If you’re doing it for free, I suggest you put a few dozen comments in a portfolio and send it to Carrick Graham. Might be worth a few thou a month, the work you put in…
What many people don’t know is that you can vote at age 16 in Scotland. These young people aren’t going to be swayed by the establishment telling them what is good for them/what they should do and will vote for the cause (independence).
Not so. Teenagers, generally, are often conservative in attitude and less engaged in the political process. And a significant number in Scotland see themselves as British first, Scottish second.
The 16-24 age group are currently 47 YES and 53 NO at present. The u-18s started out Cautious/NO: many moved to don’t know and then to YES. This pattern has applied across the board. As Don’t Knows go to YES rather than NO at a rate of 5:1 I expect the Youth will make a difference. http://yougov.co.uk/news/2014/09/12/full-results-times-sun-140911-scottish-referendum/
The Tory Party was in a slow decline since the 1960s but went into a nose-dive under Thatcher. Unfortunately Westminster Labour lost touch with its roots and the Scottish outcome will cause the English Labour Party to either find its soul or become totally irrelevant.
“The Labour Party is finished in Scotland. After the YES vote (results out mid-day Friday onward NZ Time) and Independence in March 2014 Labour will lose its 42 Scottish MPs.”
Yeah, nah. Labour and the SNP are both polling in the 30’s in Scotland. If anything, Labour’s support for the union will solidify their Scottish vote at the next general election.
Alister Darling, Gordon Brown, Danny Alexandwer and many other senior Labour people have been seen to be the Tories poodles in the IndyRef. They have been part of “Project Fear”: they have used the Tory tactic of telling voters that prices and unemployment will go up and that all types of pestilence will rain down on them if they vote the other side. 50% of people who voted Labour in the last Holyrood election are now voting against the Labour led NO Campaign.
Here is the list of Labour Westminster MPs who will be unemeployed after Independence.
Danny Alexander, Douglas Alexander
Willie Bain , Gordon Banks, Anne Begg, Gordon Brown
Russell Brown, Malcolm Bruce, Iain McKenzie, Menzies Campbell
Alistair Carmichael, Katy Clark, Tom Clarke, Michael Connarty
Michael Crockart, Margaret Curran, Alistair Darling, Ian Davidson
Thomas Docherty, Brian Donohoe, Frank Doran, Gemma Doyle
Sheila Gilmore , Tom Greatrex, David Hamilton, Tom Harris
Jimmy Hood, Stewart Hosie, Cathy Jamieson, Eric Joyce
Charles Kennedy, Mark Lazarowicz, Angus MacNeil, Michael McCann, Gregg McClymont, Jim McGovern, Anne McGuire, Ann McKechin
Michael Moore, Graeme Morrice, David Mundell, Jim Murphy
Ian Murray, Pamela Nash, Fiona O’Donnell, Sandra Osborne
Alan Reid, Angus Robertson, John Robertson, Frank Roy
Lindsay Roy, Anas Sarwar, James Sheridan, Robert Smith
Jo Swinson, John Thurso, Michael Weir, Eilidh Whiteford
Pete Wishart
Your comment makes no sense, staffer, either politically or numerically. The referendum position the Labour party supports is also supported by a majority of eligible Scottish voters. That’s not going to hurt Labour in Scotland one little bit, and that is reflected in recent polling, which puts Labour and the SNP both in the 30’s. That level of support will remain electorally valid, whether or not Scotland votes for independence. Sorry to have to inject some reality into the discussion, but there you have it.
The UK Labour Party, along with the Tories, supports the Union.
Up to 50% of previously Labour voters are rejecting the Party on this matter. They are significantly less likey to vote for Scottish Labour again given the disgust many of them feel towards the scare tactics NO campaign.
Notwitstanding all that, Scotish politics will reshape over the next few years. When the Independence issue is put to rest with a YES vote on Thursday one of the maindrivers of the SNP has evaporated.
A purely Scottish Labour party will form: my contention is that will have no relationship with the current UK Labour Party and it be significantly smaller that the 30% it got at the last Holyrood elections.
The Scots facing the same issue of a biased media supporting the establishment
It’s not bias, it’s dishonesty.
Will the BBC issue a swift public apology for lying to the Scottish people so blatantly? Remember: YOU pay for the BBC. Are men like Nick Robinson the people you really want to trust?
I think the kind of “reporting” exposed in this video is exactly why pensioners are slow to join the “Yes” campaign; they’re the least likely demographic to be active on social media and therefore have no alternate source of information to dispel the blatant lies of media outlets like the BBC.
This is an uphill struggle, no doubt. But stay the course, do what you can, share the relevant media, and vote YES!
Both pieces of footage used in this video were filmed on the 11th of September 2014. Nick Robinson’s report was broadcast on the six o’clock news mere hours after the international conference shown in the second piece of footage.
Herald this morning – “……..the news that Australia has raised its terror alert to the second-highest level would have sent more shudders down more spines than any filing cabinet full of the documents that Dotcom and the American journalist Glenn Greenwald may have.”
Good old John Armstrong aye……..framing it for John Key before he/we even know what’s in that filing cabinet ?
Key this morning with Espiner sounding more and more like Farrar: “in the end”…”ultimately”…”initially” and “look..look” about 10 times and as Espiner obviously detected, no substantial information in between the cliches.
[r0b: Deleted in moderation. You have posted versions of that comment several times here on The Standard, as well as other forums. It is becoming spam – enough.]
I came home yesterday to find thick envelopes from national and local Conservative Party candidates printed on glossy paper with what seemed like acres of white space.
One featured an emaciated character staring fixedly at camera backed by a grinning rouges gallery including a woman with partially peroxided hair and violet-red lipstick.
Compounding these fashion crimes was a wishy-washy pale shade of blue headlining lack of conviction and a point by point comparison with New Zealand First on the other side. Is someone trying to get rid of Winston Peters ?
Raa
I got the conservative one. The photos are as you described. Reminded me of a joke photo some years ago with a bunch of monkey like morons (apologies to morons) with the caption “Our qualified and capable staff are here to serve you”
Batsh*t Colin grinning like a toothy nutty bush baby, Rankin that family friendly woman who is a great consolidator of marital relationships, Garth wotsisname and the other forgettables ….Geez what a bunch of visual f*ckwits.
To think they could remotely consider themselves as my (read your) leaders.
Incidentally I don’t actually want or need a leader, especially ones like these.
This article by lawyer Denis Tegg is a very good good clear summary of questions with implications for John Key’s NACT government
….especially question number 9. …about whether New Zealand could now be sharing information with Mossad on New Zealanders? ( We have already seen Slater’s connections with Israel…what other NZ journalists and PR operators also have connections with Israel?)
….this question if proved to be true has VERY SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS for New Zealand’s sovereignty , independence and democracy…and Foreign Relations…United Nations status….participant in the World Court and world justice system …and Human Rights and the justice system for New Zealanders!
‘Which of John Key’s many statements on the GCSB will Glenn Greenwald challenge and refute?’
By Denis Tegg / September 15, 2014 /
“We already have Glenn Greenwald’s assertion on The Nation that John Key has misled New Zealanders as to whether the GCSB has engaged in mass surveillance of Kiwis. But Key has made many other statements about the GCSB’s powers and activities. So which of these other public statements made by Key will Glenn Greenwald challenge and refute ?….
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an important issue. It’s just that personally, if those guys knew the full truth of my life, they wouldn’t spend thousands “surveilling” me. I’d just tell them up front what they don’t want to hear, what they can’t bear to hear. A single fifty cent 9x19mmm parabellum from the American division of Kmart could save them heaps of time and cash. Those guys have killed so many “by accident” and “in self defence” why on earth would they hesitate with me? Or you?
“His comments on this matter have changed considerably, almost every single day so I’m not actually entirely certain what it is that he is denying…” Glen Greenwald on the Prime Minister’s preemptive rebuttle.
This was my contribution to yesterday’s ‘Off Key’ concert in Wellington to support artistic freedom and protest the censorship of Darren Watson’s ‘Planet Key’ song and music video. I’m posting it here before real-life political shenanigans overtake anything satire can conceive.
Heh. What would you put in them? Beans, nuts (for a bit of texture), and herbs I suppose. A binding agent might be a problem as eggs are not allowed I take it?
Oh, just while we’re in the lifestyle section of The Standard, I would like to add that I have switched tofu allegiances. Whilst living in Auckland it was always Tonzu tofu, as Tonzu is made there (and pay their staff living wage), here in Wellington it has always been Hing’s as that’s made here, but recently I ventured out and tried the Soyworks one. It is a winner, hands down!
The G.E free soy is grown right here in NZ, in Nelson and the flavour (yes, flavour!) of the tofu is something else. My tofu biryani will never be the same! Looking forward to it in summer on the BBQ with grilled polenta, marinated mushrooms and my home made salsa!
