Sensible Sentencing Trust’s offender data base a bit threadbare
High-profile criminals have not yet been included
Yesterday I heard Garth “The Knife” McVicar on his publicly funded advertising outlet (Radio NZ National) announcing that the S.S. Trust Offenders Database was up and running again. I made a quick visit to the site to see just how thorough and comprehensive it was. One of the first things you notice is this laudable statement: “The Sensible Sentencing Trust believes in an open and transparent Justice System.”
First up, I typed in the name Alan Titford and ticked the box for “Arson”. NO RESULT.
Next, I typed in the name David Garrett and ticked the box for “Robbery/Attempted Robbery”. NO RESULT.
Then I typed in the name Bruce Emery and ticked the box for “Murder/Manslaughter”. NO RESULT.
Since these are all high-profile offenders, it seemed odd that their names were not yet on this database. Then I saw the following sign: “Submit Offender Information: Use the form below to get in touch and submit information about offenders.”
I filled in the submission form with the following information….
BRUCE EMERY. In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
Perhaps other Standard readers may like to submit the same names (Titford, Garrett, Emery) to the database, with a résumé of their crimes, to remind the people at the S.S. Trust to get it up to date…… http://www.sst.org.nz/offenders-database/
SST are particularly selective about who’s on their naughty list aren’t they? Emery’s victim, Pihema Cameron, for example, apparently not worthy of the same amount of outrage as others, yet, Pihema’s family received the least amount of justice. So why the silence?
Emery’s victim, Pihema Cameron, for example, apparently not worthy of the same amount of outrage as others…
It’s actually far, far worse than that, Rosie. Garth McVicar actually mounted a public campaign of traducing the reputation and memory of the dead boy and his family. He also loudly advocated for tolerance for and understanding of the boy’s killer, who he claimed was a decent citizen. Noelle McCarthy was struggling to hide her disgust for McVicar when she interviewed him in March 2011…
Oh that is truly despicable. Double standards, hypocrisy, and undisguised callousness. McVicar’s brain must be well and truly addled. He is no victims rights advocate, he is a vulture.
And yes, he really is a vulture, the way he swoops when someone has been murdered – but only for a victim who fits his description of who is worthy of outrage.
I have let them know about Alan Titford:
“Alan Titford is an extremely dangerous offender who has been convicted of arson. I believe you need to keep an eye on him, as he is very dangerous to women, children, minorities, and seems totally divorced from reality. ”
They can probably keep an eye on him once he’s paroled, when he’ll be able to attend their meetings again.
Hi folks – would like some help refining this argument. Please any criticisms and other input welcome , Thanks in advance.
I have a problem with cars – a 100 years ago they had 4 wheels, a motor which ran on oil and a body – same as today really. A computer on the other hand was as large as a house, run on valves and need the operating system written in every day. Now your phone is a more powerful computer than the computer they used to land on the moon – but your car is still 4 wheels on a body, with a motor run with oil.
not to mention much like computers, engines have become more powerful, more efficient and much smaller… anf computers still run on electric.
To easily picked apart imo
And the car engines are pretty digitsed today – mechanics take all sorts of readings with electronic machines. My mechanic talks about how these days there’s all sorts of liquids that need monitoring and replacing at different times. Used to be that cars just mostly needed a main oil change.
But, I reckon we should just go back to the horse and cart – maintenance would be far easier – fuel top ups every day, regular checks with the vet and of the wheels, cart and reigns, daily waste disposal…… most jobs we could easily do ourselves without expensive equipment to monitor fluids and parts.
Difference being that horses and what not are merely recycling the ‘natural sink’ of carbon whereas oil is an addition to that ‘natural sink’ – like the difference between burning wood and burning coal. 😉
And again, that depends on the source of the fertiliser and how we choose to manage soils, no? Pour oil derivatives on and we are adding external sources to the ‘natural sink’…allow pastures to lie fallow so that soil, its ecosystems and fertility build up and gasses from the ‘natural sink’ and natural cycle, that nevertheless contribute to warming are, at least temporarily, sequestrated.
“But, I reckon we should just go back to the horse and cart”
Please no karol! Horses are treated appallingly here in NZ, the number of them that turn up half dead with their spirits broken at animal sanctuaries around the country are a testament to that. Even now days, Once a horse is deemed to have finished its useful life it is still sent to slaughter and ends up in Jimbo’s pet food. I kid you not. I have met these beautiful darlings who have been rescued at the last moment.
And work horses that are used in other countries are used and abused and often die young from untreated injuries and illnesses. It’s the one time where you actually welcome those busy body types that get all judgemental with how other cultures operate, to come and set up horse hospitals, take the work horses of the hands of the “owner”, provide them with income lost for not having their horse or donkey working, treat the horse for diseases and injury, feed them up, get them well nourished and return to them to the owner with instructions on how to take care of them. (This happens in Egypt but may also be happening in other countries)
Horses are highly sensitive, sociable and emotional herd animals that suffer so much at our hands and tolerate so much. They are also hugely expensive to look after and high maintenance.
People that are supposed to be “horse people” can’t always be trusted to care for horses, let alone folks that know nothing of them.
Instead, how about we overthrow Big Oil and create a vehicle that is simple to run and maintain and runs on water? Not much to ask eh? Lol.
A lot of people think that SPCAs were set up to look after pets such as dogs and cats, etc.
The history of SPCAs is that they were established in the mid 1800s by Wilberforce and others to deal with the appalling treatment of horses in the days of the horse and cart, horses being used in coal mines etc etc. In fact, the establishment of SPCAs here in NZ for this purpose predates the establishment of a Police force.
Oh, that first scene in “Amazing Grace” where the character of William Wilberforce came across a pair of men who were beating a cart horse who had fallen from exhaustion was so awful.
The Industrial Revolution saved the work horse from future harm and organisations like the SPCA helped to educate others as the horse transitioned from work to recreation in industrialised nations. So the Industrial Revolution improved the lot for the horse but being humans, we managed to stuff up our planet instead.
Its at this point I put my hand up for all the farm animals abused by the attitude of the NZ farmer. All livestock requires shelter from the sun, cold, rain and wind, and all livestock need sufficient space and freedom of movement. Go out of town, see all the cows and sheep in full sun with no shelter, or freezing in open paddocks during a southerly. Or pigs and chickens imprisoned in cages. We farm industrially and treat the stock appallingly.
I might also add the farmers are matched in their disdain of living things by anglers (of whom I am one) who hold their catch up out of water for a photo, and who delight in the joys of “fighting” a distressed fish rather than making it short and sweet. Growl, things that make me mad……
“We farm industrially and treat the stock appallingly’
Indeed we do Ennui. Our lack of basic compassion for “industrial” animals in our care demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence, and certainly a lack of respect for the animal.
I wonder if there will ever be a government enlightened or willing enough to introduce decent standards of care for farmed animals. Funnily enough it may likely be economically advantageous for exporters if we could demonstrate that NZer’s were caring farmers, of both animals and the land.
Good on you for not mucking around with your fish either.
plus one ennui .
i would have a lot more respect for the spca if they started to agitate/educate/advocate about farmed animals that do not have shelter.
to see a cow in the height of summer, standing with its head in the shadow of a strainer post, to get some relief is kinda sad.
it is even more galling as there is dollars involved.
The motor vehicle saved humankind from horse manure and dead horses. If a horse broke down it was oft shot and left in the street for the city authorities to take care of the corpse.
“The horse was no newcomer on the urban scene. But by the late
1800s, the problem of horse pollution had reached unprecedented
heights. The growth in the horse population was outstripping even the
rapid rise in the number of human city dwellers. American cities were
drowning in horse manure as well as other unpleasant byproducts of
the era’s predominant mode of transportation: urine, flies, congestion,
carcasses, and traffic accidents.Widespread cruelty to horses was a form
of environmental degradation as well.
The situation seemed dire.
In 1894, the Times of London estimated that by 1950 every street in the city would be buried nine feet deep in horse manure.”
I hope that there isn’t any leather in your shoes karol.
If there is I hope you will think of the poor animal that died in order that you might walk comfortably in your leather (uppers or soles) shoes.
I think my footwear is mostly rubber & synthetic – I’d have thought hardly any kinder to the environment than leather – what am I going to do – stay home, go barefoot on todays pavements?
You are forgiven Karol. Sackcloth and ashes are not required.
I was only trying to get a little lightness into life with the remark.
My god, but the stuff before your comment, on the origons of the SPCA and the treatment of horses, was depressing wasn’t it?
Believe me, you wouldn’t go back to a horse and cart if you lived in a city where they regularly run tourists around. The roads they use and the park-up spots are to be avoided. Although the poo is capture in horsey bags, the stench of horse-piss is unbearable in summer (barely bearable in winter).
In the past hundred years I think it is correct to say that the human cargo they are designed to carry has got taller and considerably bigger with over eating, in countries where cars are produced so it is understandable that their size has not reduced …. there has for a long time been the alternative motorbikes and shanks pony .. the latter is miniscule.
Why would car manufacturers want to produce more efficient, and therefore less profitable cars? Maybe trace the connections between the oil industry and car manufacturers? Also…why the hell were cars ever introduced as a means of mass transport? Oh yeah…the conspiracy (charged in court as such and found guilty) of the rubber industry, oil industry and car industry, whereby they bought up public transport networks and deliberately trashed them to create a market for the automobile.
You might also be interested in reading Chris Trotter’s take on the possible ramifications of the launch of KDC’s political party, PU, on his blog site, Bowalley Road and in The Press today.
Trotter’s view is that it may well appeal a lot to the younger generation of voters as a fresh option unencumbered by the past – an extract from his article
“Statistics New Zealand estimate that on June 30, 2013, there were 333,840 New Zealanders aged 20-24 – more than enough to surmount the 5 per cent MMP threshold.”
With over 15,000 people already registered for tickets to The PartyParty next Monday night in less than 24 hours, IMO they will get the 500 registered members very quickly to qualify for registration of the political party.
UPDATE; KDC has just tweeted that the name of the party will be the “Internet Party”, not the Mega Party. He has also tweeted the logo
Guessing the reason for capitalising both words and putting Party directly under Internet is so that you have a vertical acronym IP – Internet Protocol which fits the agenda – such as it is.
Purple is a Suffragette colour. – or lesbian – or just a mix of red and blue signifiying it’s neither totally left or right wing – which, IMO, usually means centrist according to the centre ground of the time.
From memory, his drill sadist used to wear that colour. It was meant to be a mixture between the bright red of arterial blood and the “blue” blood of veins. Actually the blood in veins are also red – a dark red of deoxygenated haemoglobin. Veins just look blue from the outside… But hey it is a just a book.. 😈
Of course if KDC starts to transplant large incisors then I’d start worrying what fictional universe he wants to live in.
@ alwyn lol…yes he has been called a fuckwit ……but he has the vote so you cant ignore it
….the way of youth is totally different from the way we oldies think…the internet has provided another parallel universe for them …and I am afraid for good or ill it is a revolutionary change
imo KDC could mop up a lot of votes from cynical youth who would not otherwise vote
It’s all hypothetical, but Dot com’s a business man first, l reckon, he’d be trying to make as much money out of this political lark as possible.
There’s some really dumb gullible mofos out there that hang off his every word, great opportunity for Orcon to gain a heap of new customers and for Dot com to make some coin.
KDC’s values are conveyed by his way of promoting the party – all we see so far is that it’s got his brand on it and it’s about the internet. Little about what his party stands for in all that, other than what we already know about KDC. So I’m not optimistic. Celebrity branding and partying.
Not even a glimmer of what his party will do for Kiwis in general, other than from what we know of KDC’s focus and interests.
Edit: and on the basis of just as much (or as little evidence), many on the left are uncritically cheerleading KDC’s party move, which I find worrying
Well, I’m not hopeful about it being anything “new” – just the same old same old “neoliberal” celebrity culture of infotainment led by a libertarian type wanting in on the big time capitalist action – old story, new window dressing – remake for the digital age.
“But there are some facts as I’ve laid out, and they don’t give me cause for optimism.”
I may be missiing something, Karol, but IMO your comments in this thread at 3.2; 3.2.1.1; and this one seem to be personal opinion/perception – not facts – and based on a lot of assumptions.
Personally, I am keeping an open mind on the Internet Party until we have actually seen their vision, policies etc, and who else is involved – presumably next week.
I have followed the KDC saga closely over the last two years – because of the legal and other ramifications rather than as a cheer leader for KDC. But in so doing, I have come to the opinion that KDC may be a very clever businessman/entrepreneur; but also has a softer side to him also. Loves his wife, children, pets dearly; is very loyal to his friends, work colleagues; and can appreciate the simplicity of a beautiful tree in flower etc. Yes, he has done some bad things in the past; but he was (at the time of his application for residency)and has continued to be open about these (although his German convictions were actually ‘clean slated’ under German legislation similar to our own Clean Slate Act).
As I said, I await fuller details about the Internet Party with an open mind.
The facts are in KDC’s past record. They are also in the way the party is named, and what is so far missing – nothing about what the party or KDC will do for NZers, except for his desire for internet “freedom”.
Many right wingers have their soft family side – means little.
KDC is first and foremost an Entrepreneur – he is out to make money using the Internet – he sees it as an under-utilised platform for business. He is ultimately a capitalist (and very competitive) – and a fairly libertarian one. I have heard nothing from him about being concerned for the plight of the less well off, or of low paid workers, etc.
He may be useful to the left in challenging Key and splitting the right wing vote. But he is not of the left.
But, whatever, ….my views are not going to influence the outcomes. And time will tell what KDC’s party is really about.
One presumes, being launched by Kim Dotcom, that it will be a “fuck John Key / the government / big business / ties to the USA” party aimed at young people.
Chance of this hurting National in election year: zero
How about stating what Bradbury said in full on TDB, and not just one sentence ?
What Bradbury said in full (its not long) is;
Good old Cameron. Thank you for the publicity.
Couple of things.
1: I stood down from my role as a consultant with the MANA Party last year.
2: What Cameron is showing is an early draft of a proposal tabled at a meeting with a whole bunch of other ideas late last year.
3: The idea of me as a candidate was more to kick around ideas.
I am a Political consultant, this is what I do, this was a proposal I was asked to submit. The moment I start working for the Internet Party if I am offered a role I will be shouting it from the rooftops as I think the ideas of an Internet Party focused on civil rights in the online 21st Century and the economic prosperity that could generate for NZ is the future and anything that moves us away from a dairy dependent, drill and mine economy is a good thing.
