury. He’s an arrogant blowhard. While Lynn is also an arrogant blowhard he is far more reasonable, approachable and allows for someone to call him an arrogant blowhard without moderating the comments out.
The site is becoming an echo chamber and has driven away a lot of good authors. and as for those stupid thumbs -i used to bother, now I just hit them randomly
There is not too many who use the alternate address, maybe a dozen a post, but the more people the merrier. Being completely independent of PG means I can call Phil and co’s distaste as they see it. 🙂
shane if you post on his site you are not ‘completely independent’ imo. I’ve had a look at the facebook page – that is a good place to get your message out. If you keep posting on petes blog I won’t read your stuff, because no matter what you are saying, where you say it matters – at least to me.
Hence the alternative location I provide as per criticisms recieved here. I chose YourNZ as it was neither left nor right, no adds, and he was supportive of my position on Medpot, I also tried at the standard etc, but no reply…. I have never met PG personally, and didn’t follow blogs until I needed to get on one, so was not privy to the stirring that occurs over here at the standard. I also have total ownership of my own material that is never edited, and can reblog to my hearts content, unlike the restrictive conditions offered when I tried to Bombers blog……………….
I’m on record campaigning for it in the 2011 election, and one condition for standing for UF was to be able to promote a cannabis debate. See Cannabis deserves a decent debate
Since then I’ve discussed possible ways to address it with Greens and with ALCP.
Perhaps you should stop making things up based on ignorance and petty prejudice.
I sounded out a wide range of people last year for a social media campaign on it. But the timing wasn’t right due to things moving the wrong way with synthetics, and no party wanted to get into it before the election.
If things keep muddling along disjointedly then we’ll arrive at the 2017 election with neither Greens not Labour wanting to risk being too strongly associated with cannabis reform, If they don’t get into Government in 2011 then it could be six years at the earliest before anything could start to happen, and without public pressure Labour/Greens are no going to rush into anything either.
So something has to be generated outside the parties to compel them to at least address medical use.
I know that all the main bloggers support change – Slater, Farrar, Brown, Bradbury and some if not most here.
Imagine what could be achieved by a non-partisan campaign being pushed across the social media spectrum.
However it’s likely too many would prefer petty personal battles rather than trying to achieve something.
To make something happen it needs concerted public pressure.
Yeah well if you don’t want to try anything different for three years and then hope something will suddenly and miraculously happen because there’s some stuff on some blogs then good luck with that.
all posts belong to TDB, no reblogging, and all must be original, so I couldnt use pre existing stuff, and seeing as the political right are the people who need there minds changed being stuck on a far left blog wouldnt suit my long term aims.
if ever the PM was simply encapsulated in his own words while showing why he his understanding of the world he lives in makes him the wrong person to lead a nation it was here
“… Key said there had been strong interest from iwi groups and he would be “amazed” if the likes of the Salvation Army were hesitant to get involved if they saw a way to make money off the investment…” stuff.co.nz 14 Feb 2015 article by hamish rutherford
note charities are legally forbidden from pursuing a profit motive. Read the Act…
Which of course none of the msm puppets pick up on and take him to task over as they lack both the knowledge and direction from their bosses to take him on.
hi tracey, “… Key said there had been strong interest from iwi groups and he would be “amazed” if the likes of the Salvation Army were hesitant to get involved if they saw a way to make money off the investment…”
this always makes me feel very uncomfortable, the kiwi build up a property portfolio and profit from being a landlord.
business wise you are discouraged from retrofitting insulation, dealing with damp rooms etc.
cue responses of ‘an insulated dry dwelling can attract a higher rental’ market driven drivel.
For rangers supporters that will always be the dream now, behind Celtic and Aberdeen if they’re lucky. Once mighty now a basket case with sharks circling.
My recent column about the growth of on-demand jobs like Uber making life less predictable and secure for workers unleashed a small barrage of criticism that workers get what they’re worth in the market.
A Forbes Magazine contributor, for example, writes that jobs exist only “when both employer and employee are happy with the deal being made.” So if the new jobs are low-paying and irregular, too bad.
Much the same argument was voiced in the late nineteenth century over alleged “freedom of contract.” Any deal between employees and workers was assumed to be fine if both sides voluntarily agreed to it.
look at what he is doing now on tdb – I’m embarrassed for him, I thought he was better than that but…
and i’m sad that a Mana spokesperson has such little idea of how to interact with this blog – it’s not that difficult really it’s not and now his personal and spokesperson ideas are not here because of what? ego? pride? fucked if I know but it is all self inflicted imo
Saying “what you do with this comment is up to you” does, however, come across as a bit of an “I dare you to ban me!!!!” given how your previous, far snider comment was, and remains, published.
[Stephanie: I’m assuming this is meant in a joking way, phil, but given our previous interactions I don’t think it’s appropriate or clear what you actually mean.]
This is utter, utter bullshit, phil. People – quite obviously given Penny’s multiple comments questioning Pat O’Dea’s ban – do not get banned merely “for disagreeing.”
And nobody would ever take your “silence” (please note, leaving snide comments is the opposite of silence) as agreeing with anything the moderators do here.
Thanks for confirming what I’ve always suspected: that you’re happy to make excuses for someone who was 100% vile, abusive, aggressive and persistent in posting abuse well past their ban date, as long as you can convince yourself and others that I ~provoked them~. Because that’s not a completely predictable method men have used for generations to shut a woman up. 🙄
My gender comes into it when there’s a clear pattern of my moderation (and other women mods, like karol) being questioned, second-guessed, and ignored while male moderators’ dictates get respected. My gender comes into it when people like you demand the publication of abusive, misogynist comments to “prove” that “justice was done” when bad12 was banned.
And my gender comes into it when there’s literally centuries’ worth of feminist thought outlining how men undermine women and blame them for men’s actions, and your comments fit all those phenomena to a T.
1.
complete absence of sound.
“sirens pierce the silence of the night”
synonyms: quietness, quiet, quietude, still, stillness, hush, tranquillity, noiselessness, soundlessness, peace, peacefulness, peace and quiet
“the sound of falling stones broke the silence of the night”
antonyms: sound, noise
the fact or state of abstaining from speech.
“Karen had withdrawn into sullen silence”
synonyms: speechlessness, wordlessness, voicelessness, dumbness, muteness; More
taciturnity, reticence, uncommunicativeness, unresponsiveness
“she was reduced to silence”
antonyms: speech, loquacity
the avoidance of mentioning or discussing something.
“politicians keep their silence on the big questions”
synonyms: secretiveness, secrecy, reticence, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness, concealment
“politicians keep their silence on the big issues”
antonyms: communication, communicativeness
a short appointed period of time during which people stand still and do not speak as a sign of respect for a dead person or group of people.
“the game was preceded by a two-minute silence in his memory”
verb
verb: silence; 3rd person present: silences; past tense: silenced; past participle: silenced; gerund or present participle: silencing
1.
cause to become silent; prohibit or prevent from speaking.
“she was silenced by the Inspector’s stern look”
synonyms: quieten, quiet, hush, shush, still; More
pedant
ˈpɛd(ə)nt/
noun
noun: pedant; plural noun: pedants
a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning
Pointing out that ‘silent’ is the exact opposite of what you’ve been is not exactly a minor detail.
The “brouhaha” started with Pat making a comment in clear breach of TS policy.
