I suppose over the years I've seen hundreds of press conferences by politicians. This morning might have been the very worst (and I even watched some of Trump's!).
Every idiot who has grumbled about our PM's press conferences ("Jessica, Tova") should see the British PM in action. Compare and contrast. Seriously, words can't describe how bad it was. And she gave up after 4 questions.
There's no question that Ardern is a far far better communicator than Liz Truss.
She does however provide similar inane and down right nonsense in response to questions which is an all too familiar trait of politicians throughout the world.
I'd also suggest that the UK media are considerably tougher, more well informed and less star struck by politicians than virtually all of their counterparts in NZ.
Higherstandard, yet those hard headed British journalists rate Jacinda Ardern. You're dissing her while she was pointing out that although some Mayors had changed many had not, and voters were disadvantaged by late receipt of papers, and a patchy mail service. Now that may or may not be pertinent.
Some contests were very close (Gore) and others a name draw between two candidates. So to say there was a wide spread swing away is hyperbole. Auckland showed a big swing back to their usual BAU. No surprise there.
If anything has changed after the Pandemic, it is support for the far right Act and silent support. It is alarming to see this, and see notice given by the group who wish to "make NZ ungovernable" that they intend to infiltrate the Councils and Boards. Some now have members with some mighty strange affiliations.
Yet you still talk as though Jacinda Ardern is responsible for this, when a wish for "different outcomes" is shaking a right wing British government and Left wing parties appear to be favoured by a 30% majority in Britain, Truss has thrown a friend to the wolves, as she discovers that people feel angry and threatened, inside her team and countrywide.
The inflation Genie and War is wreaking havoc. Change will come ready or not imo. The Fire economy begins again? I hope we realise letting the rich mop up mortgagee sales is the wrong medicine. Otherwise it is back to BAU.
Perhaps you should listen to Ardern's response to questions from Espiner about a certain ex minister moving into the public relations field …from about the 6 minute mark.
the question has been so outrageously biased and wrong in its conception, that it surprises me she doesn't respond in much stronger terms. Perhaps its time to roll back at the questioner in a similar mode.
Not just about being a better communicator. It's about basic respect and accountability.
Ardern's Beehive press conferences last up to an hour, minimum 30 mins. Count the number of questions taken, with follow-ups allowed.
You can go back through 5 years of these, and you will be hard pressed to find any instances of Ardern walking out after 4 minutes of questions.
Whether you like the answers will obviously depend on our various political leanings, that's inevitably subjective. But measuring time and numbers is not a matter of opinion, it's measurable maths. She fronts up, and the reporters – all of them – have every chance to ask whatever they want, and do.
If you refute the premise of a question, which is reasonable position to take, is it best to say "I refute the premise of that question" or "You are talking crap, I'm not going to dignify it with an answer"? Especially when it is patently obvious the questioner is grandstanding, playing games trying to put the person under pressure, not seeking some grand elucidation.
Or maybe the response, rather than a rejection of the premise, is a churlish "You journalists are all the same." Which would be followed by the adoring supporters saying, "God, that Muldoon showed them who was boss."
Nope. She moves onto the next question because the previous question is either disingenuous or the questioner is attempting to undermine her by way of introducing a clearly false premise.
The vindictive shit journalist, Barry Soper is renowned for the latter.
A highly edited political hit job doesn't prove your opinion Jester. Looks like you have never watched question time, nor media standups in their entirety,
Yeah, it was a terrible speech. The Tories made a mistake with that one. She has the personality of a brick wall, and not much else. But Tony, when you say: ''Jacinda is in a different class to any bumbling tory,!'' you are showing
the type of political blindness that is sending our Labour Party to the opposition benches for a very long time. Why are you worried about Liz Truss? If the recent forced maniacal laughter from Jacinda when asked a question recently is anything to go by, we have more pressing issues closer to home. And let's not forget we have the leaders debates coming up. Luxon is spoilt for options to attack Jacinda with. Much is made of Luxon's ignorance and bumblings during interviews. That's all true. But the reality is, Luxon only needs to put on a half decent show. Jacinda needs to put on a performance that would rival the Gettysburg Address.
"If the recent forced maniacal laughter from Jacinda when asked a question recently…."
Oh dear, so because Jacinda Ardern laughed out loud about something she is "maniacal"? Well I suggest this descriptive term is in the eyes/ears of only the commenter. Infectious laughing on TV or anywhere else is acceptable and not the least bit "maniacal".
This commenter seems to have a malevolent attitude towards anything associated with the Prime Minister and her government which does not bode well for reasoned debate.
Anne, you should read up on psychology. In particular the body cues people use when stressed, especially when reality is at odds with a persons narrative. I have never seen Jacinda laugh like this before. But maybe you are right – maniacal may be too stronger word. How about a dignified cackle?
I would like to draw your attention to Megan Woods who seems to be more observant than you and others. Maybe she wants the top job?
''I could count the droplets of sweat forming on her eyebrows.''
I couldn't. But I can index her behaviour to past behaviour. Hence my comment. I'm only one of many who observed that strange laugh when related to the question posed.
''People see, hear, and believe what they want, as deftly demonstrated by the prosaic language in your comments.''
That is true to a certain degree. So we should go looking for facts and collaboratingevidence. My evidence is political polls, Megan Woods and other commentators who observed her laugh and commented in a similar vain. In fact there is common descriptor for that laugh Jacinda gave.
''Nervous laughter:
Nervous laughter happens for a number of reasons. Some research suggests that your body uses this sort of mechanism to regulate emotion. Other research has found that nervous laughter may be a defense mechanism against emotions that may make us feel uncomfortable. Either way, it's pretty weird to experience.''
''Ardern has dealt with much bigger fires than numpty questions that are based on trying to connect dots in a speculative manner to extract a comment.''
Again you may be right. She could have been laughing at the questioner because someone had told her the questioner was a 3 second wonder in bed. But I think that nervous laugh is going to become more common in coming months.
''Actually, I was referring to Megan Woods, and you again proved my point that you see what you want to see.''
Oh, thanks for telling me. But she's not the PM yet. Of course your hint that subjective perceptions can mean anything was addressed with objective factors to back up the many of us who, funnily enough, had the same subjective perceptions. Megan woods was auxiliary to the main actor. Sometimes you have to assume a commentator will stay with the argument without resorting to parlour tricks.
As for the rest of your comments, they are of little value. In fact they are very well crafted inanities that would lead some apparatchiks to think you are a very witty and intelligent man. I think you are, but your reply is the written equivalent of a nervous laugh against a narrative that has merit, but isn't wanted on this blog.
You asked us to direct our attention to Woods, so I did.
I personally don’t know any “parlour tricks”, unless it involves tickling.
Obviously, I’m pushing back on your narrative into more objective territory with a less biased perspective, but the Force is strong with you.
