Yesterday, regional councils around the country were the scene of protests about water by New Zealanders, many of whom were provoked or incensed by the Governments recent manipulations of the water standards. A range of concerns were presented, from the selling of freshwater by overseas-owned companies to the effect of intensive dairying. The most compelling question, from the point of view of a councillor, was, “has your council succeeded in protecting the water of your region?” So I’m asking here, has your regional council successfully protected the waters it is bound to manage?
Most cringeworthy part: then-mayor (PN city, not region) Jono Naylor declaring that “the quality of sewage discharged had improved.” Not any old sewage, mate – in PN we only put quality sewage in the river.
Not content to pollute our water, the National government is giving it away free for export to cronies….
“Chinese company Nongfu Spring wants more NZ water
A Chinese company wants to buy a Bay of Plenty water bottling plant and dramatically increase its water take, and it will get the water virtually for free.
Otakiri Springs currently pays only $2003 in compliance costs each year, allowing it to take 700,000 litres a day. The consent doesn’t expire until 2026.
Now prospective owner Nongfu Spring Natural Mineral Water wants to increase the water take to 5 million litres a day. It’s the same aquifer where New Zealand company Oravida takes 400,000 litres a day.”
A big meeting last Friday 10/3 in Golden Bay. The pristine limestone filtered Pupu (Te Waikoropupu) Springs, the clearest water in the country and a unique feature which can connect with imaginations of Eden and unspoiled nature which is wonderful and valuable just as nature’s life-giving resource, has to be defended against development, farming development in this case.
Nick Smith is local Gnashonall MP and we know he is a bit one-eyed about water and any sort of control on anything that some wealthy bod can make money out of.
Otakiri Springs currently pays only $2003 in compliance costs each year, allowing it to take 700,000 litres a day. The consent doesn’t expire until 2026.
If I used 700,000 litres a day it would cost me $1700 per day.
It should cost them more because of their huge demand if we actually kept to the supposed economic law of supply and demand.
Apparently this is World Consumer Day.
China Central Television does an annual programme using hidden cameras to highlight unfair practices to consumers:
Maybe it’s time they turned the cameras on the tsunami of substandard manufactured shit coming from their own companies.
Oh that’s right, they’re not allowed to.
“One of the great privileges of my political career and my life was to meet so many hard-working and inspiring New Zealanders. I remain as ambitious for them, and New Zealand, as the day I entered Parliament…
… I would like to thank all those who backed me and the National-led Government to build a stronger and more resilient country. We got New Zealand back on its feet, got people into jobs, got back into surplus, and tackled natural disasters.
He’s still at it. Lying through his teeth. He was handed a healthy surplus by Michael Cullen and immediately squandered it on tax cuts for the rich. And that was just the start…
Yes. So sad that such a great Statesman is leaving us. In the streets there will be thousands of homeless and destitute people weeping and wailing and gnashing their remaining teeth.
“Please don’t go Beloved!” Will be the cry from bereft Mike and Audrey.
Key was one of the unnatural disasters that we have had inflicted on us by
Wellington governments. We haven’t found how to tackle them yet. Call in the All Blacks, with one of their unique, even disabling methods?
Matthew W
Wellington has to take the downs with the ups of being central government.
Surely you don’t want that to pass to Auckland. So you have to put up with a few kicks about the pollies, it’s where they are crack-ing up.
You seem to be forgetting that John Key is an electorate MP. Helensville are the ones to blame for him, not Wellington, and the looooong tradition in political griping has always been that constituency elections in any country get the blame for picking the wrong bloke. 😉
Okay can’t break with such an established tradition. But following through if they get blamed, do they accept responsibility? Can I go back to Helensville and get recompense from them for providing a faulty MP and PM and other acronyms? Or WTF?
Oh sure, you can absolutely complain to Helensville voters. They may point out/pretend they didn’t vote for him, of course, which is also tradition. Why, just before Obama was elected, nobody in the US would admit to voting for Bush. XD
At least John Key leaves with 2% support of him as Preferred PM, that is his legacy, like Tony Blair, nobody cares about him and like Tony, Key will spend the rest of his life concerned about being indicted for criminal activity.
AKA for him, at best nobody cares he’s going, at worst – the truth comes out about what he got up to.
I am really glad to see publicity recently on stuff.co.nz and today in the Herald about threatened staffing cuts and other changes to our Super City libraries.
Admin know this won’t be a popular move and it looks like we the public will be informed as late in the process as possible to prevent us kicking up a fuss. I’m disgusted that staff were given a lengthy consultation document and told not to share any of it with the public. This is not a multinational corporation with the secret recipe for Crabby Patties; this is a public service we fund with our rates.
However, a new grassroots group called Love Our Libraries is onto it. We had a launch event at Auckland Central on March 4. We collected video and written testimony from a diversity of library patrons. Very few had heard that cuts were in the offing, and the news did not go over well.