Unless of course you mean I started it all by daring to publish a post which provoked the poor, innocent man into breaking the rules, and then persisting in breaking them after a moderator advised him not to. Given the tenor of every comment you’ve ever made on my moderation, I wouldn’t be surprised. 🙄
I think there is some confusion about why O’Dea got banned, and some of that confusion comes from how he got banned (the rest comes from people assuming he was banned for content, which is just daft).
Not that it matters (I don’t think it has to be visible to readers, nor that moderators have to justify decisions), and it won’t help in regards to people like phil, but it was one of the unclearer moderations I’ve seen and it took me a while to figure it out (the pattern of behaviour that prompted Lynn to ban).
Pat broke a number of rules and his tone was really offensive. And he has continued the blitzkrieg against TS over at TDB. He needs to become a bit more sensitive and discrete and needs to understand others …
I appreciate your comment, weka, but as we continue to see with clear, undeniably-breaking-the-rules-and-being-unpleasant bannings like bad12’s, some people are just determined to undermine the rules and moderation of The Standard.
They haven’t had to deal with this on the residential side yet, primarily because people can sell excess power back to the utilities at fairly high rates — a practice called net metering. But that’s hurting utilities, too, and some have tried to lower the price at which they buy back power, which has been met by furious protests from people leasing panels. If utilities lower the buyback rate too much, however, and batteries get cheap enough, people may just unplug from the grid altogether — or more likely, install systems that let them rely on it only rarely — prompting what those in the industry call “the utility death spiral.” It’s quite a bind: by fighting net metering, utilities would help make battery storage more economically viable, driving the transition to a distributed grid.
Electricity (and other network utilities) can only make a profit if they have a huge number of people paying into them decreasing the cost per customer of maintaining the generating and distributing equipment. As the utility operators try to boost or even just maintain profits they drive customers away killing their profits.
The problem though is that the community is better off with the entire population connected to the network with the ‘customers’ both feeding into the network and taking from it as it would make the network more diverse and thus more resilient. A single network also allows for better utilisation of the power generated. As a single network that is privately owned gets to set it’s own charges (monopoly power) and thus get super-profits the only option left for this single network is state owned and run as a government service. This gets the economies of scale that the network is great at providing while also protecting from the greed of the profiteers.
If the grid was Government owned and operated as a public utility, rather than a profit driven monopoly, then these developments would be applauded as they save us from building power stations, damming rivers and burning coal.
Yes and there’s billions in savings by eliminating 4 profit layers ( generator, transmission, lines, retailer) duplicated finance, maintenance, billing systems and all the management, audit, PR functions that are gorging themselves.
Do that, wave bye bye to Tiwai point encourage customer generation and we’d provide an essential utility at a much better end price.
Oz don’t think they’ll require extra gen capacity for decades and Germany has shut down 25% of its peak gas powered gen capacity as the customer generation has reduced demand that much.
You’d pay back the cost of buying back Nats flogged assets in no time at all relatively.
Thanks so much for this link. This is where people misunderstand Green policies. For example by labelling The greens loony hippies people overlook the very real advantages to themselves (if not the planet) by adopting Green technology. how hard a sell to middle NZ would the subsidising of Telsa batteries in conjunction with the solar panels? given the savings people can make, not hard at all. And installing into low income and State Homes? A no brainer, especially if we use the money from the sales of the electricity companies…
For example by labelling The greens loony hippies people overlook the very real advantages to themselves (if not the planet) by adopting Green technology.
IMO, the labeling of environmentalists as hippies and Taliban is solely to protect the old industries, especially fossil fuels, that are destroying our environment and heading us towards the extinction level event known as Climate Change.
hi draco, do you have any knowledge of how these tesla batteries differ from deep cycle batteries?
and can you explain it as you would to a 10 year old child?
ok cool, i live off grid and deep cycle battery tech hasnt moved for yonks.
the contrast between new lithium ion rechargable batteries and the last generation is remarkable. to have that appled to deep cycle batteries is exciting.
hi cr, true, true.
i have never been an early adapter (adopter?) of tech.
10 yrs time would be about time for us to change our battery bank.
no battery ever dies, they are murdered
By weakening our operating systems, encryption systems, firmware, network hardware etc for their own uses, the NSA makes all of us vulnerable to attack by hackers.
Now US cyber attacks on their enemies have taught countries like Iran how to attack the west back. As Bill Binney says – the NSA does not have a monopoly on smart people.
The Stuxnet story is worth reading… how some malware in off-the-shelf software wormed its way into Iran’s nuclear testing facilities and screwed up their research.
On “Patch Tuesday” this week, a fix was issued for an exploit that requires modifying only a single bit of the Windows operating system.
As part of our research, we revealed this privilege escalation vulnerability which, if exploited, enables a threat actor to complete control of a Windows machine. In other words, a threat actor that gains access to a Windows machine (say, through a phishing campaign) can exploit this vulnerability to bypass all Windows security measures, defeating mitigation measures such as sandboxing, kernel segregation and memory randomization.
We have verified this exploit against all supported Windows desktop versions, including Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Some very interesting trends emerging. As we become more connected we are more likely to be infected. As in the movie “The Imitation Game”, the spooks won’t let on how pwned we/they really are
Excellent article by Philip Matthews in the Dominion Post on the hazards in NZ for academics and intellectuals who speak out on issues.
Dame Anne Salmond
“This is partly because some groups with vested interests do not welcome public scrutiny of their activities and actively seek to suppress it. This happened in the Dirty Politics saga, for example.”
The following video discusses the same issue and illustrates the awesome courage of those who stand up and speak out for the public good despite knowing the dangers. Sadly David Carr died 3 hours after the interview was filmed. http://timestalks.com/laura-poitras-glenn-greenwald-edward-snowden.html
Yes across the ditch gillian triggs the human rights commmissioner has been attacked by abbotts mates at murdoch media in a cruel and personal manner, toady piers ackerman takes it down the odious route.
Her crime: putting on the agenda the torture of children by both parties when in government, which is her job.
Yep TC when I heard Abbott’s comments and I then found out what Triggs had actually said my first response was “Abbott is a complete and utter piece of doggie do and the world would be a better place if he was retired immediately and WTF was Labor doing …” [Edited before posting to remove all the swearing …]
Nothing that happens today compares with the pervasive climate of fear that we all endured during the Helengrad regime. Those were the days were you could be sacked from Government employment because of who your boyfriend voted for.
[lprent: ?link I am sure that your lack of a link to support that was significant. Offhand I can think of only one oossible, and that was simply domr right wing nutters mythic incident. It relied on a pile of repeated unsupported lying from Nationals sockpuppets. Notably from their pollster.
In fact it looked exactly like what you are doing now. If you want to replay such myths, then link to some supporting credible report so others are able to look and judge for themselves.
You have been warned about this prior to the last time I banned you for it. If I see you do this type of smear again I will ban you for double the last time I caught you doing it. I suspect it will a long ban. ]
Was that in Nazi Germany fisi? The only time I can recall it being like this in Aotearoa (apart from the current government) was back in Muldoon’s time …
A link would be helpful to bolster your claim fisiani. As I recall, someone’s press secretary resigned because of a possible conflict of interest as her bf was working for the opposition.
