Who gives a shit. There was 72 hours of good weather to make it all happen and NZ failed. The people in the Bay of Plenty and Mother Earth pay the price for that failure.
Any “Compensation” in the form of dollar notes is pathetic.
So what would you have done and when? What equipment would you have needed? Where would it have come from and how long would it have taken to get there? How many people would you need and how would you deploy them?
Not interested in your irrelevant hypothesizing now.
Your trick of trying to make ME come up with 101 answers now is a BS deflection from the fact that Joyce and Key dropped the ball for the first 72 hours.
Waiting for a private sector response, setting up little bird rescue stations and dispersing the first few tonnes of oil which spilt were a waste of time and effort during the first 72 hours.
I take that to mean you haven’t got a clue about what was done and what should have been done, and are more interested in chucking around ill informed slogans. Well at least you’ve finally admitted it. There’s hope for you yet.
I would suggest that they should have a number of different plans, and when news of the grounding hit they should have been adapting the most suitable one to the specific circumstances. And shipping equipment for the more serious contingencies on that day, given that the likelihood of the worst case scenario increases exponentially once the ship actually hits rocks or the rig catches fire.
So the plan review should probably have been done on Thursday.
Whether this is a resource issue (govt fault), an department failure (slightly less of a govt fault, dept fault), best practise (communication failure -govt&dept fault), or simply a paradigm shift needed for new circumstances, I guess all that will come out in the wash.
I expect they will have a number of scenarios scoped out. you have your overall strategic response that puts in place all your command tree and your decision making principles, but you can only draw up your specific response plan as you go, because each situation is so different – dealing with a grounded ship leaking oil may be very different from a mobile ship with a similar leak. But the specific plan will be done within the broad principles of a ‘grounded ship leaking oil’ plan linked to you general ‘oil on beach’ plan etc. That’s on the oil pollution side.
The salvage plan is quite different again and it needs a professional salvor, and they have to first be appointed then brought in to examine the vessel and the resources available before they can develop it. ANd it has to complement the MNZ plan – not much point MNZ plan assuming a ship recovery when the salvor says it can’t be done, or the salvor saying offload the containers adn fuel when there is no capacity to do it.
The point being that in any complex plan there are a number of things that can be done while other parts have yet to take affect.
Especially if there are a limited range of options to choose from.
This situation seemed to have been at the mercy of a rather linear thought process.
And the gospel according to DPF in the Granny herald, is that the ship was deliberately steered onto the reef… Jezuz what a Troll he is.
Of course from what we know the Rena was not blown off course, but deliberately steered into a well known and marked reef. The captain and first officer have already been charged with offences.
It was deliberately steered into the reef, only not in the way you are interpreting. The ship was on a deliberate course, and it just so happened that they didn’t know that the reef was there, or knew it was there but forgot to avoid it (i’m tending towards the first option).
so as the captain was in charge of the ship, you can actually say that it was deliberately steered into the reef, as they were steering the ship on a deliberate course at the time it hit.
so as the captain was in charge of the ship, you can actually say that it was deliberately steered into the reef, as they were steering the ship on a deliberate course at the time it hit.
This logic seems like a BS word game.
eg
I’m ‘deliberately’ driving a car around a corner when I accidentally hit and kill a 4 year old standing there on the road in the blind spot.
The courts will recognise that as manslaughter not DELIBERATE murder.
Just because I am ‘deliberately’ cornering at the time, does not then mean I that I ‘deliberately’ killed the kid.
No deliberately means it went where it was DELIBERATELY aimed. There is no interpretation to deliberate. It means it was planned. And I don’t think the Captain and Crew got up that morning and said “I know lets hit a reef”. So Spin that away.
Which is entirely different from Farrars “deliberately steered into a … reef”.
The difference is that “deliberate” conveys intent. It means you’ve thought about what to do, considered your options, and decided what action to take.
In Farrar’s sentence the Captain’s intent is not simply to steer the ship (which was your first interpretation) but to steer the ship into a reef.
The ship is is insured for US 4.2 billion dollars with a sub limit of about US 1 billion dollars for a pollution event , thats a lot of incentive , backhanders anyone ?
With the over supply of container ships and the global down turn in trade means that a lot of ships over 18 years old go to scrap , scrapping prices have been falling as well .
This ship has been insured for 4.2 billion , second hand or as scrap it would fetch no where near this price .
You’ve misread it. That is not what the ship is worth, that is their public liability insurance value. Like you having a $5k car with comp insurance, it will pay out yours up to 5k, but if you hit someone’s Ferrari, it will pay them a lot more.
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE OCCUPYING WALL STREET AGAINST THE BANK$TERS!
TOMORROW!
SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2011
AUCKLAND
3PM
ASSEMBLE OUTSIDE BRITOMART!
Please ditribute as widely as possible
Please come yourself and bring family, friends and placards. Let’s show that people and the planet must come before corporate greed. Join the march against corporate greed and in solidarity with the thousands who are occupying Wall Street.
Right now the Government and the Rena’s shipping owners need a very loud public message that many NZer’s are very angry about the unnecessary grounding and the subsequent environmental disaster caused by the Rena’s grounding on the Astrolabe Reef. This disaster is the tragic story of corporate greed, and neo-liberal policies that have reduced safety regulation, structures and resources to less than minimal, and the use of cheap workers.
Join the Auckland March
This Saturday 15th October
Assemble 3.00pm
Britomart at the bottom of Queen Street
March to Aotea Square
GPJA #379: SAT OCT 15 – OCCUPY AOTEAROA – “WE ARE THE 99%” – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
by gpjanz
GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 397, October 12, 2011
OCCUPY AOTEAROA SATURDAY OCTOBER 15 – “WE ARE THE 99%” – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
I received this today – anyone able to comment on the authenticity? If this is really happening will the media report it?
Dear Friends,
Urgent — tomorrow at 7 am, the New York City police plan to evict the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
The only way to stop the eviction is a roaring outcry to New York’s billionaire mayor, Mike Bloomberg, and to the owners of the protest park. We must show them that their global reputations are on the line.
Let’s flood their offices with phone calls! Avaaz will tell the media about the numbers of calls made, multiplying their impact on the public image of Bloomberg and Richard B. Clark — the CEO of the company that owns the park. If enough of us call now, we could turn the tide and stop the eviction–but only hours are left!
Call the Mayor and Brookfield Properties Here:
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg: +1-212-NEW-YORK (639-9675)
Brookfield CEO Richard Clark: +1-212-417-7063
Brookfield US headquarters: +1-212-417-7000
Brookfield Canada headquarters: +1-416-369-2300
Brookfield Australia headquarters: +61-2-9322-2000
After calling, post a message about how the call went — to help Avaaz count the number of calls made, and demonstrate the wave of worldwide support for the protesters.
Say that you have a message for Brookfield CEO Richard Clark or NYC Mayor Bloomberg (depending on who you are calling)
Stop the eviction of Zuccotti Park
We have a constitutional right to protest.
This is one of the biggest shows of public outrage in decades and these people represent hundreds of thousands across the world who stand with the protesters and the movement for real democracy.
The protesters are cleaning up the park, keeping it clean and safe
We can help make sure the thousands of protesters rights to freedom of speech and assembly are respected by calling Billionare Bloomberg and Brookfield. Forward to everyone!
Emma, Morgan, Maria Paz, Alice, Ben, Rewan and the whole Avaaz team
“Note that it is not till Saturday that MNZ are reported to be -”reviewing draft salvage plan”.
This despite the Prime Minister telling the pollution affected people of Maketu:
A national plan for such disasters had been put into action the moment the ship hit the reef
John Key
Is this John Key’s most shocking lie yet?
Is John Key talking about some other plan?
If such another (draft, or full) plan does exist, will it be released?”
I think you will find that the national plan is a broad response plan, while the draft which was being reviewed was one specific to the ship as produced by the salver.
I believe the national plan has been insufficient in that there was to little response in the immediate days after the spill to contain any spilt oil or to move to protect environmentally sensitive spots like Maketu estuary. Live capture of endangered doterils (sp)etc should have begun immediately and a beach clean up effort with gear put in place and planned from the get go.
I can understand that pumping the oil off etc isn’t something that can happen straight away as it needed to be heated to allow it to flow. Which you don’t really want to do until you are sure that the tank you are heating isn’t holed as warm fluid oil will flow out much faster than cold Vegemite like stuff. I also understand that some pipes etc need repair to allow this.
