So who ever wins on Sunday, they need to come out on Monday at full speed. They have some momentum, Key is clearly taking it more seriously than some of the Labour MP’s by turning down a junket for Tuesday Question time.
Already Fran O in the Herald is posing the ‘Poison chalice’ leadership question.
Good opposition advise from the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tony Abbott is promising again and again that he will lead a “methodical, measured, calm” government. But he’s overlooking something. He’s just finished writing a rip-roaring new guidebook on how to be a successful opposition.It’s the Abbott model of how to destroy a government. And guess what? The Labor Party noticed.
Rule No.1: Don’t give the government a thing. Fight it up hill, down dale, day in day out. Be strident, be angry, be unreasonable. Apply maximum pressure and see what cracks.
Rule No.2: Don’t allow the government to control the narrative. Make a lot of noise. Fill the airwaves with angry dissent and maximum outrage. Generate an impression of disorder. If you control the narrative, you control the psychological battlespace.
Rule No.3: Exploit the deadliest of all contemporary policy issues, the one that was central to the downfall of the last three prime ministers: climate change. This remains a potent issue and will remain so for years.And the Abbott model worked.
Thats why JK is a better politician then most if not all of the current labour line up* because he doesn’t underestimate Cunliffe (assuming its him) so hes going to make sure he doesn’t get an easy ride…
*Interestingly Cunliffe made mention of Labour consistently underestimating Key and paying the price and that he wont
The trouble with Rule No. 1 is that it can quickly make a nation ungovernable, whoever is in power. This is the unedifying situation we’re presently seeing in the USA where the Republicans, dangling from their Tea Party Wing, are resisting everything Obama presents even though Obama himself has shown himself to be pretty Right Wing. As a result those initiatives which would have brought some limited relief to the not-quite worst off in America’s society such as ObamaCare have been diluted out of existance.
The underlying understanding that makes democracy workable is the recognition that ‘the other guy’ has a view and policies some in the population voted for and so presumably want to see pursued – and where that segment of the population is in the majority they have the ‘right’ to see them pursued. The duty of the Opposition is to oppose and point out consequences and alternatives, but ultimately to accept that the Government has earned the right to govern. Being angry and unreasonable is the behaviour of kids in a playground, and God knows there’s already enough of that in Parliament.
I gather that the difference in support for the two American parties was very small so it makes the ‘let the rulers do their stuff” idea rather marginal … mores the pity
Abbott’s strategy would never work for an honest and principled politician, which I hope Cunliffe is. It also needed backing by the media to an extent that I have never seen in Aotearoa. It’s the sort of approach Mallard might take, not realising that looking bad in lycra only played an insignificant part.
Political pundits are predicting a bloodbath if David Cunliffe is elected Labour’s leader tomorrow and fails to quickly unify the caucus.
For “political pundits” read “right-wing journos like me”.
There is considerable room for doubt over whether Cunliffe really embraces socialism…..
He is still not prepared to live among the masses, preferring Herne Bay’s salubrious environs to shifting house to his New Lynn electorate.
Sorry Fran – a pathetic old chestnut. So presumably before he can advocate for the sick and disabled, he will need to be sick and disabled.
If Cunliffe is announced as the victor he will have to exercise self-discipline and reach across the factions to draw MPs and the party behind him. There is an assumption that Cunliffe will not be able to step up.
“Assumption” by who Fran? Don’t you mean “hope” by you and others from the right, but you actually fear you will be wrong.
…and finally
Cunliffe will emerge as victor if the Labour Party itself has decided it wants to win the 2014 election. But he hasn’t a hope in Hades of ramming home a victory against Prime Minister John Key unless his caucus colleagues decide they too want to win.
So now she’s hedging her bets and begrudgingly preparing for the right’s nightmare of a Cunliffe victory. Time then to roll out the “Labour is divided” message.
I think Armstrong was pretty strong in his support of Cunliffe; he notes Cunliffe’s flaws and challenges, but also says that Grant can’t get the job done while Cunliffe is the man for the moment. And that Labour have already wasted enough time with Shearer for Grant to spend the next few months raising his own public profile.
I was pleasantly surprised at Armstrong’s comments, and particularly appreciated his supportive observations re DC. I seldom read his articles these days as they’re so biased. While his conclusion is debatable and remains to be seen, right now I’m very happy with “Cometh the hour, cometh Cunliffe!”
That woman is stupid and useless. I think it’s time bloggers took a much more aggressive and frankly rude attitude towards these supposed professionals.
