“Because of their inability to claim the dole and an expensive housing market – a bed at an unlicensed boarding house costs $175 to $200 a week and a basic one-bed flat, $300 to $375 – Kiwis are easy targets for black-market employers offering just $75 a day. “That’s the only way they can support themselves,” says Macklin. One worker has heard some job agencies are incentivised by the government to get people off the dole – so have no particular desire to give jobs to Kiwis. “
By popular demand, a monthly homeless services hub in Woolloomooloo offers immigration-specific advice. O’Hallloran says the Welfare Rights Centre also sees a lot of New Zealanders, at least two a week, seeking advice after “falling through the cracks”. They often apply to the state for “active grace”, where claimants are allowed a short spell of claiming benefits in recognition of dire need. “These are routinely rejected, although we make them for extreme cases; we think that’s completely inhumane. We’ve not had a successful one for a New Zealander in three years and that includes some very extreme cases of abuse, homelessness, violence, and some very sorry stories.”
Having reluctantly accepted the law around benefit provision won’t change for most Kiwis, the centre is lobbying for young people who arrived as minors and those facing sudden change beyond their control who couldn’t reasonably be expected to return to New Zealand to access a discretionary payment called “Special Benefit”.
To fight their corner, they’ve amassed some shocking case studies: a teenage boy forced into homelessness through sex abuse and another through family violence, both receiving nothing because they didn’t qualify for youth allowances and couldn’t get family tax benefit as they weren’t at home; a builder’s labourer in Australia to be near his child but couldn’t work as he lost an arm in an accident, yet received no disability benefit; and a 19-year-old who had been in Australia eight years, had no family back in New Zealand and who had been diagnosed with bipolar and couldn’t work. “We write up these case studies,” she says, “it is all we can do, and say ‘at today’s date, they remain homeless’. We hear some very shocking stories and there is often a very good reason why they get ‘stuck’. It becomes abundantly clear that it would be inhumane to leave them without any income support. It is inexcusable.”
Note: “Special Benefit” began being phased out in 2006 and was replaced by TAS (Temporary Additional Support). I think they refer to another type of emergency benefit.
The NZ government is not blameless for this state of affairs, since it has cheerfully used Australia as a safety valve for absorbing our cast-off workers, while at the same time allowing Australian banks here to privilege the so-called property market over manufacturing, thus adding to the numbers of cast-off workers. It could be insisted that from now on kiwis going to Australia must deposit their fare home, so that Australia can send them back if they find themselves out of work, which would not help the ones already there, and which NZ would probably oppose. It could also be agreed that Australia pays for Aussies here, and NZ for kiwis over there, but that would be fiercely opposed by NZ, since the numbers are so stacked against them. Basically, NZ says to the neighbours, “Please babysit our working age population while we go the casino. Don’t ring if anything goes wrong for them, as we are busy waiting for the jackpot.”
I suspect not. There was a very good in depth look at this on RNZ a few months ago, and it was an eye opener for me. I think many kiwis still see Oz as an extension of NZ, that they have more rights to be there than other non-Ozzies, and they don’t see themselves as ‘immigrants’. The RNZ interviews showed that many of the NZers that get into trouble in Oz had not understood the consequences of moving there.
Key went across to sort this out. He returned after having given Queensland access to NZ Police records. With him on our side……….
Kiwis in Oz pay the full tax rates, yet are denied many of the services that these taxes pay for. Even in terms of their beloved user pays philosophy, this is not right. They could at the very least give a tax rebate.
Did you read the article, idiot? One guy had been doing senior IT work, but fell victim to depression. Maybe if he’d started a hate blog instead of helping people, you’d respect and follow him.
The point is that they all would have been working, they all would have been paying taxes, and some still are. Now run along and find something else to get totally wrong.
The NZ in ANZAC has definitely gone missing – it only turns up on ANZAC day for some strutting about at the break of day.
Still – why worry? Wonder Boy is comfortable with it and Joolia sees no need to change things.
Economics and the Powerful: how the elite skew economic and financial policies
An outstanding presentation organised by the INET group. Insights not into economics as such, but how economics has been used by the elite and disseminated to ignore the reality of peoples lives in society and consequently screw the 99%.
“..Hawaii generates more of its power from the sun than any other state.
Here’s what the rest of us can learn from the obstacles that came up along the way –
– and and what’s being done to overcome them..”
(and of course those preferring to avoid my ellipses-scattered/capital letter/traditional-sentence-structure-devoid website..can also find the story at the alternet website..
..alternet is a progressive news-website i rely on/read/link to each day..
..and – as an aside – i would highly recommend alternet to those interested in such matters..)
It’s not really relevant to NZ, covers the problems they had with their grid and we wouldn’t have the same sort of issues here.
It’s a shame NZ isn’t embracing solar while the opportunity is there. With our $NZ being so high and Chinese manufacturers desperate for sales they’re incredibly cheap and may not be that way for long. Buying in bulk it’s possible to land all the hardware for a grid tie system for a depreciated cost of well under 5c Kw/hr. Households are paying 25-30c and wind costs over 10c.
The Nation : The Leader (Atom secrets, secret leaflets, Have the boys found the leak yet the molehill sets the wheel in motion His System of a Downfall picks up Locomotion)
pearls of wisdom from Mai Chen
-“the Kitteridge Report is a damning report”
-“we should not be giving the GCSB anymore powers”
-Colloidal Cruiser ( Hot Stuff, it’s only Rock and Roll but I like like it yes I do)
korea
XIAMING HUAN
-“diplomatic rhetoric is important in trade with China”
Hearn-shaw
-“NK people are just normal people, warm-hearted, friendly, (if a little hungry)”
-“incorrectly portrayed buy Western media”
-“military believe they can extract concessions” (Sky City?)
-“while all-out war may be unlikely, skirmishes are possible”
back to the CC CP freak-show; “party not initially keen to talk about their platforms, what they stand for; a lot of Colin Craig appearances and little of the party board; “too busy” / “not comfortable with the story” (Three times before the atomic rooster crows “What is conservative about Rankin’s dress sense?”) an turn of phrase “he’s not playing politics, he’s deadly serious” lol (but he just has to run up the skirts of his press secretary first) cos’ there is sitting-room only at his party’s brow-beatings due to the Nationalistic message on the manufactured Lindauer pai-pai (sic)
Gavin Elllis, “said, said, said” (what other commentators say) if Key fell down the sh*t-house he would come back up grasping a a gold chain.
Q+A : Jane says… 😉 , on FTA with China / Asia, “quid pro quo, not just talking about trade” Chop Chop
while as Clinton Hillariously reminds us re the TPPA
-“re-militarization” in the region
(Johansen agrees, with Jane) Elephant Boy.
Aus. is forming military alliances with CHINA; yes Fran, NZ is not (like you) the centre of at tension.
ask Kenneth Wells, a very warm and funny man (Korean Historian) “different degree now, verging into a different kind” (at least they are finally interviewing people who DO actually know something about these topics and not the freakin elected troughers)
Aye …. and one that should be considered in relation to a remark Paul Buchanan made (on Firstline from memory – during the week just gone). A good description on how ‘those powers that be’ become captured by those that eventually make decisions.
I well recall a ‘spook’ (1 degree of separation rather than 2 in that it was a ‘spook’ relative relaying his/her frustrations), telling me how during the early 2000’s, it had been made clear that ‘un-PC’ type activity was verboten and that activity was pretty much limited to checking out the suitability of various senior public servants. (Btw … they weren’t listened to all the time either – hence the various bugger’s muddles at various times).
Still – no matter! we’ll outsource to another (such as the GCSB).
Police: same shit different stink with a cheer leader named Greg egging it all on.
What’s the point of having a state broadcaster if you can’t get your message put out there all wrapped around with pasty questions so it looks like the fawning interviewer is ‘satisfied’.
tc – confusion between ‘state broadcaster’ and ‘public broadcaster’. The difference is often used by the neo-libs to justify it’s demise.
It might be publicly owned, but its priority is the commercial/populist imperative.
But before you jump to the ‘what’s the point’ bit – consider that it’s used as a justification for flogging off the asset.
Far better to flog off those that attempt to commercialise (TVNZ management and its disciples), keep the asset, and insist those that follow have an understanding of the nature of Public Service Broadcasting).
Hint: they won’t be the likes of Bill Ralston
Nice idea but I reckon we’ve gone beyond the point of being able to make TVNZ a public broadcaster.
We lack the talent in content production, mostly outsourced and swallowed now by foreign production houses (South pacific being the latest) and political will to fund it.
labour had a limp attempt with the charter but mahreney and others made a pigs ear of that.
I take your point – there is still a bit of talent around, and a few that could well be lured back should there be a commitment to PSB properly funded.
You’re correct about labour’s attempt.
Why flog off any more of our assets though. At the very least – keep the buildings and chattels within or the next thing you know Sky City will be turning them into pokie galleries
A bald person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re bald.
A fat person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re fat.
A tall person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re tall.
It’s obvious as soon as you meet them.
An honest upfront person has to tell everyone they’re honest and upfront. Hmmm.
Maybe he’s not telling the public so much as trying to convince himself – Message to Jonkey – It’s not working! OR as in Little Britain, – “Computer says NO”!!