This is one of the many times where “experts” in economics have it all wrong, and the general public’s gut feelings about banks, debt and money are closer to the truth. Bank lending is fundamentally important to the performance of the economy, and it is also fundamentally different to lending between individuals. But mainstream economics has convinced itself of the opposite propositions—that lending (most of the time) has trivial macroeconomic implications (the exception being during a “liquidity trap”), and that bank lending to individuals is really no different to lending between individuals.
Probably one of the simpler explanations of how money works in the real world as compared to how most economists believe it works.
Jeez John Key sounded like a twerp with his “serious” voice on over his calls for war. After 6 years of nothing but child-like smart-alecery and witless jokes he has no gravitas to get even remotely close to sounding grown up.
VTO…….slow down man……all is well…….John Armstrong’s long been reckoning that the GaucheKey’s got “gravitas”. That’s good enough for me – in my scary and sadly recurring Sarah Palin incarnations. Russia “just over there” is heavy.
Warning ! This next observation is not for the ears of fizzy, alwyn, goosie, the late and lamentable ss-lands…….”gravitas” in this instance must be read thus – sort of “not too sure about that fulla” dyed-hair insurance type guy, hangin’ around the rugby club round 4.45 pm winter Saturdays. Buzzed to the point of embarrassment in all listeners, tryin’ to grease up the ‘player-of-the-day’. Or Richie McCaw as the case might be. The lust to bathe in glory ? This makes God ?
We are run by a spoilt, nouveau-riche, not handsomely literate, child. With an apparently attractive gaucheness. It’s a fucking disgrace ! Go back down the years – Clark, Bolger, (omitted Shipley, Palmer, Moore), Lange, Muldoon (yes I know – spooky) , Rowling, Kirk , Marshall, Holyoake. History has not recdorded these as dishonourable people.
There are undeniable scenarios, indicators, fuck-ups, hubris-times, to have history record that the SelfieKey set about for the corruption of our national psyche, the decency in us. For the benefit of the few. That is an ugly and unforgiveable legacy.
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Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
happy valentines day – everyone..
..(aww!!!..)
looks familiar…’The second change with personalization is that it’s not just entertainers whose PR crews carefully hone an image of ordinariness. It is now much more apparent in politicians, Nigel Farage being an obvious example. Widely publicised photographs of Farage holding a pint of beer conform to an older tradition in election-time iconography. But more sinister is his tactic of appearing humbly and “amusingly” tongue-tied at least once in most of his filmed appearances (a habit proven winsome by Bush and, subsequently, Boris Johnson).’ from a critique of R.Hoggarts…’The Uses of Literacy’.
The Herald have been pimping this finance billionaire for a while.
Now we find out that Bill English has been helping make moment of of education in New Zealand.
‘An American equity fund manager who wants to open charter schools in New Zealand was introduced to Ngai Tahu leaders by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill English.’
This country continues to slide further and further downhill.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11401799
And the NZ education system ends up as an. If you can pay, your child will be educated system. Free education killed off within 9 years by the NACTS. Really makes me want to meet an NACT Polly in a dark alley one night. Charter Schools what a nightmare. I really do worry about what sort of world my son will grow up in.
Not sure what the link is between ‘If you can pay, your child will be educated…’ and your reference to charter schools. Charter schools are not fee paying.
Your statement that ‘Free education killed off within 9 years by the NACT’ isn’t true either. Are you claiming that state education was free at the end of the last Labour government but is fee-paying now? Really.
You also seem to have a few personal issues with aggro if you are making threats about meeting ‘an NACT Polly in a dark alley one night.’
I think posters here on the Standard have been banned for far less than threatening fellow NZers with violence.
“Charter Schools what a nightmare. ”
That’s a bit harsh. 😉 Charter Schools or Partnership Schools (CS/PS) are not the issue.
Poorly planned, poorly run Charter Schools and Partnership Schools certainly are.
CS/PS ;
;receiving per child funding of up to seven times that of State Schools are a problem.
;not answerable to the same education standards as State Schools are a problem.
;not answerable to the Official Information Act are a problem.
;not answerable to the Ombudsman are a problem.
;not having to report the same information as State Schools are a problem.
But Charter Schools or Partnership Schools as an idea are fine. They already exist throughout NZ and have done so for many years in many different forms and have regularly proven to be successful and popular. Those that existed before 2008 seem to have two major differences to the new bunch though. Firstly they are more closely aligned to the reporting, standards, accountability, protocols and the funding levels of State Schools. The other, more important difference would be those Schools were set up to help educate kids, not simply profit off them.
Doctors in NZ and Australia demand transparency over the TPPA.
‘But despite a letter published today in The Lancet — and signed by 27 health leaders in Australasia as well as the US, Canada, Malaysia and Chile — Trade Minister Tim Groser this afternoon reaffirmed the Government’s stance of not releasing controversial TPP negotiating documents.’
A government of the corporates, for the corporates, by the corporates.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11401677
@Paul. Dr Monasterio has explained very clearly the potential impact of TPPA on this country in the Herald article.
“Otago University senior clinical lecturer Dr Erik Monasterio, one of the co-lead authors of the letter, claimed the agreement threatened governmental ability to deliver affordable health care and legislate to protect public health and reduce health inequities.
“And all the while, the text is shrouded in secrecy,” he said.
“The negotiations are not about the way most of us think of trade — you and me buying and selling things.
“Instead they are protecting the massive investment profits of multinational companies that are bigger than the whole New Zealand economy.”
Dr Monasterio described the TPP as “an unprecedented expansion” of intellectual property rights that would “push up the cost of affordable and life-saving medicines, hitting hardest the already vulnerable households in New Zealand and other countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia”.
He also feared governments could be sued for protecting health — but governments cannot sue back.
“This will stop important health initiatives on tobacco, alcohol, the obesity epidemic, climate change, antibiotic resistance, and other major future challenges,” he said.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11401677
And this, folks, is just one aspect of the TPPA.
NZ could be sued by mining corporations if we make laws that prevent them from exploiting our environment.
Here is an example of how Investor-State Dispute Settlements work from the Canadian NAFTA experience.
“Quebec Fracking Ban Lawsuit Shows Perils Of Free Trade Deals:
OTTAWA – Free trade critics say a $250-million damage suit being pursued as a result of Quebec’s moratorium on fracking is proof Canada needs to be careful in negotiating trade pacts around the world.
The Council of Canadians, the Sierra Club and Quebec-based Eau secours say the suit by Lone Pine Resources Inc. (TSX:LPR) shows that trade deals that include investor protection clauses are a bad idea because they can prevent governments from passing laws to protect the environment.
The groups are asking Lone Pine to drop the suit before a NAFTA panel, but company president Tim Granger says he is going ahead unless Quebec lifts its moratorium on fracking for natural gas under the St. Lawrence River.
“As an organization we, in good faith, purchased leases, we paid rentals and then to just have been stymied, that’s not acceptable,” he said in an interview.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/03/quebec-fracking-ban-lawsuit_n_4038173.html
Is this what we want for NZ? Wake up NZ!!
If you, like me, are concerned about the loss of sovereignty if the TPPA contains an Investor-State Dispute Settlement clause, then the following article will show you are not alone.
The following link is to a scholarly study carried out to assess the impact of ISDS rules on environmental regulation with respect to the TTIP (a parallel Trade agreement to TPPA between US and EU.)
