Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice.
― Mahatma Gandhi
Not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse that I will be at work through the leadership announcement.
Conserving my energies for the next phase of media diversions, distortions and anti-left attacks.
We all want to help one another; human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there’s room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful.
But we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…
A belly-laugh-out-loud -’Secret Diary of Grant Robertson’. Makes me wonder it Steve Braunias is a commenter or a lurker round these parts….
Wee teaser:
WEDNESDAY
O Thorndon! O political beltway of Wellington. How I’ve missed it! It’s so good to be back with people you can trust. Who needs humanity when you have caucus?
We sat around and analysed latest polling. There was good news and bad news.
The bad news was that 79 per cent of New Zealanders thought I was inexperienced, shifty, kind of creepy, a bit of a toerag, and probably a really sore loser.
The good news was that caucus couldn’t care less what 79 per cent of New Zealanders think about anything.
THURSDAY
We revised earlier estimates and concluded that caucus couldn’t care less what 100 per cent of New Zealanders think about anything
edit – moved this to open mike when it suddenly appeared
It seems to me that Farrar participating in the axe the copper tax campaign is a clear sign that the English/Key faction is targeting pro-Collins minister Amy Adams. Between this and Key letting her bury herself over the RMA changes things don’t look good for Adams.
The rumblings are that the factional war in National stepping up a notch. Presumably as a result of Key’s polling slipping and the threat of a resurgent Labour party. I predict we’ll see Judith Collins increase her PR work but also hit a few carefully planted landmines over the next twelve months.
Strange also that in the past the Labour Party was lambasted for allowing the unions to ‘control’ it.
No-one in the MSM see’s a problem with the National Party being controlled by some very rich business men. These people will be paying very close attention to John Key at the present time, when they can sense some strange stirrings in the political atmosphere which may not bode too well for them.
Good to see the ABC group have migrated to National Party “Anyone but Collins”
It seems to me that Farrar participating in the axe the copper tax campaign is a clear sign that the English/Key faction is targeting pro-Collins minister Amy Adams. Between this and Key letting her bury herself over the RMA changes things don’t look good for Adams.
Yup its as if labour dont have a telecoms spokesperson.
They should be dicatating the narrative on UFB as joyce has stitched up the taxpayer to line chorus pockets just like the old days. Chorus need to be brought in line and what happened to the $300m gifted for rural broadband ?
A court indictment by the Turkish prosecutors into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian rebels has once again highlighted fears this week that sarin toxic gas was used by the opposition and not the Assad government.
The prosecutor in the Turkish city of Adana has issued a 132-page indictment, alleging that six men of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham tried to seek out chemicals with the intent to produce the nerve agent, sarin gas, a number of Turkish publications reported.
From today’s Herald online, Bernard Hickey gives some details about the love affair the middle class in Auckland have with the 2nd and 3rd property as a rental investment,
Berrnard points out that while prices are going up for the actual houses rents overall seem to have dropped 1%, if that fall continues i would suggest that in Auckland such investment in rental investments has reached a point where the ‘rental market’ has reached saturation point,
The competition between 1st home buyers and rental investors continues at pace,
”The surge of former owner-occupied houses becoming rentals was most evident in Mt Eden,(up 19%), Mt Wellington,(up24%), and Remuera, (up 10%)”, unquote: Bernard Hickey,
What’s next, my pick is interest rates go up, rents start to ratchet up and those who are over-leveraged will be forced to sell the rental or lose their shirts…
On Radionz now – for all people interested in international aid suggestions that might apply to NZ and within NZ to give a way forward, in these difficult times, through community strength.
10:06 Ideas International Aid – What works and what doesn’t?
Duncan Green, the author of From Poverty to Power, speaks to Chris Laidlaw about his belief that active citizenship is the key to reversing the world’s growing inequalities; UnionAID’s Helen Wilson describes a project in Tamil Nadu, India that has seen some of the poorest of the poor setting up worker cooperatives; and Professor Stephen Howes, a former World Bank economist, reflects on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to international aid.
Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also check out Polifact.com.au I think this may have something to offer we nz citizens.
MediaWatch this morning had a segment about the company Politifact, who do fact-checking on US political statements (particularly around elections), and how they branched out into the recent Australian election.
The guy was saying that he’d have no problem covering the NZ election next year, if they can partner with someone or be funded by someone wanting to pay the bills.