Already we’ve made an impact. Staff were told in a conference call last Friday not to engage (or only in a “limited” way) with members of our group. This tells me our charm offensive is working. If we continue the outpouring of appreciation for our libraries as they are, we change the political climate and make it hard for admin, and ultimately Council, to pursue its plans.
We’ll be at St Heliers Library (one of the system’s busiest) tomorrow afternoon from 3-5 PM and plans are underway for action on Saturday at Avondale and Remuera branches.
We need more helpers. Check out the public Facebook page and ask to join. And have your say about the next city budget. Did you vote for cuts in essential services?
+100 Julia Schiller –
Hundreds of thousands more people in Auckland City but less library services???
And Phil Goff and the Auckland Council CEO are blowing money for a feasibility study into a billion dollar stadium that nobody wants here…
You have to wonder on their mentality, people are homeless and the council are actually thinking of reducing one of the few resources ratepayers like the council for like the libraries.
Everyone uses libraries – from the homeless who can often be seen taking a snooze in the library, to the kids, elderly, rich and poor!
“You have to wonder on their mentality, people are homeless and the council are actually thinking of reducing one of the few resources ratepayers like the council for like the libraries.”
“Everyone uses libraries”
Thank you for speaking on behalf of all ratepayers.
I think you will find more and more people get their information online and do not use libraries.
Libraries have been the place where people can go for a free education, that is not subject to the whims of national government or dependent on a quota for minimum class size.
This availability is almost universal – catering to homeless, people not connected to the web at home, or those who require assistance in locating information.
I’m quite happy to have my rates go towards this kind of societal engagement and education.
I believe that encouraging the self-education of our communities pays off in the long-term , alongside investment and maintenance of critical physical infrastructure. This is investment and maintenance of critical societal infrastructure – not replaced in the foreseeable future by online engagement.
And you are a spokesman for all ratepayers, James? Not all Aucklanders can afford to access internet from their home. In our not-posh Auckland suburb the library is a great community hub and offers a lot of other valuable services to the local people, especially to those who struggle to survive on low incomes. I believe it’s the same for many other Auckland suburbs too.
Easy to overlook all that if you’re living in your privileged little bubble.
Look who needs libraries, it’s just about reading and the public learn enough of that at school. And it costs, all ratepayers have to pay and many of them never use the library at all. I don’t, and is that fair that I and others should pay for something we don’t and never will probably, use.
We pollies can tell them all they need to know or show them on television, much cheaper. And libraries are full of paper, hard copy is so 20th century and full of redundant or revised information, so hard to change or whisk away at a micro-moment’s notice.
Yes, libraries are bad ecologically, waste paper, and they can burn which adds to greenhouse gases. I hardly ever read a book, and look where I am today! Everyone uses libraries – from the homeless who can often be seen taking a snooze in the library, to the kids, elderly, rich and poor! If people spent less time reading and more doing we might get somewhere in this country. (See James below. I rest My Case.)/sarc
And cheers Julia: We’ll {Love our Libraries} be at St Heliers Library (one of the system’s busiest) tomorrow afternoon {today Thursday 16th} from 3-5 PM –
and plans are underway for action on Saturday at Avondale and Remuera branches.
We need more helpers. Check out the public Facebook page and ask to join. And have your say about the next city budget. Did you vote for cuts in essential services?
Northland is working hard to get a vibrant Hundertwasser museum going which will also be a great place for Maori in its Wairau Maori Art Gallery.
They are on the finishing straight, so support them by buying posters, making donations, buy some early Christmas presents, be behind this great new feature and boost for Northland.
The ironic thing about the Hundertwasser project is that the misery guts, unimaginative, boring, people who cannot see that it would add colour to the town (and region) in ways far more than the literal senses, are the ones against it.
They are the ones who need colour, imagination, vitality and forward thinking in their lives more than anyone.
They are likely also those afraid of debt for the future in creating a future yet think Bill English adding billions and billions onto our national debt is fine.
Pete
I feel you have doubts about Hundertwasser and the cost of the project. But it will pay off in bringing tourist business to Whangarei and that helps jobs.
And yes we all do need to have some colour in our lives, and it is a great celebration of the vivid life enjoyed and shared. Hopefully it will be a monument to a change of attitude by those with power to make opportunities for others to have better lives. Life is grey and unhappy for too many, and that should make us all unhappy till actions that can be done to improve this are done.
I have no doubt about the project and the importance of it going ahead.
The whole process so far is symbolic of heads-in-the-sand, limited, provincial, backwater, thinking of the unimaginative putting the brakes on progress.
Shortly after it is built it will be the most photographed place in Northland, a place which any visitors will tell friends, families and workmates about. The neanderthals will merely say, “Yeah, but what does that do to the bottom line?”
Oh I get you. I thought you might be being ironic. An elderly relation up there thinks it would be better if the Council used the area for a car park.
‘The pay paradise put up a parking lot, etc.’
I don’t think they are against it because they are against adding colour, etc – I think they (the councillors anyway) are against it because they can see that over time there will be a different sort of person attracted to living here and they will no longer be able to run Northland like their personal little fiefdom – bring it on I say!!
