“…Before we get started, this is not a review of Uber as an ethical company, just a review of the service we received…”
So, the hipster liberal reviewers at thespinoff admit the KNOW Uber is known for a regressive, aggressive, abusive and anti-woman corporate culture. They KNOW it has a CEO who is a complete arsehole who abuses his position of power. They admit they KNOW Uber actively conspires to defeat law enforcement and regulators and flagrantly flouts the law in most countries. They are aware it plans to destroy local industry with uncompetitive behaviours then rack rent them for a bunch of foreigners gain.
But hey, I got tacos in a nice brown bag delivered to my office, so, whatever.
It’s pretty mean but people are not particularly loyal to older and inferiorsuperior kinds of service.
FTFY
From what I’ve been reading, on average, Uber is bring service quality down because it’s avoiding the regulations that do exist and lobbying to get rid of them.
Well, I guess you have to reflect on why people are flocking to Uber.
Now, I don’t have to like them, but what younger people tell me, is:
– they really like the personalised service
– they like being able to track the progress of the vehicle on their phones
– they like not having to deal with cash
– they like the market-enforcement of being able to rate the drivers’ performance and attitude immediately
– they like not even having to interact with the driver at all and can simply slip in and out of the back seat with otherwise anonymity; no more vacuous small talk, ZB-opinion inanities, or snide sexism
– they like that all their friends trust it
– they like that in many places and times it’s price and convenience competitive with public transport – if indeed public transport even exists
– they like that they can carry their accounts to any city and indeed globally
And all of these features could have been picked up by the traditional taxi companies quite some time ago, but are of course too lazy.
If you’re in South Africa the only safe way to get around is by Uber, that’s because the gangs control the taxis.
You could be in a taxi and then find yourself under attack and getting shot at by a rival taxi service or you may find yourself taken into one of the many shanty towns and robbed or ransomed or killed.
they like that in many places and times it’s price and convenience competitive with public transport – if indeed public transport even exists
It’s priced so low because Uber (The company) is pretty much forcing the drivers to accept less than enough to survive on.
It can only be competitive with the price of public transport because of the delusions of our financial system. In physical reality, public transport is always cheaper.
And all of these features could have been picked up by the traditional taxi companies quite some time ago, but are of course too lazy.
They could have done but they were, IMO, just focussed upon their traditional way of doing business and no-one in a position to change things was even asking what was a better way to run taxis and the people at the bottom just couldn’t give a damn. And that pretty much sums up the problem with hierarchical business models.
There will still be a fleet of public sector transport robots to compete with the private ones: trains within 2 years, and buses thereafter.
Again, public sector far more cautious than the market – as they should be.
But net result is whole passenger transport market is revolutionizing and the state is in perpetual catchup at the moment. Can’t find sympathy for either the state or traditional taxi companies. Not like they couldn’t see it coming.
BM I keep waiting for the Great Leap Backward from this current phase of technological disruption. So far, pretty good. And really good for the customers.
So you not talking to young disable people then Ad. Your list would be very different.
But sure smash up the only option disabled people have for getting around so people can have cheap fares. It was precarious as it stood, now with Uber it just ripping the guts out of the service for disabled.
Another example of the free-market capitalism at it’s stupid best. Hurting those at the bottom so the rich get richer, and the middle class can ignore the suffering.
Is turning left the path to electoral success? Some interesting arguments why it’s not.
“Take a look at results from several pivotal Senate races. In two Midwestern states, Wisconsin and Ohio, Democrats ran Sanders-esque populists — former Sen. Russ Feingold and Gov. Ted Strickland, respectively. Both lost by a wider margin than Hillary Clinton did in their state. By contrast, the Democratic candidates who most outperformed Clinton’s statewide results — Missouri’s Jason Kander and Indiana’s Evan Bayh — ran as economic centrists.”
“In this context, tacking to the left on economics won’t give Democrats a silver bullet to use against the racial resentment powering Trump’s success. It could actually wind up giving Trump an even bigger gun. If Democrats really want to stop right-wing populists like Trump, they need a strategy that blunts the true drivers of their appeal — and that means focusing on more than economics.”
Andre you’re just stirring the olde worlde commies.
We’ll be lucky in most parts of the world if any kind of non-hard-right government gets in anywhere.
Old skool socialism isn’t hip anymore. Blair’s Third Way has run it’s course. Triangulation has gone pear-shaped. What’s the fourth dimension going to look like? Until that emerges I’ll settle for a progressive push from the baseline we’ve got.
What’s misleading about it? That by-election would have been the perfect time to send a message to Labour and Greens to turn left by voting for Joe Carolan or Penny (or TOP if you prefer that direction). There was absolutely nothing politically significant at stake in terms of the makeup of parliament. Hell, I probably would have voted for Joe if I was in Mt Albert, for exactly that reason.
Personally, I’m probably almost as keen as anyone else here to see corporate power reined in hard, taxes go up on the wealthy to pay for improved social services, health, education, housing and all the other good stuff. But I really don’t see evidence that going hard for those is a winning strategy electorally. So I’ll settle for second-best, a moderate Labour/Green government that can actually win and move things slowly and incrementally in a better direction.
You are an utter idiot if you think people not voting for Joe Carolan is a sign they don’t want to go left. I want NZ to go left, I wouldn’t have voted Carolan, but then I’m a strategic voter.
(TOP aren’t left wing).
And that’s not even getting to the intricacies of by-elections and that one in particular.
People vote for massively varying reasons, it’s just not valid to extrapolate from that election. The only way to know would be to do some actual research across the population.
“The only way to know would be to do some actual research across the population.”
I’m fairly confident Labour and the Greens both have teams of experts doing exactly that.I’m also confident the leadership of both parties is paying attention to what that research is saying and incorporating it into their positioning. (Yes, I know Green policy is set by members, but the leadership still has a hell of a platform for talking about their preferred direction).
In any case, I really have my doubts that research is a better indicator of what people will get out and vote for than actual election results.
I wasn’t meaning research on who people will vote for (I agree that L/G will be doing that). I was meaning research on whether people want NZ to got left again. How that was worded and what it meant would be critical.
I don’t have a problem with parties being pragmatic, but much of what is happening in NZ has been driven by the neoliberals in Labour and NZers not having valid political choices that are good cultural fits. There’s also the issue of why the Greens’ research shows something like 28% of people want to vote for them, but only 11% do on the day. I think there are many reasons for that.
Scotland would be a good example of a country heading leftwards. So it can be done, it just can’t be done in NZ because of our political history. Little can’t become a Sturgeon, and Labour can’t apparently get over the 80s. We’re stuck with that in the meantime, but that’s a different thing than saying NZers don’t want to go left.
I’d be surprised if Labour and Greens research didn’t include trying to find out which variants of policies were perceived most favourably, ie how far “left” they should go for best electoral success.
Carolan has always seemed very good on left wing politics when I’ve seen him on Auckland demos. I must admit though I am a little wary of him because of accusations a few years back that Carolan had suppressed some fairly widespread women’s concerns about some sexual harassment by a left wing man. These accusations were supported by other left wing women.
Maybe Carolan has now seen the error in his past behaviour. Everyone can change. But I would look closely at his recent record before deciding whether or not to vote for him.
Yep. He strikes me as authoritarian left too, which isn’t going to attract many. I see our best bet in NZ* as the working together across difference, including collaboration between the left, liberals and those who don’t position themselves on the left/right spectrum. The biggest obstacle to that that I can see is a particular sub-culture within the left made up mainly of white men who are against what they call identity politics. Not sure where Carolan fits in that, but the history of men within the left of suppressing issues around sexual assault is not good.
