While in an act of treachery and cowardice Green Party supporter weka writes that Climate Change is “equally” important to all those “other issues”, without bothering to name them.
Deliberately ignoring the fact that as the Philippines delegate has said Climate Change will make poverty, social justice and inequality worse. (which I presume are the “equally important other issues” weka was alluding to)
Climate Change is not one just one issue equal with all others. To argue that, is to call for the Green Party to sell out.
So if Jenny is allowed to call me a treacherous coward, can I tell her to go fuck herself for deliberately misrepresenting my views, without me having to go into the whole tiresome bullshit?
You have admitted that the Green Party has changed its focus “a bit”.
You should ask yourself, why?
When you have determined what the political pressures were, that worked on the Green Party to change its focus “a bit”.
You could also ask yourself; What is to stop the same political forces that acted on the Green Party to change their focus “a bit”, from influencing the Green Party to change it’s focus “a bit” more, and “a bit” more”, and “a bit” more.
Once you start trading principle for position it is a slippery slope.
Jenny stop being such a patronising idiot. Of course I’ve thought about why the GP has shifted its position, and of course I’ve thought about how much the GP will have to compromise in order to be part of govt. I also have an analysis that looks at those things and what the challenge for the GP are. Which you would know if you were bothering to read my comments and pay even a modicum of intelligence to understanding them. But you’re not. All you are doing is manipulating other people’s arguments to suit your own agenda. I’m not the stupid, ignorant person in this conversation.
Of course I’ve thought about why the GP has shifted its position, and of course I’ve thought about how much the GP will have to compromise in order to be part of govt. I also have an analysis that looks at those things and what the challenge for the GP are. Colonial Weka 15 December 2012 at 9:17 am
CW please could you please just patronise me again by letting me see your “analysis that looks at those things”.
Monomania?
Is this another term of abuse applied inside the Green Party against anyone who tries to make Climate Change a leading issue?
Weka has already accused me of being a climate change “obsessive”.
While this may be a term of abuse inside the Green Party. Not being a member of that party, I can wear this label without fear, or shame. IMO it is far better being a climate change obsessive, than a willful opportunist climate change ignorer for narrow political gain.
“I’d Rather Fight Like Hell” Naomi Kleine. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/13 Is climate change is equal with “all other important issues”, or will the fight against climate change inform and invigorate the fight for all other important issues? “Climate change is the human rights struggle of our time” Naomi Kleine. <blockquote>….Climate change has the ability to undo your historic victories and crush your present struggles. So it’s time to come together, for real, and fight to preserve and extend what you care most about — which means engaging in the climate fight, really engaging, as if your life and your life’s work, even life itself, depended on it. Because they do.</blockquote> Monomania? Obsessive? Or telling it like it is? Now, is not the time, for the Green Party to back off on climate change not even “a bit”. Instead they should be hammering it as hard as they can in every forum they can “obsessively”(as if their lives depended on it). But no, instead blinded by the siren call of those soft comfy seats on the front bench, the Green Party have decided to change their focus “a bit”.
“I’d Rather Fight Like Hell” Naomi Kleine. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/13 Is climate change is equal with “all other important issues”, or will the fight against climate change inform and invigorate the fight for all other important issues? “Climate change is the human rights struggle of our time” Naomi Kleine. <blockquote>….Climate change has the ability to undo your historic victories and crush your present struggles. So it’s time to come together, for real, and fight to preserve and extend what you care most about — which means engaging in the climate fight, really engaging, as if your life and your life’s work, even life itself, depended on it. Because they do.</blockquote> Monomania? Obsessive? Or telling it like it is? Now, is not the time, for the Green Party to back off on climate change not even “a bit”. Instead they should be hammering it as hard as they can in every forum they can “obsessively”(as if their lives depended on it). But no, instead blinded by the siren call of those soft comfy seats on the front bench, the Green Party have decided to change their focus “a bit”.
I don’t have a problem with you being obsessive about CC. Your obsession with the GP is pretty weird though. I also have a problem with you telling lies, manipulating other people’s views and positions, and being generally stupid when it comes to all that. I also have a problem with how your approach is likely to undermine addressing CC in a real way.
I don’t have a problem with you being obsessive about CC. Your obsession with the GP is pretty weird though Colonial Weka
Why do I pick on the Greens.
Because I think that the New Zealand Green Party could make a real impact on a global scale against Anthropomorphic Climate Change.
New Zealand could become a showcase for the world. That spurs the the populations of the major emitting nations to demand similar programmes.
But do the Green Party see this? Is the Green Party backing off on climate change because they think, like most people do, that this problem is intractable, it is just to big, and that there is nothing meaningful that can be done?
I have full confidence that the Green Party could make a real difference on this issue like no other.
To see them backing off makes me angry.
Climate Change is the most pressing human issue of our era (if not of any era).
Threatening, as it does, mass extinctions not matched since the cretaceous, predicted to wipe out whole ecosystems and the species that rely on them. If humanity survives, (which is not certain) most projections calculate a human death toll not matched since the black death.
What could be more important, or even of equal importance?
Right. So just say that instead of making shit up. Most people can relate to feelings of frustration and anger over important issues.
Because I think that the New Zealand Green Party could make a real impact on a global scale against Anthropomorphic Climate Change.
You wish. But you don’t come up with any credible plan about how that could happen. The GP on the other hand, who are experts in what they can do about CC, has certainly considered this and made decisions based on reality not on wishful thinking.
But do the Green Party see this? Is the Green Party backing off on climate change because they think, like most people do, that this problem is intractable, it is just to big, and that there is nothing meaningful that can be done?
I don’t think so. The people I know aren’t thinking that. I personally do think it’s far too late to do much, but I don’t believe that we should do nothing. Most people I know and read are more optimistic than I am. If you think that the GP have changed tack (and no, again, they haven’t ‘backed off’) because they’ve given up, then show some evidence. Or go ask them.
You have admitted that the Green Party has changed its focus “a bit”.
You should ask yourself, why?
When you have determined what the political pressures were, that worked on the Green Party to change its focus “a bit”.