Jan M
Interesting point. A couple of years ago I visited Far North and some immigrants that I rented a room from told me that they thought there was a complacent attitude by various people who were not actively working for more business and jobs. They thought that leading citizens had a broken system which they had managed to shape to suit themselves and were slow, even reluctant to make changes to better the situation and get a thriving, vital community going. I think that stagnant would have been their description if they had not been so polite.
If you are interested in getting a keen perspective on the Scottish Referendum look into http://wingsoverscotland.com.
Here is a taste of the style.
“Judging by the first 24 hours, we’re in for a two-year festival of utter horror from the UK and Scottish media. Yesterday saw a never-ending parade of metrosplaining idiots dragged willingly in front of cameras and microphones to pontificate their clueless and mind-numbingly ignorant drivel about Scotland.
It wasn’t possible to keep track of it all, because it was frequently happening on five channels at once, and it was harder still to watch it for any extended period of time without hurling a brick through the screen in frustration at the offensive stupidity of it.”
I am hearing commentators saying New Zealand can learn from the replanting of the Port Hills after the fires. I agree, but I go one step further show how replanting needs to be done (see link in post – PDF).
In increasing order of importance:
Lessons to be learnt.
Property to be protected.
Lives to be saved.
Best to get all that 20-20 hindsight out of the way as quick as possible..
For both the landowners who by and large are lifestyle block owners who have put their heart and soul and $$ into their places, and for the Council, and for the dogged teams who had restored chunks of it, it is seriously dispiriting.
“John Key is leaving Parliament the moment he is able to without causing a by-election. But don’t worry – because Labour is letting him do it without affecting the government’s majority:
I have one question: why? Why would an opposition possibly want to do this? Especially when there’s important legislation like the gutting of the RMA on the table? Why would an opposition want to let the government keep its ability to legislate at will, rather than gaining the ability to advance the aims of its members via an effective veto on government legislation?
I understand that Labour can’t stop Cunliffe from resigning if he wants to. But this move, echoing the old FPP practice of pairing, seems to be sacrificing a real opportunity for diddly-squat. Its a reminder that when push comes to shove, Labour is just a bit useless really – and that’s not a good message to be sending in an election year.”
ok, let’s play that through: key leaves in april. In may the budget comes up, lab/grn/nz1 nuke it. Government collapses, election is held a few weeks earlier, no budget for 3 months (wtf even happens then – expenditure freeze? Unpaid public servants?).
Opposition get the blame for the early election and all the repercussions of no budget, including “we tried to fund a bridge but then the opposition scuppered the budget”.
Alternatively, nothing much changes because the balance of power is maintained, we have an election a couple of months later, and cunliffe pisses off somewhere else in the meantime.
I thought annual budget appropriations were one big bill? And had to add up? What happens if Labour like a particular spending increase but not the tax cut that takes out the other half of the projected surplus?
That’s even more problematic than just nuking the entire thing: Labour support expenditure but not the taxes, so the government acquires a massive deficit, at Labour’s fault, just before the election.
Nah, thinking about it more theentire idea has too many tiny pitfalls. Better to just do it this way.
So, I finally hooked up my poll-averaging spreadsheet to automatically calculate the number of List seats each party gets, and man is the current poll average depressing:
The Māori Party is likely to decide who governs. Yeah, not even New Zealand First, they’re necessary for a Labour government, but not sufficient. Right now Labour+Greens+NZ is averaging just one MP above National, and the most likely scenario from polling is that the MP’s choice is necessary to determine who governs, assuming UF breaks National’s way.
Didn’t think I’d be nostalgic for the polling that gave us a likely outcome of Winston determining the government, but this is depressing.
Most of the weighting is towards the February RM poll in this average. I’m assuming every credible microparty wins their electorates, and that no independents win. If that Ilam seat doesn’t go to Browlee, Labour would lose a list seat based on this average of polling, (as they are currently allocated the 120th seat) which would allow National to govern without the MP.
In that scenario, aren’t both Mp and NZF potential kingmakers? e.g. if Mp goes with Labour, NZF could still go with Nact and thus we have a 4th term National govt.
What happens if Mana don’t get TTT? If Mana do get TTT, Labour would need a C and S agreement from them right?
Or Dunne doesn’t get Ōhariū?
Any meaning attached to this far out from the election?
No, you need both MP and NZF to get a Labour government in that scenario, but only one of the two to go to National for them to govern. Remember, for every two overhang seats, the amount needed for a majority goes up by 1, so this would be a 62-to-win scenario. Mana and UF would both be overhang, (I expect realistically that ACT will be too, they’re just benefitting from rounding)
It actually makes no difference with those particular numbers whether either Mana or UF lose their seats, as the Māori Party has 2 seats but each side only needs 1 of them, so losing their extra party just means they need both MP seats instead. You’d need the MP to lose their electorate too for it to make any difference at this level of polling.
edit: excuse me, it does make a difference if UF loses, as then National would need NZF to govern, whether it gets the MP or not.