Great work Grant. Hope you don’t mind that I’ve shared it on facebook (and potentially got you in the shame shit as Darren Watson and Jeremy Jones now…)
I’m fairly sure it doesn’t breach the Electoral Act, but when they come and drag me away to Satire Prison I’ll shout “Curse you, Riffer!” just for laughs.
“The answer to this question at the heart of the upcoming referendum appears to be no. If we ask who ranks as the most hated public figure in Great Britain during the twentieth century, the answer might well turn out to be the very Scottish Field Marshal Douglas Haig, a scion of the famous whiskey distillery. As supreme commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium, the Edinburgh-born Haig became infamous as one of the greatest butchers of World War I with his futile frontal attacks at places likes Ypres and Loos. Worst of all, Haig was responsible for the most catastrophic single day in all of British military history with his bungling, incompetent attack plan for the July 1916 offensive on the Somme river, which resulted in 20,000 dead and 40,000 wounded during the first 24 hours, and 625,000 total casualties over five months – all to gain a few miles of terrain.”
Further ..
“There is no reason to expect better leadership from the medievalist banker-demagogue Alex Salmond (..), Scottish Prime Minister and boss of the Scottish National Party, who cynically offers pseudo-independence as the universal panacea.”
An excerpt from the latest piece from the impartial jonolist, Tracy Watkins:
“As the final week of the campaign begins, the latest stuff.co.nz/Ipsos poll has Labour on barely 22 per cent. At Glen Innes yesterday Cunliffe posed a lonely figure as one of his MPs took to a megaphone to round up stragglers for a street corner meeting. Across town, Key was a political rock star – mobbed, patted, loved.”
( quite a part from anything else …bugger the polls!…the msm polls are lying…Labour is going to do well on Election DAY …especially when the undecided and former non voters get out and VOTE!)
I need some help here please, I want National gone as they’ve done a decent job the last couple of years but the sleaze and underhand tactics is simply too much so I’m thinking the best way to remove National is party vote Labour however this article from whaleoil (its a guest post) raises some issues with potential conflicts of interest
While i’m loathe to take onboard anything from the site the post itself raises some questions so I’m wondering if anyone can say theres no potential for conflict of interest or should I be looking towards the Greens?
[lprent: You look to me as being more like a “concern” troll. All of the usual types of comments. ]
I’m not willing to click through to WO and many others here will be the same. Even people who do click through are unlikely to give WO any credence. Can you outline what the issues are that you are concerned about?
Party voting Labour or the GP, either is best support for a change in govt.
[lprent: “to be fair” (that awful phrase that really means “I am about to try to stick the knife in”, Disturbed tried to drop the entire contents of the post on this site. Classic denier astroturfer. But we’ll let him dribble on a bit for amusement. I see that they have already gotten warnings from several people. ]
Why not do your homework on who would stand to gain or lose by attacking her? Because they will be paying Whaleoil for that service. I think there’s a book written on this somewhere.
Ask around about who attacked Karen as David he smashed the Telecom monopoly.
Unlike people here, we don’t take money from multinationals to attack political and commercial opponents.
BTW, if you really want to slander her, you will end up facing the toughest defamation lawyers in town. Trust me you do not want to be on the losing side of that one. Think hard before you go there.
“Its not the policies so much as the possibility of a massive conflict of interest ala Oravida which is one of the reasons I’m not voting National”
You’re not making sense Undecided. What’s the conflict of interest? Bear in mind that probably no-one here is going to read the article, so if you don’t clarify what *you* want to know you will probably get treated as a trole by more than just OAB.
Its a very long article but essentially its suggesting there might be a conflict of interest between Karen Price being involved with carbon trading and her husband
However if people won’t read it (and thats fine I understand why) then theres really not much more to be said
Which party is Karen standing for? And what’s it got to do with her husband, whoever he may be? Is the husband not capable of independent thought and action in your opinion?
and, more precisely, until “undecided” can point out an instance where cunliffe travels halfway across the globe on the public purse with the apparent primary objective of violating the Cabinet Manual by publicly endorsing his spouse’s company, there’s no comparison whatsoever.
Ok, that’s an extremely longwinded post about CC and polluter pays taxation that I can’t be bothered reading. It’s apparently written by a ‘long time reader’ of WO, for what that’s worth (which is less than bugger all).
If on the off chance you are not just link-whoring, I suggest that you read the policies of the GP and Labour on their websites and then come back here and ask specific questions. If you have read the article you should be able to describe the conflicts of interest pretty easily.
I read most of it but I confess the dullness of the article didn’t help, I vote not so much on policies but on who I believe is working the best for NZ (which may not be the best way to vote) and articles like this does push me towards the Greens
Undecided, you would be wise to take Aunty Chooky’s advice.
A couple of things:
You need to ask yourself why you are being influenced by whale oil when everyone knows he is at the heart of the sleaze and underhand tactics you refer to.
You need to know that Karen Price will not be the leader of the next government. David Cunliffe will.
You also need to consider whether you are in an electorate such as Epsom or Ohariu where tactical voting is a pressing issue. If so you need to consider your electorate as well as party vote.
Good luck with voting the government out.
PS: Giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming you are asking a genuine question and not being a you -know -what t***l.
You need to ask yourself why you are being influenced by whale oil when everyone knows he is at the heart of the sleaze and underhand tactics you refer to.
– Thats why I’m not voting National, i want a change of government
You need to know that Karen Price will not be the leader of the next government. David Cunliffe will.
– Thats the thing though, is there a potential conflict of interest going on here similar to Oravida? Another reason I’m not voting National.
You also need to consider whether you are in an electorate such as Epsom or Ohariu where tactical voting is a pressing issue. If so you need to consider your electorate as well as party vote.
– Where i live its cut and dried whos getting in
Giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming you are asking a genuine question and not being a you -know -what t***l.
– National have done a good job the last couple of years dealing with the GFC and earthquakes and I’d be voting for them now but for the behind the scenes sleaze and lies and half truths but because National is doing it doesn’t mean Labour isn’t (they may or may not be)
So since i’m changing my vote on the sleazy things National has done it means that i’m not keen on voting Labour if it looks like they doing the same things that National have been doing so I’m leaning towards Green
Yet I also know that the best chance to change the government is party vote Labour
Like i say conflicted, maybe tonight will clarify things
So, what it boils down to is you feel unsure about Karen Price’s influence on her husband should he become leader? (still going with the idea that you’re not t****ing).
The idea that “because National did then Labour does is it too” is a right wing meme promoted by the Government and supported by the right wing media. (see the reporting and opinion from stuff.co.nz and The Herald over the last month) It was one of the easiest and lamest ways that the Government could respond to the crisis that the publication of Dirty Politics created.
It is no more a sophisticated response than your average seven year old would give when found guilty of some form of unacceptable behaviour. (sorry seven year olds!)
If you’ve read Dirty Politics you’ll know that New Zealand has never in it’s history seen such a level of corruption, dishonesty and deceit at it’s centre of political power. This unparalleled series of events is relatively recent in our history. It is unique. It’s probably not what you expect as a National voter right?
Don’t buy into the meme that other leaders are capable of such a stunning lack of integrity. Such sociopathy is rare and it is our responsibility to keep those with such traits out of power.
@ Undecided 11.36
This is priceless. National have done a good job the last couple of years dealing with the GFC and earthquakes and I’d be voting for them now but for the behind the scenes sleaze and lies and half truths but because National is doing it doesn’t mean Labour isn’t (they may or may not be)
You silly person, you have given thinking a try and learned to put words together in a sentence and sent an early draft to us. There is a lot of work to do yet before you deserve to get the kind help you are asking for. Do your homework before you come to The Standard. Don’t waste our time. Come back next year.
This is a reply to Warbs, not sure where it will turn up, run out of reply buttons.
Yeah, I saw that support for all the amazing work National has done with the GFC and CHCH. I chose to completely ignore that as there’s no point arguing with that – it just diverts the course of conversation. I thought it might be useful to park that belief (and it is a belief, it’s not knowledge) to one side and focus what Undies is really trying to say and ask.
Could be completely wasting our time, Undies could easily be a t***l, has all the hallmarks BUT what if he/she isn’t?
Rather than attack them for their support for National prior to Dirty Politics is it not better to set an example of those on the Left by cooperating with those on the Right in an effort to help them out? For all we know this could be a genuine question from a sincere person. It’s not impossible for former National voters to be disgusted with their party’s behaviour and take their votes away from them is it? If anything, good on them for not denying it as so many stuff type commenters do.
Not everyone has the same level of political engagement as the folks of the Standard Community and if we can help out when RW folks have a genuine querie that’s a good thing. Education an’ all!
Hi weka. Yes, got that with the reply button, it’s what I’ve been doing. I never quite know if the comment is going to land where I expect it to 🙂
I’ve ruled out Undies as being genuine as he/she would have been back to follow up. Or maybe they had to get back to work, I don’t know. I won’t bother again.