It’s like every terrible first-year-student essay, and if O’Sullivan’s editor were a lecturer they’d return it with “CITATIONS NEEDED” in big red letters on the front.
‘Public opinion has changed, prejudice is not what it was. A gay prime minister would just need to be good enough.’
No, I’m sad to say that’s bull. Just this week I’ve been called a faggot and told my marriage to a man isn’t real. Prejudice is less, but it’s exactly what it was and its still there.
Yeah there’s still some prejudiced weirdos out there.
Friend of mine was doing referee checks a few weeks ago.
When the referee was asked about the person’s honesty he said their were some “moral issues”.
When pressed he wouldn’t say but after a bit more digging the employer found out that she is in a relationship with someone outside of the church they (the referee) both go to.
FFS some employers might not have dug further and just not employed her. What the referee was saying / implying just didn’t add up to what the employer had seen.
These prejudices are played out every day by these bigots and they affect peoples lives in such negative ways.
Tigger, you must keep hope by recognising that many people are just straight out ignorant and the only way those views will change is by those bigots and their attitudes departing from the planet. Generational change is the only way for much of human behaviour to flex and bend.
Except that plenty of young gay people also call things “gay”. Language evolves and “gay” will go the way of “fey,” “camp,” and “queer”. Curiously it’s mostly heterosexuals who get the most upset about it – LGBT people have been lampooning ourselves for years.
As for young people being “bigoted assholes” – thoughtless, perhaps, but actually far more likely to support things like same sex marriage and gay adoption, or indeed claim bi/pansexuality, which casts doubt on the whole “perjorative use of the word ‘gay’ indicates widespread homophobia”. I don’t particyularly like the usage, but I file it in context and have slightly more important things in my life to worry about rather than find more excuses to play victim.
Personally I despise the way “females” has surpassed “women” (just as “women” surpassed “ladies”) because it makes them sound like farm animals, but I suppose that’s a generational thing about evolving sensibilities. Feel free to play Cnut all you want.
Yes, it’s all just lighthearted fun, and marginalized groups using deprecating terms about themselves is exactly the same as people in positions of privilege doing it, and no one ever complains about the use of “females” to refer to women. 🙄
Well perhaps you could, oh I don’t know, actually talk to some young people about what they actually think and how they use language instead of just being all pompous and judgemental instead of just interviewing your confirmation bias. You’d probably be surprised. Obviously you have forgotten language is contingent – “cool” doesn’t always mean “cold”, “groovy doesn’t always mean “lined with grooves”, and unless you really do have your head wedged up your duodenum, you will have noticed that “bad” frequently means “good” and “sick” has nothing to do with illness. But whatever.
And obviously some people object to the use of “females” because I just did. But just for you:
“Incidentally, in Dunedin I have heard a lot of people (men and women) referring to women as females, but never to men as males. It was even a newspaper headline: Man rapes female… Female what i’d like to know… Ugh. ”
Sigh. I did. Your points being (1) “Plenty of young people are bigoted assholes too” because of the way they use “gay”. And (2) “no one ever complains about the use of “females” to refer to women”. Again, whatever.
I am offended by the fact there are 21st century countries where people lack equal rights, can be arrested, or even killed simply because they are LGBT. Some spotty teen calling Justin Bieber’s latest single “a bit gay”, less so.
If you are heterosexual:
Stop straightsplaining to me how I should feel about something.
You may be greatly underestimating the extent of meanings sticking a rolly eyes emoticon on the end of a sentence can have. I assumed you were rolling eyes to imply that I was wrong. I’m flattered that you imagine me to have extraordinary telepathic powers, but unfortunately I don’t.
Excuse my language here Chris73 but fuck off you arsehole cocksucker and racist prick. If yu had read comments about this sale on this site over the last two days, as a sample of left sentiment on this issue, you would have seen the exact same comments about this sale as with every other foreign sale no matter what race of nationality is doing the buying.
Having foreign landlords helps nobody. The historically proven way to reduce a nation’s people is to have their land taken from them…. to become tenants in their own land.
There is no benefit to having foreign landlords and personally my vote is going to the party with this as its policy. It is the largest determinant for me. (and further, you may be interested to know that our livelihood derives from this exact similar sector, so having a worldwide pool of the richest buyers on the planet available should benefit us. It doesn’t.)
– I don’t suck cock (not that theres anything wrong with that) and being that the Labour party were all up in arms about chinese buyers of NZ farms but are now curiously silent about this the only conclusion is that the Labour party are inherently racist
Of course I could also be wrong and maybe they think its not as big a deal as it was last year but I bet JK is building an impressive dossier on all the back tracks and changes that Labour have done over the last couple of years and will bring them out during the election
With a big bribe of course…maybe something to equal interest free loans or WFF
Keep trying chris73 but you are simply completely and utterly wrong.