What I was meaning is that in terms of kingmaker roles, if Peters chooses National it doesn’t matter what the Mp wants or does. The right bloc would then have 70 seats (A, N, UF, NZF). Even just N and NZF would be enough. I find that more depressing than the Mp having the balance of power 😉 But yes, for the Mp to do the right thing, it also depends on the left having to deal with Peters. Again, fucking depressing.
At least those lefties who might have voted Peters might now vote TOP.
Given that TOP isn’t actually going to take sides, but NZF might still choose Labour, I’d actually prefer that NZF voters stay with NZF if they’re not going to move to the Greens or Labour.
“It actually makes no difference with those particular numbers whether either Mana or UF lose their seats, as the Māori Party has 2 seats but each side only needs 1 of them, so losing their extra party just means they need both MP seats instead. You’d need the MP to lose their electorate too for it to make any difference at this level of polling.”
Interesting, and presumably part of the Mana/Mp deal. It must be a nightmare having to track all this internally at the party level and then try and make good decisions (am thinking of the Greens here).
You’d probably be hoping for a bit more of a swing to the left between now and the election, though, so that National could not govern without NZ First, and Lab/Greens could govern with NZ First but without the MP?
Oh, if we’re going off what I’m hoping for, it’s that Labour and the Greens have a choice other than NZ First that gets them a majority, so that they can do a minority coalition, and pull in say the Māori Party on issues too liberal for NZ First, and can flex to NZ First where they need to, too.
This is all from before Annette King resigned too, so this month’s RM should be interesting. If a swing away from National is going to happen after their recovery from Key’s resignation, this would be a reasonable starting point for it.
(Actually I was missing last month’s CB too when I posted those figures, although mostly they’ve just moved MPs around within the Left rather than changing the overall balance much. I hope you’ll all excuse me, but well, CB hardly ever polls, so I forget to check it sometimes, wheras Roy Morgan is regular so I know roughly when to expect the next one)
It was (just) within the margin of error a couples times in 2016, actually, so it’s not as long a shot as it sounds, especially as polling before recent elections under MMP has seemed to lean slightly more in favour of National than the actual election did, for whatever reason. Labour and the Greens need to manage about a 5% boost between them from current polling levels in order to reliably get there, assuming that O’Connor loses Ohariu to Dunne, and Hone loses TTT. If both electorates go their way, it’s even less.
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If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
The Reserve Bank is currently planning tighter banking regulation, requiring banks to hold enough local capital to survive a 1-in-200 year financial crisis in order to protect consumers. The big Aussies banks, those foreign leeches who suck $5 billion in profit out of our economy every year, don't like that, ...
Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
By Duncan Garner Before you jump down my throat, nobody cares about the environment more than me. I have a garden, and since my wife and I broke up, I’ve let it grow wildly out of control, so please don’t tell me I’m not doing enough for plants. They’re ten ...
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
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On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
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Open Mike 15/03/2017 
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Yesterday, regional councils around the country were the scene of protests about water by New Zealanders, many of whom were provoked or incensed by the Governments recent manipulations of the water standards. A range of concerns were presented, from the selling of freshwater by overseas-owned companies to the effect of intensive dairying. The most compelling question, from the point of view of a councillor, was, “has your council succeeded in protecting the water of your region?” So I’m asking here, has your regional council successfully protected the waters it is bound to manage?
I live in Auckland. Need I say more?
Manawatu, and no it hasn’t: http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/3097651/Manawatu-River-among-worst-in-the-West
Most cringeworthy part: then-mayor (PN city, not region) Jono Naylor declaring that “the quality of sewage discharged had improved.” Not any old sewage, mate – in PN we only put quality sewage in the river.
Not content to pollute our water, the National government is giving it away free for export to cronies….
“Chinese company Nongfu Spring wants more NZ water
A Chinese company wants to buy a Bay of Plenty water bottling plant and dramatically increase its water take, and it will get the water virtually for free.
Otakiri Springs currently pays only $2003 in compliance costs each year, allowing it to take 700,000 litres a day. The consent doesn’t expire until 2026.
Now prospective owner Nongfu Spring Natural Mineral Water wants to increase the water take to 5 million litres a day. It’s the same aquifer where New Zealand company Oravida takes 400,000 litres a day.”
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/03/14/why-are-we-allowing-china-to-take-our-water-and-where-have-i-heard-oravida-from-again/
A big meeting last Friday 10/3 in Golden Bay. The pristine limestone filtered Pupu (Te Waikoropupu) Springs, the clearest water in the country and a unique feature which can connect with imaginations of Eden and unspoiled nature which is wonderful and valuable just as nature’s life-giving resource, has to be defended against development, farming development in this case.
Nick Smith is local Gnashonall MP and we know he is a bit one-eyed about water and any sort of control on anything that some wealthy bod can make money out of.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/03/tensions-boil-at-te-waikoropupu-springs-meeting.html
If I used 700,000 litres a day it would cost me $1700 per day.