You could also ask yourself; What is to stop the same political forces that acted on the Green Party to change their focus “a bit”, from influencing the Green Party to change it’s focus “a bit” more, and “a bit” more”, and “a bit” more.
Once you start trading principle for position it is a slippery slope.
In the 2000s Labour was responsible, among other things, for getting rid of the much-needed Special Benefit, reintroducing ‘no go zones’ in rural areas, introducing massive structural discrimination against the children of beneficiaries via the In Work Tax Credit, and undermining in legislation the very purpose of social security itself as established by Labour’s own forebears in 1938.
David Shearer’s recent speech in which he talked about a sickness beneficiary in a way guaranteed to appeal to beneficiary bashers nationwide has not given me confidence that Labour will do any better when they are once more part of Government.
So my challenge goes out equally to Labour – please let us know clearly before the next election what your policies on welfare and jobs are going to be. Are you going to overturn all of National’s reforms? Are you going to grant the In Work Tax Credit in respect of all children? Are you ever going to listen to those of us who do know what’s actually happening out here when you formulate your next round of income support and employment policies?
My emphasis. I’m curious now what sources political parties use to inform themselves about welfare issues.
Let me rephrase: what useful and valid sources do political parties use to inform their welfare policy? I think we can just ignore NACTUF. I was thinking more about Labour, the Greens, Mana, the Maori Party, maybe NZF.
Its believed by some that if you give people money for nothing they will asked for more money.
Originally an argument used against welfare, but isn’t and should be applied to bankers and the wealthiest now. They do less and less, some even say driving us to extinction (or atleast massive civilisational collapse). Welfare has always been a compromise, it drives up wages on small firms because it take people out of the workforce, its a jobs program for middle class people to run, its a no monetry tax on the poorest, and it justifies a whole raft of compliance laws on business (which aids the big companies who have a multiplier effect) all justifed (rightly) on removing slums, producing kids who can read and fight in wars, and basically glue civic society together 9as we can see when if fails and we get criminal gangs). So welfare as constructed is bad, but whats on offer from the right would be its removal ad the natural follow on, the communist revolution (or rightwing thousand year reich). What we actually need is the redistribution of
wealth without government conditions, a negative income for everyone to keep them out of poverty, then remove taxes on employment, so people can work for luxuries. The problem is this would wipe out the value of much of the wealth accrued by the richest, and that’s why its the perfect time to do it, since the richest have already done that, wipe out their accrue calls on future wealth, peak oil means the old wealth creators the rich are hoarding aren’t worth the ticket price.
Its time for a rethink because we need every citizen to do the green thing, and the only fair way to do that is to have them engaged in capitalism. Capitalism has been stolen from the people by governments, and turned into faceless markets where their very lives are pored over and profited from.
Want to find out what’s going on in London? Well, the folks who run TV3 had the brilliant idea of sending over one MELISSA DAVIES to keep us informed. Only one flaw in that cunning plan: Melissa Davies is utterly ignorant, and instead of trying to be a reporter, seems to be content to read out press releases prepared by the U.K. government….
SIMON SHEPHERD: And, finally Melissa, another long-running story over there: Julian Assange in the news again.
MELISSA DAVIES: [sniggers] Yes, he’s been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for six months now. He’s announced he’ll be running for a seat in the Australian Senate!
SIMON SHEPHERD: He’s been holed up there. Okay, Melissa Davies in London. Time coming up to 7:30.
Referring to a political dissident as a common criminal—“holed up” instead of “granted political asylum”—is a dereliction of her duty as a journalist. Melissa Davies is nothing but a conduit of black propaganda.
Er, ‘holed up’ is a perfect phrase to descibe Assange’s attempt to avoid facing justice. When chased, rats do tend to ‘hole up’.
It’s the perfect phrase if you’re in the business of black propaganda, as the British regime is. You should apply for a fee for acting as their uncritical mouthpiece.
‘Oh – like what several Assange supporters have been engaged in, from “sex by surprise” to “illegal to have unprotected sex” and so on. Thanks for the clarification.’
You obviously need help with a lot of things—like we all do. But I think you know perfectly well that a dissenter and his supporters pouring scorn on false accusations is stratospherically different from the full machinery of state, plus its ancillary organs like the totalitarian “liberal” media and their uncritical consumers, engaging in a campaign of character assassination.
Nice words, Mozza. The problem is that the accusations don’t appear to be false at all. What Assange himself has admitted about his sexual behaviour tends to make the accusations look very likely to be true. Just to wind you up further, I think that even if the Americans said they intended to extradite him from Sweden and Sweden also agreed to change their laws to allow it, I still think Assange should face his accusers. The hypocrisy of championing transparency and openness while hiding from both is shameful.
No means no. And being a celebrity is no guide to guilt or innocence, nor a defence in court, as operation Yewtree shows all too clearly.
Nothing “nice” about them at all. Simple facts, unadorned—that’s all.
2.) “The problem is that the accusations don’t appear to be false at all.”
Argument by continued assertion of an already discredited accusation. That’s not the most convincing rhetorical strategy, my friend.
3.) “What Assange himself has admitted about his sexual behaviour tends to make the accusations look very likely to be true.”
So the guy was (is) a superstar who suffered the galling indignity of having young women throw themselves at him. You can pretend to be disgusted, as his state accusers do, if you want. But whether or not you despise him for behaving like a rock star, you need something better than the unconvincing, in fact discredited, allegations that the state has forced these young women to make.
4.) “Just to wind you up further,”
Don’t flatter yourself, my friend. I’m not the one hyperventilating about the fact that the U.K. regime has failed dismally in its attempt to prove it’s worthy of its junior partner status by handing a dissenter over to the tender mercies of the world’s worst rogue state.
5.) “I think that even if the Americans said they intended to extradite him from Sweden and Sweden also agreed to change their laws to allow it, I still think Assange should face his accusers. The hypocrisy of championing transparency and openness while hiding from both is shameful.”
That’s fascinating logic. It could have been used against any fugitive from any rogue regime in history. All those hypocritical partisans in the Serbian hills and all those resistance fighters taking refuge in French forests during World War II should, following your reasoning, have openly and transparently handed themselves over to the authorities. (I’m not joking, by the way—and, more worryingly, it seems you are not joking either.)