*or more likely, collaboration between the people that care about others.
Well, if i was voting in an electorate where Carolan had no hope of winning, I wouldn’t vote for him. there’s probably a few other women would do the same.
It’s a hard one re-the authoritarian left, because they do campaign for some issues, such as affordable housing, living ages, etc, that I strongly support.
But, I prefer a more collaborative approach between the diverse left wing factions.
I was thinking today about how if we got a L/G govt (no NZF to keep the thought experiment simple), what that would be like here and in the political and media scenes. Mostly about whether we would be putting the boot into the new govt or supporting them. And what it meant to even be thinking about that. I want to support people like Turei and Davidson and even Little. But I want them accountable too. I don’t think we have good mechanisms for that, just the old left activist ones. Either that or I’ve spent too much time in the macho culture on TS 😉 (that’s almost certainly true).
So, would love to have more conversations about collaboration 🙂
Collaboration between left wing factions is a tough one. It can involve some intense differences of opinion.
Back in the 60s to 80s, women’s, gay and Māori (and people of colour elsewhere) did organise separately as well as joining in with other groups on political campaigns (think 1981 tour, and miners’ strike in the UK).
And this separate but linked organisation did also occur under Labour governments (in Aussie, the UK, and NZ).
The Institute of Directors says Artificial Intelligence is set to have an enormous impact on the way business and society operates, including productivity and employment. Kathryn Ryan talks with Felicity Caird, manager of the Institute’s Governance Leadership Centre about how we can prepare.
And incidentally we won’t cope at all if we just sit back and accept uber as discussed in #1 and think like the ‘young people’ that Ad refers to in 1.2.1.1who are going for uber.
Children being abused in state care is a continuing reality and tis is being aired as a result of knowing that a majority were Maori.
life and society
8:27 am today
State abuse claim lodged with Waitangi Tribunal
From Morning Report, 8:27 am today
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Survivors of abuse in state care have lodged a claim with Waitangi Tribunal alleging Maori children were singled out to be placed in institutions, where they were abused.
It is possible to adopt better conditions for care. There are other ways to care for children. I have been reading about the author Leslie Thomas and he went into an orphanage and did well. And they were both more responsible and with a little looseness instead of stern rigid punitive behaviour. A couple of tearaways used to get out now and then have a day away and then turn themselves into the police who would give them a bit of food and return them. The police obviously weren’t on prescriptive contracts telling them not to do anything warm and human for errant citizens. And the orphanage kept on trying to guide them along good paths and give them good care.
You cannot help but notice the atmosphere of suspicion when you go into the Ministry of Social Development umbrella agency offices. Whether it is W.I.N.Z. to apply for the unemployment benefit or C.Y.F.S. for help with a child, do you ever get the feeling that Ministry on the whole doesn’t want to have you in their offices?
You mean the guards on the door demanding ID before entry.
Try going with someone as a support person, I refused to show ID, got very odd, very quickly. Threatening even, I just asked what legal basis did they have to exclude me from a government building, which my family and I have paid for.
The answer, policy – health and safety. So political correctness to get us to think the right way, and now health and safety to limit our movements. And national party supporters called labour the nanny state party, it be sad if it was not so frightening.
Thanks, I’m on the look out for people getting in without an ID, but it sounds like it is mandatory now across the board. Library card, that’s without a photo?
For me it’s another piece in the fascism puzzle that National are carefully constructing. We are having our own Tr*mpville and most people aren’t even noticing.
One thing that worries me is that I have no idea which if these things L/G will roll back once in power.
Yeah not photo, I was talking fast and it was the only thing I had on me – more by good luck than management.
I agree, this is a step to far into state control.
I’m not holding my breath weka, it seems the main parties globally are just amping up the power of the state to control peoples lives, then passing it amongst themselves.
I still trust the Greens, but there’s only so long they can hold that integrity and stay in parliament. NZ has the chance to so something like Scotland but for some reason won’t. Not that I think the Greens are the ultimate answer 😉 but I think they will give us a much better chance of heading in the right direction as the worlds gets hotter and more dangerous.
Old democratic adage. If I know you, and you live next door will you destroy me and my family for some political gain? You would worry whilst I’ve been forced out of my house because of your actions, what I would do.
One of the best ways is to have honest fear. An example of this is have the ability to recall elected representatives. Notice how no political parties go there. Not one even comes close. Imagine the ability to recall a representative who lied, or voted against what they were elected for?
Another example of honest fear is the ability to remove the incentives from elected officials if they break trust, lie, or otherwise twisted the things they do, in the name of political expediency.
But, we are not there yet, we have a political system where by the politicians fear people, so it ratchets up the threat of violence towards them. Both economic and physical. Ask anyone who has been beaten up by a cop, or had a sanction imposed by work and income.
I say we should remind politicians we don’t like violence, and that they should not use their monopoly on violence, on the population.
“The answer, policy – health and safety. So political correctness to get us to think the right way, and now health and safety to limit our movements. And national party supporters called labour the nanny state party, it be sad if it was not so frightening.”
I’m surprised you weren’t told you were forbidden entry without ID in the name of National Security, for the good of the people, in the name of the Queen etc! History repeating itself. Perhaps that will be next on the Natzaratzi’s fascist agenda to be able to enter WINZ offices!
The well worn policy of “National Security and For the Good of the People”, covers everything and is all empowering for the state and its rotten departmental dictators to enforce!
The ID thing started after MSD got convicted under H&S legislation over the shootings. That tragedy (which none of us ever condoned of course) was exploited big time by a certain Minister to convince the populous we’re all potential murderers; being prosecuted and told off by the Court is yet another excuse to further that status.
It’s also being used as a another method to deter people from getting the help they are entitled to UNDER CURRENT LEGISLATION by way of intimidation. Can’t get through to them at their call centre, tough shit if you don’t have internet access, now lets put people off just going in to pick up/drop off paperwork or get any basic information. All part of the plan.
I got ID checked last month – I was expecting it, but thought I would see how I went presenting my Community Services Card. After all, that is a piece of ID actually issued by MSD which is accepted many places.
It worked fine, which is just as well as I do not drive and am not in the habit of carrying my passport with me.
The Health & Safety thing is BS anyway – As you can show up with valid photo ID, but they are not going to check your bag or belongings for a gun, knife, bomb etc…
Given the average age and stature of the Armourguard staff I have seen working at MSD / WINZ offices I don’t think they could stop a truly determined attacked anyway (Not to belittle the Armourguard staff who are trapped in a horrible situation).
And where is the Health and Safety commitment to the numerous clients I have seen in tears in an open plan office, with their despair and grief visible to the 30+ people in the room?
I think the ID thing is so that they can identify people who have been barred or are known/believed to be potentially a threat, from entering. Like you say, they won’t be able to stop someone from attacking them generally. It’s still fucked up, because if they really wanted to make their workers safe they’re create a safe culture, but of course what they are doing is covering their arses, safety for the people on the ground (staff or clients) isn’t actually the issue.
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While it has made a lot of noise about inequality, Labour has resolutely avoided reversing the 1990 benefit cuts and improving living standards for the poorest in our society. Meanwhile, 70% of kiwis think they should: A survey has found seven out of 10 New Zealanders believe the government ...