“Investor-state Dispute Settlement under TTIP – a Risk for Environmental Regulation?”
Rules on ISDS in TTIP could have a chiling effect on environmental regulation in the EU and the US”
“The authors conclude that rules on ISDS are not necessary in an agreement between two highly evolved, rule of law legal systems. By contrast, such rules create significant risks for environmental regulation, because of the broad wording of investment rules and the largely unpredictable manner in which they are interpreted by investment tribunals. States may have to compensate investors for taking legitimate environmental measures. The study recommends not to include such rules in TTIP”
http://www.ecologic.eu/10402
It is well worth flicking through the full report.
http://www.ecologic.eu/sites/files/publication/2014/investor-state-dispute-settlement-under-ttip-hbs.pdf
Chomsky says the US was unhappy to lose control of China in 1949 when they became independent so the US felt that they no longer controlled all of the world and now US corporations want the TTPA established mainly to isolate China and minimize its influence in the world of commerce. China is apparently not included in the TPPA even though it is a major Pacific country.
Is Chomsky wrong?
http://rt.com/news/203055-us-russia-war-chomsky/
morena all,
i have a request of the standard community.
i have a frame for a hoarding on a busy rural road in the “armpit of the manawatu”
i want to put a short, straight forward message on it, to act as a seed in the minds of those who read it.
ideally the message would be unifying, apolitical, and not a single issue (pollution, economy, food politics.
for example bill hicks “it’s just a ride” is spot on but too abstract and needs context.
youtube.com/watch?v=YWCOJ3CBlGQ
thanx in advance for any suggestions.
Change, please.
Who Do You Love?
Future Now
@ trp..
a).. beggars’-pitch..
b)..ad for dating site..
c)..exemplar of tired political-cliche..(with disturbing tinges of dun(ne)..
..of course i wd go with ‘stop eating animals- why doncha..?’..
..or..’end poverty/inequality – now..!’
..of course dunne has polluted both of those words – as stirring calls to action – for the forseeable future..
..both ‘future’ and ‘united’..
..it’s a shame..’cos they were good words..
..before he beiged all over them..
a) Could be, but it’s deeper than a request for money (think about it, maaan)
b) Or a question that goes to the heart of each of us
c) Shorter Devo
an aside: TRP you may want to go visit TDB …
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/02/13/blogwatch-the-standard-put-the-case-for-re-invading-iraq/
Thanks, freedom. I might have been a bit harsh calling Bomber mindless. Thoughtless might have been better. That certainly applies to his misunderstanding about the diverse nature of the authors here and his apparent belief that TS the official blog of the NZLP.
I’ve left a comment correcting Pat’s misunderstanding about POAL, EDDIE and me.
PS, pasupial’s on to it!
wierd, completely missed your reply, sorry if i wasted your time 🙂
Visiting NZ’s second, sorry, third most popular left blog is never a waste of time 😉
but we sure grow grey waiting to come out of moderation 😉
That is because he has Winston Peters doing the moderating.
He only lets a comment show after he has checked that the “grey” in your curtains matches the “grey” in your carpet.
Takes time you know.
“i want to put a short, straight forward message on it, to act as a seed in the minds of those who read it.
ideally the message would be unifying, apolitical, and not a single issue (pollution, economy, food politics.”
What is the purpose of the billboard, gsays? If it’s not political and you want it to reach everyone in a way that brings them together, what is the intended result?
hi tracey,
as bill hicks says, if we realize we are all one, we will not keep building nuclear weapons.
to get folx to aspire to higher ideals.
to perhaps get them to throw off some of their self imposed chains (money, being left or right wing, sexuality).
when we realize and act as we are one, it will not matter what lying prime ministers say and do.
1) He who dies with the most toys…
2) A life of caring is a life of meaning
3) We are stronger working together.
4) Co-operation not competition.
5) Human freedom not market freedom.
One grass seed does not make a field.
One grass seed can make a field.
IS THAT A FACT,
or JUST MORE SPIN ?
WHO GOT THE $$$ ??
and it would be remiss of me not to add the message now appearing on billboards and buildings and highway signs in many parts of the world
GOOGLE WTC 7
🙂
LOLOLOLOL very nice haha!
@ freedom..
..’wtc 7′..
..heh..!
cheers freedom, i am right with you ref wtc 7, however as i have found when you dip your toes in that pool, people seem real fixed in their thinking and are quick to pigeon hole you, (and therefore ‘know’ what you are about).
i was accused of being right wing last time i was involved in a 12/9 discussion here on t.s.
*Who do you belong to?
*He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
*Who do you trust?
Something like this perhaps?
http://i.imgur.com/vp6rQap.png
hi freedom, that does resonate.
ironically i have been quoting dame whina cooper a lot recently.
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one” (Einstein)
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started” (Mark Twain)
“If you are going through hell, keep going” (Churchill)
“If you are going through hell, keep going”
I’ve never been to the Manawatu but that seems a bit harsh
i think it’s about people trapped in ‘the tron’..
very good puddle.
Lolz puddleglum 😆
Community must exist for NZ to thrive
The common wealth of this country needs to benefit us all
8 hour working day, 40 hour working week
Depending on your size. I’m thinking you need a series of signs, with a little bit of humour and pertinent points.
An easy theme is to do it in the style of upcoming television shows, and change the sign monthly. People – even if they don’t agree – will be watching for the next one.
Eg. coming soon:
Sabin’s Heroes – with a picture of Key as Sgt. Schulz – I know nuzzink!
Groucho Marx – with sign about not wanting to be a member of the club etc.
I’ve been out shopping, and am totally non creative at present but the book covers/posters being posted pre election would have a few good ideas.
cheers molly,
that gave me a good chuckle.
nothing wrong with being current.
in my heart of hearts i know, being the character i am, i will do this once and that will be it.
after all i am talking about a big bit of plywood, painting it white, putting on slogan and (as they say on tv) walk away.
love the images you have put in my mind.
hi gsays,
I get where you are coming from… so perhaps the most pertinent for the Manawatu crowd would be –
A Tui kind of graphic along the lines of:
Government debt:
2008 $18 billion
2015 $100 billion
Good economic manager – Yeah, right!
On reflection, that approach could be used for highlighting a number of issues.
One hour a week counted as employed – Yeah, right
Legislation pass under urgency – yeah, right
Iraq because we care – …
Dirty Politics is OK because “everyone” does it …
TPPA is secret because it is so good – …
We do not collect data on ordinary NZers – ….
I don’t ackshully remember what my office was told – ….
Gay liberation and marxism on Redline. I’ve collected the articles we’ve had on the blog together. They’re mainly about gay marriage, because that’s been the dominant issue in the three years-plus since the Redline blog started, but there’s also a feature one on the 1986 law reform and there’s also one by an Irish gay activist questioning whether gay *liberation* is served by what he sees as mimicking straight, middle class values.
The collection of articles is here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/marxism-and-gay-liberation-on-redline/
Phil
Very good piece by Otago University professor Richard Jackson on war propaganda, ‘terrorism’ and minimal journalistic standards in NZ:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/otago-professor-challenges-mainstream-media-on-terrorism-threat-minimal-standards-of-journalism/
Phil
Thanks Phil. Amazing collection of very significant questions. I have been trying to imagine such questions addressed to John Key but really, I come up blank. A straight answer? Never!
