Presumably Collins will have to have some sort of reshuffle? If only because her and Brownlees’ responsibilities will need to change. Does she leave Woodhouse in Health? And risk the Heron Inquiry blowing up in their faces? Will Brownlee want Foreign Affairs back? Does she need to placate any other leadership aspirant, maybe Mitchell, especially if the contest was tight? Does she take Education off Kaye?
If Woodhouse had kept his leader informed that he was getting emails from Boag about those in quarantine
Muller would have
1. said nothing about the leak to media, but simply asked Boag who else she had sent information to.
3. then contacted Walker to confirm he had done what he did, taken his roles off him and asked the Party to end his candidacy and publicly called on Boag to resign her membership.
4. there would have been no inquiry. Because Muller would have had it all dealt with.
Instead Woodhouse effectively undermined the party leader.
What sort of leadership carelessness would it take to trust him with Health, or any Cabinet position after this?
Spot on. I expect she will deselect him. He may escape with demotion to a less-important position, if he can justify his behaviour to her on a semi-plausible basis. Unlikely. A lapdog presenting as paper tiger, not a good look for the Nats.
Collins may have been working with Walker, Woodhouse and Boag to humiliate Muller. Muller did not resign for nothing. I cannot prove what I said and if what I say is the case Muller's job became untenable due to the play of dirty politics from within his own caucas.
Yeah right no more dirty politics from the new National leader.
Having a Samoan husband does not make her statements a whit less problematic. Some particularly nasty racists, including Don Brash, the late Paul Holmes and Cameron "Whaleoil" Slater, have all had non-European wives.
I also know some non-European people in prominent positions who utter racist comments day after day, but it seems that racism is a one-way street. Time for what I believe are called the "woke" to realise that until they espouse equality they are themselves inherently racist.
I'm sure that googling WOKE is not beyond your capability Morrissey. As for your assumption re Winston Peters and Duncan Garner, you assume incorrectly.
Marsden Point is being reduced to a shell and they are going to fire hundreds of people.
We are now seeing the second massive loss of very high paying heavy industry jobs in a vulnerable region within a month.
New Zealand's Marsden Point is going to strip away hundreds of jobs, and turn itself from being a full catalytic converter, into something which is just importing bulk fuel straight in to the country.
Marsden Point was opened in 1964 and significantly expanded under the Think Big policy of the late 1970s.
Recently it hasn't been able to compete against the massive refineries in Singapore, Korea and Indonesia.
This means in the worst ever year for job losses in New Zealand since 1929, two of the last heavy-industry high-salary and high-wage businesses are going to leave hundreds of workers on the scrapheap. That's Marsden Point Refinery and Tiwai Point smelter.
When the big salaries go, towns just don't recover. That's our pattern.
Now, it was great to see the government yesterday put in $19.5 million into the long-gestating Ngapha Industrial Park. That's on top of the massive new funding for a dam in Kaikohe. Top work Shane Jones.
But on top of a tourism and travel and airport calamity, we are seeing the last of our heavy industry just die. With that goes much of the remaining power of our only private union with any heft – E Tu.
If NZFirst goes out the back door this election, I sure hope Labour has some plan and some muscular Minister for rebuilding our shattered regions in the next government.
Recently it hasn't been able to compete against the massive refineries in Singapore, Korea and Indonesia.
Those who live by neoliberalism die by the market. However Nat/Labs are extremely thick, so both major parties will campaign on business as usual.
The world has been changed by the pandemic so economic policy must shift in response. Rational political strategy requires that. Shhh! Don't tell National or Labour! They want to promise more neoliberalism, believing that voters will be traumatised by the prospect of `adapt or die'. Cloud-cuckoo land will win.
Labour has generated the strongest regional economc development programme since Muldoon. But top marks for the horseshit false equivalence between National and Labour there.
Thanks Ad, your commentary is more than welcome and you get to the issue in your razor-sharp manner without big words or any other distractions. Keep it up
When I logged in after 10 am there were five comments of yours pending in Pre-Moderation. It helps with the flow if you could do something to avoid this from happening and reoccurring 😉
You miderators should stop my default into pre-mod. Can't be hard to fix.
[lprent: You have a login tagged to that ’email’. It is the one that is used for your posts. Because it is used for posts that requires that you are an author. Authors are required to login.
This is a standing policy to prevent trolls from hijacking logged in identities and is part of the standard security system.
I’m certainly not wasting my precious time to code an special one person rule simply because you don’t seem to want to login despite the number of times that i have tried to point out this issue to you over the lest few years. You’ve been squandering a lot of moderator time.
I’d be more likely to write one that says if there is a conflict with a author login – that the comment goes immediately to trash. That would be simpler for me to do, and would stop you wasting moderator time.
I’m scheduling now for that to happen this weekend. That means you can just pick another ’email’, get the email on the Advantage login changed, or get us to send you a password update to the email you’re using. ]
Us Moderators have no control over that. If we had, I’d done this ages ago, you can take my word for that. I’m trying to help here, if that’s not clear to you; I could leave your comments pending but what good is that? Sort it out with Lprent. Have a nice day, Ad.
Ad, the problem, as I understand it, is that you rarely get your email address correct when you post. The system thinks you are a new commenter and holds your comment until it's manually released. Its a pain for all concerned and it's something only you can fix.
Idiot: Please read my note and respond before the weekend. Otherwise you will find that I will have completely blocked your ability to leave comments using your current handle / email combo.
Good framing. If it were true they'd tell the electorate, I presume. Not having done that so far suggests either they don't believe it is true – or else they have put the truth aside temporarily to use later as a campaign bombshell.
If the latter, I will applaud when they drop that bomb! What I'm getting at is the longer Labour continues to foster the business as usual delusion, the harder it will become for swing voters to discern a difference between National and Labour on the policy front. I agree that the election outcome can be secured via positive framing – and it is also true that the timing for introducing that may not yet be nigh.
True or false? The truth? Labour=//=National? So-called ‘if’ and similar conditional statements are often a portal to binary thinking. It takes years of practice to avoid minimise these traps that are inherent to our language and thinking.
Indeed. Jacinda could tell the media that the truth about whether her govt is maintaining neoliberalism or reinventing socialism is attainable via both/and logic. Which she would then have to explain, of course.
"Well, back when I was studying politics 1.01, the tutor defined the truth as depending on your point of view. So if I'm doing a speech to a business audience, I explain that the truth is that we support business as usual. If I'm talking to social justice warriors, I explain that the truth is that my government is transformational. Simple."
“So if I'm doing a speech to a business audience and if I'm talking to social justice warriors, I say “simple” at lot, because life is simple or it is not, and that’s the truth, as I see it.”
Yeah, to audiences of the simple-minded, she needs to send the right signal. Always pitch to the level they operate at!
In life situations that are not simple (such as climate change), best to use complicated. Labour spent too many years avoiding that necessity (and the entire topic) but have moved on, to our eternal relief…
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Who/what are “audiences of the simple-minded”? Are you saying she should aim for the lowest denominator, like MSM do, and dumb down and turn off the vast majority of people who hang for non-binary analysis and thinking? Is that what you do here?
I’d like to think that JA knows how to do communications but I find her aspirational platitudes wanting. Labour’s slogan doesn’t do it for me but I guess I’m too simple-minded to appreciate its message.
She's a natural communicator. I was riffing off the handicap imposed on her by her group belief system & the constraints of representative democracy. You've observed how an ideology will warp a group of adherents toward simple-mindedness, eh?
Coalition-building requires different messaging for different groups, so the trick then is to strike a balance between authenticity and diplomacy. Diplomats make peace by developing a sense of common ground that competing groups can then share. MMP takes that old political praxis into a more sophisticated cultural context. So a successful political leader has to transcend the partisan stance acquired via adherence to the group belief system.
Venturing outside the comfort zone is a challenge, but is the path towards states(wo)manship for a politician. To win (ie get the numbers on board) the leader must talk to the out-group in a language they understand. Works better when the emotional sub-text is inclusive. Then an inclusive framing is easier to articulate.
Now to any true believer in any group, such transcendent sophistication looks deeply suspicious! I see her as having the innate ability to do it well – while moving up the learning curve on the job. Some situations get finessed easily, others not. Some she can't finesse for a while, so we wait…
Closing down Marsden Point will also prove a strategic blunder.