6.) “No means no.”
It certainly does. And no evidence means no evidence. You can rage and threaten to break all international treaty laws, as the U.K. and U.S. regimes have done in their zeal to exact revenge on this dissenter, but when you have no evidence, you have no evidence. Unless, of course, you follow the loon’s logic that all sexual intercourse is rape.
7.) “And being a celebrity is no guide to guilt or innocence, nor a defence in court, as operation Yewtree shows all too clearly.”
Julian Assange is a journalist and a political dissident and the hero of many young women, who want to sleep with him; Jimmy Savile was a third-rate comedian who forced himself on young girls. The BBC has been instrumental in acting as a conduit for false government accusations against Assange, just as it acted as a conduit for young girls for the old paedophile.
You’re trying to suggest that Assange and Savile are comparable, somehow? Does Assange tell unfunny jokes and grope women on camera?
Ooooh, I think I heard a figurative penny dropping in Mozza’s head while that last paragraph was being written!
Just to make it easier for you, Moz, yes, I do think there are some similarities between the two. One is a discredited celebrity who used his fame to have sex with the willing and the unwilling. The other is dead.
The imperialist character assassination of Assange should not be ‘likened’ to that of ‘mad’ Maoists, Stalinists of Trotskyists. They are of a very different order. The US is the no 1 global terrorist that dominates the world. Assange understands that. The Stalinist/Maoist dictators were not ‘mad’ but negotiating their survival with imperialism. Trotskyists never got themselves in to a position where they could conduct genocides and suffered purges and insignificance. Recognising this Hitchens made a career move to become a black propagandist for imperialism. There are liars, major liars and hegemonic liars.
Why on earth would you trust the british system? And if you do so trust it then how does the Leveson enquiry and its findings around politicians and police fit into that?
One would be a complete moron to assume any system is perfect.
But when it gets to be 2 people + 3 or 4 courts vs 1 person’s word, on the balance of probabilities and without clear indications to the contrary I tend to be cool with suggestion that there might be a case to answer.
Fair enough. But I’m not getting at whether the system is perfect or not in a technical sense. It is about corruption. It is about the interest the USA government has in the case (like dotcom here and our government was corrupted all over the place – police, GCSB, Prime Minister). It is about whether the britishenglish system bends itself to demands beyond its mandate.
And everyone knows it does. The leveson enquiry is an indicator.
And on the flipside, everyone also knows that some nice-looking guys who do some very good things in other aspects of their lives commit sexual assault or rape and then deny it to the nth degree.
A prime example being Muzza’s St John post (if at all accurate).
Spoken like a True Believer. Folks like you did very well in Russia in the 1930s—until they found themselves consumed by the same state machinery they had enthusiastically championed. http://lyndonlarouche.org/doctors-plot.gif
No I did not. When there’s ample evidence, corroborated by dozens, often hundreds of independent testimonies, none of whom has been coerced or inveigled into filing a false complaint, I support prosecution.
When there is not a skerrick of evidence, but the state still presses forward with the persecution of a dissenter, it’s an entirely different matter. I do not support that. You, on the other hand, have chosen to align yourself with the state apparatus of persecution and disinformation, for some reason.
Actually, I’ve sided with women who made a complaint, oh and ” British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind”.
But your point seems to be that we should wait until their are dozens or even hundreds of complainants before Assange should answer questions in a court?
And to think you seemed to regard the Savile comparison as unfair.
“wasn’t the Leveson enquiry part of the English system?”
I think you have (perhaps unwittingly) conflated British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind, with the British state, which is often the polar opposite of that.
Again, you’ve confused British justice with the British state. You seem to think that Virtue and Goodness resides in the state and vice versa. It’s the same way that Stalin’s followers used to think, and that Israel’s supporters think today.
So when you talk about “British justice”, what are you talking about?
The rules for cricket?
Or the system of legal precedence and tradition of Crown accountability that is entrenched in legislation going back to the Magna Carta and enforced by a system of courts and circuit judges to provide consistency in legal interpretation across the nation?
“Or the system of legal precedence and tradition of Crown accountability…”
Yes. It’s called the Law. You know, that thing that the British and U.S. governments are so frustrated by.
“Law without courts is wishful thinking.”
Wishful thinking is that I’ll win Lotto tomorrow night. That the British government must observe the law is not a matter of wishful thinking, it’s a requirement. Either Britain is a rechtstaat or it’s a rogue state—like it threatened to be when it was contemplating the crime of invading the Ecuadorian embassy.
“Like your baseless assumption that Assange is definitely, without a skerrick of a doubt, innocent.”
I’ve never said Assange is an angel. He has obviously enjoyed the attentions of some of his young admirers. But his accusers and persecutors are charged with backing up their charges with credible evidence. They have failed utterly.
And who holds the British government to account? The courts.
The same courts that decided during the extradition hearing that Assange’s accusers had actually demonstrated that he has a case to answer.
I repeat: the system that ensures the British government follows its requirement to obey its own laws also disagrees with your assessment that Assange’s accusers have failed to provide credible evidence.
“And who holds the British government to account? The courts.”
No. The people holding the British government to account are the likes of Julian Assange. Which is the reason for the massive mobilization of state propaganda against him.
“I think you have (perhaps unwittingly) conflated British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind, with the British state, which is often the polar opposite of that.”
Yes. We have the exact same problem here in NZ and the best recent example of that is Collins shenanigans.
And I’m really annoyed that in the media coverage (honestly who actually reads the entire Bill??) I managed to miss this little jem:
“Under the Bill, an invalid’s beneficiary who is reclassified as a ‘job-seeker’ will face a cut in income from $256 to $213 a week – effectively a benefit cut of $42 per week.”
God only knows how you are reclassified as a “job-seeker”. Probably if you so much as glance at a job ad….seems like an insidious way to save $$$ at the expense of disabled. Those with disabilities already have higher costs and are more likely to struggle in maintaining long term employment which means their level of debt and quality of life suffers.
All up it is too closely modeled on the disasterous UK welfare model.