But all it was, was a proposal. If that changes, I will let you all know.”
Bradbury goes with the highest bidder. Thus he’s busy right now telling us who he’s NOT working for. The moment he tells us he IS working for someone, he’s not worth anything to anyone else. Like a good capitalist he’s just trying to maximise his own asking price.
Still, I note that Bradbury sure ain’t posting any pictures of himself standing in support next to Harawira, Cunliffe, or Norman and Turei.
PS: oh lol at the leaked document: “Bradbury recommends the party pay him $8000 a month to run a campaign in the Auckland Central electorate.
Mr Bradbury also asks for a one-off payment of $5000 to upgrade his computer, cellphone and tablet devices.”
Good. Mana will do a lot better without him. I hope they never paid him. A dead moray eel would be too high a payment for the services of the poor man’s Hooten.
Bomber’s main interest seems to be the media and getting a role for himself. I think he’s a natural fit with Dotcom, much more so than with Mana. I can’t see the Dotcom party doing much good at all, except for in the area of regulation of the internet and maybe the surveillance society. Mana would be much stronger in fighting the surveillance society, because their activists have known for years what it’s like to be watched and persecuted. I think it’s a dangerous distraction, and no, I don’t have to look at their policies to have an opinion, any more than I need to read the ACT manifesto to condemn them.
aye, I tend to agree re: bradbury. Loves being the voice of the left, as long as “the left” agrees with whatever he says – so now he’s working for a Banks supporter.
Bomber’s main interest seems to be the media and getting a role for himself.
heh – 3 News claims the Int Party so far have 3 main policies, including intenet business for NZ and supporting a public broadcasting service – they need to be able to show it will be free from KDC money manipulations.
So the best way, according to 3 news website, that Bomber could help fight against a national third term is to whore himself out for 8,000 a month and a new i rig for a rich prick with a penchant for super cars and shite music, who awaiting extradition on piracy charges, sets up mega, which has dodgy copyright content on it as I type.
Great way to make a contribution, comrade, by filling your own pocket with dirty money.
I will wait to see what the policies are before I decide about the party but I am supportive of him actually making a party especially one that looks like it will bring the young into politics.
People today don’t like being party cannon fodder. If you want someone to do something for you, you have to give them some fun before, during and after. A party that is also a PARTY appeals to people who are turned off by the idea of earnest discussions about Saturday morning (Sunday morning? Are you nuts? I’ve got a hangover/get my only sleep-in on Saturday mornings sayeth the youth of today) leaflet drops by pensioners in drafty halls on a rainy Monday night in July.
I kinda foresee nicely dressed up, but really quite nasty right wing tosh oozing out from this. The challenge for left leaning parties is to grasp the opportunity to pull newly ‘engaged’ Dotcommers into a more honest realm of politics. Will they? Doubt it. And so we’ll wind up with a NZ version of that Italian guy whose name escapes me or a NZ version of the Pirate Party. Not good.
+1 Bill, The political interest it will generate is to be welcomed. But in the long run I can only see it hurting the left unless they re-engage with the public in a meaningful way.
And a computer is still a keyboard and a screen, and if cars shit themselves as often as computers and needed ” upgrading” as often, car companies would have been sued out of existance.
There is a teeny bit more than that in them. But typically the failure components are hard disks and on the printed circuit boards (PCB)
PCBs have a few orders of magnitude more components than the entirety of any production car and are made up of hot or warm components that are densely packed and typically react to each other and their environment. Selecting the right motherboard and case for cooling, maintaining and replacing them for your task makes a hell of difference. Just as it does with a car. Which is why my motherboards typically last until I *upgrade* them – usually about every 5 years. I just replaced the one in my workstation that I brought in 2009.
Hard disks typically operate at sustained movement speeds far in excess of any car apart from Formula one racing cars – which seldom last a year. The best way to think about them is that they are a consumable like brake pads or tyres. You should expect to replace them every few years and build that into your maintenance schedule.
I suspect that you’re mostly complaining about portable computers and handhelds.
Yes it is possible to get longer lasting laptops – for instance a Toughbook. Paying for them is a completely different matter.
The last laptop I brought was in 2009, a sony vaio Z series. It is still happily running and in daily use. My partners old laptops from the last two decades used to litter the household until we disposed on them on moving into less storage space. None of them ever died, they just got new hard disks. Of course these were all rather expensive apples..
Standardisation of components also makes a big difference in enabling rapid development and reducing cost. You don’t see this with cars, apart from obvious things like wheels, tyres etc.
You can’t just grab any old gearbox off the shelf and whack it in your car.
I had hoped one day to see someone start a project for an open source (and open standards) car design. However given that car manufacturing is now a sunset industry (or will be soon) it’s probably not worth doing.
Eric Roy is the 9th National Party Caucus member to resign at the end of this term. Colin James and Michelle Boag (on RNZ this morning) reckon that these people are being tapped on the shoulder to f.o. I reckon the National Party cant be a happy camp at the moment, but it is a very corporate way of running things, interesting.
It’s a good thing really I could name several high profile labour mp’s that should have been ‘shoulder tapped’ years ago.
I doubt things are too unhappy i’m sure most of them will wash up with a few cushy board positions or similar…
That’s the problem. Labour don’t have the corporate jobs to bribe their MOs with to leave.
Anyway, if Labour don’t get rid of their neoliberal rump they are toast.
There are far too many timid or compromised people in the party.
Yes. Labour is much more democratic though, im not convinced that the National’s Corporate approach is the right way, it might get rid of the deadwood but it also has its downsides. It does lead to a lot to people conforming to what the leader wants, so a lot of sucking up…but I still reckon that it is probably a much unhappier party than what is been let on.
If you did jcuknz you wouldn’t be on the blog so much as aRWNJ. After all there is no money in it for you, is there? Or are you too old to be a judge? (shades of Cook and Moore.)
It’s called rejuvenation. Look for more long-serving MPs to retire as National positions itself as a future-facing party in election year.
And on the other side of the political spectrum, we have the party going to the election with David Cunliffe, Phil Goff, Annette King, and Trevor Mallard. All Clark-era Cabinet ministers.
For bonus dotage: Mallard and King entered Parliament in the election that ousted Rob Muldoon.
But wait there’s more: Goff has been an MP since the election that ousted BILL ROWLING.
Plenty of sickening things happen every day but one of the worst this week has been the singing of Ariel Sharon’s praises at his funeral by Israeli politicians and an assortment of international butchers and war criminals such as former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Our own Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully was marginally less cringe-worthy saying Sharon had acted out of love of his country but at least acknowledged Sharon as “controversial” – a euphemism for “bloody butcher” in this case.
[deleted]
Sharon was one of the most vicious and gruesome political leaders from the 20th century.
[lprent: The quoting was excessive – relevant quoted *teasers* yes – not a copied page and a half. Opinion from yourself is what I’d usually expect as the main teaser anyway. Don’t make me have to do this work again. See the policy on cut’n’paste.
BTW and before you ask: The only reason that Penny Bright gets away with her massive screeds is because I can’t find them on google. Probably means that wherever else they are published has crappy search engine optimisation. BLip’s lists are original. ]
And if Labour retain their neo-liberal hue, nothing will change.
Just three examples off the bat:Goff supports the TPP and Jones supports off shore drilling and Labour MPs take gifts from Sky City
It’ll just be a slower death for workers’ rights in NZ and, more dangerously, more disaffected voters. The UK already suffers from this fact as there is no party there you can vote for that challenges neo-liberal economics.
(and,,ahem..!..the negotiating-stance i wd go for..is..
..if oil is found..the state gets 50% of the gusher…
..that’s the deal..
..take it or leave it..
..50%..or nothing…)
Bad move. Rescind the license completely and then set it up so that the drilling is either done directly by the government or under contract to the government for a fixed price. The government would own all of the oil/gas.
And do that with all the mining and resource extraction in the country.
Labour were infiltrated in the 80s by the neo-liberal virus.
Looks like the grassroots are trying to purge the party of this disease, but it’s hard work to oust these 5th columnists out of their comfortable rotten boroughs.
So where did our billions go? Hawksworth writes: “The logical answer is that the oil money enabled non-oil taxes to be kept lower.” In other words: tax cuts. When the North Sea was providing maximum income, Thatcher’s chancellor, Nigel Lawson slashed income and other direct taxes, especially for the rich. The top rate of tax came down from 60p in the pound to just 40p by 1988. He also reduced the basic rate of income tax; but the poor wouldn’t have seen much of those pounds in their pockets, as, thanks to the Tories, they were paying more VAT.
Yes where is he?…and Rhinocrates?….Maybe they are sunning themselves on a tropical island just listening to the lap of the waves….. and hoping that there wont be a cyclone…..
If one follows the link lprent put up there is some good links I think, though I haven;t caught up yet. Frankly I will always be running behind with the shovel as I think lots of the best stuff gets dropped unnoticed.
People who fight to establish a country are terrorists who become honoured citizens when they succeed in their endeavours. War, official or not, is a horrible and nasty business [irrespective of if you are the respected winner or the despised looser] and Arik succeeded but with age apparently became more sensible and tolerant of what is likely to succeed in the longterm.
As a man of his times and his situation he should be respected rather than reviled. But the past eight years illustrates the foolishness of quantity versus quality as practiced by the medical profession with the support of the rest of us.
What you say does make some sense. Sharon—or “Arik” as he was known to his friends and to hapless political makeweights like Joe “Kinnock” Biden—was a war criminal, and at his his funeral he was eulogized by war criminals. But he is not some monster who was running out of control; he was a faithful servant of a criminal, scofflaw regime. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was working in Palestine when Ariel Sharon rocked up to the Temple of the Mount with armed soldiers in tow, a few months out from the election.
Rioting ensued. So began the second intifada.
Sharon then rode the subsequent tide of racist nationalism to win the election
Most Israelis I spoke to at the time were disgusted that he would forment violence simply to stoke the fears of the Israeli populace. Several mentioned that he should be tried as a war criminal for his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Even more believed he should have been court marshalled for disobeying Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War which led the the deaths of many of the soldiers under his command (and Golda Meirs resignation).
His career should have ended in a court marshall in 1973. Or at the very least in the Hague after 1982.
“Labour corrections spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern said [SERCO} should lose its contract to run Mt Eden.”
What was wrong with saying: “The next Labour-led government will cancel all contracts and/or close all private prisons. SERCO investors take note: you will lose 100% of your investment every single time you interfere in New Zealand penal policy”?
There are ways to Tory proof this country. Compulsory return of public property without compensation is a tool that needs to come out of the shed more often.
perhaps the most egregious aspect of this sell-out to american corporate interests by this tory govt..
..is the guarantee in the deal..for the nz state to provide these vultures with enough prisoners to fill their cells..and thus guarantee them their-profit-margins..
..and get this..!..under this sell-out deal..if the state does not serve up these/enough bodies for this american corporation..
..the nz taxpayers have to pay them compensation..
..the tories thus continuing to ensure we maintain our place of shame..
..so so near the top of the countries that imprison the most of their citizens..
First, Labour has to rediscover its backbone. Bloody hard when so many are “career politicians”, or else have been voted in under a tide of blue liberalism.
Imagine if some of them had to categorically state something, you wouldn’t see them for the dust. As for Serco, the old saying, a fool and his money are easily parted, rings true in this case.
We look at one of the most shocking incidents in the career of the late former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Up to 2,000 Palestinians died on Sept. 16-17, 1982, when the Israeli military allowed a Christian militia to attack the camp. Then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was forced to resign after a special Israeli investigative panel declared him to be “personally responsible” for the massacre. We air a description of the killings by Ellen Siegel, a Jewish-American nurse who was working at Gaza Hospital at the Sabra camp at the time of the attacks, and speak with Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology….
A couple of thoughts.
Apparently there is a lowering crime rate, yet it is a time of increased deprivation of many.
A possible flow on from increased deprivation. Thomas Belmonte in his sociological study of the very poor people of Naples , in his book The Broken Fountain noted that the police were kept away from this area. Their presence usually meant more problems, no-one would want to give them information because of peer pressure and because it drew them personally to police attention. To live they reverted to stealing, it was endemic. The children were adept at getting into car boots of cars stopped at intersections. They might be as adept at climbing as monkeys. The author when new to the area, turned in his room, and found a young boy who had scaled the balcony to the first floor to check him out. They stole from each other, the family possibly, their friends and neighbours, probably. The Catholic church was their first port of call when having difficulties. A cosa nostra scenario really.
So if people are likely to be questioned about their own life if they report a crime, they will think twice. And it has to be serious, to be reported. To people in these conditions, the police are not an option. Police are sometimes unfriendly but fair, sometimes not, always a complication. Community building and support are needed to overcome this in NZ and help with the young delinquents on diversion properly handled could be the best option. That is until, or if, the government sets in place an economy that allows people to strive and to better themselves, and gives them plenty of inexpensive opportunities.
Another thought.
The present parliamentary system is no better than committees I’ve been on for community organisations. A new committee comes in,. and proceeds to overturn decisions made previously that people spent time thinking and arguing and deciding on, and which are of benefit. A new group has a better idea and considers itself automatically better than the past, particularly if as is common in community organisations that don’t have rich patrons or funding, they are just cranking along doing some good.
The government can overturn good policies of the past. To avoid this, there has to be a burst of energy against it. The whole thing can be re argued. There is no cause to do this unless the thing is fundamentally wrong and is likely to be so because of the lack of checks in the system.
It seems to me that there should be a stay on change, though new legislation should go ahead in its processes. There should be panels of people who can put their names forward and are drawn like a jury at random. The lists would be of people who would have passed a test of basic knowledge about the country and its economy and political system. This would result in a highly ordered random selection of people being drawn from say five strata to get a range of backgrounds.
The process of making decisions about changes or new legislation should have a checklist of questions about the cost, the value added, who needs it and why, who doesn’t think they need it and why, the likelihood of unintended consequences, whether it is just a deterrent, an example of a small step to change societal attitudes – and there must be a consideration of under 100 words for each check, and all to be filled in and collated and published. This would slow down legislation immensely, but a lot of what is passed now is repairing badly prepared stuff, or puts new bad law that has immediate advantage to a small group in, later to be mourned by those picking up the pieces. It would cut down on externalities being greatly resorted to, as less could be blithely passed over by the irresponsible.