Right now we are seeing China deepening it's relationship with Iran, with view to replacing the USA as the dominant force within the Middle East. At some point within the next five years a proxy war between Saudi and Iran is highly likely. That of course will disrupt oil supply to this part of the world, and throwing away operational flexibility at this stage is unthinking and dumb.
The further down the petro-chem supply chain we are, the fewer options we have in the face of disruption. Which directly translates into strategic vulnerability.
I know it would be nice not to be importing oil at all, but that's not going to be our reality for several more decades.
Much harder to get critical products such as plastics and tar for roads.
Also we are such a tiny market. Anyone can say we've got contracts that enable security of supply … but OMG if the petrochemical supply lines start to fracture through further anti-China and anti-Iran trade actions those contracts could get tested.
All fine talking about the evils of globalisation until the alternative swings around. We are one of the most oil-reliant and oil-vulnerable countries in the entire planet.
Marsden Point was a critical part of Think Big – which was a response to the oil supply and oil price crisis of the late 1970s. It could easily come around again.
Much harder to get critical products such as plastics and tar for roads.
QFT
Most people only think of car fuel and seldom of the myriads of petrochemicals and derived products (derivatives) from oil. Of course, chemicals = bad too.
But is there anyone converting raw feedstocks into plastics in New Zealand? All the plastics material supply chains I've had anything to do with sourced everything from overseas in a state at least one stage beyond oil or gas feedstocks.
A simple crushing process is a long way removed from the sophisticated tightly controlled reactors and catalysts needed to turn oils and gases into usable plastics.
So, a bunch of chemists and engineers to research, develop and produce the machinery to carry it out. After that, some skilled techs to maintain that machinery.
Someone who knows what they're dealing with can pin where the process went wrong, and why. An operator or maintenance technician is on the back foot.
Or as a story I read recently put it: a firm's engineer retired after thirty years. A few years later their line was screwing up, and their technicians couldn't fix it or even figure out what the problem was. So they brought back the old tech, who sat in the plant for a day just watching the machines. at the end of the day, he put a chalk "X" on a particular unit, and said "replace that". Line worked fine after that. Billed them $50k. The accounts department saw $50k for a day's work, and demanded an itemised invoice. he supplied "Chalk to make an X: $1. Knowing where to put the X: $49,999". they paid the bill.
Obviously badly designed hardware that hadn't been upgraded in thirty years resulting in specialised knowledge that shouldn't have been necessary
The old geezer failed to pass on that knowledge including helping get the part redesigned as part of his job
The management, being cheapskates, failed to have the part redesigned and replaced in thirty years because we can guarantee that they knew about it being sub par
We also can no longer make the engines for the Saturn V first stage. The skills necessary simply do not exist any more. But we can build a better engine. This is the nature of progress – it gets rid of the kinks and foibles that old, inefficient methods used.
You tale is a story about the woes of failing to develop further.
It’s called tacit knowledge for a reason. Doctors have it in spades, for example.
It involves the processing of numerous data into information, interpretation, and conclusion that informs targeted and effective action.
A process plant (or manned rocket) can only have so many sensors and data points feeding data into a central processor unit that models its performance (indicators) but not necessarily the process as such.
@DTB: Don't know if the part was 30 years old. Just that the engineer knew the system comprehensively, how it was supposed to all work together, anhd could pick the point in the process where the fail was originating.
Funny you were talking about rocket engines. Saturn V had one job, and each item was used once. A better example would be the space shuttle: that was largely automated. Would you like your trip to space refurbished by technicians maintaining parts, or would you like actual rocket scientists participating in the process?
Just that the engineer knew the system comprehensively, how it was supposed to all work together, anhd could pick the point in the process where the fail was originating.
And he could do that because it had happened before. As I said, he was called back because he failed to do his job properly in the first place by passing on his knowledge to both his replacements and the developers who would be looking to make improvements. Of course, that would probably have something to do with management cutting costs by cutting training as well.
Would you like your trip to space refurbished by technicians maintaining parts, or would you like actual rocket scientists participating in the process?
The rocket scientists wouldn't go anywhere near maintaining the parts. Same as they didn't go anywhere near building the Saturn V rocket engines. If they had we may still be able to produce them because they would have known all the tweaks the welders used.
Once the prototype is made and working then building and maintaining is what technicians do, not the researchers.
It wasn't the engineer's job to train technicians into being engineers.
You can design field-expedient tests for welds, etc. The half-coffee-cup is a classic for concrete.
But even then, you need someone more than a "technician" to figure out what's wrong if it fails the test.
If welders were materially-altering saturnV with undocumented tweaks, that means the design was flawed.
The real reason we can't duplicate a Saturn V is that nobody wants to pay billions of dollars to crochet-code obsolete ROM databanks out of copper wire and magnets.
And I'd want rocket scientists looking at why components failed, rather than just replacing them. And knowing when the tile-shedding was at an anomalous level.
It wasn't the engineer's job to train technicians into being engineers.
Yes it is and the engineer spent thirty years acting as a technician then. Because that's all he was doing from you said in story – looking after the machinery. Its where he got his knowledge of what was wrong.
If welders were materially-altering saturnV with undocumented tweaks, that means the design was flawed.
The real reason we can't duplicate a Saturn V is that nobody wants to pay billions of dollars to crochet-code obsolete ROM databanks out of copper wire and magnets.
Watch the video. It's about the Saturn V engines. My mistake for thinking that you'd watch the true story while relying on hearsay.
And I'd want rocket scientists looking at why components failed, rather than just replacing them.
But how are they supposed to do that if the techs don't tell them or the management fails to have the scientists work on it as what happened in your story?
Your story isn't about how we need highly skilled techs (which we do) but how the whole system failed because they became reliant upon a single technician.
lol your video is better titled "rocket scientists didn't want to learn welding".
If they threw billions at it like they did in the 1960s, they'd have F1s. The idea that the skills don't exist anywhere on the planet currently, and can't be relearned, is farcical. They just didn't want to spend that much on a scoping project for one option.
Sure, the company was overly reliant on one engineer. That's not the engineer's fault. But more specifically, the technicians knew how to change and service parts, but they didn't have the deeper knowledge their jobs required.
The idea that when designing is done, only technicians are required to service an automated plant is naive in the extreme.
We were originally talking about a full refinery, with cracking and all that other crap going on. If the plant is running at nominal levels but is producing junk, you need materials scientists and chemists to figure out why the process is going bung. It might not even be the machinery at all – maybe a source material is melamined to make it look spec when it isn't, like milk powder. Your automated plant technicians wouldn't detect that, or be able to document exactly how and why it's fucked, would they.
a great story and something that occurs more often than realised at many levels.
The questions it demands however include, what if that retired engineer had died or emigrated …..how often is the line made functional but not optimal by lesser staff?….can we function while the required skills are developed?
Or even "are we replacing this guy with someone of equivalent abilities?"
Many militaries are bloody good at those questions – the basics of having clear training paths so that people can step in and the step up isn't usually too high. Waiting until the skills need to be developed is too late to develop the skills.
If the engineer had died or emigrated, that line would have been a rusty suck on the company's operations and resources until they spent probably millions to upgrade facilities. Because the problem was a subtle one to diagnose, and people who didn't know the system and production process inside and out were merely maintaining it to someone else's service list.
Yes, We will lose some corporate players who are shrinking their bases in reaction to the world scene. This Government has been proactive in redirection training and support. That will continue as it is policy.
The whole world is being impacted badly with failing business models in the face of covid, and a test of leadership strength and community cohesion.
We will do better in a cooperative community, this is a war on an invisible strengthening virus with requires working together to overcome the problems it causes.
If we let the virus back in, we will not be able to direct our resources to problems like Marsden Point and Tiwai. Working with the communities to find a way forward is a strength of this government, and they have the confidence of the community.
So I would be interested to hear what you think of the "new" Leadership of National, and what they could do better.
I read your "worries" you express here with interest and see them as flags of possible or real problems.
if we follow that to its logical extension then we need fossil fuels too and we're basically saying that we can't be arsed saving the world because we think we should have a certain standard of living that's considerably above what we need. Whoops, sorry grandkids.