Nice to see her ability to construct a mangled sentence hasn’t improved since her outing on WO. Let’s hear it for the comma! 😈
There is a lack of affordable entry-level homes, in the 1960s and 1970s, when home ownership was on the rise, 30-35 per cent of the new houses built were entry-level homes. Today, that proportion has fallen to 5 per cent.
Anyway. All mangling aside, maybe the focus should be on the diminishing amount of disposable income people have? Or maybe an acknowledgement that 30 odd years of wealth redistribution results in more people being able to afford less?
Or maybe the best idea is just to ‘follow the leader’ and cash in those loyalty bonus points?
Here’s the link. (And not too sure about the repeated reference to being ‘hands on’. Am I the only one who senses a degree of grubiness in that phrase?)
Maybe it’s the old thing that when she did it professionally she managed just well enough to keep up with a high client turnover rate. and because she did it professionally she assumes that her rushed first drafts don’t need to be proof-read or edited in any way.
I love the way “Labour will fight to create jobs, opportunities and build a smart, powerful economy.” is tacked on with the same relevance as “and Carthage must be destroyed”.
Apart from the possibility that the contents at the link muzza posted are defamatory this issue has been spammed across local bloggs for the past year or more. The names that keep on popping up all have connections to an organisation run by a convicted child sex offender.
That’s my point.
The allegation is that there is a particular group involved in widespread sexual offending of an especially egregious nature and that there’s a grand conspiracy by officials of the state and their allies, the evil femin*z*s and their misandrist gynocracy, to cover up the offending.
Building up the feel good vibe for when the shares scheme eventually comes home to roost and people realise they just sold more of NZ offshore under the con of diversity and stability.
@ ANDRE
Had a look at the latest maps and they have down-graded the predicted intensity. Looks like someone in the Met. Office might have got a bit carried away. Still will pack a punch though.
Doing the rounds on facebook.
Apparently the post-communist “shock therapy” of privatisation in Eastern Europe killed possibly as many as a million workers:
During the 1990s, former communist countries underwent the world’s worst peacetime mortality crisis in the past 50 years – with over three million avoidable deaths and 10 million ‘missing’ men, according to the United Nations.
Why does she bother? It’s obvious what outcome she prefers. Just tell Cabinet that it’s politically expedient to deny compensation to Mr Bain, and avoid further costly reviews. And, in the case of Auckland, just ignore Auckland’s wishes and tell us what Mr Key wants to happen. It will save time and money, and reflect the top-down, sod other views model that this government promotes.
The Standard has become a bit devoid of high level comments and criticism, although some still here do offer a fair bit of this. It is a bit like a “Stalinist Purge” that appears to have happened!
I miss MANY commenters of past days, and it is disconcerting!
How can a David (Joseph) Shearer sleep straight and well at night, if this is supposed to be the “future” of the “Labour led left”?
NZ is already a dearth, when it comes to social and especially mainstream media. For f. sake, do not let it die. Cancel your bloody memberships and start a bloody new party from scratch, if that is what they do to all you guys, who used to frequent this blog site and keep it so alive.
Ah. I was thinking the overall number of comments would probably start dropping about now. So I went to look at the site stats for this time last year. But I only found the top posts for the whole year. Then I got side-tracked looking at some of those golden oldie posts.
This National/ACT Government is VERY vulnerable on corruption, ‘white collar’ crime and ‘corporate welfare’.
Where the people lead – the politicians will follow?
(Hopefully …………….. 🙂
________________________________________
New Zealand – ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ according to the 2012 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’ (along with Denmark and Finland) – has a Prime Minister who used to be a Wall St BANK$TER – (in 1999 – 2000 John Key was a former foreign exchange advisor for the New York Federal Reserve, and was the Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch.
NZ Prime Minister John Key, is currently a shareholder in the Bank of America.
(This would be unlawful in Australia – but NZ hasn’t even yet ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption!)
EVIDENCE!
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rd…
Rt Hon John KEY (National, Helensville)
Bank of America – banking
Bank of America – short term deposit
__________________________________________
The reality is that New Zealand is a corrupt, polluted tax haven.
Sorry to pop the hot air balloon……
“Ms Killeen was invited to sit next to her counsel at the table. I have never seen this happen before,” he told Mr Byers.
Under a section of the Sentencing Act, Killeen was acquitted, even though she pleaded guilty to both forgery charges. A sentencing indication hearing was held in October but all aspects were suppressed
How the legal/judical insiders work together to protect its own, while giving the plebs a written inside article on how to avoid the *workings of a courtroom* , should they ever find themselves in one!
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Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
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Tears for a dying world
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-502563/Floods-tears-climate-change-hard-man-breaks-summit.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/dec/06/philippines-delegator-tears-climate-change
While in an act of treachery and cowardice Green Party supporter weka writes that Climate Change is “equally” important to all those “other issues”, without bothering to name them.
Deliberately ignoring the fact that as the Philippines delegate has said Climate Change will make poverty, social justice and inequality worse. (which I presume are the “equally important other issues” weka was alluding to)
Climate Change is not one just one issue equal with all others. To argue that, is to call for the Green Party to sell out.
So if Jenny is allowed to call me a treacherous coward, can I tell her to go fuck herself for deliberately misrepresenting my views, without me having to go into the whole tiresome bullshit?
+1
Jenny’s fundamentalist monomania undermines her message better than any fossil fuel shill ever could.
/agreed
Time will tell.
You have admitted that the Green Party has changed its focus “a bit”.
You should ask yourself, why?
When you have determined what the political pressures were, that worked on the Green Party to change its focus “a bit”.
You could also ask yourself; What is to stop the same political forces that acted on the Green Party to change their focus “a bit”, from influencing the Green Party to change it’s focus “a bit” more, and “a bit” more”, and “a bit” more.
Once you start trading principle for position it is a slippery slope.
Jenny stop being such a patronising idiot. Of course I’ve thought about why the GP has shifted its position, and of course I’ve thought about how much the GP will have to compromise in order to be part of govt. I also have an analysis that looks at those things and what the challenge for the GP are. Which you would know if you were bothering to read my comments and pay even a modicum of intelligence to understanding them. But you’re not. All you are doing is manipulating other people’s arguments to suit your own agenda. I’m not the stupid, ignorant person in this conversation.