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WTF ??? WTF ??? WTF ??? WTF ??? WTF ??? WTF ???
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/02/13/blogwatch-the-standard-put-the-case-for-re-invading-iraq/
-reply patiently awaiting moderation of course but I will say this here & now-
I for one am very confused by the ongoing actions of TDB host. He is apparently on some crusade to attack the vitality and diversity of discussion here at The Standard. For some reason, offering a common platform to people with differing points of view is a bad thing.
Is it really so damaging to the left to admit that within its ranks are those who think hitting people solves problems? This is not exactly news!
Somebody help them find the plot because they seem to have lost it.
Bomber as a passionate man with a big ego that’s been publicly humiliated by the alpha male (Lynn) and reacting in kind (or trying to). Now O’Dea taking his ban from ts personally and spreading lies and conspiracy. Macho politics, it’s probably not a bad reflection of what happens further up the chain, and it shows us how far we still have to go in terms of basic human relations and power.
both of them are just ego-wanking themselves into frenzy – i’ve got very little respect for their lines or motivation now
“it shows us how far we still have to go in terms of basic human relations and power.” this can not be said strongly enough right now
Yet to mention it is to invite pyromaniacs to light up the tumbleweeds of opportunity rolling through this ramshackle town we call Democracy.
-Have enjoyed watching the scifi show Defiance. The community of diverse species shows humanity is basically really lousy at resolving problems of power dynamics.
And Bradbury has misidentified The Standard as “Labour’s online voice”. As he must know better I assume he’s done that on purpose.
+1. Which makes him not to be trusted 🙁
i find it quite strange that bradbury labels the standard as ‘labour’..(with the underlying-sneer they are more ‘conservative’ than radical him..)
..yet i am allowed to comment here..and i (and others) are very far from ‘labour’..
..and my comments wd be radical/challenging to many labour people..(worshipping clark as many do..as just one example.)..
..yet they are allowed/discussed..
..whereas any time i have attempted to post a comment @ the daily blog..that criticises the ‘voice’ there..
..it is censored out…
..funny that..!
..and/but actually i wd like the main-combatants to ‘get a room together’..
..and sort it all out..
..it is all far too much like that palestinian-schism scene in monty python..
..it is far too close to that for comfort..
..to my mind..
..and all just a bit silly…
…we are all..after all..pretty much marching in the same direction..eh..?
I have, and always have had, had a particular distaste for Bradbury. He’s an arrogant blowhard. While Lynn is also an arrogant blowhard he is far more reasonable, approachable and allows for someone to call him an arrogant blowhard without moderating the comments out.
Martyn can fuck right off.
The site is becoming an echo chamber and has driven away a lot of good authors.
and as for those stupid thumbs -i used to bother, now I just hit them randomly
So time for my weekly Medpot blog post, this time as a rebuttal to the templated response email received from my Nelson Electorate MP on the issue.
http://yournz.org/2015/02/14/nationals-stance-another-rebuttal-on-medicinal-cannabis/
Alternate address for the beige haters. 🙂
https://mmj4chronicpain.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/a-rebuttal-to-nationals-stance-on-cannabis-as-a-medicine/
“beige haters”? Not a good way to encourage people to read your blog 🙁
@ weka..
..wd u like any attempts @ humour leeched out of this place..?
..and ‘beige-hater’ is an accurate description of those who recoil in horror @ the beige-one…
..surely..?
There is not too many who use the alternate address, maybe a dozen a post, but the more people the merrier. Being completely independent of PG means I can call Phil and co’s distaste as they see it. 🙂
shane if you post on his site you are not ‘completely independent’ imo. I’ve had a look at the facebook page – that is a good place to get your message out. If you keep posting on petes blog I won’t read your stuff, because no matter what you are saying, where you say it matters – at least to me.
Hence the alternative location I provide as per criticisms recieved here. I chose YourNZ as it was neither left nor right, no adds, and he was supportive of my position on Medpot, I also tried at the standard etc, but no reply…. I have never met PG personally, and didn’t follow blogs until I needed to get on one, so was not privy to the stirring that occurs over here at the standard. I also have total ownership of my own material that is never edited, and can reblog to my hearts content, unlike the restrictive conditions offered when I tried to Bombers blog……………….
@ shane..
“..I chose YourNZ as it was neither left nor right..’
um..!..heads up..!
..part of the reason the beige-one wears so much vitriol..
..is because he attempts that canard…
..the beige-one is right..be quite clear about that..
..i mean..he was a dunne-disciple..(just that is ‘enough’..)
..and while i welcome as many voices as possible speaking up on this issue..
..from left or right…
..tying yrslf to the s.s. beige..
..must paint you in that camp..
..and that compounded by being under that tatty/shabby-beige-flag..
..so your call..
..b.t.w..it has crossed my mind you are him..
..but he doesn’t have the intelligence to create yr backstory..
..and he has no history of pushing the green..
…(the colour is probably too bright/jarring for him..)
“and he has no history of pushing the green”
Showing your ignorance Phil. Or making things up.
I’m on record campaigning for it in the 2011 election, and one condition for standing for UF was to be able to promote a cannabis debate. See Cannabis deserves a decent debate
Since then I’ve discussed possible ways to address it with Greens and with ALCP.
Perhaps you should stop making things up based on ignorance and petty prejudice.
yeah that’s right..yr a drug-warrior..
..i forgot..
..there was that article back in 2011..
I sounded out a wide range of people last year for a social media campaign on it. But the timing wasn’t right due to things moving the wrong way with synthetics, and no party wanted to get into it before the election.
If things keep muddling along disjointedly then we’ll arrive at the 2017 election with neither Greens not Labour wanting to risk being too strongly associated with cannabis reform, If they don’t get into Government in 2011 then it could be six years at the earliest before anything could start to happen, and without public pressure Labour/Greens are no going to rush into anything either.
So something has to be generated outside the parties to compel them to at least address medical use.
I know that all the main bloggers support change – Slater, Farrar, Brown, Bradbury and some if not most here.
Imagine what could be achieved by a non-partisan campaign being pushed across the social media spectrum.
However it’s likely too many would prefer petty personal battles rather than trying to achieve something.
To make something happen it needs concerted public pressure.
Would you work with me on it?
The timing wasn’t right due to widespread contempt for me, because everyone knows I’m the way to make your project fail. FIFY, Wormtongue.
Ah, yeah OAB, about the only thing you’ve managed here is irony. What you actually hope to achieve isn’t apparent?
You must have some sort of end result in mind. Or is it just ongoing attempts of futility, but it’s not just your nest you keep shitting in?
Did you suddenly become a moderator here, Wormtongue? Who’s nest are you a guest in?
The job of countering racist liars is never done, more’s the pity.
“..Would you work with me on it?..?
..i already do..’work on it’..
..have been for quite some time
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=cannabis..
since january last yr i have posted 215 stories/links/evidence on this issue..
Isolated blog bubbles of activity aren’t achieving anything significant.
Would you work with others on a wider campaign?
f.f.s…p.g..
..u said u want to get sites to work on this issue..
..i am just saying you can cross me off yr list of people u need to talk to..
..as i am already doing just that..
..if anyone wants to trawl thru my massive archive/cache on this subject for material to use..
..anyone is welcome to do that..
..i can’t see what else i can do..
..and the fact is the winds of change are already blowing..