The idea of a Maori Upper House will never fly but perhaps the current system of separate Maori seats doesn’t offer true bicultural commitment. How about if Maori voters weren’t offered an either or situation with their electoral roll but instead given both. The Maori seats stay, the separate electoral roll remains, but Maori voters also get to remain on the General roll and vote a second time!
Lose the Jelly. Toughen up, stand firm on good present policy and don’t bring up such ideas that would arouse the ire of large numbers of NZ because it goes against a well understood principle of equal representation.
People of integrity want fairness for all ensuring that Maori are up there, but not in a way that specially favours their vote over everybody else. People who want Maori to receive the favourable consideration denied for so long want extra care put into organising reparation and ownership and a voice in government, a more bi-cultural approach.
Maori have options for voting already that give them rights to opt for either the Maori or General Roll, plus 4 guaranteed places for Maori in government, (and I believe this should always remain and perhaps go to 6) which is a base and further Maori MPs are likely to be in parliament if pakeha and Maori on the General Roll elect them.
We also should see a set minimum representation in local government. But not playing around with the voting system to give each Maori two votes. It would be unwise to tinker with the balanced system we have based on one vote per person. There are some situations where some get two votes in local body elections I think, but this is based on where property owners having a say where they are ratepayers, and would apply to Maori as well.
This would be fraud, and you know it! One person, one vote.
I think NZ should move beyond the self pity stage and enter the grown up scene. To ask for “special” treatment” belittles the ability and skills of Maoris to be forever reliant on some hand me downs to get a piece of the action. Its debilitating and humiliating.
FW
It’s not wrong to ensure that Maori have clear availability and options to use their well- demonstrated ability and skills. It isn’t debilitating and humiliating to ensure that. Sometimes the heavier side on the balance of justice has to take off a weight and put it on the lighter side to even or slightly advantage the previously lighter side.
Moira Coatsworth has just sent Labour members a final email. Excerpt:
With a highly winnable but tough general election only 14 months or less away, it is critical now that we are united going forward and have a relentless focus on the campaign to win a Labour victory for our country. As you reflect on the result this afternoon I ask you to follow our three candidates’ inspiring lead and focus on two imperatives – unity and a Labour victory next year.
I think that will depend on the Labour caucus Moira.
If, after the votes have been counted and the final figures published, we find that the caucus has yet again thrown s–t in the face of the majority of the membership and affiliates, then I think your chances of unity will be short-lived.
If, however the caucus accept that party unity comes first after-all (and not themselves) then there is a chance. A win in 2014 will surely follow. So, lets see if the Labour caucus is up for it.
Each sector will have it’s final figures published.That is, the percentage figure for each of the sectors for each candidate. Example: what percentage of the 40% caucus contribution voted for each of the candidates. It will be easy enough to work out the actual numbers.
Mediocrity Watch: DAVID FARRAR Mediawatch, Radio New Zealand National, Sunday 15 September 2013
Media whores and self-publicists Gareth and Jo Morgan have foolishly gotten themselves into a spot of bother. They have been sponsored by the North Korean government to go to North Korea and have a look at a few Potemkin villages. Predictably, they have made asses of themselves by raving about how wonderful it all was. On Mediawatch this morning, both Morgans were Holmesian in their effusiveness…
GARETH MORGAN: Their clothes are unbelievable! We were the scwuffiest people in North Kowea without a doubt!
JO MORGAN: There could be problems in the country that we didn’t see, but what we did see was fantastic!
How contemptible are people who get paid by brutal regimes to tour around with blinkers on and then speak and write positively of those regimes? Undoubtedly they deserve condemnation for their naïveté and their willful blindness. They deserve rigorous criticism.
Not all critics, however, are credible. Unfortunately, the producers at Mediawatch went to a notorious apologist for one rogue regime and let him cut loose on the hapless Morgans for their support of another rogue regime. The Morgans deserve to be admonished, but not by this bloke.
I flicked Chris Laidlaw a quick email to express my, and no doubt many others’, consternation. Keep listening, fellas, and you might hear an on-air slapdown of one of the nastiest hypocrites in the country…
Dear Chris,
While Kim-boosters Gareth and Jo Morgan might well be the modern equivalent of Stalin-bosters Sidney and Beatrice Webb, it was astonishing to hear Mediawatch give the right-wing blogger David Farrar a platform to attack them. Apparently Farrar objects to them being sponsored by the North Korean regime, claiming that this destroyed any credibility they might have had.