I was prompted to respond as we’ve had quite a bit of feedback at PPO about strategic voting, and people asking advice about how to vote Dunne out. You would be amazed at how many people just don’t know the basics of MMP. So I’ve got into a pattern of responding to those sorts of queries.
I agree, we really need a civics education programme in NZ.
I know what you mean about wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt. I started with Undies on that too wherease OAB went straight to trole patrol. But like you I am aware of the many readers and reckon it’s better to not either just call the commenter a trole and be done with it, or present useful information.
Now that’s a damn good idea! Party Vote Green!
But the Green’s would have nothing to do with that sleaze bag, and won’t condescend to advertise there, (along with P&S, and many others) so I guess he has to suggest you Party Vote Green in his post..
See I’m thinking Green because they seem to be more keen on doing right for NZ but Labour with more party vote will more likely get a change of government
A zero-sum game. Do you think anyone is going to fall for the idea that the Left vote can be boosted by carefully choosing which of Labour/Greens you vote for?
Spread Cameron Slater’s effluent then ask a very stupid question like a complete innocent.
edit, even if undecided is doing what you suggest, the many other people reading this may need clarification rather than having to wade through contempt and ridicule. Lots of people still don’t understand how MMP works.
Then I suggest they seek out the Electoral Commission’s website: this is a forum for partisan political opinion, with a minor infestation of right wing tr*lls whose expressed aim is to seek a low turnout.
Either that or work out the meaning of “zero-sum game”.
“See I’m thinking Green because they seem to be more keen on doing right for NZ but Labour with more party vote will more likely get a change of government”
That’s not true. Labour will have to use the GP to form govt. Under MMP it doesn’t matter if Labour has one less MP and the GP one more, or vice versa. It’s the total that counts. So, vote for either, whichever one you prefer.
Well you learn something everyday, see I thought that the stronger the Green representation was in government the stronger the influence they could exert
For example if the Greens had 1/3 of the seats in government they’d have more influence then if they had 1/4
So spell it out because all I’m trying to confirm is whether to vote Labour or Greens and all you’re doing is talking in circles without saying anything of substance
Simple: if you were sincere I’d tell you to vote for either of them: it’s a zero-sum game so far as I’m concerned.
What I’m predicting is that you will pretend that Slater’s smear (the one you’ve been promoting) is putting you off Labour, to later pretend that another smear has put you off the Greens too.
Of course that includes besmirching your character, and the alternative is to assume you don’t know what a zero-sum game is and you’re too stupid to understand Slater’s toxicity.
Blogs, media, TV, Newspapers as I find reading policies is a great way to cure insomnia which i know isn’t a good way of forming beliefs but genrally i find politics to be quite boring
Here’s a prediction for you. Once Slater has pushed his conflict of interest lie, the ratfuckers will all pretend that they’re being drawn towards the Greens.
Then Slater will make up another smear against the Greens, and all his little helpers will announce that they’re all as bad as one another but at least National will be a stable government.
yes another reason why one should never go near Slater’s whaleoil…it is a pollutant of the Truth…and way too tricky for the average punter…especially those that need ‘Politics for Dummies’…i sympathise with Undecided…he/she needs to de-tox and then make a decision to vote for Labour or the Greens imo…these are the most solid bets with the best past form of opposition to John Key’s Nactional
Quite possibly he will however the last few years there hasn’t been any sort of scandel to have affected the Greens, no real conflicts of interested, no real election law breakings or financial irregularities so probably won’t find much traction there
@ Undecided ….from Aunty Chooky ( you must NEVER go on whaleoil..it is bad for you!)
…the Greens will do well!….they can look after themselves…however if you want to vote Green for the environment and everything else …go ahead!…GOOD CHOICE…because they are married to Labour and will influence Labour
…otherwise VOTE LABOUR….because they need your VOTE to get rid of Nactional and dirty politics
…as a wild card is Internet MANA….also well deserving of your VOTE…because it is at the vanguard of attacking dirty politics and corruption of New Zealand’s democracy and NZer’s human rights !…and it is for ALL New Zealand kids and free tertiary education
Winnie and NZF will also look after themselves and will probably be a partner of Labour ….they are also for New Zealand for New Zealanders and their rights to their own land, housing , State Assets… and for NZ democracy…which is under attack at the moment
It is a beat up. Every one of the national party caucus have much larger potential conflicts of interest. Even if you only look at their declared interests.
Tory hoardings around my way have had a large sticker added to them saying that ‘every party vote is important’. Nothing wrong with the wording, but, presumably in order to confuse or mislead the public, they have used the Electoral Commission’s own colour, orange, for the sticker. Apparently, a party vote for National is now authorised by the Commission.
In reality, according to the Electoral Commission, orange is not allowed to be used by political parties because it can confuse or mislead. I’m guessing that the Nats misunderstood that injunction to be an endorsement of their usual behaviour.
Touche! To be fair, I’m unsure whether things added to already authorised signage are covered by the original authorisation and if Labour are doing it, I’m sure it’s OK ;)*
However, the orange colour, and its misuse, are clearly covered. This picture may also breach the law:
Yep, I think that’s the ones, Tracey (not one close to where I am for me to check, unfortunately). Wording like ‘only a party vote for Labour can change the government’? I’m told that they all have the authorisation notice because that is what is required by the Act. Funny that the Tory ones apparently don’t comply with the law.
Philadelphia is poised to become the largest U.S. city to decriminalize marijuana. Mayor Michael Nutter has pledged to sign a City Council bill imposing a $25 fine for possession of an ounce or less of pot. Those cited would reportedly have to appear before a judge, but would not have a criminal record. People caught smoking pot in public would face a $100 fine, which could be waived through community service. The measure could prevent thousands of arrests each year.
Key says Rennie put forward Fletcher’s name @ 40 secs but changes his story @1.46 in, and Very Unusually was actually queried on it by a journalist @ 1.55 and repeats truth or lie @2.05mins. Only video I’ve seen and still able to access that shows him lying.
yep..!..internet/mana have the strongest cannabis policy..(pun intentional..)
..and laila harre has stated her ‘personal commitment’ to ending cannabis prohibition..
..it doesn’t get much better thn that for cannabis activists..
..i really hope those 12,000 people who voted for the aotearoa legalise cannabis party in 2011..can also see that..
..and will this time cast their vote for the best chance for cannabis-reform we have had since forever…
..the internet/mana party..
..and i hope they heed the words of one of their (deserved) heroes..the longtime cannabis-warrior dakta green..
..i am sure he won’t mind if i paste his reply to my open letter to the aotearoa legalise cannabis party..
..this issue is very important..those 12,000 voters are one and a half times the total number of people who went to the internet/mana roadshow up and down the country..
..that is a serious wedge of voters..
..and i really hope laila harre is reaching out to them..as we speak..
..(here is the good dakta..)
“..daktagreen says:
12/9/2014 at 12:40 am (Edit)
Phillip Ure. I was part way thru writing a piece with similar sentiments when your letter appeared. My piece had neither the style nor wit of yours so please allow me to endorse your thoughtful and timely letter addressed to all cannabis law reform activists.
I am well known for my activities around cannabis law reform. I have been fielding questions for some weeks asking why am I not voting ALCP. My answer has remained consistant. I want my vote to count.
As a member of Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party I stood in the Mt Albert by-election following Helen Clark’s resignation. Not for one second did I think I could win in Mt Albert. But the campaign gave me a good reason to drive a big green bus around town with ‘Legalise Cannabis’ emblazoned down the side and park in front of a captive audience. If I was able to educate anybody about issues surrounding cannabis then that was a bonus.
I was planning to stand for ALCP last election in the New Lynn electorate where I lived at The Daktory. Judge Gittos sentenced me to a term of imprisonment which would have had me released in time to campaign. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal on a Crown application increased my sentence from eight months to twenty three months. My political activities last election were therefore limited to casting my vote in prison for the ALCP.
I have made it clear to my friends and supporters that I cannot and will not waste my vote as a form of protest. We must all vote strategically. I have suggested people vote for any party other than the morally bankrupt administration of Key and his minions including his bum-boy parties Act and United Future. But today that is no longer enough. We must be more targeted.
There is no room for a protest vote. This election is much more important.
I love the Greens but cannabis law reform is my priority whilst saving the world is theirs. Greens will continue to grow in size and stature because they are right. But my party vote is valuable and I must use it carefully. My party vote becomes more valuable when it may be just the vote needed to get another MP from Internet/Mana into Parliament.
I want Laila Harre to represent my interests in Parliament.
Whilst the Greens would normally get my support, I believe the Internet/Mana ticket will be the sleeper this election. Some weeks ago I predicted Internet/Mana will poll between 6 and 8% on election day. I have seen little in the last few weeks to change my mind.
Just 3% of the Party vote will see Laila Harre in Parliament.