As to what is wanted on this blog, I cannot answer this; what do you want on this blog? Your user name is not as self-explanatory as you might think and there are very few actual mind readers on this site.
The kaupapa of this site is robust debate, preferably informed and rich with some original thinking and imaginative input. You have a long way to go still.
Nope, not anything means anything. If you think or believe that you’ve lost your grip on reality and you might as well wear virtual-reality googles 24/7 – we’re not as far away from that as you might think, which is why there’s so much gaslighting happening.
Which is why we [have to] do reality checks all the time, individually-collectively, by pinching others and ourselves.
She's still the most popular politician in the country. People have seen Luxon, and they don't like him. At least Key was pretty good at hiding his contempt for 70% of the public.
No need for sarcasm. I was just covering my arse in case someone accuses me of nastiness masquerading as a question. The question was genuine.
I don't think RA has thought things through. What's the point of crowing about Jacinda being the most popular polly in the country when according to polls the Tories and ACT could form a gummint if an election was held tomorrow? Of course all political parties have problems at the moment:
1- Labour – Jacinda's fading popularity and voter backlash.
2- National – ACT and their bottom line for coalition. Luxon's unlikeablity.
3-The Greens – Voter backlash and internal ructions. The rise of Chlöe Swarbrick. The decline of James Shaw.
4- The Maori Party. Voter backlash against Maori coming. Some from Maori. Allegations against John Tamihere for having his fingers in a forbidden cookie jar.
Does this chess board of moves not excite you, Incognito?
You have no sense of humour or a very short & selective memory, or both. Anywho, covering your arse is moot when you’re showing your true colours.
You say that your question was genuine, but it was followed with this:
The next question is ''so what?'' I mean that seriously.
Seriously? Do you have discussions with your parsnip? By candlelight?
You appear to live in an alternate reality judging by your 4 bullet points. Stop smoking your own dope and the fog may lift, eventually. I’m not into gaming and virtual reality, so no, it does not ‘excite’ me the slightest, but it seems to work for you!? I do like a good game of chess though, where B & W pieces mean something.
You certainly drifted a long way from the first comment in this thread about the train wreck that was the speech appearance by Liz Truss.
PS I actually like Luxon a lot, but he’s utterly shit terrible at being a politician and LOTO. He would be a shambolic PM, which is what Seymour and ACT are counting on.
Jeepers. Talking about showing ones true colours. I tried to expand on the question I asked. Your reply was filled with invective. Ironically the PS was the only decent thing you wrote. I'm sorry about straying from the topic. I thought anything went in open mike. Next time I will start a new thread.
Much and all as I truly loathe the UK Conservative Party and all they stand for, Truss must get her show together and her team must help her.
They have been elected into power until 2025.
The UK needs a strong financial industry to have a strong economy, and if that gets seriously worse it will affect trade with both Australia and New Zealand.
Also the destabilisation of about 20 million pensioners livelihoods is not cool and looks like it will continue for months.
"New Zealand’s main goods exports to the UK include meat, wine, fruit, some machinery, eggs, honey and wool – a total of NZ$1.5 billion.
The main goods imports from the UK include vehicles and parts, machinery, equipment, and pharmaceuticals – a total of NZ$1.7 billion.
There is also substantial services trade, worth NZ$2.8 billion. New Zealand services exports to the UK are dominated by travel, transport and business services."
In power to 2025. This is the problem. In a perfect world enough tories would have the courage to rebel and force another election for the good of the country. Let the public decide. No, they won't, it will never happen and that ship is sinking.
Truss had a very short list of who she was going to allow questions from – Telegraph, Sun, BBC and ITV. Shame for her that they still asked tricky questions! They all got the same scripted stilted response which bore no relation to the question – energy payments, growth, global situation… and then she scurried off.
Less tax more unemployed, what national stands for.
Although I'm on the fence on the farming tax , 8 billion people need all the food grown out on the farm at this stage ,and it's clear the left don't get it!
The only reason that the world can feed its population (not so much here in NZ, but in the first world economies) is industrial farming.
Malthus was right (for the agricultural environment in which he lived) – it is only the industrialized farming and food preservation technologies which have enabled us to support our world population with sufficient reserves to support our lifestyle. [All those XR protesters only have the resources to protest because of industrialized farming – including oil for energy – something few of them are willing to acknowledge.]
You can't shy away from it. Moving away from industrialized farming will result in food shortages, increased prices, and eventually starvation for some of the population.
Moving to sustainable industrialized farming, is another matter.
bwaghorn.8 billion people won't be feed if global warming continues to wreek havoc floods droughts and wars. Not doing anything about climate change is going to mean more people going hungry .The right continue to bury their head in the sand and blame the left for bringing it to our attention and doing something about it.
Slam frivolous emissions like tourism, would sporting fixtures, any shit people consume that isn't related to survival, destroying rural nz so we can be leaders(although I doubt any one will follow) is ridiculous
Relevant news at a time when Groundswell remains anchored in the 1950's. It's never been better for farmers. Never a nod in the direction of the government for helping prop up the trading conditions leading to these results.
‘’We’ve never been more profitable – we’ve seen increases year-on-year,’’ Surveyor said.
Groundswell remains anchored in the 1950's.
Absolutely. Only the Tractors have changed ! And they are organising yet another Tractor protest. Probably with accompaniment anti Jacinda ( pretty communist etc etc) placards
People should read your…and other links, and, well…just look at the Tractors, not hard to see who is doing well.
FYI…of course there is a separate group of Farmers..who dont support the groundswell dino's. And clearly see the Future. Our Earth's heating !…and they are trying to change others mindset. Problem is the aforesaid groundswellers mind.. set is in concrete.
Farming culture is the ultimate echo chamber. Generally the only social contact a farmer has is his family (generally farmers) and other farmers. It's rare that someone without a farming background will be employed on a farm so it goes on. It's a world quite separate to the rest of society. Agreement and conformity are prioritised over rational thought, or even just thought.
When that insular, but also rather secure world is questioned by wider society, and the environment they rely on keep farming, it is a direct threat to their wellbeing.
Don't expect a rational response.
There's also a huge international industry that's dependant on the individual farmer's cashflow to supply their tractors, irrigators, fertiliser, seed, feed, genetics and the myriad of other inputs that go in to a farm. On this side it's a bit more intelligent and rational, but the money is huge and international, most inputs aren't in $NZ.
I hear you. I've worked Urban and Rural. Quite varied jobs. With the Rural…a lot of VERY Nice people. And mostly.. pretty laidback. But definitely when its "them" against Us (Rural folk), Stand Together becomes the prime directive. And in times of strife absolutely ..prime. However those times include drought…which is only going to get worse as we continue Earth heating. Farmers need to see this. Pouring water on grass , to make milk…is so past its use by.
I do see some of their bewilderment ? frustration? but I still think they need to see a big picture.