It should cost them more because of their huge demand if we actually kept to the supposed economic law of supply and demand.
Heh – evidence that maybe there is a place for free markets in at least some things – the US feds can’t grow dope for shit.
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/14/14924068/marijuana-research-federal-government
Apparently this is World Consumer Day.
China Central Television does an annual programme using hidden cameras to highlight unfair practices to consumers:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-14/china-s-name-and-shame-tv-show-puts-household-brands-in-hot-seat
In previous years it has successfully targeted Lotte-Hershey, Apple, McDonalds, and Volkswagen. Maybe it’ll be Samsung this time.
If New Zealand had public television with that kind of focus here, just imagine which companies would quake at the knees.
Maybe it’s time they turned the cameras on the tsunami of substandard manufactured shit coming from their own companies.
Oh that’s right, they’re not allowed to.
Earth Day April 22nd.
That is the next chance to think about consumerism.
Greens activities for past Earth Day.
https://home.greens.org.nz/misc-documents/earth-day-waste-actions
More from world – USA:
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/earth-day
http://www.seeker.com/on-earth-day-a-quick-guide-to-recycling-1771234852.html
Video:
(http://www.greenplanetfilms.org/?gclid=CjwKEAjwqZ7GBRC1srKSv9TV_iwSJADKTjaDyH78Lac1k5lMGT4YJmMHB_oTOpPq5uiCtOE4ujUweBoCHjzw_wcB
Start of Earth Day after strenuous efforts in the USA:
http://www.factmonster.com/science/environment/earth-day.html
About electronics E-Waste:
http://www.earthday.org/take-action/about-e-waste-recycling/
A link for businesses:
https://www.thebalance.com/earth-day-and-promotional-opportunities-for-recycling-2877809
Last time I looked Apple products were made in China.
I rest my case.
John Key leaves on April 14th.
He’s still at it. Lying through his teeth. He was handed a healthy surplus by Michael Cullen and immediately squandered it on tax cuts for the rich. And that was just the start…
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/john-key-and-david-cunliffe-leaving-parliament-three-days-apart-its-been-absolute-honour
Yes. So sad that such a great Statesman is leaving us. In the streets there will be thousands of homeless and destitute people weeping and wailing and gnashing their remaining teeth.
“Please don’t go Beloved!” Will be the cry from bereft Mike and Audrey.
Key was one of the unnatural disasters that we have had inflicted on us by
Wellington governments. We haven’t found how to tackle them yet. Call in the All Blacks, with one of their unique, even disabling methods?
Except Key was an Aucklander, steady on there. You can’t blame everything political on Wellington. 😉
Matthew W
Wellington has to take the downs with the ups of being central government.
Surely you don’t want that to pass to Auckland. So you have to put up with a few kicks about the pollies, it’s where they are crack-ing up.
You seem to be forgetting that John Key is an electorate MP. Helensville are the ones to blame for him, not Wellington, and the looooong tradition in political griping has always been that constituency elections in any country get the blame for picking the wrong bloke. 😉
Okay can’t break with such an established tradition. But following through if they get blamed, do they accept responsibility? Can I go back to Helensville and get recompense from them for providing a faulty MP and PM and other acronyms? Or WTF?
Oh sure, you can absolutely complain to Helensville voters. They may point out/pretend they didn’t vote for him, of course, which is also tradition. Why, just before Obama was elected, nobody in the US would admit to voting for Bush. XD
At least John Key leaves with 2% support of him as Preferred PM, that is his legacy, like Tony Blair, nobody cares about him and like Tony, Key will spend the rest of his life concerned about being indicted for criminal activity.
AKA for him, at best nobody cares he’s going, at worst – the truth comes out about what he got up to.
I am really glad to see publicity recently on stuff.co.nz and today in the Herald about threatened staffing cuts and other changes to our Super City libraries.
Admin know this won’t be a popular move and it looks like we the public will be informed as late in the process as possible to prevent us kicking up a fuss. I’m disgusted that staff were given a lengthy consultation document and told not to share any of it with the public. This is not a multinational corporation with the secret recipe for Crabby Patties; this is a public service we fund with our rates.
However, a new grassroots group called Love Our Libraries is onto it. We had a launch event at Auckland Central on March 4. We collected video and written testimony from a diversity of library patrons. Very few had heard that cuts were in the offing, and the news did not go over well.
Already we’ve made an impact. Staff were told in a conference call last Friday not to engage (or only in a “limited” way) with members of our group. This tells me our charm offensive is working. If we continue the outpouring of appreciation for our libraries as they are, we change the political climate and make it hard for admin, and ultimately Council, to pursue its plans.
We’ll be at St Heliers Library (one of the system’s busiest) tomorrow afternoon from 3-5 PM and plans are underway for action on Saturday at Avondale and Remuera branches.
