Charter Schools will be back if the Nats get elected apparently. Vast amounts of taxpayers money funnelled to a few dodgy private education providers with little or no oversight. Sure to be a vote winner right?
i hear private schools receiving funding is ok, just ask Shane Jones to put it on a 'shovel ready list' and the male co-leader of a support/supply confidence party to sign it off. 🙂 And besides Charter schools were always on the books for National and ACT. They at the very least have been very honest about who is gonna get money from them.
What is good for the geese is good for the gander and thus if National does it is now OK. No more high horses here for Lefties.
Analysis: The visceral response to James Shaw’s $11.7m cheque for the Green School shows New Zealand has strong feelings about private school education. Laura Walters looks at whether NZ is ready to give up private schools and whether we can afford to
Well, the of course the government must keep continuing funding the projects of their 'peers' 🙂
Its the funding of those that have no money that the government must not keep up, you know, the beneficiaries, the unemployed, soon to be unemployed, falling of the covid unemployment and such. They can just go get fucked, find a ditch to live in and learn the value of 'work'. Cause That is government. No difference between the lot of them.
@ Sabine …. "Cause That is government. No difference between the lot of them" unfortunately that is exactly right, both Labour and National are free market liberal political parties, the only difference is in their delivery of this short sighted selfish ideology…one is driving straight toward the cliff, while the other is taking the scenic route.
Thank you incog for some sanity….if people actually read the Green Party policies instead of listening to the gotcha hits from the Herald and Tova O'Brien they just might see who has progressive policies and vote accordingly.
@Incognito, Look Shaw is a free market liberal, that is just a fact….and he was voted in by Green Party members…so of course by default their political ideology is tied directly to his leadership, and belief system, is it not?
"James Peter Edward Shaw (born 6 May 1973) is a New Zealand politician and a leader of the … Shaw believes that the market can be reformed to incorporate sustainability within its normal operations."
The problem with the NZ Greens is that while of course they are with out doubt better than the other two main parties, while they follow a Liberal free market ideology, they can only ever win some battles, but will without question lose the war..in other words under Shaws leadership and ideological direction they are on the same path as Labour/National, heading toward the same cliff..just in slow motion…but moving toward it none the less.
In the same way folk dismiss a sky fairy, it matters not what adjective you use to describe a 'market', in this use of the word, it is still an abstract fiction.
Don’t you find it ironic that instead of focussing on the Education Policy of the Green Party you focus one on single individual? You also seem to know that individual very well and attributing certain powers (e.g. power of persuasion?) to this single person. How much influence do you ascribe to this person in setting out Policies of the Green Party? Why do you think this person apologised publically and profoundly to the Party and its members? Should we nominate this person for Oscar for best acting?
Adrian: Is it salient or just semantics to query the lack of the words 'Liberal' and 'free market' in your quote, "Shaw believes that the market can be reformed to incorporate sustainability within its normal operations."? It would not seem out of place for the Co-Leader of the Green Party to accept that there has to be some sort of market or means of exchange that incorporates 'green' controls. After all, the 'free' market is already riddled with controls that cater for the financial interests of 'the investors'.
Maybe you are both right, however I have a strong suspicion you are following a fools errand with that one, I believe that when 95% of humans are allowed to open the pandora box that is the 'greed' motive deeply imbedded into the psyche they will act only for short term gain, which is of course exactly what we don't want….as Alan Greenspan actually had to admit himself…
And as free markets are and will always be chained to the unrelenting commodification of all resources for profit motive I fail to see how the end result I have described above could possibly be avoided?
I agree. If someone is a wealthy bludger, they should at least acknowledge it instead of just trotting round looking askance at anyone who isn't a high rater in the materialism and consumerism stakes which is all they seem to think about.
So if you see some ordinary folks on your lawn, give them some leeway; 'Don't be so quick to 'eave 'alf a brick, It's the missis, meself and the boys.' ex Pam Ayres
yeah, retrain all the dears that lost their jobs over the last few month, pay them next to nothing (same as National btw) to do so while they live in their ditch, so as to learn the value of 'work'.
Yeah, same bull, just with sprinkles, pink glittery kinder gentler sprinkles.
Sabine – you'll be delighted and encouraged by this news! It elevates the status of James Shaw.
"Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz congratulated New Zealand on introducing the scheme.
“Once again, New Zealand is leading the world,” Stiglitz said, in a video included with the press statement from Shaw.
In a statement, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia welcomed the announcement.
“This marks a significant step forward and demonstrates New Zealand’s exemplary leadership on the global issue of climate change and the sustainability of New Zealand’s financial system and economy,” RIAA chief Simon O’Connor said."
Here is the crucial point that that I made a week or so back; private schools essentially subsidise the state system, not the other way around has everyone assumes:
This year, private schools will receive an average of $1556.32 per student from the government.
The pot of money allocated has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade, since a modest hike in 2010.
Meanwhile, funding of state and state-integrated schools in 2019 was an average of $8475 per student. This includes property and operational funding as well as teachers’ salaries.
In 2019, private school per-student subsidies, operational and salary costs were funded at 19 percent of the equivalent funding for state and state-integrated schools.
Essentially, the Government saves money by keeping private schools open.
Willing parents pay the majority of the cost of the schooling, while also supporting the public education sector through their taxes.
Well so far our private schools have not become profit seeking entities as far as I know. If I understand it correctly in the UK private profit making businesses are being handed state schools to run under an education trust type models -often with the parents having little or no say in the decisions.
With the charter school model how long before something similar is tried here.
I would have a real problem with a model that collected taxes from the general public then handed those dollars over to private organisations who generated profits and large salaries and used the left overs to actually fund an education.
I'd expect even funds now handed out to private schools to come with some strict tags around maximum salaries etc. The government could start with the universities, tagging public funds to ensure excessive salaries advertising etc are not soaking up that money or the money the students pay.
That seems like a reasonable boundary. Although it has to be said the vast majority of independent schools in NZ are run by people who are doing it for a philosophical or religious reason, eg the Montessori, Steiner and Catholic schools.
By and large making a profit is a relatively low consideration for them and I'd guess that the salaries being paid are nothing startling as a rule.
By and large making a profit is a relatively low consideration for them and I'd guess that the salaries being paid are nothing startling as a rule.
Agreed. I have had the fortunate position having taught in State, Independent and Private schools and tertiary institutions over a 40 year career in education. My last teaching position was in a private Steiner school and I have to say that it was the most productive and amazing learning experience I ever had in the classroom. I was paid a fraction of the full salary I would have received in a State School. Contrary to popular belief none of the students at the school came from wealthy homes. Of the students in my class, one graduated at the top of her class in med school and is now working in mental health, another is a regional co-convenor of the Green Party and an elected member on a local community board. Another had been constantly absent from his local state school, and in desperation his mother asked if I could accept him into my class. He is now an engineering graduate.
On the other hand, the worst school I ever experienced was an elite private school on the North Shore. One of the words it has in its motto is "Aroha" – a quality distinctly lacking in the school's culture at that time. It was an extremely abusive climate, and my health still suffers. If I had not left when I did after 3 years, I know I would be dead by now. While I was there, one teacher who was under extreme pressure, committed suicide. The comments from the parents were "How could she do that to the children!"
Of the State schools, they also varied from extremely good to hopeless. The climate there was totally dependent on the senior staff and staff turn-over reflected that. In the worst State school I was only there on secondment for the last term of the year, having been "lent" from my permanent position so I could be with my parents in Wellington in the final days of their life. Almost half the staff at that school left on the final day of the school year, and my 3 months was one of the longest periods of service at that time in the school.
I have not previously participated in this ongoing debate on the Green's Education policy despite being a paid up Green member and personally knowing Catherine Delahunty, the Education Spokesperson for the Greens during her time as an MP and the person most responsible for the current Education policy. I do think there has been a lot of ill informed commentary on this matter and take my hat off to weka et al who have valiantly tried to keep the facts of the matter front and centre. There are many parts of the Greens Education policy that are progressive and would make a huge difference to our schools nation wide, but I am not so sure wrt the matter of private schools. As you note Red, they do have their place.
As a social worker in the late '60's one of my client families involved a young lad who was extremely able, but his whanau through circumstance, were no longer able to care for him. After working with them for some time it became apparent that they would love to see him being given the opportunity to attend Te Aute College. It was a great solution, they were able to enrol him and he enjoyed the school, and did well. He brought mana to an otherwise desperate whanau, and such an opportunity was not available in the State system.
Both my parents were teachers and their experiences align very much with what you are saying here. The classroom experience was usually fine, the staffroom experience varied a lot more. So much depends on the character and quality of the head teacher and staff.
But otherwise thank you for an informed view on this story.
Does this actually work? It showed Auckland Grammer & Epsom as the schools but I thought it went on parent address – not a private hostel that fees are paid to? Also is it Maori & Pasifika or the ones who can pay a big fee?
These state schools are apparently pretty good at sifting out the parent who rents a short term flat etc too get their kids in or has some other fiddle going.
@ RedBaron – as far as I know yes the programme begun by the guy from the States still works. If you visit the website linked to by greyrawshark you will see there recent news items featuring past and present students who have benefited from the scheme. He has returned to his home town and has begun a similar programme there, although he keeps in touch with those the Auckland venture. There was a documentary about him and the programme a few years back. Both of the schools here were very supportive of the scheme, as were the parents.
@greyrawshark – Yes Te Aute is still going. It became an integrated school under the Kirk Government in the 1970's
In 1973, the college was again hit by financial difficulties, but a direct appeal for assistance to the Prime Minister, Norman Kirk, secured Te Aute's future. In 1977 an agreement between Te Aute Trust Board and the Government resulted in Te Aute becoming a State Integrated School.