“Freud is the grandson of Sigmund Freud and has relatives who are married into the Murdoch and Rothschild family. It should not take much imagination to understand which ethnicity they belong to.”
“The idea that everybody should receive a basic income is out there. If you wish to have more than the basic income then you can work. The idea is that no person should starve, freeze or be uneducated.”
Glenda Jackson launches tirade against Thatcher in tribute debate
The industries that brought us most of our GDP, gone so now we live on a false economy of credit and stock.. High sustained rates of unemployment, powerless workers, evicted from their homes, the three most dramatic and destructive recessions in our history, the banking crises caused by financial dergulation, part time jobs replaced stable jobs, prices for basic necessities hugely inflated annd thousands of pensioners and some young people dying from the freezing cold and all this masked .
Thanks for pointing us to that site Johnm. I think Glenda Jackson makes some classic statements which I am sure will be quoted in the future. Apart from the one “The price of everything, and the value of nothing” I also liked the one “Hogarth would recognise London if he was alive” Hogarth died in the 1700’s Glenda Jackson told those Tory prats in no uncertain terms that Thatcher had turned the clock back at least 200 years and was being continued today by Camoron. But of course that would have gone over their heads.
Tim Bale’s pro-Thatcher apologetics this morning
Radio New Zealand National, Sunday, 14 April 2013
How do you find someone, other than a craven politician, to speak positively about a notorious politician who denigrated Nelson Mandela as a “terrorist”, yet supported Suharto, Pinochet, Begin, Shamir, Saddam and Reagan?
The answer is, of course, you find an amenable academic. Now, there are tractable professors right through this country, from Wyn Hoadley in Auckland, down through crazy Ron Smith and Dov Bing at Waikato, Lance Beath at Victoria, right down to Otago’s mealy-mouthed Robert Patman. But Chris Laidlaw’s producers decided to bypass these dependable fellows and go for someone who is actually in the midst of the national celebr—, errr, mourning. He spoke to one Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at VUW.
Much of what Bale said was too bland and anodyne to bear repeating, but something of his moral character can be gauged by the following exchange which came near the end of the interview….
CHRIS LAIDLAW: The sinking of the General Belgrano. There’s not much said in Britain about that. I regard it as a war crime.
TIM BALE:[irritated tone] Hmmmm. [slowly and pompously] I don’t think you would find many people in Britain who think that. Most people think it was a good idea that she took the Falklands back from what was pretty much a fascist regime. Whatever you think of her, the British people actually LIKE conviction politicians.
CHRIS LAIDLAW:[skeptically] Mmmmmmmm. Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at Victoria University, thank you!
Some sort of panel discussion would have been a little more appropriate me thinks. I suspect someone at RNZ just read ‘Cameron and the Conservatives since 1945′ and thought “ooooo, I know – we’ll get Tim’. The 9 o’clock time pips seemed the most appealing thing for me in that little discussion! (tik tok tik tok as it really does come closer to all turning to shit).
Good on CL though for getting in the war crimes quip – no matter how one feels about the Faulklands
It seems the government has finally become that big ugly thing. It has become self-serving, existing solely to preserve and enhance itself, no matter its original purpose. It has become a large ugly wart that just wants to keep growing and growing, eating up all that wanders near. Yuck.
If you want more coverage, paint it up on a sandwich board and stand in the middle of the street. Take your sense of entitlement somewhere else, get off your lazy entitled bum and just do it.
Case has been going on for quite some time, very little interest from the right wing, then all of a sudden it’s everywhere, even down to little old failoil and his circus of derp.
Has he covered that apparent terrorist attack againts the nurse in Auckland who works at a clinic, per chance/
That story had one report on TV1. I’d say that’s a more under-reported story than this one.
Another under-reported terrorist attack was that bombing attempt on a Martin Luther King parade. Way more developed than any number of failed attacks where the FBI are involved with some muslim dude.
Bombs were made and in place, only failed to go off because someone noticed the bags. Whaleoil cover that?
See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.
chris, you’re being disingenuous. Please explain how this doctor would have been able to practice in a state where abortions were legal, equitably accessible, and managed in the same way as other health care. Of course this is about politics and restriction of women’s reproductive rights by US right wing prolifers.
I get the feeling this guy would have operated the same regardless of the legal situation. To do what he did suggests theres something wrong upstairs. If a baby is born (or however the medical profession consider it) and healthy then I’d imagine the Hippocratic oath comes into play.
I’m just surprised no ones tried to link John Key or Pauls Bennet to it…
Exactly. This isn’t hard to grasp chris. Women needed late term abortions, and were desperate enough to go through a horrendous experience to get one. Why do you think that is?
As for the hippocratic oath, I suggest you read up on the technicalities of late term abortions.
In a more rational state, the women would have had better options. When the crazy make women’s reproductive health care almost impossible, is it at all surprising that crazies will start providing the horrible level of service that we see here?
We used to see med students struck off alcoholic doctors, and worse providing terminations in Aotearoa not that long ago. We had plenty of horror stories right at home. That story is our future if rabid dogs like the Conservatives ever get their way.
“See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.”
The only surprising thing about all of this is that anybody still so much as gives the Welfare Whale the time of day, never mind actually believing a word it says.
by RT: “Russia produces list of US officials now sanctioned for Human Rights Breaches (the war of the lists)”
Breaking The Set : http://www.youtube.com/user/breakingtheset
got stuck-in.moderation
updated from the air-fixed recollection machine,
The Spitfire Grill http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117718/
“and that’s a Cold Shot babe, we’ve let our love go bad!”
Don’t do it! You’ll simply add to the statistics that justify the self-indulgent Cameron’s ‘rasion d’etre’
There is actually NOTHING to see there other than an ideologue all propped up with medication in an attempt to convince us how ‘relevant’ he is.
Give it a miss. (Just like Facebook if you’ve no other reason to earn a crust by means of ‘networking’)
twitter twitter twitter twit …. oooops truncated by an error 404 – or similar). Seriously – give it a fukn miss
Important intellectuals of the era then became principally concerned with the issue of propaganda during peacetime, having witnessed its success in times of war. Propaganda, wrote Lippmann, “has a legitimate and desirable part to play in our democratic system.” A leading political scientist of the era, Harold Lasswell, noted: “Propaganda is surely here to stay.” In his 1925 book, The Phantom Public, Lippmann wrote that the public was a “bewildered herd” of “ignorant and meddlesome outsiders” who should be maintained as “interested spectators of action,” and distinct from the actors themselves, the powerful. Edward Bernays, the ‘father of public relations’ and nephew of Sigmund Freud got his start with Wilson’s CPI during World War I, and had since become a leading voice in the fields of propaganda and public relations. In his 1928 book, Propaganda, Bernays wrote: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” Modern society was dominated by a “relatively small number of persons… who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses,” and this was, in Bernays’ thinking, “a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” Bernays referred to this – “borrowing” from Walter Lippmann – as the “engineering of consent.”
ONE : “the working poor being employed does not provide enough income to put food on the table”
-Salvation Army
Ardern- “still 20000 more people on main benefitts than before nats terms.
3 : cut down on carbohydrates 😉
-insulin leads to fat storage 😉
-sat. fat may lead to lipid profile stabilisation
Hulks perspective on Sunday : “Where Ships Go to Die” -Bangladesh (no national iron ore)
-47c per hour
-12 hours a day, 7 days a week (to fulfil their dreams)
-amputations, burns, toxic heavy metals, asbestosis.
Didn't See It Coming: NZ Herald columnist Lizzie Marvelly's latest column merits serious scrutiny because such a clear example of anti-democratic thinking is encountered only rarely on the pages of the daily press. Which is not to say that the elitism which lies at the heart of such social disparagement ...
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Next year is an election year, and Labour needs money to fund its campaign. So naturally, they're selling access:Labour is charging wealthy business figures $1500-a-head to lunch with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at its annual conference later this month. [...] On the weekend beginning November 29th, around 800 delegates will ...
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Some readers may remember that I mentioned last year that I was applying for NZ citizenship. I filled out the paperwork and had my original citizenship interview in February. Everything went well until they discovered that, because I had spent five months in the US in 2017, I had not ...
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There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...
The Committee of Disobedient Women has intercepted an email from Dr Emma Eejut, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Massey University to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Jan Thomas. Dear Jan, Thank you for your courageous move. I think 10 pages of blether** should tie any of the students game enough to try holding ...
That's the only response to the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation into LGOIMA practices at the Christchurch City Council:My investigation identified serious concerns about the Council’s leadership and culture, and its commitment to openness and transparency. In particular, Council staff raised concerns with me about various methods employed by some ...
NZ First seems to be nakedly trying to enrich itself from public office:A powerful New Zealand First figure helped establish a forestry company that then pushed for money from two key funding streams controlled by a New Zealand First Minister. An RNZ investigation has found Brian Henry, lawyer for Winston ...
Behrouz Boochani is an award winning author and journalist. He is also a refugee, who for the past six years has been detained in Australia's offshore gulag on Manus Island, and in Papua New Guinea. But last night, with the cooperation of the WORD Christchurch festival and Amnesty International, he ...
Different Strokes: If a multicultural immigration policy imposes no obligation on immigrant communities to acknowledge and ultimately embrace their host nation’s most cherished traditions and values, then how is that nation to prevent itself from being reduced to a collection of inward-looking and self-replicating ethnic and cultural enclaves?THE COALITION GOVERNMENT’S ...