Got a feeling the protest will be a bit of a shitshow. Last time round the organisers had to impose a list of approved messages for participants, and that was before the Wellington riot. There's a lot of maniacs out there looking to latch onto the next thing, so expect to see them trying to worm their way into this latest Groundswell tantrum.
For sure. Hitchin' their anti: Guvmint/Maori/Three Waters/5G/Vaccination/U.N./etc etc; wagons to the flash tractors.
And yea re "the "list of approved messages for participants" thats only a fob…IMO it'll be full on for sure. Hopefully they are seen for what they are.
One of Auckland mayor Wayne Brown's resignation targets has pushed back, telling staff of the council development arm Eke Panuku that any call for change will have to come from the full council.
Thats the way of these bullies. Hopefully all those being "pressured" to resign (and DON'T want to) can get the support they need to hang in there. Council's, along with ALL NZ workplaces have anti bully systems set in law. Sadly never much adhered to….BUT. Still there to be used.
The Chair of Panuku is himself a bully, who has wielded his power over iwi and other groups for too long. The entire Board of Panuku is under investigation for conflicts of interest. Brown is taking on powerful corporate interests and not before time.
"The chair countered Brown's line that the agency was a "property developer".
"The nature of urban regeneration, as opposed to property development, is to invest in the future of Tāmaki Makaurau which is why we have a Wynyard Quarter and emerging centres such as Northcote, Avondale, Takapuna, Panmure and Manukau," he said.
"The creation of thriving town centres and support for the Council group has never been more important following the ongoing impacts of the Covid years," he said."
Anyone who thinks that either Takapuna or Northcote are 'thriving town centres' is invited to visit them. Apart from the large number of restaurants in Takapuna (anecdotally, hearing that many of them are struggling), business is dire. Central Northcote is one massive building site – as high-rise apartment buildings are constructed all around the existing scruffy town centre (plans for revitalizing this are still on the drawing board – and may never eventuate with a different council with different priorities).
No doubt people who are familiar with the other Auckland suburbs quoted can comment on the truthfulness of that remark, where they are concerned.
The opportunity to make submissions on this proposal runs until 18 November.
It's important that we have our say, but if the depth of the submission process intimidates the Greens have a guide:
The Government wants feedback on its proposal to:
Price emissions at the farm-level from 2025, with a levy on methane output. The levy price would be set by Cabinet, informed by the advice of the Climate Change Commission
If the farm-level levy is not operational in time for 2025, use an interim processor-level levy for likely no more than two years
The Government also wants public views on some aspects of emissions pricing, including:
Whether it should investigate tradable methane quotas, where the market would be determined by the total amount of pollution permitted each year (the preferred option of Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw)
Whether nitrogen fertiliser should be part of the ETS, or covered by the levy system
How to account for on-farm sequestration within a system for pricing agricultural emissions
How it can best protect the interests of iwi, hapū and Māori, and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, during the development of agricultural emissions pricing
I really don't get why we have a capitalist solution i.e. trading schemes to solve what essentially is market failure to protect our environment.
Regulation to simply restrict seems much more sensible and straight forward.
Limit the areas you can dairy in, reduce the herd sizes, set maximum herd sizes per land area linked to land quality, reduce irrigation required to make dairying viable in previously non dairying areas and so on. Imagine if we had taken such an approach to abolishing slavery. For every slave you have you can employ someone else to offset them. Yep that would work.
I really don't get why we have a capitalist solution i.e. trading schemes to solve what essentially is market failure to protect our environment.
Because of the Labour party. In 2014 the Greens campaigned on phasing out the ETS for a carbon tax:
Labour, the Greens' prospective coalition partner, introduced emissions trading in the first place, and its finance spokesperson David Parker wants the scheme retained.
"We're happy to consider (the Green Party's) alternative but we do note we favour an Emissions Trading Scheme as opposed to a carbon tax."
Since Labour remain adhered to the 'market-based' solutions the Greens have to push them to make that market system as effective as is possible. I'm sure your comment would be an appropriate general comment in a submission.
New Zealand’s arts council has pulled funding for a Shakespeare festival that has been running in secondary schools for roughly three decades, after questioning its relevance to the country and because it focuses on “a canon of imperialism”.
Dog forbid they should have to apply to a different funding programme.
The rejection letter said the centre would be able to apply for funding under Creative NZ’s annual arts grants programme, and it may “do better financially” under that scheme.
Yes Joe 90, but it was the reason for cutting the funding. Shakespeare's genre is apparently located in a "canon of imperialism". FFS. Politicizing the greatest playright of all times. Someone who wrote so very meaningfully about human nature. The irony.
Also there is nothing to say applying to another branch of Creative NZ will be successful.
They are making NZ look like a cultural backwater.
It has not been funded because it is competing against other requests for funding and has this time missed out.
Is there an expectation it gets funded forever and others miss out? The overall context is missing – how many applications were received, what was the oversubscription, what actually did get funded? Do we expect that their is competition for limited funding or the same organisations get funded every year?
There is a good point in the commentary.
“Wouldn’t it be great if young people could come home and say, ‘Hey, Mum, Dad, I just found this story and it’s really similar to Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. It’s Romeo and Juliet’.”
I love Shakespeare and think it should continue to be taught in schools but don't believe it has any right to be so taught – any more than while I love the education I got at school on the Edwardian era or WWII or on asplenium ferns or The Bluebird of Happiness has any right to continue.
Management-speak and over justifying is a problem in this country – just say that the requests for funding were oversubscribed and you missed out. Adding gobbledy-gook to the explanation leads to this sort of nonsense.
I'm much more interested in what was funded instead of. Might be some really cool innovative stuff in there.
So, you found old news from a month ago in an overseas rag that set off your woke detector and decided to be outraged. Clearly, you haven’t studied Shakespeare enough:
To be outraged, or not to be outraged, that’s no question
You must've missed the bit a couple of the members of the arts council commented that the organisation was “quite paternalistic” and that the genre was “located within a canon of imperialism and missed the opportunity to create a living curriculum and show relevance”.
One assessor said the application made them “question whether a singular focus on an Elizabethan playwright is most relevant for a decolonising Aotearoa in the 2020s and beyond”.
Frankly whenever I read such trite nonsense I'm left with the impression that the people populating these public funded councils are a pack if asshats.
I know how much it grates when your application is turned down and you received feedback that contains irksome comments. Most if not all Public Good funders have a complaint process; constructive criticism is generally welcomed with positive response.
According to data released in August, Creative NZ received a total of 13 complaints in the 2021/22 year, one of which was upheld. Two complaints were upheld in the 2020/21 year, and none were upheld in 2019/20.
Top Ak University Professor of English slams Creative NZ's Shakespeare decision. And apparently criticism from abroad too. Embarrasing.