While I was there, one teacher who was under extreme pressure, committed suicide. The comments from the parents were "How could she do that to the children!"
I have teachers in the family. There used to be something called collegiality so that teachers worked together to share and learn from each other. But it wasn't noticeable at the primary school where my sister taught. The principal was at the behest of the school board, and could be unreasonable and played favourites with the teachers, certainly did not have a good working and supportive relationship with them all. My sister used to be given the kids that others couldn't control but in the end rebelled with one or two, and sent them to the Principal to deal with. She'd work till 11 pm most weeknights.
My brother retired early from his tech training classes as he found the boys too hard to control and – they could be quite confronting and undisciplined. He now builds guitars which he enjoys.
There used to be something called collegiality so that teachers worked together to share and learn from each other.
Yes very much a major factor in many schools. This was a matter that was earnestly protected back in the 90's with the desire by the Nat govt to move to bulk funding and performance pay. This was strenuously resisted by the PPTA and the teaching profession as such changes in renumeration practice would have lead to competitive practices and the loss of collegiality; and a subsequent decline in pedagogy. I remember that teachers at the time were willing to forgo an increase in salary, simply to retain the then current pay scheme and avoid bulk funding.
Interesting replies above. I think integrated schools are generally a good thing in that they provide some diversity without I believe being allowed to charge massive fees (are they capped?) and the money goes to the schools not any profit related overheads, unlike the UK experience.
AFAIK theses schools also have to take (within reason) all comers so to speak and adhere to national curriculums. In other words non catholic can attend catholic schools.
I would have real trouble funding the likes of say Gloriavale because by design these are schools that exclude any who are not attached to the main "sect" for want of a better word.
Education in state integrated schools is also funded by the government, but they usually charge compulsory fees — also known as ‘attendance dues’ — to help maintain their facilities. The amount is typically around NZ$1,500 a year.
Catholic schools accept about 5% ‘all comers’ (I think the term is “non-preference student”). If they accept more than their maximum roll, they will not get extra/additional funding for those students from MoE. In Auckland, there is a lot of pressure on (these) schools to accept students.
Knowing what your children are being taught is important. Is the curriculum balanced or indoctrinating? Some primary schools have quite disturbing religious instruction from people who are not teachers, and they may be taught the opposite to what parents believe and think appropriate.
By far the biggest component of that $6.1 to $9.4 billion was an estimated $2 billion a year in tax fraud – benefit fraud by comparison was thought to be about $80 million.
Something tells me that, if they weren't stealing so much from us in the first place, we wouldn't have any trouble properly funding education up to, and including, all the private schools.
And that was in 2014 – it would have gotten worse since.
Of course we can afford to stop funding private schools. Where else do you think the money that funds comes from? The rich? The rich don't pay for anything as if they did they wouldn't remain rich.
but are they charter schools with double glazing and cyrstal gardens? If so its ok.
Or is it only not ok when National does it, but when others do it they take one leader to sing mea culpa (befitting the old adage of ‘its easier to say sorry then to ask permission) and the other leader to stand there and add gravitas. (Stand by your man….lalalalala)
What a ticking time bomb the ' Land of the free, home of the brave' has become.
I thought the thinking behind bearing arms, was to protect yrself from the state, not from yr fellow townsfolk.
Cue some misguided comment about Trumps America. This has been building for years, while he has done nothing to calm the waters, this suits the presidency to the ground. Keep the people distracted while the corprotocracy rolls on.
This shit is nothing new….Obama changed nothing, in fact most statistics for African Americans went down under that useless free market, wall st lovin', drone lovin' smooth talking Obama….and then we all ended up with Trump…Obama's actual legacy….the forever downward spiral of free market capitalism literally punches us in the face with Trump, yet for some unknown reason most people still only see this governance and ideology as viable…so get get ready to get punched and kicked some more, till we are all on our knees begging for mercy.
You seem to be obsessed with one small issue Sabine….surely policies related to bigger issues such as climate change and alleviating poverty should be taking centre stage so close to the election. Or are you a closet ACT voter trying to destroy the Greens?
National candidate makes false claims about his work / business acumen.
Collins moans about lockdown staying at 2.5 and 2 in the South Island saying South Islanders are fed up yeah fed up with National undermining our efforts.
Seymour chimes in what an idiot.
Looking around the World those countries that are following the National ACT business before people's lives are not only allowing people to die unnecessarily their businesses and economies are in much worse shape.
Con woman Collins and slimy Seymour making idiots out of themselves for cheap desperate political gain.
Media anywhere on the nth harbour Nat MP ? Granny has the full size National party pop up ad you have to remove to read the banner and insert nat party ads alongside the page also.
Those are just paid National Party ads on Stuff and the Herald. I doubt they have much to do with the editorial line of the papers themselves. The pop up banner ad on the Herald sure is annoying though.
What is interesting is that National must spending loads on these ads and Labour doesn’t seem to be spending anything much at all so far?
Saw a post on Twitter that claimed the Nats are in trouble in Rotorua, a seat they won comfortably in 2017. Tukituki has also been talked up as a possible Labour gain.
I think the research shows direct voter contact is what makes an actual difference. No one changes their vote or gets out to vote because of an advertisement. Talking to people, listening to their concerns and explaining things such as how you can get enrolled to vote or where their nearest polling booth is can make a difference.
We have quite a few 'supporters' in our small rural top of the south island community – pro Qanon, anti-1080 -vaccination – fluoride -5G anti you name it! They are very vocal on Facebook but not one of them turned up to the Advance NZ candidate meeting or cafe meet up here this week I hear. Are they enrolled to vote and will they actually bother to vote?
The candidate has not signed up to contest the electorate yet, but there are still 3 days to go and a small matter of $300 to pay.
tell them the election is just a hoax designed to get them into a booth and take their dna , that will enrage and please them equally(thats a whole other conspiracy)
It might pay to be informed about anti 5G instead of just dismissing a group protesting about something new. It took a time to get people to take Covid-19 seriously, thank goodness we did. Every new bit of technology can't be good. Perhaps we need to get vaccinations each year against the new influx of technology.
The latest is that our Polytech in our smart city is talking about developing pilotless planes. Our polytechnics were where people went to get skills for jobs. Now they are about to develop systems that will replace people's jobs. That's progress folks.
And it probably means that we will become a small centre for developing armed force systems and munitions; there is money in those, probably the biggest manufacturer and systems development in the world. And then there is space equipment to spend money on.
Meanwhile the people's skills and the communities of the living on Planet Earth try to continue with our humanity and our civilisation – until the land is commandeered for some august purpose or growing palm oil trees for profit.
The problem is that Polytechs went from largely trades based ('skills for jobs') to believing that they are universities. They are not! Their degrees are mostly regurgitation, rather than critical thinking.
The pilotless planes research is the stuff that BE students do, usually as part of their Masters or Phd. It really has no place in a Polytech.
And as for those useless BAdmin etc that many Polys churn out as a way to scam overseas students, dont get me started!
To steal a bit from Plato, self-learning is walking around in a dark cave. You'll probably be okay feeling around slowly, but you might get overconfident and walk off a ledge into a chasm (think people who watch too much youtube theories).
You get a teacher who knows the field and has a structured plan (doesn't have to be university or whatever, but some sort of a tutor or master.apprentice), and they're shining a torch at items of interest in the cave. Pretty soon you have a good idea of where everything is and the shape of that cave – and where the pitfalls are.
When I was at polytech getting my degree a couple of years back it was, essentially, directed self-learning with deadlines. IMO, this works quite well but we need to find a way so as to get everyone involved in it.
So we do have teachers and structured plans and degrees showing progress but it's not limited to only those who go to the school/polytech/university.
As I say, the government, and society in general, hasn't really twigged to the fact that learning is a life long endeavour and that we need to encourage it and recognise the milestones that people achieve even if they haven't gone to school to achieve it.
And polytech ain't university, traditionally. For a phd you specifically need to somehow increase the sum of all human knowledge. To qualify as a swiss watchmaker they give you a sheet of steel and you make a watch using the knowledge they taught you.
I don't disagree that "self-taught" can be a thing. Most people who claim it have big gaps in their knowledge. And might not have thought it through.
self learning has no profit in it. big $$$ in teaching you how to learn (sorry, selling you a qualification). bloody utube has cost forprofit education a fortune…..righto, off to have a go at dentistry
Now they are about to develop systems that will replace people's jobs. That's progress folks.
Yes, it is. Requiring less people to do stuff means that the nation can actually do more stuff. That's actually how a nation become richer both culturally and economically.
Agree Draco, but sadly the strategy under both Labour and National for decades has been to replace jobs by new more efficient technology (good), then leave many deskilled and in low paid jobs (bad), then introduce even cheaper labour via backpackers and other non resident imports that will work more for even less (ultra bad).
Just seems like the underpants theives on South Park. Successive governments just seem like they only understand the first step. No overall strategy.
The government see a profit off of an action and decide to do more of that action and look for export markets resulting in stagnation and even destruction (see our waterways).
What needs to happen is that, once the local market is met, that resources get shifted to something else and thus we get diversification and development.
But we don't want to become richer as a nation. That's in the past. That's going round countries robbing them of their resources, that is always wanting growth. That is separating off into income stratas and spending time always wanting, not being grateful and happy and enjoying what we have.
You are stuck in the 20th century DTB and it's no good being there because it led us to here and it is not good being in the world at this time watching it be destroyed. And the worst is, finding that when people get better off in the western world, they get meaner. So it doesn't help society to be happier and enjoy their lives. And then it is a ratrace to get more and change the car for a better one, and the curtains and the lounge. Wasteful use of resources is the result.