I like the thoughts. A more ‘informed participatory democracy’ getting a wider range of views, experience and knowledge. It would reduce the influence of well funded individuals, politicians, narrow minded civil servants, ideologists, vested interests and lobbyists. I’m of the view that too much power is vested in too few people.
who read the angry pro-smacking tirade in the dompost this a.m.by one of Craigs acolytes.
people like this should not be allowed to have children in the first place.
The media is definitely doing a beat up on Colin Craig so far this year. It’s amazing how money can get you some much media space.
Why? The Tories are definitely trying to bait the NZ electorate on this one, as it represents their best hope of power in 2014.
I suggest that editors at newspapers and producers at TV and radio stations are being told to include this as content as much as possible. It’s a bit like having a playlist at a bad music radio station. You get no independence to select your own tracks. The owners of this country tell the media what to play.
“The media is definitely doing a beat up on Colin Craig so far this year”
you are missing what is really going on Paul
It is an election year and the Nat supporters who want even more hate to flood NZ need to be told where they can safely vote without scaring the pollsters too much
Brendon Who???, ah what choices for the people of Tauranga, (1) do they vote for the bloke who if watched closely when under pressure shows clear signs of being in possession of a serious disease of the mind, or (2), cast one for the bloke what can switch on and off at will a smile of such radiance that the sun pales into insignificance, said smile all the while never quite being translated through the eyes making one wonder if He who bestows such has an axe concealed somewhere about their person…
Phillip Ure, raking the ashes of what is past, tell me something, as a leftist what use do you see of a NZFirst Party that could just as easily decide to prop up a National Government as a Government of the left,
Now tell me something, Winston cannot carry on forever,(unless He has found some substance the rest of us have so far missed), so who of the 2011 intake of NZFirst could have possibly kept the NZFirst Party alive after Winston,
Who in that Party had an ounce of the charisma, the mana if you will to be able to carry that Party forward after Winston,
Brendon Who??? don’t be such a soft mug Phillip, this is the long game of politics and the knee-capping of Brendon Who is simply a small move in the game,
i don’t think you will find me having commented on Brendon Who’s honesty at any point, simply because as i insinuate that wasn’t the point…
The joys of US ‘quantitative easing’ washing across the borders into New Zealand perhaps, meanwhile back in the jungle as the US leviathans flash the cash the US congress is hell bent on slashing it in the form of cancelling unemployment benefits for 100’s of thousands in the US still suffering from the unemployment brought about the Global Financial Crisis,
The hypocrisy of this which cannot escape any of us except perhaps the most hardened of wing-nuts…
So we keep hearing how business confidence in NZ has hit an all time high.
After mass sacking of workers, slashing of workers’ rights and pay, after total dis-empowering of unions, after blackmailing workers into submission by threatening them with job losses, and making massive profits which are being distributed only among the management, with the help and support by a compliant government, no wonder the business confidence is so high.
Yes, the celebrating of business confidence implies that we all benefit. In fact, things like the GFC are exploited by the coporate plutocracy, so that, when there is a recovery, wages are lower, jobs more preacarious, and workers’ rights have been further whittled away.
Also, why do people so hate Martyn Bradbury? I don’t know the man at all apart from what he writes in his blogs, so more insight would be helpful.
He’s apparently joined Kim Dotcom’s party. WTF?
You know the extradition case is in tatters, don’t you Funi Man? The evidence the police presented proven false, the warrant illegal, the provision of access to sealed court evidence to unauthorised foreign nationals, do you think all those things have just sort of gone away now they aren’t in the media so much?
What sort of weight do you suppose the court will give to this sad litany when considering its decision? Do you suppose it will affect the degree of trust the court is prepared to invest in the rest of the Yankee request much?
Clearly you are of the sort that believes the accused are always guilty whether proven innocent or not, and your opinion is utterly irrelevant, but I care, Funi Man. I’m looking forward to your chagrin 🙂
Source WO. Bradbury was a consultant to the internet Party early on. Ditto Graeme Edgeler. Trotter as alleged cheerleader.+
I don’t hate Bradbury. Sometimes I totally agree with his comments/analysis. Sometimes I think he’s not a very in-depth thinker. He also can be a bit contradictory. He’s a good publicist – can use the media quite well.
Some find him too opinionated and too focused on his own publicity.
The only thing I like about KDC is the way he makes John Key squirm on the end of his bayonet. Millionaire vs Millionaire battle just another gormless media distraction really.
Says you. As for NZ interests, I note he is funding a political party and has apparently hired (or at least called for expressions of interest from) some quite serious players to run it.
The last time someone tried something of this nature, The New Zealand Party got 12% of the vote.
I won’t be surprised if he fails, but I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t.
I’m struggling to seeing him make 5%, but the New Zealand Party…
I’m not. The Greens got 6.8% in their first election. Act got 6.9% in their first election.
I see it as highly probably that, in their first election, The Internet Party will get over 5%. The question is if they will be able to maintain that. Act hasn’t but The Greens are going strong.
Nice little ‘jolt’ felt in Wellington just now, maybe 2.5-3 on the rickety scale, a minor isolated movement or more from the series shaking the top of the South???…
It doesn’t add up. Looking at the numbers from the msd site, the $10.3 billion decrease doesn’t add up to the figures on the site. It only shows $7.3 billion. There was $1.5B was added that was a methodology correction to the 2012 liability figures. So it should have been $8.8 billion. But that’s still $1.5 billion more than the numbers published on the MSD site. http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/media-releases/2014/taylor-fry-welfare-valuation.html
Most of the savings was due to cheaper service rates $3.0 billion.
While only $180 million was due to lower than expected benefit payments.
Take this from the msd site,
—
The June 2012 total liability was $86.8 billion, compared with the June 2013 liability of $76.5 billion.
—
That’s there $10.3 billion figure. But in the notes at the bottom of the page is this,
—
[ii] The starting liability at 30 June 2012 was reduced to $85.3 billion due to methodology correction.
—
Oh look, there’s $1.5 Billion they are still counting even though they had corrected the figure due to methodology. Can’t trust there numbers if they make such a simple error
I just noticed on zerohedge.com that the benchmark Baltic Dry shipping indexing is collapsing at historic rates. That implies massive dry bulk carrying over capacity on 23 of the world’s major trade routes.
I don’t think that the global real economy is going to do any good this year, at all.
That was mentioned in a article I read a year or two back on shipping. The article mentioned that there was an awful lot carrying capacity coming on line in the next year or two and that competition would drive prices for shipping to below cost.
Haven’t noticed any pictures or mentions about David Cunliffe on holiday with his family etc etc…Key’s boys been getting high fives from Obama on the golf course in Hawaii…absolute elitism but also very hard to attack as that…
hmmmm? CCC or KDC? What interesting times we live in! I suppose it should come as no surprise that we see a plethora of minor parties applying for the tail role of, not just wagging the dog, but potentially choosing the pooch to be promenaded by. Fun and doo doors ahead folks. Keep shoveling and smile!
It costs a lot to live in Auckland, and the reason is ?…. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11185768
Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development tourism manager Jason Hill said the city billed itself as a top-quality holiday spot.
“Auckland doesn’t profess to be a budget destination, but delivers on other aspects of visitor experiences and consistently ranks highly as a desirable place to visit,” he said.
How about those of us who reside perminately within Auckland and are captured within this low wage economy ? Perhaps as a cup of coffee, a beer , dinner our are so expensive, then those working within the industry could expect to see an uplift in their wages, at least there in no reason for working conditions to be attacked!! http://www.sfwu.org.nz
Common sense and logic fail as to why it is soooo costly to live within New Zealand. Perhaps it is all that money bring exported out as dividends in the banking sector:-)
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The Coalition Government has approved $206 million in essential upgrades at Ōhakea Air Base. Defence Minister Ron Mark said the money would be spent on improving old infrastructure. He said safety issues would be addressed, as well as upgrades to taxiways, accommodation and fresh, storm and waste water systems. "This ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First “I am not persisting with this case just for myself, but for all people who have had their privacy breached. Privacy of information is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy. Without it our society truly faces a bleak future. We now ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones has introduced a Bill to Parliament that he says will "force more transparency, integrity and respect" for the domestic wood-processing sector through the registration of log traders and practice standards. The Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill had its first reading in ...
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is joining over 300 lawmakers from around the world in calling on the big banks and the IMF to forgive the debt of developing countries, in the wake of the COVID crisis. ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says concerns that carbon foresters are planting pine trees that will never be harvested are the result of "misinformation". "The billion tree strategy is an excellent idea, unfortunately from time to time it's tainted by misinformation spread by the National Party or their grandees, hiding in scattered ...
The Green Party welcomes funding in the budget to reunite more refugees with their families, ensuring they have the best chance at a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
A new-look Police graduation ceremony to take account of COVID19 health rules has marked the completion of training for 57 new constables. Police Minister Stuart Nash attended this afternoon's ceremony, where officers of Recruit Wing 337 were formally sworn in at the Royal New Zealand Police College without the normal support of ...
Mobile traders and truck shops must adhere to responsible lending requirements Interest rate cap on high-cost loans Lenders prohibited from offering further credit to an applicant who has taken two high-cost loans in the past 90 days The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Kris Faafoi, has signalled an end ...
94% of firms say wage subsidy had positive impact on cashflow 62% of firms say support helped to manage non-wage costs like rent A survey of business that have received the Government’s wage subsidy show it has played a significant role in saving jobs, and freed up cash flow to ...
New legislation introduced to Parliament today will support growth and assist businesses on the road to economic recovery, said Revenue Minister Stuart Nash. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2020-21, Feasibility Expenditure, and Remedial Matters) Bill proposes that businesses can get tax deductions for ‘feasibility expenditure’ on new investments,” said Mr ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson has welcomed the first release of funds from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced as part of Budget 2020. Sport NZ has announced that $4.6 million in funding will go to the Wellington Phoenix, NZ Warriors, Super Rugby teams and the ANZ Premiership ...
An iconic New Zealand tourism attraction and the country’s 31 Regional Tourism Organisations are the first recipients of support from the $400 million Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, to help position the sector for recovery from COVID-19, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. The plan includes a Strategic Tourism Assets Protection ...
The Government will legislate to ensure businesses that suffered as a result of the COVID-19 response will get help to resolve disputes over commercial rent issues, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. A temporary amendment to the Property Law Act will insert a clause in commercial leases requiring a fair ...
The Minister for Small Business says new data from Xero highlights the urgency of prompt payment practices to small and medium enterprises as we move into economic recovery. Last month Government ministers wrote to significant private enterprises and the banking industry to request they join efforts by government agencies to ...
Young people in Waikato will be the first to have free access to period products in schools in another step to support children and young people in poverty,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. During term 3, the Ministry of Education will begin providing free period products to schools following the ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash has issued the following statement in response to charges filed against three Police officers this morning in the New Plymouth District Court. “Any incident involving a loss of life in Police custody is taken very seriously. The charges today reflect the gravity of the ...
$196 million for Crown Research Institutes $150 million for R&D loan scheme $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities $12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases $10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation New Zealand’s entrepreneurs, innovators and crown researchers will benefit from a ...
Further temporary changes to NCEA and University Entrance (UE) will support senior secondary school students whose teaching and learning have been disrupted by COVID-19. “The wellbeing of students and teachers is a priority. As we are all aware, COVID-19 has created massive disruption to the school system, and the Government ...
Minister for Racing Winston Peters today announced that the terms for the directors of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) have been extended to 30 June 2021. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the transition period has been extended to ensure that the Racing Industry Bill can complete its progress through ...
The deadline for landlords to include detailed information in their tenancy agreements about how their property meets the Healthy Homes Standards, so tenants can see the home they are renting is compliant, has been extended from 1 July 2020 to 1 December 2020. The Healthy Homes Standards became law on 1 July 2019. The Standards are ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little today announced details of further appointments to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. “I am pleased to announce Paula Rose QSO OStJ as Deputy Chief Commissioner for a term of five years commencing on 15 June 2020,” said Andrew Little. “I am also pleased to announce the ...
The Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) will pay costs of learners of all ages to undertake vocational education and training The fund will target support for areas of study and training that will give learners better employment prospects as New Zealand recovers from COVID-19 Apprentices working in all industries ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will finally start to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas pollution as it was originally intended to, because of changes announced today by the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw. The changes include a limit on the total emissions allowed within the ETS, rules to ensure ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List provides an abundance of examples that Pacific people’s leadership capability is unquestionable in Aotearoa. “The work and the individuals we acknowledge this year highlights the kind of visionary examples and dedicated community leadership that we need ...
The Government is backing a new $27 million project aimed at boosting sustainable horticulture production and New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery efforts, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our economy. During and ...
Applications have opened for 2021 Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau – Forestry Scholarships, which will support more Māori and women to pursue careers in forestry science, says Forestry Minister Shane Jones. “I’m delighted Te Uru Rākau is offering Ngā Karahipi Uru Rākau – Forestry Scholarships for the third year running. These ...
The Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List once again highlights the dedication by many to looking after our native plants and wildlife, including incredible work to restore the populations of critically endangered birds says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Anne Richardson of Hororata has been made an Officer of the New ...
The Government will invest $10 million from the One Billion Trees Fund for large-scale planting to provide jobs in communities and improve the environment, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Forestry Minister Shane Jones have announced. New, more flexible funding criteria for applications will help up to 10 catchment groups plant ...
Organisations that support women are invited to apply to a new $1,000,000 fund as part of the Government’s COVID-19 response. “We know women, and organisations that support women, have been affected by COVID-19. This new money will ensure funding for groups that support women and women’s rights,” said Minister for ...
Healthier waterways are front and centre in a new project involving more than 300 King Country sheep, beef and dairy farmers. The Government is investing $844,000 in King Country River Care, a group that helps farmers to lift freshwater quality and farming practice, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Yesterday ...
A major funding package for libraries will allow them to play a far greater role in supporting their communities and people seeking jobs as part of the economic recovery from COVID-19. “Budget 2020 contains over $60 million of funding to protect library services and to protect jobs,” says Internal Affairs ...
A jobseekers programme for the creative sector and four new funds have been set up by the Government to help our arts and music industry recover from the blow of COVID-19. Thousands of jobs will be supported through today’s $175 million package in a crucial economic boost to support the ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has welcomed the First Reading of a Bill that will make legislative changes to further improve the veterans’ support system. The Veterans’ Support Amendment Bill No 2, which will amend the Veterans’ Support Act 2014, passed First Reading today. The bill addresses a number of ...