Actually its not that some groups that apply for funding are turned down, that is all part of the process. Its the embarrasing rationale for cutting the funding. I mean the canon of imperialism? FFS
Is it just coincidence that geopolitically we have two major actors trying to replicate the past?
Putin wants to rebuild the Russian empire and be tsar.
Xi in China seems to be wanting to rebuild the hierarchy to the days of the Emperor. Total control over every aspect of life handed down from the court.
In both cases control over the local population is relatively easy as neither have a history of any form of democratic governance.
Western society may well just have to watch this play out internally. And use the rules based order to mitigate the worst effects on neighbours.
Former President Donald Trump is calling on the Pulitzer Prize Board to revoke prizes awarded to the New York Times and Washington Post in 2018 for their coverage of the Russia investigation, threatening legal action if they do not comply.
In a letter to Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller, Trump noted that he twice previously made the request, stating that the reporting on the years-long probe was based on false information.
"There is no dispute that the Pulitzer Board's award to those media outlets was based on false and fabricated information that they published," the former president said. "The continuing publication and recognition of the prizes on the Board's website is a distortion of fact and a personal defamation that will result in the filing of litigation if the Board cannot be persuaded to do the right thing on its own."
AP report on fascists doing what fascists always do; abducting kids, sending them to Russia or Russian-held territories, telling them they weren’t wanted by their parents and giving them to Russian families.
Disgusting.
Thousands of children have been found in the basements of war-torn cities like Mariupol and at orphanages in the Russian-backed separatist territories of Donbas. They include those whose parents were killed by Russian shelling as well as others in institutions or with foster families, known as “children of the state.”
[…]
The investigation is the most extensive to date on the grab of Ukrainian children, and the first to follow the process all the way to those already growing up in Russia. The AP drew from dozens of interviews with parents, children and officials in both Ukraine and Russia; emails and letters; Russian documents and Russian state media.
Both top tax brackets raise little actual revenue in the wider scheme of things, as they have been set so high as to capture only a small slice of the population who can comfortably be described as “rich” without anyone raising their heckles. (my emph.)
Now is he making a rather straightforward pun or a cryptic gag at the NZ accent's expense? Because as we all know, the G woudn't allow such a malapropism to pass without some deeper reason.
I am not sure why this has been directed at me….but here goes…..
I don't think he is being clever or punny. I do think he is ungrammatical or not using the phrase as it is used normally used and I cannot make sense of what he is trying to say. Some writers have trouble with the passive voice, and with using commonplace phrases, he has struggled with he/she/their.
It would make more sense quite apart from the heckles/hackles mistake if he used the phrase in its normal way.
without anyone raising their heckles.
without raising anyone's hackles Correct.
'or cause someone or some people to be upset ' MerriamWebster Dictionary
And I don't agree with his premise. I think if we taxed the higher rates more then we could lower the rates for those on lower incomes. Any kind of extra income given to those on lower incomes allows a better lifestyle. It also stimulates the economy as it is often spent. Any kind of extra income given to those on higher incomes often leads to more being spent on trips overseas where someone else's economy benefits etc.
I saw someone describing ‘a shot across the boughs’ recently which had me thinking of people firing into trees…..why?
The Waitakere Licensing Trust is a useful foray into governance experience of a really large local asset. Mark is on the Green side of the Labour-Green ticket, and was previously Council staff, and also runs a welfare organisation on the North Shore. He will be a good fit for the Trusts.
Sometimes the determinant in politics is: who shows up. Mark did.
It was no reflection on Mark but one on the Trusts, which I have mixed feelings about. I think he’ll do a better than average job, which is a rare bonus nowadays. Genuine political engagement seems to be on a downward slide on all levels but particularly on the so-called lower ones 🙁
Talking of things British. This take on the real Winston Churchill, and the cult of Churchill, by Tariq Ali, is apt. Of course Ali being coloured, and some of his hypocrisy's must be taken into consideration. But for the most part he nails it. Churchill was probably one of the most reviled men of his times. I could never understand why he was so lauded in the colonies. At least that's the impression I have. It's funny how Churchill’s blatant racism is condemned nowdays. And even decades before. But modern racism is acceptable by all except that perpetrated by white men.
"What is the use of living, if it not be to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?” – Sir Winston Churchill
Empty words? Maybe, but laudable empty words nevertheless, spoken by a man of his time who was no less complex than me and thee.
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Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
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I suppose over the years I've seen hundreds of press conferences by politicians. This morning might have been the very worst (and I even watched some of Trump's!).
Every idiot who has grumbled about our PM's press conferences ("Jessica, Tova") should see the British PM in action. Compare and contrast. Seriously, words can't describe how bad it was. And she gave up after 4 questions.
Train wreck? No. People can survive train wrecks.
She also gave virtually the same non-answer to each question.
Jacinda is in a different class to any bumbling tory!
There's no question that Ardern is a far far better communicator than Liz Truss.
She does however provide similar inane and down right nonsense in response to questions which is an all too familiar trait of politicians throughout the world.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/476386/local-body-elections-pm-jacinda-ardern-on-left-s-losses
I'd also suggest that the UK media are considerably tougher, more well informed and less star struck by politicians than virtually all of their counterparts in NZ.
Higherstandard, yet those hard headed British journalists rate Jacinda Ardern. You're dissing her while she was pointing out that although some Mayors had changed many had not, and voters were disadvantaged by late receipt of papers, and a patchy mail service. Now that may or may not be pertinent.
Some contests were very close (Gore) and others a name draw between two candidates. So to say there was a wide spread swing away is hyperbole. Auckland showed a big swing back to their usual BAU. No surprise there.
If anything has changed after the Pandemic, it is support for the far right Act and silent support. It is alarming to see this, and see notice given by the group who wish to "make NZ ungovernable" that they intend to infiltrate the Councils and Boards. Some now have members with some mighty strange affiliations.
Yet you still talk as though Jacinda Ardern is responsible for this, when a wish for "different outcomes" is shaking a right wing British government and Left wing parties appear to be favoured by a 30% majority in Britain, Truss has thrown a friend to the wolves, as she discovers that people feel angry and threatened, inside her team and countrywide.
The inflation Genie and War is wreaking havoc. Change will come ready or not imo. The Fire economy begins again? I hope we realise letting the rich mop up mortgagee sales is the wrong medicine. Otherwise it is back to BAU.
Perhaps you should listen to Ardern's response to questions from Espiner about a certain ex minister moving into the public relations field …from about the 6 minute mark.
The PM's comments are frankly absurd.
Start a new thread if you have something to say about another topic.
"I refute the premise of that question" = I do not want to answer that.
When the basis of a question is loaded or flawed… why would the PM go there? Are you denying her a human right to not answer?
Every time I have heard Ardern use the response:
"I refute the premise of that question"
the question has been so outrageously biased and wrong in its conception, that it surprises me she doesn't respond in much stronger terms. Perhaps its time to roll back at the questioner in a similar mode.