In late 2009, David Farrar accepted the sponsorship of another rogue, pariah regime—Israel—and came back to New Zealand full of praise for a regime which has violated more international resolutions than any other. Farrar chose to stay away from the devastated Gaza strip, which had only months earlier been attacked, including with phosphorous munitions, by Israel in what Israeli spokesmen boasted was “twenty-two days of madness”. He did, however, walk around occupied East Jerusalem and afterwards noted, with resolute Webbian blindness, that “things were generally very relaxed in this area”.
For Farrar to criticise the Morgans for acting towards North Korea in exactly the same way as he did towards another pariah regime, is an example of gall and chutzpah on the grand scale. Disappointingly, the Mediawatch interviewer failed to challenge Farrar’s hypocrisy.
Keenly onto it again I see Morrissey ! Appreciated. Don’t blame poor Farrar too much though. Any problems he didn’t see are surely down to those truly ghastly Gazan youths throwing stones.
JO MORGAN: There could be problems in the country that we didn’t see, but what we did see was fantastic!
Problems? Like a regime that routinely executes enemies of the state including their leader’s ex ‘girlfriend’? Those ‘problems’? So no one lynched anyone in front of you, Jo? How lovely.
“The Government has stopped a review of New Zealand’s controversial terrorism laws, a move being greeted with suspicion by critics.”
“Green party co-leader Russel Norman said the move raises suspicions that the Government is unwilling to risk further public scrutiny of the state’s search and surveillance powers, at a time when it is already under fire over the GCSB Amendment Bill.”
On something else entirely different, from somebody who hasn’t a clue how to go about it. Any chance of a nice green/purple theme with camillias on Thursday the 19th on here? It’s 120 years after all.
I must make some noises at work too – I’ll try to wear the appropriate colours.
Be nice if we could get other media and social media to recognise it too.
Might be a way to get more people interested in turning out to vote next time.
Read up Te Ara. Apparently a quarter of the adult women in new zealand signed the petition.. found some of mine on there. and they were from every two bit place in the country too.
The mic picture was swapped for some evil looking teeth on Friday the 13th…a white camellia would look great for the 19th, a very significant Women’s Suffrage Aniversary
In my experience, busting into the wrong house and searching it is reasonably common. Of course, it doesn’t happen in Parnell and the people it does happen to are often easily intimidated into silence.
Yeah it was a pretty slow sunday. I had to double the size of the database to handle the load..
I might have to head off for a beer. Looks like the results were what I was expecting except Grant didn’t do as well as I expected in caucus. Looks like a pile of votes headed to Jones.
i am doing a head scratch all round about support for Shane Jones, i don’t see any point in saying exactly how i feel about all the ‘smoko room Bro’ stuff except to say i cannot believe that some people bought into what is obviously so false,
Lolz i can only say there must be some very ‘strange’ people in the Labour Caucus, enjoy your beer, i indulged far too heavily in the stuff earlier in this life so i will turn the roast over and have another coffee…
..yeah..i wd really like to hear the justifications for pissing their votes up against the wall done by those who voted for the w.t.f!-candidate…
..they either seriously think jones was up to it..was really ‘the man’ he pretends to be..’the man’ for this particular moment in time/nz/the labour party..
..(in which case they need to be hauled off for some serious diagnoses..)
..or they were just playing games..’wanking’ as it were…
..treating their ballot-papers/vote like the dog-eared ‘penthouse’-skinmags (seemingly) favoured by who they voted for..
..in which case the please explain? might be harder for them..
.than being hauled off..accused of dementia..
..(and..sigh..!..’having indulged far too heavily’ in my earlier life in my favourite..the ‘speedball’..(heroin/cocaine mixed..)..
..i flipped the vegan-burgers…and sparked up a celebratory-joint..
Did anyone see John Key in his new role last night? He was the third commentator for the All Blacks – Springbok Test on SkyTV. Slumped next to Richie McCaw and the lead broadcaster he appeared somewhat portly and poorly, had bad posture and kept self-consciously adjusting his jacket and tie to try and cover his tummy up, which seemed to want to be part of the action too the way it kept sneaking a peek. His comments were bland and uninspiring and said with a casualness which kind of indicated he was making it up as he went.
All in all a brilliant performance completely in keeping with his NZ presence elsewhere. It is absolutely the next job he should apply for.