We need more helpers. Check out the public Facebook page and ask to join. And have your say about the next city budget. Did you vote for cuts in essential services?
+100 Julia Schiller –
Hundreds of thousands more people in Auckland City but less library services???
And Phil Goff and the Auckland Council CEO are blowing money for a feasibility study into a billion dollar stadium that nobody wants here…
You have to wonder on their mentality, people are homeless and the council are actually thinking of reducing one of the few resources ratepayers like the council for like the libraries.
Everyone uses libraries – from the homeless who can often be seen taking a snooze in the library, to the kids, elderly, rich and poor!
“You have to wonder on their mentality, people are homeless and the council are actually thinking of reducing one of the few resources ratepayers like the council for like the libraries.”
“Everyone uses libraries”
Thank you for speaking on behalf of all ratepayers.
I think you will find more and more people get their information online and do not use libraries.
Libraries have been the place where people can go for a free education, that is not subject to the whims of national government or dependent on a quota for minimum class size.
This availability is almost universal – catering to homeless, people not connected to the web at home, or those who require assistance in locating information.
I’m quite happy to have my rates go towards this kind of societal engagement and education.
I believe that encouraging the self-education of our communities pays off in the long-term , alongside investment and maintenance of critical physical infrastructure. This is investment and maintenance of critical societal infrastructure – not replaced in the foreseeable future by online engagement.
And you are a spokesman for all ratepayers, James? Not all Aucklanders can afford to access internet from their home. In our not-posh Auckland suburb the library is a great community hub and offers a lot of other valuable services to the local people, especially to those who struggle to survive on low incomes. I believe it’s the same for many other Auckland suburbs too.
Easy to overlook all that if you’re living in your privileged little bubble.
He isn’t overlooking it: he’s a sadist.
People on low incomes find the services provided by libraries invaluable. Including internet access.
Sorry James, they won’t let you download copyright material though.
But even then libraries could be great in providing online resources.
Look who needs libraries, it’s just about reading and the public learn enough of that at school. And it costs, all ratepayers have to pay and many of them never use the library at all. I don’t, and is that fair that I and others should pay for something we don’t and never will probably, use.
We pollies can tell them all they need to know or show them on television, much cheaper. And libraries are full of paper, hard copy is so 20th century and full of redundant or revised information, so hard to change or whisk away at a micro-moment’s notice.
Yes, libraries are bad ecologically, waste paper, and they can burn which adds to greenhouse gases. I hardly ever read a book, and look where I am today! Everyone uses libraries – from the homeless who can often be seen taking a snooze in the library, to the kids, elderly, rich and poor! If people spent less time reading and more doing we might get somewhere in this country. (See James below. I rest My Case.)/sarc
And cheers Julia: We’ll {Love our Libraries} be at St Heliers Library (one of the system’s busiest) tomorrow afternoon {today Thursday 16th} from 3-5 PM –
and plans are underway for action on Saturday at Avondale and Remuera branches.
We need more helpers. Check out the public Facebook page and ask to join. And have your say about the next city budget. Did you vote for cuts in essential services?
Northland is working hard to get a vibrant Hundertwasser museum going which will also be a great place for Maori in its Wairau Maori Art Gallery.
They are on the finishing straight, so support them by buying posters, making donations, buy some early Christmas presents, be behind this great new feature and boost for Northland.
Bring some colour into your life in Hundertwasser’s unique way.
http://www.yeswhangarei.co.nz/art-shop/
The ironic thing about the Hundertwasser project is that the misery guts, unimaginative, boring, people who cannot see that it would add colour to the town (and region) in ways far more than the literal senses, are the ones against it.
They are the ones who need colour, imagination, vitality and forward thinking in their lives more than anyone.
They are likely also those afraid of debt for the future in creating a future yet think Bill English adding billions and billions onto our national debt is fine.
Pete
I feel you have doubts about Hundertwasser and the cost of the project. But it will pay off in bringing tourist business to Whangarei and that helps jobs.
And yes we all do need to have some colour in our lives, and it is a great celebration of the vivid life enjoyed and shared. Hopefully it will be a monument to a change of attitude by those with power to make opportunities for others to have better lives. Life is grey and unhappy for too many, and that should make us all unhappy till actions that can be done to improve this are done.
I have no doubt about the project and the importance of it going ahead.
The whole process so far is symbolic of heads-in-the-sand, limited, provincial, backwater, thinking of the unimaginative putting the brakes on progress.
Shortly after it is built it will be the most photographed place in Northland, a place which any visitors will tell friends, families and workmates about. The neanderthals will merely say, “Yeah, but what does that do to the bottom line?”
Oh I get you. I thought you might be being ironic. An elderly relation up there thinks it would be better if the Council used the area for a car park.
‘The pay paradise put up a parking lot, etc.’
I don’t think they are against it because they are against adding colour, etc – I think they (the councillors anyway) are against it because they can see that over time there will be a different sort of person attracted to living here and they will no longer be able to run Northland like their personal little fiefdom – bring it on I say!!