The fact that disquiet about foreign sales like this has nothing to do with race has been amply proved by the following evidence: raised on this site by commenters who raise all such sales; the sale making the mainstream media yesterday; the sale making a significant article in Canterbury’s Press this morning.
The Labour party made a big deal of farms (especially the Crafer farms) being sold off to “overseas”* buyers yet made no mention of Harvard University buying up farms in central otago and arn’t saying dickey-boo about this
and if you think National wont make light of this at the most opportune time you’re dreaming
* overseas being a code word for asian buyers but of course they can’t say that so they say overseas but we all know what they mean…dog whistle politics at its finest
The only reason the Crafar farms sale caused a stir was that it was one of the few land sales to foreigners that the public new about before the Overseas Investment Office rubberstamped the sale. In nearly every instance of land alienation, the first the public hears about it is after the OIO has rubberstamped the deal.
Don’t you love how Labour criticising “overseas” buyers is in itself proof against chris’ charge of racism … yet magically it’s not because obviously non-specific language is just ~code~ for what he wants it to be?
(Of course there has been a lot of racism around Asian property buyers, just most of it came from that bastion of journalistic integrity, Paddy Gower.)
Between January and July this year 143,745 ha has been alienated. That’s an average of 3,783 ha per day – assuming that the OIO rubberstamps overseas land sales 7 days a week.
Under National New Zealanders have ended up owning less of New Zealand and foreigners have ended up owning more of New Zealand.
Now that has to be aspirational…
What a result. Phewee, the path to riches lays before us. Thanks John Key, it really is a great achievement. Imagine if they get a third term – we will end up owning even less again. Wonderful wonderful. ……
I remember back in Rowling’s time when there was an almighty kerfuffle about an American buying a hunting lodge in Fiordland/Southland somewhere. It was a cause celebre at the time, and if I remember correctly, the sale was blocked. Overseas ownership: shock horror.
How things change!
Now our media don’t see even the glimpse of a question on the 12th ‘anniversary’ of the 911 atrocity as to how fkn come alQaeda are allied to house of Saudi who are allied to USA, if they did 911. Which is why he is called ‘Bandar BUSH’. Because he was in the room! ! None have researched any of the vast tracts stating openly that Syria was always a covert war run by the same neocons that did 911, that alQaeda always was asset to the CIA/PENTBOM nor evidence of the demolitions of 911. Not one question.
How to win: liked this from Cunliffe and it stood out among the answers as an example of his incisive communication:
We need three things: strategy, unity and urgency
Also thought that if Cunliffe was on a dessert island he’d be the one cooking up a signal fire or some way to get us the heck off- while as Metira Terei said Shane Jones is funny and Grant makes things bearable.
Hope Lbour doesn’t wander into Lost territory – they seemed to be escapees of the bewildered kind with no sense of place or direction just waiting for some miracle or revelation.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. Great stuff from the Labour Party which is taking the lead in progressively shaping this country’s political and parliamentary developments.
Well done to all associated with the Labour Party (and my personal message to Clare: I forgive you) and big thanks to Moira and Tim.
Jim Nald +1
David less hands on tv. The interviewer seemed to get bogged down in the trivia of the running and Clare Curran and unity stuff. Fairly unexciting when other things could be riveting.
With even GR distancing with self from Clare Curran one wonders if its acceptance that ABC club members are not going to be rehabilitated as backbenchers but as gone burgers come Monday.
Strategically dunedin south is weak very weak result last election, combined with the continual social media episodes and brain explosions I believe CC will be one of four casualties after cunliffe get in on the second ballot.
Know anti CC CV might have an opinion on this lol.
“With even GR distancing with self from Clare Curran…”
are you sure about this because in this mornings The Nation, GR stated that CC was within her rights to make the comments that she made, it didn’t sound like he was distancing himself from her comments to me. Given his response I get the impression he may have been involved. But the other point to make is around leadership, GR simply hasn’t displayed any on this issue, from what I can pick up, he doesn’t have any significant leadership experience….it would be a HUGE risk if he became Leader tomorrow.
Should have linked to the statement grant had made.
“Clare’s entitled to her views. I personally wouldn’t have expressed them that way, but that’s something she has to take responsibility for,” he said. As in GR.
This is interesting……..the gloss seems to be wearing off ShonKey Python amongst the really talented world-stage successful entrepreneurial class. After some years of often unctuous lionising of the fellow as some sort of land-based “oracle”.