As a country we have endured a bruising six years under Team Key. The issue this election is leadership. National have played dirty one time to many.
Hone Harawira has transformed from activist to statesman as the Mana movement has grown and matured. Mana have clearly defined goals I can support.
I endorse Laila Harre and the Internet Party to represent me and the cannabis community in Parliament.
Just had a conversation with a left voting friend who doesn’t follow politics but she reckons that thing about so many people don’t use the MSM for their political information. Does anyone know what the figures are on how many people still get their news predominantly from the TV and radion networks or newpapers (irrespective of whether they are accessing them online or not)?
Oh dear oh dear.Transmission gully Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) ppp Australian partner is under investigation by Australian federal police.
Federal police probing alleged bribery by Leighton Holdings are finalising a brief of evidence to present to prosecutors in what looms as Australia’s next major white-collar crime case.
The revelations come with Fairfax Media obtaining a freshly leaked batch of company files, including correspondence between two top Leighton executives in 2011 describing a “disgusting history of incompetence and misbehaviour” and improper “rewards, special bonuses, travel rorts” in the company’s overseas operations.
I was prepared to think that Slater’s recounting of Key’s unprintable comments regarding Jo Hall were almost total embellishment on Slater’s part. However, seeing his castigation of Glenn Greenwald as “Dotcom’s little henchman” and a “loser”, I can easily see Key making comments that were similar to what Slater reported, if not quite as foul-mouthed.
Yup all John Key’s loose name calling and butt talk is just a big smelly cover up and attempt at diversion ( not very sophisticated though)…
‘Why it simply isn’t credible that Key stepped in and shut down the mass surveillance program’
By Martyn Bradbury / September 15, 2014
“Key has been deceptive and has agreed to things no real leader of NZ would agree to. I don’t feel subservience to American Corporate Interests and the building of a mass surveillance state were spelt out in that nice TV advert where they’re all rowing….
Today in the Guardian … New Zealand PM deceiving public over spying claims, says Glenn Greenwald
He added: “I’ve done reporting of surveillance all over the world and a lot of governments haven’t liked what I’ve said, but I’ve never seen a head of government lose their dignity and get down in the mud and start chucking names to discredit the journalist in order to discredit the journalism.”
Sad news, NZ guitar legend Peter ‘Gutman’ Gutteridge has died. In the original line ups of both The Chills & The Clean, he went on create Snapper, recording a handful of amazing singles, eps & lps. He just had a solo album released this year (a re-release of a cassette he recorded in the 90s). A sad day for Dunedin.
He looked fairly healthy (for Pete) the last couple of times I’d seen him. He was certainly enthusiastic about his music projects. It was a real surprise to see this:
Here you go folks – some BREAKING NEWS.- in an OIA reply just received today (15 September 2014) from the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank will NOT reveal:
“The names of the banks, financial institutions and the like, which have facilitated, enabled and/or provided derivatives market services, in any form, since the John Key led National Government took office in 2008″
___________________________________________________________________
Dear Ms Bright
On 29 August 2014 you made a request to the Treasury, under the provisions of Section 12 of the Official Information Act, seeking information relating to legislation that affects the derivatives market; Government exposures to the derivatives market; names of participants in the derivatives markets; and the value of derivatives exposures.
The Treasury transferred to the Reserve Bank the second part of your request. The transferred part of the request seeks: The names of the banks, financial institutions and the like, which have facilitated, enabled and/or provided derivatives market services, in any form, since the John Key led National Government took office in 2008.
Given the context provided by the remainder of your request, I assumed that you’re particularly interested in organisations that operate in New Zealand and that are counterparties to derivative transactions involving New Zealand Government organisations. You confirmed to me in a telephone conversation on Monday 8 September 2014 that my assumption is correct.
Response
The Reserve Bank enters financial derivatives contracts with a range of counterparties. The names of counterparties are being withheld under the following provisions of the Official Information Act:
· Section 9(2)(b)(ii) – to avoid unreasonable prejudice to the commercial position of the person who supplied the
information or who is the subject of the information.
· Section 9(2)(d) – to avoid prejudice to the substantial economic interests of New Zealand.
· Section 9(2)(i) – to enable a department or organisation holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or
disadvantage, commercial activities.
· Section 9(2)(j) – to enable a department or organisation holding the information to carry on, without prejudice or
disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations).
This response meets in full part two of your request, as transferred to the Reserve Bank.
Under the provisions of section 28 of the Official Information Act, you have the right to seek a review by the Ombudsman of the Reserve Bank’s decisions about your information request.
Yours sincerely
………..
External Communications Advisor | Reserve Bank of New Zealand
…………………………………………….
___________________________________________________________________
Really?
Is this information ‘commercially sensitive’ or POLITICALLY sensitive?
Given that NZ Prime Minister John Key, former Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve, and former head of derivatives for Merrill Lynch, is currently a shareholder in the Bank of America?
Looks like Winnie will be the balance of power……now what might that entail?
I reckon he has it within his grasp to destroy National as “the” party of the Right, and install NZ First as the party holding the “conservative centre” (left and right). How? He only has to insist on a Royal Commission with independent cross party appointees to go into the issues ion Hagers book. And into any other accusations.
The end result I believe is that the Governor General would be forced to call another election and “Brand Key” would have disappeared from the ballot sheet. Corporate NZ would be running tails between their legs.
The question is “will Winston?” How deep is his animosity to National? I suspect that Winnie would still be National if it was not so aligned with the corporate sponsors who clearly nobbled the Winebox enquiry. Some fun times ahead methinks.
Pretty sure Peters is on record as saying he won’t force another election.
Someone posted yesterday that the process of forming govt is that the PM tells the GG who to appoint (not sure that is the right word), and that even where the PM is being an arse, the GG usually takes their advice.
@ weka 2.36
This morning in Mike W and Matthew H at 11.14 a.m. there was a discussion about how the gummint is decided. GG? From about 15 mins in on the sound clip. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
hmm, sounds like confusing speculation to me. The bit about the PM staying on and calling for a gote in parliament was interesting, but I’d like to hear that explained by someone with good legal knowledge rather than two partisan hacks and their enabler 😉
Just had another look at Taco doing Puttin on the Ritz. His portayal of a good time johnny amongst the poor street people is pretty much like National and Act. Conservatives wouldn’t countenance any street people – they would be arrested and jailed for being layabouts or, just, alive.
There was a gerfuffle about this clip because some performers have black-face. It is an important symbolic thing to protest about. Black people were discriminated against for too long. They were also leaders in show biz, and happy to be there during the Depression, anyone blacking up was copying them. Black people wouldn’t have got acknowledgment of discrimination in 1964 without their unrelenting and intolerable pressure on the authorities. But appearing to care about the convention of respect and being PC about black-face is important to the leading bigots, even if in their hearts still they think, no.
“Mr Peters said he was the first MP to back Mr Parker in 2006 when he resigned as Attorney-General following an allegation he had filed an incorrect return to the Companies Office.
Mr Peters said he stood by Mr Parker because he was a “man of honour” and was being “unfairly vilified”.
He also said he admired Finance Minister Bill English’s integrity on the issues of dirty politics and the affordability of tax cuts.
“Like Mr Parker, he has a certain integrity and honour. Consequently I see both of them as capable of being Ministers of Finance.””
I guess Winston considers double dipping at the tax payer’s expense a sign of honour and integrity
@ Rosie 1.47
You are a good person, patient etc. Undies comment just got my antennae twitching. Just so naive with so many questions. Actually if wanting to vote, I think someone should be able to think things out for themselves.
An irritation, personal to me. I wish that my piece on transport and rail would get as much attention. So much to think about and we run rings around some pseudo pseudonym. There is a case for having to pass a simple test before voting. I understand those wanting to live in the United States have to answer all sorts of deep questions, and from what I have read of their general knowledge, citizens would have failed.
If this Undie is young let her/him look on google. I do. And then come and discuss what I have found out. Latest thing that I haven’t found out is what Scotland will use as cash money if they go solo? Anyone know that? I would probably find it in the archives here.
Hi Warbs. Super quickly because the Moment of Truth live stream is about to start. Understand your points and for what it’s worth I have given up on Undies. I won’t bother again.
Scotland to retain the the pound. That is my understanding of the form of currency in an Independent Scotland.
Gotta go! Let her rip M.O.T! (not the former Ministry of Transport)
@ Rosie
I made people laugh when I said that seeing and hearing Edward Snowden was the biggest celebrity event for me since the Beatles came here. Great to hear and overall may nothave delivered all that was hoped but was anothr step up to getting info out there.
Just fwiw .. just enjoyed lunch with a close friend from the oh-so-blue Pakuranga electorate. She told me, unsolicited, that she and her family, and all their closest friends have always voted Nat and Maurice Williamson. Never again. They are all angry and changing their votes.
Not only are they distrustful of Williamson, they are now in the anyone-but-Key voters — this is at least 8 or 9 votes. Decent Kiwis just seeing the light now they have had their eyes forced open.