Oops: Peter beat me to it. 🙂
Jacinda is a far better communicator than Liz Truss. She is far better at saying a lot without answering the question asked.
Not just about being a better communicator. It's about basic respect and accountability.
Ardern's Beehive press conferences last up to an hour, minimum 30 mins. Count the number of questions taken, with follow-ups allowed.
You can go back through 5 years of these, and you will be hard pressed to find any instances of Ardern walking out after 4 minutes of questions.
Whether you like the answers will obviously depend on our various political leanings, that's inevitably subjective. But measuring time and numbers is not a matter of opinion, it's measurable maths. She fronts up, and the reporters – all of them – have every chance to ask whatever they want, and do.
If you refute the premise of a question, which is reasonable position to take, is it best to say "I refute the premise of that question" or "You are talking crap, I'm not going to dignify it with an answer"? Especially when it is patently obvious the questioner is grandstanding, playing games trying to put the person under pressure, not seeking some grand elucidation.
Or maybe the response, rather than a rejection of the premise, is a churlish "You journalists are all the same." Which would be followed by the adoring supporters saying, "God, that Muldoon showed them who was boss."
To refute an accusation is to prove it is false.
To deny an accusation is to merely assert it is false.
[Usage and Abusage, Penguin Reference Books, 1947 p 262.]
JA confuses the two, as do many reporters,
@Jester. Whenever the PM refutes the premise of a question, she explains why and often in detail.
No she doesn't. She refutes it and moves to the next question to avoid it.
Nope. She moves onto the next question because the previous question is either disingenuous or the questioner is attempting to undermine her by way of introducing a clearly false premise.
The vindictivejournalist, Barry Soper is renowned for the latter.
shitThe PM does nothing of the sort, you're incorrect Jester. Suggest you watch question time.
How many times has Jacinda Ardern rejected the premise of the question? – YouTube
A highly edited political hit job doesn't prove your opinion Jester. Looks like you have never watched question time, nor media standups in their entirety,
Yeah, it was a terrible speech. The Tories made a mistake with that one. She has the personality of a brick wall, and not much else. But Tony, when you say: ''Jacinda is in a different class to any bumbling tory,!'' you are showing
the type of political blindness that is sending our Labour Party to the opposition benches for a very long time. Why are you worried about Liz Truss? If the recent forced maniacal laughter from Jacinda when asked a question recently is anything to go by, we have more pressing issues closer to home. And let's not forget we have the leaders debates coming up. Luxon is spoilt for options to attack Jacinda with. Much is made of Luxon's ignorance and bumblings during interviews. That's all true. But the reality is, Luxon only needs to put on a half decent show. Jacinda needs to put on a performance that would rival the Gettysburg Address.
Oh dear, so because Jacinda Ardern laughed out loud about something she is "maniacal"? Well I suggest this descriptive term is in the eyes/ears of only the commenter. Infectious laughing on TV or anywhere else is acceptable and not the least bit "maniacal".
This commenter seems to have a malevolent attitude towards anything associated with the Prime Minister and her government which does not bode well for reasoned debate.
"Maniacal" ? Ya gotta wonder….must be very dark inside that part of the rabbit warren.
It's the new shrill.
Anne, you should read up on psychology. In particular the body cues people use when stressed, especially when reality is at odds with a persons narrative. I have never seen Jacinda laugh like this before. But maybe you are right – maniacal may be too stronger word. How about a dignified cackle?
I would like to draw your attention to Megan Woods who seems to be more observant than you and others. Maybe she wants the top job?
https://twitter.com/dahmenaaron/status/1579256374172602369
I could count the droplets of sweat forming on her eyebrows
People see, hear, and believe what they want, as deftly demonstrated by the prosaic language in your comments.
Ardern has dealt with much bigger fires than numpty questions that are based on trying to connect dots in a speculative manner to extract a comment.
''I could count the droplets of sweat forming on her eyebrows.''
I couldn't. But I can index her behaviour to past behaviour. Hence my comment. I'm only one of many who observed that strange laugh when related to the question posed.
''People see, hear, and believe what they want, as deftly demonstrated by the prosaic language in your comments.''
That is true to a certain degree. So we should go looking for facts and collaborating evidence. My evidence is political polls, Megan Woods and other commentators who observed her laugh and commented in a similar vain. In fact there is common descriptor for that laugh Jacinda gave.
''Nervous laughter:
Nervous laughter happens for a number of reasons. Some research suggests that your body uses this sort of mechanism to regulate emotion. Other research has found that nervous laughter may be a defense mechanism against emotions that may make us feel uncomfortable. Either way, it's pretty weird to experience.''
''Ardern has dealt with much bigger fires than numpty questions that are based on trying to connect dots in a speculative manner to extract a comment.''
Again you may be right. She could have been laughing at the questioner because someone had told her the questioner was a 3 second wonder in bed. But I think that nervous laugh is going to become more common in coming months.
Actually, I as referring to Megan Woods, and you again proved my point that you see what you want to see.
I missed the comment of Woods on that interview, BTW. Or were you mind-reading her too?
Are you a laughing expert by any chance? Nice quote, but no link
Never met a “3 second wonder in bed”; is that about tickling?
I will watch out for nervous laughter in coming months and let it
cloudguide my thinking and ultimately my vote.''Actually, I was referring to Megan Woods, and you again proved my point that you see what you want to see.''
Oh, thanks for telling me. But she's not the PM yet. Of course your hint that subjective perceptions can mean anything was addressed with objective factors to back up the many of us who, funnily enough, had the same subjective perceptions. Megan woods was auxiliary to the main actor. Sometimes you have to assume a commentator will stay with the argument without resorting to parlour tricks.
As for the rest of your comments, they are of little value. In fact they are very well crafted inanities that would lead some apparatchiks to think you are a very witty and intelligent man. I think you are, but your reply is the written equivalent of a nervous laugh against a narrative that has merit, but isn't wanted on this blog.
You asked us to direct our attention to Woods, so I did.
I personally don’t know any “parlour tricks”, unless it involves tickling.
Obviously, I’m pushing back on your narrative into more objective territory with a less biased perspective, but the Force is strong with you.
As to what is wanted on this blog, I cannot answer this; what do you want on this blog? Your user name is not as self-explanatory as you might think and there are very few actual mind readers on this site.
The kaupapa of this site is robust debate, preferably informed and rich with some original thinking and imaginative input. You have a long way to go still.
You, sir (?) are a concern troll. Your non de plume should be better as Ex Socialist.
Concern troll is very apt. Labour has blown a gift bestowed on us from Winston Peters. We forgot how lucky we were.
''Your non de plume should be better as Ex Socialist.''
I decided to leave the the E out for brevity. However as Incognito has shown – anything can mean anything.