This from Ian Taylor (see OTD link below) –
“It celebrates an unbroken line of design, engineering, technology, seamanship and navigation, from our Maori ancestors, who sailed the Pacific to Aotearoa, to this high-tech flying machine called Aotearoa, representing us so superbly on the waters off San Francisco Bay.”
“No other country, or billionaire, brings to the America’s Cup a story quite like it.”
“It is this that the world has recognised in the Team New Zealand challenge. And I wish our Prime Minister could have done the same.”
Interesting that Key hasnt been pushing the Americas Cup. I wonder if his polling is showing that his crony capitalism is damaging National so trying to distance himself from it. Ian Taylor had a fair point, he also had an interesting idea re hosting Americas Cup outside of NZ. But i dont think that will ever happen.
we will – next week. I got sidetracked yesterday. As soon as I get this mac build running under linux for work, I will finish the auto-post routine for OpenMike, fridays social, and the other routine posts (that worked last weekend under test and failed when I used it for real).
Thanks lprent. There is a more exciting thing coming up this weekend than anything else that might occur to me. Good for r0b – he stopped bad reporting in its tracks so he is the right stuff at any time.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
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And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
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The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
So who ever wins on Sunday, they need to come out on Monday at full speed. They have some momentum, Key is clearly taking it more seriously than some of the Labour MP’s by turning down a junket for Tuesday Question time.
Already Fran O in the Herald is posing the ‘Poison chalice’ leadership question.
Good opposition advise from the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tony Abbott is promising again and again that he will lead a “methodical, measured, calm” government. But he’s overlooking something. He’s just finished writing a rip-roaring new guidebook on how to be a successful opposition.It’s the Abbott model of how to destroy a government. And guess what? The Labor Party noticed.
Rule No.1: Don’t give the government a thing. Fight it up hill, down dale, day in day out. Be strident, be angry, be unreasonable. Apply maximum pressure and see what cracks.
Rule No.2: Don’t allow the government to control the narrative. Make a lot of noise. Fill the airwaves with angry dissent and maximum outrage. Generate an impression of disorder. If you control the narrative, you control the psychological battlespace.
Rule No.3: Exploit the deadliest of all contemporary policy issues, the one that was central to the downfall of the last three prime ministers: climate change. This remains a potent issue and will remain so for years.And the Abbott model worked.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/abbott-rules–ok-20130913-2tqau.html#ixzz2eo5nrsqT
Thats why JK is a better politician then most if not all of the current labour line up* because he doesn’t underestimate Cunliffe (assuming its him) so hes going to make sure he doesn’t get an easy ride…
*Interestingly Cunliffe made mention of Labour consistently underestimating Key and paying the price and that he wont
Oh so the consistent line from you and your mates about how Key wants Cunliffe to win because he’ll be an easybeat is… bullshit?
zOMFG say it isn’t so.
The trouble with Rule No. 1 is that it can quickly make a nation ungovernable, whoever is in power. This is the unedifying situation we’re presently seeing in the USA where the Republicans, dangling from their Tea Party Wing, are resisting everything Obama presents even though Obama himself has shown himself to be pretty Right Wing. As a result those initiatives which would have brought some limited relief to the not-quite worst off in America’s society such as ObamaCare have been diluted out of existance.
The underlying understanding that makes democracy workable is the recognition that ‘the other guy’ has a view and policies some in the population voted for and so presumably want to see pursued – and where that segment of the population is in the majority they have the ‘right’ to see them pursued. The duty of the Opposition is to oppose and point out consequences and alternatives, but ultimately to accept that the Government has earned the right to govern. Being angry and unreasonable is the behaviour of kids in a playground, and God knows there’s already enough of that in Parliament.
I gather that the difference in support for the two American parties was very small so it makes the ‘let the rulers do their stuff” idea rather marginal … mores the pity
Abbott’s strategy would never work for an honest and principled politician, which I hope Cunliffe is. It also needed backing by the media to an extent that I have never seen in Aotearoa. It’s the sort of approach Mallard might take, not realising that looking bad in lycra only played an insignificant part.
O’Sullivan joins the ever expanding list of media to demonstrate how desperately scared the right are that Cunliffe will win the leadership race.
She hits the panic button in today’s Herald in a last ditch attempt to undermine.
For “political pundits” read “right-wing journos like me”.
Sorry Fran – a pathetic old chestnut. So presumably before he can advocate for the sick and disabled, he will need to be sick and disabled.
“Assumption” by who Fran? Don’t you mean “hope” by you and others from the right, but you actually fear you will be wrong.