Yes, we do. We really don't want to return to the past.
Higher productivity doesn't necessitate growth but it does allow people to live better lives.
You are stuck in the 20th century DTB
Yeah, no.
What have I said on here over the last 10 years that makes you think that I think that the present system is good?
Even the comment that you responded to was, in its way, pointing out the failure of the present system which seeks only to do more of the same stuff rather than doing different stuff and developing the economy and society.
You are sincere DTB but stuck in the premises of the mind of the 20th century. After WW2 we had the rest of the century to compose ourselves and get on with using our intelligence to make a sustainable and happy society. So yes you may not agree with what happened then, but it is too late to start again. We had one chance and we blued? it.
And in line with my startling discovery (to me) of what was very plain but I hadn't processed it, we are incapable of living just better lives and also ensuring that all others around us have their needs attended to as well (so all have satisfactory lives). That leads to limiting our lives against excess, which would mean closing bars down at reasonable hours so limiting alcoholism by the vulnerable etc. You won't agree with that probably. Alcohol is a big drain on the nation's purse, and saps individual's vigour and their families are impacted too.
Higher productivity doesn't necessitate growth but it does allow people to live better lives.
Which people? The few producing? What about the others once employed perhaps doing the dirty jobs? They might have liked the camaraderie, the physical activity that went along with that, and would stick at it provided they got paid decently.
The reason that your idea has got big holes in it, is the fact that people like to work. That's most of the time. They will go on working for nothing if there is a crisis, and they think it is important to carry on. Our surnames tend to be formed from the trades that people carried out; miller, smith. There is satisfaction in a skill and it has always been part of the esteem felt by others. Women usually don't get differentiated in old family histories because they did everything and didn't earn their living from it, though in 15th/16th centuries there were Wif,Wife,Husewif surnames.
Jobs, earning, are important to self-esteem and to the sort of recognition you get from society. No-one respects the unemployed, and women being disrespected caused the feminist push in the 1970s, If there are fewer jobs, with higher productivity, will the unemployed be enabled to find their own gifts, pursue them, and be paid adequately for their own contribution to the life and outputs of their home town? They aren't now, and in the next few months it will be interesting to see how government treat those not able to get any or enough employment to keep themselves plus families in secure, warm housing.
That leads to limiting our lives against excess, which would mean closing bars down at reasonable hours so limiting alcoholism by the vulnerable etc. You won't agree with that probably.
Pretty sure you'll find that I've suggested doing just that.
Which people? The few producing? What about the others once employed perhaps doing the dirty jobs?
I'm against capitalism and keep saying that we need to get rid of it.
Its the many the produce, not the few. The capitalists are the ones stealing from everyone else. This needs to end (see the bit about capitalism).
Probably happier now that they don't have to do them (Yes, I've done those jobs).
The reason that your idea has got big holes in it, is the fact that people like to work.
There's a difference between liking to work and being challenged and doing the chores. We get rid of the chores and develop better challenges.
If there are fewer jobs, with higher productivity, will the unemployed be enabled to find their own gifts, pursue them, and be paid adequately for their own contribution to the life and outputs of their home town?
Yes and yes.
They aren't now
Of course not as our economic system only rewards the rich by allowing them to steal from everybody else but where have I said that we need to keep the failed system that we have now?
And, after all that, none of you diatribe addresses the fact that better productivity does allow better living.
Low productivity gives you no porcelain toilets nor the pipes that take away the sewage nor the treatment plants.
There won't be electric ovens nor fridges in every house.
No gibboard or pink batts providing better insulation to keep people warm.
The list is long in the ways that higher productivity leads to better living. The fact the present system of capitalism abuses it doesn't make it wrong – just shows that we need to get rid of capitalism.
If they can build pilotless planes, hydrogen based lighter than air freight should become realistic – one way to expand airfreight volume in spite of decreased passenger traffic.
They've had pilotless planes for awhile. All that's needed is a simple auto-pilot once its off the ground and even landings are now automated.
Standard aircraft, as far as I know, still don't have an automated take-off but something tells me that the same difficulties don't really apply to lighter-than-air craft.
Hydrogen would be the major problem, IMO, in what you suggest as if that goes up in flames there'd be several tonnes of freight possibly falling over inhabited land. It's not just the pilots and passengers that are a concern.
Could happen that an area could be wiped out by fire from a hydrogen fuelled aircraft and we could have the California happenings as a result. It wouldn't be wise to risk using hydrogen.
Hydrogen fuel is hazardous because of the low ignition energy and high combustion energy of hydrogen, and because it tends to leak easily from tanks. Explosions at hydrogen filling stations have been reported.
Hydrogen fuelling stations generally receive deliveries of hydrogen by truck from hydrogen suppliers. An interruption at a hydrogen supply facility can shut down multiple hydrogen fuelling stations.
The Public Party/Advance NZ (and others like the Tamaki's Vision and the ONE Party) didn't register at all in the last major (CM, NRR) polls, like not even 0.1%. Of course that might change in the next polls.
I sometimes wonder if we need more unions back. Apart from the obvious wages and conditions stuff, they were a path to leadership and gave some sort of a voice and solidarity to various groups of people who often don't have a lot. Is some of this quite normal "need to belong" transfering to organised religion or organised conspiracy theories?
Very good suggestion Red. The old FOL did indeed provide a positive structure and framework that is now missing. Seems that sector (employees representation) is now a fractured shell of what it once was.
The chances of their party winning Te Tai Tokerau are as great as there are that my mum, a polio hobbler, will be picked at halfback and captain for the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup games. She died 11 tears ago.
Am I surprised by the nats newfound Interest in Rail? AND the Environment.Gotta laugh : )
Bishop says a train route to Mosgiel makes sense.
"If you work here in the Dunedin CBD and you live in Mosgiel, rather than getting into your car you will have a, you know, potentially you will have a transport option of getting on the train in the morning and going home again in the evening.
"That's not only great for the environment but it's also great for congestion on that route.
Crikey – that took them long enough to work out. Used to get the railcar out to Mosgiel to pick fruit back in the day – growers'd pick you up there – worked well for all concerned. Must’ve been forty years ago – plus ca change.
“The Rail and Maritime Transport Union, representing about 50 workers at Dunedin Railways, submitted a proposal on Thursday as part of a consultation process with management.
Options in the proposal included a commuter service to local destinations such as Mosgiel and Port Chalmers, or establishing a long-distance passenger service between Dunedin and other cities on the main south line.”
Yes of course I did. But seriously, the time for rail revival for commute has arrived. Its amazing to look back at Auckland rail system 20 years ago and compare it to today. And the year on year growth says it all. And thats before the City Rail Link opens. After that, another massive leap I would expect.
Hi sorry if got that wrong. Just wondering if your user name is based Christchurch?
You probably know this?
'However, the Public Transport Users' Association Christchurch spokesperson Tane Apanui said he was disappointed there was no commitment to a commuter rail service.
"We've had no assurances whatsoever from local council, regional council or central government – in fact it seems to have dropped off their radar completely.
"It appears that all the councils and the government pay lip service to our concerns but when it comes to the crunch they never follow through."
Mr Apanui is proposing a rail service that joins the North Canterbury townships of Amberley, Waipara, Rangiora, and Rolleston and Darfield, with the city.'
I think one of the problems in ChCh re commuter rail is the north rail line wanders somewhat after it leaves the Amberley area, diverting inland to Rangiora. Makes for a long slow journey.
Plus the area has straight motorway with excellent connections and relatively light traffic. Also, since the quake, ChCh lacks a meaningful CBD (more decentralised now).
The South line is maybe a goer, from Rolleston and through the industrial areas of Hornby and Blenheim Rd.
ChCh sprawls, and it just getting worse. The council just seems to have let ChCh become endless to the west. No real pockets of population like Wellington or Dunedin.
A little gift for train watchers – City of New Orleans. It’s like watching the passing of the idea that was the United States of America. Modern and effective and happy and good living. Now it’s :
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain’t heard the news
The conductor sings his song again
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues
I love the way the US armed gangs (debatable as to whether they are legally constituted "militia") have travelled to the west coast to protect property threatened by all the wildfires.
Oh, wait they're just focussing on protecting property from BLM protestors? lol
Murder rates would be up to five times higher than they are but for medical developments over the past 40 years…Without this technology, there would be no less than 50,000 and as many as 115,000 homicides annually instead of an actual 15,000 to 20,000
“New Zealand finance companies will be made to report on climate change risk, Climate Change Minister James Shaw has announced. The policy will force about 200 large financial organisations in New Zealand to disclose how exposed their business and investments are to climate-change related risk. Any bank, credit union, building society, investment scheme, insurer, or Crown Financial Institution with more than $1b in assets will be required to either disclose this risk or explain why it has not.”
“These 200 or so institutions will cover 90 per cent of the assets controlled in New Zealand, and includes large crown investors such as ACC and the NZ Super Fund.”
“While other countries are working on similar schemes, New Zealand is the first to introduce one – although entities will not be required to report on climate risk until 2023 at the earliest. ”
“Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has congratulated New Zealand on introducing the scheme. “Once again, New Zealand is leading the world,” Stiglitz said, in a video included with the press statement from Shaw.”
The Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) has welcomed the New Zealand Government’s announcement today that it will require the business and finance sector to report on climate risks. “This marks a significant step forward and demonstrates New Zealand’s exemplary leadership on the global issue of climate change and the sustainability of New Zealand’s financial system and economy” said RIAA CEO Simon O’Connor.