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
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I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Mr Mojo Rising: Economic growth is possible, Christopher Luxon reassures us, but only under a government that is willing to get out of the way and let those with drive and ambition get on with it.ABOUT TWELVE KILOMETRES from the farm on the North Otago coast where I grew up stands ...
You're nearly a good laughAlmost a jokerWith your head down in the pig binSaying, 'Keep on digging.'Pig stain on your fat chinWhat do you hope to findDown in the pig mine?You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a crySongwriter: Roger Waters.NZ First - Kiwi Battlers.Say what you like ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Climate denial is dead. Renewable energy denial is here. As “alternative facts” become the norm, it’s worth looking at what actual facts tell us about how renewable energy sources like solar and wind are lowering the price of electricity. As ...
SIR GEOFFREY PALMER is worried about democracy. In his Newsroom website post of 27 January 2025 he asserts that “the future of democracy across the world now seems to be in question.” Following a year of important electoral contests across the world, culminating in Donald Trump’s emphatic recapture of the ...
The Government hasn’t stopped talking about growth since the Prime Minister made his “yes” speech at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last week. But so far, the measures announced would seem hardly likely to suddenly pitch New Zealand into the fast-growth East Asian league. The digital nomad announcement hardly deserved ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Interior of Auckland South Men’s Prison.Getty Images Prisons are not colourful places. Typically, they are grey or some variation of a monochrome colour scheme. But increasingly, ...
FICTION1Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Interesting to note that the author of the biggest-selling New Zealand novel in Waitangi Week is Māori (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai, and Ngāti Kahungunu).2 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (Kāwai 1) by Monty Soutar (David ...
Remembering the renowned New Zealand writer, who died on February 5, 2025. The Stopover When the trout rise like compassion It is worth watching when the hinds come down from the hills with a new message it will be as well to listen. – Brian Turner Poet, environmentalist, sportsman, journalist, ...
Survivors can choose to have former High Court judge Paul Davison assess their individual claims to tailor payments to their personal circumstances. ...
Are we too modest when it comes to celebrating our putrid plant life?She’s beauty. She’s grace. She smells like a decaying corpse and lurks in the backrooms of Auckland Zoo, wallowing tragically in a bucket. In recent weeks an Australian corpse plant named Putricia has captured the noses and ...
Politicians from the coalition government received a frosty reception at Waitangi this year, but Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says the pōwhiri that received so much attention was just one part of many events throughout the week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Allen, Postdoctoral research associate, Griffith University A humpback whale mother and calf on the New Caledonian breeding grounds.Mark Quintin All known human languages display a surprising pattern: the most frequent word in a language is twice as frequent as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Keogh, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University Jordan Mailata is an Australian-born NFL star who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive left tackle. This position favours very tall, heavy and strong athletes who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nigel Tucker, Research Associate in Environment and Sustainability, James Cook University TREAT volunteers planting treesTREAT Like ferns and the tides, community conservation groups come and go. Many achieve their goal. Volunteers restore a local wetland or protect a patch of urban ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karyn Healy, Honorary Principal Research Fellow in Psychology, The University of Queensland Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock The start of the school year means new classes, routines, after-school activities and sometimes even a new school. This can be a really exciting time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerrie Sadiq, Professor of Taxation, QUT Business School, and ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released a discussion paper this week on investment tax breaks. The study looks at whether tax incentives, such as instant ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naomi Zouwer, Visual Artist and Lecturer in Teacher Education, University of Canberra Galleries and art museums can be intimidating and alienating even for adults. Imagine it from a child’s point of view. Stern security guards in uniforms stationed the doors, bags checked, ...
The clock is ticking in the great chain chase. 2025 is an election year in New Zealand. Not the general variation, obviously, but the local form. If you’re thinking of running, nominations open in just five months, and your chances are good – about 50% across the various races; in ...
Dear Lorde,
Please Deliver Us
From Political Folly.
Amen.
Amen.
― Mahatma Gandhi
Not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse that I will be at work through the leadership announcement.
Conserving my energies for the next phase of media diversions, distortions and anti-left attacks.
-Charlie Chaplin, The Great Dictator
Amen to that …
19:11. A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his benefit to overlook an offence.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9161763/The-secret-diary-of-Grant-Robertson
A belly-laugh-out-loud -’Secret Diary of Grant Robertson’. Makes me wonder it Steve Braunias is a commenter or a lurker round these parts….