…and finally
So now she’s hedging her bets and begrudgingly preparing for the right’s nightmare of a Cunliffe victory. Time then to roll out the “Labour is divided” message.
Lolz, poor old myopic Fran, She obviously didn’t get a peek at the latest Roy Morgan befor She penned Her latest piece of opinionated drivel…
funny thing with that o’sullivan piece..
..it is 90% utter drivel..
..but she suddenly comes right in the final paragraph..
“..“..Cunliffe will emerge as victor if the Labour Party itself has decided it wants to win the 2014 election.
But he hasn’t a hope in Hades of ramming home a victory against Prime Minister John Key –
– unless his caucus colleagues decide they too want to win..”
phillip ure..
Interesting that Fran gets it right in her last paragraph while Armstrong gets it wrong in his last paragraph.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11124484
The tone in the Armstrong and Young comments in the Herald this morning is indeed “begrudging”.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11124569
I think Armstrong was pretty strong in his support of Cunliffe; he notes Cunliffe’s flaws and challenges, but also says that Grant can’t get the job done while Cunliffe is the man for the moment. And that Labour have already wasted enough time with Shearer for Grant to spend the next few months raising his own public profile.
I was pleasantly surprised at Armstrong’s comments, and particularly appreciated his supportive observations re DC. I seldom read his articles these days as they’re so biased. While his conclusion is debatable and remains to be seen, right now I’m very happy with “Cometh the hour, cometh Cunliffe!”
You can count on that consummate sycophant Armstrong to be a weathervane, turning whichever way the wind blows.
+1
That woman is stupid and useless. I think it’s time bloggers took a much more aggressive and frankly rude attitude towards these supposed professionals.
This morning’s Herald article by authors Armstrong and Young burbles on then for authority quotes “the experts” Armstrong and Young ???
As Cunliffe’s heart is in the right place who cares where his bed is.
It’s like every terrible first-year-student essay, and if O’Sullivan’s editor were a lecturer they’d return it with “CITATIONS NEEDED” in big red letters on the front.
Dear oshillivan,
How many MP’S live in their electorate, heres a hand to start with, the PM and deputy PM do not…..
Smells like desparation there old trout
(my five cents worth on cunnliffe/robertson/blowback..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/leadership-battle-will-be-a-close-race-says-cunliffe-comment-why-cunnliffe-must-lead-labour-and-why-those-opposing-him-need-to-take-heed-of-the-wind-vanes/
(excerpt..)
“…and a big-straw in the wind for those plotters..must be the fact of their former party president williams..
..after pushing the wtf!-candidate jones with all the intensity of a jonesing crack-addicted pimp..
..he has now looked up at the wind-vanes..
..and has come down for cunnliffe..”
..phillip ure..
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11124543
‘Public opinion has changed, prejudice is not what it was. A gay prime minister would just need to be good enough.’
No, I’m sad to say that’s bull. Just this week I’ve been called a faggot and told my marriage to a man isn’t real. Prejudice is less, but it’s exactly what it was and its still there.
Yeah there’s still some prejudiced weirdos out there.
Friend of mine was doing referee checks a few weeks ago.
When the referee was asked about the person’s honesty he said their were some “moral issues”.
When pressed he wouldn’t say but after a bit more digging the employer found out that she is in a relationship with someone outside of the church they (the referee) both go to.
FFS some employers might not have dug further and just not employed her. What the referee was saying / implying just didn’t add up to what the employer had seen.
These prejudices are played out every day by these bigots and they affect peoples lives in such negative ways.
Tigger, you must keep hope by recognising that many people are just straight out ignorant and the only way those views will change is by those bigots and their attitudes departing from the planet. Generational change is the only way for much of human behaviour to flex and bend.
Progressive causes are advanced one funeral at a time
Don’t remember where I first heard that but I feel it is very true
Plenty of young people are bigoted assholes too. It wasn’t baby boomers who decided describing things as “so gay” was the worst thing in the world.
(Cue the apologists to insist that that use of “gay” is totally not about homosexuality at all. 🙄 )
Except that plenty of young gay people also call things “gay”. Language evolves and “gay” will go the way of “fey,” “camp,” and “queer”. Curiously it’s mostly heterosexuals who get the most upset about it – LGBT people have been lampooning ourselves for years.
As for young people being “bigoted assholes” – thoughtless, perhaps, but actually far more likely to support things like same sex marriage and gay adoption, or indeed claim bi/pansexuality, which casts doubt on the whole “perjorative use of the word ‘gay’ indicates widespread homophobia”. I don’t particyularly like the usage, but I file it in context and have slightly more important things in my life to worry about rather than find more excuses to play victim.