Protective Zone: Reading the rules and guidelines released by Massey University, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that its governing body considers the whole concept of free speech a disruptive threat to the orderly imparting of orthodox academic knowledge.IN TRUE ORWELLIAN fashion, Massey University has announced its commitment to ...
Farmers held a hate-march on Parliament today, complete with MAGA hats, gun-nut signs, and gendered insults. While supposedly about a grab-bag of issues - including, weirdly, mental health - it was clear that the protest was about one thing, and one thing only: climate change. And specifically, forestry "destroying" rural ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security released their annual report today, and I've been busy reading through it. In amongst the usual review of what they've been doing all year, there's a few interesting bits. For example, a discussion on "agency retention and disposal of information", which points out that ...
Recently more than 150 post-graduate students and young scientists presented an open letter to the Green Party via The Spinoff, encouraging them to reconsider their position on genetic modification. Their target is tackling climate change issues.[1] Can any party continue to be dismissive about genetic modification (GM) contributing to ...
by Deirdre O’Neill Under Thatcher and then Blair and continuing up until our contemporary moment, the working class has seen its culture slowly and progressively destroyed. The change from an industrial society to a service society produced a marked shift in focus from the working class as the backbone of ...
Since 2013, the Australian government has detained refugees without trial in Pacific gulags, where they are abused, tortured, and driven to suicide. The policy is not just an abuse of human rights and possible crime against humanity; it has also had a corrosive effect on the states Australia uses as ...
It seems fair to say that we currently live in a problematic political moment in world history. Democracies are in decline and dictatorships are on the rise. Primordial, sectarian and post-modern divisions have re-emerged, are on the rise or have been accentuated by political evolutions of the moment such as ...
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If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ...
National Messiah? Chris Luxon identifies himself as an evangelical Christian. If he is genuine in this self-characterisation, then he will take every opportunity his public office provides to proselytise on behalf of his faith. He will also feel obliged to bear witness against beliefs and practices he believes to be ...
I'm going to make a Reckless Prediction™ that the Tories have 'topped out' in the 'poll of polls' / Britain Elects multipoll tracker at about 38%, and in the next week we will start to see Labour creep up on them.In fact, we might just be seeing the start of ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Lizzie Marvelly: “I may have missed this… has @afterellen gone all terf-y? Or am I reading something incorrectly? “ https://twitter.com/LizzieMarvelly/status/1191840059105742849 After Ellen is a lesbian website that is unashamedly pro-lesbian, as you’d expect. So why is Ms Marvelly so bothered about lesbians having their ...
Did you know there once was a time when it was illegal to be a gypsy (aka Romani) in Britain?That was between 1530, when the Egyptians Act was passed, and 1856, when it was repealed.Amongst other things, the act forbade the entry of 'Egyptians' into England, ordered those already there ...
Some days I sit and think, “what will I write…?” What do you say when you get to 1000 posts? Maybe you just start where you are, diverge to where this all began, then offer a collection of reader’s favourite posts, and a few of your own? (And throw in ...
Counter-Puncher: The “activists” and “radicals” (his own words) from the Indian community who took such strong exception to Shane Jones’ remarks about Immigration NZ’s treatment of arranged marriages, may end up bitterly regretting their intervention. Jones is not the sort of person who turns the other cheek to his critics.SHANE ...
In the spirit of Remember, remember the fifth of November, let's keep this in mind FOREVER.
Oh dear. Extraordinary interview on PM with Andrew Bridgen and @EvanHD just now. Bridgen was defending Jacob Rees Mogg’s Grenfell comments. Evan asked him if JRM had meant to say he would have left ...
Collision Course? In conditions of ideological white-out, the international bankers’ “Woop-Woop! Pull Up!” warning may have come too late to save global capitalism.WHAT DOES IT MEAN when international bankers are more willing to embrace radical solutions than our politicians and their electors? At both the International Monetary Fund and the ...
Pertussis (whooping cough) is a conundrum. It is a disease that was described hundreds of years ago and the bacteria that causes it (Bordetella pertussis) isolated in 1906. We have had vaccines for about 80 years but this disease is defiant in the face of human immunity. I wanted to ...
The Zero Carbon Bill has just passed its third reading, uanimously. In the end, National supported it - but we all know they'll turn around and gut it the moment they regain power. Meanwhile, I guess ACT's David Seymour didn't even bother to show up. I am on record as ...
Dr Lindsay Robertson, Dr Jerram Bateman, Professor Janet HoekMembers of the public health community hold divergent views on how access to vaping products or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products should be arranged. Some believe ENDS should be as widely available as smoked tobacco and argue for liberal ...
When the Police were trying to cover up for the National Party over Dirty Politics, they went all-in with their abuses of power. They illegally search Nicky Hager's house, violating his journalistic privilege and invading his privacy. They unlawfully acquired Hager's bank records. They did the same to left-wing blogger ...
Last month, in response to a wave of protests by Extinction Rebellion, the British government purported to ban their protests from the whole of London. It was a significant interference with the freedoms of expression and assembly, and another sign of the country's decline into tyranny. But now, a court ...
Last year, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security reported on significant problems with the intelligence warrant system. While they were unwilling to declare any warrant "irregular" (meaning unlawful) due to the recent law change, they were also not willing to give the system a clean bill of health. Now, they've ...
The National Party has come out in support of encouraging greater vaccination uptake. But it sure isn’t the way I’d do it. National’s suggested docking the benefits of those on benefit whose kids aren’t keeping up with their vaccinations. Some in National have suggested extending that to payments under Working ...
Feeding The Flames: It is simply not enough to demand an end to “corruption”, or “inequality”, or the overbearing influence of the authorities in Beijing. These are just “lowest common denominator” demands: the sort of slogans that pull people onto the streets. They are not a plan.WHERE’S THE PLAN? Across ...
The labour market statistics have been released, and unemployment has risen to 4.2%. There are 115,000 unemployed - 11,000 fewer than when Labour took office. In that time the minimum wage has gone up by $2 an hour, which shows that the right's fears about increases causing unemployment are simply ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has called for submissions on Andrew Little's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill. Normally I encourage participation in the democratic process. I am not doing so in this case. Instead, I encourage all of you to boycott this submissions process, and to post ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzIf tiny concentrations of carbon dioxide can hold enough heat ...
Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and within it, one of the fastest sources is elite travel: billionaires flitting around the world in their private jets, spewing excessive pollution into the atmosphere just so they can avoid mixing with us dirty peasants. But in ...
That's what we face if we don't stop climate change, according to a warning from 11,000 scientists:The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists. “We declare clearly and unequivocally ...
by Phil Duncan Here’s just a few of the kind of threats issued day in and day out against gender-critical women – feminists, marxists, etc – overwhelmingly by MEN (albeit men identifying as women). “Kill all Terfs”. “Shoot a Terf today”. “All terfs deserve to be shot in the head”. ...
This is the third of the synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Unlike the humble cup of coffee and t-shirt that we looked at in ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First backs the public to decide on the End of Life Choice Bill via a referendum at the 2020 General Election. The Bill, with New Zealand First’s referendum provision incorporated, passed its final reading in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...
Darroch Ball, New Zealand First List MP A Member’s bill has been proposed that would provide income tax exemptions for all New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel while on operational deployment overseas. The Income Tax (Exemption for Salary or Wages of NZDF Members on Active Deployment) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have brought common sense to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading in Parliament today. Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says months of hard work went into negotiating a balanced ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First has listened to calls to recognise paramedics as registered health professionals under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Act (the Act).Today, the Coalition Government announced plans for paramedics to be registered as health practitioners under the Act, and the establishment of a ...
We began the week by commemorating the New Zealand Wars and celebrating a major increase in the number of teachers. Then, we were busy supporting offenders into work and getting our rail back on track after years of underinvestment. And that's just the start! ...
In October I was sworn in as the Mayor of Lower Hutt.It’s the privilege of my life to serve Hutt people as their Mayor. There is something really special to be able to serve the community where I was raised, and where I live. ...
New rules to clamp down on overzealous wheel clamping and extortionate fees charged in order to release a vehicle have passed their final stage in Parliament today. The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill has now passed its third reading. “These changes mean $100 will be the maximum wheel clamping ...
An independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is a step closer after it unanimously passed its first vote in Parliament today. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill lays the groundwork for establishing the Commission as a fully independent crown entity – delivering on a key recommendation of He Ara ...
We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to screen travellers for border and immigration risks off-shore before they travel to New Zealand. It was launched in August and became mandatory on 1 October 2019. More than 500,000 NZeTAs have been issued since ...
A proposed national plan of action to reduce the number of seabirds caught in fisheries is being circulated for public feedback. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage say New Zealand is a global centre of seabird diversity with about 145 species in our waters. It has more ...
The Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. Associate Finance Minister David Parker said under current Overseas Investment Act rules, assets such as ports and ...
The Government is building special housing to accommodate one of Aotearoa’s greatest taonga- our kaumātua, says the Minister for Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Speaking at a National Kaumātua Service Providers Conference in Rotorua today, the Minister reinforced the importance kaumātua play in maintaining and passing on mātauranga Māori, knowledge, ...