Ad, when I lived in Australia, the Govt there decided on importing pre refined fuel from Singapore, several of the refineries were closed, some were at the end of their life from zero investment over a long period anyway. but not long before I left, the Govt suddenly realised the country only had around 7 days supply at any one time, any interuption to shipping deliveries would bring the country to stand still.
There is a lot value in being self sufficient, even if the cost is slightly higher.
So Collins is going to "crush " Jacinda and the Labour Party, don't anyone remind her that the last time she set out to crush something she and that other Mastermind of the Century Tolley were out-thought by a 17 year old Southland bogan with his cap on back to front who simply swapped the plates from his car onto a stripped wreck and sold the original to a mate.
Collins is now the proud possessor of a stripped wreck.
Or has act mobilized the fringe nutters from the gun toting, 5g anti 1080 fb pages.
The competition is fierce in that corner and they’re not just fighting over crumbs either. A cunning charismatic leader could magnify this and use it to gain considerable political power. It has happened in many other (Western) countries and NZ is not immune to it despite the fact that we think we are. The naivety in/of NZ is breath taking sometimes and we’re way too laid back (i.e. not vigilant enough) to see what could be happening in our own backyards and do something about it in a constructive and pre-emptive way. Race relations could be a trigger point, it often is.
Channel One breakfast show had a slew of emails in and all were praising Collins and saying about time National got its act together. What surprised me was most of the emails were from females. My goodness me we have a lot of red neck rwnj's in NZ. It sent a cold shiver down my spine. If this is going to be the types rolling up to the polling booths then our future is not looking good.
I can see borders relaxed, community transmission occurring and business as usual if National win this next election. The elderly and immunity compromised folk will be anxious. I feel quite depressed really this morning. What a duo they make – a nightmare scenario.
Channel One breakfast show had a slew of emails in and all were praising Collins…
National – or a group inside it – have always been very good at organising mass responses to events concerning themselves. In the good old days (?) it used to be by talk-back phone calls but now its emails.
Well the Nats have set a high standard of expectation re keeping Covid out (through criticism of Labour), and there is overwhelming support of our Covid free status, National/Collins & Act thrive on fear and paranoia. Just got to trust Adern is up to the task, and our fellow NZrs aren't as short sighted as the RW would like us to believe.It's a smart move by National, but they've shown they're accident prone, watch this space.
We do forget there's a pandemic going on, USA is just beginning to take it seriously, and clearly there health service here still fear it will re emerge here.
Isn't Ardern wonderful the way she almost ignores Collins saying she is not focussed on facing off with her, just the Covid 19 response. way to go Jacinda.
Anyone else bother by Collins "we'll take the country back" rhetoric. Anyone told them the country doesn't belong to them.
BTW I know James comes here to troll. I am proposing we all adopt a one word one line response to him and rinse and repeat. Any thoughts my friends on the Standard
BTW I know James comes here to troll. I am proposing we all adopt a one word one line response to him and rinse and repeat. Any thoughts my friends on the Standard
Deal with his comments in a proper way or ignore them. When he becomes too much of a frustrating troll who disrupts the flow too much, he’ll get a warning from the Moderators. In my perspective, James is not a big issue here on TS.
No reason to apologise, you did nothing wrong. You and I have different opinions on how to call out and/or deal with trolls, which is fine. Insults are not the most constructive way, if there’s one at all 😉
I was surprised we didn't have regional lockdowns in the first wave tbh, but I guess we were on top of things enough that we didn't need to. Seems a fairly straight forward thing to manage in much of NZ (SI at least), but agree we should be preparing.
Did you get a sense of whether this is because they're planning for community outbreaks due to opening borders a bit at some point? They're saying they want to keep the borders tight, so maybe the regional lockdown plan is just the next step in the long term plan now that they've got space to think about that.
what's going to happen? That we open our borders sufficiently wide to whatever, accept community transmission and thus need to adapt to ongoing regional and local lockdowns?
Community transmission is going to happen. Inevitable, as it only takes one slip up. No border protection system can ever be 100% foolproof or be adhered to 100% of the time.
Sooner or later we have to open the border door a little, and the longer the pandemic goes on, the wider that opening will need to be to ensure our economic survival.
Even when a vaccine appears (and it will) or effective antibody therapy is available (which it will, and before the vaccine), there inevitably will be outbreaks as vaccinating the entire population can only ever be a long term strategy, and antibody therapy and vaccines will only target the most at risk groups initially.
So yes, of course the government is planning for inevitable community outbreaks, and that is good.
I think it was Chris T who said that we were still covid-free just down to luck. I disagree: we do actually have some effect over the odds.
It's not like a sensitive explosive, where dropping it once all but guarantees a massive detonation. Some slips are more likely to result in a transmission than others, and quite a few slips would be required for an untracable "community transmission".
Perfection is the goal, but is not essential. As long as we keep logging our contacts, keep the isolation breaches low and short, and wear masks if we have a cold, then we can keep pushing that inevitable failure further down the road. And when it finally hits, hopefully by then there will be a vaccine or effective treatments.
But that's life: pushing the inevitable as far off as possible, so hopefully we're ready for it when death finally comes 🙂
Sooner or later we have to open the border door a little, and the longer the pandemic goes on, the wider that opening will need to be to ensure our economic survival.
We don't need trade to ensure our economic survival but we may need to develop our economy rather than remain dependent upon a few categories.
Not enough of us are engaging with the contact tracing app. (Guilty). Ardern not happy about that. The message I got is that if/when there are further instances of community transmission then Lockdown of varying levels/locations. If the App was being used by more people more widely then more localised lockdowns more likely. Or sign ins, diary keeping etc. I guess we've got a little casual.
We were told to 'go and see the country', and I know our whanau is one of many who have engaged with this. Time will tell if we were all a little premature. A neighbour's moko, visiting from Auckland, gave me a spontaneous hug yesterday…only later did I question the wisdom of not treating the wee one as a plague carrier.
When they sort out the various privacy issues with the app contact tracing, I'll get behind it. So far the message I've received is 'trust us we know what we are doing'. Yeah, nah.
I did start a system on my laptop for manually tracing where I have been. Something I would feel ok handing over to the MoH. I live in the rural SI though, so it feels remote cognitively despite my telling myself it's important.
Unless we get really unlucky, I assume our next wave will be small clusters that don't spread very far because we get on top of them quickly, even with our clunky system.
It is scenario modelling,with what policy do we need if there is a breach of cordon,and subsequent community transmission.
Risk management 101.
Opening border controls is a self harm problem,both increasing risk to the general population and those politicians who desire to become extinct at the next election cycle.
Makes sense now that things are settling down to signal this future proofing. Still don't have a good sense of what the govt is intending with the border though, lots of opinions on that one.
In a better world he would have the level of prominence that the boofhead school of presenters, reporters (no longer journalists in the true sense), and Nat mouths for hire have.
Actually it is, and I hope that the current government has the same intention. Growing earnings to pay off debt is business 101. That's why business is usually heavily leveraged upon debt.
Whether that can be achieved of course is another story.
Chinas rapid growth over the last 30 years was based on the same principle: low taxes, increasing social services, and debt being swallowed up by increasing earnings. It worked well for them.
On the face of it that is logical but a bit simplistic issn't it? There are variables and consequences for people by ignoring the effects on single minded pursuits.
they have learned nothing from either the great depression nor the EU response to the GFC…..and should be the biggest single warning to anyone considering where to place their vote in mere weeks time
Rowling better keep her gob shut. In books you might be able to have a discussion, even an argument and some light may be shed on the matter. Enter reality and facts and discussion are about as welcome as Voldemoort.
… facts and discussion are about as welcome as Voldemoort.
They certainly are as far as J.K. Rowling is concerned—as shown by her decision to join in the Blairite rump's defamation campaign against Jeremy Corbyn.
Morrissey’s doing an awesome job with his tweets from two years ago. It is also completely irrelevant to the OP or discussion thread and one of his many diversions down the Breen rabbit hole.
Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but reading Dan Brown is not on this writer's To Do list. Mind you, it's more likely than my attempting to read anything by that moral reprobate J.K. Rowling.