Yes, just an anecdote but I know this one is 100% true.
Radio NZ continues to seek comment from the Sensible Sentencing Trust.
Why doesn’t it seek comment from the NZ National Front as well? The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Thursday 11 September 2014
Jim Mora, Lavina Good, Tim Watkin, Zara Potts
ZARA POTTS: Boeing has SLAMMED an upcoming Al Jazeera documentary about its new Dreamliner plane. A worker secretly filmed conversations with fifteen of his colleagues, during which ten of them said they would not fly on the plane themselves. He also exposed a high level of drinking and drug taking at the Boeing factory. But Boeing says that the workers were simply letting off steam.
JIM MORA: Just irresponsible banter, essentially….
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
Yes it is true. You were not dreaming when you heard that. Jim Mora actually said that. He actually had the chutzpah to pass comment about “irresponsible banter”. That is beyond parody. You just could not make that up.
Now it is quite clear that, after close to a decade of delivering this crap chat show, Jim Mora has the hide of a rhinoceros. He is, patently, inured to irony. But even Jim Mora, that glib, determinedly trivial and insincere chatterbox, must have realized, even as he mouthed the words, just how hypocritical that comment was.
Late in the program, we were given a stark example of just how grievously Mora and his producers lack not only basic common sense, but more importantly how they lack integrity, or even a rudimentary sense of decency. Mora, his voice carefully modulated to convey the impression of deep concern, brought up the topic of the parole hearing for Akshay Chand, the murderer of Christie Marceau.
After a brief discussion with the two Panelists, neither of whom belongs to an organization that applauds or advocates murderous violence, Mora announced that they would be talking to someone who most certainly does: Stephen Franks, an “active member and adviser” for that bloodthirsty pack of knife-killing enthusiasts the Sensible Sentencing Trust. I know that many regular posters on this forum have remonstrated with Mora, and with the management of Radio NZ, about their practice of routinely seeking comment from the S.S. Trust, which is beyond doubt a monstrous and disreputable organization.
It is quite obvious that Mora and his producers have not taken these protests seriously. That is the reason that listeners were treated to the absurd and obscene spectacle of Franks said something about the Christie Marceau case, then, in answer to another question, took the opportunity to embark on a wandery rant against what he sneeringly calls “well meaning” prison reforms which have, according to him at least, taken the “top dog” status in prisons away from the wardens. Of course, trifling concerns like prison officers no longer being licensed to torture, abuse or degrade prisoners obviously count for nothing to the kind of person who belongs to the S.S.Trust.
I will not burden Standardisti by subjecting them to Stephen Franks’s sardonic and deeply hypocritical reproach of “well meaning” liberals, which was pretty much the same speech he always gives whenever he gets the chance. What is interesting, and deeply concerning, is that this vicious, utterly discredited vigilante gang is still being treated with unwarranted respect, is still routinely asked for comment by Radio NZ, and is still referred to as a “victims’ rights organization”.
Not being in NZ, I don’t pick up much about this sort of thing, but I just caught the National campaign ad in an ad-break on Campbell Live online. They appear to have changed the backing music. It’s no longer the D-minor Eminem doppelganger that sounds like it’s been pulled straight out of a documentary about illegal spying. It might be a clip from another part of the same piece, but it’s in a major key, is much more upbeat and no longer has those ultra-sinister overtones that make it sound like National are sending agents into your home at night to confiscate your red scarves, paint your pets blue and teach three-way handshakes to your children.
Has anyone else noticed that change, or when it happened?
Right up there with the radio ad I heard promoing Nact the other evening. Smarmy voice goes ‘we look after NZ’s mosty vulnerable”. Code for Slater & Ede?
Caught seven sharp while channel flicking – hosking’s rant at the end was outrageous. The pm’s lovely, we should trust him, everyone else are horrid liars.
I’m paraphrasing. What he said was even worse – I can’t find a link yet, but it really was desperate, blatant propaganda.
Did anyone catch Campbell Live’s partial broadcast of the IP big reveal tonight.
Campbell had as a guest former head of the GCSB Sir Bruce Ferguson running defense for Key and the GCSB.
Although he departed the organisation in 2010 (?) he said fairly categorically that they would not be collecting wholesale metadata on New Zealanders.
Campbell then quizzed him on whether the GCSB used Xkeyscore, which Ferguson did not deny existed and then in the last few moments of the interview totally contradicted his earlier statement “that they don’t collect data” by saying that ‘they have tools like that so they can go through the data”
Campbell didn’t seem to pick up on this.
Paraphrased, happy to be corrected or confirmed.
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Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 24 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
The Scots facing the same issue of a biased media supporting the establishment
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11324708
Given the BBC is the sort of media model constantly pushed by lefties here as a solution to supposed media bias this is kind of an own goal.
Gosman You are known to be just an ultra wing paid bloger where we are not, and some are not purely left wingers either.
We will ignore your constant dribble as spam now so why do you keep wasting space?
Eh??? Who is supposedly paying me exactly?
Interestingly it looks like you’ve been snapped by the moderators for posting material that maybe is fulfilling an external agenda.
If you’re doing it for free, I suggest you put a few dozen comments in a portfolio and send it to Carrick Graham. Might be worth a few thou a month, the work you put in…
Given he supports a party who has 17% ofi ts MPs convicted of deceit or fraud related crimes…
What many people don’t know is that you can vote at age 16 in Scotland. These young people aren’t going to be swayed by the establishment telling them what is good for them/what they should do and will vote for the cause (independence).
Not so. Teenagers, generally, are often conservative in attitude and less engaged in the political process. And a significant number in Scotland see themselves as British first, Scottish second.
http://www.scotcen.org.uk/media/205540/131129_will-16-and-17-years-olds-make-a-difference.pdf
The 16-24 age group are currently 47 YES and 53 NO at present. The u-18s started out Cautious/NO: many moved to don’t know and then to YES. This pattern has applied across the board. As Don’t Knows go to YES rather than NO at a rate of 5:1 I expect the Youth will make a difference.
http://yougov.co.uk/news/2014/09/12/full-results-times-sun-140911-scottish-referendum/
The level of engagement is massive by any standard. Over 95% of eligible voters are enrolled. A vote by over 80% is expected. http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/voter-registration-is-highest-ever.25298968
The Labour Party is finished in Scotland. After the YES vote (results out mid-day Friday onward NZ Time) and Independence in March 2014 Labour will lose its 42 Scottish MPs.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/14/scottish-independence-labour-decline-electoral-force
Its Scottish Leader, Johann Lamont MSP, has been a shocker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBH55ZeZU4w
The Tory Party was in a slow decline since the 1960s but went into a nose-dive under Thatcher. Unfortunately Westminster Labour lost touch with its roots and the Scottish outcome will cause the English Labour Party to either find its soul or become totally irrelevant.
“The Labour Party is finished in Scotland. After the YES vote (results out mid-day Friday onward NZ Time) and Independence in March 2014 Labour will lose its 42 Scottish MPs.”
Yeah, nah. Labour and the SNP are both polling in the 30’s in Scotland. If anything, Labour’s support for the union will solidify their Scottish vote at the next general election.
Alister Darling, Gordon Brown, Danny Alexandwer and many other senior Labour people have been seen to be the Tories poodles in the IndyRef. They have been part of “Project Fear”: they have used the Tory tactic of telling voters that prices and unemployment will go up and that all types of pestilence will rain down on them if they vote the other side. 50% of people who voted Labour in the last Holyrood election are now voting against the Labour led NO Campaign.
Here is the list of Labour Westminster MPs who will be unemeployed after Independence.
Danny Alexander, Douglas Alexander
Willie Bain , Gordon Banks, Anne Begg, Gordon Brown
Russell Brown, Malcolm Bruce, Iain McKenzie, Menzies Campbell
Alistair Carmichael, Katy Clark, Tom Clarke, Michael Connarty
Michael Crockart, Margaret Curran, Alistair Darling, Ian Davidson
Thomas Docherty, Brian Donohoe, Frank Doran, Gemma Doyle
Sheila Gilmore , Tom Greatrex, David Hamilton, Tom Harris
Jimmy Hood, Stewart Hosie, Cathy Jamieson, Eric Joyce
Charles Kennedy, Mark Lazarowicz, Angus MacNeil, Michael McCann, Gregg McClymont, Jim McGovern, Anne McGuire, Ann McKechin
Michael Moore, Graeme Morrice, David Mundell, Jim Murphy
Ian Murray, Pamela Nash, Fiona O’Donnell, Sandra Osborne
Alan Reid, Angus Robertson, John Robertson, Frank Roy
Lindsay Roy, Anas Sarwar, James Sheridan, Robert Smith
Jo Swinson, John Thurso, Michael Weir, Eilidh Whiteford
Pete Wishart
Your comment makes no sense, staffer, either politically or numerically. The referendum position the Labour party supports is also supported by a majority of eligible Scottish voters. That’s not going to hurt Labour in Scotland one little bit, and that is reflected in recent polling, which puts Labour and the SNP both in the 30’s. That level of support will remain electorally valid, whether or not Scotland votes for independence. Sorry to have to inject some reality into the discussion, but there you have it.