..but these arseholes (the nats) won’t do anything about it..
..it will need a change of govt. to achieve any change..
..it ain’t gonna happen until that happens..
Yeah well if you don’t want to try anything different for three years and then hope something will suddenly and miraculously happen because there’s some stuff on some blogs then good luck with that.
“..the restrictive conditions offered when I tried to Bombers blog..”
what were those ‘conditions’..?
all posts belong to TDB, no reblogging, and all must be original, so I couldnt use pre existing stuff, and seeing as the political right are the people who need there minds changed being stuck on a far left blog wouldnt suit my long term aims.
ta for that..
if ever the PM was simply encapsulated in his own words while showing why he his understanding of the world he lives in makes him the wrong person to lead a nation it was here
“… Key said there had been strong interest from iwi groups and he would be “amazed” if the likes of the Salvation Army were hesitant to get involved if they saw a way to make money off the investment…” stuff.co.nz 14 Feb 2015 article by hamish rutherford
note charities are legally forbidden from pursuing a profit motive. Read the Act…
Which of course none of the msm puppets pick up on and take him to task over as they lack both the knowledge and direction from their bosses to take him on.
More of those higher standards.
hi tracey, “… Key said there had been strong interest from iwi groups and he would be “amazed” if the likes of the Salvation Army were hesitant to get involved if they saw a way to make money off the investment…”
this always makes me feel very uncomfortable, the kiwi build up a property portfolio and profit from being a landlord.
business wise you are discouraged from retrofitting insulation, dealing with damp rooms etc.
cue responses of ‘an insulated dry dwelling can attract a higher rental’ market driven drivel.
whats happened to the “feeds”? 4 days old now.
In Scotland there is an acronym in football, WATP.
Some say it means We Are The People, but actually it means We Are Third Place.
@ the standard there is an acronym..
..it is..i.f.a.f..(pronounced ‘eye-faff’..)
..which stands for ‘isn’t fisi a fuckwit’..
For rangers supporters that will always be the dream now, behind Celtic and Aberdeen if they’re lucky. Once mighty now a basket case with sharks circling.
Robert Reich follows up on the sharing economy.
My recent column about the growth of on-demand jobs like Uber making life less predictable and secure for workers unleashed a small barrage of criticism that workers get what they’re worth in the market.
A Forbes Magazine contributor, for example, writes that jobs exist only “when both employer and employee are happy with the deal being made.” So if the new jobs are low-paying and irregular, too bad.
Much the same argument was voiced in the late nineteenth century over alleged “freedom of contract.” Any deal between employees and workers was assumed to be fine if both sides voluntarily agreed to it.
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/10/robert_reich_america_is_heading_full_speed_back_to_the_19th_century_partner/
In my considered opinion, Pat O’Dea should not have been banned from The Standard.
What you do with this comment is up to you – but I will call it as I see it.
You don’t have to like it
So be it.
Penny Bright
look at what he is doing now on tdb – I’m embarrassed for him, I thought he was better than that but…
and i’m sad that a Mana spokesperson has such little idea of how to interact with this blog – it’s not that difficult really it’s not and now his personal and spokesperson ideas are not here because of what? ego? pride? fucked if I know but it is all self inflicted imo
You left much the same comment two weeks ago, Penny, but it’s nice to see you’ve lightened up on the passive-aggressive digs at my employer.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02012015-2/#comment-961952
Saying “what you do with this comment is up to you” does, however, come across as a bit of an “I dare you to ban me!!!!” given how your previous, far snider comment was, and remains, published.
sshhh!!!..phillip..!..ssshhh!!!!
..bite that tongue harder..!
[Stephanie: I’m assuming this is meant in a joking way, phil, but given our previous interactions I don’t think it’s appropriate or clear what you actually mean.]
get over it tiger and put your energy into more productive stuff ffs
(seeing as you asked..)
it means that i have quite a strong opinion on this..(the initial banning..)
..but the power imbalance means if i voice it..you will ban me..
..hence i am ‘biting my tongue’..
..so i guess it is my version of a silent-protest..a turning of the back..
..signifying that my silence does not mean agreement..
.(hope that clarifies that..)
This is utter, utter bullshit, phil. People – quite obviously given Penny’s multiple comments questioning Pat O’Dea’s ban – do not get banned merely “for disagreeing.”
And nobody would ever take your “silence” (please note, leaving snide comments is the opposite of silence) as agreeing with anything the moderators do here.
“..do not get banned merely “for disagreeing.”..”
oh..good..!
..i think the initial banning of pat o’dea was unjustified..
..i think you interpreted what he said incorrectly..
..and it escalated from there..
..i think he was/is a dick in his reaction..
..and to my mind this one follows the pattern of the banning of bad..
..(even tho’ i battled with him..i wd like him back..he had much intelligent comment to make..)
..yes..he also over-reacted as it escalated..
..but i see that largely his reaction to what he felt was a totally unjustified initial censure/miss-reading of his words/intent..
..much as what pat has done…is doing..
..that is why i oppose the initial banning of pat..
Thanks for confirming what I’ve always suspected: that you’re happy to make excuses for someone who was 100% vile, abusive, aggressive and persistent in posting abuse well past their ban date, as long as you can convince yourself and others that I ~provoked them~. Because that’s not a completely predictable method men have used for generations to shut a woman up. 🙄
“..Because that’s not a completely predictable method men have used for generations to shut a woman up..”
..why bring gender into it..?..where did that come from..?
..yr gender is irrelevant in this case..it the moderating-decisions that are being discussed..
..i made clear that i did not agree with the escalation of both bad and pat..
..i was talking about the initial-misunderstanding that is common to both..
..and you see absolutely no possibility that you ‘got it wrong’ in either of those cases..?
..(‘wrong’ in yr initial-assesment..i am not talking about the escalations..)
..you see no chance of that having happened..?
My gender comes into it when there’s a clear pattern of my moderation (and other women mods, like karol) being questioned, second-guessed, and ignored while male moderators’ dictates get respected. My gender comes into it when people like you demand the publication of abusive, misogynist comments to “prove” that “justice was done” when bad12 was banned.
And my gender comes into it when there’s literally centuries’ worth of feminist thought outlining how men undermine women and blame them for men’s actions, and your comments fit all those phenomena to a T.
right ho..!
..throws hands in air..
..and walks off..
factcheck:..i did not ask for the ‘publication’ of anything..let alone ‘demand it’..
..where on earth did you get that from..?
(and how can this not be an example of ‘getting it wrong’..
..you have accused me of something that is a total fiction..)
..i asked you if there was any chance you misunderstood what was initially said..that was all..
..i made the point repeatedly i was not talking about the escalations..from either..
..and that i think/thought they were both dicks in that escalation..(i think this is the third time i have said that..)
..and you will note how polite i am..
..and is penny also questioning for ‘gender-reasons’..is she..?
..i mean..c;mon..!
..she feels an injustice was done..in the initial judgement of what was said..and i agree with her..
..gender does not come within a bulls-roar of this..
..and i think i will/shd now return to my previous biting-tongue mode..
..there is so much more i wd like to say..but shouldn’t..
..and y’know..!..if you are constantly looking for seagulls..
..you’ll probably get to see quite a few..
.
and f.w.i.w..
..i don’t know pat o’dea well..
..but from what i have seen of him..i do not doubt he is a man of integrity/sincerity..