Personally I despise the way “females” has surpassed “women” (just as “women” surpassed “ladies”) because it makes them sound like farm animals, but I suppose that’s a generational thing about evolving sensibilities. Feel free to play Cnut all you want.
Yes, it’s all just lighthearted fun, and marginalized groups using deprecating terms about themselves is exactly the same as people in positions of privilege doing it, and no one ever complains about the use of “females” to refer to women. 🙄
Well perhaps you could, oh I don’t know, actually talk to some young people about what they actually think and how they use language instead of just being all pompous and judgemental instead of just interviewing your confirmation bias. You’d probably be surprised. Obviously you have forgotten language is contingent – “cool” doesn’t always mean “cold”, “groovy doesn’t always mean “lined with grooves”, and unless you really do have your head wedged up your duodenum, you will have noticed that “bad” frequently means “good” and “sick” has nothing to do with illness. But whatever.
And obviously some people object to the use of “females” because I just did. But just for you:
“Incidentally, in Dunedin I have heard a lot of people (men and women) referring to women as females, but never to men as males. It was even a newspaper headline: Man rapes female… Female what i’d like to know… Ugh. ”
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/6016/new-zealand-pronunciation-of-women-vs-woman
Hey, you just keep replying to the points you want to pretend I’ve made instead of the points I actually make if that’s what keeps you happy.
Sigh. I did. Your points being (1) “Plenty of young people are bigoted assholes too” because of the way they use “gay”. And (2) “no one ever complains about the use of “females” to refer to women”. Again, whatever.
Basically. if you are gay:
I am offended by the fact there are 21st century countries where people lack equal rights, can be arrested, or even killed simply because they are LGBT. Some spotty teen calling Justin Bieber’s latest single “a bit gay”, less so.
If you are heterosexual:
Stop straightsplaining to me how I should feel about something.
(2) “no one ever complains about the use of “females” to refer to women”
Yes, that was totally a sincere argument and the rolly-eyed smiley at the end of the sentence meant nothing. 🙄
You may be greatly underestimating the extent of meanings sticking a rolly eyes emoticon on the end of a sentence can have. I assumed you were rolling eyes to imply that I was wrong. I’m flattered that you imagine me to have extraordinary telepathic powers, but unfortunately I don’t.
Now that saddens me tigger but the realities is that too many people still have prejudices mainly hidden behind a veneer of cosmopolitism
Considering you are a cartoon tiger, the marriage comment was fair enough. The other, not so much.
That makes you what, some sort of infantile babble?
🙂
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11124376
– So why aren’t Labour up in arms about this? Wouldn’t because the buyers aren’t asian…
Excuse my language here Chris73 but fuck off you arsehole cocksucker and racist prick. If yu had read comments about this sale on this site over the last two days, as a sample of left sentiment on this issue, you would have seen the exact same comments about this sale as with every other foreign sale no matter what race of nationality is doing the buying.
Having foreign landlords helps nobody. The historically proven way to reduce a nation’s people is to have their land taken from them…. to become tenants in their own land.
There is no benefit to having foreign landlords and personally my vote is going to the party with this as its policy. It is the largest determinant for me. (and further, you may be interested to know that our livelihood derives from this exact similar sector, so having a worldwide pool of the richest buyers on the planet available should benefit us. It doesn’t.)
(sorry for the language…)
“you arsehole cocksucker and racist prick”
– I don’t suck cock (not that theres anything wrong with that) and being that the Labour party were all up in arms about chinese buyers of NZ farms but are now curiously silent about this the only conclusion is that the Labour party are inherently racist
Of course I could also be wrong and maybe they think its not as big a deal as it was last year but I bet JK is building an impressive dossier on all the back tracks and changes that Labour have done over the last couple of years and will bring them out during the election
With a big bribe of course…maybe something to equal interest free loans or WFF
Keep trying chris73 but you are simply completely and utterly wrong.
The fact that disquiet about foreign sales like this has nothing to do with race has been amply proved by the following evidence: raised on this site by commenters who raise all such sales; the sale making the mainstream media yesterday; the sale making a significant article in Canterbury’s Press this morning.
Race has nothing to with it. Proved.
go back to sleep fulla
Except that my point was why wasn’t Labour up in arms about this
Not this site
Not the MSM
Not the Christchurch Press
Why aren’t Labour talking about this
because they are racist., you’re right …..
sheesh
Absolute lies chris. Find me one single reference to the Labour party being up in arms about the foreign buyers being Chinese.