The UK Labour Party, along with the Tories, supports the Union.
Up to 50% of previously Labour voters are rejecting the Party on this matter. They are significantly less likey to vote for Scottish Labour again given the disgust many of them feel towards the scare tactics NO campaign.
Notwitstanding all that, Scotish politics will reshape over the next few years. When the Independence issue is put to rest with a YES vote on Thursday one of the maindrivers of the SNP has evaporated.
A purely Scottish Labour party will form: my contention is that will have no relationship with the current UK Labour Party and it be significantly smaller that the 30% it got at the last Holyrood elections.
Making numbers up doesn’t help your argument. The most recent yougov poll had 77% of Scottish Labour voters in the No camp, a mere 19% voting Yes.
The Scottish Labour Party already exists, btw. It is part of the UK Labour Party and has no plans to leave, whatever the outcome.
It’s not bias, it’s dishonesty.
Will the BBC issue a swift public apology for lying to the Scottish people so blatantly? Remember: YOU pay for the BBC. Are men like Nick Robinson the people you really want to trust?
I think the kind of “reporting” exposed in this video is exactly why pensioners are slow to join the “Yes” campaign; they’re the least likely demographic to be active on social media and therefore have no alternate source of information to dispel the blatant lies of media outlets like the BBC.
This is an uphill struggle, no doubt. But stay the course, do what you can, share the relevant media, and vote YES!
Both pieces of footage used in this video were filmed on the 11th of September 2014. Nick Robinson’s report was broadcast on the six o’clock news mere hours after the international conference shown in the second piece of footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRDDtsUIJwg
Herald this morning – “……..the news that Australia has raised its terror alert to the second-highest level would have sent more shudders down more spines than any filing cabinet full of the documents that Dotcom and the American journalist Glenn Greenwald may have.”
Good old John Armstrong aye……..framing it for John Key before he/we even know what’s in that filing cabinet ?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11324701
Key this morning with Espiner sounding more and more like Farrar: “in the end”…”ultimately”…”initially” and “look..look” about 10 times and as Espiner obviously detected, no substantial information in between the cliches.
[r0b: Deleted in moderation. You have posted versions of that comment several times here on The Standard, as well as other forums. It is becoming spam – enough.]
I came home yesterday to find thick envelopes from national and local Conservative Party candidates printed on glossy paper with what seemed like acres of white space.
One featured an emaciated character staring fixedly at camera backed by a grinning rouges gallery including a woman with partially peroxided hair and violet-red lipstick.
Compounding these fashion crimes was a wishy-washy pale shade of blue headlining lack of conviction and a point by point comparison with New Zealand First on the other side. Is someone trying to get rid of Winston Peters ?
Wow! Political party targets rival political party in attempt to win votes. I would alert the media immediately if I was you [sar]
Don’t forget to Vote Positive, Gosman.
I received a drugs are bad mmkay addressed glossy complete with hypodermic and a scattering of pills.
Raa
I got the conservative one. The photos are as you described. Reminded me of a joke photo some years ago with a bunch of monkey like morons (apologies to morons) with the caption “Our qualified and capable staff are here to serve you”
Batsh*t Colin grinning like a toothy nutty bush baby, Rankin that family friendly woman who is a great consolidator of marital relationships, Garth wotsisname and the other forgettables ….Geez what a bunch of visual f*ckwits.
To think they could remotely consider themselves as my (read your) leaders.
Incidentally I don’t actually want or need a leader, especially ones like these.
Dirty politic strategies no doubt?
This article by lawyer Denis Tegg is a very good good clear summary of questions with implications for John Key’s NACT government
….especially question number 9. …about whether New Zealand could now be sharing information with Mossad on New Zealanders? ( We have already seen Slater’s connections with Israel…what other NZ journalists and PR operators also have connections with Israel?)
….this question if proved to be true has VERY SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS for New Zealand’s sovereignty , independence and democracy…and Foreign Relations…United Nations status….participant in the World Court and world justice system …and Human Rights and the justice system for New Zealanders!
‘Which of John Key’s many statements on the GCSB will Glenn Greenwald challenge and refute?’
By Denis Tegg / September 15, 2014 /
“We already have Glenn Greenwald’s assertion on The Nation that John Key has misled New Zealanders as to whether the GCSB has engaged in mass surveillance of Kiwis. But Key has made many other statements about the GCSB’s powers and activities. So which of these other public statements made by Key will Glenn Greenwald challenge and refute ?….
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/09/15/guest-blog-denis-tegg-which-of-john-keys-many-statements-on-the-gcsb-will-glenn-greenwald-challenge-and-refute/#sthash.pgRm6CDk.dpuf
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an important issue. It’s just that personally, if those guys knew the full truth of my life, they wouldn’t spend thousands “surveilling” me. I’d just tell them up front what they don’t want to hear, what they can’t bear to hear. A single fifty cent 9x19mmm parabellum from the American division of Kmart could save them heaps of time and cash. Those guys have killed so many “by accident” and “in self defence” why on earth would they hesitate with me? Or you?
Watch live: ‘The moment of truth’.
Details below:
https://www.thunderclap.it/en/projects/15900-the-moment-of-truth
“His comments on this matter have changed considerably, almost every single day so I’m not actually entirely certain what it is that he is denying…” Glen Greenwald on the Prime Minister’s preemptive rebuttle.
GG 1, Key 0
‘At the End of the Day’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwAi5qeuA68
This was my contribution to yesterday’s ‘Off Key’ concert in Wellington to support artistic freedom and protest the censorship of Darren Watson’s ‘Planet Key’ song and music video. I’m posting it here before real-life political shenanigans overtake anything satire can conceive.
Cheers Grant. Loved it!
@ w.p..
..had a re-think on those vegan-sossies..?
Heh. What would you put in them? Beans, nuts (for a bit of texture), and herbs I suppose. A binding agent might be a problem as eggs are not allowed I take it?
I might have a play around in the kitchen.
tahini ? xanthan gum? potato starch powder ?
Oh, just while we’re in the lifestyle section of The Standard, I would like to add that I have switched tofu allegiances. Whilst living in Auckland it was always Tonzu tofu, as Tonzu is made there (and pay their staff living wage), here in Wellington it has always been Hing’s as that’s made here, but recently I ventured out and tried the Soyworks one. It is a winner, hands down!
The G.E free soy is grown right here in NZ, in Nelson and the flavour (yes, flavour!) of the tofu is something else. My tofu biryani will never be the same! Looking forward to it in summer on the BBQ with grilled polenta, marinated mushrooms and my home made salsa!
https://www.facebook.com/TheSoyWorksNZ
yummy!
@ phillip ure …i gave you my special award winning recipe for Vegan Sausages some time ago
Nice one Grant!
Great work Grant. Hope you don’t mind that I’ve shared it on facebook (and potentially got you in the shame shit as Darren Watson and Jeremy Jones now…)
I’m fairly sure it doesn’t breach the Electoral Act, but when they come and drag me away to Satire Prison I’ll shout “Curse you, Riffer!” just for laughs.
Well, according to the retweets, it’s now gone international. I have NFI why Canadians are watching #nzpol though.
+100 great song !…hope “The END OF THE DAY” comes SOON!
Is a Scottish oligarch any better than an English oligarch ?
This question is posed at http://tarpley.net/ where it is pointed out that
“The answer to this question at the heart of the upcoming referendum appears to be no. If we ask who ranks as the most hated public figure in Great Britain during the twentieth century, the answer might well turn out to be the very Scottish Field Marshal Douglas Haig, a scion of the famous whiskey distillery. As supreme commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium, the Edinburgh-born Haig became infamous as one of the greatest butchers of World War I with his futile frontal attacks at places likes Ypres and Loos. Worst of all, Haig was responsible for the most catastrophic single day in all of British military history with his bungling, incompetent attack plan for the July 1916 offensive on the Somme river, which resulted in 20,000 dead and 40,000 wounded during the first 24 hours, and 625,000 total casualties over five months – all to gain a few miles of terrain.”
Further ..
“There is no reason to expect better leadership from the medievalist banker-demagogue Alex Salmond (..), Scottish Prime Minister and boss of the Scottish National Party, who cynically offers pseudo-independence as the universal panacea.”
An excerpt from the latest piece from the impartial jonolist, Tracy Watkins:
“As the final week of the campaign begins, the latest stuff.co.nz/Ipsos poll has Labour on barely 22 per cent. At Glen Innes yesterday Cunliffe posed a lonely figure as one of his MPs took to a megaphone to round up stragglers for a street corner meeting. Across town, Key was a political rock star – mobbed, patted, loved.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10498151/Hardly-time-for-Key-v-Cunliffe
There will be many jonolists requiring PTSD therapy if this election doesn’t go the way that they have been actively supporting.