Anti-Philosopher President? Emmanuel Macron and his party’s reaction to the terrorist atrocities committed on French soil targets the very same philosophical movements excited and emboldened by New Zealand’s own terrifying tragedy.IT IS NOT the sort of thought experiment New Zealanders are encouraged to conduct in these culturally sensitive times. Even ...
If Jacinda Ardern or ay of her Auckland-based cabinet ministers stepped outside this weekend, they would have realised that this afternoon’s cabinet decision on whether to move Auckland back to Level 1 has already been made. The residents of our biggest city have voted with their feet.While some places where ...
According to epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker, the decision to end the second Auckland lockdown after just three days was a ‘calculated risk’. The possibility of undetected community transmission cannot be ruled out. In the United States, modelling by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that the ...
As I rose for the first time to speak from the Despatch Box in the House of Commons, I had the comfort of seeing that the Despatch Box had on it the inscription “A Gift from the People of New Zealand”. But I was also a little daunted, like so ...
This article is by Laura Biggs, from the Marxist-Feminist blog On the Woman Question. The term ‘sex work’ has come to replace the word ‘prostitution’ in contemporary discussions on the subject. This is not accidental. The phrase ‘sex work’ has been adopted by liberal feminists and powerful lobbyists in a ...
The Green Party are calling on the Government to assess how the COVID-19 leave support scheme can be better improved, distributed and enforced so that workers can properly take leave when self-isolating. ...
We know that when our rural communities do well, all of New Zealand benefits. Labour is committed to supporting our regions so that, together, we can achieve even more. Here are just some of the ways we’re backing rural communities. ...
Government data today shows that the wealthiest New Zealanders aren’t paying their fair share of tax, whilst everyone else chips in, Green Party spokesperson on Finance Julie Anne Genter said today. ...
The Green Party welcomes the change in the Reserve Bank’s remit to consider the impacts on housing when making financial decisions, but housing affordability shouldn’t be left to the Reserve Bank, Green Party Co-leader and Housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said today. ...
The Green Party welcomes the passing of the Local Electorate Act Māori Wards Amendment Bill which ensures Māori have a say on local issues across Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
New UMR research reveals that 69 percent of New Zealanders agree that the government should increase the amount if income support paid to those on low incomes or not in paid work. ...
The Green Party are celebrating the Labour Government bringing forward the timeline to ban conversion therapy, and will push to ensure any draft bill properly protects all of our Rainbow communities. ...
The Green Party is joining the call for ‘brave policy action’ to address rapidly increasing inequality in New Zealand, which is likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Green MPs currently in Auckland, Marama Davidson, Chlöe Swarbrick and Golriz Ghahraman, will remain in Auckland for the next 72 hours. Those in Auckland today for Big Gay Out who have flown home will self-isolate for 72 hours. These decisions will be subject to any new information that may arise ...
It’s Pride month, and as we celebrate our LGBTIA+ community, we’re taking the next steps towards a more inclusive Aotearoa. From investing in mental health services to banning harmful conversion therapy, we’re building a New Zealand where everyone can be safe, healthy and happy. ...
More than half of New Zealand’s estimated 12,000 border workforce have now received their first vaccinations, as a third batch of vaccines arrive in the country, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. As of midnight Tuesday, a total of 9,431 people had received their first doses. More than 70 percent ...
The Government has confirmed details of COVID-19 support for business and workers following the increased alert levels due to a resurgence of the virus over the weekend. Following two new community cases of COVID-19, Auckland moved to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand moved to Alert Level ...
The Government remains committed to hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 should a decision be made by World Rugby this weekend to postpone this year’s tournament. World Rugby is recommending the event be postponed until next year due to COVID-19, with a final decision to ...
Community and social service support providers have again swung into action to help people and families affected by the current COVID-19 alert levels. “The Government recognises that in many instances social service, community, iwi and Whānau Ora organisations are best placed to provide vital support to the communities impacted by ...
The Government is following through on an election promise to conduct an independent review into PHARMAC, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little announced today. The Review will focus on two areas: How well PHARMAC performs against its current objectives and whether and how its performance against these ...
Some of the country’s most forward-thinking early-career conservationists are among recipients of a new scholarship aimed at supporting a new generation of biodiversity champions, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. The Department of Conservation (DOC) has awarded one-year postgraduate research scholarships of $15,000 to ten Masters students in the natural ...
I acknowledge our whānau overseas, joining us from Te Whenua Moemoeā, and I wish to pay respects to their elders past, present, and emerging. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you all today. I am very pleased to be part of the conversation on Indigenous business, and part ...
Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced today that main benefits will increase by 3.1 percent on 1 April, in line with the rise in the average wage. The Government announced changes to the annual adjustment of main benefits in Budget 2019, indexing main benefit increases to the average ...
A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Ngāti Maru and the Crown settling the iwi’s historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today. The Ngāti Maru rohe is centred on the inland Waitara River valley, east to the Whanganui River and its ...
With a suite of Government income support packages available, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni is encouraging people, and businesses, connected to the recent Auckland COVID-19 cases to check the Work and Income website if they’ve been impacted by the need to self-isolate. “If you are required to ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has expressed her condolences at the passing of long-serving former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. “Our thoughts are with Lady Veronica Somare and family, Prime Minister James Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea during this time of great ...
E te tī, e te tā Tēnei te mihi maioha ki a koutou Ki te whenua e takoto nei Ki te rangi e tū iho nei Ki a tātou e tau nei Tēnā tātou. It’s great to be with you today, along with some of the ministerial housing team; Hon Peeni Henare, the ...
The Government is backing a new project to use drone technology to transform our understanding and protection of the Māui dolphin, Aotearoa’s most endangered dolphin. “The project is just one part of the Government’s plan to save the Māui dolphin. We are committed to protecting this treasure,” Oceans and Fisheries ...
Major water reform has taken a step closer with the appointment of the inaugural board of the Taumata Arowai water services regulator, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. Former Director General of Health and respected public health specialist Dame Karen Poutasi will chair the inaugural board of Crown agency Taumata Arowai. “Dame ...
The newly completed Hibiscus Coast Bus Station will help people make better transport choices to help ease congestion and benefit the environment, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said today. Michael Wood and Phil Goff officially opened the Hibiscus Coast Bus Station which sits just off the ...
New funding announced by Conservation Minister Kiri Allan today will provide work and help protect the unique values of Northland’s Te Ārai Nature Reserve for future generations. Te Ārai is culturally important to Te Aupōuri as the last resting place of the spirits before they depart to Te Rerenga Wairua. ...
Today the Government has taken a key step to support Pacific people to becoming Community Housing providers, says the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. “This will be great news for Pacific communities with the decision to provide Pacific Financial Capability Grant funding and a tender process to ...
Conservation Minister Kiri Allan is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say on a proposed marine mammal sanctuary to address the rapid decline of bottlenose dolphins in Te Pēwhairangi, the Bay of Islands. The proposal, developed jointly with Ngā Hapū o te Pēwhairangi, would protect all marine mammals of the ...
Attorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges. Two of the appointees will take up their roles on 1 April, replacing sitting Judges who have reached retirement age. Kirsten Lummis, lawyer of Auckland has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to ...
Government announces list of life-shortening conditions guaranteeing early KiwiSaver access The Government changed the KiwiSaver rules in 2019 so people with life-shortening congenital conditions can withdraw their savings early The four conditions guaranteed early access are – down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder An alternative ...