CW please could you please just patronise me again by letting me see your “analysis that looks at those things”.
Monomania?
Is this another term of abuse applied inside the Green Party against anyone who tries to make Climate Change a leading issue?
Weka has already accused me of being a climate change “obsessive”.
While this may be a term of abuse inside the Green Party. Not being a member of that party, I can wear this label without fear, or shame. IMO it is far better being a climate change obsessive, than a willful opportunist climate change ignorer for narrow political gain.
“I’d Rather Fight Like Hell” Naomi Kleine. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/13 Is climate change is equal with “all other important issues”, or will the fight against climate change inform and invigorate the fight for all other important issues? “Climate change is the human rights struggle of our time” Naomi Kleine. <blockquote>….Climate change has the ability to undo your historic victories and crush your present struggles. So it’s time to come together, for real, and fight to preserve and extend what you care most about — which means engaging in the climate fight, really engaging, as if your life and your life’s work, even life itself, depended on it. Because they do.</blockquote> Monomania? Obsessive? Or telling it like it is? Now, is not the time, for the Green Party to back off on climate change not even “a bit”. Instead they should be hammering it as hard as they can in every forum they can “obsessively”(as if their lives depended on it). But no, instead blinded by the siren call of those soft comfy seats on the front bench, the Green Party have decided to change their focus “a bit”.
“I’d Rather Fight Like Hell” Naomi Kleine. http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/13 Is climate change is equal with “all other important issues”, or will the fight against climate change inform and invigorate the fight for all other important issues? “Climate change is the human rights struggle of our time” Naomi Kleine. <blockquote>….Climate change has the ability to undo your historic victories and crush your present struggles. So it’s time to come together, for real, and fight to preserve and extend what you care most about — which means engaging in the climate fight, really engaging, as if your life and your life’s work, even life itself, depended on it. Because they do.</blockquote> Monomania? Obsessive? Or telling it like it is? Now, is not the time, for the Green Party to back off on climate change not even “a bit”. Instead they should be hammering it as hard as they can in every forum they can “obsessively”(as if their lives depended on it). But no, instead blinded by the siren call of those soft comfy seats on the front bench, the Green Party have decided to change their focus “a bit”.
Liar.
Paranoid monomania then.
I don’t have a problem with you being obsessive about CC. Your obsession with the GP is pretty weird though. I also have a problem with you telling lies, manipulating other people’s views and positions, and being generally stupid when it comes to all that. I also have a problem with how your approach is likely to undermine addressing CC in a real way.
Why do I pick on the Greens.
Because I think that the New Zealand Green Party could make a real impact on a global scale against Anthropomorphic Climate Change.
New Zealand could become a showcase for the world. That spurs the the populations of the major emitting nations to demand similar programmes.
But do the Green Party see this? Is the Green Party backing off on climate change because they think, like most people do, that this problem is intractable, it is just to big, and that there is nothing meaningful that can be done?
I have full confidence that the Green Party could make a real difference on this issue like no other.
To see them backing off makes me angry.
Climate Change is the most pressing human issue of our era (if not of any era).
Threatening, as it does, mass extinctions not matched since the cretaceous, predicted to wipe out whole ecosystems and the species that rely on them. If humanity survives, (which is not certain) most projections calculate a human death toll not matched since the black death.
What could be more important, or even of equal importance?
Nothing
“To see them backing off makes me angry.”
Right. So just say that instead of making shit up. Most people can relate to feelings of frustration and anger over important issues.
You wish. But you don’t come up with any credible plan about how that could happen. The GP on the other hand, who are experts in what they can do about CC, has certainly considered this and made decisions based on reality not on wishful thinking.
I don’t think so. The people I know aren’t thinking that. I personally do think it’s far too late to do much, but I don’t believe that we should do nothing. Most people I know and read are more optimistic than I am. If you think that the GP have changed tack (and no, again, they haven’t ‘backed off’) because they’ve given up, then show some evidence. Or go ask them.
I feel a response of “link or GTFO” is definitely warranted.
Time will tell.
You have admitted that the Green Party has changed its focus “a bit”.
You should ask yourself, why?
When you have determined what the political pressures were, that worked on the Green Party to change its focus “a bit”.
You could also ask yourself; What is to stop the same political forces that acted on the Green Party to change their focus “a bit”, from influencing the Green Party to change it’s focus “a bit” more, and “a bit” more”, and “a bit” more.
Once you start trading principle for position it is a slippery slope.
No. But you do have a duty to point out where I have misrepresented your views.
I wish I’d made a submission against the changes to the Social Security Act. What we have is bad enough without punative changes that are coming…
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/beneficiary-impact-highlights-poverty-of-social-policies
Very good post by Bradford.
My emphasis. I’m curious now what sources political parties use to inform themselves about welfare issues.
Thanks for pointing that out. Looks like it was posted on Pundit:
http://pundit.co.nz/content/beneficiary-impact-highlights-poverty-of-social-policies
Ideology mainly. And at least two Key politicians who can claim they’ve been there.
Let me rephrase: what useful and valid sources do political parties use to inform their welfare policy? I think we can just ignore NACTUF. I was thinking more about Labour, the Greens, Mana, the Maori Party, maybe NZF.
“And at least two Key politicians who can claim they’ve been there.”
Yeah, way back in the past when things were very different to how they are now.
Its believed by some that if you give people money for nothing they will asked for more money.
Originally an argument used against welfare, but isn’t and should be applied to bankers and the wealthiest now. They do less and less, some even say driving us to extinction (or atleast massive civilisational collapse). Welfare has always been a compromise, it drives up wages on small firms because it take people out of the workforce, its a jobs program for middle class people to run, its a no monetry tax on the poorest, and it justifies a whole raft of compliance laws on business (which aids the big companies who have a multiplier effect) all justifed (rightly) on removing slums, producing kids who can read and fight in wars, and basically glue civic society together 9as we can see when if fails and we get criminal gangs). So welfare as constructed is bad, but whats on offer from the right would be its removal ad the natural follow on, the communist revolution (or rightwing thousand year reich). What we actually need is the redistribution of
wealth without government conditions, a negative income for everyone to keep them out of poverty, then remove taxes on employment, so people can work for luxuries. The problem is this would wipe out the value of much of the wealth accrued by the richest, and that’s why its the perfect time to do it, since the richest have already done that, wipe out their accrue calls on future wealth, peak oil means the old wealth creators the rich are hoarding aren’t worth the ticket price.