Eleven men from a pilot forestry training programme for prisoners in Northland now have full time jobs or job offers upon release, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis and Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced today. The ‘release to work’ programme was a collaboration between Te Uru Rākau and the Department of Corrections, ...
Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins today introduced into Parliament a Bill that will make it easier for the public service to tackle the biggest challenges facing Governments. The Bill represents the most significant change in the public service in 30 years. The State Sector Act 1988 will be repealed ...
The families of more than 416,000 students will be better off next year as their schools have signed up to the Government’s donations scheme, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. The scheme will see almost $62.5 million in additional Government funding go to schools nationwide next year. “I’m really pleased ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next four weeks,” Mr Peters said. “A New Zealand Medical Assistance ...
Fa’atalofa atu, malo e lelei, Kia ora koutou katoa Thank you to the Child Poverty Action Group for asking me to be here today to provide an update on some of the things that have been happening across my the social development portfolio. Can I firstly acknowledge the vast ...
***Please check against delivery*** Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to be with you this morning to open this year’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Conference and AGM. Firstly, thank you Dr Alan Jackson, NZTR Chair for your introduction. And let us acknowledge also: The NZTR Board; Dean McKenzie, Chair ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer and more secure, Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Kris Faafoi has announced today. Both renters and landlords will benefit from the suite of practical changes to the Residential ...
A marine conservation milestone - the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve - is being celebrated today at a community event in Tairāwhiti/East Coast attended by the Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “The creation of this marine reserve in November 1999 was a game ...
The Government is asking the food industry to step up work to tackle obesity including reducing sugar, fat and salt in their products, better information for consumers, and tighter restrictions on advertising to children. Health Minister David Clark and Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor have responded to a ...
ew, modern emergency department and outpatient facilities at Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital mean better emergency care for the growing tourist mecca’s visitors and locals, says Health Minister David Clark. Today Dr Clark officially opened the hospital’s redeveloped Emergency Department and Outpatient facilities. The new facilities include: • An extended Emergency Department ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter says today’s release of sexual and reproductive health data reinforces the significance of the Government’s commitment to providing free or very low-cost contraception. The Ministry of Health today published statistics from the Ministry of Health’s 2014/15 Health Survey. “It is important people can make ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that at the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will be providing further support to Samoa as it faces a worsening measles outbreak. “In response to a request from the people of Samoa, New Zealand is providing 3000 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ...
“The new Disability Action Plan 2019–2023 moves us towards the inclusive and accessible New Zealand that this government has committed to,” Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “The Action Plan was designed by disabled people, their family and supporters, the disability sector and government agencies. It will ensure ...
Third Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting 14 November 2019 Joint Statement 1. Defence Ministers Ron Mark and Dr Ng Eng Hen today conducted their third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore. 2. Building on the Enhanced Partnership signed between both countries in May this year, this annual meeting ...
A Bill to improve the court system’s response to sexual violence has passed its first reading in Parliament today. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill will reduce the trauma sexual violence complainants experience in court, while maintaining defendants’ fundamental rights and making sure the trial process ...
Streamlined payment practices are a step closer for Kiwi businesses with the formal launch of New Zealand’s e-Invoicing framework. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the government has now established the structure to enable automated and direct data exchange between the accounting systems of buyers and sellers. “The move to ...
Another 51 quarantine officers and four new biosecurity detector dog teams will help protect New Zealand from invasive pests and diseases this summer, says Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “The Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system and support our valuable primary sector “New Zealand’s flora, fauna ...
A new report has found New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the economy in the last financial year and employs 12,000 people, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. The report by Deloitte was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and shows New Zealand ...
Judge Coral Shaw has been appointed as the new Chair of the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. "Judge Shaw, who is currently one of the inquiry commissioners, is extremely well qualified for the ...
The Government has confirmed its third major mental health facility upgrade since the Budget, this time at Palmerston North Hospital. The Prime Minister and Health Minister today visited MidCentral DHB to announce that $30 million has been allocated to upgrade its acute mental health facility. It follows earlier announcements in ...
The roll out of the National Bowel Screening Programme has reached the halfway mark, with 10 out of 20 District Health Boards now part of the programme. MidCentral DHB, which covers Palmerston North, Manawatu and surrounding districts, this week became the latest to DHB to offer free bowel screening to ...
The Government welcomes PHARMAC’s decision to fund a vaccine to protect young people from meningococcal disease from 1 December this year. “Meningococcal disease is a serious threat which people at higher risk should be protected from,” says Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter. “The combined pharmaceutical budget was increased by ...
Groups involved with innovative fisheries research projects are encouraged to apply for government support in the latest funding round from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures programme. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the SFF Futures funding is designed to be flexible enough to support small or large projects across a ...
The Government has fixed an issue affecting how Immigration New Zealand has processed visa applications for culturally arranged marriages, which will now see a consistent process applied which ensures people with legitimate arranged marriages can visit New Zealand while also preventing any rorting of the system. Earlier this year Immigration ...
The Royal Commission into the Attacks on Christchurch Mosques will report back on 30 April 2020 to give it more time to hear submissions and consider information, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Royal Commission was originally scheduled to report back to Government by 10 December 2019. “There has ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Washington DC today to attend a ministerial meeting focused on defeating ISIS, and to continue pursuing New Zealand’s trade opportunities. Mr Peters will participate in a meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers from key countries contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. ...
The recently crowned Bird of the Year, the hoiho/yellow eyed penguin, is getting a much needed helping hand alongside more than 168 other community conservation projects announced Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage today. 168 community conservation projects throughout New Zealand are benefiting from $8 million in government grants, including $500,000 ...
Controls on assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms are to be broadened to include some types of pistols, under changes to a bill currently making its way through Parliament. Police Minister Stuart Nash has tabled a Supplementary Order Paper to the Arms Legislation Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark will travel to Singapore today to conduct a counterpart visit and to co-chair the third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting with his counterpart, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen. “Singapore is one of our most important defence partners in the region, and our ...
Nelson’s Salisbury School is to be rebuilt, creating a modern and suitable learning environment for students at the residential special school, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The school for girls aged 8-15, in Richmond, was earmarked for closure by National until the process ...
The panel undertaking a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act has identified the main issues to be addressed and options for reform and is calling for feedback to inform its final report. In July the Government announced the comprehensive review of the resource management system, including the RMA - ...
An important safety valve has been added to New Zealand’s criminal justice system with the third reading of the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill today. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “We’ve seen how our justice system can very occasionally get things spectacularly wrong, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters welcomes the tabling of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) 2019 Annual Report in Parliament today. He says the 2019 Annual Report marks the point when New Zealand’s racing industry’s decline was arrested and a turnaround started. RITA’s 2019 Annual Report recorded an industry net profit ...
The New Zealand Government is today sending 21 firefighters to help fight the ongoing catastrophic Australian bushfires. “The fires in Australia are in some of the toughest, most challenging conditions ever,” says Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin. “As of yesterday morning, there were 100 active bushfire-related incidents across Queensland and ...
Power Play - Rumours of dodgy political donations, Winston Peters full of bluster and denial, and potentially a drawn-out series of combative but ultimately meaningless exchanges with the press gallery. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has overhauled its much-criticised robo-debt scheme which has seen many welfare recipients asked to repay money they do not owe. A Tuesday email to staff in the Human Services department’s customer compliance division ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has overhauled its much-criticised robo-debt scheme which has seen many welfare recipients asked to repay money they do not owe. A Tuesday email to staff in the Human Services department’s customer compliance division ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University Every summer in Australia, bushfires, cyclones and floods threaten lives and properties. Preparing for these emergencies includes creating an emergency kit that contains everything you and your baby will ...
I am an everyday Mum and I am scared. My youngest child is 4 years old. In 2100 she will turn 85. What will that world look like? On our current trajectory, it’s not looking great. You have all heard the consequences of every degree that goes up in ...
Sam Brooks gives you the lowdown on Disney+, the exhaustive streaming service launching today.What on this good green world is Disney+?Disney+ is a streaming service run by, as you might expect, Disney. If you need someone to explain what Disney is to you, then this service probably isn’t for you. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Wake, Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance, UNSW Australia invests heavily in its major festivals: A$5 million in state government funding for Sydney Festival, $7 million for Perth, and $9 million for Adelaide. Funding for festivals has remained relatively constant over ...
Forest & Bird is calling on New Zealanders to back strong rules to protect penguins, albatross, and other seabirds from fishing nets and hooks, as the Government releases its National Plan of Action on Seabirds for consultation . ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Colin Klein, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University Why do people believe conspiracy theories? Is it because of who they are, what they’ve encountered, or a combination of both? The answer is important. Belief in conspiracy theories helps fuel climate change ...
There are many things up for debate in Parliament this week, including wheel clamping, farm debt and loan sharks. Among the work load here are few of the key things to keep an eye out for. ...
After months of silence on Ihumātao, the government is considering a loan to Auckland Council to buy the occupied Fletcher-owned land, according to an RNZ report.What is the dispute over the land? Fletcher Residential bought a section of land in South Auckland in 2014 for $19m with plans to build a ...
Organisations from across Auckland have gathered to come up with solutions to make the city safer for women at night – including a commitment from Uber NZ to make it easier to report harassment and abuse, write Emma McInnes and Amanda Gilmore.Over 70% of women in Aotearoa have been a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Tattersall, Postdoc in Urban Geography and Research Lead at Sydney Policy Lab. Host of ChangeMakers Podcast., University of Sydney While thousands of Hong Kongers have protested “like water” for the past six months – flowing through the city with seemingly spontaneous ...