Wee teaser:
edit – moved this to open mike when it suddenly appeared
Clearly Steve Braunias is homophobic!
God Braunias is good. This one was very funny, then quite sobering.
It seems to me that Farrar participating in the axe the copper tax campaign is a clear sign that the English/Key faction is targeting pro-Collins minister Amy Adams. Between this and Key letting her bury herself over the RMA changes things don’t look good for Adams.
The rumblings are that the factional war in National stepping up a notch. Presumably as a result of Key’s polling slipping and the threat of a resurgent Labour party. I predict we’ll see Judith Collins increase her PR work but also hit a few carefully planted landmines over the next twelve months.
Interesting how the Nats out-source their factional struggles and in-fighting.
Strange that the right does it in clear sight, without comment, yet it is the left that is repeatedly accused of it.
(As if we could be so organised).
Strange also that in the past the Labour Party was lambasted for allowing the unions to ‘control’ it.
No-one in the MSM see’s a problem with the National Party being controlled by some very rich business men. These people will be paying very close attention to John Key at the present time, when they can sense some strange stirrings in the political atmosphere which may not bode too well for them.
Adams is a shocker!
Good to see the ABC group have migrated to National Party “Anyone but Collins”
Adams has never been put under real pressure as minister. Good opportunity for a newly focused labour party.
Yup its as if labour dont have a telecoms spokesperson.
They should be dicatating the narrative on UFB as joyce has stitched up the taxpayer to line chorus pockets just like the old days. Chorus need to be brought in line and what happened to the $300m gifted for rural broadband ?
Heh. Reading all your comments as at 9:03am. Love ya all!
Oh, and love to all this afternoon ….. well, erm, aah, except if …. (!!!)
🙂
http://wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Mind_Control_and_the_US_Government#That.27s_Entrainment
Came across this summary recently, nicely consolidated.
Enjoy!
“Special” US media:
http://i.imgur.com/MRX3wJ9.jpg
Hard to know which is kept more ignorant, America, or NZ!
Makes no difference, both are losing a battle, many have no idea they’re in!
http://rt.com/news/turkey-syria-chemical-weapons-850/
A court indictment by the Turkish prosecutors into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian rebels has once again highlighted fears this week that sarin toxic gas was used by the opposition and not the Assad government.
The prosecutor in the Turkish city of Adana has issued a 132-page indictment, alleging that six men of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham tried to seek out chemicals with the intent to produce the nerve agent, sarin gas, a number of Turkish publications reported.
From today’s Herald online, Bernard Hickey gives some details about the love affair the middle class in Auckland have with the 2nd and 3rd property as a rental investment,
Berrnard points out that while prices are going up for the actual houses rents overall seem to have dropped 1%, if that fall continues i would suggest that in Auckland such investment in rental investments has reached a point where the ‘rental market’ has reached saturation point,
The competition between 1st home buyers and rental investors continues at pace,
”The surge of former owner-occupied houses becoming rentals was most evident in Mt Eden,(up 19%), Mt Wellington,(up24%), and Remuera, (up 10%)”, unquote: Bernard Hickey,
What’s next, my pick is interest rates go up, rents start to ratchet up and those who are over-leveraged will be forced to sell the rental or lose their shirts…
so..’l’-day is here…
..the what’s best for nz/labour party has me wanting cunnliffe..
..the green/mana part of me wants robertson..(‘cos of the resultant flow of labour-voters to both parties..)
..and when indulging in a touch of magic-realism..it’s jones..
..’cos then the river of votes heading green/mana-way..
.. becomes a torrent….(mmm!!!..’torrent..!’..)
..phillip ure..
vocabulary knows no bounds; have Chambers, blood-red.
btw..those americas’ cup commentators are the statler and waldorf of commentating..eh..?
..inarticulate grunts/cliches bellowed/harrumphed from the balcony..
..with statler (the 70’s hairy-lip one..) notably trailing in the wake of all those he interacts with..
..and how about that $35 million up on one pontoon..?
..and just about to go into the drink..?
..whoar..!
..eh..?
phillip ure..
This is a day of days.
Are any of the numbers going to be released? I think the caucus ones won’t be, but what the membership ones?
or, The End of Days 😎
On Radionz now – for all people interested in international aid suggestions that might apply to NZ and within NZ to give a way forward, in these difficult times, through community strength.