Nope, not anything means anything. If you think or believe that you’ve lost your grip on reality and you might as well wear virtual-reality googles 24/7 – we’re not as far away from that as you might think, which is why there’s so much gaslighting happening.
Which is why we [have to] do reality checks all the time, individually-collectively, by pinching others and ourselves.
Do "body cues" include eyebrows? Imho, your comment reads like sour grapes. 'Critiquing' our PM for having a laugh is weak ‘dirt‘ – Nanny next?
Just dire…
Given some of the non-Labour people who won in the local body elections, I would say it is to Labour's advantage for the next election.
She's still the most popular politician in the country. People have seen Luxon, and they don't like him. At least Key was pretty good at hiding his contempt for 70% of the public.
Three taut true sentences
''She's still the most popular politician in the country''
That's a fact according to the polls. But, her popularity is declining along with that of Luxons. Is there a common denominator?
The next question is ''so what?'' I mean that seriously.
Oh, how we laughed!
No need for sarcasm. I was just covering my arse in case someone accuses me of nastiness masquerading as a question. The question was genuine.
I don't think RA has thought things through. What's the point of crowing about Jacinda being the most popular polly in the country when according to polls the Tories and ACT could form a gummint if an election was held tomorrow? Of course all political parties have problems at the moment:
1- Labour – Jacinda's fading popularity and voter backlash.
2- National – ACT and their bottom line for coalition. Luxon's unlikeablity.
3-The Greens – Voter backlash and internal ructions. The rise of Chlöe Swarbrick. The decline of James Shaw.
4- The Maori Party. Voter backlash against Maori coming. Some from Maori. Allegations against John Tamihere for having his fingers in a forbidden cookie jar.
Does this chess board of moves not excite you, Incognito?
You have no sense of humour or a very short & selective memory, or both. Anywho, covering your arse is moot when you’re showing your true colours.
You say that your question was genuine, but it was followed with this:
Seriously? Do you have discussions with your parsnip? By candlelight?
You appear to live in an alternate reality judging by your 4 bullet points. Stop smoking your own dope and the fog may lift, eventually. I’m not into gaming and virtual reality, so no, it does not ‘excite’ me the slightest, but it seems to work for you!? I do like a good game of chess though, where B & W pieces mean something.
You certainly drifted a long way from the first comment in this thread about the train wreck that was the
speechappearance by Liz Truss.PS I actually like Luxon a lot, but he’s
utterly shitterrible at being a politician and LOTO. He would be a shambolic PM, which is what Seymour and ACT are counting on.Jeepers. Talking about showing ones true colours. I tried to expand on the question I asked. Your reply was filled with invective. Ironically the PS was the only decent thing you wrote. I'm sorry about straying from the topic. I thought anything went in open mike. Next time I will start a new thread.
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZv9CYhppdY
Much and all as I truly loathe the UK Conservative Party and all they stand for, Truss must get her show together and her team must help her.
They have been elected into power until 2025.
The UK needs a strong financial industry to have a strong economy, and if that gets seriously worse it will affect trade with both Australia and New Zealand.
Also the destabilisation of about 20 million pensioners livelihoods is not cool and looks like it will continue for months.
Truss must get her show together.
what's the main trade between NZ and the UK?
"New Zealand’s main goods exports to the UK include meat, wine, fruit, some machinery, eggs, honey and wool – a total of NZ$1.5 billion.
The main goods imports from the UK include vehicles and parts, machinery, equipment, and pharmaceuticals – a total of NZ$1.7 billion.
There is also substantial services trade, worth NZ$2.8 billion. New Zealand services exports to the UK are dominated by travel, transport and business services."
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/new-zealand-united-kingdom-free-trade-agreement/key-facts-on-new-zealand-united-kingdom-trade/
In power to 2025. This is the problem. In a perfect world enough tories would have the courage to rebel and force another election for the good of the country. Let the public decide. No, they won't, it will never happen and that ship is sinking.
The pommie rags are brutal.
https://twitter.com/dailystar/status/1580830837331087361
Just started watching and couldn't get past,
because I started laughing.
I did better than that – got as far as the next few words,
before hitting the stop button.
Truss had a very short list of who she was going to allow questions from – Telegraph, Sun, BBC and ITV. Shame for her that they still asked tricky questions! They all got the same scripted stilted response which bore no relation to the question – energy payments, growth, global situation… and then she scurried off.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/130076736/here-are-the-economic-policies-national-says-it-will-cull
Less tax more unemployed, what national stands for.
Although I'm on the fence on the farming tax , 8 billion people need all the food grown out on the farm at this stage ,and it's clear the left don't get it!
We should only sell our food to the highest priced buyer.
More Waitrose and a whole less Aldi.
Mass industrial agricultural anything is no use to New Zealand.
So the rest compete with the wealthy for the food? Come again!!
I do agree about industrial farming, but not for the above reason.
The only reason that the world can feed its population (not so much here in NZ, but in the first world economies) is industrial farming.
Malthus was right (for the agricultural environment in which he lived) – it is only the industrialized farming and food preservation technologies which have enabled us to support our world population with sufficient reserves to support our lifestyle. [All those XR protesters only have the resources to protest because of industrialized farming – including oil for energy – something few of them are willing to acknowledge.]
You can't shy away from it. Moving away from industrialized farming will result in food shortages, increased prices, and eventually starvation for some of the population.
Moving to sustainable industrialized farming, is another matter.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-malthus-predicted-1798-food-shortages/
Most compete already for our food, and that competition is how our country has paid for most of our social democracy for a century.
Welcome to the world of sales.
bwaghorn.8 billion people won't be feed if global warming continues to wreek havoc floods droughts and wars. Not doing anything about climate change is going to mean more people going hungry .The right continue to bury their head in the sand and blame the left for bringing it to our attention and doing something about it.
I never said we shouldn't do anything about cc,
Slam frivolous emissions like tourism, would sporting fixtures, any shit people consume that isn't related to survival, destroying rural nz so we can be leaders(although I doubt any one will follow) is ridiculous
Relevant news at a time when Groundswell remains anchored in the 1950's. It's never been better for farmers. Never a nod in the direction of the government for helping prop up the trading conditions leading to these results.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/130159725/alliance-group-records-most-profitable-year-to-date
Absolutely. Only the Tractors have changed ! And they are organising yet another Tractor protest. Probably with accompaniment anti Jacinda ( pretty communist etc etc) placards
People should read your…and other links, and, well…just look at the Tractors, not hard to see who is doing well.
FYI…of course there is a separate group of Farmers..who dont support the groundswell dino's. And clearly see the Future. Our Earth's heating !…and they are trying to change others mindset. Problem is the aforesaid groundswellers mind.. set is in concrete.
Farming culture is the ultimate echo chamber. Generally the only social contact a farmer has is his family (generally farmers) and other farmers. It's rare that someone without a farming background will be employed on a farm so it goes on. It's a world quite separate to the rest of society. Agreement and conformity are prioritised over rational thought, or even just thought.