Technical work like this is far better left to the experts which in this case are the salvers, than having bureaucrats and politicians putting an oar in.
This is exactly where an potential rescue went wrong at Pike…..
Technical work like this is far better left to the experts which in this case are the salvers…
MNZ should have that expertise and should also be the salvers that go in and start the salvage ASAP rather than waiting for the captain to contact the ships owners, who’ll contact the insurers, who”l then contact some salvers who will then try and decide what to do. That process wastes time.
MSM excels again.
Nothing like a journalist asking patsy questions and “… I expect you are disappointed in the politicising of this, Minister…?
WTF? Good old Geoff. He really should stick to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Joyce spun like a top this morning, weaving an amazing web and Geoff agreed that they had done all that they could have done.
However, according to the latest despatches, the plan is to pump from tomorrow.
So in 24 hours, under much tougher conditions, they can install external heaters and pumps, and start extraction.
How does that compare with Joyce’s answers this morning.
Well Wednesday at 6 am he receives a call advising of the stranding. He could have requested/directed that they start discharging oil as soon as possible. If the ship responded that their machinery was U/S, then shore based heaters and pumps could have been despatched, and on Thursday they would have been pumping… (24 hours after stranding, just like today’s action)
Oh, and the ugly New Zealander has emerged in Tauranga it seems, with a Filipino shopkeeper being abused and some of the Rena crew being flown out allegedly due to fears for their safety.
Racist targeting by legitimately angry people, but misguided.
Yes I agree it is misguided TM. I initially thought this could be MSM spin to distract from the deeper blame but with the guilty plea of the woman who set her dogs on asian people in christchurch, and the continued racism displayed daily in this country I feel it is probably true. Very sad.
MNZ breached the manufacturers guidelines by spraying a large amount of Corexit close to shore, where it can have an adverse effect on inhabitants. They failed to check if the dispersant would be effective prior to application and have not adequately informed the public of the health risks from Corexit 9500…
What is obvious is that the larget port in New Zealand and probably the second largest port in NZ Auckland does not have a crisis responce plan or adequate large equipment including oil absorbant booms to deal with any reasonabley sizesd oil spill. One would think that it was only a matter of time before a major spill happened. And now it just has.
If ACT Party is National’s bitch, that needed a makeover and stood up to National over
covert surveilance, then what does that make Epson residents who vote ACT?
Just poor management to get into a situation
where someone cries discrimination, even worse
that MSM urges them on by shouting its okay
to discriminate sometimes. Immoral, Unethical
meets poor management, poor leadership, so NZ.
Set the bar low, then lower it, cheer, then stamp
a brand, oh NZ fair and balanced.
“It really is the arrival of Marine Le Pen that convinced me to join the National Front,” Engelmann told Reuters. “She has an economic program that is much more geared to defending the little people, the workers, the popular classes of France.“
Oh dear, this guy really doesn’t understand who the RWNJs work for does he?
Labour’s complaint about the PM hosting a non-political hour of talkback on Radio Live. is rejected on every ground argued and the BSA concludes:
…even if this programme were held to be an election programme, which we do not consider it was, it would not have breached any of the standards raised by the complainant.
One assumes that the next great leap in liberal logic will be to denounce the BSA decision as more evidence of aVast Right Wing and Non-Labour Left Wing conspiracy …
That finding was obvious from the start, but of course that didn’t stop Labour activists from instantly engaging in an exercise of guilt on (their own) accusation – as Eddie’s headline falsely claimed: “Key broke law on radio show“.
Commenting on the BSA, you linked to a post which has nothing to do with the BSA. The allegation of breaking the law relates to … the law. Not broadcasting standards. So your allegation of “falsely claiming” is meaningless, pending a finding on the law.
Read the post you linked to, and the several links within it, from Graeme Edgeler, if you really want to understand the law. But then, that’s not why you’re here, is it?
“It became clear to the authority that the legislation should be interpreted as overt or explicit encouragement or persuasion to vote in a particular way rather than incidentally or consequently amounting to encouragement or persuasion.”
The mere presence of Key did not make it an election programme under current law.
This indicates that there is some room to consider whether the current law is adequate. The law seems to assume that electioneering is a process of explicitly saying “vote for us because”. But it is pretty obvious that National’s main election strategy is to promote brand Key rather than to foreground National’s policy and performance. In fact, National’s strategy is to promote Key through photo ops and positive associations, and to avoid anything too negative associated with Key.
Joe Bloggs needs a great leap in reading comprehension skills:
We can of course see that some political advantage will accrue to the Prime Minister and the party to which he belongs from exposures of this kind. It is not for us to say whether this should or should not be permitted; we are required to deal with the law as it stands.
The word “of course” should have helped you there, Joe. It’s kind of a giveaway.
The BSA confirms that the broadcast was political propaganda, but says their hands are tied.
Yes I do agree. It is exactly what I said the other day.
And it also confirms that Labour made a strategic blunder by filing a hopeless complaint, when what they should have done was lobby for a slot for Phil. Which I also said I supported, and would probably have been advantageous to Phil, who I think would come across well in that sort of setting.
Nope, more of an own goal for National and MW. The finding that the show was political shows that law, as it presently stands, is broken which has now been highlighted by Labours actions. This will reflect badly on Key/National because people will see it as him using his position as PM for political advantage and MW will be seen as politically biased possibly due to National loaning them $43m of our money as it did not offer the same advantage to every other party leader.
Did i hear right on TV3 news last night?
I noted someone with a bulldozer trying to pull containers/stuff up the beach and they where told to stop because they did not have a correct safety plan or something like that.
Could this be government gone mad?
I don’t think it is this govt gone mad – it is the accumulation of generations of H&S regulation and generally that has been a good thing. That said, who knows what was in the container. WHat if they broke it open and it tipped something nasty onto the beach? Would the guy with the bulldozer be willing to pay to clean it up?
logie..you right dude. poor geoff. they talk about bullying but it comes from the top down doesn’t it. Nobody gets a chance till its been through their vetting machine. they self appointed gatekeepers for the tories but they claim to be objective. more malice in blunderland stuff, isnt it. He should retire and get a job on radio skawkback where he would be right at home with the used car salesman types, shouldnt he.
Just to be pedantic…since the Rena grounding I have wondered if all these years I had been mispronouncing ASTROLABE.
Every journo and pollie has been pronouncing it ASTRO LAB.
Today it finally got to me so I checked it on the interweb –
It is pronounced as-truh-leyb.
Just a bit grumpy-old-man but we must have standards! Next people will be parking across two spaces, pulling out of supermarket aisles without looking and overusing the word “ackchully”
Apparantly that is what the locals call it, according to RNZ, so they are following that pronunciation – a bit like Al -b’ney instead of Awl-b’ney.
Course the media are very selective on their application of this rule and are quite happy to impose their centralised view of what is correct when it suits – cf. Wanagnui, Waikouaiti, or Hakatere
Never took you for a post-modern, localist, relativist Insider.
I see you in a whole new way now.
Interesting.
BTW, that’s “apparently” not “apparantly” – or is that the way they spell it round your way?
Suddenly, meeting National Standards gets a whole lot easier. After all, I’m sure it is not intended to “impose their centralised view of what is correct when it suits”.
I’ve always used a short ‘a’ which is the way they call the Auckland suburb and aligned with the Welsh pronunciation of Avon but I’ve noticed in Chch they use the long A which is the English Avon. You’re a cantab, whcih is it?
Down here it’s Aaavandale (yes, van). But I hope any radio announcer uses its correct pronunciation.
Also, did you hear David Farrar and whoever was on the Panel – a couple of nights ago – with him going on about people’s problems with ‘pronOUNCiation’? I love the irony of that.
Just a bit grumpy-old-man but we must have standards! Next people will be parking across two spaces, pulling out of supermarket aisles without looking and overusing the word “ackchully”
And spelling EpsoM as EpsoN as I’ve sen a couple of times lately on The Standard.
I see John Keys showing his true colours in the Dompost this morning, wasnt he. First of all he demeaned Phill goff for rolling up his shirt sleeves and getting stuck in and then he used a dubyaism. i.e. “there are no silver clouds”. what does that mean? The subtext is that he only knows how to count other peoples money and using language that conveys any nuance or recondite meaning is foreign territory for a money manque. He should get a life.