Its time for a rethink because we need every citizen to do the green thing, and the only fair way to do that is to have them engaged in capitalism. Capitalism has been stolen from the people by governments, and turned into faceless markets where their very lives are pored over and profited from.
Melissa Davies, TV3’s substandard “London correspondent”
TV3 Sunrise, Friday 14 December 2012, 7:28 p.m.
Want to find out what’s going on in London? Well, the folks who run TV3 had the brilliant idea of sending over one MELISSA DAVIES to keep us informed. Only one flaw in that cunning plan: Melissa Davies is utterly ignorant, and instead of trying to be a reporter, seems to be content to read out press releases prepared by the U.K. government….
SIMON SHEPHERD: And, finally Melissa, another long-running story over there: Julian Assange in the news again.
MELISSA DAVIES: [sniggers] Yes, he’s been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for six months now. He’s announced he’ll be running for a seat in the Australian Senate!
SIMON SHEPHERD: He’s been holed up there. Okay, Melissa Davies in London. Time coming up to 7:30.
Referring to a political dissident as a common criminal—“holed up” instead of “granted political asylum”—is a dereliction of her duty as a journalist. Melissa Davies is nothing but a conduit of black propaganda.
Er, ‘holed up’ is a perfect phrase to descibe Assange’s attempt to avoid facing justice. When chased, rats do tend to ‘hole up’.
Er, ‘holed up’ is a perfect phrase to descibe Assange’s attempt to avoid facing justice. When chased, rats do tend to ‘hole up’.
It’s the perfect phrase if you’re in the business of black propaganda, as the British regime is. You should apply for a fee for acting as their uncritical mouthpiece.
‘Black propaganda’. Is that a new euphemism for sexual assault?
“Black propaganda’. Is that a new euphemism for sexual assault?”
No, it means a sustained programme of lying, defamation and character assassination. It’s the kind of thing that mad Maoists, Stalinists and Trotskyists did in the 1960s, and ex-Trots like this fool did until his sudden demise last year…
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4C_tSMqS810/Sj0tGFTshlI/AAAAAAAAEDc/FKbFx167wIQ/s400/Christopher+Hitchens+and+atheism.JPG
ERRATUM
“…until his sudden demise last year…”
Apologies for the error. I should have written “…until his long-drawn-out and public demise last year.”
Please correct your print-outs.
Oh – like what several Assange supporters have been engaged in, from “sex by surprise” to “illegal to have unprotected sex” and so on.
Thanks for the clarification.
‘Oh – like what several Assange supporters have been engaged in, from “sex by surprise” to “illegal to have unprotected sex” and so on. Thanks for the clarification.’
You obviously need help with a lot of things—like we all do. But I think you know perfectly well that a dissenter and his supporters pouring scorn on false accusations is stratospherically different from the full machinery of state, plus its ancillary organs like the totalitarian “liberal” media and their uncritical consumers, engaging in a campaign of character assassination.
Nice words, Mozza. The problem is that the accusations don’t appear to be false at all. What Assange himself has admitted about his sexual behaviour tends to make the accusations look very likely to be true. Just to wind you up further, I think that even if the Americans said they intended to extradite him from Sweden and Sweden also agreed to change their laws to allow it, I still think Assange should face his accusers. The hypocrisy of championing transparency and openness while hiding from both is shameful.
No means no. And being a celebrity is no guide to guilt or innocence, nor a defence in court, as operation Yewtree shows all too clearly.
1.) “Nice words, Mozza.”
Nothing “nice” about them at all. Simple facts, unadorned—that’s all.
2.) “The problem is that the accusations don’t appear to be false at all.”
Argument by continued assertion of an already discredited accusation. That’s not the most convincing rhetorical strategy, my friend.
3.) “What Assange himself has admitted about his sexual behaviour tends to make the accusations look very likely to be true.”
So the guy was (is) a superstar who suffered the galling indignity of having young women throw themselves at him. You can pretend to be disgusted, as his state accusers do, if you want. But whether or not you despise him for behaving like a rock star, you need something better than the unconvincing, in fact discredited, allegations that the state has forced these young women to make.
4.) “Just to wind you up further,”
Don’t flatter yourself, my friend. I’m not the one hyperventilating about the fact that the U.K. regime has failed dismally in its attempt to prove it’s worthy of its junior partner status by handing a dissenter over to the tender mercies of the world’s worst rogue state.
5.) “I think that even if the Americans said they intended to extradite him from Sweden and Sweden also agreed to change their laws to allow it, I still think Assange should face his accusers. The hypocrisy of championing transparency and openness while hiding from both is shameful.”
That’s fascinating logic. It could have been used against any fugitive from any rogue regime in history. All those hypocritical partisans in the Serbian hills and all those resistance fighters taking refuge in French forests during World War II should, following your reasoning, have openly and transparently handed themselves over to the authorities. (I’m not joking, by the way—and, more worryingly, it seems you are not joking either.)
6.) “No means no.”
It certainly does. And no evidence means no evidence. You can rage and threaten to break all international treaty laws, as the U.K. and U.S. regimes have done in their zeal to exact revenge on this dissenter, but when you have no evidence, you have no evidence. Unless, of course, you follow the loon’s logic that all sexual intercourse is rape.
7.) “And being a celebrity is no guide to guilt or innocence, nor a defence in court, as operation Yewtree shows all too clearly.”
Julian Assange is a journalist and a political dissident and the hero of many young women, who want to sleep with him; Jimmy Savile was a third-rate comedian who forced himself on young girls. The BBC has been instrumental in acting as a conduit for false government accusations against Assange, just as it acted as a conduit for young girls for the old paedophile.