Views sought on Order in Council to help fast track the reinstatement of the Christ Church Cathedral The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Poto Williams, will be seeking public written comment, following Cabinet approving the drafting of an Order in Council aimed at fast-tracking the reinstatement of the ...
The law setting out New Zealanders’ basic civil and human rights is today one step towards being strengthened following the first reading of a Bill that requires Parliament to take action if a court says a statute undermines those rights. At present, a senior court can issue a ‘declaration of ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today reiterated the deep concern of the New Zealand Government following confirmation by China’s National People’s Congress of national security legislation relating to Hong Kong. “New Zealand shares the international community’s significant and long-standing stake in Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand ...
Thousands of artists and creatives at hundreds of cultural and heritage organisations have been given much-needed support to recover from the impact of COVID-19, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern announced today. “The cultural sector was amongst the worst hit by the global pandemic,” Jacinda ...
Key New Zealand assets will be better protected from being sold to overseas owners in a way contrary to the national interest, with the passage of the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Bill. The Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament today, also cuts unnecessary red tape to help attract ...
Setting higher health standards at swimming spots Requiring urban waterways to be cleaned up and new protections for urban streams Putting controls on higher-risk farm practices such as winter grazing and feed lots Setting stricter controls on nitrogen pollution and new bottom lines on other measures of waterway health Ensuring ...
The Government is on the verge of reaching its target of state sector boards and committees made up of at least 50 percent women, says Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa. For the first time, the Government stocktake measures the number of Māori, ...
The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister and Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister, Kris Faafoi, has today announced the appointment of Tristan Gilbertson as the new Telecommunications Commissioner and member of the Commerce Commission. “Mr Gilbertson has considerable experience in the telecommunications industry and a strong reputation amongst his peers,” ...
The Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa have agreed to settle the pay equity claim for teacher aides, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This will see more than 22,000 teacher aides, mostly women, being valued and paid fairly for the work they do. “Teacher aides are frontline ...
Subcontractors will have greater certainty, more cashflow support and job security with new changes to retention payments under the Construction Contracts Act says Minister for Building and Construction, Jenny Salesa. A recent review of the retentions money regime showed that most of the building and construction sector is complying with ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have marked the first anniversary of the New Zealand-Singapore Enhanced Partnership with a virtual Leaders’ Meeting today. The Enhanced Partnership, signed on 17 May 2019, provides the framework for cooperation across the four main areas of trade, defence and ...
On 17 May 2019, New Zealand and Singapore established an Enhanced Partnership to elevate our relations. The Enhanced Partnership – based on the four pillars of trade and economics, security and defence, science, technology and innovation, and people-to-people links – has seen the long-standing relationship between our countries strengthen over the ...
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters has welcomed KiwiRail’s announcement that it is seeking a preferred shipyard to build two new rail-enabled ferries for the Cook Strait crossing. “This Government is committed to restoring rail to its rightful place in New Zealand. Bigger, better ships, with new technology are yet another ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity US President Donald Trump delivered an address this week in which he threatened military action on the nation. Then he walked to the nearby St John’s Episcopal Church ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Why do we burp? We sometimes also burp before meals, why does this happen? — Ahaana, age 7 That is a really interesting question, Ahaana! There ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland After years of litigation, Australia’s highest court will today make a major decision on the fate of the controversial proposed expansion to the New Acland Coal mine in Queensland. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Williams, Associate Professor in Urban Ecology and Urban Horticulture, University of Melbourne Tomorrow is the first World Green Roof Day. Cities around the world will celebrate the well-documented environmental, economic and social benefits of green roofs. New ground-level green spaces are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Robodebt isn’t the only measure the government should consider withdrawing. Late last Friday, after a long press conference from the prime minister which avoided any mention of the topic, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Harvard University’s Alberto Alesina died suddenly of a heart attack on May 23. He was 63. His long-time colleague and friend Larry Summers wrote that before him, “there was no academic field of political economy. Today, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University What keeps democracies together? As America burns, Brazilians die and Europe braces for another wave of the coronavirus, the question assumes an alarming immediacy. If the answer is complicated in one way, it is ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Millions of dollars divvied up by Sport NZ, MSD’s problem with wrongly denied payments grows, and internal coalition battles emerge in time for election.It’s Friday, and there hasn’t been a lot of it recently, so we’re going to start with ...
The Government picks Waitomo caves as 'strategic tourism asset' and grants $4m to Tourism Holdings, boosting shares another 7.8 percent. Facebook staff and alumni revolt over Zuckerberg's inaction on Trump ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan NZ bestseller list and described by ReadingRoom literary editor Steve Braunias.NON-FICTION 1 Vegful by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55) 2 Stop Surviving Start Fighting by Jazz Thornton (Penguin Random House, $38) 3 So Delish! by Simone Anderson ...
Systemic white violence against black Americans is alive and well, and it's white violence that sustains white supremacy Current scenes from the United States are both familiar and shocking. George Floyd’s life being brutally snuffed out by Minneapolis police, followed by peaceful protests of Floyd’s murder as well as legitimate ...
The US isn't the only country with a broken criminal justice system that works to criminalise and destroy the lives of black and brown families. Dylan Asafo puts forward two ways NZ could lead in dismantling systems of white supremacy. If you were to imagine a society without racial oppression, ...
Anomalies in the policy for superannuitants with overseas pensions are an indictment on the justice process in New Zealand, write Susan St John and Dr Claire Dale Along with many others, the Retirement Policy and Research Centre has worked assiduously for more than a decade to alert the public, policy-makers ...
A new study indicates native plants, despite their tendency to grow more slowly than exotic species like Pinus Radiata, are better at storing carbon in the soil for longer periods of time. ...
The British Tribe Next Door attracted over 60 complaints of racist themes from viewers when it first aired in the UK. Now TVNZ is streaming it on its OnDemand service attracting concerns from members of Aotearoa’s African community and a letter from race relations commissioner Meng Foon.When The British Tribe ...
When approached by The Spinoff Jeanette Wilson denied having told participants in an online session that the product ‘lined the lungs’, despite clear evidence to the contrary.The Covid-19 crisis has sparked misinformation in every corner of the world. In New Zealand, a “psychic healer” whose fixations read like a conspiracy ...
The union movement launched a push earlier this week to double the legal minimum of sick leave from five days a year to 10. Is a change likely?What’s all this then?In light of the recent global pandemic putting the focus on health in the workplace, unions have called for changes ...
An African American pastor from George Floyd's community gives The Detail a special insight into what's happening there - and gives us hope for the future. “Nobody in America wants to be a racist.” David Hill is a pastor in the Third Ward neighbourhood of Houston where George Floyd grew ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, last week effectively pronounced dead the prospect of a referendum on indigenous recognition being put to the people this parliamentary term, the demise of his hoped-for timetable ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government will significantly strengthen its scrutiny of foreign investment to protect sensitive national security technology and information and further ring fence the nation’s critical infrastructure. It will insert a new “national security test” ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Does National have any chance of winning the election in September? It’s looking very unlikely, especially after National’s change of leadership hasn’t exactly produced Mullermania in the first two weeks. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I summarised in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne When a newspaper with the authority of The New York Times chooses to publish a party-political essay calculated to further inflame the violence wracking cities across America, serious questions arise. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Mathematics, University of Canterbury There is now a 95% chance COVID-19 has been eliminated in New Zealand, according to our modelling, based on official Ministry of Health data. As of June 4, New Zealand has had 20 consecutive ...
In 2014, Duncan Greive was invited to interview Dan Carter on the back of the All Black’s spokesmodelling gig for Jockey underwear – a meeting that would eventually lead to Greive co-writing Carter’s autobiography, My Story. To celebrate today’s big Dan Carter news, we republish that original Metro story here.In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute Scott Morrison’s new housing stimulus package is straight-out retail politics. HomeBuilder offers homeowners (including first home buyers) a grant of A$25,000 to build a new home worth less than $750,000 or to spend between ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Rachel Taulelei, CEO of Kono.Demand for New Zealand produce overseas is currently up. ...
By Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie in Jakarta A panel of judges at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) has granted a lawsuit filed by civil society groups against the Indonesian government’s decision to impose an internet blackout during weeks of protests in Papua and West Papua provinces last year, declaring ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Mitchell, Professor of Nursing, University of Newcastle With coronavirus restrictions gradually lifting across the country, we’re now able to resume many of our regular activities. A lot of us might have been particularly keen to get back to the gym, which ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Perhaps at no point in Australia’s history has the demand for real-time figures been stronger than during the coronavirus crisis. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stepped up its efforts to get data fast, to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Senior Lecturer, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jolynna Sinanan, Research Fellow in Digital Media and Ethnography, University of Sydney Earlier this week, you might have seen your social media taken over by a stream of posts showing simple images of a black square. These posts, often tagged with #BlackoutTuesday, ...
A strong vote for sustainability would make the resulting Labour-Greens government a confident and ambitious reformer, having shed its NZ First handbrake ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick White, PhD Candidate in History and Politics, James Cook University Australia’s local governments breathed new life into embattled regional communities after the second world war. Today, this history reminds us of the role local councils and communities should play in plans ...
This bill proposes to provide for enhanced information disclosure requirements for the gas market and to ensure that settings around enforcement and penalties are suitably robust. The Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill would do this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mick Broderick, Associate Professor of Media Analysis, Murdoch University Over successive Sunday nights, the ABC has premiered two important television programs recounting the history of nuclear testing in Australia – the documentary Maralinga Tjuratja and a six-drama series Operation Buffalo. Both explore ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marisa Paterson, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University When the COVID-19 restrictions came into force more than two months ago, it meant lights out for the country’s 200,000 poker machines. Now, the pokies are slowly turning on again across ...
With roughly 97% of New Zealand enterprises categorised as small businesses – that is, 20 or fewer employees – accounting software platform Xero’s newly released analysis provides a stark picture of the severe impact of Covid-19 throughout the sector.What exactly does the data show?Essentially, the data shows that year-on-year revenue ...
This week, on 1 June 2020, an interest rate cap on high-cost loans (over 50% interest per annum) was finally introduced in New Zealand. The introduction of an interest rate cap will help borrowers, like Sarah Newham, who presented to Select Committee ...
After hammering out a deal over commercial rents with Labour, New Zealand First is now publicly criticising some of the measures its coalition partner had been pushing for. ...
After hammering out a deal over commercial rents with Labour, New Zealand First is now publicly criticising some of the measures its coalition partner had been pushing for. ...
After hammering out a deal over commercial rents with Labour, New Zealand First is now publicly criticising some of the measures its coalition partner had been pushing for. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lee, Associate Professor of History , UNSW The Conversation is running a series of explainers on key figures in Australian political history, looking at the way they changed the nature of debate, its impact then, and it relevance to politics today. ...
Labour-hire workers are falling between the cracks because neither the agencies they are employed by nor the host companies they work for want to take responsibility for them, FIRST Union said today. Dozens of agency workers have been contacting the ...
CEAC annual review of National Party climate change policy, makes miserable reading, and supports Government for elevating clean ‘Rail Transport’ over truck transport, for moving more freight onto rail, thereby keeping our CO2 ‘climate emissions’ ...
The biggest danger facing New Zealand under level one will the border. Justin Giovannetti looks at what the government is doing to increase border defences and prevent another influx of Covid-19.As the elimination of coronavirus appears imminent in New Zealand, the country’s attention turns to the border and the conflicting ...
The Government’s 5.3% increase in road user charges (RUC) from 1 July is a kick in the guts to the trucking industry that kept the country moving during lockdown and must be cancelled says the National Road Carriers Association. “It is unacceptable,” ...
From the Minister of Tourism came an announcement on the distribution of $400 million. He was outdone by the Minister for Research, Science and Technology, whose announcement involved a sum of $401.3m. Much more bemusing was the announcement from the PM headed Free period products in schools to combat poverty. ...
The charging of three officers of the Central Police District with homicide confirms community fears of police violence. The announcement of the charges comes as the United States of America is crippled by nationwide protests against the murder of ...
The Government’s recently announced Action for Healthy Waterways package includes protections and funding to improve the quality of New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, streams, estuaries, and wetlands. The package introduces new rules and regulations ...
The images of Minnesota policeman Derek Chauvin kneeling on a dying African-American man’s neck have ricocheted around the world. From Auckland to London, Christchurch to cities across the US, tens of thousands have marched in opposition to what is perceived as systemic police violence against one race. Chauvin’s charges have ...
With Rhys Darby returning to our small screens with a travel series documenting his wild travels around Japan, Tara Ward rounds up some more TVNZ shows that will take you from your armchair to locales far and wide. Rhys Darby is world famous for bringing walk socks to New York on ...
Sir Jerry Mateparae is extending his life of service to the NZ community, moving into the role of chair of Chair of the Healthier Lives−He Oranga Hauora National Science Challenge. He says the research being done in preventing some of the country’s worst diseases as fitting neatly with his own ...
E tū is calling for a serious harm investigation into the case of two security guards who were injured when a staff member was attacked at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital. On 21 May, two security guards were stabbed with a pair of scissors when ...
Kiwi Rail CEO Greg Miller said he will not re-open the Gisborne rail service for freight and passenger services for the region, after eight years of closure even now after a yearlong PGF $600.000 study confirmed to the Government that the rail ...
Universal public compliance has been one of the major reasons why New Zealand has apparently been so successful in curbing the spread of the Covid19 virus. Fundamentally, people complied with the restrictions imposed during Alert Levels 4 and 3 because ...
Greenpeace wants New Zealand to become the first country in the world to ban plastic drinks bottles. Last year, after a huge public outcry, the NZ Government banned single use plastic bags. Now Greenpeace is launching a new campaign to "ban the bottle." ...
Pacific Media Centre A Papua New Guinea provincial governor has defending his actions for speaking up in Parliament yesterday on the government’s mooted proposal to extend the state of emergency (SoE) for two more months. Writing on social media, Governor Allan Bird of East Sepik cited instances of police abuse ...
Grey Power’s stance is that the global Covid-19 pandemic, as it has impinged on New Zealand, has highlighted existing problems within the Aged Care Sector and we suggest that if the promise by the Labour Party to fund an Aged Care Commissioner ...