Tuesday, 19 November: An international team of scientists have just found that nitrous oxide emissions are rising much faster than had been previously thought. ...
The Labour led coalition government is continuing to create homelessness. The impact of immigration, failure of Kiwibuild, and attacks on the rental market, have resulted in the opposite outcomes that New Zealanders were promised. ...
Kris Faafoi, ranked 17th in Cabinet, emerged as the politician who most impressed top chief executives for ministerial performance in this year’s NZ Herald CEOs survey. It is the first time in the history of the Mood of the Boardroom survey that a minister ranked towards the tailend of Cabinet, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Last week’s catastrophic fires on Australia’s east coast – and warnings of more soon to come – will become all too common as climate change gathers pace. And as the challenges ...
NZ First leader Winston Peters has responded to allegations his party breached electoral law, saying he's confident the party has always acted within the law. ...
19 November 2019: In May 2019, Hon Judith Collins raised some concerns about KiwiBuild with our Office. We decided to look into those concerns as part of the 2018/19 annual audit of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. We have now completed that ...
The Radio New Zealand headline was emphatic– Ihumātao protest: Govt will not intervene, PM says. Some four months later we can put this into the same political leadership category as Bill Clinton’s equally emphatic “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” The RNZ headline sat atop a ...
A global movement which has transformed the way young people engage with philanthropy is launching in New Zealand and 10x10 is encouraging young Kiwis to choose charity over avocado toast at its first event in Auckland this month. ...
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Photographer Brendan Kitto shares his images from the 2016 exhibition Redevelop ...
Employees of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research say they don’t want to take industrial action, but management have backed them into a corner. ...
NZ First leader Winston Peters is refusing to comment on news reports raising questions about how the party uses the New Zealand First Foundation to handle donations. ...
The Finance Minister Grant Robertson says it's too early to definitively say the Government is looking to lend millions of dollars to Auckland Council, to buy disputed land at Ihumātao. ...
The government will strengthen overseas investment rules by assessing whether the sale of high-risk assets - including "significant media entities" - is in the national interest. ...
The Public Service Association supports a Bill introduced by the government yesterday that aims to replace the State Sector Act 1988 with a new Public Service Act. ...
A quiz from the NZ Initiative got people talking this morning, mostly because it showed we were a nation of dumb-dumbs. Alex Braae, a person of limited intelligence and vast general knowledge, took the test. People who know me often conclude that there’s one area in which I really shine – ...
Leaks of NZ First Foundation records raise big questions about the party’s funding, and there’s every chance of more to come. A glance at history suggests the scale of the problem. An early election may not be a bad idea at all, suggests Danyl MclauchlanIt’s happening.During its time in government ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police were justified in using a Police dog during the arrest of a man in Auckland on 9 November 2018. ...
A review of the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to ensure it supports the long-term well-being of New Zealanders has been launched today with the release of a discussion document. ...
The A2 Milk Company expects continued strong growth for its speciality dairy products with increased marketing investment in China and the United States. ...
Greenpeace protesters have covered Parliament lawn with replica coral this morning, calling on the Government to take urgent action on bottom trawling. ...
Chlöe Swarbrick’s “OK boomer” retort in Parliament has proved to be the spark that set alight a dry field of latent generational angst. The debate over the remark rolls on and on, revealing that generational warfare is a growing cleavage in New Zealand. Increasingly, political problems of housing, inequality, climate ...
Can the flagship Disney+ show The Mandalorian serve the Star Wars diehards at the same time as the casual viewer, asks Sam Brooks.A quick multiple-choice test to find out if The Mandalorian is for you or not.Q. Does the title The Mandalorian mean anything to you?A) No.B) Kind of? It’s definitely part of ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.NZ First Matt Shand (Stuff): NZ First Foundation dodging electoral rules? Records suggest breaches Matt ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is labelling the Government and Auckland Council cowards, for reportedly giving in to the thugs occupying privately owned Ihumātao and proposing to use taxpayer funds and Auckland Council to buy the land. Radio NZ is reporting ...
Auckland one of the worst cities in the world for public transport, road taxes according to new data; and substantial benefit hikes appear off the Government's agenda. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Einboden, Lecturer, The Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney In Victoria, 35 young people aged 12-17 years ended their lives by suicide between 2007 and 2019 – all were entangled in the child protection system. This was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Haslam, Professor of Psychology and ARC Laureate Fellow, The University of Queensland The ABC’s Australia Talks project aims to stimulate a conversation on a broad sweep of topics — from job security and sexual habits to national pride and personal finances. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pep Canadell, Chief research scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere; and Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Nitrous oxide (N₂O) (more commonly known as laughing gas) is a powerful contributor to global warming. It is 265 times more effective at trapping heat in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hilary Hollingsworth, Principal Research Fellow, Australian Council for Educational Research Australian teachers are in the thick of producing end-of-year reports. In many schools, the report writing process begins several weeks – or even months – before reports are eventually released. This process ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. (attributed to Danish physicist Niels Bohr) The difficulty of making predictions has long been known, but the rise of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Smith, Professor of Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University The Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory is dotted with around 300 termite mounds, dressed as people. They are reminiscent of giant, ochre coloured “snowmen” in their distinctly ...
Almost half a million dollars in political donations appear to have been hidden inside a secret slush fund controlled by a coterie of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ trusted advisers. ...
Sources tell RNZ the Crown is considering loaning money to the council to buy the disputed land, with Fletcher seeking $40m - more than double what it paid in 2014. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch stadium funding in the spotlight, more trouble for NZ First, and medical students caught in rort.Construction hasn’t even come close to starting on the new Christchurch stadium and the money is looking shaky. Stuff’s Michael Hayward reports a business case is ...
New rental reforms aren’t about shafting landlords, they’re about requesting that those who built an industry around housing accept that with industry, comes regulation, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell. ...
Severe storm surges will get bigger around parts of the South Island and smaller around the North Island as the climate changes, two studies have now predicted. ...
Bernard Hickey visited E-Go’s electric car factory in Aachen, Germany to find how it used a 5G network to flip car-making on its head, and how it’s an example of what Industry 4.0 could look like in New Zealand. ...
Were Fonterra’s Open Gates events a shallow PR stunt, or was there something deeper going on? Alex Braae went to Mangatawhiri to find out.This feature is made possible thanks to the Spinoff Members Fund. We need your help to make journalism that matters. For more information, click here.Walking into the Fonterra ...
It was meant to ‘draw a line under the whole episode’. So how did it turn into an unmitigated PR disaster, asks former Edelman executive David Brain.The thing about the Royal Family is that everything they do is PR really. I mean in the old sense of image and spin. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Clarke, Associate Professor, National Security College, Australian National University This past weekend, The New York Times’ China correspondents, Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy, published an expose of over 400 internal Chinese government documents relating to Beijing’s mass detentions of Uighurs, Kazakhs ...
Open mike 14/04/2013 
Stuff's story on NZDF's negligence around its Afghan firing ranges has produced a result, with a commitment from the Prime Minister for an urgent cleanup. But this doesn't mean NZDF is accepting responsibility for the deaths and injuries that have occured - they're still refusing compensation. Which given that the ...8 hours ago
Didn't See It Coming: NZ Herald columnist Lizzie Marvelly's latest column merits serious scrutiny because such a clear example of anti-democratic thinking is encountered only rarely on the pages of the daily press. Which is not to say that the elitism which lies at the heart of such social disparagement ...11 hours ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Initially it was reported that in an aerial bombardment that took place on August 30th seven children were massacred; the figure then went up to eight and then on November 11th Noticias Uno reported that, according to people from the community in close proximity to the ...14 hours ago
Words and images by Jacqui Gibson Gone are Auckland Museum’s days of doing science using a museum-centric academic approach, after Māori land rights holders Ngāti Kuri gave the museum an ultimatum.