Ms. Wooten also expressed concern regarding the high numbers of detained immigrant women at ICDC receiving hysterectomies. She stated that while some women have heavy menstruation or other severe issues that would require hysterectomy, “everybody’s uterus cannot be that bad.” Ms. Wooten explained:
Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy—just about everybody. He’s even taken out the wrong ovaryon a young lady [detained immigrant woman]. She was supposed to get her left ovary removed because it had a cyst on the left ovary;he took out the right one. She was upset. She had to go back to take out the left and she wound up with a total hysterectomy. She still wanted children—so she has to go back home now and tell her husband that she can’t bearkids… she said she was not all the way out under anesthesia and heard him [doctor] tell the nurse that he took the wrong ovary.
Ms. Wooten also stated that detained women expressed to her that they didn’t fully understand why theyhadto get a hysterectomy. She said:“I’ve had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to seethe doctorand they’ve had hysterectomies and they don’t know why they went or why they’re going.” And if the immigrants do understand what they’re getting done, “some of them a lot of times won’t even go, they say they’ll wait to get back to their country to go to the doctor.” The rate at which the hysterectomies have occurred have beena red flag for Ms. Wooten and other nurses at ICDC. Ms. Wooten explained:
We’ve questioned among ourselves like goodness he’s taking everybody’s stuff out…That’s his specialty, he’s the uterus collector. I know that’s ugly…is he collecting these things or something…Everybody he sees, he’s taking all their uteruses out or he’s taken their tubes out. What in the world
Legalized discrimination against Jews in Germany began immediately after the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933. Violence and economic pressure were used by the Nazi regime to encourage Jews to voluntarily leave the country.
The ideology of Nazism brought together elements of antisemitism, racial hygiene, and eugenics and combined them with pan-Germanism and territorial expansionism with the goal of obtaining more Lebensraum (living space) for the Germanic people. Nazi Germany attempted to obtain this new territory by attacking Poland and the Soviet Union, intending to deport or exterminate the Jews and Slavs living there, who were viewed as being inferior to the Aryan master race.
Beware of one's own unpleasant tendencies I think. It is important to not let the genie out of the bottle in politicians, who are close to that potent fuel, the mixture of power and hubris:
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely!
Another – Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.
It's all good. That southwest corner of Utah is kinda high on my list of places with lots of fun things to go and do in the outdoors. So if a bunch of the stupider inhabitants self-cull before my next chance to go there spend time having fun, all the better.
Our leaders will attempt to examine the possibility of life in some distant star by hook or by crook even if it kills us. It's the finding out that counts.
Bloody bikes. And mountain bikes have become as invading and pernicious as motor bikes. Men and machines – what is it? Get out in the open air on your two legs, enjoy the world instead of trying to jump off it into space for a short time. Do things for yourself, by yourself, you don't need a machine all the time. And people are beginning to hate you, see you as vandals and savages. In Nelson an area was set aside for a mountain bike track, but that wasn't enough for the m-bikers, some of them chopped down other trees so they could go where they want.
And machines instead of walking. Those scooters – in a few years there will be weakened right legs with muscular left after doing all the work. Then the motorised ones that swish past as fast as cars but on the footpaths. And of course the bikes ridden by adults and children at speed and disconcerting everyone’s peaceful existence. Bicycles will have to have registration plates I think, where they can be seen as you lie on the footpath and they go swiftly out of sight.
(And the behind closed doors sounds familiar. The males are not known for their retiring ways, if they want something they advocate strongly, and there are many middle class males with time and money and expensive machines who have taken up this sport, and they get on Councils and places where their say is It. And who can deny them their rights to have what they want, being healthy and fit in the outdoors – Godzone.)
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Ho, it's mainly males who are into mountain biking; the females are the obsessive sports mad ones.
And I don't care about whether cycling is better for your health or not it isn't good for the health of people walking to have machines riding round and past them, with cyclists imposing themselves into what used to be a peaceful and enjoyable exercise.
And if it says cycle track then only people who can't read would expect there not to be cyclists on it. But when it's a footpath that doesn't work in the other direction does it.
Really, all the women cyclists I know also go mountain biking.
And then, of course, it doesn’t matter who is mostly doing the riding same as it doesn’t matter who is doing the typewriting.
And if it says cycle track then only people who can't read would expect there not to be cyclists on it.
Councils have an irritating habit of making them both and its stupid. And when I go out riding I always find people walking on the cycle paths. Both happen, largely I think, because many people mistakenly believe that bicycles, unlike cars, are safe.
And all the cyclists I know will stay off footpaths.
to support Cyclists. There are sadly "some" Cyclists who are boneheads…vastly outnumbered by bonehead vehicle steerers.
The casualty/death statistic of Cyclists in NZ caused by vehicles…is appalling.
I've talked to overseas Cyclists (Dutch, German, Scandinavian…but all Countries) and they have never struck the slack driver attitudes…some bordering on hate (purposely steering at/going as close as possible : ( of NZed.
Re dual use tracks. I fitted a bell on all my Bikes (yes i have a few : ) Doesnt work on the earbud/ph txting doofus. Or the Dog…that is running free ahead of the owner…on tracks that specifically say "Dogs on leads.Under control"
Back when everyone knew politics was sure-fire death by boredom, the yippies proved it could be fun, so I got a way to game the system. Just provide an angle nobody else has thought of, then watch it catch on as everyone realised they too could escape boredom via an unconventional way forward. https://www.history.com/news/yippies-1968-dnc-convention
So to Abbie Hoffman's definition of free speech, thoughtfully recycled by Matt Taibbi recently: Free speech is the right to shout theatre in a crowded fire.
Steal This Book was trite. I recall my copy being on my bookcase for at least a year before someone stole it. Didn't notice the vanishing until at least three decades later when I went looking for it, so no problem. His FBI file "was 13,262 pages long" according to Wikipedia.
By the late 1960s, Hoffman and Rubin had come to believe that American politics and culture had devolved into a state of abject absurdity.
Deja vu all over again again.
During an anti-war march in 1967 in Washington, DC, Hoffman, Rubin and the poet Allen Ginsberg organized a public exorcism of the Pentagon. Dressed in wild costumes and aided by Mayan healers, the crowd attempted to cast out the demons of war and even to levitate the massive five-sided home of the U.S. Department of Defense.
You can imagine the young Donald Trump watching, going "Hmmm, these wackos are actually onto something. I need to think more like that!"
“The image was the message,” says Jonah Raskin, an emeritus professor of communication studies at Sonoma State University who was friends with Hoffman and wrote the 1992 biography For the Hell of It: The Life and Times of Abbie Hoffman. Raskin describes Hoffman and Rubin’s colorful protest methods as “guerilla theater” tailor-made for TV cameras.
Hoffman and Rubin’s ragtag crew didn’t officially become the Yippies until January 1968 when the group got high in a New York apartment and dreamed up the best way to protest the upcoming convention in Chicago. The Democratic party, in their eyes, had become the “National Death Party” for its staunch support of the Vietnam War.
Unfair to target the leftists: the death cult of mainstreamers has always been stauchly bipartisan, as Richard Nixon would shortly prove. Taibbi links to now:
In Defense of Looting is supposed to be the woke generation’s answer to Steal This Book, another anarchist instructional published in an epic period of unrest… So this is a 288-page book written by a Very Online Person in support of the idea that other people should loot, riot, and burn things in the real world. Style-wise, In Defense of Looting continues the impressive streak of the woke movement having yet to produce a single readable piece of literature.
Showing his age. Youngsters who spend their lives on the phone can't reasonably be expected to produce literature.
Another case of " moan moan moan, me me me " again. If you can't sell your private language course without a work visa then you are selling the visa not the course. Another of our super bright business sectors shows how dumb they really are. And no mention of the locals who need to compete for those jobs and the cost of the welfare to support them.
This sector needs to see the changes as an opportunity and upskill or reskill and not depend on the government for help. That's what the unemployed get told isn't it?
Well thank God for that – the immigration traders hollowed out the industry for the actual ESL teachers and their genuine clientele – who were a small but fairly select group usually doing it as prep for higher education.
Coming to any country is a privilege and not a right. When there is growing unemployment people need to ask who is the priority an overseas student with a work visa or a person seeking work who is on unemployment.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
Jamie-Lee Ross has given up on getting Botany and goes on the list alone.
Must've had some internal polls.
Very sad – his party is the only interesting thing in this entire election.
Ad, I think you're probably sleep-deprived.
May you live in interesting times, Ad 😉
I guess psychopaths are kind of interesting. Also.
The sad thing about jlr completely jumping the shark is that he has let national off the hook for its dodgy fundraising and selling of list spots .
The wonderful, wonderful Jami-Lee.
Charter Schools will be back if the Nats get elected apparently. Vast amounts of taxpayers money funnelled to a few dodgy private education providers with little or no oversight. Sure to be a vote winner right?
Gosh they're not even trying to win flogging that horse again however the campaign contributions are always welcome.
i hear private schools receiving funding is ok, just ask Shane Jones to put it on a 'shovel ready list' and the male co-leader of a support/supply confidence party to sign it off. 🙂 And besides Charter schools were always on the books for National and ACT. They at the very least have been very honest about who is gonna get money from them.
What is good for the geese is good for the gander and thus if National does it is now OK. No more high horses here for Lefties.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/govt-cant-afford-to-stop-funding-private-schools-yet
Well, the of course the government must keep continuing funding the projects of their 'peers' 🙂
Its the funding of those that have no money that the government must not keep up, you know, the beneficiaries, the unemployed, soon to be unemployed, falling of the covid unemployment and such. They can just go get fucked, find a ditch to live in and learn the value of 'work'. Cause That is government. No difference between the lot of them.