When that insular, but also rather secure world is questioned by wider society, and the environment they rely on keep farming, it is a direct threat to their wellbeing.
Don't expect a rational response.
There's also a huge international industry that's dependant on the individual farmer's cashflow to supply their tractors, irrigators, fertiliser, seed, feed, genetics and the myriad of other inputs that go in to a farm. On this side it's a bit more intelligent and rational, but the money is huge and international, most inputs aren't in $NZ.
Going to be a bit of a ride.
I hear you. I've worked Urban and Rural. Quite varied jobs. With the Rural…a lot of VERY Nice people. And mostly.. pretty laidback. But definitely when its "them" against Us (Rural folk), Stand Together becomes the prime directive. And in times of strife absolutely ..prime. However those times include drought…which is only going to get worse as we continue Earth heating. Farmers need to see this. Pouring water on grass , to make milk…is so past its use by.
I do see some of their bewilderment ? frustration? but I still think they need to see a big picture.
There's nothing quite like a Taranaki cockie telling you about how
farm succession planninghard work got him into his prime >350ha dairy unit.On his stolen peppercorn lease land.
Got a feeling the protest will be a bit of a shitshow. Last time round the organisers had to impose a list of approved messages for participants, and that was before the Wellington riot. There's a lot of maniacs out there looking to latch onto the next thing, so expect to see them trying to worm their way into this latest Groundswell tantrum.
For sure. Hitchin' their anti: Guvmint/Maori/Three Waters/5G/Vaccination/U.N./etc etc; wagons to the flash tractors.
And yea re "the "list of approved messages for participants" thats only a fob…IMO it'll be full on for sure. Hopefully they are seen for what they are.
The King…….Ah MAYOR , Wayne Brown,stymied.
Awesome. Nothing better than bullies getting…pushback : )
Wonder if Ol' Wayne has any urinal pictures planned for him?
I'm sure Wayne will be….fuming.
He will use this interregnum moment to the full until the committee structure is formed
Thats the way of these bullies. Hopefully all those being "pressured" to resign (and DON'T want to) can get the support they need to hang in there. Council's, along with ALL NZ workplaces have anti bully systems set in law. Sadly never much adhered to….BUT. Still there to be used.
The Chair of Panuku is himself a bully, who has wielded his power over iwi and other groups for too long. The entire Board of Panuku is under investigation for conflicts of interest. Brown is taking on powerful corporate interests and not before time.
lol.
I support what Eke Panuku is doing. Strong Towns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_SXXTBypIg
Anyone who thinks that either Takapuna or Northcote are 'thriving town centres' is invited to visit them. Apart from the large number of restaurants in Takapuna (anecdotally, hearing that many of them are struggling), business is dire. Central Northcote is one massive building site – as high-rise apartment buildings are constructed all around the existing scruffy town centre (plans for revitalizing this are still on the drawing board – and may never eventuate with a different council with different priorities).
No doubt people who are familiar with the other Auckland suburbs quoted can comment on the truthfulness of that remark, where they are concerned.
Most smart politicians do.
The Government has a published a consultation document: Te tātai utu o ngā tukunga ahuwhenua Pricing agricultural emissions.
The opportunity to make submissions on this proposal runs until 18 November.
It's important that we have our say, but if the depth of the submission process intimidates the Greens have a guide:
https://action.greens.org.nz/submission_guide_he_waka_eke_noa
I really don't get why we have a capitalist solution i.e. trading schemes to solve what essentially is market failure to protect our environment.
Regulation to simply restrict seems much more sensible and straight forward.
Limit the areas you can dairy in, reduce the herd sizes, set maximum herd sizes per land area linked to land quality, reduce irrigation required to make dairying viable in previously non dairying areas and so on. Imagine if we had taken such an approach to abolishing slavery. For every slave you have you can employ someone else to offset them. Yep that would work.
Because of the Labour party. In 2014 the Greens campaigned on phasing out the ETS for a carbon tax:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/246114/greens-sticking-with-carbon-tax-policy
Since Labour remain adhered to the 'market-based' solutions the Greens have to push them to make that market system as effective as is possible. I'm sure your comment would be an appropriate general comment in a submission.
Best comedy ever.
#RIPRobbieColtrane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOSYiT2iG08
very good.
https://twitter.com/hughlaurie/status/1580991212118429696
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/trans-activist-trolls-target-robbie-28243779
TRA's troll Robbie Coltrane after his tragic death because he supported J K Rowling.
Not nice people
Some woke nonsense for a Saturday morning.
New Zealand’s arts council has pulled funding for a Shakespeare festival that has been running in secondary schools for roughly three decades, after questioning its relevance to the country and because it focuses on “a canon of imperialism”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/14/new-zealand-pulls-funding-for-school-sheilah-winn-shakespeare-festival-citing-canon-of-imperialism
Dog forbid they should have to apply to a different funding programme.
The rejection letter said the centre would be able to apply for funding under Creative NZ’s annual arts grants programme, and it may “do better financially” under that scheme.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/129904808/to-fund-or-not-to-fund-shakespeare-centres-funding-axed-by-creative-nz
Yes Joe 90, but it was the reason for cutting the funding. Shakespeare's genre is apparently located in a "canon of imperialism". FFS. Politicizing the greatest playright of all times. Someone who wrote so very meaningfully about human nature. The irony.
Also there is nothing to say applying to another branch of Creative NZ will be successful.
They are making NZ look like a cultural backwater.
It has not been funded because it is competing against other requests for funding and has this time missed out.
Is there an expectation it gets funded forever and others miss out? The overall context is missing – how many applications were received, what was the oversubscription, what actually did get funded? Do we expect that their is competition for limited funding or the same organisations get funded every year?
There is a good point in the commentary.
“Wouldn’t it be great if young people could come home and say, ‘Hey, Mum, Dad, I just found this story and it’s really similar to Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. It’s Romeo and Juliet’.”
I love Shakespeare and think it should continue to be taught in schools but don't believe it has any right to be so taught – any more than while I love the education I got at school on the Edwardian era or WWII or on asplenium ferns or The Bluebird of Happiness has any right to continue.
Management-speak and over justifying is a problem in this country – just say that the requests for funding were oversubscribed and you missed out. Adding gobbledy-gook to the explanation leads to this sort of nonsense.
I'm much more interested in what was funded instead of. Might be some really cool innovative stuff in there.
So, you found old news from a month ago in an overseas rag that set off your woke detector and decided to be outraged. Clearly, you haven’t studied Shakespeare enough:
To be outraged, or not to be outraged, that’s no question
You must've missed the bit a couple of the members of the arts council commented that the organisation was “quite paternalistic” and that the genre was “located within a canon of imperialism and missed the opportunity to create a living curriculum and show relevance”.