The Reserve Bank is now required to consider the impact on housing when making monetary and financial policy decisions, Grant Robertson announced today. Changes have been made to the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s remit requiring it to take into account government policy relating to more sustainable house prices, while working ...
The Labour Government will invest $6 million for 70 additional adult cochlear implants this year to significantly reduce the historical waitlist, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Cochlear implants are life changing for kiwis who suffer from severe hearing loss. As well as improving an individual’s hearing, they open doors to ...
The Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill passed its third reading today and will become law, Minister of Local Government Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. “This is a significant step forward for Māori representation in local government. We know how important it is to have diversity around ...
The Government has added 1,000 more transitional housing places as promised under the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), launched one year ago. Minister of Housing Megan Woods says the milestone supports the Government’s priority to ensure every New Zealander has warm, dry, secure housing. “Transitional housing provides people ...
A second batch of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived safely yesterday at Auckland International Airport, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “This shipment contained about 76,000 doses, and follows our first shipment of 60,000 doses that arrived last week. We expect further shipments of vaccine over the coming weeks,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni has today announced $18 million to support creative spaces. Creative spaces are places in the community where people with mental health needs, disabled people, and those looking for social connection, are welcomed and supported to practice and participate in the arts ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little today welcomed Moriori to Parliament to witness the first reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. “This bill is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work from all the parties involved. “I am delighted to reach this significant milestone today,” Andrew ...
22,400 fewer children experiencing material hardship 45,400 fewer children in low income households on after-housing costs measure After-housing costs target achieved a year ahead of schedule Government action has seen child poverty reduce against all nine official measures compared to the baseline year, Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty ...
It’s time to recognise the outstanding work early learning services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura do to support children and young people to succeed, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins says. The 2021 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards are now open through until April 16. “The past year has reminded us ...
Three new Jobs for Nature projects will help nature thrive in the Bay of Plenty and keep local people in work says Conservation Minister Kiri Allan. “Up to 30 people will be employed in the projects, which are aimed at boosting local conservation efforts, enhancing some of the region’s most ...
The Government has accepted all of the Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommended changes, which will provide certainty to employers and help employees receive their leave entitlements, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said the Government established the Holidays Act Taskforce to help address challenges with the ...
The Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and faster than expected economic recovery has been acknowledged in today’s credit rating upgrade. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today raised New Zealand’s local currency credit rating to AAA with a stable outlook. This follows Fitch reaffirming its AA+ rating last ...
Tena koutou e nga Maata Waka Ngai Tuahuriri, Ngai Tahu whanui, Tena koutou. Nau mai whakatau mai ki tenei ra maumahara i te Ru Whenua Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga mate ki te hunga mate Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga ora ki te hunga ora Tena koutou, Tena ...
The Minister of Justice has reaffirmed the Government’s urgent commitment, as stated in its 2020 Election Manifesto, to ban conversion practices in New Zealand by this time next year. “The Government has work underway to develop policy which will bring legislation to Parliament by the middle of this year and ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni today launched a new Creative Careers Service, which is expected to support up to 1,000 creatives, across three regions over the next two years. The new service builds on the most successful aspects of the former Pathways to ...
Overseas consumers eager for natural products in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic have helped boost honey export revenue by 20 percent to $425 million in the year to June 30, 2020, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says. “The results from the latest Ministry for Primary Industries’ 2020 Apiculture Monitoring ...
Thanks to more than $10-million in new services from the Government, more rangatahi will be able to access mental health and addiction support in their community. Minister of Health Andrew Little made the announcement today while visiting Odyssey House Christchurch and acknowledged that significant events like the devastating earthquakes ten ...
Two month automatic visitor visa extension for most visitor visa holders Temporary waiver of time spent in New Zealand rule for visitor stays Visitor visa holders will be able to stay in New Zealand a little longer as the Government eases restrictions for those still here, the Minister of Immigration ...
The Tourism and Conservation Ministers say today’s report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) adds to calls to overhaul the tourism model that existed prior to COVID19. “The PCE tourism report joins a chorus of analysis which has established that previous settings, which prioritised volume over value, are ...
The Government is providing certainty for the dietary supplements industry as we work to overhaul the rules governing the products, Minister for Food Safety Dr Ayesha Verrall said. Dietary supplements are health and wellness products taken orally to supplement a traditional diet. Some examples include vitamin and mineral supplements, echinacea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University There’s one graph that sums up both the good and not-yet-as-good detailed by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at Wednesday’s national accounts press conference. It’s a graph of the level of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University There’s one graph that sums up both the good and not-as-good detailed by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at Wednesday’s national accounts press conference. It’s a graph of the level of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Aside from his strenuous denials of the rape allegation against him, the central point made by Attorney-General Christian Porter at his media conference was that he had been the ...
The New Zealand Food & Grocery Council (NZFGC) is pleased to hear this long-running Court proceeding is effectively now at an end. However, NZFGC wishes to reiterate it did not pay anyone to write any stories on its behalf on Whale Oil, or any other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Aside from his strenuous denials of the rape allegation against him, the central point made by Attorney-General Christian Porter at his media conference was that he had been the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University There’s one graph that sums up both the good and not-as-good detailed by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at Wednesday’s national accounts press conference. It’s a graph of the level of Australia’s ...
Everyone’s a winner on The Bachelor NZ (well, apart from the four women sent packing). Tara Ward delivers the first power rankings of the new season.Find out who got Jane and Duncan’s first impression roses in this week’s episode of The Real Pod. Listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Attorney-General Christian Porter has identified himself as the minister accused of historical rape but declared categorically that the 1988 claimed assault “simply did not happen”. A highly emotional Porter told a Perth he had not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Davina Porock, Professor of Nursing, Director of Centre for Research in Aged Care, Edith Cowan University Death is inevitable, and in a civilised society everyone deserves a good one. It would therefore be logical to expect aged-care homes would provide superior end-of-life ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristin Diemer, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne A woman’s decision to leave a violent and abusive relationship is a complex process. She first needs to consider the risks to her and her children. Paradoxically, taking that step towards safety is ...
Essay by Keith Rankin.Homo sapiens neanderthalensis Mr._N. Creative Commons, Pressebilder Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, https://www.neanderthal.de/de/urmenschen.html I’m a neanderthal manYou’re not a neanderthal girlLet’s make hybrid loveIn this neanderthal world [with apologies to Hotlegs, 1970] Homo Stupidus? After my partner read Dan Salmon’s novel Neands – written during ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Lake, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University Former senator David Leyonhjelm today lost his appeal against a defamation ruling and must pay A$120,000 compensation to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for his comments that she should “stop shagging men”. “It is hard and ...
Carrick Graham has made a full apology for defaming a trio of academics in hit pieces on Cameron Slater’s Whale Oil blog, in order to settle court proceedings. Alex Braae reports. One of the last chapters of Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics book has been closed, with PR man Carrick Graham admitting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Peters, Senior Lecturer in Drama, Flinders University Review: Guttered, directed by Michelle Ryan. Restless Dance Theatre for Adelaide Festival. We are greeted at the entrance of Kingpin Norwood. Seasoned bowlers make a beeline for shoe hire while teens flock to the ...
Our Beehive Bulletin The news we expected to find – no, the news we thought we might find – was not there when we checked the Beehive website this morning. It was an acknowledgement from our kindly PM that maybe she had been a tad unkindly when she failed to ...
Three public health advocates are relieved that their long-standing Whale Oil defamation trial against Cameron Slater, Carrick Graham, Katherine Rich and the Food and Grocery Council has finally concluded and they are pleased that the truth has come out. Shane ...
Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage Tamanisha J. JohnFrom Miami, FloridaOverview Towards the latter months of 2018, “Kot Kòb Petwo Karibe a?” (“Where is the PetroCaribe money?”) became a rallying cry for Haitians demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moïse. Haitian protestors charged Moïse with ...
The Council of Trade Unions welcomes the announcement by the Minister of Finance today to extend the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. The payment will protect jobs for businesses affected by the recent rise in alert levels. Applications to the Wage ...
A response from the Minister of Trade to a letter from 42 organisations and noted experts regarding a proposed waiver to WTO intellectual property rules shows that New Zealand risks being on the wrong side of history. "88 percent of WTO members ...
Analysis: The return to lockdown and the contact tracing of Case M has been overshadowed by a furore over confusing communications to members of the Papatoetoe school community. Marc Daalder lays out who was told to isolate and when Although it was rule-breaking by Case M - who developed symptoms ...
There are 435 films and 155 series on new Disney+ bolt-on service Star – where on earth do you start? Sam Brooks selects some highlights. What is Star? The short version is that Disney have put a lot of their considerable archival catalogue – movies and series alike – online, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Rich, Senior lecturer in International Relations and Security Studies, Curtin University The Biden administration hasn’t wasted time in making a significant shift in US policy toward the Middle East. Over the past week, the US has launched reprisal strikes against Iranian ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato New Zealand’s COVID-19 response might be the envy of the world, but that hasn’t stopped New Zealanders themselves getting angry about it this week. In short, there appeared to have been breaches of isolation ...
Bunny Wailer, the last of Jamaican trio the Wailers to die, was considered one of the senior statesmen of reggae and Rastafarianism, writes Graham Reid The death of Neville Livingston at 73 – better known as Bunny Wailer – means there are now no surviving members of the famous Jamaican ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Mercer, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, Curtin University Review: The Cherry Orchard, directed by Clare Watson. Black Swan State Theatre Company for the Perth Festival. Stories get told over and over, each version sitting atop every other in a never-ending palimpsest. ...
Our dairy provinces are reverberating to the news that prices soared at the latest Fonterra GDT auction. The prosperity this brings to the regions will provide a significant counterbalance to the loss of earning power in the tourism sector because of the pandemic. The average price at the auction climbed ...
How to recognise possible symptoms of the new B.1.1.7 variant of Covid-19, in illustrated form, in seven different languages.Our Covid-19 coverage is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support the ongoing work, please donate here. In April 2020, Toby and Siouxsie created a symptoms chart so people could ...
One of the final public battles over the Nicky Hager book Dirty Politics - a defamation trial over the defunct Whaleoil blog site - could be over within hours of its High Court opening today. Tim Murphy reports. A long-running defamation case against former Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater and PR man ...
New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga’s latest discussion document looks at the state of play of infrastructure in the resource recovery and waste sector. One of a series of reports into key infrastructure sectors, it highlights some of ...
E tū, the biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, says that workers should not lose out on pay when they are required to self-isolate, or otherwise miss work, because of COVID-19. E tū has been calling for workers’ wages to lead the ...
The shortlist for the prestigious Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry, which carries prize money worth $10,000, was made public this morning. Our poetry editor Chris Tse is ecstatic. Here’s a sobering statistic: since 2001, only two non-Pākehā poets have won the poetry category at the book awards – David ...
Over the weekend Jacinda Ardern appeared on Newshub The Nation and made some problematic comments about lifting people out of poverty, saying the Labour government has prioritised targeting families with children. “This is the problem - Jacinda Ardern and this ...
Cohort life tables track the mortality experience of people born in each year from 1876. Visit our website to read this information release and to download CSV: New Zealand cohort life tables: March 2021 update CSV files for download ...
Unlike most developed countries, New Zealand doesn’t have a capital gains tax. But if we did, it would bring in billions worth of revenue over the next five years. Here are some of the things you could spend that money on.There’s little point dwelling on things that didn’t happen. Lamenting ...
The public attacks and investigations against a Hutt City Councillor asking questions about allegations relating to the Mayor, look more like a vindictive witch hunt than a Council striving for good ethical standards, says the Taxpayers’ Union . “For ...
The latest documentary in the New Zealand Wars series hit different for presenter Mihingarangi Forbes. She explains why to Leonie Hayden.Content warning: contains descriptions of the murder of women and children, and sexual assault.The military campaign by the British Crown to suppress Māori sovereignty and acquire Māori land for the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Drum, Lecturer Politics and International Relations, University of Notre Dame Australia Time is running out for the Western Australian Liberal Party. Polling points to a massive Labor landslide at the upcoming state election on March 13. Following last month’s Newspoll, which ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A substantial minority of Chinese-Australians have experienced a backlash from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 deterioration in bilateral relations, according to a survey from the Lowy Institute. In the poll, 37% said they had ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neeraja Sanmuhanathan, Senior Sexual Assault Counsellor, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Lecturer in Counselling, University of Notre Dame Australia As a senior sexual assault counsellor working with Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, I often sit across from people on the worst day of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monique Retamal, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney We all know it’s wrong to toss your rubbish into the ocean or another natural place. But it might surprise you to learn some plastic waste ends up in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cody Reynolds, Researcher & Educator, University of Newcastle “She’s more crazy than she is female.” So declared a senior student in a furious critique of Sylvia Plath’s poetry. The classroom was entirely male, myself included. As the teacher, I mediated discussion but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stokes, Senior Lecturer in Digital and Information Literacy (Education Futures), University of South Australia Starting university is usually a time of hope focused on bright futures. This year feels different. As cities move in and out of lockdown, new students are ...
Live coverage of the snap lockdown and the search for a source of the latest infection. Auckland is now at alert level three, NZ at level two. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45am: ‘An encouraging sign’ – no new Covid-19 cases overnightThere are no new community cases of Covid-19 this morning, ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pharmac review unlikely to give patient advocates what they want, feedback shows confusion on managed isolation communication, and National wants more generous Covid leave scheme.An independent review into Pharmac has been announced, and will focus on how and how quickly ...
Ahead of the Finance Minister's speech to the National Economic Forum, Otago University's Dr Dennis Wesselbaum says the Government's focus on wellbeing has undermined the ability of economic research to inform policy-making, just when we need rigorous research the most Since the end of the Second World War, the New ...
The government has been quietly investigating if returnees and border workers should use a phone app that can detect Covid-19 two or three days before symptoms set in. ...
Watercare thought it was doing the right thing to deal with decades of infrastructure underspending. Then Covid got in the way. Now it wants Government to step in. The mood at Watercare’s final board meeting for 2020 was sombre. It was December 23, but there was little Christmas spirit. In front ...
“The Prime Minister has some serious explaining to do after her Government's Official COVID-19 Facebook Page contradicted her claim that Case J (Kmart worker) and Case L (KFC worker) were told to isolate. The Page replied to a member of the public saying ...
A sailing rookie hailing from the mountains of Colorado, Kelly Hartzell plays a crucial part in Team New Zealand's defence of the America's Cup. She explains her role as a mechatronics engineer to Suzanne McFadden. Kelly Hartzell may have one of the coolest offices in New Zealand right now. Most ...
With China shutting its doors to New Zealand’s waste, Auckland Council is pinning its hopes on community-run recycling centres. Auckland Council has approved a plan to more than double the number of recycling facilities across the region by 2031. The updated Resource Recovery Network Strategy calls for a dramatic expansion ...