..and his long history of political actions on.for ‘our’ side..confirms that..
noun
noun: silence; plural noun: silences
1.
complete absence of sound.
“sirens pierce the silence of the night”
synonyms: quietness, quiet, quietude, still, stillness, hush, tranquillity, noiselessness, soundlessness, peace, peacefulness, peace and quiet
“the sound of falling stones broke the silence of the night”
antonyms: sound, noise
the fact or state of abstaining from speech.
“Karen had withdrawn into sullen silence”
synonyms: speechlessness, wordlessness, voicelessness, dumbness, muteness; More
taciturnity, reticence, uncommunicativeness, unresponsiveness
“she was reduced to silence”
antonyms: speech, loquacity
the avoidance of mentioning or discussing something.
“politicians keep their silence on the big questions”
synonyms: secretiveness, secrecy, reticence, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness, concealment
“politicians keep their silence on the big issues”
antonyms: communication, communicativeness
a short appointed period of time during which people stand still and do not speak as a sign of respect for a dead person or group of people.
“the game was preceded by a two-minute silence in his memory”
verb
verb: silence; 3rd person present: silences; past tense: silenced; past participle: silenced; gerund or present participle: silencing
1.
cause to become silent; prohibit or prevent from speaking.
“she was silenced by the Inspector’s stern look”
synonyms: quieten, quiet, hush, shush, still; More
all hail the pedant..!
Pointing out that ‘silent’ is the exact opposite of what you’ve been is not exactly a minor detail.
all hail the pedants’ assistant..!
lol
Nope. See above for why.
“..but the power imbalance means if i voice it..you will ban me..”
go and check the link out again and see who did the banning phil
You are smarting about the comments made on the thread re weka/shane.
ffs at least be honest with yourself
“..You are smarting about the comments made on the thread re weka/shane…”
sorry..i haven’t a clue what u r talking about..
..cd u point at what i am meant to be ‘smarting’ about..?
..heh..!
.at the moment..i am ‘smarting’-free..eh..?
..should i ‘steel’ myself..?
“.. and see who did the banning phil..”..yes..someone else banned after the escalation..
..but the brouhaha started with that misunderstanding with stephanie..to my memory..
..if i am incorrect..i will withdraw that..but i am pretty sure i am right..
The “brouhaha” started with Pat making a comment in clear breach of TS policy.
Unless of course you mean I started it all by daring to publish a post which provoked the poor, innocent man into breaking the rules, and then persisting in breaking them after a moderator advised him not to. Given the tenor of every comment you’ve ever made on my moderation, I wouldn’t be surprised. 🙄
as an aside to this conversation, Stephanie, can you please clarify if this comment was moved from another thread to OM?
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02012015-2/#comment-961389
I think there is some confusion about why O’Dea got banned, and some of that confusion comes from how he got banned (the rest comes from people assuming he was banned for content, which is just daft).
Not that it matters (I don’t think it has to be visible to readers, nor that moderators have to justify decisions), and it won’t help in regards to people like phil, but it was one of the unclearer moderations I’ve seen and it took me a while to figure it out (the pattern of behaviour that prompted Lynn to ban).
I’m pretty sure the genesis of the ban of pat stemmed from this thread and series of comments
http://thestandard.org.nz/the-northland-by-election/#comment-960219
sure new commenters need latitude but the onus is on them to learn the rules – end of story.
Thanks marty. That’s what I was thinking, having followed some other links today. It reads like someone commenting who hasn’t read the Policy.
Pat broke a number of rules and his tone was really offensive. And he has continued the blitzkrieg against TS over at TDB. He needs to become a bit more sensitive and discrete and needs to understand others …
He only impressed me as being a gormless egotistical dickhead who knew very little about either his topic, or how to behave on the net.
That could just be because he was a newbie.
But I’d prefer that he does his learning in other sites. Damaging TDB is preferable to him damaging anything that I am responsible for.
It ius however disappointing that Mana lets them damage their name. But they do seem to a bit moribund – which is disappointing.
Thanks marty, that’s where it comes from.
I appreciate your comment, weka, but as we continue to see with clear, undeniably-breaking-the-rules-and-being-unpleasant bannings like bad12’s, some people are just determined to undermine the rules and moderation of The Standard.
thanks Stephanie and micky. This subthread probably wasn’t the best timing or place for me to bring it up.
No problem. I think the left need to clear the air on this issue and anticipate this will happen soon!
@lprent..
“..But they do seem to a bit moribund – which is disappointing…”
um..!..no…i am going to a meeting this week…
Why Tesla’s battery for your home should terrify utilities
Electricity (and other network utilities) can only make a profit if they have a huge number of people paying into them decreasing the cost per customer of maintaining the generating and distributing equipment. As the utility operators try to boost or even just maintain profits they drive customers away killing their profits.
The problem though is that the community is better off with the entire population connected to the network with the ‘customers’ both feeding into the network and taking from it as it would make the network more diverse and thus more resilient. A single network also allows for better utilisation of the power generated. As a single network that is privately owned gets to set it’s own charges (monopoly power) and thus get super-profits the only option left for this single network is state owned and run as a government service. This gets the economies of scale that the network is great at providing while also protecting from the greed of the profiteers.
If the grid was Government owned and operated as a public utility, rather than a profit driven monopoly, then these developments would be applauded as they save us from building power stations, damming rivers and burning coal.
Which means we could easily start divesting ourselves from the use of fossil fuels.
and that won’t happen..(the power companies working in/for the common-good..)
..until they are re-nationalisd..
..thinking otherwise is just blowing smoke..
..and the more the environmental-consequences kick in/hurt us..
..the stronger will become that imperative..
..it isn’t a matter of ‘if’..it’s ‘when’..
..so..the sooner the better..eh..?
Which should tell you why they were sold.
i dunno if they are that machiavellian/intelligent..thinking that far ahead..
..i think that was just good old-fashioned rightwing dismantling/privatising all/any common-good initiatives..
..using greed/personal-enrichment as their carrot..
..and if they thought they wd get away with totally privatising them..they wd have done that..
..they are just thieving-bastards..
..who steal from the common-pool..
..and this crew is becoming more obviously naked to all..
..by the day..
Yes and there’s billions in savings by eliminating 4 profit layers ( generator, transmission, lines, retailer) duplicated finance, maintenance, billing systems and all the management, audit, PR functions that are gorging themselves.
Do that, wave bye bye to Tiwai point encourage customer generation and we’d provide an essential utility at a much better end price.
Oz don’t think they’ll require extra gen capacity for decades and Germany has shut down 25% of its peak gas powered gen capacity as the customer generation has reduced demand that much.
You’d pay back the cost of buying back Nats flogged assets in no time at all relatively.
Draco
Thanks so much for this link. This is where people misunderstand Green policies. For example by labelling The greens loony hippies people overlook the very real advantages to themselves (if not the planet) by adopting Green technology. how hard a sell to middle NZ would the subsidising of Telsa batteries in conjunction with the solar panels? given the savings people can make, not hard at all. And installing into low income and State Homes? A no brainer, especially if we use the money from the sales of the electricity companies…
IMO, the labeling of environmentalists as hippies and Taliban is solely to protect the old industries, especially fossil fuels, that are destroying our environment and heading us towards the extinction level event known as Climate Change.
the thing is..that ‘hippie/taliban’ bullshit sure has legs…
..how much more information/warnings do people/the-dumb-masses need..?