New Zealanders have been re-discovering the many benefits of growing food at home over the Pandemic lock-down. Sustainable Living’s free learning guides on food growing have been this on-line community education programme’s most popular downloads. ...
From 1846 onwards, various militia came together to form the New Zealand Armed Constabulary Force, to ‘combat Māori hostiles and to keep civil order’. In 1885 they changed uniforms and became the New Zealand Police. We’re still feeling the effects of that whakapapa today, writes Emilie Rākete. America is burning, burning ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Carew, Lecturer, University of Melbourne During the coronavirus pandemic, have your kids been using headphones more than usual? Maybe for remote schooling, video chats with relatives, or for their favourite music and Netflix shows? We have to be careful about both ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling When it comes to coronavirus cases, deaths and tests, Australia is performing better than many other countries with comparable populations and geographies, a new COVID-19 data visualisation reveals. Use the tool below, which uses data drawn ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joelle Gergis, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, Australian National University As we slowly emerge from lockdown, local adventures are high on people’s wish lists. You may be planning a trip to the ski fields, or even the nearby hills to revel in ...
Open mike 15/01/2014 
Does National have any chance of winning the election in September? It’s looking very unlikely, especially after National’s change of leadership hasn’t exactly produced Mullermania in the first two weeks. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I summarised in Tuesday’s Political Roundup column: Todd Muller’s torrid start as National leader. ...16 hours ago
Last year, in the face of public pressure to better regulate New Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry, the government finally anounced a bullshit trial scheme for cameras on boats. The trial would apply only to a limited number of boats fishing in Māui's dolphin habitat. But all fishing boats would ...19 hours ago
Another study comparing effect in children from nonendemic areas (Dagang) and endemic fluorosis area (Jinghai) about 80km apart in the Tianjin area of China. Hardly sampling the same population. Anti-fluoride campaigners still use studies from ... 22 hours ago
George Thomson, Nick Wilson, Richard Edwards This blog discusses the passing of the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Act last week. We briefly review some lessons from this legislation’s long journey and explore future smokefree possibilities in Aotearoa / New Zealand. A law ...1 day ago
74 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects Surface-Energy-Balance Closure over Land: A Review (open access) Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Human influence has intensified extreme precipitation in North America (open access) Observation-derived ice growth curves show patterns and trends in maximum ice thickness and ...1 day ago
Last month I noted that the public policy debate was all about how we deal with covid-19. That’s changing now, and will change more over the next couple of months as the buffering impact of the wage subsidy disappears and we see starkly the economic hole out of which we ...1 day ago
Bernard Hickey is one of New Zealand’s leading financial journalists. His latest article, published by Newsroom, lays bare the cruel treatment of hundreds of thousands of workers stranded since the lockdown. Our Prime Minister is lauded overseas for her compassion, but her Cabinet is refusing to properly support tens of ...2 days ago
For a good part of my adult life I have studied civil-military relations. I have studied authoritarian and democratic variants, and I have studied them across countries and regions. I have also worked in and with several US security agencies and have lectured on the theme at a number of ...2 days ago
by The Spark “The system is broken”—the words of a young black man in Minneapolis watching flames destroy a police precinct demonstrators had torched. Broken? Yes, it is! What else could you say about a system whose police for nine minutes casually knelt on a black man’s neck, watching until ...2 days ago
Minneapolis Police StationIf you’ve been keeping an eye on recent events in the United States, you’ll likely understand why there’s so much anger on the streets at the moment. Not only did police officers murder another black man; it is patently obvious that authorities initially attempted to cover up George ...3 days ago
Like the rest of the world, I have been aghast at what I have seen of, and read and heard about, what is happening currently in the United States. It seems incredible that a once great country should be suffering the worst effects and the highest number of deaths worldwide ...4 days ago
Image credit: Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference? I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is ... 4 days ago
It’s almost painful to watch. Let’s be honest, maybe a pleasure too, in some quarters, but painful nonetheless. Because the fact is, for a democracy to function properly, any sitting Government does need honest and proper Opposition so that it doesn’t get ahead of itself. That’s what we should ...6 days ago
SATURDAY MAY 30Six60: Live at Western Springs 2020 (TVNZ 1, 8.45pm). Remember live concerts? The day will come again, friends, when we will be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in an uncomfortable sweaty venue with people we don’t know. It will happen. Sometimes the sound of concerts drifts over to the ...7 days ago
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Well, we are out of lockdown, essentially. I did end up getting the wage subsidy while we were on levels 3 and 4 but I would have been fine if we didn’t. The first day of level 2, the Thursday, the office opened again for the people who weren’t able ...1 week ago
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Sensible Sentencing Trust’s offender data base a bit threadbare
High-profile criminals have not yet been included
Yesterday I heard Garth “The Knife” McVicar on his publicly funded advertising outlet (Radio NZ National) announcing that the S.S. Trust Offenders Database was up and running again. I made a quick visit to the site to see just how thorough and comprehensive it was. One of the first things you notice is this laudable statement: “The Sensible Sentencing Trust believes in an open and transparent Justice System.”
First up, I typed in the name Alan Titford and ticked the box for “Arson”. NO RESULT.
Next, I typed in the name David Garrett and ticked the box for “Robbery/Attempted Robbery”. NO RESULT.
Then I typed in the name Bruce Emery and ticked the box for “Murder/Manslaughter”. NO RESULT.
Since these are all high-profile offenders, it seemed odd that their names were not yet on this database. Then I saw the following sign: “Submit Offender Information: Use the form below to get in touch and submit information about offenders.”
I filled in the submission form with the following information….
BRUCE EMERY. In late 2008, he chased down a boy on a South Auckland street, then stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.
Perhaps other Standard readers may like to submit the same names (Titford, Garrett, Emery) to the database, with a résumé of their crimes, to remind the people at the S.S. Trust to get it up to date……
http://www.sst.org.nz/offenders-database/
SST are particularly selective about who’s on their naughty list aren’t they? Emery’s victim, Pihema Cameron, for example, apparently not worthy of the same amount of outrage as others, yet, Pihema’s family received the least amount of justice. So why the silence?
Hypocrites.
Emery’s victim, Pihema Cameron, for example, apparently not worthy of the same amount of outrage as others…
It’s actually far, far worse than that, Rosie. Garth McVicar actually mounted a public campaign of traducing the reputation and memory of the dead boy and his family. He also loudly advocated for tolerance for and understanding of the boy’s killer, who he claimed was a decent citizen. Noelle McCarthy was struggling to hide her disgust for McVicar when she interviewed him in March 2011…
Oh that is truly despicable. Double standards, hypocrisy, and undisguised callousness. McVicar’s brain must be well and truly addled. He is no victims rights advocate, he is a vulture.
And yes, he really is a vulture, the way he swoops when someone has been murdered – but only for a victim who fits his description of who is worthy of outrage.
mcvicar is not only a ‘vulture’..
..he is a calculated/calculating/opportunistic ‘vulture’..
..the worst kind..
..phillip ure..
To be fair, Garrett isn’t a robber AFAIK.
Thug, identity thief, drink driver: yes.
But not a robber.
I have let them know about Alan Titford:
“Alan Titford is an extremely dangerous offender who has been convicted of arson. I believe you need to keep an eye on him, as he is very dangerous to women, children, minorities, and seems totally divorced from reality. ”
They can probably keep an eye on him once he’s paroled, when he’ll be able to attend their meetings again.
Hi folks – would like some help refining this argument. Please any criticisms and other input welcome , Thanks in advance.
I have a problem with cars – a 100 years ago they had 4 wheels, a motor which ran on oil and a body – same as today really. A computer on the other hand was as large as a house, run on valves and need the operating system written in every day. Now your phone is a more powerful computer than the computer they used to land on the moon – but your car is still 4 wheels on a body, with a motor run with oil.
It could have been so much better….
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2012/03/retro-future-glorious-transportation.html
I dunno, the monocycle looks outright dangerous. So does that 200mph speed limit.
not to mention much like computers, engines have become more powerful, more efficient and much smaller… anf computers still run on electric.
To easily picked apart imo
And the car engines are pretty digitsed today – mechanics take all sorts of readings with electronic machines. My mechanic talks about how these days there’s all sorts of liquids that need monitoring and replacing at different times. Used to be that cars just mostly needed a main oil change.
But, I reckon we should just go back to the horse and cart – maintenance would be far easier – fuel top ups every day, regular checks with the vet and of the wheels, cart and reigns, daily waste disposal…… most jobs we could easily do ourselves without expensive equipment to monitor fluids and parts.
Unfortunately, horses emit more greenhouse gases per tonne/km, than trucks. 🙂
Difference being that horses and what not are merely recycling the ‘natural sink’ of carbon whereas oil is an addition to that ‘natural sink’ – like the difference between burning wood and burning coal. 😉
right up until they add fertiliser to the soil to feed the horses, in which case the difference diminishes significantly 🙂
And again, that depends on the source of the fertiliser and how we choose to manage soils, no? Pour oil derivatives on and we are adding external sources to the ‘natural sink’…allow pastures to lie fallow so that soil, its ecosystems and fertility build up and gasses from the ‘natural sink’ and natural cycle, that nevertheless contribute to warming are, at least temporarily, sequestrated.
nice – just reread up on the basics of crop rotation, thanks 🙂
“But, I reckon we should just go back to the horse and cart”
Please no karol! Horses are treated appallingly here in NZ, the number of them that turn up half dead with their spirits broken at animal sanctuaries around the country are a testament to that. Even now days, Once a horse is deemed to have finished its useful life it is still sent to slaughter and ends up in Jimbo’s pet food. I kid you not. I have met these beautiful darlings who have been rescued at the last moment.
And work horses that are used in other countries are used and abused and often die young from untreated injuries and illnesses. It’s the one time where you actually welcome those busy body types that get all judgemental with how other cultures operate, to come and set up horse hospitals, take the work horses of the hands of the “owner”, provide them with income lost for not having their horse or donkey working, treat the horse for diseases and injury, feed them up, get them well nourished and return to them to the owner with instructions on how to take care of them. (This happens in Egypt but may also be happening in other countries)
Horses are highly sensitive, sociable and emotional herd animals that suffer so much at our hands and tolerate so much. They are also hugely expensive to look after and high maintenance.
People that are supposed to be “horse people” can’t always be trusted to care for horses, let alone folks that know nothing of them.
Instead, how about we overthrow Big Oil and create a vehicle that is simple to run and maintain and runs on water? Not much to ask eh? Lol.
I absolutely agree, Rosie.
A lot of people think that SPCAs were set up to look after pets such as dogs and cats, etc.
The history of SPCAs is that they were established in the mid 1800s by Wilberforce and others to deal with the appalling treatment of horses in the days of the horse and cart, horses being used in coal mines etc etc. In fact, the establishment of SPCAs here in NZ for this purpose predates the establishment of a Police force.
Oh, that first scene in “Amazing Grace” where the character of William Wilberforce came across a pair of men who were beating a cart horse who had fallen from exhaustion was so awful.
The Industrial Revolution saved the work horse from future harm and organisations like the SPCA helped to educate others as the horse transitioned from work to recreation in industrialised nations. So the Industrial Revolution improved the lot for the horse but being humans, we managed to stuff up our planet instead.
Its at this point I put my hand up for all the farm animals abused by the attitude of the NZ farmer. All livestock requires shelter from the sun, cold, rain and wind, and all livestock need sufficient space and freedom of movement. Go out of town, see all the cows and sheep in full sun with no shelter, or freezing in open paddocks during a southerly. Or pigs and chickens imprisoned in cages. We farm industrially and treat the stock appallingly.
I might also add the farmers are matched in their disdain of living things by anglers (of whom I am one) who hold their catch up out of water for a photo, and who delight in the joys of “fighting” a distressed fish rather than making it short and sweet. Growl, things that make me mad……
“We farm industrially and treat the stock appallingly’
Indeed we do Ennui. Our lack of basic compassion for “industrial” animals in our care demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence, and certainly a lack of respect for the animal.
I wonder if there will ever be a government enlightened or willing enough to introduce decent standards of care for farmed animals. Funnily enough it may likely be economically advantageous for exporters if we could demonstrate that NZer’s were caring farmers, of both animals and the land.
Good on you for not mucking around with your fish either.
plus one ennui .
i would have a lot more respect for the spca if they started to agitate/educate/advocate about farmed animals that do not have shelter.
to see a cow in the height of summer, standing with its head in the shadow of a strainer post, to get some relief is kinda sad.
it is even more galling as there is dollars involved.
Methinks horses are not the answer.
The motor vehicle saved humankind from horse manure and dead horses. If a horse broke down it was oft shot and left in the street for the city authorities to take care of the corpse.
“The horse was no newcomer on the urban scene. But by the late
1800s, the problem of horse pollution had reached unprecedented
heights. The growth in the horse population was outstripping even the
rapid rise in the number of human city dwellers. American cities were
drowning in horse manure as well as other unpleasant byproducts of
the era’s predominant mode of transportation: urine, flies, congestion,
carcasses, and traffic accidents.Widespread cruelty to horses was a form
of environmental degradation as well.
The situation seemed dire.
In 1894, the Times of London estimated that by 1950 every street in the city would be buried nine feet deep in horse manure.”
OK. I learned something. Thanks, Rosie and veuto.
I like walking anyway.
I hope that there isn’t any leather in your shoes karol.
If there is I hope you will think of the poor animal that died in order that you might walk comfortably in your leather (uppers or soles) shoes.
Yes alwyn, treating animals cruelly while they’re alive is exactly the same as making shoes out of them when they’re dead.
🙄
it’s more that it is part of the same uncaring continuum..felix..
..that belief that animals are there for our pleasure/use/exploitation..
..and yep..!..when you haven’t worn animal skins for a long time..
..yr standard pair of shoes is kinda gross..
..you look at it..and you don’t think..’mmm!..leather.!’..
..you think..animal skin taken/used as the final indignity in their miserable/tortured lives..ew..!
..it’s all a matter of perspective..eh…
..phillip ure..
I think my footwear is mostly rubber & synthetic – I’d have thought hardly any kinder to the environment than leather – what am I going to do – stay home, go barefoot on todays pavements?
I think my footwear is mostly rubber & synthetic –
Ah, nothing to beat that old vegan stinkfoot syndrome…especially hingy when synthetic socks are thrown into the rubber/canvas/nylon shoe mix 😉
You are forgiven Karol. Sackcloth and ashes are not required.