Perhaps "If Judith and Jerry are the answer …" where feijoa at comment 44 implied a comparison of JuDarth to Umbridge? I think that's where I originally saw it.
He can say that with a straight face? After what they've been through? Muller was the best guy for the job a couple days ago. Let them nail their stripes to the wall, they might be going more rightward than Act.
When you have little diversity in your ranks, and similarly a problem with competence in the ranks, then Brownlee is right- they're hard to balance…… with anything. As for diversity in thought- yep, as that can mean anything from belief in flying saucers and one world government to some semblance of reality, I'm sure the National caucus has that in spades.
There's a story doing the rounds which, if true, does bring more sense to Muller's sudden resignation. No. I'm not saying anything further unless it is confirmed, but it might have a bearing on the kid glove handling of Woodhouse.
I also note Collins couldn't wait 24 hrs before twisting the knife in Boag's back. Not a defence of Boag but there's been bad blood between Boag and Collins dating back to Dirty Politics at the least.
I honestly thought (and predicted on here) she would sack him, no messing around.
Instead she's given Woodhouse a non-demotion, simply shuffling portfolios. Then she sings his praises at the media conference.
It will be spun as "leadership", just like Muller dealing with Walker. But in both cases it was the bare minimum, it is what you do when you have no option but to act.
She did offer up some foolish hostages to fortune, though. Confident no other MPs involved (we'll see) and – stupidly – described the fake homeless guy as "a legitimate story".
Got to feel for Puckish Rogue. His dreams come true while he's banned from talking about it. Nerve wracking though, will St Jude perform well or be the next Nat leader to jump in the dumpster fire?
My guess is that PR won’t remember why he was banned and that he had a choice between apologising and being banned. An apology counts for nothing if the behaviour hasn’t changed. Let me have a go:
edit
The tendering system for transport is just an attack wreaked on ordinary micro to small business by well-paid denizens of the neolib economic system. The Wellington city example is a shocking example.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/421243/new-school-bus-tendering-a-phenomenal-cock-up-bus-and-coach-association-boss-says
This about school buses is one of the bad examples of the cruel though supposedly wise system that is meant to create maximum efficiency at the lowest cost but which is wasteful of assets such as in this bus owner compliant with the demands made for school transport, being replaced by another bus which had to be fitted out similarly. Two buses, two entities competing on the West Coast SI. The bus owner-operator who had brought the bus to standard, was doing the job well, lived in the district, was dropped because some big company could undercut her/him for the mainly school run.
I am sick at the economic system that politicians and mindless Treasury and right-wing economists have got us into. We have opened up our doors to the world inviting the buggers in with open arms, not even trying to make exclusive deals that could have saved something of our nation's enterprise and keep profits here. Why when we are small and the world population is measured in billions?
If we can find a knight on a white horse or any other colour, to do something let him/her come forward. Even a mock attack on Parliament would be publicity – Don Quixotes we would be no doubt, with Sancho Panzas along. But to continue being walked on only encourages the twisted misters and sisters. Let's have a hollow laugh at the Black Knight Who Never Gives Up; are we stuck with this role? Put Treasury in King Arthur's position, and you can see they aren't 'armless.
You're a funny one to talk about code Gabby with your little messages. They read the opposite to mine rather longer ones, you leave out about every two words. It's very sporting of you to get Ad's brain working so well these days.
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
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Presumably Collins will have to have some sort of reshuffle? If only because her and Brownlees’ responsibilities will need to change. Does she leave Woodhouse in Health? And risk the Heron Inquiry blowing up in their faces? Will Brownlee want Foreign Affairs back? Does she need to placate any other leadership aspirant, maybe Mitchell, especially if the contest was tight? Does she take Education off Kaye?
My thoughts exactly Scott.
Now the Nastys have this strong leader they desire, will she have the courage to move Woodhouse on?
If Woodhouse had kept his leader informed that he was getting emails from Boag about those in quarantine
Muller would have
1. said nothing about the leak to media, but simply asked Boag who else she had sent information to.
3. then contacted Walker to confirm he had done what he did, taken his roles off him and asked the Party to end his candidacy and publicly called on Boag to resign her membership.
4. there would have been no inquiry. Because Muller would have had it all dealt with.
Instead Woodhouse effectively undermined the party leader.
What sort of leadership carelessness would it take to trust him with Health, or any Cabinet position after this?
Spot on. I expect she will deselect him. He may escape with demotion to a less-important position, if he can justify his behaviour to her on a semi-plausible basis. Unlikely. A lapdog presenting as paper tiger, not a good look for the Nats.
What you say is clear.
But
Collins may have been working with Walker, Woodhouse and Boag to humiliate Muller. Muller did not resign for nothing. I cannot prove what I said and if what I say is the case Muller's job became untenable due to the play of dirty politics from within his own caucas.
Yeah right no more dirty politics from the new National leader.
unstated
2. Why nothing from Boag to him to keep Muller informed, he was the last to know anything.
Woodhouse was team Bridges. Boag supported Kaye part of the Muller ticket.
While the enemy of your enemy is a stepping stone along the path of dirty politics, for mine Boag made an error of judgment, Woodhouse …
Irrelevant now, which team was Walker on?
Hopefully Heron will interview Muller and Muller could disclose why he did not disclose Woodhouse telling him earlier on.
Judith said she is done with Dirty Politics, and the band played, believe it if you like.
Jane Patterson on Morning Report saying just now that she wouldn’t commit to keeping Woodhouse in Health.
Imagine the industrial scale loathing between Collins and Bridges after she betrayed him against Muller as she maneuvered her way to this point?
Collins not particularly good on radio at no
Doubling down on "Is there something wrong with being white?"
And "my husband's a Samoan" as if that absolves her of having a very white front bench
Having a Samoan husband does not make her statements a whit less problematic. Some particularly nasty racists, including Don Brash, the late Paul Holmes and Cameron "Whaleoil" Slater, have all had non-European wives.
I also know some non-European people in prominent positions who utter racist comments day after day, but it seems that racism is a one-way street. Time for what I believe are called the "woke" to realise that until they espouse equality they are themselves inherently racist.
I also know some non-European people in prominent positions who utter racist comments day after day,
You're thinking of Winston Peters and Duncan Garner, I take it.
… but it seems that racism is a one-way street.
Who suggests that?
Time for what I believe are called the "woke" to realise that until they espouse equality they are themselves inherently racist.
Could you elaborate, please? What do you mean by "the woke"?
I'm sure that googling WOKE is not beyond your capability Morrissey. As for your assumption re Winston Peters and Duncan Garner, you assume incorrectly.
Next question: what is “googling”?
Marsden Point is being reduced to a shell and they are going to fire hundreds of people.
We are now seeing the second massive loss of very high paying heavy industry jobs in a vulnerable region within a month.
New Zealand's Marsden Point is going to strip away hundreds of jobs, and turn itself from being a full catalytic converter, into something which is just importing bulk fuel straight in to the country.
Marsden Point was opened in 1964 and significantly expanded under the Think Big policy of the late 1970s.
Recently it hasn't been able to compete against the massive refineries in Singapore, Korea and Indonesia.
This means in the worst ever year for job losses in New Zealand since 1929, two of the last heavy-industry high-salary and high-wage businesses are going to leave hundreds of workers on the scrapheap. That's Marsden Point Refinery and Tiwai Point smelter.
When the big salaries go, towns just don't recover. That's our pattern.
Now, it was great to see the government yesterday put in $19.5 million into the long-gestating Ngapha Industrial Park. That's on top of the massive new funding for a dam in Kaikohe. Top work Shane Jones.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2007/S00117/government-backs-northland-innovation-and-enterprise-park.htm
Here's the kind of business they are seeking to attract there.
https://ngawhapark.nz/
But on top of a tourism and travel and airport calamity, we are seeing the last of our heavy industry just die. With that goes much of the remaining power of our only private union with any heft – E Tu.
If NZFirst goes out the back door this election, I sure hope Labour has some plan and some muscular Minister for rebuilding our shattered regions in the next government.
Recently it hasn't been able to compete against the massive refineries in Singapore, Korea and Indonesia.
Those who live by neoliberalism die by the market. However Nat/Labs are extremely thick, so both major parties will campaign on business as usual.