Rocket Lab is promising the sky with its NZ$5.7 billion Nasdaq listing, but potential investors should go in with their feet firmly on the ground. There’s something crazy exciting and deeply scary about Rocket Lab’s announcement it will soon be listing on the US’s Nasdaq stock market, with a valuation of US$4.1 ...
Councils use wards to recognise communities of interest, so why are Māori wards singled out for this criticism when other wards are not? The Government recently removed the provision in the Local Electoral Act that allowed a public poll to overturn a council’s decision to establish a Māori ward. This has reignited ...
The Climate Commission has an urgent task, but not so urgent that the work should forgo basic scrutiny, says Eric Crampton Academic debates are rarely high stakes. Compared with the kind of work the Climate Change Commission is doing, debates among academics are of almost no consequence at all. But ...
Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson has taken a swing at National’s Simon Bridges and ACT’s David Seymour, saying they’re a “total waste of bloody time’’ when it comes to advocating for their own Māori people, writes political editor Jo Moir Willie Jackson is offended, hacked off, but not surprised there ...
How did two weed control operations on public conservation land go so wrong? David Williams reports The effects of the herbicide spraying becomes obvious just past the old, corrugated-iron musterers’ hut, with its tack shed and veranda. Scattered among grasses at the southern edge of Lake Emma in Canterbury’s Hakatere ...
At the heart of our Covid-19 response has been the recognition that health and economic goals are intertwined. We can cement those values in an independent Public Health Agency,writes Robert Beaglehole, a public health expert who is professor emeritus of the University of Auckland and formerly based at the World ...
Mōrena! A minute ago the embargo lifted on the shortlist for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Quick stats: 179 entered; 40 made the longlist; 24 of those just bit the award dust. Here are the 16 that remain, followed by analysis from our books editor Catherine Woulfe. JANN MEDLICOTT ...
Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are a wondrous sight - and also a slightly disturbing one. How many foreign objects can we fit into the night sky before they start crashing into each other? A dark, clear night, and a milky way of glorious stars. Amateur stargazer Jeremy Rees was ...
ReadingRoom Steve Braunias comments on the Ockham New Zealand book awards shortlist New Zealand literature has long tried to be woke, made various woke noises, and had very woke intentions but really it's operated as a safe enclave for good old whitey to enjoy the awards, the grants, the cash ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The minister accused of historical rape is set to identify himself on Wednesday, after NSW police on Tuesday declared their examination of the claim “closed”. The push by the friends of the alleged victim – ...
The Myanmar army, police and militia’s use of violence against peaceful protestors reached another level on Sunday, February 28. By 5pm, local media reported at least 19 confirmed killings and another 10 unconfirmed. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) spoke to journalists covering the nationwide protests. Toe Zaw Latt, a video ...
By Kalino Latu, editor of Kaniva Tonga A group of Tongan missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Papua New Guinea has gone into hiding in a church in Lae as unrest and violence erupted in the country yesterday. The chaos came after days ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney In the book 25 years of Mushroom Records, published in 1998, Michael Gudinski described himself as “Chairman, Mushroom Group of Companies and music fan”. There could be no better description of Gudinski, ...
Covid-19 restrictions have forced a postponement for the NZ Spirit Festival, an alternative lifestyle event due to begin this week. Now some ticket-holders are angry that organisers are refusing to refund if they can’t make the new date – even for those who’d bought Covid ‘refundable’ tickets. Jihee Junn reports.Set ...
Why liberals are no longer left wing reason number 3,567,190:
http://thespinoff.co.nz/society/13-03-2017/the-spinoff-reviews-new-zealand-9-uber-eats/
“…Before we get started, this is not a review of Uber as an ethical company, just a review of the service we received…”
So, the hipster liberal reviewers at thespinoff admit the KNOW Uber is known for a regressive, aggressive, abusive and anti-woman corporate culture. They KNOW it has a CEO who is a complete arsehole who abuses his position of power. They admit they KNOW Uber actively conspires to defeat law enforcement and regulators and flagrantly flouts the law in most countries. They are aware it plans to destroy local industry with uncompetitive behaviours then rack rent them for a bunch of foreigners gain.
But hey, I got tacos in a nice brown bag delivered to my office, so, whatever.
And Greyball….let’s not forget that – it’s the best demonstration of Uber ethics
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-authorities.html?
http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-forces-drivers-in-seattle-to-listen-to-anti-union-propaganda-2017-3?IR=T
If it wasn’t Uber it would be something pretty similar doing the same thing. That genie is out of the bottle.
Same with AirBNB. Even Amazon.
The regulatory framework in New Zealand – and most of the world – hasn’t kept up with this kind of technological change.
It’s pretty mean but people are not particularly loyal to older and inferior kinds of service.
FTFY
From what I’ve been reading, on average, Uber is bring service quality down because it’s avoiding the regulations that do exist and lobbying to get rid of them.
Well, I guess you have to reflect on why people are flocking to Uber.
Now, I don’t have to like them, but what younger people tell me, is:
– they really like the personalised service
– they like being able to track the progress of the vehicle on their phones
– they like not having to deal with cash
– they like the market-enforcement of being able to rate the drivers’ performance and attitude immediately
– they like not even having to interact with the driver at all and can simply slip in and out of the back seat with otherwise anonymity; no more vacuous small talk, ZB-opinion inanities, or snide sexism
– they like that all their friends trust it
– they like that in many places and times it’s price and convenience competitive with public transport – if indeed public transport even exists
– they like that they can carry their accounts to any city and indeed globally
And all of these features could have been picked up by the traditional taxi companies quite some time ago, but are of course too lazy.
If you’re in South Africa the only safe way to get around is by Uber, that’s because the gangs control the taxis.
You could be in a taxi and then find yourself under attack and getting shot at by a rival taxi service or you may find yourself taken into one of the many shanty towns and robbed or ransomed or killed.
Please send a documented example of the “could” scenario you spewed in the second a paragraph. It could just be a nightmare.
Partner was in Johannesburg last year, this is what she was told by the locals.
On the day she left on the way to the airport there was a holdup because of a shoot out on one of the motorways between rival taxi firms.
It’s priced so low because Uber (The company) is pretty much forcing the drivers to accept less than enough to survive on.
It can only be competitive with the price of public transport because of the delusions of our financial system. In physical reality, public transport is always cheaper.
They could have done but they were, IMO, just focussed upon their traditional way of doing business and no-one in a position to change things was even asking what was a better way to run taxis and the people at the bottom just couldn’t give a damn. And that pretty much sums up the problem with hierarchical business models.
Now, I’m actually supportive of the idea behind Uber but it’s classical rentier capitalism. A few people are making millions from the work of others. They really are breaking laws around the world and are lobbying to get rid of the regulations that protect both the workers and the customers.
Don’t worry too much about the uber drivers as soon as driverless vehicles are ready they’ll be given the boot.
No more exploitation, problem solved.
I’m looking forward to the removal of drivers from our roads.
But there’ll still be exploitation due to private ownership of the robots giving a few people income from other peoples work even if only indirectly.
There will still be a fleet of public sector transport robots to compete with the private ones: trains within 2 years, and buses thereafter.
Again, public sector far more cautious than the market – as they should be.
But net result is whole passenger transport market is revolutionizing and the state is in perpetual catchup at the moment. Can’t find sympathy for either the state or traditional taxi companies. Not like they couldn’t see it coming.
