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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This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
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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:
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.
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
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.
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.