Scientific skepticism is healthy. In fact, science by its very nature is skeptical. Genuine skepticism means considering the full body of evidence before coming to a conclusion. However, when you take a close look at arguments expressing climate ‘skepticism’, what you often observe is cherry picking of pieces of evidence while rejecting any data that don’t fit the desired picture. This isn’t skepticism. It is ignoring facts and the science.
The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism looks at both the evidence that human activity is causing global warming and the ways that climate ‘skeptic’ arguments can mislead by presenting only small pieces of the puzzle rather than the full picture.
Disgraced former Act MP David Garrett has been suspended from practise for a year after swearing a false affidavit to a court while working as a lawyer.
Am I alone in thinking a one year ban is a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket? The bloke is a liar and a criminal!
Just heard Barry Corbett on The Panel. His ‘what am I thinking about’ was a warning to ‘politicians’ not to ‘moan’.
He then detailed two examples of how Labour has been moaning – Darien Fenton’s comment about Peter Leitch on Facebook and Phil Goff (and Labour’s) complaint over the PM’s hour.
Corbett waxed lyrical about Peter Leitch and then said he thought the PMs hour was just an ‘interesting’ bit of radio and not political. He then mentioned how Geoffrey Palmer had hosted an hour of his breakfast show in 1989. When Mora – or maybe Bruce Slane – raised the question of timing, Corbett said it was just before Moore took over. Odd that, I thought Moore took over a matter of weeks before the November (?) election in 1990 (not 1989).
He strongly criticised Labour – Fenton and Goff by name – for moaning – calling them “moaners”. Defamatory?
So far as I could detect there was no ‘balance’ – just a targetted and prolonged attack on Fenton, Goff and Labour in general.
Obviously his days as a guest on The Panel are now numbered.
On Wednesday 12 October, I sent an email to Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) formally requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 a copy of the MV Rena’s inventory. I made my request because of the differing stories authorities had been telling us about what Rena is carrying…
Sorry I put this item first on weekend social. Got the date right but turned up at the wrong place. Woe is me. Perhaps the social post one could be wiped – it’s not the sort of thing to lighten your heart and encourage a smile.
Der Spiegel has a damning report on Austrian poltical and financial bigwigs. Selling off government property and getting kickbacks, etc etc. The right wing free market neo liberals whatever don’t seem to be able to keep their scheming greedy luxury power and money-obssessed brains under control.
They must have voice activated dictation machines by their beds in case they come up with a new idea in their dreams and utter some choice clues as to new ways of wringing the money out of other people’s hands and pockets And where is the payoff for the rest of us whose minds are too pedestrian for such convoluted diabolical schemes?
Wealthy TVNZ execs pay themselves more while firing staff
Stop the 1%.
Television New Zealand top bosses have scored big pay rises while laying off staff and cutting costs.
The company annual report tabled in Parliament this week showed the highest earner – believed to be chief executive Rick Ellis – was paid $910,000 to $920,000 in the year to June 30, compared to $750,000 to $760,000 for the previous year.
The second highest earner – believed to be head of sales and marketing Paul Maher – earned $680,000 to $690,000 up from $560,000-570,000 last year.
Campbell Live have revealed another wrinkle in the Rena debate.
I think the time line goes:
– NZ needed to update it’s legislation based on 1976 arrangements regarding compensation.
– Someone wrote to Annette King about this being over looked.
– A 2008 select committee forwarded the necessary legislation to the house (which I assume to mean Annette King tool heed of the problem).
– Then came the election.
– Steven Joyce takes over as minister.
– The legislation drops down the list of priority and nothing is done, (probably boy racer legislation that has never been used was more important!)
– Rena runs a ground and we lose the opportunity of another $17 mil in compensation.
Another failure of ministerial responsibility?
How much of our money has this government pissed away and sacked people to cover it?
How many other pieces of useless legislation was rushed through in urgency ahead of this one?
On Wednesday 12th October, John Key challenged all of the people who think the Government’s response to the Rena disaster was too slow to put up or shut up.
Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries, is not content with just allowing parts of the Ross sea to be fished so he has decided to lift the set net ban in an area at the top of the South Island which is frequented by the endangered Hector’s dolphins.
The Pike mining and the Rena disaster plus the leaky homes are the result of National Party policies.It was the Nats whe deregulated shipping and through the Employment Contract Act decimated Unions thus allowing these rust buckets in to,our ports. It was the Nats who allowed untreated timber and deregulated the building codes and it was the Nats who reduced the number of mining inspectors . The unsafe conditions now being made public in Pike mine would never have happened if we still had strong unions. Now they are spending more time trying to get photo opportunities that trying to clean up this oil polluted beach. As have said before who the hell votes for these bastards
Not entirely fair to characterise the Rena as a ‘rust bucket’. Oddly enough it would appear that the owner and operators of the Rena, Costamare Shipping Company, would seem to be one of the more reputable operators. The ship has visited the Port of Tauranga many times before and has been regularly inspected by MNZ.
Until the exact cause of this grounding is known I’m not sure I’d want to get too high and mighty about the ship itself. What does interest me is the crew operation. Clearly something has gone badly wrong at the command level and there will be a systemic reason for this.
The NZ Maritime Union has already pointed out the dangers inherent in the long hours and poor conditions these Filipino seamen have been forced to work under; conditions that would be entirely unacceptable to any Western crew. It’s my betting this will prove the root cause.
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Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
AN OPEN LETTER FOR SIGN ON BY ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD, ALLIED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY. This letter was released at the UN Political Forum on 9 July, where the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality was reviewed. The purpose of the letter is to call out the ...
We asked a young gay science student and critic of trans ideology and the trans activists’ assault on women’s and gay rights to outline his views on Redline. Thanks to him for his article. by Cian Ó Catháin Gender identity ideology (Gender ID) is ripping through western society at full ...
The Environment Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill, and Stuff is reporting on the submissions. Today, they're covering yesterday they heard from "NZ" Steel:NZ Steel has told MPs it may be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if changes aren't made to ...
Students are striking against climate change on September 27. And this time, they're asking everyone to join them:Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure ...
Peter McKenzie has a piece on Newsroom this morning about how local body politics is awash with property developer cash. 70% of all the donations in the 2016 Wellington mayoral election came from property developers. And its pretty obvious what they want in exchange:That’s particularly important in local government, according ...
Source: Unknown, twitter user Recently, I wrote a (relatively) short paper titled as above, to explore what self-determination could like in a practical sense. Maybe I’m a bit of an international trade truther or something, but I absolutely believe trade is at the heart of achieving peace and self-determination. Since ...
In the 1960s, after I had graduated with a first-class Oxford postgraduate law degree, I joined the British Foreign Office as the top entrant of my year. There, I worked for a couple of years on European affairs and was eventually posted to the Embassy in Brussels. After this exposure ...
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...
I heard a 45 minute interview with Monica Lewinsky talking to TED’s Chris Anderson on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend, and have listened to it another two times out walking. I recommend it. Highly. Man, I am so impressed with how this woman has integrated her life experiences and ...
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: how good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure, London, Penguin, 2019, 352pp; reviewed by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s book The Coddling of the American Mind is a timely book, whose ...
When the Justice Committee reported back on the Administration of Justice (Reform of Contempt of Court) Bill, free speech advocates breathed a sigh of relief. As originally introduced, the Bill reitered the ancient offence of "scandalising the court" - basicly, a special sedition law protecting judges from criticism. The select ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. Since then - crickets. Which raises the obvious question: are they actually going to do this, ...
Back in March, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act. 285 people submitted on it. Now, Stuff has trawled through those submissions, and the case for reform is strong:The Justice Ministry asked Kiwis what they thought was ...
National's prisoner voting ban has gone down as one of the worst laws in New Zealand history. Passed after a farcical debate (including this farcial speech from ACT MP Hilary Calvert), it has subsequently been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act by the High Court, Court ...
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...
Last week, the ongoing democracy protests in Hong Kong saw a pro-Hong Kong student assaulted at the University of Auckland. The Chinese consulate in Auckland followed this up with a press release "express[ing] its appreciation to the students for their spontaneous patriotism" - effectively condoning the assault and inciting further ...