Which is a rather strange statement considering that it’s always been the public sector and public funding that’s pushed technology.
Robots will be taxed
Because they have been so far. Not.
How do you think governments will raise tax revenue with 30% + unemployment.
Paye is one of the only taxes that businesses can’t minimise.
BM I keep waiting for the Great Leap Backward from this current phase of technological disruption. So far, pretty good. And really good for the customers.
Yoy must not have thought much of Grant Robertsons Future of work project?
So you not talking to young disable people then Ad. Your list would be very different.
But sure smash up the only option disabled people have for getting around so people can have cheap fares. It was precarious as it stood, now with Uber it just ripping the guts out of the service for disabled.
Another example of the free-market capitalism at it’s stupid best. Hurting those at the bottom so the rich get richer, and the middle class can ignore the suffering.
“– they like that they can carry their accounts to any city”
How many cities in NZ have Uber?
Not just tacos – but Miss Moonshines – which is awesome !
Is turning left the path to electoral success? Some interesting arguments why it’s not.
“Take a look at results from several pivotal Senate races. In two Midwestern states, Wisconsin and Ohio, Democrats ran Sanders-esque populists — former Sen. Russ Feingold and Gov. Ted Strickland, respectively. Both lost by a wider margin than Hillary Clinton did in their state. By contrast, the Democratic candidates who most outperformed Clinton’s statewide results — Missouri’s Jason Kander and Indiana’s Evan Bayh — ran as economic centrists.”
“In this context, tacking to the left on economics won’t give Democrats a silver bullet to use against the racial resentment powering Trump’s success. It could actually wind up giving Trump an even bigger gun. If Democrats really want to stop right-wing populists like Trump, they need a strategy that blunts the true drivers of their appeal — and that means focusing on more than economics.”
http://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/13/14698812/bernie-trump-corbyn-left-wing-populism
Andre you’re just stirring the olde worlde commies.
We’ll be lucky in most parts of the world if any kind of non-hard-right government gets in anywhere.
Old skool socialism isn’t hip anymore. Blair’s Third Way has run it’s course. Triangulation has gone pear-shaped. What’s the fourth dimension going to look like? Until that emerges I’ll settle for a progressive push from the baseline we’ve got.
“…Old skool socialism isn’t hip anymore….”
I’d put money on you being to old to actually know if this was true.
regardless – seen Corbyns poll results (and election results) lately. Not just un-hip – its turning toxic.
Nothing to do with the disunity in UK labour, fomented by their versions of the ABC’;s, of Course?
Yeah – your probably right – its all that Corbyn is more popular than ever. I stand corrected.
You’d win that bet. But Mt Albert seems to be quite the breeding colony of hipsters, and we just had a very thorough opinion poll there.
No, you didn’t, and I really wish you would stop with the misleading spin on that one.
What’s misleading about it? That by-election would have been the perfect time to send a message to Labour and Greens to turn left by voting for Joe Carolan or Penny (or TOP if you prefer that direction). There was absolutely nothing politically significant at stake in terms of the makeup of parliament. Hell, I probably would have voted for Joe if I was in Mt Albert, for exactly that reason.
Personally, I’m probably almost as keen as anyone else here to see corporate power reined in hard, taxes go up on the wealthy to pay for improved social services, health, education, housing and all the other good stuff. But I really don’t see evidence that going hard for those is a winning strategy electorally. So I’ll settle for second-best, a moderate Labour/Green government that can actually win and move things slowly and incrementally in a better direction.
You are an utter idiot if you think people not voting for Joe Carolan is a sign they don’t want to go left. I want NZ to go left, I wouldn’t have voted Carolan, but then I’m a strategic voter.
(TOP aren’t left wing).
And that’s not even getting to the intricacies of by-elections and that one in particular.
People vote for massively varying reasons, it’s just not valid to extrapolate from that election. The only way to know would be to do some actual research across the population.
“The only way to know would be to do some actual research across the population.”
I’m fairly confident Labour and the Greens both have teams of experts doing exactly that.I’m also confident the leadership of both parties is paying attention to what that research is saying and incorporating it into their positioning. (Yes, I know Green policy is set by members, but the leadership still has a hell of a platform for talking about their preferred direction).
In any case, I really have my doubts that research is a better indicator of what people will get out and vote for than actual election results.
I wasn’t meaning research on who people will vote for (I agree that L/G will be doing that). I was meaning research on whether people want NZ to got left again. How that was worded and what it meant would be critical.
I don’t have a problem with parties being pragmatic, but much of what is happening in NZ has been driven by the neoliberals in Labour and NZers not having valid political choices that are good cultural fits. There’s also the issue of why the Greens’ research shows something like 28% of people want to vote for them, but only 11% do on the day. I think there are many reasons for that.
Scotland would be a good example of a country heading leftwards. So it can be done, it just can’t be done in NZ because of our political history. Little can’t become a Sturgeon, and Labour can’t apparently get over the 80s. We’re stuck with that in the meantime, but that’s a different thing than saying NZers don’t want to go left.
I’d be surprised if Labour and Greens research didn’t include trying to find out which variants of policies were perceived most favourably, ie how far “left” they should go for best electoral success.
Carolan has always seemed very good on left wing politics when I’ve seen him on Auckland demos. I must admit though I am a little wary of him because of accusations a few years back that Carolan had suppressed some fairly widespread women’s concerns about some sexual harassment by a left wing man. These accusations were supported by other left wing women.
Maybe Carolan has now seen the error in his past behaviour. Everyone can change. But I would look closely at his recent record before deciding whether or not to vote for him.
Yep. He strikes me as authoritarian left too, which isn’t going to attract many. I see our best bet in NZ* as the working together across difference, including collaboration between the left, liberals and those who don’t position themselves on the left/right spectrum. The biggest obstacle to that that I can see is a particular sub-culture within the left made up mainly of white men who are against what they call identity politics. Not sure where Carolan fits in that, but the history of men within the left of suppressing issues around sexual assault is not good.
*or more likely, collaboration between the people that care about others.
Well, if i was voting in an electorate where Carolan had no hope of winning, I wouldn’t vote for him. there’s probably a few other women would do the same.
It’s a hard one re-the authoritarian left, because they do campaign for some issues, such as affordable housing, living ages, etc, that I strongly support.
But, I prefer a more collaborative approach between the diverse left wing factions.
I was thinking today about how if we got a L/G govt (no NZF to keep the thought experiment simple), what that would be like here and in the political and media scenes. Mostly about whether we would be putting the boot into the new govt or supporting them. And what it meant to even be thinking about that. I want to support people like Turei and Davidson and even Little. But I want them accountable too. I don’t think we have good mechanisms for that, just the old left activist ones. Either that or I’ve spent too much time in the macho culture on TS 😉 (that’s almost certainly true).
So, would love to have more conversations about collaboration 🙂
Collaboration between left wing factions is a tough one. It can involve some intense differences of opinion.
Back in the 60s to 80s, women’s, gay and Māori (and people of colour elsewhere) did organise separately as well as joining in with other groups on political campaigns (think 1981 tour, and miners’ strike in the UK).
And this separate but linked organisation did also occur under Labour governments (in Aussie, the UK, and NZ).
New RMA gets reintroduced to Parliament today for start of second reading.
Let’s see where those Ministerial powers got to.
This is a biggie.