The world has been changed by the pandemic so economic policy must shift in response. Rational political strategy requires that. Shhh! Don't tell National or Labour! They want to promise more neoliberalism, believing that voters will be traumatised by the prospect of `adapt or die'. Cloud-cuckoo land will win.
This government has pursued regional economic development more aggressively than any government since Muldoon.
They are full Keynesians.
Their projects are smaller than the Think Big ones, but there's hundreds of them, ticketing multiple billions of dollars.
But sure, go full false equivalence on National and Labour. It's simply not supportable.
Labour has generated the strongest regional economc development programme since Muldoon. But top marks for the horseshit false equivalence between National and Labour there.
Thanks Ad, your commentary is more than welcome and you get to the issue in your razor-sharp manner without big words or any other distractions. Keep it up
When I logged in after 10 am there were five comments of yours pending in Pre-Moderation. It helps with the flow if you could do something to avoid this from happening and reoccurring 😉
You miderators should stop my default into pre-mod. Can't be hard to fix.
[lprent: You have a login tagged to that ’email’. It is the one that is used for your posts. Because it is used for posts that requires that you are an author. Authors are required to login.
This is a standing policy to prevent trolls from hijacking logged in identities and is part of the standard security system.
I’m certainly not wasting my precious time to code an special one person rule simply because you don’t seem to want to login despite the number of times that i have tried to point out this issue to you over the lest few years. You’ve been squandering a lot of moderator time.
I’d be more likely to write one that says if there is a conflict with a author login – that the comment goes immediately to trash. That would be simpler for me to do, and would stop you wasting moderator time.
I’m scheduling now for that to happen this weekend. That means you can just pick another ’email’, get the email on the Advantage login changed, or get us to send you a password update to the email you’re using. ]
Us Moderators have no control over that. If we had, I’d done this ages ago, you can take my word for that. I’m trying to help here, if that’s not clear to you; I could leave your comments pending but what good is that? Sort it out with Lprent. Have a nice day, Ad.
Us Moderators have no control over that…
CORRECTION: We Moderators have no control over that…
You've just been served by the Grammar Police ©, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
get a life
get a life
The Grammar Police © might take issue with your rather cavalier approach to capitalization and punctuation, but I've been told to go easy on you this time.
Ad, the problem, as I understand it, is that you rarely get your email address correct when you post. The system thinks you are a new commenter and holds your comment until it's manually released. Its a pain for all concerned and it's something only you can fix.
But it's the same automated email pops in.
Can't be that.
I suspect its the same incorrect automated email, Ad. Might be the hyphen?
It is the same email as your author login.
You either have use a different 'email', or you have to login.
if you don't want to log in, you can make up an email address.
ad@gmail.com would work for instance.
Idiot: Please read my note and respond before the weekend. Otherwise you will find that I will have completely blocked your ability to leave comments using your current handle / email combo.
Good framing. If it were true they'd tell the electorate, I presume. Not having done that so far suggests either they don't believe it is true – or else they have put the truth aside temporarily to use later as a campaign bombshell.
If the latter, I will applaud when they drop that bomb! What I'm getting at is the longer Labour continues to foster the business as usual delusion, the harder it will become for swing voters to discern a difference between National and Labour on the policy front. I agree that the election outcome can be secured via positive framing – and it is also true that the timing for introducing that may not yet be nigh.
True or false? The truth? Labour=//=National? So-called ‘if’ and similar conditional statements are often a portal to binary thinking. It takes years of practice to
avoidminimise these traps that are inherent to our language and thinking.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_opposition
Indeed. Jacinda could tell the media that the truth about whether her govt is maintaining neoliberalism or reinventing socialism is attainable via both/and logic. Which she would then have to explain, of course.
"Well, back when I was studying politics 1.01, the tutor defined the truth as depending on your point of view. So if I'm doing a speech to a business audience, I explain that the truth is that we support business as usual. If I'm talking to social justice warriors, I explain that the truth is that my government is transformational. Simple."
“So if I'm doing a speech to a business audience and if I'm talking to social justice warriors, I say “simple” at lot, because life is simple or it is not, and that’s the truth, as I see it.”
Yeah, to audiences of the simple-minded, she needs to send the right signal. Always pitch to the level they operate at!
In life situations that are not simple (such as climate change), best to use complicated. Labour spent too many years avoiding that necessity (and the entire topic) but have moved on, to our eternal relief…
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Who/what are “audiences of the simple-minded”? Are you saying she should aim for the lowest denominator, like MSM do, and dumb down and turn off the vast majority of people who hang for non-binary analysis and thinking? Is that what you do here?
I’d like to think that JA knows how to do communications but I find her aspirational platitudes wanting. Labour’s slogan doesn’t do it for me but I guess I’m too simple-minded to appreciate its message.
She's a natural communicator. I was riffing off the handicap imposed on her by her group belief system & the constraints of representative democracy. You've observed how an ideology will warp a group of adherents toward simple-mindedness, eh?
Coalition-building requires different messaging for different groups, so the trick then is to strike a balance between authenticity and diplomacy. Diplomats make peace by developing a sense of common ground that competing groups can then share. MMP takes that old political praxis into a more sophisticated cultural context. So a successful political leader has to transcend the partisan stance acquired via adherence to the group belief system.
Venturing outside the comfort zone is a challenge, but is the path towards states(wo)manship for a politician. To win (ie get the numbers on board) the leader must talk to the out-group in a language they understand. Works better when the emotional sub-text is inclusive. Then an inclusive framing is easier to articulate.
Now to any true believer in any group, such transcendent sophistication looks deeply suspicious! I see her as having the innate ability to do it well – while moving up the learning curve on the job. Some situations get finessed easily, others not. Some she can't finesse for a while, so we wait…
That explains it well.
Closing down Marsden Point will also prove a strategic blunder.
Right now we are seeing China deepening it's relationship with Iran, with view to replacing the USA as the dominant force within the Middle East. At some point within the next five years a proxy war between Saudi and Iran is highly likely. That of course will disrupt oil supply to this part of the world, and throwing away operational flexibility at this stage is unthinking and dumb.
How would taking in refined oil, rather than unrefined oil make us more vulnerable?
A local manufacturer only sells to NZ.
international refiners don't have to supply us.
Also the heavy products like plastics and tar for roads will be harder to source.
As the world rapidly decouples out of globalisation, local control of key resource is going to magnify all our security issues.
The further down the petro-chem supply chain we are, the fewer options we have in the face of disruption. Which directly translates into strategic vulnerability.
I know it would be nice not to be importing oil at all, but that's not going to be our reality for several more decades.
Much harder to get critical products such as plastics and tar for roads.
Also we are such a tiny market. Anyone can say we've got contracts that enable security of supply … but OMG if the petrochemical supply lines start to fracture through further anti-China and anti-Iran trade actions those contracts could get tested.
All fine talking about the evils of globalisation until the alternative swings around. We are one of the most oil-reliant and oil-vulnerable countries in the entire planet.
Marsden Point was a critical part of Think Big – which was a response to the oil supply and oil price crisis of the late 1970s. It could easily come around again.
QFT
Most people only think of car fuel and seldom of the myriads of petrochemicals and derived products (derivatives) from oil. Of course, chemicals = bad too.
For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical
Bitumen for roading for sure.
But is there anyone converting raw feedstocks into plastics in New Zealand? All the plastics material supply chains I've had anything to do with sourced everything from overseas in a state at least one stage beyond oil or gas feedstocks.
I know a bloke who set up his factory to crunch waste glass as mixture for roading. Still need tar I guess but a direction to take.
A simple crushing process is a long way removed from the sophisticated tightly controlled reactors and catalysts needed to turn oils and gases into usable plastics.
And the people with the lifetime of experience and skills capable of doing it.
Wouldn't it be automated?
So, a bunch of chemists and engineers to research, develop and produce the machinery to carry it out. After that, some skilled techs to maintain that machinery.
So a bit of bung plastic comes out the end.
Someone who knows what they're dealing with can pin where the process went wrong, and why. An operator or maintenance technician is on the back foot.