Only those who close their eyes and minds to the evidence can still be in any doubt that we are facing a climate change crisis. The evidence is conclusive that the world is not only getting inexorably hotter, but also that the rising temperatures are creating a number of other ...
Rural communities are wailing about forestry conversions "taking land out of production" and putting it into locking up carbon. Its driven purely by economics: there's more money and lower costs in carbon than in sheep or beef, and if carbon prices rise, there'll be more net money than dairy even. ...
This week, the government introduced its (underwhelming) Abortion Legislation Bill. And despite having negotiated the text of the bill through the coalition process, Winston Peters is now suggesting that he will demand a referendum on it:NZ First leader Winston Peters has hinted that his party may only support the Government's ...
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...
Last night the police dramatically incresed their numbers at Ihumātao, shoving over protestors and threatening them with arrest. Despite police talk about the need to maintain "public order" and prevent a "breach of the peace", there appeared to be absolutely no justification for this: the protest camp is, was, and ...
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...
Today's abortion reform announcement is just the latest in a long line of disappointing decisions or outright failures from the Labour government. The 90-day law. KiwiBuild. A capital gains tax. Climate change. Every time they make one of those decisions, we hope for better next time. No repeal of the ...
The Greens used their party conference over the weekend to push for a rent-to-own scheme, where people would be able to work towards home ownership by renting from the government. Its a sensible policy, and one which could make a real difference to home ownership rates. But its also basicly ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the report of the Small Business Council will help maintain the momentum for innovation and improvements in the sector. Mr Nash has thanked the members of the Small Business Council (SBC) who this week handed over their report, Empowering small businesses to aspire, succeed ...
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...
A ‘one size fits all’, inflexible and punitive regulatory regime for water quality just gets backs - and costs - up and most importantly will not work, Federated Farmers says. ...
Mediation yesterday between secondary principals and the government has resulted in a deal that the principals' negotiating team is recommending to its members. ...
Clubs New Zealand welcomes the decision of Justice Minister Andrew Little to put forward a bill amending the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow all licensed premises to remain open for Rugby World Cup matches. ...
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has ordered a review looking at labelling of added sugars in food and drinks. An option under investigation is ‘a pictorial approach applied to sugary beverages / sugar-sweetened beverages’ ...
Labour market data released by Statistics New Zealand today indicates that a gender pay gap persists in New Zealand, despite improvement in some areas. ...
In the midst of the 6th Great Extinction Event the coalition, STOP Trashing Our Planet is urging voters to take full responsibility for the legacy we are leaving our children. ...
LGNZ will carefully consider the proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) to assess if it meets the Government’s aim of enabling urban development or simply adds more red tape to the planning process. ...
Statistics out today from the Government show that the gender wage imbalance, or gap, in the average wage is 11.9%, a strong 2 percentage point improvement from 13.9% last year. The gender pay imbalance in the median wage is 9.3%. ...
Newstalk ZB Drive host and Herald on Sunday columnist Heather du Plessis-Allan is taking on the challenge of keeping 2019 Auckland Mayoral contenders Phil Goff and John Tamihere in line and on point in tonight’s live NZ Herald Newstalk ZB debate. ...
After twenty years Napier residents have endured heavy sleep and health disruptive noise and air pollution from freight trucks gridlock operations to and from the Napier port and other regions. ...
The EMA says much is riding on the board and chief executive of the new National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) announced by Infrastructure Minister Hon Shane Jones today, with a difficult task ahead to deliver on its purpose. ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the introduction of workplace standards by the State Services Commission that make it clear public services should expect positive and safe workplaces. ...
The Financial Services Federation (FSF) - the voice of responsible lenders and leasing companies - and FinCap - working with consumers facing financial hardship - are signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this Thursday 22 August in Auckland. It will ...
Wellington, 20 August 2019 — Lawyers for Vulnerable New Zealanders (LVNZ) has lent its support to the amendments proposed by MP Chris Penk to better protect vulnerable people from being coerced to end their lives under the End of Life Choice Bill, currently ...
The Government’s decision to establish and independent Parliamentary Budget Office, outside of Treasury, is a taxpayer victory and will improve democracy, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It's ...
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the cost-benefit analysis prepared by Ministry of Transport and used to advise Ministers on the Government’s Clean Car Standard and ‘Feebate’ policies has serious flaws which undermine justifications for the ...
The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) welcomes new proposals for prison reform put forward by the Minister of Corrections and non-government organisations recently. ...
The New Zealand Maori Council has called on the nation to address all forms of racism and not to shy away from an honest conversation about where it’s taking hold. The call comes after the Nelson Club decided to keep a member after his comments became ...
Wellington (20 August 2019): The New Zealand Initiative enthusiastically welcomes the Coalition Government’s announcement of an Independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Associate Finance Minister James Shaw ...
Drs Say No agree with Chris Penk’s amendment to protect vulnerable patients from coercion, although the organisation still maintains that no safe euthanasia legislation can ever be drafted and continues to urge MPs to defeat the End of Life Choice Bill. ...
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says the Northland Regional Corrections Facility is persisting with policies that are preventing it from achieving its full potential. ...
The second national hui in the Māori-led Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki concluded yesterday ahead of schedule after a capacity audience formally ratified the terms of reference that determines the scope and purpose of the independent investigation ...
Forest & Bird says WWF-NZ's plan for protecting Māui dolphins is based on testing unproven methods on a species that is almost extinct, and is urging the Government to reject the proposal. ...
Primary and intermediate school principals have voted to accept a new settlement from the Ministry of Education, which includes entrenched pay parity with secondary principals. ...
Police acknowledge the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into the 2014 search of a property belonging to Nicky Hager. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the Police's unlawful search of Nicky Hager's property in October 2014 resulted from an unwitting neglect of duty and did not amount to misconduct by any individual officer. Police policy at the ...
Tuesday, August 20: Greenpeace has labeled an overnight announcement by fishing company Sanford as a danger to Māui and Hector’s dolphins, and is calling on the Government to reject the ‘Sanford Plan’ immediately. ...
World Animal Protection describes an overnight announcement (19 August, embargoed until 6am 20 August), by fishing company Sanford as a cynical move to undermine growing support for full habitat protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins. They called ...
When the combined tax on fuel hits over 50 percent in some parts of the country, it is hypocritical for the Government to blame corporates, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . ...
A leading expert in suicide prevention has urged MPs not to confuse suicide with assisted dying as they consider the second reading of the End of Life Choice Bill. ...
Over the weekend Māoridom arrived in the Waikato for the annual Koroneihana Celebrations. Yesterday almost 300 attended a Hui in Hamilton to continue the Oranga Tamariki Review led by an independent Māori panel to coincide with the Koroneihana. The Hui confirmed ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) says the newly issued ‘price list’ for compensation of banned firearms reveals that haste in preparing the ban has led to an underestimation of the number of affected firearms and their value. ...
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has admitted parts of the prison system are “extremely racist” and says that’s why the Government is asking Māori to work with it to make changes. ...
Ongoing drug-test sanctions contradicts Government’s rhetoric on drugs Reports that two-thirds of beneficiaries who fail drug tests are still having their benefit sanctioned contradicts the Government’s so-called health approach to drugs. Auckland ...
An Auckland Homelessness Collective is optimistic extra government support for sustaining tenancies signals a commitment to a multi-pronged approach to tackling homelessness. ...
Wanaka-based trust ONE New Zealand will be hosting six days of talks, workshops and hands-on activities with local and national experts to educate, inspire and enable grassroots action towards a sustainable future. ...
In last week’s episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discussed why Jacinda Ardern has been lecturing our friends overseas, why Andrew Little called ACT's three strikes law “fascism”, whether he will give prisoners the right to ...
“Community safety must be the paramount consideration when releasing an offender, and the only way for that to be achieved is for the offender to acknowledge their crimes.” ...
“District Health Boards are failing to foster a culture of distributed clinical leadership, despite its demonstrated benefits to the sector,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
Ratepayers around Auckland were spitting out their morning coffees listening to Phil Goff’s incredible claims on breakfast radio today that this election is about ‘honesty’ and that Aucklanders can trust him on his promises. Auckland Ratepayers’ ...