You’re trying to suggest that Assange and Savile are comparable, somehow? Does Assange tell unfunny jokes and grope women on camera?
Ooooh, I think I heard a figurative penny dropping in Mozza’s head while that last paragraph was being written!
Just to make it easier for you, Moz, yes, I do think there are some similarities between the two. One is a discredited celebrity who used his fame to have sex with the willing and the unwilling. The other is dead.
“One is a discredited celebrity who used his fame to have sex with the willing and the unwilling. The other is dead.”
Hell, Te Reo, surely you can do better than that. Who wrote that joke for you? Jimmy Savile?
One is a discredited celebrity who used his fame to have sex with the willing and the unwilling. The other is dead.
*snort*
The imperialist character assassination of Assange should not be ‘likened’ to that of ‘mad’ Maoists, Stalinists of Trotskyists. They are of a very different order. The US is the no 1 global terrorist that dominates the world. Assange understands that. The Stalinist/Maoist dictators were not ‘mad’ but negotiating their survival with imperialism. Trotskyists never got themselves in to a position where they could conduct genocides and suffered purges and insignificance. Recognising this Hitchens made a career move to become a black propagandist for imperialism. There are liars, major liars and hegemonic liars.
That’s the shizzle 🙂
“When chased, rats do tend to ‘hole up’.”
And rats only ever get chased for good reason eh.
Why on earth would you trust the british system? And if you do so trust it then how does the Leveson enquiry and its findings around politicians and police fit into that?
wasn’t the Leveson enquiry part of the English system?
Probably. So then trust the british system but not the english system ………… lol
One would be a complete moron to assume any system is perfect.
But when it gets to be 2 people + 3 or 4 courts vs 1 person’s word, on the balance of probabilities and without clear indications to the contrary I tend to be cool with suggestion that there might be a case to answer.
Fair enough. But I’m not getting at whether the system is perfect or not in a technical sense. It is about corruption. It is about the interest the USA government has in the case (like dotcom here and our government was corrupted all over the place – police, GCSB, Prime Minister). It is about whether the britishenglish system bends itself to demands beyond its mandate.
And everyone knows it does. The leveson enquiry is an indicator.
And on the flipside, everyone also knows that some nice-looking guys who do some very good things in other aspects of their lives commit sexual assault or rape and then deny it to the nth degree.
A prime example being Muzza’s St John post (if at all accurate).
Spoken like a True Believer. Folks like you did very well in Russia in the 1930s—until they found themselves consumed by the same state machinery they had enthusiastically championed.
http://lyndonlarouche.org/doctors-plot.gif
Folks like you did very well defending their local troop leader or deacon when those horrible allegations were made by those nasty delinquents.
No I did not. When there’s ample evidence, corroborated by dozens, often hundreds of independent testimonies, none of whom has been coerced or inveigled into filing a false complaint, I support prosecution.
When there is not a skerrick of evidence, but the state still presses forward with the persecution of a dissenter, it’s an entirely different matter. I do not support that. You, on the other hand, have chosen to align yourself with the state apparatus of persecution and disinformation, for some reason.
Actually, I’ve sided with women who made a complaint, oh and ” British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind”.
But your point seems to be that we should wait until their are dozens or even hundreds of complainants before Assange should answer questions in a court?
And to think you seemed to regard the Savile comparison as unfair.
It’s unfortunate that this needs to be pointed out, but often when women are raped there is no evidence beyond what they say.
“wasn’t the Leveson enquiry part of the English system?”
I think you have (perhaps unwittingly) conflated British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind, with the British state, which is often the polar opposite of that.
oh, okay, because it was the British justice system that decided Assange had a case to answer in Sweden.
Again, you’ve confused British justice with the British state. You seem to think that Virtue and Goodness resides in the state and vice versa. It’s the same way that Stalin’s followers used to think, and that Israel’s supporters think today.
So when you talk about “British justice”, what are you talking about?
The rules for cricket?
Or the system of legal precedence and tradition of Crown accountability that is entrenched in legislation going back to the Magna Carta and enforced by a system of courts and circuit judges to provide consistency in legal interpretation across the nation?
“Or the system of legal precedence and tradition of Crown accountability…”
Yes. It’s called the Law. You know, that thing that the British and U.S. governments are so frustrated by.
Law without courts is wishful thinking. Like your baseless assumption that Assange is definitely, without a skerrick of a doubt, innocent.
“Law without courts is wishful thinking.”
Wishful thinking is that I’ll win Lotto tomorrow night. That the British government must observe the law is not a matter of wishful thinking, it’s a requirement. Either Britain is a rechtstaat or it’s a rogue state—like it threatened to be when it was contemplating the crime of invading the Ecuadorian embassy.
“Like your baseless assumption that Assange is definitely, without a skerrick of a doubt, innocent.”
I’ve never said Assange is an angel. He has obviously enjoyed the attentions of some of his young admirers. But his accusers and persecutors are charged with backing up their charges with credible evidence. They have failed utterly.
And who holds the British government to account? The courts.
The same courts that decided during the extradition hearing that Assange’s accusers had actually demonstrated that he has a case to answer.
I repeat: the system that ensures the British government follows its requirement to obey its own laws also disagrees with your assessment that Assange’s accusers have failed to provide credible evidence.
“And who holds the British government to account? The courts.”
No. The people holding the British government to account are the likes of Julian Assange. Which is the reason for the massive mobilization of state propaganda against him.
So Assange is now a fundamental part of the British justice you hold in high regard, but the British courts are not?
Ever get the feeling you’re making shit up as you go along?
“I think you have (perhaps unwittingly) conflated British justice, which has been and is a real benefit to humankind, with the British state, which is often the polar opposite of that.”
Yes. We have the exact same problem here in NZ and the best recent example of that is Collins shenanigans.
Collins’ summer holiday reading choice: “Mein Kampf”!
TRP. Then you are telling us that you are holed up?