Thanks for that Ad….will listen in
On RadioNZ earlier – short interview
How should NZ prepare for the disruption of Artificial Intelligence?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=201836523
The Institute of Directors says Artificial Intelligence is set to have an enormous impact on the way business and society operates, including productivity and employment. Kathryn Ryan talks with Felicity Caird, manager of the Institute’s Governance Leadership Centre about how we can prepare.
And incidentally we won’t cope at all if we just sit back and accept uber as discussed in #1 and think like the ‘young people’ that Ad refers to in 1.2.1.1who are going for uber.
Bloody young people.
Appalling.
I mean the world today.
AD
So true. The world today is what we are all concerned about eh.
The trite phrase has become the cornerstone rallying point.
Children being abused in state care is a continuing reality and tis is being aired as a result of knowing that a majority were Maori.
life and society
8:27 am today
State abuse claim lodged with Waitangi Tribunal
From Morning Report, 8:27 am today
Listen duration 5′ :36″ Add to playlist
Survivors of abuse in state care have lodged a claim with Waitangi Tribunal alleging Maori children were singled out to be placed in institutions, where they were abused.
It is possible to adopt better conditions for care. There are other ways to care for children. I have been reading about the author Leslie Thomas and he went into an orphanage and did well. And they were both more responsible and with a little looseness instead of stern rigid punitive behaviour. A couple of tearaways used to get out now and then have a day away and then turn themselves into the police who would give them a bit of food and return them. The police obviously weren’t on prescriptive contracts telling them not to do anything warm and human for errant citizens. And the orphanage kept on trying to guide them along good paths and give them good care.
You cannot help but notice the atmosphere of suspicion when you go into the Ministry of Social Development umbrella agency offices. Whether it is W.I.N.Z. to apply for the unemployment benefit or C.Y.F.S. for help with a child, do you ever get the feeling that Ministry on the whole doesn’t want to have you in their offices?
https://willnewzealandberight.com/2017/03/14/being-a-ministry-of-social-development-client/
You mean the guards on the door demanding ID before entry.
Try going with someone as a support person, I refused to show ID, got very odd, very quickly. Threatening even, I just asked what legal basis did they have to exclude me from a government building, which my family and I have paid for.
The answer, policy – health and safety. So political correctness to get us to think the right way, and now health and safety to limit our movements. And national party supporters called labour the nanny state party, it be sad if it was not so frightening.
Did you have to show ID in the end?
Yes, other wise the person I was supporting would not have had me there. It was my library card.
Thanks, I’m on the look out for people getting in without an ID, but it sounds like it is mandatory now across the board. Library card, that’s without a photo?
For me it’s another piece in the fascism puzzle that National are carefully constructing. We are having our own Tr*mpville and most people aren’t even noticing.
One thing that worries me is that I have no idea which if these things L/G will roll back once in power.
Yeah not photo, I was talking fast and it was the only thing I had on me – more by good luck than management.
I agree, this is a step to far into state control.
I’m not holding my breath weka, it seems the main parties globally are just amping up the power of the state to control peoples lives, then passing it amongst themselves.
I still trust the Greens, but there’s only so long they can hold that integrity and stay in parliament. NZ has the chance to so something like Scotland but for some reason won’t. Not that I think the Greens are the ultimate answer 😉 but I think they will give us a much better chance of heading in the right direction as the worlds gets hotter and more dangerous.
One can hope.
I don’t disagree with your approach weka, but if we don’t have politicians in fear of the people. We are going to get stomped on.
People need to realise, they actually have the power.
They should fear us. We are the ones who they need, not the corporate phallus the current crop of Tory politicians seem to worship.
I’m really curious where that idea comes from, that they should fear us. And what do you mean by that e.g. how should we be scaring them?
e.g. how would you reconcile the need to scare politicians with this?
Old democratic adage. If I know you, and you live next door will you destroy me and my family for some political gain? You would worry whilst I’ve been forced out of my house because of your actions, what I would do.
One of the best ways is to have honest fear. An example of this is have the ability to recall elected representatives. Notice how no political parties go there. Not one even comes close. Imagine the ability to recall a representative who lied, or voted against what they were elected for?
Another example of honest fear is the ability to remove the incentives from elected officials if they break trust, lie, or otherwise twisted the things they do, in the name of political expediency.
But, we are not there yet, we have a political system where by the politicians fear people, so it ratchets up the threat of violence towards them. Both economic and physical. Ask anyone who has been beaten up by a cop, or had a sanction imposed by work and income.
I say we should remind politicians we don’t like violence, and that they should not use their monopoly on violence, on the population.
Yeh, like that shows really who you are!!!
What are you saying dv? Who am I, in your opinion.
I think they meant the library card 🙂
My apologizes dv, misread what you said.
Yes weka is right
@ adam (7.1) … re your final paragraph.
“The answer, policy – health and safety. So political correctness to get us to think the right way, and now health and safety to limit our movements. And national party supporters called labour the nanny state party, it be sad if it was not so frightening.”
I’m surprised you weren’t told you were forbidden entry without ID in the name of National Security, for the good of the people, in the name of the Queen etc! History repeating itself. Perhaps that will be next on the Natzaratzi’s fascist agenda to be able to enter WINZ offices!
The well worn policy of “National Security and For the Good of the People”, covers everything and is all empowering for the state and its rotten departmental dictators to enforce!
This is bully state.
The ID thing started after MSD got convicted under H&S legislation over the shootings. That tragedy (which none of us ever condoned of course) was exploited big time by a certain Minister to convince the populous we’re all potential murderers; being prosecuted and told off by the Court is yet another excuse to further that status.
It’s also being used as a another method to deter people from getting the help they are entitled to UNDER CURRENT LEGISLATION by way of intimidation. Can’t get through to them at their call centre, tough shit if you don’t have internet access, now lets put people off just going in to pick up/drop off paperwork or get any basic information. All part of the plan.
Armourguard are making a fortune contracting out their services.
Would it not be more economically sound for MSD to hire guards if they deem it necessary rather than a company to supply them?
Silly me, I guess it depends whether one has shares in Armourguard or not.
I got ID checked last month – I was expecting it, but thought I would see how I went presenting my Community Services Card. After all, that is a piece of ID actually issued by MSD which is accepted many places.
It worked fine, which is just as well as I do not drive and am not in the habit of carrying my passport with me.
The Health & Safety thing is BS anyway – As you can show up with valid photo ID, but they are not going to check your bag or belongings for a gun, knife, bomb etc…
Given the average age and stature of the Armourguard staff I have seen working at MSD / WINZ offices I don’t think they could stop a truly determined attacked anyway (Not to belittle the Armourguard staff who are trapped in a horrible situation).
And where is the Health and Safety commitment to the numerous clients I have seen in tears in an open plan office, with their despair and grief visible to the 30+ people in the room?
I think the ID thing is so that they can identify people who have been barred or are known/believed to be potentially a threat, from entering. Like you say, they won’t be able to stop someone from attacking them generally. It’s still fucked up, because if they really wanted to make their workers safe they’re create a safe culture, but of course what they are doing is covering their arses, safety for the people on the ground (staff or clients) isn’t actually the issue.
Like I said Health and Safety is becoming just another tool to use against the people.
I’m not sure they have the right to restrict access to service like this, but unless people actually protest over this, nothing is going to happen.
I don’t condone the killing, but if human decency was on display before the event, it is quite possible it would not have happened.
Power companies ripping off consumers in Aussie and the same game here thanks to another short sighted National government, Bolger and Dame “Jenny” Shipley.
https://grattan.edu.au/report/price-shock/
http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0056/39.0/DLM267122.html