Yeah, I saw that too .. are these dice loaded ? You might get better odds at a casino …
This analysis of poll possible results is of interest…not all is lost for Labour…and there is the question of the overhang :
‘Election 2014: Numbers and Faces’
By Keith Rankin / September 15, 2014
“Democratic politics is a game of numbers and faces. How can we translate the numbers into the 120 or more faces that will be in the next Parliament?…
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/09/15/election-2014-numbers-and-faces/#sthash.jgBLRnxk.dpuf
( quite a part from anything else …bugger the polls!…the msm polls are lying…Labour is going to do well on Election DAY …especially when the undecided and former non voters get out and VOTE!)
I need some help here please, I want National gone as they’ve done a decent job the last couple of years but the sleaze and underhand tactics is simply too much so I’m thinking the best way to remove National is party vote Labour however this article from whaleoil (its a guest post) raises some issues with potential conflicts of interest
Whaleoil guest post that looks like a usual denier trying to raise doubts and who appears to be unfamiliar with much about Climate Change – read at your own risk via donotlink
While i’m loathe to take onboard anything from the site the post itself raises some questions so I’m wondering if anyone can say theres no potential for conflict of interest or should I be looking towards the Greens?
[lprent: You look to me as being more like a “concern” troll. All of the usual types of comments. ]
I’m not willing to click through to WO and many others here will be the same. Even people who do click through are unlikely to give WO any credence. Can you outline what the issues are that you are concerned about?
Party voting Labour or the GP, either is best support for a change in govt.
Edit: here’s the article without having to go to WO’s site http://www.donotlink.com/bmja
[lprent: “to be fair” (that awful phrase that really means “I am about to try to stick the knife in”, Disturbed tried to drop the entire contents of the post on this site. Classic denier astroturfer. But we’ll let him dribble on a bit for amusement. I see that they have already gotten warnings from several people. ]
Essentially its about Karen Prices work (shareholding and directorship) with NZs largest (according to the post) broker in the trade of carbon credits
On first reading it doesn’t look good but then it may well be a storm in a teacup but it is worrying
What specifically are you worried about?
Are you familiar with the GP and Labour policies from reading the policies themselves?
Its not the policies so much as the possibility of a massive conflict of interest ala Oravida which is one of the reasons I’m not voting National
Why don’t you change your name to Slater?
?
You spread his lies like a sock-puppet, why pretend to be a person at all?
Have you read the post?
Have you worked out why associating with criminal trash makes you look like criminal trash?
Why don’t you tell us what the Mongrel Mob think too?
And you’re proof you don’t need a long neck to be a goose
Why not do your homework on who would stand to gain or lose by attacking her? Because they will be paying Whaleoil for that service. I think there’s a book written on this somewhere.
Ask around about who attacked Karen as David he smashed the Telecom monopoly.
Unlike people here, we don’t take money from multinationals to attack political and commercial opponents.
BTW, if you really want to slander her, you will end up facing the toughest defamation lawyers in town. Trust me you do not want to be on the losing side of that one. Think hard before you go there.
“Its not the policies so much as the possibility of a massive conflict of interest ala Oravida which is one of the reasons I’m not voting National”
You’re not making sense Undecided. What’s the conflict of interest? Bear in mind that probably no-one here is going to read the article, so if you don’t clarify what *you* want to know you will probably get treated as a trole by more than just OAB.
Its a very long article but essentially its suggesting there might be a conflict of interest between Karen Price being involved with carbon trading and her husband
However if people won’t read it (and thats fine I understand why) then theres really not much more to be said
Which party is Karen standing for? And what’s it got to do with her husband, whoever he may be? Is the husband not capable of independent thought and action in your opinion?
and, more precisely, until “undecided” can point out an instance where cunliffe travels halfway across the globe on the public purse with the apparent primary objective of violating the Cabinet Manual by publicly endorsing his spouse’s company, there’s no comparison whatsoever.
It’s your offering support to criminals that’s the issue. What sort of person are you that you spread Cameron Slater’s smears?
Ratfuckers belong in prison, ratfucker.
Was ‘ratfucker’ on your word of the day calender recently or something?
It’s the name they chose for themselves. Who am I to deny them?
Ok, that’s an extremely longwinded post about CC and polluter pays taxation that I can’t be bothered reading. It’s apparently written by a ‘long time reader’ of WO, for what that’s worth (which is less than bugger all).
If on the off chance you are not just link-whoring, I suggest that you read the policies of the GP and Labour on their websites and then come back here and ask specific questions. If you have read the article you should be able to describe the conflicts of interest pretty easily.
I read most of it but I confess the dullness of the article didn’t help, I vote not so much on policies but on who I believe is working the best for NZ (which may not be the best way to vote) and articles like this does push me towards the Greens
That’s right, reinforce the Slater narrative, that way your facile deceit will stand out like a dog’s balls.
Slaters narrative is to want people to vote Green?
No. that The Greens will prop up a corrupt barrel of weasel-word motherfuckers like you and Cameron and John Key.
You are a strange individual.
Contempt for ratfuckers: get used to it.
A little early to be toking don’t you think
Undecided, you would be wise to take Aunty Chooky’s advice.
A couple of things:
You need to ask yourself why you are being influenced by whale oil when everyone knows he is at the heart of the sleaze and underhand tactics you refer to.
You need to know that Karen Price will not be the leader of the next government. David Cunliffe will.
You also need to consider whether you are in an electorate such as Epsom or Ohariu where tactical voting is a pressing issue. If so you need to consider your electorate as well as party vote.
Good luck with voting the government out.
PS: Giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming you are asking a genuine question and not being a you -know -what t***l.
You need to ask yourself why you are being influenced by whale oil when everyone knows he is at the heart of the sleaze and underhand tactics you refer to.
– Thats why I’m not voting National, i want a change of government
You need to know that Karen Price will not be the leader of the next government. David Cunliffe will.
– Thats the thing though, is there a potential conflict of interest going on here similar to Oravida? Another reason I’m not voting National.
You also need to consider whether you are in an electorate such as Epsom or Ohariu where tactical voting is a pressing issue. If so you need to consider your electorate as well as party vote.
– Where i live its cut and dried whos getting in
Giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming you are asking a genuine question and not being a you -know -what t***l.
– National have done a good job the last couple of years dealing with the GFC and earthquakes and I’d be voting for them now but for the behind the scenes sleaze and lies and half truths but because National is doing it doesn’t mean Labour isn’t (they may or may not be)
So since i’m changing my vote on the sleazy things National has done it means that i’m not keen on voting Labour if it looks like they doing the same things that National have been doing so I’m leaning towards Green
Yet I also know that the best chance to change the government is party vote Labour
Like i say conflicted, maybe tonight will clarify things
You need to ask yourself whether your first and second answers conflict with one another, and what you reveal about yourself thereby.
Undecided.
So, what it boils down to is you feel unsure about Karen Price’s influence on her husband should he become leader? (still going with the idea that you’re not t****ing).
The idea that “because National did then Labour does is it too” is a right wing meme promoted by the Government and supported by the right wing media. (see the reporting and opinion from stuff.co.nz and The Herald over the last month) It was one of the easiest and lamest ways that the Government could respond to the crisis that the publication of Dirty Politics created.
It is no more a sophisticated response than your average seven year old would give when found guilty of some form of unacceptable behaviour. (sorry seven year olds!)
If you’ve read Dirty Politics you’ll know that New Zealand has never in it’s history seen such a level of corruption, dishonesty and deceit at it’s centre of political power. This unparalleled series of events is relatively recent in our history. It is unique. It’s probably not what you expect as a National voter right?
Don’t buy into the meme that other leaders are capable of such a stunning lack of integrity. Such sociopathy is rare and it is our responsibility to keep those with such traits out of power.
@ Undecided 11.36
This is priceless.
National have done a good job the last couple of years dealing with the GFC and earthquakes and I’d be voting for them now but for the behind the scenes sleaze and lies and half truths but because National is doing it doesn’t mean Labour isn’t (they may or may not be)
You silly person, you have given thinking a try and learned to put words together in a sentence and sent an early draft to us. There is a lot of work to do yet before you deserve to get the kind help you are asking for. Do your homework before you come to The Standard. Don’t waste our time. Come back next year.
This is a reply to Warbs, not sure where it will turn up, run out of reply buttons.
Yeah, I saw that support for all the amazing work National has done with the GFC and CHCH. I chose to completely ignore that as there’s no point arguing with that – it just diverts the course of conversation. I thought it might be useful to park that belief (and it is a belief, it’s not knowledge) to one side and focus what Undies is really trying to say and ask.
Could be completely wasting our time, Undies could easily be a t***l, has all the hallmarks BUT what if he/she isn’t?