By Michael Andrew Journalists across Papua New Guinea have spoken out in support of EMTV news director Neville Choi after his “unacceptable” termination from a role he had held for six years. A public statement released on Monday listed the reasons for his termination, one of which was his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camellia Webb-Gannon, Lecturer, University of Wollongong Last weekend, the Indonesian police took 43 West Papuan students into custody for allegedly disrespecting the Indonesian flag during an independence day celebration (an allegation the students deny). Police stormed the students’ dorm and used teargas ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Klein, Professor, UNSW Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that Australia will lend military support to protect shipping in the Middle East. The commitment has been long expected, with Australia sending a frigate, an aircraft and some headquarters staff as part ...
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Protests are spreading in Indonesia-ruled West Papua in response to harassment of Papuans during explosive incidents in Javanese cities last week. Indonesia’s president has urged calm after some of the protests turned violent, but he’s been criticised for not directly addressing a festering ...
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the karaoke game that introduced an entire generation to the horrors of ‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark. Jordan Hamel ranks all 30 songs from SingStar v1, from worst to best.Before my generation was old enough to get smashed on reasonably priced Merlot and wander ...
After a decade of making music, Sons of Zion are still refusing to settle into a genre. They sit down to talk about the joys of pop music and te reo Māori, and why a “reggae” band can do both.In 2009 Sons of Zion released their debut album, a self-titled ...
The government is directing councils to loosen up their planning rules, allowing cities to grow both up and out, in a bid to solve the housing crisis. ...
New Zealand’s largest construction company and controversial owner of the disputed Ihumātao land near Auckland airport has made a $164m profit, a big turnaround from its losses last year. Business editor Maria Slade analyses what it all means.What has Fletcher Building announced?The construction and building products company with operations on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia will commit a frigate, an aircraft and some headquarters staff to an American-led freedom of navigation operation in the Middle East. Scott Morrison, announcing the long-expected commitment at a Canberra news conference on Wednesday, ...
The local sharemarket has taken an unexpected beating this morning driven by investor disappointment about the performance of the top stock - A2 Milk. ...
Sometimes, less is more. Even when it comes to Quentin Tarantino (Warning: Contains mild spoilers).Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an impressive film. It’s got great acting, stunning visuals, and a twist ending, all laced with the sort of attention to detail you’d expect from the nuttiest of film ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics, University of Western Australia Populism and environmentalism are words seldom seen in the same sentence. One is associated predominantly with nationalists and charismatic leaders of “real people”, the other with broadly-based collective action to address the ...
Who makes up the royal ‘we’? Lana Lopesi reviews a massive show at ST PAUL St Gallery in Auckland that investigates questions of community, culture and conflict.How to Live Together at ST PAUL St Gallery could hardly have been better timed, opening just days before the protection of Ihumātao in ...
The first week of Celebrity Treasure Island had it all – mud, vomit and coconut brassieres. Alex Casey ranks the celebrity contestants vying to win $100,000 for their chosen charity. It’s 2019 and mostly everything is bad, so I am choosing to focus on the positives of Celebrity Treasure Island NZ. ...
The government is directing councils to loosen up their planning rules, allowing cities to grow both up and out, in a bid to solve the housing crisis. ...
Australia's big banks may have to make do with less money from their New Zealand operations, as Australia's banking regulator moves to improve their financial strength. ...
The anti-1080 lobby has made a martyr out of kea, but that ignores another salient fact: kea survival in large part depends on pest control. Dave Hansford explores on the challenge to balance pest control with conservation.In April this year, Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) announced that two kea had died ...
Fletcher Building has posted a solid full year profit but continues to be dogged by a weak Australian housing market and underperformance in some of its businesses there. ...
Work obsessed drone Alex Braae assesses whether shutting himself up in a dark room will allow some semblance of normality on a day off.It is a sad fact of life that many of us spend alarmingly large chunks of it working. The relationship is like quicksand: as we spend more ...
Inspired by the ethos of food-rescue organisation Kaibosh, chef Kelda Hains looked to the past to champion unloved ingredients and showcase clever waste-minimising techniques at her All Taste, No Waste dinner during Visa Wellington On a Plate. Ever glanced at those supermarket bags of pre-cut broccoli florets and wondered what happens ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsCould the most interesting aspect of the current local government elections turn out to be generational change? At the moment, there is a surge of media and activist focus on younger candidates standing for office. It suddenly seems to be “cool” again to want to be a ...
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.Petrol prices Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Don’t be surprised if petrol study ends in a deal, ...
Jacinda Ardern’s election campaign was high on hope but this Government should remember that those who encourage what cannot be achieved are quickly found out. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Professor Tim Bentley, Director of Research, professor of Work and Organisation, Massey University According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the workplace can be a positive force for improving mental health. But many workers are exposed to work environments that are damaging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Alan Jones’s political power is to a large extent based on a self-fulfilling prophecy: politicians believe he can shift votes, so they pay homage to him, which adds ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Stanton, Visiting Fellow, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Research Checks interrogate newly published studies and how they’re reported in the media. The analysis is undertaken by one or more academics not involved with the study, and reviewed by another, to make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Associate Professor Ralph Brougham Chapman, Director, Environmental Studies, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate 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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salvatore Babones, Associate Professor, University of Sydney Australia’s leading universities are now looking to India in search of new sources of international students. This comes amid worries they may have reached a “China max” – no more room for growth in Chinese ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Couch, Senior Lecturer – Youth Work and International Development, Australian Catholic University One of the biggest challenges young people of refugee background face in their new country is finding safe, affordable and appropriate housing. Yet this is central to social inclusion ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sheil, Visiting Senior Fellow in History, UNSW The results of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics biennial survey of income and wealth met have met with an uneven response, perhaps in part due to a slipshod press release. Released with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Lee, Senior Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies, Curtin University This story contains spoilers for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While promoting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the Cannes Film Festival, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was asked why Margot ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National cries foul over parliamentary costing unit idea, Ngawha Prison heavily criticised in report, and fuel market study confirms prices are high.The government have announced a recommendation to create an official, independent parliamentary costing unit, reports the NZ Herald.The aim is to ...
Phil Goff and John Tamihere are into round 10 of 23 debates planned before the mayoral election in October, and they're punching hard, not resting on the ropes or pulling eachother into dull political clinches. ...
Open mike 14/10/2011 
That's the only way to describe the government's plans for a Parliamentary Budget Office to allow opposition parties to get an independent costing of their policies. When the idea was first floated back in 2016 as an office within Treasury, I thought that wasn't independent enough and argued that it ...12 hours ago
Television advertising has a huge impact on our lives. Even if we don’t recognise that, we know it has to be true, since otherwise why would advertisers spend so much on it? Its significance, however, is greater than simply the influence it has on what we purchase and consume. It ...18 hours ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...1 day ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...2 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...3 days ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...4 days ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...5 days ago
6 days ago
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...6 days ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...1 week ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...1 week ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...1 week ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...1 week ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...1 week ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 1 week ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...1 week ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...1 week ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...2 weeks ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...2 weeks ago
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...2 weeks ago
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...2 weeks ago
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...2 weeks ago
Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and its nationwide sister group the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for his comments today that John Tamihere would need the Government’s support to ...9 hours ago
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Time line released.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/rena-crisis/5783000/Funding-freeze-strands-Maritime-NZ
Note that it is not till Saturday that MNZ are reported to be -“reviewing draft salvage plan”.
This despite the Prime Minister telling the pollution affected people of Maketu:
Is this John Key’s most shocking lie yet?
Is John Key talking about some other plan?
If such another (draft, or full) plan does exist, will it be released?
When should the salvage plan have been completed and who should have written it?
Who gives a shit. There was 72 hours of good weather to make it all happen and NZ failed. The people in the Bay of Plenty and Mother Earth pay the price for that failure.
Any “Compensation” in the form of dollar notes is pathetic.
So what would you have done and when? What equipment would you have needed? Where would it have come from and how long would it have taken to get there? How many people would you need and how would you deploy them?
Not interested in your irrelevant hypothesizing now.
Your trick of trying to make ME come up with 101 answers now is a BS deflection from the fact that Joyce and Key dropped the ball for the first 72 hours.
Waiting for a private sector response, setting up little bird rescue stations and dispersing the first few tonnes of oil which spilt were a waste of time and effort during the first 72 hours.
I take that to mean you haven’t got a clue about what was done and what should have been done, and are more interested in chucking around ill informed slogans. Well at least you’ve finally admitted it. There’s hope for you yet.