Are you a speed-reader?
@ Sabine …. "Cause That is government. No difference between the lot of them" unfortunately that is exactly right, both Labour and National are free market liberal political parties, the only difference is in their delivery of this short sighted selfish ideology…one is driving straight toward the cliff, while the other is taking the scenic route.
Yup, they’re all as bad as each other except they’re not.
https://www.greens.org.nz/education_policy
Thank you incog for some sanity….if people actually read the Green Party policies instead of listening to the gotcha hits from the Herald and Tova O'Brien they just might see who has progressive policies and vote accordingly.
@Incognito, Look Shaw is a free market liberal, that is just a fact….and he was voted in by Green Party members…so of course by default their political ideology is tied directly to his leadership, and belief system, is it not?
"James Peter Edward Shaw (born 6 May 1973) is a New Zealand politician and a leader of the … Shaw believes that the market can be reformed to incorporate sustainability within its normal operations."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Shaw_(New_Zealand_politician)
The problem with the NZ Greens is that while of course they are with out doubt better than the other two main parties, while they follow a Liberal free market ideology, they can only ever win some battles, but will without question lose the war..in other words under Shaws leadership and ideological direction they are on the same path as Labour/National, heading toward the same cliff..just in slow motion…but moving toward it none the less.
So you don't think that word "free" actually means anything?
What do mean?
When the word "free" is put in front of the word "market", do you think that actually means anything?
In the same way folk dismiss a sky fairy, it matters not what adjective you use to describe a 'market', in this use of the word, it is still an abstract fiction.
A good point. The word free as its used in the term free-market means without rules or regulations.
And thus we see dangerous drugs, marketed as legal highs, enter the market.
Don’t you find it ironic that instead of focussing on the Education Policy of the Green Party you focus one on single individual? You also seem to know that individual very well and attributing certain powers (e.g. power of persuasion?) to this single person. How much influence do you ascribe to this person in setting out Policies of the Green Party? Why do you think this person apologised publically and profoundly to the Party and its members? Should we nominate this person for Oscar for best acting?
Adrian: Is it salient or just semantics to query the lack of the words 'Liberal' and 'free market' in your quote, "Shaw believes that the market can be reformed to incorporate sustainability within its normal operations."? It would not seem out of place for the Co-Leader of the Green Party to accept that there has to be some sort of market or means of exchange that incorporates 'green' controls. After all, the 'free' market is already riddled with controls that cater for the financial interests of 'the investors'.
Amazingly enough, so do I.
I just don't think that capitalism can be. Need to get rid of the ownership paradigm that allows the few to bludge off of the rest of us.
Maybe you are both right, however I have a strong suspicion you are following a fools errand with that one, I believe that when 95% of humans are allowed to open the pandora box that is the 'greed' motive deeply imbedded into the psyche they will act only for short term gain, which is of course exactly what we don't want….as Alan Greenspan actually had to admit himself…
And as free markets are and will always be chained to the unrelenting commodification of all resources for profit motive I fail to see how the end result I have described above could possibly be avoided?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5lZPWNFizQ
Well, in that case, you could vote for the Green Party 😉
I should clarify:
I think a market could be made to work with all encompassing regulations.
I don't think a free-market could be as there's simply no control.
I agree. If someone is a wealthy bludger, they should at least acknowledge it instead of just trotting round looking askance at anyone who isn't a high rater in the materialism and consumerism stakes which is all they seem to think about.
So if you see some ordinary folks on your lawn, give them some leeway; 'Don't be so quick to 'eave 'alf a brick, It's the missis, meself and the boys.' ex Pam Ayres
http://hummingblonde.blogspot.com/2015/01/poem-4-starlings.html
a free market is just a pyramid scheme that hasnt collapsed yet.
lol.
yeah, retrain all the dears that lost their jobs over the last few month, pay them next to nothing (same as National btw) to do so while they live in their ditch, so as to learn the value of 'work'.
Yeah, same bull, just with sprinkles, pink glittery kinder gentler sprinkles.
Thanks incognito for your daily buoyancy and sense.
John Clarke has some great points about politics. Are we the same as Australians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1acv2H0-T0
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5m5B_C2VB0
I like it 200%
Sabine – you'll be delighted and encouraged by this news! It elevates the status of James Shaw.
"Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz congratulated New Zealand on introducing the scheme.
“Once again, New Zealand is leading the world,” Stiglitz said, in a video included with the press statement from Shaw.
In a statement, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia welcomed the announcement.
“This marks a significant step forward and demonstrates New Zealand’s exemplary leadership on the global issue of climate change and the sustainability of New Zealand’s financial system and economy,” RIAA chief Simon O’Connor said."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/300107158/election-2020-financial-sector-will-have-to-report-on-climate-change-risk-in-worldfirst-move
Here is the crucial point that that I made a week or so back; private schools essentially subsidise the state system, not the other way around has everyone assumes:
(From Incog’s link above.)
Well so far our private schools have not become profit seeking entities as far as I know. If I understand it correctly in the UK private profit making businesses are being handed state schools to run under an education trust type models -often with the parents having little or no say in the decisions.
With the charter school model how long before something similar is tried here.
I would have a real problem with a model that collected taxes from the general public then handed those dollars over to private organisations who generated profits and large salaries and used the left overs to actually fund an education.
I'd expect even funds now handed out to private schools to come with some strict tags around maximum salaries etc. The government could start with the universities, tagging public funds to ensure excessive salaries advertising etc are not soaking up that money or the money the students pay.
That seems like a reasonable boundary. Although it has to be said the vast majority of independent schools in NZ are run by people who are doing it for a philosophical or religious reason, eg the Montessori, Steiner and Catholic schools.
By and large making a profit is a relatively low consideration for them and I'd guess that the salaries being paid are nothing startling as a rule.
Agreed. I have had the fortunate position having taught in State, Independent and Private schools and tertiary institutions over a 40 year career in education. My last teaching position was in a private Steiner school and I have to say that it was the most productive and amazing learning experience I ever had in the classroom. I was paid a fraction of the full salary I would have received in a State School. Contrary to popular belief none of the students at the school came from wealthy homes. Of the students in my class, one graduated at the top of her class in med school and is now working in mental health, another is a regional co-convenor of the Green Party and an elected member on a local community board. Another had been constantly absent from his local state school, and in desperation his mother asked if I could accept him into my class. He is now an engineering graduate.
On the other hand, the worst school I ever experienced was an elite private school on the North Shore. One of the words it has in its motto is "Aroha" – a quality distinctly lacking in the school's culture at that time. It was an extremely abusive climate, and my health still suffers. If I had not left when I did after 3 years, I know I would be dead by now. While I was there, one teacher who was under extreme pressure, committed suicide. The comments from the parents were "How could she do that to the children!"
Of the State schools, they also varied from extremely good to hopeless. The climate there was totally dependent on the senior staff and staff turn-over reflected that. In the worst State school I was only there on secondment for the last term of the year, having been "lent" from my permanent position so I could be with my parents in Wellington in the final days of their life. Almost half the staff at that school left on the final day of the school year, and my 3 months was one of the longest periods of service at that time in the school.
I have not previously participated in this ongoing debate on the Green's Education policy despite being a paid up Green member and personally knowing Catherine Delahunty, the Education Spokesperson for the Greens during her time as an MP and the person most responsible for the current Education policy. I do think there has been a lot of ill informed commentary on this matter and take my hat off to weka et al who have valiantly tried to keep the facts of the matter front and centre. There are many parts of the Greens Education policy that are progressive and would make a huge difference to our schools nation wide, but I am not so sure wrt the matter of private schools. As you note Red, they do have their place.
As a social worker in the late '60's one of my client families involved a young lad who was extremely able, but his whanau through circumstance, were no longer able to care for him. After working with them for some time it became apparent that they would love to see him being given the opportunity to attend Te Aute College. It was a great solution, they were able to enrol him and he enjoyed the school, and did well. He brought mana to an otherwise desperate whanau, and such an opportunity was not available in the State system.
Both my parents were teachers and their experiences align very much with what you are saying here. The classroom experience was usually fine, the staffroom experience varied a lot more. So much depends on the character and quality of the head teacher and staff.
But otherwise thank you for an informed view on this story.
Macro Is Te Aute still going?
And what reports have you heard about the InZone school program started in Auckland by the USA guy.
https://inzoneeducation.org.nz/
Does this actually work? It showed Auckland Grammer & Epsom as the schools but I thought it went on parent address – not a private hostel that fees are paid to? Also is it Maori & Pasifika or the ones who can pay a big fee?
These state schools are apparently pretty good at sifting out the parent who rents a short term flat etc too get their kids in or has some other fiddle going.
@ RedBaron – as far as I know yes the programme begun by the guy from the States still works. If you visit the website linked to by greyrawshark you will see there recent news items featuring past and present students who have benefited from the scheme. He has returned to his home town and has begun a similar programme there, although he keeps in touch with those the Auckland venture. There was a documentary about him and the programme a few years back. Both of the schools here were very supportive of the scheme, as were the parents.
@greyrawshark – Yes Te Aute is still going. It became an integrated school under the Kirk Government in the 1970's
@RedBaron
Here is a documentary recorded last year in which the founder and current director talk about the project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz1oc6wjjI8
edit
From Macro 2.01pm
I have teachers in the family. There used to be something called collegiality so that teachers worked together to share and learn from each other. But it wasn't noticeable at the primary school where my sister taught. The principal was at the behest of the school board, and could be unreasonable and played favourites with the teachers, certainly did not have a good working and supportive relationship with them all. My sister used to be given the kids that others couldn't control but in the end rebelled with one or two, and sent them to the Principal to deal with. She'd work till 11 pm most weeknights.