MediaWorks announced in October 2019 that it intended to sell off its struggling television business and cancel or cut back on several popular local programmes, including New Zealand Today, Married at First Sight New Zealand and 7 Days. Its radio and outdoor advertising arms are currently performing well, but MediaWorks’ ...2 days ago
Some readers may remember that I mentioned last year that I was applying for NZ citizenship. I filled out the paperwork and had my original citizenship interview in February. Everything went well until they discovered that, because I had spent five months in the US in 2017, I had not ...2 days ago
There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...3 days ago
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...4 days ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...1 week ago
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ... 1 week ago
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...6 hours ago
We're setting our young people up for success, investing in education around the country. ...1 day ago
New rules to clamp down on overzealous wheel clamping and extortionate fees charged in order to release a vehicle have passed their final stage in Parliament today. The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill has now passed its third reading. “These changes mean $100 will be the maximum wheel clamping ...38 mins ago
Power Play - Rumours of dodgy political donations, Winston Peters full of bluster and denial, and potentially a drawn-out series of combative but ultimately meaningless exchanges with the press gallery. ...1 hour ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has overhauled its much-criticised robo-debt scheme which has seen many welfare recipients asked to repay money they do not owe. A Tuesday email to staff in the Human Services department’s customer compliance division ...1 hour ago
Claims of a concerted effort to cloak donations are not yet proven, but there is enough there to concern Jacinda Ardern and the public. ...3 hours ago
I am an everyday Mum and I am scared. My youngest child is 4 years old. In 2100 she will turn 85. What will that world look like? On our current trajectory, it’s not looking great. You have all heard the consequences of every degree that goes up in ...3 hours ago
The Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has been ordered to add $250 million to its capital reserves after miscalculating its risk. ...4 hours ago
Sam Brooks gives you the lowdown on Disney+, the exhaustive streaming service launching today.What on this good green world is Disney+?Disney+ is a streaming service run by, as you might expect, Disney. If you need someone to explain what Disney is to you, then this service probably isn’t for you. ...4 hours ago
Labour's Māori caucus is pushing for a settlement at Ihumāto, which could include a creative solution. ...4 hours ago
The Commerce Minister is refusing to comment on reports the government is backing a new bid from NZME to buy Stuff. ...5 hours ago
Retirement village and aged care company Arvida has benefited from strong gains in the value of property and improved sales prices. ...6 hours ago
Kris Faafoi, ranked 17th in Cabinet, emerged as the politician who most impressed top chief executives for ministerial performance in this year’s NZ Herald CEOs survey. It is the first time in the history of the Mood of the Boardroom survey that a minister ranked towards the tailend of Cabinet, ...7 hours ago
The Radio New Zealand headline was emphatic – Ihumātao protest: Govt will not intervene, PM says. Some four months later we can put this into the same political leadership category as Bill Clinton’s equally emphatic “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” The RNZ headline sat atop a ...7 hours ago
The Finance Minister Grant Robertson says it's too early to definitively say the Government is looking to lend millions of dollars to Auckland Council, to buy disputed land at Ihumātao. ...8 hours ago
NZ First leader denies wrongdoing after allegations of donations being funnelled through a foundation to avoid disclosure. ...9 hours ago
The A2 Milk Company expects continued strong growth for its speciality dairy products with increased marketing investment in China and the United States. ...10 hours ago
Auckland one of the worst cities in the world for public transport, road taxes according to new data; and substantial benefit hikes appear off the Government's agenda. ...12 hours ago
Discussions are under way for Auckland Council to buy the disputed Ihumātao land in a bid to break the three-year deadlock. ...12 hours ago
Almost half a million dollars in political donations appear to have been hidden inside a secret slush fund controlled by a coterie of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ trusted advisers. ...13 hours ago
"To me, boxing is art. It is beautiful. It is brutal. It is violent. It is challenging. It is pure." ...15 hours ago
New rental reforms aren’t about shafting landlords, they’re about requesting that those who built an industry around housing accept that with industry, comes regulation, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell. ...15 hours ago
Severe storm surges will get bigger around parts of the South Island and smaller around the North Island as the climate changes, two studies have now predicted. ...15 hours ago
Bernard Hickey visited E-Go’s electric car factory in Aachen, Germany to find how it used a 5G network to flip car-making on its head, and how it’s an example of what Industry 4.0 could look like in New Zealand. ...15 hours ago
John McCrystal reviews a book of maps by someone called John McCrystal. ...15 hours ago
Pat Baskett asks: Are we so worried about methane and agriculture we don’t even think about carbon from vehicles? ...15 hours ago
Two investigators with a meal allowance are hoped to address nationwide inconsistencies with council RMA monitoring and enforcement. ...15 hours ago
Ashley Stanley will join LockerRoom early next year as a full-time writer on women in sport, thanks to a partnership with Sky Sport. ...15 hours ago
Out of control fires, distressed animals, sleepless nights as your suburb turns into a war zone - has our annual fireworks fun gone too far? ...16 hours ago
"Mum and Dad" landlords are likely to turn to property managers, or even exit the market ...1 day ago
Welcome to the dream: Kiwi Park, Sydney’s humanitarian disaster
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/8542785/Homeless-Kiwis-live-under-a-Sydney-bridge
“Because of their inability to claim the dole and an expensive housing market – a bed at an unlicensed boarding house costs $175 to $200 a week and a basic one-bed flat, $300 to $375 – Kiwis are easy targets for black-market employers offering just $75 a day. “That’s the only way they can support themselves,” says Macklin. One worker has heard some job agencies are incentivised by the government to get people off the dole – so have no particular desire to give jobs to Kiwis. “
PLEAS FOR COMPASSION REJECTED
By popular demand, a monthly homeless services hub in Woolloomooloo offers immigration-specific advice. O’Hallloran says the Welfare Rights Centre also sees a lot of New Zealanders, at least two a week, seeking advice after “falling through the cracks”. They often apply to the state for “active grace”, where claimants are allowed a short spell of claiming benefits in recognition of dire need. “These are routinely rejected, although we make them for extreme cases; we think that’s completely inhumane. We’ve not had a successful one for a New Zealander in three years and that includes some very extreme cases of abuse, homelessness, violence, and some very sorry stories.”
Having reluctantly accepted the law around benefit provision won’t change for most Kiwis, the centre is lobbying for young people who arrived as minors and those facing sudden change beyond their control who couldn’t reasonably be expected to return to New Zealand to access a discretionary payment called “Special Benefit”.
To fight their corner, they’ve amassed some shocking case studies: a teenage boy forced into homelessness through sex abuse and another through family violence, both receiving nothing because they didn’t qualify for youth allowances and couldn’t get family tax benefit as they weren’t at home; a builder’s labourer in Australia to be near his child but couldn’t work as he lost an arm in an accident, yet received no disability benefit; and a 19-year-old who had been in Australia eight years, had no family back in New Zealand and who had been diagnosed with bipolar and couldn’t work. “We write up these case studies,” she says, “it is all we can do, and say ‘at today’s date, they remain homeless’. We hear some very shocking stories and there is often a very good reason why they get ‘stuck’. It becomes abundantly clear that it would be inhumane to leave them without any income support. It is inexcusable.”
Note: “Special Benefit” began being phased out in 2006 and was replaced by TAS (Temporary Additional Support). I think they refer to another type of emergency benefit.
The NZ government is not blameless for this state of affairs, since it has cheerfully used Australia as a safety valve for absorbing our cast-off workers, while at the same time allowing Australian banks here to privilege the so-called property market over manufacturing, thus adding to the numbers of cast-off workers. It could be insisted that from now on kiwis going to Australia must deposit their fare home, so that Australia can send them back if they find themselves out of work, which would not help the ones already there, and which NZ would probably oppose. It could also be agreed that Australia pays for Aussies here, and NZ for kiwis over there, but that would be fiercely opposed by NZ, since the numbers are so stacked against them. Basically, NZ says to the neighbours, “Please babysit our working age population while we go the casino. Don’t ring if anything goes wrong for them, as we are busy waiting for the jackpot.”
Well what the hell do they expect?
This shit was widely known.
“This shit was widely known.”
I suspect not. There was a very good in depth look at this on RNZ a few months ago, and it was an eye opener for me. I think many kiwis still see Oz as an extension of NZ, that they have more rights to be there than other non-Ozzies, and they don’t see themselves as ‘immigrants’. The RNZ interviews showed that many of the NZers that get into trouble in Oz had not understood the consequences of moving there.
The bipolar guy who was eleven when his family moved countries should have known better ?
Classy tory.
Key went across to sort this out. He returned after having given Queensland access to NZ Police records. With him on our side……….
Kiwis in Oz pay the full tax rates, yet are denied many of the services that these taxes pay for. Even in terms of their beloved user pays philosophy, this is not right. They could at the very least give a tax rebate.
If they are living under a bridge, they are obviously not paying any tax are they? If they have a job, they are choosing to be there.
Do you believe that all NZers living in Australia are unemployed and living under a bridge? I think that makes you a supreme idiot.
Did you read the article, idiot? One guy had been doing senior IT work, but fell victim to depression. Maybe if he’d started a hate blog instead of helping people, you’d respect and follow him.
The point is that they all would have been working, they all would have been paying taxes, and some still are. Now run along and find something else to get totally wrong.
It disturbs me how many of our right-wing friends appear to believe in a static universe.
The NZ in ANZAC has definitely gone missing – it only turns up on ANZAC day for some strutting about at the break of day.
Still – why worry? Wonder Boy is comfortable with it and Joolia sees no need to change things.
Economics and the Powerful: how the elite skew economic and financial policies
An outstanding presentation organised by the INET group. Insights not into economics as such, but how economics has been used by the elite and disseminated to ignore the reality of peoples lives in society and consequently screw the 99%.
(starts about 3 mins in)
(this is a good-news/how-to/visionary/futurist-story..that i found on my rounds this morn..and that you may not otherwise come across..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/lessons-for-building-a-solar-economy/
(explanation of link..)
“..Hawaii generates more of its power from the sun than any other state.
Here’s what the rest of us can learn from the obstacles that came up along the way –
– and and what’s being done to overcome them..”
(and of course those preferring to avoid my ellipses-scattered/capital letter/traditional-sentence-structure-devoid website..can also find the story at the alternet website..
..alternet is a progressive news-website i rely on/read/link to each day..
..and – as an aside – i would highly recommend alternet to those interested in such matters..)
phillip ure..
…. too irritating, didn’t read ….
..too irritating, didn’t read..
..fify..
..and ditto..
It’s not really relevant to NZ, covers the problems they had with their grid and we wouldn’t have the same sort of issues here.