I would suggest that they should have a number of different plans, and when news of the grounding hit they should have been adapting the most suitable one to the specific circumstances. And shipping equipment for the more serious contingencies on that day, given that the likelihood of the worst case scenario increases exponentially once the ship actually hits rocks or the rig catches fire.
So the plan review should probably have been done on Thursday.
Whether this is a resource issue (govt fault), an department failure (slightly less of a govt fault, dept fault), best practise (communication failure -govt&dept fault), or simply a paradigm shift needed for new circumstances, I guess all that will come out in the wash.
Unlike the oil.
I expect they will have a number of scenarios scoped out. you have your overall strategic response that puts in place all your command tree and your decision making principles, but you can only draw up your specific response plan as you go, because each situation is so different – dealing with a grounded ship leaking oil may be very different from a mobile ship with a similar leak. But the specific plan will be done within the broad principles of a ‘grounded ship leaking oil’ plan linked to you general ‘oil on beach’ plan etc. That’s on the oil pollution side.
The salvage plan is quite different again and it needs a professional salvor, and they have to first be appointed then brought in to examine the vessel and the resources available before they can develop it. ANd it has to complement the MNZ plan – not much point MNZ plan assuming a ship recovery when the salvor says it can’t be done, or the salvor saying offload the containers adn fuel when there is no capacity to do it.
The point being that in any complex plan there are a number of things that can be done while other parts have yet to take affect.
Especially if there are a limited range of options to choose from.
This situation seemed to have been at the mercy of a rather linear thought process.
And the gospel according to DPF in the Granny herald, is that the ship was deliberately steered onto the reef… Jezuz what a Troll he is.
Of course from what we know the Rena was not blown off course, but deliberately steered into a well known and marked reef. The captain and first officer have already been charged with offences.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10758985
It was deliberately steered into the reef, only not in the way you are interpreting. The ship was on a deliberate course, and it just so happened that they didn’t know that the reef was there, or knew it was there but forgot to avoid it (i’m tending towards the first option).
so as the captain was in charge of the ship, you can actually say that it was deliberately steered into the reef, as they were steering the ship on a deliberate course at the time it hit.
This logic seems like a BS word game.
eg
I’m ‘deliberately’ driving a car around a corner when I accidentally hit and kill a 4 year old standing there on the road in the blind spot.
The courts will recognise that as manslaughter not DELIBERATE murder.
Just because I am ‘deliberately’ cornering at the time, does not then mean I that I ‘deliberately’ killed the kid.
No deliberately means it went where it was DELIBERATELY aimed. There is no interpretation to deliberate. It means it was planned. And I don’t think the Captain and Crew got up that morning and said “I know lets hit a reef”. So Spin that away.
OK, I’ll put it another way. It was DELIBERATELY piloted on a course that just happened to put it on an accidental collision course with a reef.
Which is entirely different from Farrars “deliberately steered into a … reef”.
The difference is that “deliberate” conveys intent. It means you’ve thought about what to do, considered your options, and decided what action to take.
In Farrar’s sentence the Captain’s intent is not simply to steer the ship (which was your first interpretation) but to steer the ship into a reef.
He really is a horrible little man.
Yeah and they censored my reply to him, where I said he was Donkeys ass kisser. Which he is.
The ship is is insured for US 4.2 billion dollars with a sub limit of about US 1 billion dollars for a pollution event , thats a lot of incentive , backhanders anyone ?
The ship is worth 4.2 Billion? Must have some pretty nice cabins
With the over supply of container ships and the global down turn in trade means that a lot of ships over 18 years old go to scrap , scrapping prices have been falling as well .
This ship has been insured for 4.2 billion , second hand or as scrap it would fetch no where near this price .
I think you might want to cvhange your billion to a million.
That came from the Herald article this morning
You’ve misread it. That is not what the ship is worth, that is their public liability insurance value. Like you having a $5k car with comp insurance, it will pay out yours up to 5k, but if you hit someone’s Ferrari, it will pay them a lot more.
$4.2M?
That’s the purchase price of 25 Ministerial BMWs. Might need a bit more cover than that.
The insurance guys are going to do a lot of looking around before they cut a cheque for $4B.
I think a 20% Christchurch tax is in order there…
And so they should , meanwhile the bay pays the price
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE OCCUPYING WALL STREET AGAINST THE BANK$TERS!
TOMORROW!
SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2011
AUCKLAND
3PM
ASSEMBLE OUTSIDE BRITOMART!
Please ditribute as widely as possible
Please come yourself and bring family, friends and placards. Let’s show that people and the planet must come before corporate greed. Join the march against corporate greed and in solidarity with the thousands who are occupying Wall Street.
Right now the Government and the Rena’s shipping owners need a very loud public message that many NZer’s are very angry about the unnecessary grounding and the subsequent environmental disaster caused by the Rena’s grounding on the Astrolabe Reef. This disaster is the tragic story of corporate greed, and neo-liberal policies that have reduced safety regulation, structures and resources to less than minimal, and the use of cheap workers.
Join the Auckland March
This Saturday 15th October
Assemble 3.00pm
Britomart at the bottom of Queen Street
March to Aotea Square
GPJA #379: SAT OCT 15 – OCCUPY AOTEAROA – “WE ARE THE 99%” – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
by gpjanz
GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND NEWSLETTER No. 397, October 12, 2011
OCCUPY AOTEAROA SATURDAY OCTOBER 15 – “WE ARE THE 99%” – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
The time has come to show your support for injustices against the New Zealand people and the crimes of the Government! Let us unite and stand as one and show the world what we can do! We stand in solidarity with the Wall St Protesters and the many other protesters standing around the world that say 1% will not continue to steal from the 99%, which is happening right now. NZ is being stripped NOW! EMPOWER YOURSELF! You are the one you have been waiting for! There will be change. There will be justice! Inspired by Occupy Wall Street http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution
AUCKLAND https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200962876639610
WELLINGTON http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Wellington-Nz/253279161382607
CHRISTCHURCH https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Christchurch/122557837848947
DUNEDIN http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Dunedin/141220149310691
_______________________________________________________________________
Forwarded by Penny Bright
Independent Public Watchdog
Candidate for Epsom
Why they are angry:
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1
I received this today – anyone able to comment on the authenticity? If this is really happening will the media report it?
“Note that it is not till Saturday that MNZ are reported to be -”reviewing draft salvage plan”.
This despite the Prime Minister telling the pollution affected people of Maketu:
A national plan for such disasters had been put into action the moment the ship hit the reef
John Key
Is this John Key’s most shocking lie yet?
Is John Key talking about some other plan?
If such another (draft, or full) plan does exist, will it be released?”
I think you will find that the national plan is a broad response plan, while the draft which was being reviewed was one specific to the ship as produced by the salver.
I believe the national plan has been insufficient in that there was to little response in the immediate days after the spill to contain any spilt oil or to move to protect environmentally sensitive spots like Maketu estuary. Live capture of endangered doterils (sp)etc should have begun immediately and a beach clean up effort with gear put in place and planned from the get go.
I can understand that pumping the oil off etc isn’t something that can happen straight away as it needed to be heated to allow it to flow. Which you don’t really want to do until you are sure that the tank you are heating isn’t holed as warm fluid oil will flow out much faster than cold Vegemite like stuff. I also understand that some pipes etc need repair to allow this.
Technical work like this is far better left to the experts which in this case are the salvers, than having bureaucrats and politicians putting an oar in.
This is exactly where an potential rescue went wrong at Pike…..
MNZ should have that expertise and should also be the salvers that go in and start the salvage ASAP rather than waiting for the captain to contact the ships owners, who’ll contact the insurers, who”l then contact some salvers who will then try and decide what to do. That process wastes time.
Herald cartoon Nails it today!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news-cartoons/news/article.cfm?c_id=500814&objectid=10758879
MSM excels again.
Nothing like a journalist asking patsy questions and “… I expect you are disappointed in the politicising of this, Minister…?
WTF? Good old Geoff. He really should stick to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Joyce spun like a top this morning, weaving an amazing web and Geoff agreed that they had done all that they could have done.
However, according to the latest despatches, the plan is to pump from tomorrow.
So in 24 hours, under much tougher conditions, they can install external heaters and pumps, and start extraction.
How does that compare with Joyce’s answers this morning.