Or as a story I read recently put it: a firm's engineer retired after thirty years. A few years later their line was screwing up, and their technicians couldn't fix it or even figure out what the problem was. So they brought back the old tech, who sat in the plant for a day just watching the machines. at the end of the day, he put a chalk "X" on a particular unit, and said "replace that". Line worked fine after that. Billed them $50k. The accounts department saw $50k for a day's work, and demanded an itemised invoice. he supplied "Chalk to make an X: $1. Knowing where to put the X: $49,999". they paid the bill.
And the problems there are:
We also can no longer make the engines for the Saturn V first stage. The skills necessary simply do not exist any more. But we can build a better engine. This is the nature of progress – it gets rid of the kinks and foibles that old, inefficient methods used.
You tale is a story about the woes of failing to develop further.
It’s called tacit knowledge for a reason. Doctors have it in spades, for example.
It involves the processing of numerous data into information, interpretation, and conclusion that informs targeted and effective action.
A process plant (or manned rocket) can only have so many sensors and data points feeding data into a central processor unit that models its performance (indicators) but not necessarily the process as such.
Machines are stupid.
@DTB: Don't know if the part was 30 years old. Just that the engineer knew the system comprehensively, how it was supposed to all work together, anhd could pick the point in the process where the fail was originating.
Funny you were talking about rocket engines. Saturn V had one job, and each item was used once. A better example would be the space shuttle: that was largely automated. Would you like your trip to space refurbished by technicians maintaining parts, or would you like actual rocket scientists participating in the process?
Although better powerpoint skills would also have been useful
And he could do that because it had happened before. As I said, he was called back because he failed to do his job properly in the first place by passing on his knowledge to both his replacements and the developers who would be looking to make improvements. Of course, that would probably have something to do with management cutting costs by cutting training as well.
The rocket scientists wouldn't go anywhere near maintaining the parts. Same as they didn't go anywhere near building the Saturn V rocket engines. If they had we may still be able to produce them because they would have known all the tweaks the welders used.
Once the prototype is made and working then building and maintaining is what technicians do, not the researchers.
It wasn't the engineer's job to train technicians into being engineers.
You can design field-expedient tests for welds, etc. The half-coffee-cup is a classic for concrete.
But even then, you need someone more than a "technician" to figure out what's wrong if it fails the test.
If welders were materially-altering saturnV with undocumented tweaks, that means the design was flawed.
The real reason we can't duplicate a Saturn V is that nobody wants to pay billions of dollars to crochet-code obsolete ROM databanks out of copper wire and magnets.
And I'd want rocket scientists looking at why components failed, rather than just replacing them. And knowing when the tile-shedding was at an anomalous level.
Yes it is and the engineer spent thirty years acting as a technician then. Because that's all he was doing from you said in story – looking after the machinery. Its where he got his knowledge of what was wrong.
Watch the video. It's about the Saturn V engines. My mistake for thinking that you'd watch the true story while relying on hearsay.
But how are they supposed to do that if the techs don't tell them or the management fails to have the scientists work on it as what happened in your story?
Your story isn't about how we need highly skilled techs (which we do) but how the whole system failed because they became reliant upon a single technician.
lol your video is better titled "rocket scientists didn't want to learn welding".
If they threw billions at it like they did in the 1960s, they'd have F1s. The idea that the skills don't exist anywhere on the planet currently, and can't be relearned, is farcical. They just didn't want to spend that much on a scoping project for one option.
Sure, the company was overly reliant on one engineer. That's not the engineer's fault. But more specifically, the technicians knew how to change and service parts, but they didn't have the deeper knowledge their jobs required.
The idea that when designing is done, only technicians are required to service an automated plant is naive in the extreme.
We were originally talking about a full refinery, with cracking and all that other crap going on. If the plant is running at nominal levels but is producing junk, you need materials scientists and chemists to figure out why the process is going bung. It might not even be the machinery at all – maybe a source material is melamined to make it look spec when it isn't, like milk powder. Your automated plant technicians wouldn't detect that, or be able to document exactly how and why it's fucked, would they.
a great story and something that occurs more often than realised at many levels.
The questions it demands however include, what if that retired engineer had died or emigrated …..how often is the line made functional but not optimal by lesser staff?….can we function while the required skills are developed?
Or even "are we replacing this guy with someone of equivalent abilities?"
Many militaries are bloody good at those questions – the basics of having clear training paths so that people can step in and the step up isn't usually too high. Waiting until the skills need to be developed is too late to develop the skills.
If the engineer had died or emigrated, that line would have been a rusty suck on the company's operations and resources until they spent probably millions to upgrade facilities. Because the problem was a subtle one to diagnose, and people who didn't know the system and production process inside and out were merely maintaining it to someone else's service list.
There are several feedstocks that can produce plastics many of which are plant based. So, we certainly could do it but if we are is another question.
bitumen yes…plastics no
Ad, your thought on the National Leadership?
Yes, We will lose some corporate players who are shrinking their bases in reaction to the world scene. This Government has been proactive in redirection training and support. That will continue as it is policy.
The whole world is being impacted badly with failing business models in the face of covid, and a test of leadership strength and community cohesion.
We will do better in a cooperative community, this is a war on an invisible strengthening virus with requires working together to overcome the problems it causes.
If we let the virus back in, we will not be able to direct our resources to problems like Marsden Point and Tiwai. Working with the communities to find a way forward is a strength of this government, and they have the confidence of the community.
So I would be interested to hear what you think of the "new" Leadership of National, and what they could do better.
I read your "worries" you express here with interest and see them as flags of possible or real problems.
"When the big salaries go, towns just don't recover. That's our pattern."
Maybe we should learn from that then and not create new jobs with the same vulnerabilities.
No one gets paid a hundred k growing permaculture kale.
And that's what you need for a house.
if we follow that to its logical extension then we need fossil fuels too and we're basically saying that we can't be arsed saving the world because we think we should have a certain standard of living that's considerably above what we need. Whoops, sorry grandkids.
My fragile sense of manhood demands a V8 ute. Everyone else's grandchildren can pay for my refusal to get some basic counselling instead.
You sure about that?
Nice on. Lots of examples around. Ad thinks you have to have $100,000 income to be able to afford to live 😉
Ad, when I lived in Australia, the Govt there decided on importing pre refined fuel from Singapore, several of the refineries were closed, some were at the end of their life from zero investment over a long period anyway. but not long before I left, the Govt suddenly realised the country only had around 7 days supply at any one time, any interuption to shipping deliveries would bring the country to stand still.
There is a lot value in being self sufficient, even if the cost is slightly higher.
+100 J.I.
Whoa! She’s doing a kind of mea culpa on Dirty Politics on Morning Report just now. Will that work? Also possibly Shane Reti for Health?
Judy Collins sings, Send in the Clowns.
The Joker card.
So Collins is going to "crush " Jacinda and the Labour Party, don't anyone remind her that the last time she set out to crush something she and that other Mastermind of the Century Tolley were out-thought by a 17 year old Southland bogan with his cap on back to front who simply swapped the plates from his car onto a stripped wreck and sold the original to a mate.
Collins is now the proud possessor of a stripped wreck.
A Collins-Brownlee combined with Act bringing 5% is a potential government.
But 56 days to gain 20% share? Sorry been there in 2014.
Surely the act rise of late is far right nat voters who will come home to the mothership now collins is leader.
Or has act mobilized the fringe nutters from the gun toting, 5g anti 1080 fb pages.
The competition is fierce in that corner and they’re not just fighting over crumbs either. A cunning charismatic leader could magnify this and use it to gain considerable political power. It has happened in many other (Western) countries and NZ is not immune to it despite the fact that we think we are. The naivety in/of NZ is breath taking sometimes and we’re way too laid back (i.e. not vigilant enough) to see what could be happening in our own backyards and do something about it in a constructive and pre-emptive way. Race relations could be a trigger point, it often is.
Channel One breakfast show had a slew of emails in and all were praising Collins and saying about time National got its act together. What surprised me was most of the emails were from females. My goodness me we have a lot of red neck rwnj's in NZ. It sent a cold shiver down my spine. If this is going to be the types rolling up to the polling booths then our future is not looking good.
I can see borders relaxed, community transmission occurring and business as usual if National win this next election. The elderly and immunity compromised folk will be anxious. I feel quite depressed really this morning. What a duo they make – a nightmare scenario.