My brother retired early from his tech training classes as he found the boys too hard to control and – they could be quite confronting and undisciplined. He now builds guitars which he enjoys.
Yes very much a major factor in many schools. This was a matter that was earnestly protected back in the 90's with the desire by the Nat govt to move to bulk funding and performance pay. This was strenuously resisted by the PPTA and the teaching profession as such changes in renumeration practice would have lead to competitive practices and the loss of collegiality; and a subsequent decline in pedagogy. I remember that teachers at the time were willing to forgo an increase in salary, simply to retain the then current pay scheme and avoid bulk funding.
Teachers at integrated schools (a large chunk of these are Catholic schools) are paid by MoE (cue: Novopay).
Interesting replies above. I think integrated schools are generally a good thing in that they provide some diversity without I believe being allowed to charge massive fees (are they capped?) and the money goes to the schools not any profit related overheads, unlike the UK experience.
AFAIK theses schools also have to take (within reason) all comers so to speak and adhere to national curriculums. In other words non catholic can attend catholic schools.
I would have real trouble funding the likes of say Gloriavale because by design these are schools that exclude any who are not attached to the main "sect" for want of a better word.
https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/education/school-system
Catholic schools accept about 5% ‘all comers’ (I think the term is “non-preference student”). If they accept more than their maximum roll, they will not get extra/additional funding for those students from MoE. In Auckland, there is a lot of pressure on (these) schools to accept students.
Knowing what your children are being taught is important. Is the curriculum balanced or indoctrinating? Some primary schools have quite disturbing religious instruction from people who are not teachers, and they may be taught the opposite to what parents believe and think appropriate.
Economic crime costs up to $9.4bn
Something tells me that, if they weren't stealing so much from us in the first place, we wouldn't have any trouble properly funding education up to, and including, all the private schools.
And that was in 2014 – it would have gotten worse since.
Of course we can afford to stop funding private schools. Where else do you think the money that funds comes from? The rich? The rich don't pay for anything as if they did they wouldn't remain rich.
Ha! Love that!
The rich don’t pay, they invest. Please keep up.
but are they charter schools with double glazing and cyrstal gardens? If so its ok.
Or is it only not ok when National does it, but when others do it they take one leader to sing mea culpa (befitting the old adage of ‘its easier to say sorry then to ask permission) and the other leader to stand there and add gravitas. (Stand by your man….lalalalala)
Perturbing.
https://www.facebook.com/Shavezchz/videos/10224288679868414
What happened to the video I posted? It played successfully for a while, then disappeared!?
Ha! Then reappeared!
not showing for me now either, but it was before. I reposted below too.
What a ticking time bomb the ' Land of the free, home of the brave' has become.
I thought the thinking behind bearing arms, was to protect yrself from the state, not from yr fellow townsfolk.
Cue some misguided comment about Trumps America. This has been building for years, while he has done nothing to calm the waters, this suits the presidency to the ground. Keep the people distracted while the corprotocracy rolls on.
This shit is nothing new….Obama changed nothing, in fact most statistics for African Americans went down under that useless free market, wall st lovin', drone lovin' smooth talking Obama….and then we all ended up with Trump…Obama's actual legacy….the forever downward spiral of free market capitalism literally punches us in the face with Trump, yet for some unknown reason most people still only see this governance and ideology as viable…so get get ready to get punched and kicked some more, till we are all on our knees begging for mercy.
How Obama Destroyed Black Wealth https://jacobinmag.com/2017/12/obama-foreclosure-crisis-wealth-inequality
America just spent 8 years with a black president. For many African Americans, it meant one big thing: freedom to ‘dream’ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-obama-african-americans/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uYWDyYNUg
Militias, police, lawyers, charismatic leaders, tribalism, race, exile. Mangatawhiri to Mohaka 1863 – 1872.
You seem to be obsessed with one small issue Sabine….surely policies related to bigger issues such as climate change and alleviating poverty should be taking centre stage so close to the election. Or are you a closet ACT voter trying to destroy the Greens?
or just a serial moaner?
Taxpayers Union will be right onto that, for sure.
National candidate makes false claims about his work / business acumen.
Collins moans about lockdown staying at 2.5 and 2 in the South Island saying South Islanders are fed up yeah fed up with National undermining our efforts.
Seymour chimes in what an idiot.
Looking around the World those countries that are following the National ACT business before people's lives are not only allowing people to die unnecessarily their businesses and economies are in much worse shape.
Con woman Collins and slimy Seymour making idiots out of themselves for cheap desperate political gain.
Media anywhere on the nth harbour Nat MP ? Granny has the full size National party pop up ad you have to remove to read the banner and insert nat party ads alongside the page also.
Our owned media.
uBlock origin and Ghostery own the owned media.
Political gain is ahead of the health of the nation. I have always had the view that good health is better than having money.
@tc 3.1
Those are just paid National Party ads on Stuff and the Herald. I doubt they have much to do with the editorial line of the papers themselves. The pop up banner ad on the Herald sure is annoying though.
What is interesting is that National must spending loads on these ads and Labour doesn’t seem to be spending anything much at all so far?
Saw a post on Twitter that claimed the Nats are in trouble in Rotorua, a seat they won comfortably in 2017. Tukituki has also been talked up as a possible Labour gain.
I think the research shows direct voter contact is what makes an actual difference. No one changes their vote or gets out to vote because of an advertisement. Talking to people, listening to their concerns and explaining things such as how you can get enrolled to vote or where their nearest polling booth is can make a difference.
The picture of Jacinda with a netball team on the front page of the ODT today is all the advertising Labour needs.
JLR…aka Simon Bridges bagman.. ex nat party whip and otherwise scumbag. Has found somewhere..
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/426050/election-2020-jami-lee-ross-not-contesting-botany-seat
Someone please tell me the claims in this article by JLR are bs re the chances of Advance NZ gaining any seats, lists or otherwise.
I have ignored these nutters until now as I thought they were just a sad joke. Maybe not (still a sad joke, just now also a dangerous sad joke).
We have quite a few 'supporters' in our small rural top of the south island community – pro Qanon, anti-1080 -vaccination – fluoride -5G anti you name it! They are very vocal on Facebook but not one of them turned up to the Advance NZ candidate meeting or cafe meet up here this week I hear. Are they enrolled to vote and will they actually bother to vote?
The candidate has not signed up to contest the electorate yet, but there are still 3 days to go and a small matter of $300 to pay.
North of Nelson by any chance? Takaka?
No Peter ChCh, south of Nelson halfway to the West Coast surprisingly.
tell them the election is just a hoax designed to get them into a booth and take their dna , that will enrage and please them equally(thats a whole other conspiracy)
It might pay to be informed about anti 5G instead of just dismissing a group protesting about something new. It took a time to get people to take Covid-19 seriously, thank goodness we did. Every new bit of technology can't be good. Perhaps we need to get vaccinations each year against the new influx of technology.
The latest is that our Polytech in our smart city is talking about developing pilotless planes. Our polytechnics were where people went to get skills for jobs. Now they are about to develop systems that will replace people's jobs. That's progress folks.
And it probably means that we will become a small centre for developing armed force systems and munitions; there is money in those, probably the biggest manufacturer and systems development in the world. And then there is space equipment to spend money on.
Meanwhile the people's skills and the communities of the living on Planet Earth try to continue with our humanity and our civilisation – until the land is commandeered for some august purpose or growing palm oil trees for profit.
The problem is that Polytechs went from largely trades based ('skills for jobs') to believing that they are universities. They are not! Their degrees are mostly regurgitation, rather than critical thinking.
The pilotless planes research is the stuff that BE students do, usually as part of their Masters or Phd. It really has no place in a Polytech.
And as for those useless BAdmin etc that many Polys churn out as a way to scam overseas students, dont get me started!
That was my impression about Polytechs, under neolib influence though. You seem to have some definite knowledge.
Or you can, like, download it off the internet. And then play with it in your own time and learn that way.
Learning isn't restricted to schools and universities. IMO, its a life long endeavour which our society hasn't really taken into account yet.
To steal a bit from Plato, self-learning is walking around in a dark cave. You'll probably be okay feeling around slowly, but you might get overconfident and walk off a ledge into a chasm (think people who watch too much youtube theories).
You get a teacher who knows the field and has a structured plan (doesn't have to be university or whatever, but some sort of a tutor or master.apprentice), and they're shining a torch at items of interest in the cave. Pretty soon you have a good idea of where everything is and the shape of that cave – and where the pitfalls are.
When I was at polytech getting my degree a couple of years back it was, essentially, directed self-learning with deadlines. IMO, this works quite well but we need to find a way so as to get everyone involved in it.
So we do have teachers and structured plans and degrees showing progress but it's not limited to only those who go to the school/polytech/university.
As I say, the government, and society in general, hasn't really twigged to the fact that learning is a life long endeavour and that we need to encourage it and recognise the milestones that people achieve even if they haven't gone to school to achieve it.
"Directed".
And polytech ain't university, traditionally. For a phd you specifically need to somehow increase the sum of all human knowledge. To qualify as a swiss watchmaker they give you a sheet of steel and you make a watch using the knowledge they taught you.
I don't disagree that "self-taught" can be a thing. Most people who claim it have big gaps in their knowledge. And might not have thought it through.
And that usually requires playing silly buggers with the unknown. Can't learn something new by doing the same thing over and over again.