Well Wednesday at 6 am he receives a call advising of the stranding. He could have requested/directed that they start discharging oil as soon as possible. If the ship responded that their machinery was U/S, then shore based heaters and pumps could have been despatched, and on Thursday they would have been pumping… (24 hours after stranding, just like today’s action)
Yeah it is getting to the stage where they just need a few ads for panel beaters and some Taylor Swift songs.
Oh, and the ugly New Zealander has emerged in Tauranga it seems, with a Filipino shopkeeper being abused and some of the Rena crew being flown out allegedly due to fears for their safety.
Racist targeting by legitimately angry people, but misguided.
Yes I agree it is misguided TM. I initially thought this could be MSM spin to distract from the deeper blame but with the guilty plea of the woman who set her dogs on asian people in christchurch, and the continued racism displayed daily in this country I feel it is probably true. Very sad.
The nationality of the crew should not have been made public as it has nothing to do with the wreck.
MNZ Misinformed on Corexit
MNZ breached the manufacturers guidelines by spraying a large amount of Corexit close to shore, where it can have an adverse effect on inhabitants. They failed to check if the dispersant would be effective prior to application and have not adequately informed the public of the health risks from Corexit 9500…
What is obvious is that the larget port in New Zealand and probably the second largest port in NZ Auckland does not have a crisis responce plan or adequate large equipment including oil absorbant booms to deal with any reasonabley sizesd oil spill. One would think that it was only a matter of time before a major spill happened. And now it just has.
Some “billboards” you can send to friends and foes
If ACT Party is National’s bitch, that needed a makeover and stood up to National over
covert surveilance, then what does that make Epson residents who vote ACT?
Just poor management to get into a situation
where someone cries discrimination, even worse
that MSM urges them on by shouting its okay
to discriminate sometimes. Immoral, Unethical
meets poor management, poor leadership, so NZ.
Set the bar low, then lower it, cheer, then stamp
a brand, oh NZ fair and balanced.
France: Far right capitalises on euro crisis.
Quoting article:
Oh dear, this guy really doesn’t understand who the RWNJs work for does he?
.
Radio Works decision reveals …
… a big fat zero
Labour’s complaint about the PM hosting a non-political hour of talkback on Radio Live. is rejected on every ground argued and the BSA concludes:
…even if this programme were held to be an election programme, which we do not consider it was, it would not have breached any of the standards raised by the complainant.
One assumes that the next great leap in liberal logic will be to denounce the BSA decision as more evidence of aVast Right Wing and Non-Labour Left Wing conspiracy …
That finding was obvious from the start, but of course that didn’t stop Labour activists from instantly engaging in an exercise of guilt on (their own) accusation – as Eddie’s headline falsely claimed: “Key broke law on radio show“.
The Electoral Commission is not the BSA.
Find out what each is responsible for, if you want to stop looking foolish.
Who said it wasn’t? You seem to think being right is foolish.
Commenting on the BSA, you linked to a post which has nothing to do with the BSA. The allegation of breaking the law relates to … the law. Not broadcasting standards. So your allegation of “falsely claiming” is meaningless, pending a finding on the law.
Read the post you linked to, and the several links within it, from Graeme Edgeler, if you really want to understand the law. But then, that’s not why you’re here, is it?
Ok let’s take this nice & slow.
1. You will find that Eddie’s post quotes the definition of “election programme” from the Broadcasting Act.
2. Eddie’s post links to Graeme’s post, also on the Broadcasting Act and the definition of “election programme”.
3. If you then look at the BSA decision, you will see under the heading “Findings”, it says:
Any questions?
Key would never have gotten an invite if he wasn’t PM, who wants
to talk to some snide yuppy who made it big in counting numbers.
The BSA also said:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5784939/DJ-Key-is-OK-says-BSA
“It became clear to the authority that the legislation should be interpreted as overt or explicit encouragement or persuasion to vote in a particular way rather than incidentally or consequently amounting to encouragement or persuasion.”
The mere presence of Key did not make it an election programme under current law.
This indicates that there is some room to consider whether the current law is adequate. The law seems to assume that electioneering is a process of explicitly saying “vote for us because”. But it is pretty obvious that National’s main election strategy is to promote brand Key rather than to foreground National’s policy and performance. In fact, National’s strategy is to promote Key through photo ops and positive associations, and to avoid anything too negative associated with Key.
Joe Bloggs needs a great leap in reading comprehension skills:
We can of course see that some political advantage will accrue to the Prime Minister and the party to which he belongs from exposures of this kind. It is not for us to say whether this should or should not be permitted; we are required to deal with the law as it stands.
The word “of course” should have helped you there, Joe. It’s kind of a giveaway.
The BSA confirms that the broadcast was political propaganda, but says their hands are tied.
Yeah, damn that thing called “the law” that “ties the hands” of the BSA from just going around making up rulings against people.
I note you do not dispute the BSA finding, that Key’s programme was about “political advantage”. I agree.
Yes I do agree. It is exactly what I said the other day.
And it also confirms that Labour made a strategic blunder by filing a hopeless complaint, when what they should have done was lobby for a slot for Phil. Which I also said I supported, and would probably have been advantageous to Phil, who I think would come across well in that sort of setting.
But as I said, it’s an own-goal by Labour here.
No, filing a complaint has drawn to public/media attention that the law is inadequate and that Key gained some advantage from the broadcast
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/88274/bsa-clears-prime-minister's-radio-show
Nope, more of an own goal for National and MW. The finding that the show was political shows that law, as it presently stands, is broken which has now been highlighted by Labours actions. This will reflect badly on Key/National because people will see it as him using his position as PM for political advantage and MW will be seen as politically biased possibly due to National loaning them $43m of our money as it did not offer the same advantage to every other party leader.
A republican monarchy ?
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/tom-nairn/republican-monarchy-england-and-revolution?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=201210&utm_campaign=0
[Bunji: off-topic, moved to OpenMike]
Did i hear right on TV3 news last night?
I noted someone with a bulldozer trying to pull containers/stuff up the beach and they where told to stop because they did not have a correct safety plan or something like that.
Could this be government gone mad?
Yes I heard that too. Bizarre.
I don’t think it is this govt gone mad – it is the accumulation of generations of H&S regulation and generally that has been a good thing. That said, who knows what was in the container. WHat if they broke it open and it tipped something nasty onto the beach? Would the guy with the bulldozer be willing to pay to clean it up?
To anyone with experience as a rigger hauling a container with a bulldozer without a safety plan sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Citing an old riggers adage, the biggest strop may not be the best simply because it may not be big enough.
logie..you right dude. poor geoff. they talk about bullying but it comes from the top down doesn’t it. Nobody gets a chance till its been through their vetting machine. they self appointed gatekeepers for the tories but they claim to be objective. more malice in blunderland stuff, isnt it. He should retire and get a job on radio skawkback where he would be right at home with the used car salesman types, shouldnt he.
It’s the usual for this Govt all chiefs and NO indians.
Just to be pedantic…since the Rena grounding I have wondered if all these years I had been mispronouncing ASTROLABE.
Every journo and pollie has been pronouncing it ASTRO LAB.
Today it finally got to me so I checked it on the interweb –
It is pronounced as-truh-leyb.
Just a bit grumpy-old-man but we must have standards! Next people will be parking across two spaces, pulling out of supermarket aisles without looking and overusing the word “ackchully”
Apparantly that is what the locals call it, according to RNZ, so they are following that pronunciation – a bit like Al -b’ney instead of Awl-b’ney.
Course the media are very selective on their application of this rule and are quite happy to impose their centralised view of what is correct when it suits – cf. Wanagnui, Waikouaiti, or Hakatere
Never took you for a post-modern, localist, relativist Insider.
I see you in a whole new way now.
Interesting.
BTW, that’s “apparently” not “apparantly” – or is that the way they spell it round your way?
Suddenly, meeting National Standards gets a whole lot easier. After all, I’m sure it is not intended to “impose their centralised view of what is correct when it suits”.
It was just my lazy fingers PG. PS, you missed Wanagnui..
As an aside, Aaaavondale or Avondale? 😉
Avonda-lé. More classier. 😀
“PS, you missed Wanagnui..”
And, on World Standards Day too … even the pedants (like me – that’s ‘ped – ants‘ not ‘pee dance‘) are getting sloppy.
At this rate I’ll start thinking that I understand John Key’s statements … 🙂
“As an aside, Aaaavondale or Avondale?”