10:06 Ideas International Aid – What works and what doesn’t?
Duncan Green, the author of From Poverty to Power, speaks to Chris Laidlaw about his belief that active citizenship is the key to reversing the world’s growing inequalities; UnionAID’s Helen Wilson describes a project in Tamil Nadu, India that has seen some of the poorest of the poor setting up worker cooperatives; and Professor Stephen Howes, a former World Bank economist, reflects on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to international aid.
Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also check out Polifact.com.au I think this may have something to offer we nz citizens.
MediaWatch this morning had a segment about the company Politifact, who do fact-checking on US political statements (particularly around elections), and how they branched out into the recent Australian election.
The guy was saying that he’d have no problem covering the NZ election next year, if they can partner with someone or be funded by someone wanting to pay the bills.
Not up on the web yet, but here’s the index, so it should be up later today: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch
Thanks for putting that right Lanthanide
What are the odds that there will be a major contentious announcement from National today just at the time that Labour announces a new leader?
The idea of a Maori Upper House will never fly but perhaps the current system of separate Maori seats doesn’t offer true bicultural commitment. How about if Maori voters weren’t offered an either or situation with their electoral roll but instead given both. The Maori seats stay, the separate electoral roll remains, but Maori voters also get to remain on the General roll and vote a second time!
Why?
You’re thinking in the wrong direction jellytussle
And that’s democratic how?
Lose the Jelly. Toughen up, stand firm on good present policy and don’t bring up such ideas that would arouse the ire of large numbers of NZ because it goes against a well understood principle of equal representation.
People of integrity want fairness for all ensuring that Maori are up there, but not in a way that specially favours their vote over everybody else. People who want Maori to receive the favourable consideration denied for so long want extra care put into organising reparation and ownership and a voice in government, a more bi-cultural approach.
Maori have options for voting already that give them rights to opt for either the Maori or General Roll, plus 4 guaranteed places for Maori in government, (and I believe this should always remain and perhaps go to 6) which is a base and further Maori MPs are likely to be in parliament if pakeha and Maori on the General Roll elect them.
We also should see a set minimum representation in local government. But not playing around with the voting system to give each Maori two votes. It would be unwise to tinker with the balanced system we have based on one vote per person. There are some situations where some get two votes in local body elections I think, but this is based on where property owners having a say where they are ratepayers, and would apply to Maori as well.
This would be fraud, and you know it! One person, one vote.
I think NZ should move beyond the self pity stage and enter the grown up scene. To ask for “special” treatment” belittles the ability and skills of Maoris to be forever reliant on some hand me downs to get a piece of the action. Its debilitating and humiliating.
FW
It’s not wrong to ensure that Maori have clear availability and options to use their well- demonstrated ability and skills. It isn’t debilitating and humiliating to ensure that. Sometimes the heavier side on the balance of justice has to take off a weight and put it on the lighter side to even or slightly advantage the previously lighter side.
Moira Coatsworth has just sent Labour members a final email. Excerpt:
I think that will depend on the Labour caucus Moira.
If, after the votes have been counted and the final figures published, we find that the caucus has yet again thrown s–t in the face of the majority of the membership and affiliates, then I think your chances of unity will be short-lived.
If, however the caucus accept that party unity comes first after-all (and not themselves) then there is a chance. A win in 2014 will surely follow. So, lets see if the Labour caucus is up for it.
Just saying it like it is.
I thought the caucus vote numbers weren’t going to be made public.
Each sector will have it’s final figures published.That is, the percentage figure for each of the sectors for each candidate. Example: what percentage of the 40% caucus contribution voted for each of the candidates. It will be easy enough to work out the actual numbers.
At least that’s how I understand it will work.
All sections the vote %ages are to be made public I’ve been told.
Better than letting the media make it up.
It is a measure of a person, their manner in defeat. This will define many.
Mediocrity Watch: DAVID FARRAR
Mediawatch, Radio New Zealand National, Sunday 15 September 2013
Media whores and self-publicists Gareth and Jo Morgan have foolishly gotten themselves into a spot of bother. They have been sponsored by the North Korean government to go to North Korea and have a look at a few Potemkin villages. Predictably, they have made asses of themselves by raving about how wonderful it all was. On Mediawatch this morning, both Morgans were Holmesian in their effusiveness…
GARETH MORGAN: Their clothes are unbelievable! We were the scwuffiest people in North Kowea without a doubt!