It’s a shame NZ isn’t embracing solar while the opportunity is there. With our $NZ being so high and Chinese manufacturers desperate for sales they’re incredibly cheap and may not be that way for long. Buying in bulk it’s possible to land all the hardware for a grid tie system for a depreciated cost of well under 5c Kw/hr. Households are paying 25-30c and wind costs over 10c.
Just seen another Tui Advert by Key on the Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the National Party called Q&A
“I am honest and up front” Yeah Right
Add that to the list of John Key’s lies.
The Nation : The Leader (Atom secrets, secret leaflets, Have the boys found the leak yet the molehill sets the wheel in motion His System of a Downfall picks up Locomotion)
pearls of wisdom from Mai Chen
-“the Kitteridge Report is a damning report”
-“we should not be giving the GCSB anymore powers”
-Colloidal Cruiser ( Hot Stuff, it’s only Rock and Roll but I like like it yes I do)
korea
XIAMING HUAN
-“diplomatic rhetoric is important in trade with China”
Hearn-shaw
-“NK people are just normal people, warm-hearted, friendly, (if a little hungry)”
-“incorrectly portrayed buy Western media”
-“military believe they can extract concessions” (Sky City?)
-“while all-out war may be unlikely, skirmishes are possible”
back to the CC CP freak-show; “party not initially keen to talk about their platforms, what they stand for; a lot of Colin Craig appearances and little of the party board; “too busy” / “not comfortable with the story” (Three times before the atomic rooster crows “What is conservative about Rankin’s dress sense?”) an turn of phrase “he’s not playing politics, he’s deadly serious” lol (but he just has to run up the skirts of his press secretary first) cos’ there is sitting-room only at his party’s brow-beatings due to the Nationalistic message on the manufactured Lindauer pai-pai (sic)
Gavin Elllis, “said, said, said” (what other commentators say) if Key fell down the sh*t-house he would come back up grasping a a gold chain.
Q+A : Jane says… 😉 , on FTA with China / Asia, “quid pro quo, not just talking about trade” Chop Chop
while as Clinton Hillariously reminds us re the TPPA
-“re-militarization” in the region
(Johansen agrees, with Jane) Elephant Boy.
Aus. is forming military alliances with CHINA; yes Fran, NZ is not (like you) the centre of at tension.
ask Kenneth Wells, a very warm and funny man (Korean Historian) “different degree now, verging into a different kind” (at least they are finally interviewing people who DO actually know something about these topics and not the freakin elected troughers)
Graphene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene
cook-a-too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galah
AL EX
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)
“the Kitteridge Report – a damning report”
Aye …. and one that should be considered in relation to a remark Paul Buchanan made (on Firstline from memory – during the week just gone). A good description on how ‘those powers that be’ become captured by those that eventually make decisions.
I well recall a ‘spook’ (1 degree of separation rather than 2 in that it was a ‘spook’ relative relaying his/her frustrations), telling me how during the early 2000’s, it had been made clear that ‘un-PC’ type activity was verboten and that activity was pretty much limited to checking out the suitability of various senior public servants. (Btw … they weren’t listened to all the time either – hence the various bugger’s muddles at various times).
Still – no matter! we’ll outsource to another (such as the GCSB).
Police: same shit different stink with a cheer leader named Greg egging it all on.
What’s the point of having a state broadcaster if you can’t get your message put out there all wrapped around with pasty questions so it looks like the fawning interviewer is ‘satisfied’.
tc – confusion between ‘state broadcaster’ and ‘public broadcaster’. The difference is often used by the neo-libs to justify it’s demise.
It might be publicly owned, but its priority is the commercial/populist imperative.
But before you jump to the ‘what’s the point’ bit – consider that it’s used as a justification for flogging off the asset.
Far better to flog off those that attempt to commercialise (TVNZ management and its disciples), keep the asset, and insist those that follow have an understanding of the nature of Public Service Broadcasting).
Hint: they won’t be the likes of Bill Ralston
Nice idea but I reckon we’ve gone beyond the point of being able to make TVNZ a public broadcaster.
We lack the talent in content production, mostly outsourced and swallowed now by foreign production houses (South pacific being the latest) and political will to fund it.
labour had a limp attempt with the charter but mahreney and others made a pigs ear of that.
I take your point – there is still a bit of talent around, and a few that could well be lured back should there be a commitment to PSB properly funded.
You’re correct about labour’s attempt.
Why flog off any more of our assets though. At the very least – keep the buildings and chattels within or the next thing you know Sky City will be turning them into pokie galleries
A bald person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re bald.
A fat person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re fat.
A tall person doesn’t have to tell anyone they’re tall.
It’s obvious as soon as you meet them.
An honest upfront person has to tell everyone they’re honest and upfront. Hmmm.
Maybe he’s not telling the public so much as trying to convince himself – Message to Jonkey – It’s not working! OR as in Little Britain, – “Computer says NO”!!
The Artist Taxi Driver Another U$K Austerity Class War dispatch
Lord Freud Ukuncut Thatcher Obama Drones+Witches; Weekend B
Loads of room to talk! Bedroom tax Tory Lord Freud lives in eight-bedroom country mansion
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/bedroom-tax-tory-lord-freud-1545677
“Freud is the grandson of Sigmund Freud and has relatives who are married into the Murdoch and Rothschild family. It should not take much imagination to understand which ethnicity they belong to.”
“The idea that everybody should receive a basic income is out there. If you wish to have more than the basic income then you can work. The idea is that no person should starve, freeze or be uneducated.”
Glenda Jackson launches tirade against Thatcher in tribute debate
The industries that brought us most of our GDP, gone so now we live on a false economy of credit and stock.. High sustained rates of unemployment, powerless workers, evicted from their homes, the three most dramatic and destructive recessions in our history, the banking crises caused by financial dergulation, part time jobs replaced stable jobs, prices for basic necessities hugely inflated annd thousands of pensioners and some young people dying from the freezing cold and all this masked .
” Margaret Thatcher the tax snatcher? Mystery of her £6m house with links to THREE tax havens
13 Apr 2013 00:00
Financial experts said it could have been a scheme which would help her estate avoid millions of pounds in inheritance ”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/margaret-thatcher-tax-snatcher-mystery-1828441
Thanks for pointing us to that site Johnm. I think Glenda Jackson makes some classic statements which I am sure will be quoted in the future. Apart from the one “The price of everything, and the value of nothing” I also liked the one “Hogarth would recognise London if he was alive” Hogarth died in the 1700’s Glenda Jackson told those Tory prats in no uncertain terms that Thatcher had turned the clock back at least 200 years and was being continued today by Camoron. But of course that would have gone over their heads.
Glenda was an amazing actress – Remember her Elizabeth the First? She must be a great MP too!! A very clever woman!!
Tim Bale’s pro-Thatcher apologetics this morning
Radio New Zealand National, Sunday, 14 April 2013
How do you find someone, other than a craven politician, to speak positively about a notorious politician who denigrated Nelson Mandela as a “terrorist”, yet supported Suharto, Pinochet, Begin, Shamir, Saddam and Reagan?
The answer is, of course, you find an amenable academic. Now, there are tractable professors right through this country, from Wyn Hoadley in Auckland, down through crazy Ron Smith and Dov Bing at Waikato, Lance Beath at Victoria, right down to Otago’s mealy-mouthed Robert Patman. But Chris Laidlaw’s producers decided to bypass these dependable fellows and go for someone who is actually in the midst of the national celebr—, errr, mourning. He spoke to one Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at VUW.
Much of what Bale said was too bland and anodyne to bear repeating, but something of his moral character can be gauged by the following exchange which came near the end of the interview….
CHRIS LAIDLAW: The sinking of the General Belgrano. There’s not much said in Britain about that. I regard it as a war crime.
TIM BALE: [irritated tone] Hmmmm. [slowly and pompously] I don’t think you would find many people in Britain who think that. Most people think it was a good idea that she took the Falklands back from what was pretty much a fascist regime. Whatever you think of her, the British people actually LIKE conviction politicians.
CHRIS LAIDLAW: [skeptically] Mmmmmmmm. Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary College in London, formerly a lecturer at Victoria University, thank you!
Some sort of panel discussion would have been a little more appropriate me thinks. I suspect someone at RNZ just read ‘Cameron and the Conservatives since 1945′ and thought “ooooo, I know – we’ll get Tim’. The 9 o’clock time pips seemed the most appealing thing for me in that little discussion! (tik tok tik tok as it really does come closer to all turning to shit).
Good on CL though for getting in the war crimes quip – no matter how one feels about the Faulklands
I forgot to mention that Thatcher, obediently following the lead of her Washington master, also supported the Khmer Rouge.
Yes, she was a biiigggggg supporter of that vicious old nazi, Pinochet.
Shame about Tim Bale – a former lecturer of mine at Vic. Something of a Blair supporter too, if I remember rightly.
As if we needed another piece of evidence of the way this deceitful and dishonest government works.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/8547471/Secrecy-over-milk-DCD-scare-revealed
It seems the government has finally become that big ugly thing. It has become self-serving, existing solely to preserve and enhance itself, no matter its original purpose. It has become a large ugly wart that just wants to keep growing and growing, eating up all that wanders near. Yuck.