Yeah, about that:
A very well-calculated pile of bricks and timbers, with multiple fail-safe and contingency plans.
Dude in his kitchen… not so much.
self learning has no profit in it. big $$$ in teaching you how to learn (sorry, selling you a qualification). bloody utube has cost forprofit education a fortune…..righto, off to have a go at dentistry
Yes, it is. Requiring less people to do stuff means that the nation can actually do more stuff. That's actually how a nation become richer both culturally and economically.
Agree Draco, but sadly the strategy under both Labour and National for decades has been to replace jobs by new more efficient technology (good), then leave many deskilled and in low paid jobs (bad), then introduce even cheaper labour via backpackers and other non resident imports that will work more for even less (ultra bad).
Just seems like the underpants theives on South Park. Successive governments just seem like they only understand the first step. No overall strategy.
The government see a profit off of an action and decide to do more of that action and look for export markets resulting in stagnation and even destruction (see our waterways).
What needs to happen is that, once the local market is met, that resources get shifted to something else and thus we get diversification and development.
But we don't want to become richer as a nation. That's in the past. That's going round countries robbing them of their resources, that is always wanting growth. That is separating off into income stratas and spending time always wanting, not being grateful and happy and enjoying what we have.
You are stuck in the 20th century DTB and it's no good being there because it led us to here and it is not good being in the world at this time watching it be destroyed. And the worst is, finding that when people get better off in the western world, they get meaner. So it doesn't help society to be happier and enjoy their lives. And then it is a ratrace to get more and change the car for a better one, and the curtains and the lounge. Wasteful use of resources is the result.
So your idea above is bollocks.
Yes, we do. We really don't want to return to the past.
Higher productivity doesn't necessitate growth but it does allow people to live better lives.
Yeah, no.
What have I said on here over the last 10 years that makes you think that I think that the present system is good?
Even the comment that you responded to was, in its way, pointing out the failure of the present system which seeks only to do more of the same stuff rather than doing different stuff and developing the economy and society.
You are sincere DTB but stuck in the premises of the mind of the 20th century. After WW2 we had the rest of the century to compose ourselves and get on with using our intelligence to make a sustainable and happy society. So yes you may not agree with what happened then, but it is too late to start again. We had one chance and we blued? it.
And in line with my startling discovery (to me) of what was very plain but I hadn't processed it, we are incapable of living just better lives and also ensuring that all others around us have their needs attended to as well (so all have satisfactory lives). That leads to limiting our lives against excess, which would mean closing bars down at reasonable hours so limiting alcoholism by the vulnerable etc. You won't agree with that probably. Alcohol is a big drain on the nation's purse, and saps individual's vigour and their families are impacted too.
Higher productivity doesn't necessitate growth but it does allow people to live better lives.
Which people? The few producing? What about the others once employed perhaps doing the dirty jobs? They might have liked the camaraderie, the physical activity that went along with that, and would stick at it provided they got paid decently.
The reason that your idea has got big holes in it, is the fact that people like to work. That's most of the time. They will go on working for nothing if there is a crisis, and they think it is important to carry on. Our surnames tend to be formed from the trades that people carried out; miller, smith. There is satisfaction in a skill and it has always been part of the esteem felt by others. Women usually don't get differentiated in old family histories because they did everything and didn't earn their living from it, though in 15th/16th centuries there were Wif,Wife,Husewif surnames.
Jobs, earning, are important to self-esteem and to the sort of recognition you get from society. No-one respects the unemployed, and women being disrespected caused the feminist push in the 1970s, If there are fewer jobs, with higher productivity, will the unemployed be enabled to find their own gifts, pursue them, and be paid adequately for their own contribution to the life and outputs of their home town? They aren't now, and in the next few months it will be interesting to see how government treat those not able to get any or enough employment to keep themselves plus families in secure, warm housing.
Pretty sure you'll find that I've suggested doing just that.
There's a difference between liking to work and being challenged and doing the chores. We get rid of the chores and develop better challenges.
Yes and yes.
Of course not as our economic system only rewards the rich by allowing them to steal from everybody else but where have I said that we need to keep the failed system that we have now?
And, after all that, none of you diatribe addresses the fact that better productivity does allow better living.
The list is long in the ways that higher productivity leads to better living. The fact the present system of capitalism abuses it doesn't make it wrong – just shows that we need to get rid of capitalism.
If they can build pilotless planes, hydrogen based lighter than air freight should become realistic – one way to expand airfreight volume in spite of decreased passenger traffic.
They've had pilotless planes for awhile. All that's needed is a simple auto-pilot once its off the ground and even landings are now automated.
Standard aircraft, as far as I know, still don't have an automated take-off but something tells me that the same difficulties don't really apply to lighter-than-air craft.
Hydrogen would be the major problem, IMO, in what you suggest as if that goes up in flames there'd be several tonnes of freight possibly falling over inhabited land. It's not just the pilots and passengers that are a concern.
Could happen that an area could be wiped out by fire from a hydrogen fuelled aircraft and we could have the California happenings as a result. It wouldn't be wise to risk using hydrogen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel
Hydrogen fuel is hazardous because of the low ignition energy and high combustion energy of hydrogen, and because it tends to leak easily from tanks. Explosions at hydrogen filling stations have been reported.
Hydrogen fuelling stations generally receive deliveries of hydrogen by truck from hydrogen suppliers. An interruption at a hydrogen supply facility can shut down multiple hydrogen fuelling stations.
The Public Party/Advance NZ (and others like the Tamaki's Vision and the ONE Party) didn't register at all in the last major (CM, NRR) polls, like not even 0.1%. Of course that might change in the next polls.
I sometimes wonder if we need more unions back. Apart from the obvious wages and conditions stuff, they were a path to leadership and gave some sort of a voice and solidarity to various groups of people who often don't have a lot. Is some of this quite normal "need to belong" transfering to organised religion or organised conspiracy theories?
Very good suggestion Red. The old FOL did indeed provide a positive structure and framework that is now missing. Seems that sector (employees representation) is now a fractured shell of what it once was.
David Farrier on RNZ looks at how this political lunacy has developed so quickly here in NZ.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018763932/david-farrier-on-red-pilling-and-covid-19-conspiracies
The chances of their party winning Te Tai Tokerau are as great as there are that my mum, a polio hobbler, will be picked at halfback and captain for the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup games. She died 11 tears ago.
Bless from another polio hobbler!!
The election result for JLR is going to be painful.
Am I surprised by the nats newfound Interest in Rail? AND the Environment.Gotta laugh : )
Bishop says a train route to Mosgiel makes sense.
"If you work here in the Dunedin CBD and you live in Mosgiel, rather than getting into your car you will have a, you know, potentially you will have a transport option of getting on the train in the morning and going home again in the evening.
"That's not only great for the environment but it's also great for congestion on that route.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/425991/national-south-island-transport-plan-focuses-on-safety-cycling-rail-and-bridges
Makes good sense though. The geography and urban pockets of Dunedin are much like Wellington, and lend themselves well to suburban rail.
We can actually play the idea as good or bad, rather than solely focusing on who said it.
Crikey – that took them long enough to work out. Used to get the railcar out to Mosgiel to pick fruit back in the day – growers'd pick you up there – worked well for all concerned. Must’ve been forty years ago – plus ca change.
Of course it's a good idea.
The problem is schedulling a decent commuter system around the freight trains. That's what got in the way of a DCC trial happening this year.
Fucking nats turn up a day late, a dollar short, and always promise delivery for tomorrow.
Hmmm, of course its a Good Idea…and has already been previously promulgated.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/interest-rail-needs-testing-mayor
nats taking heed of Union : )
“The Rail and Maritime Transport Union, representing about 50 workers at Dunedin Railways, submitted a proposal on Thursday as part of a consultation process with management.
Options in the proposal included a commuter service to local destinations such as Mosgiel and Port Chalmers, or establishing a long-distance passenger service between Dunedin and other cities on the main south line.”
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/railway-workers-respond
Apart…from that.. the point of my comment is the Irony of the nats newfound..etc etc But you knew that right : )?
Yes of course I did. But seriously, the time for rail revival for commute has arrived. Its amazing to look back at Auckland rail system 20 years ago and compare it to today. And the year on year growth says it all. And thats before the City Rail Link opens. After that, another massive leap I would expect.
Hi sorry if got that wrong. Just wondering if your user name is based Christchurch?
You probably know this?
'However, the Public Transport Users' Association Christchurch spokesperson Tane Apanui said he was disappointed there was no commitment to a commuter rail service.
"We've had no assurances whatsoever from local council, regional council or central government – in fact it seems to have dropped off their radar completely.
"It appears that all the councils and the government pay lip service to our concerns but when it comes to the crunch they never follow through."
Mr Apanui is proposing a rail service that joins the North Canterbury townships of Amberley, Waipara, Rangiora, and Rolleston and Darfield, with the city.'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/381059/govt-lip-service-to-concerns-about-chch-commuter-rail
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/24-11-2018/a-new-plan-for-christchurch-rail/
Rail.Just makes Sense.
I think one of the problems in ChCh re commuter rail is the north rail line wanders somewhat after it leaves the Amberley area, diverting inland to Rangiora. Makes for a long slow journey.
Plus the area has straight motorway with excellent connections and relatively light traffic. Also, since the quake, ChCh lacks a meaningful CBD (more decentralised now).
The South line is maybe a goer, from Rolleston and through the industrial areas of Hornby and Blenheim Rd.
ChCh sprawls, and it just getting worse. The council just seems to have let ChCh become endless to the west. No real pockets of population like Wellington or Dunedin.