I was only trying to get a little lightness into life with the remark.
My god, but the stuff before your comment, on the origons of the SPCA and the treatment of horses, was depressing wasn’t it?
@ alwyn..
..that recoiling in disgust re the historical treatment of horses..
..if vehemently stated today..while wolfing down some veal/w.h.y….
..does take black-irony to a new level..eh..?
..i call it the greenpeace-bbq-syndrome..
..save the planet..!
..(but first..excuse me while i chow down on some animal-flesh..)
..phillip ure..
Phil …
you seem to be …
posting more frequently…
lately….
Are you…
leaving enough room…
for…
Penny?
If we don’t crush the souls of animals as we walk, how do we absorb their vitalistic powers?
Lol. I may have been a bit reactive karol, but it wasn’t aimed at you at all 🙂
Believe me, you wouldn’t go back to a horse and cart if you lived in a city where they regularly run tourists around. The roads they use and the park-up spots are to be avoided. Although the poo is capture in horsey bags, the stench of horse-piss is unbearable in summer (barely bearable in winter).
In the past hundred years I think it is correct to say that the human cargo they are designed to carry has got taller and considerably bigger with over eating, in countries where cars are produced so it is understandable that their size has not reduced …. there has for a long time been the alternative motorbikes and shanks pony .. the latter is miniscule.
Why would car manufacturers want to produce more efficient, and therefore less profitable cars? Maybe trace the connections between the oil industry and car manufacturers? Also…why the hell were cars ever introduced as a means of mass transport? Oh yeah…the conspiracy (charged in court as such and found guilty) of the rubber industry, oil industry and car industry, whereby they bought up public transport networks and deliberately trashed them to create a market for the automobile.
fascinating doco on the killing of the electric car http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4EbhkmlaK8
15,000+ people registered to attend Kim Dotcom’s party launch, which due to wild interest has been moved from the Cloud to Vector Arena.
I hope John Key has got his party pants, because it looks like we are in for a German Sparkle Party.
re 15,000 vector..
could you give the link/source for than information..
..ta..
..i wd like to report on it..
..but can’t just take yr word for it..eh..?
..nothing personal…
phillip ure..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11186349
“…However, more than 15,000 people registered for tickets, forcing Dotcom to move the party to Vector Arena…”
@ sanctuary..
..thanks..
..just that fact should have politicians of all stripes reaching for the anti-depressants..
phillip ure..
You might also be interested in reading Chris Trotter’s take on the possible ramifications of the launch of KDC’s political party, PU, on his blog site, Bowalley Road and in The Press today.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2014/01/get-ready-for-megaparty-of-serious-fun.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/columnists/chris-trotter/9606125/Dotcoms-Megaparty-of-serious-fun
Trotter’s view is that it may well appeal a lot to the younger generation of voters as a fresh option unencumbered by the past – an extract from his article
“Statistics New Zealand estimate that on June 30, 2013, there were 333,840 New Zealanders aged 20-24 – more than enough to surmount the 5 per cent MMP threshold.”
With over 15,000 people already registered for tickets to The PartyParty next Monday night in less than 24 hours, IMO they will get the 500 registered members very quickly to qualify for registration of the political party.
UPDATE; KDC has just tweeted that the name of the party will be the “Internet Party”, not the Mega Party. He has also tweeted the logo
Tweets by KimDotcom
KDC is popular up north.
He was doing rather a good job of redistributing his wealth, locally.
lousy logo..
you’d think they’d de-capitalise..drop the stop..
..and centre ‘party’ under ‘internet’..
..or run both on same line..
..it feels not in the slightest bit..’modern’..
..and that was the best shade of purple to hand..?
..i don’t mean to be picky..but..
..there is so much to pick at..
..phillip ure..
Guessing the reason for capitalising both words and putting Party directly under Internet is so that you have a vertical acronym IP – Internet Protocol which fits the agenda – such as it is.
Have no idea about the purple though.
Purple is a Suffragette colour. – or lesbian – or just a mix of red and blue signifiying it’s neither totally left or right wing – which, IMO, usually means centrist according to the centre ground of the time.
Purple = United Future in my brain.
Someone on Twitter noted it’s also close to the colour palette for Orcon.
[ETA: I see BM also made the Orcon connection downthread.]
Bill the galactic hero…
From memory, his drill sadist used to wear that colour. It was meant to be a mixture between the bright red of arterial blood and the “blue” blood of veins. Actually the blood in veins are also red – a dark red of deoxygenated haemoglobin. Veins just look blue from the outside… But hey it is a just a book.. 😈
Of course if KDC starts to transplant large incisors then I’d start worrying what fictional universe he wants to live in.
Looking around it appears that this red/blue thing is still a popular myth.
http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2927
my 18 year old son is voting for KDC…otherwise he said he wouldn’t vote
I knew that reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 was a mistake.
I fear that your son is proving it.
Because there won’t be hundreds of hipster 25-year-olds voting for KDC. 🙄
@ alwyn lol…yes he has been called a fuckwit ……but he has the vote so you cant ignore it
….the way of youth is totally different from the way we oldies think…the internet has provided another parallel universe for them …and I am afraid for good or ill it is a revolutionary change
imo KDC could mop up a lot of votes from cynical youth who would not otherwise vote
Suspicious use of purple, same color as the Orcon logo, hmmmm.
Is the internet party just a advertising gimmick for Orcon?
KDC already has a relationship with Orcon – and features on some of their advertising.
https://t.co/1PrbjUDCCP/large
Oops, that link doesn’t work. See the link to KDC’s Twitter site in my earlier comment. There is a picture of KDC in an Orcon ad on a bus.
I know, that’s why I mentioned it.
It’s all hypothetical, but Dot com’s a business man first, l reckon, he’d be trying to make as much money out of this political lark as possible.
There’s some really dumb gullible mofos out there that hang off his every word, great opportunity for Orcon to gain a heap of new customers and for Dot com to make some coin.
Like John Key isn’t
bm..
..the picture of a perfectly modern/nervous green…
..heh..!
..and these ‘he’s only in it for the money!’..are laughable..
..d’yareckon he’s jonesing for that opposition party president honorarium..?
..heh..!
..i’m surprised at the amount of irrational/ill-informed hysteria i am seeing here from some..
..if he supports the centre-left..(and no..he won’t support his mortal-enemy key..)
..what is the problem..?..
..and this is not f.p.p…
..so unlike a previous equivalent on the right..jones/nz party..
..under mmp this political-vehicle has the chance of a much longer life than the nz party had..
..so those moaning/bitching had better get used to it..
..or it could be a flash-in-the-pan/this election only..
..but i doubt it..
..there are a lot of people out there who feel un-represented..
..(some 800,000 odd..i believe..)
..with chookys’ sons’ assertion a dotcom party is the only one he will drag himself away from his monitor for..
..surely being a policy-alarm-bell for labour/grns/mana..?
..you’d think..?
..i said it the other day..and i’ll say it again..
..i reckon this will be the first real mmp-election..
..where the policies of the minor and major parties is/will be more to the fore than ever before..
..and those parties that think they will..as in the past..just cruise in/get by..on their traditional ‘brand’..plus a bit of spin..
..are in for a serious/unpleasant shock..
..(and i most certainly include labour in that prescription..
..i see them in more danger than most..
..of seeing their support leach away to parties that are offering not just more of the same..but exciting/innovative/game-changing ‘policies’..
..and with this formal announcement of the dotcom-gig..and that 15,000 sign-up for his opening party party..
..david cunnliffes’ state-of-the-nation speech suddenly swings much more into focus/import)…
..eh..?
phillip ure..
The politics of partying: Dotcom’s celebrity circuses. Not much about the bread distribution to all.
@ karol..
..no sense of jury out/wait ’till the evidence appears..?
..just that rush to judgement..eh..?
..i prefer to wait ’till i see the policies..
..then..if needed..i’ll pile in..
..but really karol..
..’judgement-rush’ is how you are coming across on this dotcom-thing..
..why the beef..?..(excuse the non-vegan metaphor..)
phillip ure..
KDC’s values are conveyed by his way of promoting the party – all we see so far is that it’s got his brand on it and it’s about the internet. Little about what his party stands for in all that, other than what we already know about KDC. So I’m not optimistic. Celebrity branding and partying.
Not even a glimmer of what his party will do for Kiwis in general, other than from what we know of KDC’s focus and interests.
Edit: and on the basis of just as much (or as little evidence), many on the left are uncritically cheerleading KDC’s party move, which I find worrying
same thoughts and fears here
Me too karol.
A move away from the sad-old,same-old, failed policies, maybe? Something new on the horizon?
Well, I’m not hopeful about it being anything “new” – just the same old same old “neoliberal” celebrity culture of infotainment led by a libertarian type wanting in on the big time capitalist action – old story, new window dressing – remake for the digital age.
um..!..i’m not ‘cheerleading’ his move..
..as i don’t yet know what his policies will be..
..depending on them will define the level of any ensuing ‘cheerleading’..
..i don’t know..
..you don’t know..
..this is the only point i am making..
..and rushing to judgement..about anything..without the facts..
..is both a folly..and not a good look..
phillip ure..
Well, f the Internet Party surprises me I’ll say so. But there are some facts as I’ve laid out, and they don’t give me cause for optimism.
“But there are some facts as I’ve laid out, and they don’t give me cause for optimism.”
I may be missiing something, Karol, but IMO your comments in this thread at 3.2; 3.2.1.1; and this one seem to be personal opinion/perception – not facts – and based on a lot of assumptions.
Personally, I am keeping an open mind on the Internet Party until we have actually seen their vision, policies etc, and who else is involved – presumably next week.
I have followed the KDC saga closely over the last two years – because of the legal and other ramifications rather than as a cheer leader for KDC. But in so doing, I have come to the opinion that KDC may be a very clever businessman/entrepreneur; but also has a softer side to him also. Loves his wife, children, pets dearly; is very loyal to his friends, work colleagues; and can appreciate the simplicity of a beautiful tree in flower etc. Yes, he has done some bad things in the past; but he was (at the time of his application for residency)and has continued to be open about these (although his German convictions were actually ‘clean slated’ under German legislation similar to our own Clean Slate Act).
As I said, I await fuller details about the Internet Party with an open mind.
The facts are in KDC’s past record. They are also in the way the party is named, and what is so far missing – nothing about what the party or KDC will do for NZers, except for his desire for internet “freedom”.
Many right wingers have their soft family side – means little.
KDC is first and foremost an Entrepreneur – he is out to make money using the Internet – he sees it as an under-utilised platform for business. He is ultimately a capitalist (and very competitive) – and a fairly libertarian one. I have heard nothing from him about being concerned for the plight of the less well off, or of low paid workers, etc.
He may be useful to the left in challenging Key and splitting the right wing vote. But he is not of the left.
But, whatever, ….my views are not going to influence the outcomes. And time will tell what KDC’s party is really about.
Dotcom’s political party is brand new. It’s still very early days and I am guessing that it still has a lot of policy development work to do.
But I will bet that it’s political posture will not fall easily into analysis via the traditional Left/Right dimensions.
One presumes, being launched by Kim Dotcom, that it will be a “fuck John Key / the government / big business / ties to the USA” party aimed at young people.
Chance of this hurting National in election year: zero
Labour and the Greens, on the other hand…
you are wrong shg..
..dotcom has most appeal to that disenfranchised 800.000 +
..and as a centre-left supporter after the outcome..
..this will have key/the right worried..
..they would be fools if they weren’t..
phillip ure..
Well WO is claiming Martyn Bradbury is part of the party and will be a candidate – Bradbury is distancing himself somewhat.
I’d be disappointed if Bradbury moved from supporting Mana (or was it Cunliffe) to the Internet Party.
But it depends on who else is involved.
Bradbury just changed his twitter profile image to this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/26863166/1375401091/web
If you don’t feel like clicking: it’s Bradbury standing at Dotcom’s right hand as Dotcom makes his announcement.
Bradbury just posted at TDB that he has stood down from his role with Mana.
But that he hasn’t joined the Internet Party – will let us know if/when he does.
I for one cannot wait to see whether or not the hairy fat bespectacled white guy joins the hairy fat bespectacled white guy.
How about stating what Bradbury said in full on TDB, and not just one sentence ?
What Bradbury said in full (its not long) is;
Good old Cameron. Thank you for the publicity.
Couple of things.
1: I stood down from my role as a consultant with the MANA Party last year.
2: What Cameron is showing is an early draft of a proposal tabled at a meeting with a whole bunch of other ideas late last year.
3: The idea of me as a candidate was more to kick around ideas.
I am a Political consultant, this is what I do, this was a proposal I was asked to submit. The moment I start working for the Internet Party if I am offered a role I will be shouting it from the rooftops as I think the ideas of an Internet Party focused on civil rights in the online 21st Century and the economic prosperity that could generate for NZ is the future and anything that moves us away from a dairy dependent, drill and mine economy is a good thing.
But all it was, was a proposal. If that changes, I will let you all know.”
Bradbury goes with the highest bidder. Thus he’s busy right now telling us who he’s NOT working for. The moment he tells us he IS working for someone, he’s not worth anything to anyone else. Like a good capitalist he’s just trying to maximise his own asking price.
Still, I note that Bradbury sure ain’t posting any pictures of himself standing in support next to Harawira, Cunliffe, or Norman and Turei.
PS: oh lol at the leaked document: “Bradbury recommends the party pay him $8000 a month to run a campaign in the Auckland Central electorate.
Mr Bradbury also asks for a one-off payment of $5000 to upgrade his computer, cellphone and tablet devices.”
http://www.3news.co.nz/Details-leaked-about-Doctoms-Internet-Party/tabid/1607/articleID/328539/Default.aspx
SLURP SLURP SLURP
Good. Mana will do a lot better without him. I hope they never paid him. A dead moray eel would be too high a payment for the services of the poor man’s Hooten.
Bomber’s main interest seems to be the media and getting a role for himself. I think he’s a natural fit with Dotcom, much more so than with Mana. I can’t see the Dotcom party doing much good at all, except for in the area of regulation of the internet and maybe the surveillance society. Mana would be much stronger in fighting the surveillance society, because their activists have known for years what it’s like to be watched and persecuted. I think it’s a dangerous distraction, and no, I don’t have to look at their policies to have an opinion, any more than I need to read the ACT manifesto to condemn them.
aye, I tend to agree re: bradbury. Loves being the voice of the left, as long as “the left” agrees with whatever he says – so now he’s working for a Banks supporter.