Apparently, it’s ‘a-van-dal’ – and it has to be said with an American accent
P.S. – I couldn’t find how to put in the ‘long a’ symbol in ‘dal’
I’ve always used a short ‘a’ which is the way they call the Auckland suburb and aligned with the Welsh pronunciation of Avon but I’ve noticed in Chch they use the long A which is the English Avon. You’re a cantab, whcih is it?
Down here it’s Aaavandale (yes, van). But I hope any radio announcer uses its correct pronunciation.
Also, did you hear David Farrar and whoever was on the Panel – a couple of nights ago – with him going on about people’s problems with ‘pronOUNCiation’? I love the irony of that.
Verbal equivalent of Muphrey’s Law.
I think that’s ‘Muphry’s Law’.
But, then, you’re clever enough to mean your misspelling 🙂
Haha! Not in this case, quite wonderfully.
🙂
Even better
Just a bit grumpy-old-man but we must have standards! Next people will be parking across two spaces, pulling out of supermarket aisles without looking and overusing the word “ackchully”
And spelling EpsoM as EpsoN as I’ve sen a couple of times lately on The Standard.
I see John Keys showing his true colours in the Dompost this morning, wasnt he. First of all he demeaned Phill goff for rolling up his shirt sleeves and getting stuck in and then he used a dubyaism. i.e. “there are no silver clouds”. what does that mean? The subtext is that he only knows how to count other peoples money and using language that conveys any nuance or recondite meaning is foreign territory for a money manque. He should get a life.
The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism
Scientific skepticism is healthy. In fact, science by its very nature is skeptical. Genuine skepticism means considering the full body of evidence before coming to a conclusion. However, when you take a close look at arguments expressing climate ‘skepticism’, what you often observe is cherry picking of pieces of evidence while rejecting any data that don’t fit the desired picture. This isn’t skepticism. It is ignoring facts and the science.
The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism looks at both the evidence that human activity is causing global warming and the ways that climate ‘skeptic’ arguments can mislead by presenting only small pieces of the puzzle rather than the full picture.
Yeah, we’ve been trying to tell the climate change “skeptics” that for awhile now.
Surprised no-ones posted this yet:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/5775355/Govt-confirms-ACC-levy-cuts-to-go-ahead
So what was that about ACC being in a crisis again?…
I think you’ll find it has experienced a miraculous recovery due to National’s magical management of the economy.
*head explodes*
The contradictions inherent in that truly art a Lovecroftian mind destroy horror…
Yeah, it was noticed. Doesn’t seem to have made a big splash though probably because of the RWC and then the Rena shambles.
Nats promise wholesale ACC privatisation
Definition of madness no?
Might have to jump into that comment thread actually (after sleep/coffee), for the stupid burning bright is such an attractive delight.
For cluebat practice that is.
As In Vino Veritas is truly full of shit on the 12B liabilities issue.
Just in http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10758841
Am I alone in thinking a one year ban is a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket? The bloke is a liar and a criminal!
Still no news on Goffs Christmas undertaking to buy a gem. Hope that this was not another example of hollow utterings from a leader of a political party. All promises but no delivery.
Especially as there are now few unblemished areas within the east coast of the coromandel this becomes even more valuable to NZ inc.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/government-must-preserve-new-chums-beach-labour/5/76271
http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2011/01/04/preserve-new-chum-wainuiototo-beach-for-everyone/
Just heard Barry Corbett on The Panel. His ‘what am I thinking about’ was a warning to ‘politicians’ not to ‘moan’.
He then detailed two examples of how Labour has been moaning – Darien Fenton’s comment about Peter Leitch on Facebook and Phil Goff (and Labour’s) complaint over the PM’s hour.
Corbett waxed lyrical about Peter Leitch and then said he thought the PMs hour was just an ‘interesting’ bit of radio and not political. He then mentioned how Geoffrey Palmer had hosted an hour of his breakfast show in 1989. When Mora – or maybe Bruce Slane – raised the question of timing, Corbett said it was just before Moore took over. Odd that, I thought Moore took over a matter of weeks before the November (?) election in 1990 (not 1989).
He strongly criticised Labour – Fenton and Goff by name – for moaning – calling them “moaners”. Defamatory?
So far as I could detect there was no ‘balance’ – just a targetted and prolonged attack on Fenton, Goff and Labour in general.
Obviously his days as a guest on The Panel are now numbered.
Don’t be holding your breath on that one PG.
I never hold my breath when I’m waiting for consistent responses.
The audio is here here
Starts about 3min29s in. He tries to dress it up as ‘advice to politicians’.
Here we go. League tables for Early Childhood.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/5786367/More-childcare-centre-information-for-parents-Nats
Rena’s Inventory Request
On Wednesday 12 October, I sent an email to Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) formally requesting under the Official Information Act 1982 a copy of the MV Rena’s inventory. I made my request because of the differing stories authorities had been telling us about what Rena is carrying…
Sorry I put this item first on weekend social. Got the date right but turned up at the wrong place. Woe is me. Perhaps the social post one could be wiped – it’s not the sort of thing to lighten your heart and encourage a smile.
Der Spiegel has a damning report on Austrian poltical and financial bigwigs. Selling off government property and getting kickbacks, etc etc. The right wing free market neo liberals whatever don’t seem to be able to keep their scheming greedy luxury power and money-obssessed brains under control.
They must have voice activated dictation machines by their beds in case they come up with a new idea in their dreams and utter some choice clues as to new ways of wringing the money out of other people’s hands and pockets And where is the payoff for the rest of us whose minds are too pedestrian for such convoluted diabolical schemes?
Wealthy TVNZ execs pay themselves more while firing staff
Stop the 1%.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10758828
Campbell Live have revealed another wrinkle in the Rena debate.
I think the time line goes:
– NZ needed to update it’s legislation based on 1976 arrangements regarding compensation.
– Someone wrote to Annette King about this being over looked.
– A 2008 select committee forwarded the necessary legislation to the house (which I assume to mean Annette King tool heed of the problem).
– Then came the election.
– Steven Joyce takes over as minister.
– The legislation drops down the list of priority and nothing is done, (probably boy racer legislation that has never been used was more important!)
– Rena runs a ground and we lose the opportunity of another $17 mil in compensation.
Another failure of ministerial responsibility?
How much of our money has this government pissed away and sacked people to cover it?
How many other pieces of useless legislation was rushed through in urgency ahead of this one?
VSM and three strikes were clearly more important.
John Key’s Challenge
On Wednesday 12th October, John Key challenged all of the people who think the Government’s response to the Rena disaster was too slow to put up or shut up.
What does that even mean?
Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries, is not content with just allowing parts of the Ross sea to be fished so he has decided to lift the set net ban in an area at the top of the South Island which is frequented by the endangered Hector’s dolphins.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5787628/Lifting-of-set-net-ban-endangers-dolphin
I have just written my second email to him this week. ( p.heatley@ministers.govt.nz )
The Pike mining and the Rena disaster plus the leaky homes are the result of National Party policies.It was the Nats whe deregulated shipping and through the Employment Contract Act decimated Unions thus allowing these rust buckets in to,our ports. It was the Nats who allowed untreated timber and deregulated the building codes and it was the Nats who reduced the number of mining inspectors . The unsafe conditions now being made public in Pike mine would never have happened if we still had strong unions. Now they are spending more time trying to get photo opportunities that trying to clean up this oil polluted beach. As have said before who the hell votes for these bastards
allowing these rust buckets in to,our ports.
Not entirely fair to characterise the Rena as a ‘rust bucket’. Oddly enough it would appear that the owner and operators of the Rena, Costamare Shipping Company, would seem to be one of the more reputable operators. The ship has visited the Port of Tauranga many times before and has been regularly inspected by MNZ.
Until the exact cause of this grounding is known I’m not sure I’d want to get too high and mighty about the ship itself. What does interest me is the crew operation. Clearly something has gone badly wrong at the command level and there will be a systemic reason for this.
The NZ Maritime Union has already pointed out the dangers inherent in the long hours and poor conditions these Filipino seamen have been forced to work under; conditions that would be entirely unacceptable to any Western crew. It’s my betting this will prove the root cause.
Desprate people, unpaid, take bribes allegdely to scuttle businesses. In the finance
industy those bribe might be known as bonuses.