One assessor said the application made them “question whether a singular focus on an Elizabethan playwright is most relevant for a decolonising Aotearoa in the 2020s and beyond”.
Frankly whenever I read such trite nonsense I'm left with the impression that the people populating these public funded councils are a pack if asshats.
Once the smoke in front of your eyes has cleared and the brain fog has lifted, you could have a quick look at how grant applications are assessed:
https://creativenz.govt.nz/Funds-and-opportunities/Find-opportunities/Arts-Grants#how-applications-are-assessed
I know how much it grates when your application is turned down and you received feedback that contains irksome comments. Most if not all Public Good funders have a complaint process; constructive criticism is generally welcomed with positive response.
https://creativenz.govt.nz/About-Creative-NZ/Making-a-complaint
From the link in joe90’s comment @ 7.1.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/top-auckland-uni-english-professor-slams-move-to-defund-shakespeare-festival/XUVOXKLOKEB6BG5IFKNANXY4EQ/?c_id=1&objectid=12558920
Top Ak University Professor of English slams Creative NZ's Shakespeare decision. And apparently criticism from abroad too. Embarrasing.
Actually its not that some groups that apply for funding are turned down, that is all part of the process. Its the embarrasing rationale for cutting the funding. I mean the canon of imperialism? FFS
A Stuff reporter (no doubt with a grant application in the offing) is celebrating the decision.
I guess they all think they're more insightful than Kurosawa. Casuals.
Argh Stuff. The Wolsey of the woke
Is it just coincidence that geopolitically we have two major actors trying to replicate the past?
Putin wants to rebuild the Russian empire and be tsar.
Xi in China seems to be wanting to rebuild the hierarchy to the days of the Emperor. Total control over every aspect of life handed down from the court.
In both cases control over the local population is relatively easy as neither have a history of any form of democratic governance.
Western society may well just have to watch this play out internally. And use the rules based order to mitigate the worst effects on neighbours.
Which is what we are doing.
So much whining..
Former President Donald Trump is calling on the Pulitzer Prize Board to revoke prizes awarded to the New York Times and Washington Post in 2018 for their coverage of the Russia investigation, threatening legal action if they do not comply.
In a letter to Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller, Trump noted that he twice previously made the request, stating that the reporting on the years-long probe was based on false information.
"There is no dispute that the Pulitzer Board's award to those media outlets was based on false and fabricated information that they published," the former president said. "The continuing publication and recognition of the prizes on the Board's website is a distortion of fact and a personal defamation that will result in the filing of litigation if the Board cannot be persuaded to do the right thing on its own."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-threatens-pulitzer-committee-legal-action-russia-probe-coverage
AP report on fascists doing what fascists always do; abducting kids, sending them to Russia or Russian-held territories, telling them they weren’t wanted by their parents and giving them to Russian families.
Disgusting.
Thousands of children have been found in the basements of war-torn cities like Mariupol and at orphanages in the Russian-backed separatist territories of Donbas. They include those whose parents were killed by Russian shelling as well as others in institutions or with foster families, known as “children of the state.”
[…]
The investigation is the most extensive to date on the grab of Ukrainian children, and the first to follow the process all the way to those already growing up in Russia. The AP drew from dozens of interviews with parents, children and officials in both Ukraine and Russia; emails and letters; Russian documents and Russian state media.
https://apnews.com/article/ukrainian-children-russia-7493cb22c9086c6293c1ac7986d85ef6?
Kazakhstan told him to jam it. Nek minit….
https://twitter.com/Peter__Leonard/status/1581017812264398848
3 million Tajiks living and working in Russia because conditions are so much better than their home country may have a different take
Poots' mana has slipped. He looks weaker and it's like blood in the water.
Here's one for Shanreagh and Swordfish.
Henry Cooke writes in the Guardian:
Now is he making a rather straightforward pun or a cryptic gag at the NZ accent's expense? Because as we all know, the G woudn't allow such a malapropism to pass without some deeper reason.
Sorry to ruin your weekends.
I am not sure why this has been directed at me….but here goes…..
I don't think he is being clever or punny. I do think he is ungrammatical or not using the phrase as it is used normally used and I cannot make sense of what he is trying to say. Some writers have trouble with the passive voice, and with using commonplace phrases, he has struggled with he/she/their.
It would make more sense quite apart from the heckles/hackles mistake if he used the phrase in its normal way.
without anyone raising their heckles.without raising anyone's hackles Correct.
'or cause someone or some people to be upset ' MerriamWebster Dictionary
And I don't agree with his premise. I think if we taxed the higher rates more then we could lower the rates for those on lower incomes. Any kind of extra income given to those on lower incomes allows a better lifestyle. It also stimulates the economy as it is often spent. Any kind of extra income given to those on higher incomes often leads to more being spent on trips overseas where someone else's economy benefits etc.
I saw someone describing ‘a shot across the boughs’ recently which had me thinking of people firing into trees…..why?
It might just be a pun on hackles and heckles, because of the heckling of the government since.
Come on now. He didn't know the phrase and the G missed it. No pun, no irony. Makes one pissed.
Lovely… LOL
4/2 for Future West, congratulations MickySavage!
Things were tight in Waitākere.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/476727/final-auckland-council-election-results-released
Mark Allen you tinny bastard. Nice.
He was also the only candidate for the ward of the Waitākere Licensing Trust and was elected unopposed. Cosy little job, that is.
The Waitakere Licensing Trust is a useful foray into governance experience of a really large local asset. Mark is on the Green side of the Labour-Green ticket, and was previously Council staff, and also runs a welfare organisation on the North Shore. He will be a good fit for the Trusts.
Sometimes the determinant in politics is: who shows up. Mark did.
It was no reflection on Mark but one on the Trusts, which I have mixed feelings about. I think he’ll do a better than average job, which is a rare bonus nowadays. Genuine political engagement seems to be on a downward slide on all levels but particularly on the so-called lower ones 🙁
I noticed a few of the reform candidates made it onto the Trusts. How is the dynamic looking now?
I assume that you’re referring to the successful candidates of the Trusts Action Group; they have doubled their elected members to 4 in this election.
Ta. Is that enough to make any difference to direction?
Talking of things British. This take on the real Winston Churchill, and the cult of Churchill, by Tariq Ali, is apt. Of course Ali being coloured, and some of his hypocrisy's must be taken into consideration. But for the most part he nails it. Churchill was probably one of the most reviled men of his times. I could never understand why he was so lauded in the colonies. At least that's the impression I have. It's funny how Churchill’s blatant racism is condemned nowdays. And even decades before. But modern racism is acceptable by all except that perpetrated by white men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0BKH3z1zs
Lauded more by some Gnat MPs than by the Greens.
Empty words? Maybe, but laudable empty words nevertheless, spoken by a man of his time who was no less complex than me and thee.
Thanks for the reminder. I had completely forgot about the parliamentary portrait incident.