Jan M
Interesting point. A couple of years ago I visited Far North and some immigrants that I rented a room from told me that they thought there was a complacent attitude by various people who were not actively working for more business and jobs. They thought that leading citizens had a broken system which they had managed to shape to suit themselves and were slow, even reluctant to make changes to better the situation and get a thriving, vital community going. I think that stagnant would have been their description if they had not been so polite.
John Key is always shooting his mouth off about the economy when his whole plan was never anything but mass immigration.
It looks though like this plan is soon about to founder, if Auckland real estate signals are anything to go on.
China’s recent restrictions on capital outflow having an effect.
Did Key as a banker know this was coming?
Of course he knew it was coming as he knows that National’s policies are about to trash the economy and our society. He’s a psychopath – not an idiot.
What’s Labour’s contingency plan for managing the devastation that economic reality will bring?
They better have a good one, and it shouldn’t involve pissing around with global warming myths or identity politics.
This is real stuff that needs real solutions. Nobody wants to see Venezuela in NZ.
And there you prove that you have absolutely no credibility at all and never will have.
You’re too bloody stupid and delusional.
Not that stupid that I think money grows on trees.
Considering that that is a meaningless sentence it just proves your idiocy.
You are correct, it doesn’t grow on trees.
But where it does come from is just as magical.
Labour’s contingency plan…? Blame it on National.
worked the other way for national, even if that were Labour’s plan.
Did Key as a banker know this was coming? Absolutely. Not a shadow of doubt.
If you are interested in getting a keen perspective on the Scottish Referendum look into http://wingsoverscotland.com.
Here is a taste of the style.
“Judging by the first 24 hours, we’re in for a two-year festival of utter horror from the UK and Scottish media. Yesterday saw a never-ending parade of metrosplaining idiots dragged willingly in front of cameras and microphones to pontificate their clueless and mind-numbingly ignorant drivel about Scotland.
It wasn’t possible to keep track of it all, because it was frequently happening on five channels at once, and it was harder still to watch it for any extended period of time without hurling a brick through the screen in frustration at the offensive stupidity of it.”
I am hearing commentators saying New Zealand can learn from the replanting of the Port Hills after the fires. I agree, but I go one step further show how replanting needs to be done (see link in post – PDF).
In increasing order of importance:
Lessons to be learnt.
Property to be protected.
Lives to be saved.
https://willnewzealandberight.com/2017/03/15/replanting-the-port-hills-post-fires-a-lesson-for-all-new-zealand/
Best to get all that 20-20 hindsight out of the way as quick as possible..
For both the landowners who by and large are lifestyle block owners who have put their heart and soul and $$ into their places, and for the Council, and for the dogged teams who had restored chunks of it, it is seriously dispiriting.
Good points from norightturn.
“John Key is leaving Parliament the moment he is able to without causing a by-election. But don’t worry – because Labour is letting him do it without affecting the government’s majority:
I have one question: why? Why would an opposition possibly want to do this? Especially when there’s important legislation like the gutting of the RMA on the table? Why would an opposition want to let the government keep its ability to legislate at will, rather than gaining the ability to advance the aims of its members via an effective veto on government legislation?
I understand that Labour can’t stop Cunliffe from resigning if he wants to. But this move, echoing the old FPP practice of pairing, seems to be sacrificing a real opportunity for diddly-squat. Its a reminder that when push comes to shove, Labour is just a bit useless really – and that’s not a good message to be sending in an election year.”
Horseshit.
It’s at least good manners to not destabilise Parliament a few months before election day.
The turnout from by-elections is so poor as to be not an effective democratic response anyway, let alone asking for even m ore of them.
So you believe good manners should come before the party’s ability to advance the aims of its members via an effective veto on government legislation?
ok, let’s play that through: key leaves in april. In may the budget comes up, lab/grn/nz1 nuke it. Government collapses, election is held a few weeks earlier, no budget for 3 months (wtf even happens then – expenditure freeze? Unpaid public servants?).
Opposition get the blame for the early election and all the repercussions of no budget, including “we tried to fund a bridge but then the opposition scuppered the budget”.
Alternatively, nothing much changes because the balance of power is maintained, we have an election a couple of months later, and cunliffe pisses off somewhere else in the meantime.
Why would Labour or the Greens or NZF nuke the budget?
There is quite a difference between blocking specific pieces of legislation, and bringing down a govt.
Because every year, the budget is where the nats do the most damage to our society.
“No budget for 3 months (wtf even happens then – expenditure freeze? Unpaid public servants?).”
Alternatively, the Government passes what it can and is then forced to negotiate or put forward a more acceptable budget.
I thought annual budget appropriations were one big bill? And had to add up? What happens if Labour like a particular spending increase but not the tax cut that takes out the other half of the projected surplus?
That’s even more problematic than just nuking the entire thing: Labour support expenditure but not the taxes, so the government acquires a massive deficit, at Labour’s fault, just before the election.