Wouldn't mind betting Collins would have a few of her pals lined up to flood the website with approving emails
National – or a group inside it – have always been very good at organising mass responses to events concerning themselves. In the good old days (?) it used to be by talk-back phone calls but now its emails.
Well the Nats have set a high standard of expectation re keeping Covid out (through criticism of Labour), and there is overwhelming support of our Covid free status, National/Collins & Act thrive on fear and paranoia. Just got to trust Adern is up to the task, and our fellow NZrs aren't as short sighted as the RW would like us to believe.It's a smart move by National, but they've shown they're accident prone, watch this space.
Ardern outlines the Future Plan…just in case Collins claims there isn't one.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300057225/live-pm-jacinda-ardern-outlines-next-stage-in-covid19-response
We do forget there's a pandemic going on, USA is just beginning to take it seriously, and clearly there health service here still fear it will re emerge here.
Isn't Ardern wonderful the way she almost ignores Collins saying she is not focussed on facing off with her, just the Covid 19 response. way to go Jacinda.
Anyone else bother by Collins "we'll take the country back" rhetoric. Anyone told them the country doesn't belong to them.
BTW I know James comes here to troll. I am proposing we all adopt a one word one line response to him and rinse and repeat. Any thoughts my friends on the Standard
Deal with his comments in a proper way or ignore them. When he becomes too much of a frustrating troll who disrupts the flow too much, he’ll get a warning from the Moderators. In my perspective, James is not a big issue here on TS.
James is fairly transparent, obvious, rarely surprises, easily ignored.
I find outrageous sarcasm usually shuts him up
From your perspective, what are the big issues here on TS?
Yep, in regards to these shit stirrers – DNFTT
Do not feed the troll.
Scum..?
Apologies Incognito.
No reason to apologise, you did nothing wrong. You and I have different opinions on how to call out and/or deal with trolls, which is fine. Insults are not the most constructive way, if there’s one at all 😉
James is holding the ladder steady again.
Hopefully we are all getting ready for regional outbreak quarantines. PM is saying we should.
Who'da thought the breakdown of globalization would be so deep, so fast, so personal.
I was surprised we didn't have regional lockdowns in the first wave tbh, but I guess we were on top of things enough that we didn't need to. Seems a fairly straight forward thing to manage in much of NZ (SI at least), but agree we should be preparing.
Did you get a sense of whether this is because they're planning for community outbreaks due to opening borders a bit at some point? They're saying they want to keep the borders tight, so maybe the regional lockdown plan is just the next step in the long term plan now that they've got space to think about that.
WHO head says it's going to happen.
Bloomfield and PM says prepare.
This is way real.
what's going to happen? That we open our borders sufficiently wide to whatever, accept community transmission and thus need to adapt to ongoing regional and local lockdowns?
Community transmission is going to happen. Inevitable, as it only takes one slip up. No border protection system can ever be 100% foolproof or be adhered to 100% of the time.
Sooner or later we have to open the border door a little, and the longer the pandemic goes on, the wider that opening will need to be to ensure our economic survival.
Even when a vaccine appears (and it will) or effective antibody therapy is available (which it will, and before the vaccine), there inevitably will be outbreaks as vaccinating the entire population can only ever be a long term strategy, and antibody therapy and vaccines will only target the most at risk groups initially.
So yes, of course the government is planning for inevitable community outbreaks, and that is good.
To a degree, yes, but also no.
I think it was Chris T who said that we were still covid-free just down to luck. I disagree: we do actually have some effect over the odds.
It's not like a sensitive explosive, where dropping it once all but guarantees a massive detonation. Some slips are more likely to result in a transmission than others, and quite a few slips would be required for an untracable "community transmission".
Perfection is the goal, but is not essential. As long as we keep logging our contacts, keep the isolation breaches low and short, and wear masks if we have a cold, then we can keep pushing that inevitable failure further down the road. And when it finally hits, hopefully by then there will be a vaccine or effective treatments.
But that's life: pushing the inevitable as far off as possible, so hopefully we're ready for it when death finally comes 🙂
We don't need trade to ensure our economic survival but we may need to develop our economy rather than remain dependent upon a few categories.
A bold government might even invest heavily in building up our non-infectious industries instead. #gasp
That we open our …..borders…
Not enough of us are engaging with the contact tracing app. (Guilty). Ardern not happy about that. The message I got is that if/when there are further instances of community transmission then Lockdown of varying levels/locations. If the App was being used by more people more widely then more localised lockdowns more likely. Or sign ins, diary keeping etc. I guess we've got a little casual.
We were told to 'go and see the country', and I know our whanau is one of many who have engaged with this. Time will tell if we were all a little premature. A neighbour's moko, visiting from Auckland, gave me a spontaneous hug yesterday…only later did I question the wisdom of not treating the wee one as a plague carrier.
I guess we're all prepared for lockdown again?
When they sort out the various privacy issues with the app contact tracing, I'll get behind it. So far the message I've received is 'trust us we know what we are doing'. Yeah, nah.
I did start a system on my laptop for manually tracing where I have been. Something I would feel ok handing over to the MoH. I live in the rural SI though, so it feels remote cognitively despite my telling myself it's important.
Unless we get really unlucky, I assume our next wave will be small clusters that don't spread very far because we get on top of them quickly, even with our clunky system.
It is scenario modelling,with what policy do we need if there is a breach of cordon,and subsequent community transmission.
Risk management 101.
Opening border controls is a self harm problem,both increasing risk to the general population and those politicians who desire to become extinct at the next election cycle.
Makes sense now that things are settling down to signal this future proofing. Still don't have a good sense of what the govt is intending with the border though, lots of opinions on that one.
Notice how quickly and easily Jacinda took control of the news cycle
Notice how quickly and easily Jacinda took control of the news cycle
That's what I was meaning up at 11. Very deft. Very certain. Very definite, almost defiant…'All's good, we've got this.'
haven't caught up yet, but it would be so good to see Labour performing really well politically.
$50 million buys a lot of control!
Care to elaborate, love a good laugh.
Yep, I admit viewing the PM live, when I got an alert on my phone!
First thought was (as Judith Collins was on RNZ) that Jacinda has got this tactically.
Jeff Sessions losing the Republican Alabama Senate seat nomination to Trump-backed Tommy Tuberville gives Doug Jones a sniff at survival.
Though it would be like regaining New Plymouth for Labour: not easy on the rednecks or Labour either.
Trump just truly fucked Hong Kong.
He's revoked special trade status.
Plenty of our exports and imports go through there.
Some big China access headaches for MFAT coming.
Well, China slammed that door shut didn't they.
Gordon Campbell pens an excellent piece on Nationals latest fiasco
http://werewolf.co.nz/2020/07/gordon-campbell-on-nationals-great-leap-backwards/
Gordon is great and always well researched.
In a better world he would have the level of prominence that the boofhead school of presenters, reporters (no longer journalists in the true sense), and Nat mouths for hire have.
If only he would learn to publish three different posts rather than merge topics into a single unwieldy one.
So good! Collins said National would not increase taxes and would reduce social spending. Boy. That is a good plan -isn't it?
Actually it is, and I hope that the current government has the same intention. Growing earnings to pay off debt is business 101. That's why business is usually heavily leveraged upon debt.
Whether that can be achieved of course is another story.
Chinas rapid growth over the last 30 years was based on the same principle: low taxes, increasing social services, and debt being swallowed up by increasing earnings. It worked well for them.
On the face of it that is logical but a bit simplistic issn't it? There are variables and consequences for people by ignoring the effects on single minded pursuits.
Perfect time to reduce social spending too. Long live St Jude!
they have learned nothing from either the great depression nor the EU response to the GFC…..and should be the biggest single warning to anyone considering where to place their vote in mere weeks time
Dolores Umbridge might well be J.K. Rowling herself. She's a vicious defamer and false accuser of the very worst kind.
https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1028299586459369472?lang=en
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Rowling better keep her gob shut. In books you might be able to have a discussion, even an argument and some light may be shed on the matter. Enter reality and facts and discussion are about as welcome as Voldemoort.
… facts and discussion are about as welcome as Voldemoort.
They certainly are as far as J.K. Rowling is concerned—as shown by her decision to join in the Blairite rump's defamation campaign against Jeremy Corbyn.