Well I’m fucked off about it. I imagine anyone who values economic sovereignty would be.
I don’t recall ever seeing anyone make a fuss about the nationality of foreign buyers except a few idiot righties like you, chris.
Lol
The Labour party made a big deal of farms (especially the Crafer farms) being sold off to “overseas”* buyers yet made no mention of Harvard University buying up farms in central otago and arn’t saying dickey-boo about this
and if you think National wont make light of this at the most opportune time you’re dreaming
* overseas being a code word for asian buyers but of course they can’t say that so they say overseas but we all know what they mean…dog whistle politics at its finest
Bollocks.
The only reason the Crafar farms sale caused a stir was that it was one of the few land sales to foreigners that the public new about before the Overseas Investment Office rubberstamped the sale. In nearly every instance of land alienation, the first the public hears about it is after the OIO has rubberstamped the deal.
“* overseas being a code word for asian buyers but of course they can’t say that so they say overseas but we all know what they mean”
Typical bigoted right wing fuck head, assuming everyone thinks the same as you.
Again, find one. single. reference for your lie that the Labour party was ever up in arms about foreign buyers’ nationality.
You can’t, because it’s just an out and out lie. You’re a truly horrible little shit of a human being.
felix +100
Don’t you love how Labour criticising “overseas” buyers is in itself proof against chris’ charge of racism … yet magically it’s not because obviously non-specific language is just ~code~ for what he wants it to be?
(Of course there has been a lot of racism around Asian property buyers, just most of it came from that bastion of journalistic integrity, Paddy Gower.)
You’re so right Felix…….outright lies from Chris73 !
Chris73 who displays a very, very much keener understanding and love of the dog-whistle than anyone else.
This morning I did a tally of how much land has been sold into overseas ownership using the OIO reports from http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/
Between January and July this year 143,745 ha has been alienated. That’s an average of 3,783 ha per day – assuming that the OIO rubberstamps overseas land sales 7 days a week.
The biggest single transfer of land into foreign ownership 80,073 ha in February when Rayonier bought 74% of Matariki Forestry Group – http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/decision-summaries/rayonier-canterbury-llc
Of course, some transfers of land into foreign ownership are so secret that the OIO won’t tell how much was sold and who to – http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/decision-summaries/confidential-2
Actually, the average daily land alienation is 678ha/day
Under National New Zealanders have ended up owning less of New Zealand and foreigners have ended up owning more of New Zealand.
Now that has to be aspirational…
What a result. Phewee, the path to riches lays before us. Thanks John Key, it really is a great achievement. Imagine if they get a third term – we will end up owning even less again. Wonderful wonderful. ……
All hail the great National Party
citation?
See 5.2.2
143,745 ha / 212 days = 678ha/day
The government put more energy into selling land to those off shore than those trying to build and put a roof over the families head in NZ.
I remember back in Rowling’s time when there was an almighty kerfuffle about an American buying a hunting lodge in Fiordland/Southland somewhere. It was a cause celebre at the time, and if I remember correctly, the sale was blocked. Overseas ownership: shock horror.
How things change!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/13/alcohol-pot-use_n_3914511.html
“..A new website launched this month is comparing the direct death tolls from marijuana and alcohol use.
If you click over to Since This Morning – you’ll see a number growing on the left, above “Deaths Directly Caused by Alcohol”-
– while the number on the right – above “Deaths Directly Caused by Marijuana” –
– remains at zero.
These are estimates of the total people directly killed by each drug since the beginning of the day..”
phillip ure..
Calling open MIKE: Now maybe someone in ©GCSB/NSA or anywhere else in LaLa land can explain to me how come Obama is calling for airstrikes in material support of alQaeda mercenaries letting off CW SARIN supplied by Bandar BUSH to alNusra in Syria false flag? Aint there an oops in there somewhere? 12 long years killing half the Muslim population of the world BLAMED on alQaeda for 911 ! and now the national security Superstate is going to bomb the sht out of those poor souls stuck in the streets of Damascus in SUPPORT of alQaeda ? Does this not add to the FBI whistleblower Edmonds revelation of Zawahiri meeting CIA in Baku as asset? That alQaeda is ‘GLADIO’, ‘Office of Special Plans’. That alQaeda has always been ‘asset’ to the deep state? Used to leverage ongoing neocon global push through acts of terror, as in P2OG?