+ 1 So true Murray – Mana don’t need him and never did – he was never a natural fit there and TIP is much more his cup of tea
Bomber’s main interest seems to be the media and getting a role for himself.
heh – 3 News claims the Int Party so far have 3 main policies, including intenet business for NZ and supporting a public broadcasting service – they need to be able to show it will be free from KDC money manipulations.
I was right about Bomber all along then!
http://www.3news.co.nz/Details-leaked-about-Doctoms-Internet-Party/tabid/1607/articleID/328539/Default.aspx
So the best way, according to 3 news website, that Bomber could help fight against a national third term is to whore himself out for 8,000 a month and a new i rig for a rich prick with a penchant for super cars and shite music, who awaiting extradition on piracy charges, sets up mega, which has dodgy copyright content on it as I type.
Great way to make a contribution, comrade, by filling your own pocket with dirty money.
Apart from that, not a lot really.
yep I agree too karol – I’m not sure where the votes are going to come from but I can’t imagine many Mana voters are going to jump ship to partyparty.
edit: bomber is a political consultant – he consults for a crust – good luck to him I say although I do think Mana wasted their money on him.
I will wait to see what the policies are before I decide about the party but I am supportive of him actually making a party especially one that looks like it will bring the young into politics.
+1
People today don’t like being party cannon fodder. If you want someone to do something for you, you have to give them some fun before, during and after. A party that is also a PARTY appeals to people who are turned off by the idea of earnest discussions about Saturday morning (Sunday morning? Are you nuts? I’ve got a hangover/get my only sleep-in on Saturday mornings sayeth the youth of today) leaflet drops by pensioners in drafty halls on a rainy Monday night in July.
I kinda foresee nicely dressed up, but really quite nasty right wing tosh oozing out from this. The challenge for left leaning parties is to grasp the opportunity to pull newly ‘engaged’ Dotcommers into a more honest realm of politics. Will they? Doubt it. And so we’ll wind up with a NZ version of that Italian guy whose name escapes me or a NZ version of the Pirate Party. Not good.
+1 Bill, The political interest it will generate is to be welcomed. But in the long run I can only see it hurting the left unless they re-engage with the public in a meaningful way.
And a computer is still a keyboard and a screen, and if cars shit themselves as often as computers and needed ” upgrading” as often, car companies would have been sued out of existance.
There is a teeny bit more than that in them. But typically the failure components are hard disks and on the printed circuit boards (PCB)
PCBs have a few orders of magnitude more components than the entirety of any production car and are made up of hot or warm components that are densely packed and typically react to each other and their environment. Selecting the right motherboard and case for cooling, maintaining and replacing them for your task makes a hell of difference. Just as it does with a car. Which is why my motherboards typically last until I *upgrade* them – usually about every 5 years. I just replaced the one in my workstation that I brought in 2009.
Hard disks typically operate at sustained movement speeds far in excess of any car apart from Formula one racing cars – which seldom last a year. The best way to think about them is that they are a consumable like brake pads or tyres. You should expect to replace them every few years and build that into your maintenance schedule.
I suspect that you’re mostly complaining about portable computers and handhelds.
Yes it is possible to get longer lasting laptops – for instance a Toughbook. Paying for them is a completely different matter.
The last laptop I brought was in 2009, a sony vaio Z series. It is still happily running and in daily use. My partners old laptops from the last two decades used to litter the household until we disposed on them on moving into less storage space. None of them ever died, they just got new hard disks. Of course these were all rather expensive apples..
I suspect that you’re getting what you pay for.
Standardisation of components also makes a big difference in enabling rapid development and reducing cost. You don’t see this with cars, apart from obvious things like wheels, tyres etc.
You can’t just grab any old gearbox off the shelf and whack it in your car.
I had hoped one day to see someone start a project for an open source (and open standards) car design. However given that car manufacturing is now a sunset industry (or will be soon) it’s probably not worth doing.
cars shit themselves as often as computers and needed ” upgrading” as often
You should stop buying shit computers then. My cars need far more attention than my computers.
Eric Roy is the 9th National Party Caucus member to resign at the end of this term. Colin James and Michelle Boag (on RNZ this morning) reckon that these people are being tapped on the shoulder to f.o. I reckon the National Party cant be a happy camp at the moment, but it is a very corporate way of running things, interesting.
It’s a good thing really I could name several high profile labour mp’s that should have been ‘shoulder tapped’ years ago.
I doubt things are too unhappy i’m sure most of them will wash up with a few cushy board positions or similar…
That’s the problem. Labour don’t have the corporate jobs to bribe their MOs with to leave.
Anyway, if Labour don’t get rid of their neoliberal rump they are toast.
There are far too many timid or compromised people in the party.
Yes. Labour is much more democratic though, im not convinced that the National’s Corporate approach is the right way, it might get rid of the deadwood but it also has its downsides. It does lead to a lot to people conforming to what the leader wants, so a lot of sucking up…but I still reckon that it is probably a much unhappier party than what is been let on.
I gather that most Labour MPs simply do not have the workskills to perform in the real world outside of Parliament.
If you did jcuknz you wouldn’t be on the blog so much as aRWNJ. After all there is no money in it for you, is there? Or are you too old to be a judge? (shades of Cook and Moore.)
jcuknz, I gather that you’re talking out your arse.
Paul
+1 National is showing the way. Labour get to work.
It’s called rejuvenation. Look for more long-serving MPs to retire as National positions itself as a future-facing party in election year.
And on the other side of the political spectrum, we have the party going to the election with David Cunliffe, Phil Goff, Annette King, and Trevor Mallard. All Clark-era Cabinet ministers.
For bonus dotage: Mallard and King entered Parliament in the election that ousted Rob Muldoon.
But wait there’s more: Goff has been an MP since the election that ousted BILL ROWLING.
We are all Palestinians by JOHN MINTO [deleted]
[deleted]
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/01/15/we-are-all-palestinians/#sthash.8duMXuCK.dpuf
[lprent: The quoting was excessive – relevant quoted *teasers* yes – not a copied page and a half. Opinion from yourself is what I’d usually expect as the main teaser anyway. Don’t make me have to do this work again. See the policy on cut’n’paste.
BTW and before you ask: The only reason that Penny Bright gets away with her massive screeds is because I can’t find them on google. Probably means that wherever else they are published has crappy search engine optimisation. BLip’s lists are original. ]
I thought it might have been pushing the margin a bit there. My apologies.
(why aren’t we screaming from the rooftops about this one.)
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/dude-wheres-my-north-sea-oil-money-ed-hey-guess-what-funny-story-if-oil-is-found-off-the-nz-coast-we-are-going-to-be-screwed-by-the-oil-companies-just-as-the-british-were/
(excerpt:..)
“..For a few years – the UK enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime windfall –
– only – unlike the Norwegians –
– we’ve got almost nothing to show for it..”
(cont..)
..(ed:..now..if we don’t take this as a cautionary-tale..a ‘whoop-whoop..!..pull-up!-moment..
..then we have sawdust between our ears..
..’cos this govt..using super-negotiator/hard-man browning..
..signed off on one of the most pathetically low oil rates..in the world..
..so..like britain..if a gusher is found..
..these clowns that rule over us..
..have guaranteed that – like britain..
..we will be screwed over by the oil-companies..
..all the profits will flow offshore..
..directly to them..
..and we will get s.f.a..
..and if a political party doesn’t seize on this populist-hand-grenade as an election-issue..
..well they all also have sawdust between their ears..
..and don’t believe nathan ‘clutch cargo’ guy when he bangs on about how wonderful it will be..
..and when he throws out actual figures/amounts..
..be aware they have been massaged so much..
..they are black and blue from the bruises..
..and they added in the gst on the packet of gum the courier driver bought on his way to this oil-field nirvana..
..to deliver a package..
..it is all just a cover-up to conceal their traitorous sell-out of our interests as a country..”
(cont..)
phillip ure…
This government is working for foreign corporate interests.
Simple.
Absolutely, and as long as they stay in power, the more irreversible damage they will do
And if Labour retain their neo-liberal hue, nothing will change.
Just three examples off the bat:Goff supports the TPP and Jones supports off shore drilling and Labour MPs take gifts from Sky City
It’ll just be a slower death for workers’ rights in NZ and, more dangerously, more disaffected voters. The UK already suffers from this fact as there is no party there you can vote for that challenges neo-liberal economics.
+1
I doubt if Labour would be doing anything different so I would crit the politicians not just the current government.
@ jcunz..
..i agree..labour cannot preach on this..
..as they are guilty of the same..(they showed the oil companies how easy we are to negotiate out the door..
..they set the bar so low you get back-strain reaching for it..
..the greens cannot..lest they be seen to have accepted drilling as a fait-accomplit..
..so i see this as yet another populist issue dotcom can ride to parliament..
..(and,,ahem..!..the negotiating-stance i wd go for..is..
..if oil is found..the state gets 50% of the gusher…
..that’s the deal..
..take it or leave it..
..50%..or nothing…)
phillip ure..
Bad move. Rescind the license completely and then set it up so that the drilling is either done directly by the government or under contract to the government for a fixed price. The government would own all of the oil/gas.
And do that with all the mining and resource extraction in the country.
i’ll see yr 100%..
phillip ure..
Labour were infiltrated in the 80s by the neo-liberal virus.
Looks like the grassroots are trying to purge the party of this disease, but it’s hard work to oust these 5th columnists out of their comfortable rotten boroughs.
Paul
Interesting you use that rotten boroughs term. That came to my mind as a comparison a while ago when thinking of what is happening here.
Another reason why we need Democracy instead of our blind faith in the loons in power.
+1
+2
this seemed fairly familiar:
So where did our billions go? Hawksworth writes: “The logical answer is that the oil money enabled non-oil taxes to be kept lower.” In other words: tax cuts. When the North Sea was providing maximum income, Thatcher’s chancellor, Nigel Lawson slashed income and other direct taxes, especially for the rich. The top rate of tax came down from 60p in the pound to just 40p by 1988. He also reduced the basic rate of income tax; but the poor wouldn’t have seen much of those pounds in their pockets, as, thanks to the Tories, they were paying more VAT.
Where is Rogue Trooper these days?
Yes where is he?…and Rhinocrates?….Maybe they are sunning themselves on a tropical island just listening to the lap of the waves….. and hoping that there wont be a cyclone…..
[lprent: Resting apparently. See http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31122013/#comment-751547
Rhinocrates has been around. ]
Rhinocrates was around yesterday, but Rogue?
Yes, I’ve been reading Rhinocrates – and you too, Freedom by the way. I enjoyed your see saw metaphor for FFP vs. MMP. I support what you said.
Often I don’t have the time or the energy to reply to topics raised here at TS but I do read the majority of articles. Always thought provoking stuff.
I do miss Roguey’s unique style.
If one follows the link lprent put up there is some good links I think, though I haven;t caught up yet. Frankly I will always be running behind with the shovel as I think lots of the best stuff gets dropped unnoticed.
On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. (Author of Debt: The First 5000 Years)
http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/
+1
Lookalike
Surely this writer, i.e., moi, is not the first to notice the uncanny similarity of these two notorious right wing gentlemen….
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE….
http://www.fijisun.com.fj/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Cameron-Slater.gif
CAMERON “WHALEOIL” SLATER….
http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Chris-Christie.jpg
People who fight to establish a country are terrorists who become honoured citizens when they succeed in their endeavours. War, official or not, is a horrible and nasty business [irrespective of if you are the respected winner or the despised looser] and Arik succeeded but with age apparently became more sensible and tolerant of what is likely to succeed in the longterm.
As a man of his times and his situation he should be respected rather than reviled. But the past eight years illustrates the foolishness of quantity versus quality as practiced by the medical profession with the support of the rest of us.
@ jcunz..
..pigs-arse..!
..he was a war-criminal who butchered unarmed/defenceless women and children..in a palestinian refugee camp..
..he deserves all the reviling he gets..
phillip ure..
What you say does make some sense. Sharon—or “Arik” as he was known to his friends and to hapless political makeweights like Joe “Kinnock” Biden—was a war criminal, and at his his funeral he was eulogized by war criminals. But he is not some monster who was running out of control; he was a faithful servant of a criminal, scofflaw regime. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was working in Palestine when Ariel Sharon rocked up to the Temple of the Mount with armed soldiers in tow, a few months out from the election.
Rioting ensued. So began the second intifada.
Sharon then rode the subsequent tide of racist nationalism to win the election
Most Israelis I spoke to at the time were disgusted that he would forment violence simply to stoke the fears of the Israeli populace. Several mentioned that he should be tried as a war criminal for his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Even more believed he should have been court marshalled for disobeying Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War which led the the deaths of many of the soldiers under his command (and Golda Meirs resignation).
His career should have ended in a court marshall in 1973. Or at the very least in the Hague after 1982.
Weak as piss from the Labour party.
“Labour corrections spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern said [SERCO} should lose its contract to run Mt Eden.”
What was wrong with saying: “The next Labour-led government will cancel all contracts and/or close all private prisons. SERCO investors take note: you will lose 100% of your investment every single time you interfere in New Zealand penal policy”?
There are ways to Tory proof this country. Compulsory return of public property without compensation is a tool that needs to come out of the shed more often.
+ 1.
+ 1 also.
+1
Serco has had its UK tender cancelled due to fraud.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25052373
Ardern should ask the auditor general to investigate,any improprieties in NZ.
How can we expect tory-proofing from a party that’s still stacked with pale blue, cut rate, 3rd way tories itself?
+1
Depressing but true.
+1
+1
for those who have never watched it, you really should
these guys are very clear in their intentions
and NZ is on their to do list
Well, that was scary shit……………….but perhaps more disturbingly, wasn’t surprising.
+1..
phillip ure..
perhaps the most egregious aspect of this sell-out to american corporate interests by this tory govt..
..is the guarantee in the deal..for the nz state to provide these vultures with enough prisoners to fill their cells..and thus guarantee them their-profit-margins..
..and get this..!..under this sell-out deal..if the state does not serve up these/enough bodies for this american corporation..
..the nz taxpayers have to pay them compensation..
..the tories thus continuing to ensure we maintain our place of shame..