JO MORGAN: There could be problems in the country that we didn’t see, but what we did see was fantastic!
How contemptible are people who get paid by brutal regimes to tour around with blinkers on and then speak and write positively of those regimes? Undoubtedly they deserve condemnation for their naïveté and their willful blindness. They deserve rigorous criticism.
Not all critics, however, are credible. Unfortunately, the producers at Mediawatch went to a notorious apologist for one rogue regime and let him cut loose on the hapless Morgans for their support of another rogue regime. The Morgans deserve to be admonished, but not by this bloke.
I flicked Chris Laidlaw a quick email to express my, and no doubt many others’, consternation. Keep listening, fellas, and you might hear an on-air slapdown of one of the nastiest hypocrites in the country…
Dear Chris,
While Kim-boosters Gareth and Jo Morgan might well be the modern equivalent of Stalin-bosters Sidney and Beatrice Webb, it was astonishing to hear Mediawatch give the right-wing blogger David Farrar a platform to attack them. Apparently Farrar objects to them being sponsored by the North Korean regime, claiming that this destroyed any credibility they might have had.
In late 2009, David Farrar accepted the sponsorship of another rogue, pariah regime—Israel—and came back to New Zealand full of praise for a regime which has violated more international resolutions than any other. Farrar chose to stay away from the devastated Gaza strip, which had only months earlier been attacked, including with phosphorous munitions, by Israel in what Israeli spokesmen boasted was “twenty-two days of madness”. He did, however, walk around occupied East Jerusalem and afterwards noted, with resolute Webbian blindness, that “things were generally very relaxed in this area”.
For Farrar to criticise the Morgans for acting towards North Korea in exactly the same way as he did towards another pariah regime, is an example of gall and chutzpah on the grand scale. Disappointingly, the Mediawatch interviewer failed to challenge Farrar’s hypocrisy.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2009/11/jerusalem.html
Keenly onto it again I see Morrissey ! Appreciated. Don’t blame poor Farrar too much though. Any problems he didn’t see are surely down to those truly ghastly Gazan youths throwing stones.
Wtf?
JO MORGAN: There could be problems in the country that we didn’t see, but what we did see was fantastic!
Problems? Like a regime that routinely executes enemies of the state including their leader’s ex ‘girlfriend’? Those ‘problems’? So no one lynched anyone in front of you, Jo? How lovely.
These media whores need to crash and burn.
Good article
“The Government has stopped a review of New Zealand’s controversial terrorism laws, a move being greeted with suspicion by critics.”
“Green party co-leader Russel Norman said the move raises suspicions that the Government is unwilling to risk further public scrutiny of the state’s search and surveillance powers, at a time when it is already under fire over the GCSB Amendment Bill.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9166763/Review-of-terror-laws-stopped
Yes Russel I think you are correct.
On something else entirely different, from somebody who hasn’t a clue how to go about it. Any chance of a nice green/purple theme with camillias on Thursday the 19th on here? It’s 120 years after all.
Excellent idea. And it would look a lot prettier than ‘The Teeth!’ 🙂
I must make some noises at work too – I’ll try to wear the appropriate colours.
Be nice if we could get other media and social media to recognise it too.
Might be a way to get more people interested in turning out to vote next time.
Read up Te Ara. Apparently a quarter of the adult women in new zealand signed the petition.. found some of mine on there. and they were from every two bit place in the country too.
What was the significance of the teeth?
Not suffragette day?
The mic picture was swapped for some evil looking teeth on Friday the 13th…a white camellia would look great for the 19th, a very significant Women’s Suffrage Aniversary
You bet. I’ve seen those teeth on someone somewhere I’m sure……..that’s it, Potty Gower.
Found a couple of my great grandma’s
Can someone with the info post links to live streaming and such like please?
No digital tv at home but keen to watch anything live online.
I believe TV3 will be live streaming. While I’m unable to find a link to the actual page, their website is http://www.3news.co.nz
Honest mistake or not, had the family been at home this would be a story about assault, threatening behaviour, traumatised kids – or worse.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9166834/Cops-raid-wrong-house-in-GPS-goof
In my experience, busting into the wrong house and searching it is reasonably common. Of course, it doesn’t happen in Parnell and the people it does happen to are often easily intimidated into silence.