I thought Guy comment about the DCD not being at a dangerous level was curious and bizarre.
If it wasnt dangerous why the secrecy?…..
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2013/04/the-abortion-story-that-the-msm-wont-cover/
This is not a left vs right debate but be warned its a hard read (and not because its a whaleoil story) but an interesting one
Idiot, there’s been extensive coverage both here and in the US.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/4560338/Abortion-doctor-killed-babies-with-scissors
http://www.3news.co.nz/Abortion-doctor-killed-7-babies-with-scissors/tabid/417/articleID/195091/Default.aspx
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10872384
http://www.salon.com/2013/04/12/conservatives_should_look_inward_on_gosnell_blackout/
Fuckwit, considering the scope of the case I’d have expected a lot more coverage.
If you want more coverage, paint it up on a sandwich board and stand in the middle of the street. Take your sense of entitlement somewhere else, get off your lazy entitled bum and just do it.
And I’d like wall to wall coverage of the ASP and the NZKB too.
Nice one dipshit
Yeah well, this complaint would have more merit of it wasn’t just an obvious rightwing freak out of the day:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/41853_Breitbart.com_AWOL_on_Gosnell_for_Past_Two_Years_Suddenly_Dozens_of_Posts
Case has been going on for quite some time, very little interest from the right wing, then all of a sudden it’s everywhere, even down to little old failoil and his circus of derp.
Has he covered that apparent terrorist attack againts the nurse in Auckland who works at a clinic, per chance/
That story had one report on TV1. I’d say that’s a more under-reported story than this one.
Another under-reported terrorist attack was that bombing attempt on a Martin Luther King parade. Way more developed than any number of failed attacks where the FBI are involved with some muslim dude.
Bombs were made and in place, only failed to go off because someone noticed the bags. Whaleoil cover that?
See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.
Piss off wanker, stop seeing shit that ain’t there
chris, you’re being disingenuous. Please explain how this doctor would have been able to practice in a state where abortions were legal, equitably accessible, and managed in the same way as other health care. Of course this is about politics and restriction of women’s reproductive rights by US right wing prolifers.
I get the feeling this guy would have operated the same regardless of the legal situation. To do what he did suggests theres something wrong upstairs. If a baby is born (or however the medical profession consider it) and healthy then I’d imagine the Hippocratic oath comes into play.
I’m just surprised no ones tried to link John Key or Pauls Bennet to it…
I’m just surprised no ones tried to link John Key or Pauls Bennet to it…
So far you’re the only one who has…?
Thats why its surprising
Actually, he wouldn’t have been able to as the women wouldn’t have needed to seek him out.
Exactly. This isn’t hard to grasp chris. Women needed late term abortions, and were desperate enough to go through a horrendous experience to get one. Why do you think that is?
As for the hippocratic oath, I suggest you read up on the technicalities of late term abortions.
In a more rational state, the women would have had better options. When the crazy make women’s reproductive health care almost impossible, is it at all surprising that crazies will start providing the horrible level of service that we see here?
We used to see med students struck off alcoholic doctors, and worse providing terminations in Aotearoa not that long ago. We had plenty of horror stories right at home. That story is our future if rabid dogs like the Conservatives ever get their way.
+1 It wasn’t that long ago in NZ the wealthy could fly to Aussie and all the others had to find another way.
That’s not my conclusion, it’s the grand juries…anyhoo…do tell me how hard you’ve worked.
“See fool, this isn’t about abortion, it’s about the greed and crime that flourished in a pro-life state which denied women access to safe, legal abortion services.”
+1000
Chris you seem obsessed with linking to the sewer every other day, it’s gross.
Have you got up to speed on the latest blunder by the stinky one you adore?
It’s here he’s a fool and you need a new hero.
And your point is?
If I stopped reading a blog everytime someone got something wrong…well I wouldn’t be reading this one for a start
*cue link please*
He doesn’t get things wrong. It’s not a mishap.
He makes up complete bullshit and you swallow it daily.
The only surprising thing about all of this is that anybody still so much as gives the Welfare Whale the time of day, never mind actually believing a word it says.
Those who post links to whaleoil do tend to be the more gullible of our visitors.
Criusing Colloidally,
if the Straijacket Fits She Speeds through Bailterspace Lightfootedly
mysky? “Equilibrium” before The Fall to Higher Ground (or Higher Learning)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562568/ http://www.higherground.org.nz/
( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113305/ )
Empire (from the History Channel) Records “doing good, by force if necessary”
The Fun-Lovin Criminals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDYfoRYcqQ Cougar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mellencamp Revolution Revolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKLmpALMFc from a Small Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVLVaBECuc …
Lines of untold history
http://www.google.co.nz/#hl=en&gs_rn=9&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=the+untold+history+of+the+united+states&es_nrs=true&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=the+untol&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45175338,d.aGc&fp=f2b169560604df12&biw=996&bih=499
by RT; Russia produces list of US officials now sanctioned for Human Rights Breaches
Breaking The Set
http://www.youtube.com/user/breakingtheset
” a hard rains gonna fall”
(Super) Nova
…now Normie, if we can just establish who your Friends are, Kirstie (without withdrawel they just wanna possess your bits).
Cruising Cooloidally,
if the Straitjacket Fits She Speeds through Bailterspace lightfootedly
mysky; Equilibrium before The Fall to Higher Ground (or Higher Learning)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562568/?ref_=sr_1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113305/?ref_=sr_1
http://www.higherground.org.nz/
“Empire” (from the History Channel) records “doing good, by force if necessary.”
The Fun-Lovin Criminals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFSLFBAJdBI Cougar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVLVaBECuc Revolution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mellencamp Revolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKLmpALMFc from a Small Town.
Lines of untold history
http://www.google.co.nz/#hl=en&gs_rn=9&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=9&gs_id=y&xhr=t&q=the+untold+history+of+the+united+states&es_nrs=true&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=the+untol&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45175338,d.aGc&fp=f2b169560604df12&biw=996&bih=499
by RT: “Russia produces list of US officials now sanctioned for Human Rights Breaches (the war of the lists)”
Breaking The Set : http://www.youtube.com/user/breakingtheset
“a hard rains gonna fall”
Super (Nova) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfy7Dxy57aE
…Normie, if we can just establish who our “Friends” are, Kirsty, (without withdrawel they just wanna possess you b*ts).
got stuck-in.moderation
updated from the air-fixed recollection machine,
The Spitfire Grill
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117718/
“and that’s a Cold Shot babe, we’ve let our love go bad!”
ergh whaleoil… might have to put my wankeroil shirt on
https://politees.printmighty.co.nz/products/wanker-oil-beef-hooked
Don’t do it! You’ll simply add to the statistics that justify the self-indulgent Cameron’s ‘rasion d’etre’
There is actually NOTHING to see there other than an ideologue all propped up with medication in an attempt to convince us how ‘relevant’ he is.
Give it a miss. (Just like Facebook if you’ve no other reason to earn a crust by means of ‘networking’)
twitter twitter twitter twit …. oooops truncated by an error 404 – or similar). Seriously – give it a fukn miss
“Dying Waiting”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/guantanamo-bay–president-obamas-shame-the-forgotten-prisoners-of-americas-own-gulag-8572215.html
U.N forgotten
Charlie DOES surf http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21941069
Cheers joe (not sloppy seconds)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cheers-at-sloppy-joes-ernest-hemingways-havana-bar-is-serving-again-8572082.html
AIC
E
Interesting read.
http://www.alternet.org/print/media/propaganda-system-has-helped-create-permanent-overclass-over-century-making
Important intellectuals of the era then became principally concerned with the issue of propaganda during peacetime, having witnessed its success in times of war. Propaganda, wrote Lippmann, “has a legitimate and desirable part to play in our democratic system.” A leading political scientist of the era, Harold Lasswell, noted: “Propaganda is surely here to stay.” In his 1925 book, The Phantom Public, Lippmann wrote that the public was a “bewildered herd” of “ignorant and meddlesome outsiders” who should be maintained as “interested spectators of action,” and distinct from the actors themselves, the powerful. Edward Bernays, the ‘father of public relations’ and nephew of Sigmund Freud got his start with Wilson’s CPI during World War I, and had since become a leading voice in the fields of propaganda and public relations. In his 1928 book, Propaganda, Bernays wrote: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” Modern society was dominated by a “relatively small number of persons… who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses,” and this was, in Bernays’ thinking, “a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” Bernays referred to this – “borrowing” from Walter Lippmann – as the “engineering of consent.”
This too … America…the great arms dealer.
http://thepeoplesbookproject.com/category/book-excerpts/
return of the Police Investigation Groups
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10877273
ONE : “the working poor being employed does not provide enough income to put food on the table”
-Salvation Army
Ardern- “still 20000 more people on main benefitts than before nats terms.
3 : cut down on carbohydrates 😉
-insulin leads to fat storage 😉
-sat. fat may lead to lipid profile stabilisation
Hulks perspective on Sunday : “Where Ships Go to Die” -Bangladesh (no national iron ore)
-47c per hour
-12 hours a day, 7 days a week (to fulfil their dreams)
-amputations, burns, toxic heavy metals, asbestosis.
“How can we tolerate this,?” asked The Navigator.
Nice one Labour. Caveat emptor 🙂
Live At Red Rocks! Hit The Electric Co’s . Gloria!!!