..so so near the top of the countries that imprison the most of their citizens..
..now..doesn’t all of that both suck and blow..?
..phillip ure..
First, Labour has to rediscover its backbone. Bloody hard when so many are “career politicians”, or else have been voted in under a tide of blue liberalism.
Imagine if some of them had to categorically state something, you wouldn’t see them for the dust. As for Serco, the old saying, a fool and his money are easily parted, rings true in this case.
+1
+1
We need to stop kowtowing to the multi-national corporates and tell them to fuck off.
Noam Chomsky: Sabra & Shatila massacre recalls worst Jewish Pogroms
We look at one of the most shocking incidents in the career of the late former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Up to 2,000 Palestinians died on Sept. 16-17, 1982, when the Israeli military allowed a Christian militia to attack the camp. Then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was forced to resign after a special Israeli investigative panel declared him to be “personally responsible” for the massacre. We air a description of the killings by Ellen Siegel, a Jewish-American nurse who was working at Gaza Hospital at the Sabra camp at the time of the attacks, and speak with Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology….
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/13/noam_chomsky_sabra_shatila_massacre_that
A couple of thoughts.
Apparently there is a lowering crime rate, yet it is a time of increased deprivation of many.
A possible flow on from increased deprivation. Thomas Belmonte in his sociological study of the very poor people of Naples , in his book The Broken Fountain noted that the police were kept away from this area. Their presence usually meant more problems, no-one would want to give them information because of peer pressure and because it drew them personally to police attention. To live they reverted to stealing, it was endemic. The children were adept at getting into car boots of cars stopped at intersections. They might be as adept at climbing as monkeys. The author when new to the area, turned in his room, and found a young boy who had scaled the balcony to the first floor to check him out. They stole from each other, the family possibly, their friends and neighbours, probably. The Catholic church was their first port of call when having difficulties. A cosa nostra scenario really.
So if people are likely to be questioned about their own life if they report a crime, they will think twice. And it has to be serious, to be reported. To people in these conditions, the police are not an option. Police are sometimes unfriendly but fair, sometimes not, always a complication. Community building and support are needed to overcome this in NZ and help with the young delinquents on diversion properly handled could be the best option. That is until, or if, the government sets in place an economy that allows people to strive and to better themselves, and gives them plenty of inexpensive opportunities.
Another thought.
The present parliamentary system is no better than committees I’ve been on for community organisations. A new committee comes in,. and proceeds to overturn decisions made previously that people spent time thinking and arguing and deciding on, and which are of benefit. A new group has a better idea and considers itself automatically better than the past, particularly if as is common in community organisations that don’t have rich patrons or funding, they are just cranking along doing some good.
The government can overturn good policies of the past. To avoid this, there has to be a burst of energy against it. The whole thing can be re argued. There is no cause to do this unless the thing is fundamentally wrong and is likely to be so because of the lack of checks in the system.
It seems to me that there should be a stay on change, though new legislation should go ahead in its processes. There should be panels of people who can put their names forward and are drawn like a jury at random. The lists would be of people who would have passed a test of basic knowledge about the country and its economy and political system. This would result in a highly ordered random selection of people being drawn from say five strata to get a range of backgrounds.
The process of making decisions about changes or new legislation should have a checklist of questions about the cost, the value added, who needs it and why, who doesn’t think they need it and why, the likelihood of unintended consequences, whether it is just a deterrent, an example of a small step to change societal attitudes – and there must be a consideration of under 100 words for each check, and all to be filled in and collated and published. This would slow down legislation immensely, but a lot of what is passed now is repairing badly prepared stuff, or puts new bad law that has immediate advantage to a small group in, later to be mourned by those picking up the pieces. It would cut down on externalities being greatly resorted to, as less could be blithely passed over by the irresponsible.
Or we could just go to referenda rather than looking for a new set of people to put up on pedestals.
I like the thoughts. A more ‘informed participatory democracy’ getting a wider range of views, experience and knowledge. It would reduce the influence of well funded individuals, politicians, narrow minded civil servants, ideologists, vested interests and lobbyists. I’m of the view that too much power is vested in too few people.
who read the angry pro-smacking tirade in the dompost this a.m.by one of Craigs acolytes.
people like this should not be allowed to have children in the first place.
The media is definitely doing a beat up on Colin Craig so far this year. It’s amazing how money can get you some much media space.
Why? The Tories are definitely trying to bait the NZ electorate on this one, as it represents their best hope of power in 2014.
I suggest that editors at newspapers and producers at TV and radio stations are being told to include this as content as much as possible. It’s a bit like having a playlist at a bad music radio station. You get no independence to select your own tracks. The owners of this country tell the media what to play.
“The media is definitely doing a beat up on Colin Craig so far this year”
you are missing what is really going on Paul
It is an election year and the Nat supporters who want even more hate to flood NZ need to be told where they can safely vote without scaring the pollsters too much
“..The owners of this country tell the media what to play.”
aye..
..the most recent odious example of this was the advertorial penned by the head of the bankers’ cartel..
..posing as an opinion-piece on stuff..
..and the kicker..?
..it was headlined on that site..
..for a week..
phillip ure..
And now Brendan Horan is planning to start his own Independent Coaliltion party – battle of the minors.
Brendon Who???, ah what choices for the people of Tauranga, (1) do they vote for the bloke who if watched closely when under pressure shows clear signs of being in possession of a serious disease of the mind, or (2), cast one for the bloke what can switch on and off at will a smile of such radiance that the sun pales into insignificance, said smile all the while never quite being translated through the eyes making one wonder if He who bestows such has an axe concealed somewhere about their person…
i think note should be made that horan has been officially cleared of all the allegations made against him..
..there was no wrongdoing in his handling of his mothers’ estate/assets..
..and given all the shit that was thrown at him around that..(by me too..)
..i think fair-justice be that the clearing of his name is widely broadcast..
..and peters deserves a premature-ejaculation-award..
..for throwing horan out of his party..
..based purely on allegations..
..peters comes out of this looking the worst..
phillip ure..
Phillip Ure, raking the ashes of what is past, tell me something, as a leftist what use do you see of a NZFirst Party that could just as easily decide to prop up a National Government as a Government of the left,
Now tell me something, Winston cannot carry on forever,(unless He has found some substance the rest of us have so far missed), so who of the 2011 intake of NZFirst could have possibly kept the NZFirst Party alive after Winston,
Who in that Party had an ounce of the charisma, the mana if you will to be able to carry that Party forward after Winston,
Brendon Who??? don’t be such a soft mug Phillip, this is the long game of politics and the knee-capping of Brendon Who is simply a small move in the game,
i don’t think you will find me having commented on Brendon Who’s honesty at any point, simply because as i insinuate that wasn’t the point…
tracy martin wd be up for the job..
..she is the best of them..
phillip ure..
And so goes Sky City – multinational investment mamangement company slowly growing their slice of the shares.
The joys of US ‘quantitative easing’ washing across the borders into New Zealand perhaps, meanwhile back in the jungle as the US leviathans flash the cash the US congress is hell bent on slashing it in the form of cancelling unemployment benefits for 100’s of thousands in the US still suffering from the unemployment brought about the Global Financial Crisis,
The hypocrisy of this which cannot escape any of us except perhaps the most hardened of wing-nuts…
So we keep hearing how business confidence in NZ has hit an all time high.
After mass sacking of workers, slashing of workers’ rights and pay, after total dis-empowering of unions, after blackmailing workers into submission by threatening them with job losses, and making massive profits which are being distributed only among the management, with the help and support by a compliant government, no wonder the business confidence is so high.
Yes, the celebrating of business confidence implies that we all benefit. In fact, things like the GFC are exploited by the coporate plutocracy, so that, when there is a recovery, wages are lower, jobs more preacarious, and workers’ rights have been further whittled away.
Also, why do people so hate Martyn Bradbury? I don’t know the man at all apart from what he writes in his blogs, so more insight would be helpful.
He’s apparently joined Kim Dotcom’s party. WTF?
Yes he is working for Krim.con and the Mana party.
You know the extradition case is in tatters, don’t you Funi Man? The evidence the police presented proven false, the warrant illegal, the provision of access to sealed court evidence to unauthorised foreign nationals, do you think all those things have just sort of gone away now they aren’t in the media so much?
What sort of weight do you suppose the court will give to this sad litany when considering its decision? Do you suppose it will affect the degree of trust the court is prepared to invest in the rest of the Yankee request much?
Clearly you are of the sort that believes the accused are always guilty whether proven innocent or not, and your opinion is utterly irrelevant, but I care, Funi Man. I’m looking forward to your chagrin 🙂
Source WO. Bradbury was a consultant to the internet Party early on. Ditto Graeme Edgeler. Trotter as alleged cheerleader.+
I don’t hate Bradbury. Sometimes I totally agree with his comments/analysis. Sometimes I think he’s not a very in-depth thinker. He also can be a bit contradictory. He’s a good publicist – can use the media quite well.
Some find him too opinionated and too focused on his own publicity.
Yup. Can’t see KDC and Bradbury being a comfortable mix for long.
Interesting though. WO has scored a bit of an own goal with this. He’s added to the Internet Party publicity, and aligned it with the left.
The only thing I like about KDC is the way he makes John Key squirm on the end of his bayonet. Millionaire vs Millionaire battle just another gormless media distraction really.
*sigh* Yep.
Own goal? Seems like he’s handled it perfectly.
I don’t know, Arfarmo. I can’t see them treading on one anothers’ toes that much. Dotcom wants to be a celebrity billionaire, not a politician.
I’ve concluded Bomber’s much the same. Their supporters will each claim their hearts are in the right place. But their egos will clash I reckon.
There is not a chance in hell that dot com gets 5% of the party vote.
What a waste of his money and his supporters time.
He’s a capitalist. He knows that’s what they’re there for. Big fun.
A lot of people are pissed off about being spied on, Brett. I’m struggling to seeing him make 5%, but the New Zealand Party…
Knucklehead:
He wont get 5% though, and do his supporters really think this guy actually has their best
interests at heart?
Says you. As for NZ interests, I note he is funding a political party and has apparently hired (or at least called for expressions of interest from) some quite serious players to run it.
The last time someone tried something of this nature, The New Zealand Party got 12% of the vote.
I won’t be surprised if he fails, but I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t.
Alistair Thompson has resigned from Scoop in the last hour or two and confirmed he is working for the IntP.
do his supporters really think this guy actually has their best
interests at heart?
If they didn’t they probably wouldn’t be supporters. #logic
QOT:
Most people who support fringe parties dont use logic.
#thinkaboutit
Most people who support TORY parties dont use logic.
#FIFY
“do his supporters really think this guy actually has their best
interests at heart?”
Dunno. Do John Key’s supporters?
I’m not. The Greens got 6.8% in their first election. Act got 6.9% in their first election.
I see it as highly probably that, in their first election, The Internet Party will get over 5%. The question is if they will be able to maintain that. Act hasn’t but The Greens are going strong.
The Conservative flesh out the field a bit…
so..brett..are you so sure of yr claim..
..that you will do a keith locke..?
..and walk naked down a main thoroughfare naked..
..if you are wrong..?
phillip ure..
Phillip:
I think its best for all concern that I keep my clothes on.
Secondly again he wont get near 5%.
Thirdly I find it beyond belief that there are kiwis who think Kim dotcom actually cares about
them.
He will end up doing what that Irish gimp did.
Nice little ‘jolt’ felt in Wellington just now, maybe 2.5-3 on the rickety scale, a minor isolated movement or more from the series shaking the top of the South???…
It doesn’t add up. Looking at the numbers from the msd site, the $10.3 billion decrease doesn’t add up to the figures on the site. It only shows $7.3 billion. There was $1.5B was added that was a methodology correction to the 2012 liability figures. So it should have been $8.8 billion. But that’s still $1.5 billion more than the numbers published on the MSD site.
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/media-releases/2014/taylor-fry-welfare-valuation.html
Most of the savings was due to cheaper service rates $3.0 billion.
While only $180 million was due to lower than expected benefit payments.
Take this from the msd site,
—
The June 2012 total liability was $86.8 billion, compared with the June 2013 liability of $76.5 billion.
—
That’s there $10.3 billion figure. But in the notes at the bottom of the page is this,
—
[ii] The starting liability at 30 June 2012 was reduced to $85.3 billion due to methodology correction.
—
Oh look, there’s $1.5 Billion they are still counting even though they had corrected the figure due to methodology. Can’t trust there numbers if they make such a simple error
I just noticed on zerohedge.com that the benchmark Baltic Dry shipping indexing is collapsing at historic rates. That implies massive dry bulk carrying over capacity on 23 of the world’s major trade routes.
I don’t think that the global real economy is going to do any good this year, at all.
That was mentioned in a article I read a year or two back on shipping. The article mentioned that there was an awful lot carrying capacity coming on line in the next year or two and that competition would drive prices for shipping to below cost.
Haven’t noticed any pictures or mentions about David Cunliffe on holiday with his family etc etc…Key’s boys been getting high fives from Obama on the golf course in Hawaii…absolute elitism but also very hard to attack as that…
Parapara Peak, Golden Bay, South Island.
https://www.facebook.com/david.cunliffe.labour
Note the beard is back. 🙂
hmmmm? CCC or KDC? What interesting times we live in! I suppose it should come as no surprise that we see a plethora of minor parties applying for the tail role of, not just wagging the dog, but potentially choosing the pooch to be promenaded by. Fun and doo doors ahead folks. Keep shoveling and smile!
It costs a lot to live in Auckland, and the reason is ?….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11185768
Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development tourism manager Jason Hill said the city billed itself as a top-quality holiday spot.
“Auckland doesn’t profess to be a budget destination, but delivers on other aspects of visitor experiences and consistently ranks highly as a desirable place to visit,” he said.
How about those of us who reside perminately within Auckland and are captured within this low wage economy ? Perhaps as a cup of coffee, a beer , dinner our are so expensive, then those working within the industry could expect to see an uplift in their wages, at least there in no reason for working conditions to be attacked!!
http://www.sfwu.org.nz
Common sense and logic fail as to why it is soooo costly to live within New Zealand. Perhaps it is all that money bring exported out as dividends in the banking sector:-)
Hey Dunedin Standardista’s, is the Off The Pages meet up still happening on Saturday?
Was going to put up a ‘notice and features’ on Thursday…
Will be there in spirit.
Oh good 🙂 Thanks Bill.