And I’m really annoyed that in the media coverage (honestly who actually reads the entire Bill??) I managed to miss this little jem:
“Under the Bill, an invalid’s beneficiary who is reclassified as a ‘job-seeker’ will face a cut in income from $256 to $213 a week – effectively a benefit cut of $42 per week.”
http://www.caritas.org.nz/newsroom/media-releases/%E2%80%98open-your-eyes%E2%80%99-caritas-tells-committee-considering-welfare-changes
God only knows how you are reclassified as a “job-seeker”. Probably if you so much as glance at a job ad….seems like an insidious way to save $$$ at the expense of disabled. Those with disabilities already have higher costs and are more likely to struggle in maintaining long term employment which means their level of debt and quality of life suffers.
All up it is too closely modeled on the disasterous UK welfare model.
Clearly roads of notional significance are more important to the country than some sick people who sit at home all day playing xbox.
Curran has an article in the southland times,stuff site, today titled ‘hands on housing policies needed’
(sorry can’t link), i have left a comment.
Nice to see her ability to construct a mangled sentence hasn’t improved since her outing on WO. Let’s hear it for the comma! 😈
Anyway. All mangling aside, maybe the focus should be on the diminishing amount of disposable income people have? Or maybe an acknowledgement that 30 odd years of wealth redistribution results in more people being able to afford less?
Or maybe the best idea is just to ‘follow the leader’ and cash in those loyalty bonus points?
Here’s the link. (And not too sure about the repeated reference to being ‘hands on’. Am I the only one who senses a degree of grubiness in that phrase?)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/8039308/Hands-on-housing-policies-needed
Fascinating that she was in comms/pr.
Maybe it’s the old thing that when she did it professionally she managed just well enough to keep up with a high client turnover rate. and because she did it professionally she assumes that her rushed first drafts don’t need to be proof-read or edited in any way.
I love the way “Labour will fight to create jobs, opportunities and build a smart, powerful economy.” is tacked on with the same relevance as “and Carthage must be destroyed”.
Has the Oder of St John covered up sexual abuses..
This is an intertesting timeline of shame!
Nutter!.
What’s your point?
Apart from the possibility that the contents at the link muzza posted are defamatory this issue has been spammed across local bloggs for the past year or more. The names that keep on popping up all have connections to an organisation run by a convicted child sex offender.
That’s my point.
Still not getting it. Is there a reason you are speaking google-ese instead of speaking plainly?
The allegation is that there is a particular group involved in widespread sexual offending of an especially egregious nature and that there’s a grand conspiracy by officials of the state and their allies, the evil femin*z*s and their misandrist gynocracy, to cover up the offending.
Who has made that allegation, and how does that relate to muzza’s comment? And, no, youtube vids don’t help either.
Actually I had contact with Jaimes Wood, and someone called Niels Holm at the Governor Generals office while this was going on, as per the timeline.
I was told after I had contact that Jaimes had resigned.
Defamatory, what the links to the stuff articles as well Joe?
More praise from an unlikely quarter directed at a just as unlikely recipient,
Fonterra have decided to roll out the daily dose of the white stuff ‘milk in schools program’ to all 300,000+ primary school kids next year…
Building up the feel good vibe for when the shares scheme eventually comes home to roost and people realise they just sold more of NZ offshore under the con of diversity and stability.
Better keep a close watch on this next week folks.
(hit the button and move to other end (Monday)
http://www.metservice.com/national/maps-rain-radar/maps/sw-pacific-recent-latest
Re weather map , THANKS .Anne, Sh*# looks like Mr grossers revenge is comming to bight his climate one finger salute!!!!!
@ ANDRE
Had a look at the latest maps and they have down-graded the predicted intensity. Looks like someone in the Met. Office might have got a bit carried away. Still will pack a punch though.
Doing the rounds on facebook.
Apparently the post-communist “shock therapy” of privatisation in Eastern Europe killed possibly as many as a million workers:
Why Bother
You are still here, Draco?!
I am relieved!
The Standard has become a bit devoid of high level comments and criticism, although some still here do offer a fair bit of this. It is a bit like a “Stalinist Purge” that appears to have happened!
I miss MANY commenters of past days, and it is disconcerting!
How can a David (Joseph) Shearer sleep straight and well at night, if this is supposed to be the “future” of the “Labour led left”?
NZ is already a dearth, when it comes to social and especially mainstream media. For f. sake, do not let it die. Cancel your bloody memberships and start a bloody new party from scratch, if that is what they do to all you guys, who used to frequent this blog site and keep it so alive.
What a damned SHAME!
You will find that the comment quality drops leading up to and over Xmas/new year. Seen it 5 times so far.
Ah. I was thinking the overall number of comments would probably start dropping about now. So I went to look at the site stats for this time last year. But I only found the top posts for the whole year. Then I got side-tracked looking at some of those golden oldie posts.
Sigh! Seems I have to get into this weird “x-mas spirit”, or what they call it. Thanks for that feedback!
This National/ACT Government is VERY vulnerable on corruption, ‘white collar’ crime and ‘corporate welfare’.
Where the people lead – the politicians will follow?
(Hopefully …………….. 🙂
________________________________________
NZ IS A CORRUPT, POLLUTED TAX HAVEN!
MY PUBLISHED COMMENT ON THIS ‘ROLLING STONE’ ARTICLE:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/outrageous-hsbc-settlement-proves-the-drug-war-is-a-joke-20121213
New Zealand – ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ according to the 2012 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’ (along with Denmark and Finland) – has a Prime Minister who used to be a Wall St BANK$TER – (in 1999 – 2000 John Key was a former foreign exchange advisor for the New York Federal Reserve, and was the Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch.
NZ Prime Minister John Key, is currently a shareholder in the Bank of America.
(This would be unlawful in Australia – but NZ hasn’t even yet ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption!)
EVIDENCE!
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rd…
Rt Hon John KEY (National, Helensville)
Bank of America – banking
Bank of America – short term deposit
__________________________________________
The reality is that New Zealand is a corrupt, polluted tax haven.
Sorry to pop the hot air balloon……
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
New Zealand
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
I do not understand why Ms Killeen was allowed to avoid standing or even sitting in the dock like every other prisoner,” he complained.
How the legal/judical insiders work together to protect its own, while giving the plebs a written inside article on how to avoid the *workings of a courtroom* , should they ever find themselves in one!
Games, threatre, actors – Thats all it is!