..i can understand that latest result snapping normans’ will to continue..
..ten fucken percent..all those years..and ten fucken percent..
..even most republicans in america are now ‘green/climate-change believers..
..to norman/the greens..the nz populace must seem to be an iceberg of ignorance..
..and it’s not hard to see why..
..all around them are flashing neon signs going ‘pull-up!..pull-up..!’
..but they still support vote for drill baby drill!/mine baby mine..! key..
..how can they not be as dumb as fucken doorknobs..?
hi draco, do you have any knowledge of how these tesla batteries differ from deep cycle batteries?
and can you explain it as you would to a 10 year old child?
Besides the fact that they’re probably lithium ion batteries, Nope.
ok cool, i live off grid and deep cycle battery tech hasnt moved for yonks.
the contrast between new lithium ion rechargable batteries and the last generation is remarkable. to have that appled to deep cycle batteries is exciting.
Thing is, you will want to see installations of this new tech prove themselves over 5-10 years of real life use before swapping over to the new tech.
hi cr, true, true.
i have never been an early adapter (adopter?) of tech.
10 yrs time would be about time for us to change our battery bank.
no battery ever dies, they are murdered
Apparently they are a variation or extension of the Li-ion battery set up that they use for their vehicles, described here:
http://my.teslamotors.com/roadster/technology/battery
By weakening our operating systems, encryption systems, firmware, network hardware etc for their own uses, the NSA makes all of us vulnerable to attack by hackers.
Now US cyber attacks on their enemies have taught countries like Iran how to attack the west back. As Bill Binney says – the NSA does not have a monopoly on smart people.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/02/10/nsa-iran-developing-sophisticated-cyber-attacks-learning-attacks/
The Stuxnet story is worth reading… how some malware in off-the-shelf software wormed its way into Iran’s nuclear testing facilities and screwed up their research.
On “Patch Tuesday” this week, a fix was issued for an exploit that requires modifying only a single bit of the Windows operating system.
A top hacker shows how it’s done in this TED talk.
Some very interesting trends emerging. As we become more connected we are more likely to be infected. As in the movie “The Imitation Game”, the spooks won’t let on how pwned we/they really are
omg. what a convenient little bug. thx r:r.
Excellent article by Philip Matthews in the Dominion Post on the hazards in NZ for academics and intellectuals who speak out on issues.
Dame Anne Salmond
“This is partly because some groups with vested interests do not welcome public scrutiny of their activities and actively seek to suppress it. This happened in the Dirty Politics saga, for example.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/66191857/School-of-thought-On-the-dangers-of-intellectualism
The following video discusses the same issue and illustrates the awesome courage of those who stand up and speak out for the public good despite knowing the dangers. Sadly David Carr died 3 hours after the interview was filmed.
http://timestalks.com/laura-poitras-glenn-greenwald-edward-snowden.html
Yes across the ditch gillian triggs the human rights commmissioner has been attacked by abbotts mates at murdoch media in a cruel and personal manner, toady piers ackerman takes it down the odious route.
Her crime: putting on the agenda the torture of children by both parties when in government, which is her job.
Yep TC when I heard Abbott’s comments and I then found out what Triggs had actually said my first response was “Abbott is a complete and utter piece of doggie do and the world would be a better place if he was retired immediately and WTF was Labor doing …” [Edited before posting to remove all the swearing …]
Nothing that happens today compares with the pervasive climate of fear that we all endured during the Helengrad regime. Those were the days were you could be sacked from Government employment because of who your boyfriend voted for.
[lprent: ?link I am sure that your lack of a link to support that was significant. Offhand I can think of only one oossible, and that was simply domr right wing nutters mythic incident. It relied on a pile of repeated unsupported lying from Nationals sockpuppets. Notably from their pollster.
In fact it looked exactly like what you are doing now. If you want to replay such myths, then link to some supporting credible report so others are able to look and judge for themselves.
You have been warned about this prior to the last time I banned you for it. If I see you do this type of smear again I will ban you for double the last time I caught you doing it. I suspect it will a long ban. ]
Was that in Nazi Germany fisi? The only time I can recall it being like this in Aotearoa (apart from the current government) was back in Muldoon’s time …
comparing clark to stalin is worse than comparing key to hitler.
discuss
in this govt you get hired cos of who your sisters are and who you are friends with.
A link would be helpful to bolster your claim fisiani. As I recall, someone’s press secretary resigned because of a possible conflict of interest as her bf was working for the opposition.
Meanwhile there are very real reports of the NACTUM smear machine intimidating academics, principals, beneficiaries, and siccing the Police on to reporters.
The delusion is strong in this one.
“.. the pervasive climate of fear that we all endured during the Helengrad regime..”
..if you are talking about the poor…yes..
The documentation clearly shows that the cronyism is all on National’s side. And cronyism is just another form of corruption.
Hooten and Odgers published Hager’s address hoping that the Triads would rough him up, or worse. Is that normal behaviour for people like you fisi ?
Fizzy Anus – Kia Ora dog. “Honest John !” You’re a noisy gargoyle Fiz’. Fuck off to Cheaplands where you belong if not welcomed.
Tweet of the day (shame we can’t embed images…this is a good one)
Nobody Understands Debt — Including Paul Krugman
Probably one of the simpler explanations of how money works in the real world as compared to how most economists believe it works.
John Key never fails to stick up for the ‘big end’ of town. Here he is in this article patting the back of the Foodstuff-Progressive duopoly cartel .. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/66179219/hub-raises-stakes-in-battle-for-mainland-market-share conveniently forgetting the history and Australian cities of the same population.
And here “That’s sort of been quite standard in a lot of New Zealand industries.”
So wrong in so many ways
e.g ever heard him sticking up for the poor like this?
Jeez John Key sounded like a twerp with his “serious” voice on over his calls for war. After 6 years of nothing but child-like smart-alecery and witless jokes he has no gravitas to get even remotely close to sounding grown up.
What a dick
VTO…….slow down man……all is well…….John Armstrong’s long been reckoning that the GaucheKey’s got “gravitas”. That’s good enough for me – in my scary and sadly recurring Sarah Palin incarnations. Russia “just over there” is heavy.
Warning ! This next observation is not for the ears of fizzy, alwyn, goosie, the late and lamentable ss-lands…….”gravitas” in this instance must be read thus – sort of “not too sure about that fulla” dyed-hair insurance type guy, hangin’ around the rugby club round 4.45 pm winter Saturdays. Buzzed to the point of embarrassment in all listeners, tryin’ to grease up the ‘player-of-the-day’. Or Richie McCaw as the case might be. The lust to bathe in glory ? This makes God ?
We are run by a spoilt, nouveau-riche, not handsomely literate, child. With an apparently attractive gaucheness. It’s a fucking disgrace ! Go back down the years – Clark, Bolger, (omitted Shipley, Palmer, Moore), Lange, Muldoon (yes I know – spooky) , Rowling, Kirk , Marshall, Holyoake. History has not recdorded these as dishonourable people.
There are undeniable scenarios, indicators, fuck-ups, hubris-times, to have history record that the SelfieKey set about for the corruption of our national psyche, the decency in us. For the benefit of the few. That is an ugly and unforgiveable legacy.