Cancelled!
Morrissey’s doing an awesome job with his tweets from two years ago. It is also completely irrelevant to the OP or discussion thread and one of his many diversions down the Breen rabbit hole.
Just wait for his Dan Brown critiques. Those crusaders better not say anything mean about saint Julian of Ecuador. #SecretHandshake
I can’t wait!
Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but reading Dan Brown is not on this writer's To Do list. Mind you, it's more likely than my attempting to read anything by that moral reprobate J.K. Rowling.
For an intellectual and moral heavy hitter like you, I’d suggest reading Miffy.
or Buffy
Thanks, Sacha. You're the best!
Thanks for the advice, Incognito!
https://i.imgflip.com/1cx5fe.jpg
You disappoint again; no male torso 🙁
what post was it under? We've not had anything but Nat dramas for days (and the RM).
Perhaps "If Judith and Jerry are the answer …" where feijoa at comment 44 implied a comparison of JuDarth to Umbridge? I think that's where I originally saw it.
Haven't read HP so that one went right over my head.
This one: https://thestandard.org.nz/if-judith-and-gerry-are-the-answer-it-must-have-been-a-desperate-question/#comment-1730373.
ah. Classic Morrissey.
Time to contemporise, I’d say. The same old, same old is wearing off.
Why not shut down Morrissey's one.
Yow! Talk about cancel culture!
Yikes:
"Deputy National leader Gerry Brownlee has doubled down on leader Judith Collins' unapologetic stance on diversity, saying it can be hard to balance with competence."
Competence not possible with diversity? I.e. we, the rich old whites, are simply more competent. That's a "bit off" as they say.
He can say that with a straight face? After what they've been through? Muller was the best guy for the job a couple days ago. Let them nail their stripes to the wall, they might be going more rightward than Act.
When you have little diversity in your ranks, and similarly a problem with competence in the ranks, then Brownlee is right- they're hard to balance…… with anything. As for diversity in thought- yep, as that can mean anything from belief in flying saucers and one world government to some semblance of reality, I'm sure the National caucus has that in spades.
Funny to see Mike Hosking money going to help fund the Maori Party with their election campaign. Ya gotta laugh!
And an apology.
What did I hear on 3 pm news? Woodhouse demoted, Reti on the front bench? Both tolerable moves by Collins.
Yes. But Woodhouse been given other portfolios
Judith Collins must have taken Kathryn's advice this morning. Dr Rheti now Shadow Health.
That's one tick in the diversity box.
Two if you count the new leader too…
Woodhouse picks up regional development and pike river portfolios and keeps assistant finance and deputy leader of the house. No punishment there.
Smokescreen to hide his other guilty colleagues that hopefully Heron can flush out. Nothing to see here says St Jude.
Collins crushes Woodhouse with kid gloves.
He knows things..
There's a story doing the rounds which, if true, does bring more sense to Muller's sudden resignation. No. I'm not saying anything further unless it is confirmed, but it might have a bearing on the kid glove handling of Woodhouse.
I also note Collins couldn't wait 24 hrs before twisting the knife in Boag's back. Not a defence of Boag but there's been bad blood between Boag and Collins dating back to Dirty Politics at the least.
Would this story (which I know nothing about) be uncovered during the Heron inquiry?
No.
I honestly thought (and predicted on here) she would sack him, no messing around.
Instead she's given Woodhouse a non-demotion, simply shuffling portfolios. Then she sings his praises at the media conference.
It will be spun as "leadership", just like Muller dealing with Walker. But in both cases it was the bare minimum, it is what you do when you have no option but to act.
She did offer up some foolish hostages to fortune, though. Confident no other MPs involved (we'll see) and – stupidly – described the fake homeless guy as "a legitimate story".
Yep. Move on, nothing to see here..
https://twitter.com/PouTepou/status/1283194615835709440
My take is that nothing she does is done for ethical reasons, it's all about the play.
Got to feel for Puckish Rogue. His dreams come true while he's banned from talking about it. Nerve wracking though, will St Jude perform well or be the next Nat leader to jump in the dumpster fire?
PR, if you want back in you need to do a grovelling apology to Lynn. Let me know if you want the link.
Why would that gum want to be anywhere but stuck to the sole of Judith's shoe?
I get to see the comments from banned people that end up in trash. Sometimes it's quite amusing.
better class of troll and all that.
I guess now that Collins is head honcho, the election will be boringly fractious.
Bollocks, we don't need the tory troll back.
you'd prefer an echo chamber?
Tis not a binary choice between troll or vanilla.
If Pucky's too proud to write one, think it might work if I cooked up a grovelling apology on his behalf? It'll be totes worth it.
lol, we could have a competition. Not sure Lynn would appreciate it (it was his moderation).
Give a few days and we'll see if Pucky plucks up the courage.
My guess is that PR won’t remember why he was banned and that he had a choice between apologising and being banned. An apology counts for nothing if the behaviour hasn’t changed. Let me have a go:
😉
edit
The tendering system for transport is just an attack wreaked on ordinary micro to small business by well-paid denizens of the neolib economic system. The Wellington city example is a shocking example.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/421243/new-school-bus-tendering-a-phenomenal-cock-up-bus-and-coach-association-boss-says
This about school buses is one of the bad examples of the cruel though supposedly wise system that is meant to create maximum efficiency at the lowest cost but which is wasteful of assets such as in this bus owner compliant with the demands made for school transport, being replaced by another bus which had to be fitted out similarly. Two buses, two entities competing on the West Coast SI. The bus owner-operator who had brought the bus to standard, was doing the job well, lived in the district, was dropped because some big company could undercut her/him for the mainly school run.
I am sick at the economic system that politicians and mindless Treasury and right-wing economists have got us into. We have opened up our doors to the world inviting the buggers in with open arms, not even trying to make exclusive deals that could have saved something of our nation's enterprise and keep profits here. Why when we are small and the world population is measured in billions?
If we can find a knight on a white horse or any other colour, to do something let him/her come forward. Even a mock attack on Parliament would be publicity – Don Quixotes we would be no doubt, with Sancho Panzas along. But to continue being walked on only encourages the twisted misters and sisters. Let's have a hollow laugh at the Black Knight Who Never Gives Up; are we stuck with this role? Put Treasury in King Arthur's position, and you can see they aren't 'armless.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs
Is that last para in code?
Take 1/4 tab of acid.
It helped.
Ad, I changed your email address. If you leave it as the default on your next comment then we will see if the filter trap issue is resolved.
You're a funny one to talk about code Gabby with your little messages. They read the opposite to mine rather longer ones, you leave out about every two words. It's very sporting of you to get Ad's brain working so well these days.
It’s called micro-dosing.
https://highalert.org.nz/articles/whats-the-deal-with-microdosing/
Team National.
https://www.twitter.com/kaiviti_cam/status/1282971527495905280
An endorsement from that bloke = the kiss of death.
Just as well that WO is no longer. Oh, wait …
Is Slug Cambo claiming Crutcher is competent? She couldn't download the tracking app apparently.
Mind you, it would be a tad embarrassing if Hipkins is put on the spot and can't use it.
Before there is too much more urging app wise, all government MPs should be able to demonstrate how to use it.
Aw, come on! Setting the bar so impossibly high would be viewed as bullying. A woke behaviour inspector may come knocking… 😉
NOBODY expects the woke inspectors. Their chief praxis is fear and surprise
Kia Ora
Newshub
That's good more funding for the maturity sector.
There is a reason aluminum production is not feasible now that would be like buying a lemon.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
Its good to see the captions on I made a mistake yesterday.
It good to see putea being invested to plant trees and repair the waterways in Rotorua.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
The Am Show.
Te Ra is a powerful force we need to use more of the clean energy that is gifted to us from Ra.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Newshub.
The card tracking device seems like a good tool to track people's with out compromising there data.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
Flooding in Te Tairawhiti.
I say don't touch the Maori seats as they do give Maori Mana.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Newshub
That's all part of Global Warming sea level rising the flooding housing by the beach being eroded into the sea.
That is a great waiata.
Ka kite Ano.
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora
Newshub.
We do need to farm the whenua Wisely.
Pest need to be controled.
Ka kite Ano