A little gift for train watchers – City of New Orleans. It’s like watching the passing of the idea that was the United States of America. Modern and effective and happy and good living. Now it’s :
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain’t heard the news
The conductor sings his song again
The passengers will please refrain
This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF1lqEQFVUo
yes chch must be biggest city in sq k now
https://www.facebook.com/Shavezchz/videos/10224288679868414
link to video
USA or Somalia.
Much the same thing.
Yeah I know, hyperbole.
I love the way the US armed gangs (debatable as to whether they are legally constituted "militia") have travelled to the west coast to protect property threatened by all the wildfires.
Oh, wait they're just focussing on protecting property from BLM protestors? lol
Meanwhile Chicago reverts to the bad old days.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2020/9/14/21433625/chicago-wekend-shootings-september-11-14
But then it could be worse.
Murder rates would be up to five times higher than they are but for medical developments over the past 40 years…Without this technology, there would be no less than 50,000 and as many as 115,000 homicides annually instead of an actual 15,000 to 20,000
https://twitter.com/gelmanisaac/status/1305447073181908994
Breaking news: https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/300107158/election-2020-financial-sector-will-have-to-report-on-climate-change-risk-in-worldfirst-move
“New Zealand finance companies will be made to report on climate change risk, Climate Change Minister James Shaw has announced. The policy will force about 200 large financial organisations in New Zealand to disclose how exposed their business and investments are to climate-change related risk. Any bank, credit union, building society, investment scheme, insurer, or Crown Financial Institution with more than $1b in assets will be required to either disclose this risk or explain why it has not.”
“These 200 or so institutions will cover 90 per cent of the assets controlled in New Zealand, and includes large crown investors such as ACC and the NZ Super Fund.”
“While other countries are working on similar schemes, New Zealand is the first to introduce one – although entities will not be required to report on climate risk until 2023 at the earliest. ”
“Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has congratulated New Zealand on introducing the scheme. “Once again, New Zealand is leading the world,” Stiglitz said, in a video included with the press statement from Shaw.”
The most pro-life pres ever…
/
Ms. Wooten also expressed concern regarding the high numbers of detained immigrant women at ICDC receiving hysterectomies. She stated that while some women have heavy menstruation or other severe issues that would require hysterectomy, “everybody’s uterus cannot be that bad.” Ms. Wooten explained:
Ms. Wooten also stated that detained women expressed to her that they didn’t fully understand why theyhadto get a hysterectomy. She said:“I’ve had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to seethe doctorand they’ve had hysterectomies and they don’t know why they went or why they’re going.” And if the immigrants do understand what they’re getting done, “some of them a lot of times won’t even go, they say they’ll wait to get back to their country to go to the doctor.” The rate at which the hysterectomies have occurred have beena red flag for Ms. Wooten and other nurses at ICDC. Ms. Wooten explained:
https://projectsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/OIG-ICDC-Complaint-1.pdf
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/like-an-experimental-concentration-camp-whistleblower-complaint-alleges-mass-hysterectomies-at-ice-detention-center/
4 more years will take the USA to Wannsee 1942.
Legalized discrimination against Jews in Germany began immediately after the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933. Violence and economic pressure were used by the Nazi regime to encourage Jews to voluntarily leave the country.
The ideology of Nazism brought together elements of antisemitism, racial hygiene, and eugenics and combined them with pan-Germanism and territorial expansionism with the goal of obtaining more Lebensraum (living space) for the Germanic people. Nazi Germany attempted to obtain this new territory by attacking Poland and the Soviet Union, intending to deport or exterminate the Jews and Slavs living there, who were viewed as being inferior to the Aryan master race.
Beware of one's own unpleasant tendencies I think. It is important to not let the genie out of the bottle in politicians, who are close to that potent fuel, the mixture of power and hubris:
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely!
Another – Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.
The current USian regime were corrupt before they gained power.
Barking.
– Charles Mackay
https://twitter.com/Jared_Carrabis/status/1305521504365535232
It's all good. That southwest corner of Utah is kinda high on my list of places with lots of fun things to go and do in the outdoors. So if a bunch of the stupider inhabitants self-cull before my next chance to go there spend time having fun, all the better.
Ignorance, scorn and hatred. Laugh and cry while it lasts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGkd5YRayhw
The children of Jove's daughter?
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1305598182571810822
Our leaders will attempt to examine the possibility of life in some distant star by hook or by crook even if it kills us. It's the finding out that counts.
Warning long rant.
Bloody bikes. And mountain bikes have become as invading and pernicious as motor bikes. Men and machines – what is it? Get out in the open air on your two legs, enjoy the world instead of trying to jump off it into space for a short time. Do things for yourself, by yourself, you don't need a machine all the time. And people are beginning to hate you, see you as vandals and savages. In Nelson an area was set aside for a mountain bike track, but that wasn't enough for the m-bikers, some of them chopped down other trees so they could go where they want.
And machines instead of walking. Those scooters – in a few years there will be weakened right legs with muscular left after doing all the work. Then the motorised ones that swish past as fast as cars but on the footpaths. And of course the bikes ridden by adults and children at speed and disconcerting everyone’s peaceful existence. Bicycles will have to have registration plates I think, where they can be seen as you lie on the footpath and they go swiftly out of sight.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/426071/hawke-s-bay-community-says-mountain-bike-park-plan-disastrously-bad-idea
About 900 people in Eskdale have signed a petition to stop the development, and accuse the Hastings District Council of keeping the conversation behind closed doors.
But the council says it is very early days.
Eskdale Park is north of Napier, where many from the region come to relax and unwind by enjoying a picnic or swimming in the river.
(And the behind closed doors sounds familiar. The males are not known for their retiring ways, if they want something they advocate strongly, and there are many middle class males with time and money and expensive machines who have taken up this sport, and they get on Councils and places where their say is It. And who can deny them their rights to have what they want, being healthy and fit in the outdoors – Godzone.)
What's with all the bloody sexism? I know just as many women who bicycle as men.
BTW, bicycling is better exercise than walking as it targets more muscle groups and does less damage to the body.
And if the sign says cycle track then don't walk on it as its a bloody road.
edit
Ho, it's mainly males who are into mountain biking; the females are the obsessive sports mad ones.
And I don't care about whether cycling is better for your health or not it isn't good for the health of people walking to have machines riding round and past them, with cyclists imposing themselves into what used to be a peaceful and enjoyable exercise.
And if it says cycle track then only people who can't read would expect there not to be cyclists on it. But when it's a footpath that doesn't work in the other direction does it.
[citation needed]
Really, all the women cyclists I know also go mountain biking.
And then, of course, it doesn’t matter who is mostly doing the riding same as it doesn’t matter who is doing the typewriting.
Councils have an irritating habit of making them both and its stupid. And when I go out riding I always find people walking on the cycle paths. Both happen, largely I think, because many people mistakenly believe that bicycles, unlike cars, are safe.
And all the cyclists I know will stay off footpaths.
You're a saint DTB and always right.
Yes, I know 🙄
Aye. I joined CAN
https://can.org.nz/
to support Cyclists. There are sadly "some" Cyclists who are boneheads…vastly outnumbered by bonehead vehicle steerers.
The casualty/death statistic of Cyclists in NZ caused by vehicles…is appalling.
I've talked to overseas Cyclists (Dutch, German, Scandinavian…but all Countries) and they have never struck the slack driver attitudes…some bordering on hate (purposely steering at/going as close as possible : ( of NZed.
Re dual use tracks. I fitted a bell on all my Bikes (yes i have a few : ) Doesnt work on the earbud/ph txting doofus. Or the Dog…that is running free ahead of the owner…on tracks that specifically say "Dogs on leads.Under control"
Anyway… On your Bike : )
"targets more muscle groups" Needle in the V – gentle now.
Secret places where the bikes don't go.
Back when everyone knew politics was sure-fire death by boredom, the yippies proved it could be fun, so I got a way to game the system. Just provide an angle nobody else has thought of, then watch it catch on as everyone realised they too could escape boredom via an unconventional way forward. https://www.history.com/news/yippies-1968-dnc-convention
So to Abbie Hoffman's definition of free speech, thoughtfully recycled by Matt Taibbi recently: Free speech is the right to shout theatre in a crowded fire.
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/dont-steal-this-book
Steal This Book was trite. I recall my copy being on my bookcase for at least a year before someone stole it. Didn't notice the vanishing until at least three decades later when I went looking for it, so no problem. His FBI file "was 13,262 pages long" according to Wikipedia.
Deja vu all over again again.
You can imagine the young Donald Trump watching, going "Hmmm, these wackos are actually onto something. I need to think more like that!"
Unfair to target the leftists: the death cult of mainstreamers has always been stauchly bipartisan, as Richard Nixon would shortly prove. Taibbi links to now:
Showing his age. Youngsters who spend their lives on the phone can't reasonably be expected to produce literature.
Another case of " moan moan moan, me me me " again. If you can't sell your private language course without a work visa then you are selling the visa not the course. Another of our super bright business sectors shows how dumb they really are. And no mention of the locals who need to compete for those jobs and the cost of the welfare to support them.
This sector needs to see the changes as an opportunity and upskill or reskill and not depend on the government for help. That's what the unemployed get told isn't it?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/426078/bid-to-retain-work-visa-option-for-students-stuck-overseas
Well thank God for that – the immigration traders hollowed out the industry for the actual ESL teachers and their genuine clientele – who were a small but fairly select group usually doing it as prep for higher education.
Coming to any country is a privilege and not a right. When there is growing unemployment people need to ask who is the priority an overseas student with a work visa or a person seeking work who is on unemployment.