Now our media don’t see even the glimpse of a question on the 12th ‘anniversary’ of the 911 atrocity as to how fkn come alQaeda are allied to house of Saudi who are allied to USA, if they did 911. Which is why he is called ‘Bandar BUSH’. Because he was in the room! ! None have researched any of the vast tracts stating openly that Syria was always a covert war run by the same neocons that did 911, that alQaeda always was asset to the CIA/PENTBOM nor evidence of the demolitions of 911. Not one question.
Everything is a psy-op!
How to win: liked this from Cunliffe and it stood out among the answers as an example of his incisive communication:
We need three things: strategy, unity and urgency
Also thought that if Cunliffe was on a dessert island he’d be the one cooking up a signal fire or some way to get us the heck off- while as Metira Terei said Shane Jones is funny and Grant makes things bearable.
+1
Hope Lbour doesn’t wander into Lost territory – they seemed to be escapees of the bewildered kind with no sense of place or direction just waiting for some miracle or revelation.
Why can’t we have more unbiased reporting, like this article for instance?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11124789
I agree. Well written Rebecca Quilliam. A factual summary of what I witnessed on The Nation this morning.
May I just state that I was impressed by David Cunliffe on The Nation this morning, with a right wing interviewer.
Me too – He showed that he won’t be bullied by Plunkett or anyone else!!
Each and every one of the three candidates spoke very well:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Final-day-in-Labour-leader-race/tabid/1607/articleID/313173/Default.aspx
I am looking forward to tomorrow. Great stuff from the Labour Party which is taking the lead in progressively shaping this country’s political and parliamentary developments.
Well done to all associated with the Labour Party (and my personal message to Clare: I forgive you) and big thanks to Moira and Tim.
Jim Nald +1
David less hands on tv. The interviewer seemed to get bogged down in the trivia of the running and Clare Curran and unity stuff. Fairly unexciting when other things could be riveting.
With even GR distancing with self from Clare Curran one wonders if its acceptance that ABC club members are not going to be rehabilitated as backbenchers but as gone burgers come Monday.
Strategically dunedin south is weak very weak result last election, combined with the continual social media episodes and brain explosions I believe CC will be one of four casualties after cunliffe get in on the second ballot.
Know anti CC CV might have an opinion on this lol.
@neoleftie
“With even GR distancing with self from Clare Curran…”
are you sure about this because in this mornings The Nation, GR stated that CC was within her rights to make the comments that she made, it didn’t sound like he was distancing himself from her comments to me. Given his response I get the impression he may have been involved. But the other point to make is around leadership, GR simply hasn’t displayed any on this issue, from what I can pick up, he doesn’t have any significant leadership experience….it would be a HUGE risk if he became Leader tomorrow.
Should have linked to the statement grant had made.
“Clare’s entitled to her views. I personally wouldn’t have expressed them that way, but that’s something she has to take responsibility for,” he said. As in GR.
Last sentence is very telling…
Does being H3 not count as having leadership experience.
This is interesting……..the gloss seems to be wearing off ShonKey Python amongst the really talented world-stage successful entrepreneurial class. After some years of often unctuous lionising of the fellow as some sort of land-based “oracle”.
This from Ian Taylor (see OTD link below) –
“It celebrates an unbroken line of design, engineering, technology, seamanship and navigation, from our Maori ancestors, who sailed the Pacific to Aotearoa, to this high-tech flying machine called Aotearoa, representing us so superbly on the waters off San Francisco Bay.”
“No other country, or billionaire, brings to the America’s Cup a story quite like it.”
“It is this that the world has recognised in the Team New Zealand challenge. And I wish our Prime Minister could have done the same.”
http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/yachting/273050/opinion-pm-missing-point-americas-cup-investment
Acshually more of an orca-le only his tricks aren’t as well performed.
Interesting that Key hasnt been pushing the Americas Cup. I wonder if his polling is showing that his crony capitalism is damaging National so trying to distance himself from it. Ian Taylor had a fair point, he also had an interesting idea re hosting Americas Cup outside of NZ. But i dont think that will ever happen.
Key has never been an entrepreneur, or even anything worthwhile.
Key has been a salesman and ticket clipper. That is all.
End
Are we going to have the friday social bit? or post friday?
I hope it is not bloody Sunday tomorrow.
Sunday Bloody Sunday, not publicaly but expect the list and line up to be telling.
we will – next week. I got sidetracked yesterday. As soon as I get this mac build running under linux for work, I will finish the auto-post routine for OpenMike, fridays social, and the other routine posts (that worked last weekend under test and failed when I used it for real).
r0b used to do them.
Thanks lprent. There is a more exciting thing coming up this weekend than anything else that might occur to me. Good for r0b – he stopped bad reporting in its tracks so he is the right stuff at any time.