Here’s why unemployment is never going to significantly drop again:
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/
I’m sure there’s many a robber baron who would like to reintroduce delightful Victorian innovations like sweatshops and serfdom
@ ‘sweatshops’ and ‘serfdom’..
..don’t we already have both..?
..fast-food/supermarket/w.h.y.. slave-wagers..?
..farm workers on single-figure dollar hourly-rates..(after ‘seasonal-adjustment’ by the pricks robbing them blind..?..)
..we already have our ‘robber-barons’..
..and they all donate heavily to key/the national party..
..the national party..the enemy of the people..
..phillip ure..
Removed from Dann’s twit feed, but my reply still shows on mine.
What a nasty irrelevance this woman Kirsten McKenzie is.
https://twitter.com/Al1enOrg
Boosted the database which was being a bottleneck. For some reason there appears to be quite a lot of excitement.
Can’t see why myself it being a slow Sunday and all, had to go through Google to reach the pages which usually works when all else fails…
Yeah it was a pretty slow sunday. I had to double the size of the database to handle the load..
I might have to head off for a beer. Looks like the results were what I was expecting except Grant didn’t do as well as I expected in caucus. Looks like a pile of votes headed to Jones.
i am doing a head scratch all round about support for Shane Jones, i don’t see any point in saying exactly how i feel about all the ‘smoko room Bro’ stuff except to say i cannot believe that some people bought into what is obviously so false,
Lolz i can only say there must be some very ‘strange’ people in the Labour Caucus, enjoy your beer, i indulged far too heavily in the stuff earlier in this life so i will turn the roast over and have another coffee…
@ bad..
..yeah..i wd really like to hear the justifications for pissing their votes up against the wall done by those who voted for the w.t.f!-candidate…
..they either seriously think jones was up to it..was really ‘the man’ he pretends to be..’the man’ for this particular moment in time/nz/the labour party..
..(in which case they need to be hauled off for some serious diagnoses..)
..or they were just playing games..’wanking’ as it were…
..treating their ballot-papers/vote like the dog-eared ‘penthouse’-skinmags (seemingly) favoured by who they voted for..
..in which case the please explain? might be harder for them..
.than being hauled off..accused of dementia..
..(and..sigh..!..’having indulged far too heavily’ in my earlier life in my favourite..the ‘speedball’..(heroin/cocaine mixed..)..
..i flipped the vegan-burgers…and sparked up a celebratory-joint..
..it’s a good day…
..phillip ure..
Did anyone see John Key in his new role last night? He was the third commentator for the All Blacks – Springbok Test on SkyTV. Slumped next to Richie McCaw and the lead broadcaster he appeared somewhat portly and poorly, had bad posture and kept self-consciously adjusting his jacket and tie to try and cover his tummy up, which seemed to want to be part of the action too the way it kept sneaking a peek. His comments were bland and uninspiring and said with a casualness which kind of indicated he was making it up as he went.
All in all a brilliant performance completely in keeping with his NZ presence elsewhere. It is absolutely the next job he should apply for.
sunday on tvnz just did a most-excellent piece of current affairs television..
..a piece exposing the follies/insanities of our world-beating rates of imprisonment..
..(if we dropped that rate by just 25% we would still be just at the prison-rate of britain..
..whoar..!..haven’t the garth mcvicars’..(and that act mp..?..what was his name again..?..)..
..haven’t they been so successful with their hysterical hang-’em-high! exhortations..?
..and didn’t they plug so successfully into the nastier/punitive aspects of our national psyche..eh..?
..and this is what this piece of current affairs/essential-journalism does..
..it hangs the barking-madness of mc vicar out to dry/for all to see..
..you get to laugh out loud..as mcvicar lies in the face of global crime-dropping stats..
..and then gets all over-excited about the possible use of chaingangs here…
..(seriously..he isn’t so much ‘barking’..as howling at the moon..)
..and when shown footage of swedish prisons..where prisoners are treated with respect/educated..
..and they have crime rates the same as us..and an inprisonment rate of one third of ours here in nz..
..his disgust is shivering/palpable..
..and could we start a facebook campaign or something..?
..to get kim workman again made the head of our prison services..?
..going on the evidence here..
..(oh..!..as a final fiscal-footnote..
..this madmen-encouraged campaign of crime/punitive-hysteria costs us $1.2 billion per year..
..that figure again..?
..$1.2 billion..
..eh..?
..phillip ure..