Nah, thinking about it more theentire idea has too many tiny pitfalls. Better to just do it this way.
Go Barry Coates…
So, I finally hooked up my poll-averaging spreadsheet to automatically calculate the number of List seats each party gets, and man is the current poll average depressing:
The Māori Party is likely to decide who governs. Yeah, not even New Zealand First, they’re necessary for a Labour government, but not sufficient. Right now Labour+Greens+NZ is averaging just one MP above National, and the most likely scenario from polling is that the MP’s choice is necessary to determine who governs, assuming UF breaks National’s way.
Didn’t think I’d be nostalgic for the polling that gave us a likely outcome of Winston determining the government, but this is depressing.
If anyone’s curious, here’s what I’ve got:
ACT: 1MP / 0.7%
National: 58MPs / 47.4%
UF: 1MP* / 0.2%
Māori: 2MPs / 1.8%
NZF: 10MPs / 8.4%
Mana: 1MP* / 0.1%
Greens: 16MPs / 13%
Labour: 33MPs / 26.5%
Others: 1.8% (including TOP)
* = overhang MP
Most of the weighting is towards the February RM poll in this average. I’m assuming every credible microparty wins their electorates, and that no independents win. If that Ilam seat doesn’t go to Browlee, Labour would lose a list seat based on this average of polling, (as they are currently allocated the 120th seat) which would allow National to govern without the MP.
In that scenario, aren’t both Mp and NZF potential kingmakers? e.g. if Mp goes with Labour, NZF could still go with Nact and thus we have a 4th term National govt.
What happens if Mana don’t get TTT? If Mana do get TTT, Labour would need a C and S agreement from them right?
Or Dunne doesn’t get Ōhariū?
Any meaning attached to this far out from the election?
No, you need both MP and NZF to get a Labour government in that scenario, but only one of the two to go to National for them to govern. Remember, for every two overhang seats, the amount needed for a majority goes up by 1, so this would be a 62-to-win scenario. Mana and UF would both be overhang, (I expect realistically that ACT will be too, they’re just benefitting from rounding)
It actually makes no difference with those particular numbers whether either Mana or UF lose their seats, as the Māori Party has 2 seats but each side only needs 1 of them, so losing their extra party just means they need both MP seats instead. You’d need the MP to lose their electorate too for it to make any difference at this level of polling.
edit: excuse me, it does make a difference if UF loses, as then National would need NZF to govern, whether it gets the MP or not.
What I was meaning is that in terms of kingmaker roles, if Peters chooses National it doesn’t matter what the Mp wants or does. The right bloc would then have 70 seats (A, N, UF, NZF). Even just N and NZF would be enough. I find that more depressing than the Mp having the balance of power 😉 But yes, for the Mp to do the right thing, it also depends on the left having to deal with Peters. Again, fucking depressing.
At least those lefties who might have voted Peters might now vote TOP.
Given that TOP isn’t actually going to take sides, but NZF might still choose Labour, I’d actually prefer that NZF voters stay with NZF if they’re not going to move to the Greens or Labour.
“It actually makes no difference with those particular numbers whether either Mana or UF lose their seats, as the Māori Party has 2 seats but each side only needs 1 of them, so losing their extra party just means they need both MP seats instead. You’d need the MP to lose their electorate too for it to make any difference at this level of polling.”
Interesting, and presumably part of the Mana/Mp deal. It must be a nightmare having to track all this internally at the party level and then try and make good decisions (am thinking of the Greens here).
You’d probably be hoping for a bit more of a swing to the left between now and the election, though, so that National could not govern without NZ First, and Lab/Greens could govern with NZ First but without the MP?
A.
Oh, if we’re going off what I’m hoping for, it’s that Labour and the Greens have a choice other than NZ First that gets them a majority, so that they can do a minority coalition, and pull in say the Māori Party on issues too liberal for NZ First, and can flex to NZ First where they need to, too.
This is all from before Annette King resigned too, so this month’s RM should be interesting. If a swing away from National is going to happen after their recovery from Key’s resignation, this would be a reasonable starting point for it.
(Actually I was missing last month’s CB too when I posted those figures, although mostly they’ve just moved MPs around within the Left rather than changing the overall balance much. I hope you’ll all excuse me, but well, CB hardly ever polls, so I forget to check it sometimes, wheras Roy Morgan is regular so I know roughly when to expect the next one)
> it’s that Labour and the Greens have a choice other than NZ First that gets them a majority
Sounds like a long shot
It was (just) within the margin of error a couples times in 2016, actually, so it’s not as long a shot as it sounds, especially as polling before recent elections under MMP has seemed to lean slightly more in favour of National than the actual election did, for whatever reason. Labour and the Greens need to manage about a 5% boost between them from current polling levels in order to reliably get there, assuming that O’Connor loses Ohariu to Dunne, and Hone loses TTT. If both electorates go their way, it’s even less.
“Frau Fucky-Fucky” talks about sex.
http://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/leben/2017-02/sex-education-refugees-germany/seite-2