Rather than attack them for their support for National prior to Dirty Politics is it not better to set an example of those on the Left by cooperating with those on the Right in an effort to help them out? For all we know this could be a genuine question from a sincere person. It’s not impossible for former National voters to be disgusted with their party’s behaviour and take their votes away from them is it? If anything, good on them for not denying it as so many stuff type commenters do.
Not everyone has the same level of political engagement as the folks of the Standard Community and if we can help out when RW folks have a genuine querie that’s a good thing. Education an’ all!
Hmm, I think it’s pretty clear by now that we’re talking trole undies. Gross.
btw, if you want to keep in thread, just use the last available reply button (scroll up to find it).
Hi weka. Yes, got that with the reply button, it’s what I’ve been doing. I never quite know if the comment is going to land where I expect it to 🙂
I’ve ruled out Undies as being genuine as he/she would have been back to follow up. Or maybe they had to get back to work, I don’t know. I won’t bother again.
I was prompted to respond as we’ve had quite a bit of feedback at PPO about strategic voting, and people asking advice about how to vote Dunne out. You would be amazed at how many people just don’t know the basics of MMP. So I’ve got into a pattern of responding to those sorts of queries.
I agree, we really need a civics education programme in NZ.
I know what you mean about wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt. I started with Undies on that too wherease OAB went straight to trole patrol. But like you I am aware of the many readers and reckon it’s better to not either just call the commenter a trole and be done with it, or present useful information.
Now that’s a damn good idea! Party Vote Green!
But the Green’s would have nothing to do with that sleaze bag, and won’t condescend to advertise there, (along with P&S, and many others) so I guess he has to suggest you Party Vote Green in his post..
See I’m thinking Green because they seem to be more keen on doing right for NZ but Labour with more party vote will more likely get a change of government
A zero-sum game. Do you think anyone is going to fall for the idea that the Left vote can be boosted by carefully choosing which of Labour/Greens you vote for?
Spread Cameron Slater’s effluent then ask a very stupid question like a complete innocent.
Your low ethics are showing.
I really don’t think that’s helpdul OAB.
edit, even if undecided is doing what you suggest, the many other people reading this may need clarification rather than having to wade through contempt and ridicule. Lots of people still don’t understand how MMP works.
Weka, either Undecided is a tr*ll, or has trouble working out basic concepts of MMP and whether to take Slater’s word for anything.
I’m making the charitable assumption that they’re a player, are you suggesting I treat them as a cretin instead?
Then I suggest they seek out the Electoral Commission’s website: this is a forum for partisan political opinion, with a minor infestation of right wing tr*lls whose expressed aim is to seek a low turnout.
Either that or work out the meaning of “zero-sum game”.
“I’m making the charitable assumption that they’re a player, are you suggesting I treat them as a cretin instead?”
No, I’m suggesting you don’t fill OM with ratfucker insults, as witty as they are.
“An accomplice in a systematic attempt to pervert democracy and the rule of law” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
It’s more an issue of volume than content style 🙂
😆 ok ok less is more
“See I’m thinking Green because they seem to be more keen on doing right for NZ but Labour with more party vote will more likely get a change of government”
That’s not true. Labour will have to use the GP to form govt. Under MMP it doesn’t matter if Labour has one less MP and the GP one more, or vice versa. It’s the total that counts. So, vote for either, whichever one you prefer.
Well you learn something everyday, see I thought that the stronger the Green representation was in government the stronger the influence they could exert
For example if the Greens had 1/3 of the seats in government they’d have more influence then if they had 1/4
🙄
Right on cue, the mask slips.
What are you on or on about?
Sheesh! Do I have to spell it out <i.again! I think you’re arguing in bad faith, what part of that don’t you comprehend?
So spell it out because all I’m trying to confirm is whether to vote Labour or Greens and all you’re doing is talking in circles without saying anything of substance
Simple: if you were sincere I’d tell you to vote for either of them: it’s a zero-sum game so far as I’m concerned.
What I’m predicting is that you will pretend that Slater’s smear (the one you’ve been promoting) is putting you off Labour, to later pretend that another smear has put you off the Greens too.
Of course that includes besmirching your character, and the alternative is to assume you don’t know what a zero-sum game is and you’re too stupid to understand Slater’s toxicity.
Choose one.
I personally think that you see what you want to see, that your mind is closed and nothing will change that
That’s not a denial.
You’re an idiot, i know its not a deniel however i feel its a pretty good summation you and your character
Call me a little butt henchman, you know you want to.
if you dont read policies how do you form your belief about who is working the best for nz?
Blogs, media, TV, Newspapers as I find reading policies is a great way to cure insomnia which i know isn’t a good way of forming beliefs but genrally i find politics to be quite boring
Here’s a prediction for you. Once Slater has pushed his conflict of interest lie, the ratfuckers will all pretend that they’re being drawn towards the Greens.
Then Slater will make up another smear against the Greens, and all his little helpers will announce that they’re all as bad as one another but at least National will be a stable government.
Trash will out.
yes another reason why one should never go near Slater’s whaleoil…it is a pollutant of the Truth…and way too tricky for the average punter…especially those that need ‘Politics for Dummies’…i sympathise with Undecided…he/she needs to de-tox and then make a decision to vote for Labour or the Greens imo…these are the most solid bets with the best past form of opposition to John Key’s Nactional
Quite possibly he will however the last few years there hasn’t been any sort of scandel to have affected the Greens, no real conflicts of interested, no real election law breakings or financial irregularities so probably won’t find much traction there
Spot the platform on which this low character will help construct Slater’s coming smear.
@ Undecided ….from Aunty Chooky ( you must NEVER go on whaleoil..it is bad for you!)
…the Greens will do well!….they can look after themselves…however if you want to vote Green for the environment and everything else …go ahead!…GOOD CHOICE…because they are married to Labour and will influence Labour
…otherwise VOTE LABOUR….because they need your VOTE to get rid of Nactional and dirty politics
…as a wild card is Internet MANA….also well deserving of your VOTE…because it is at the vanguard of attacking dirty politics and corruption of New Zealand’s democracy and NZer’s human rights !…and it is for ALL New Zealand kids and free tertiary education
Winnie and NZF will also look after themselves and will probably be a partner of Labour ….they are also for New Zealand for New Zealanders and their rights to their own land, housing , State Assets… and for NZ democracy…which is under attack at the moment
It is a beat up. Every one of the national party caucus have much larger potential conflicts of interest. Even if you only look at their declared interests.
Wow long discussion about something very simple.
‘Undecided’ you smell an awful lot like a concern tr0ll. But just it case you’re for real, let me help you out:
Whaleoil = 100% pure bullshit (Read even one chapter of Dirty Politics if you need evidence.)
You’re welcome.
Desperate Nats breaking electoral law?
Tory hoardings around my way have had a large sticker added to them saying that ‘every party vote is important’. Nothing wrong with the wording, but, presumably in order to confuse or mislead the public, they have used the Electoral Commission’s own colour, orange, for the sticker. Apparently, a party vote for National is now authorised by the Commission.
In reality, according to the Electoral Commission, orange is not allowed to be used by political parties because it can confuse or mislead. I’m guessing that the Nats misunderstood that injunction to be an endorsement of their usual behaviour.
http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/family-party-registered-logo-declined-act-party-abbreviation-registered
In addition, the stickers don’t appear to have an authorisation statement on them, which I presume is a second breach of the law.
Nasty Nats.
Stick to your first point. Haven’t seen an authorisation statement on the stickers added to the Sue Moroney hoardings around me.
Touche! To be fair, I’m unsure whether things added to already authorised signage are covered by the original authorisation and if Labour are doing it, I’m sure it’s OK ;)*
However, the orange colour, and its misuse, are clearly covered. This picture may also breach the law:
https://www.national.org.nz/campaign
*Labour also have similar stickers (presumably the ones you’ve seen on Sue’s hoardings). They carry an authorisation statement!
the labour stickers are white with black writing?
Yep, I think that’s the ones, Tracey (not one close to where I am for me to check, unfortunately). Wording like ‘only a party vote for Labour can change the government’? I’m told that they all have the authorisation notice because that is what is required by the Act. Funny that the Tory ones apparently don’t comply with the law.
It’s an orange banner that read Your party vote is crucial. I’ve seen it on Epsom, Mt Roskill and Mt Albert National billboards.
Took pics when I was stopped at traffic lights. Will complain.
Also seen in Ohariu, Mana and Otaki electorates.
I read “your party vote is crucial” as meaning “we are desperate”.
and Northcote and North Shore … referring to Nat ones
The one I saw in Mt Albert had the authorisation (Labour’s I mean).
Kiwiblog will have been onto this story in a flash won’t they?
yep to Labour b/w, just saw one on my way home. The Nat ones are bright orange.
Small news item I noticed in at http://www.democracynow.com
Philadelphia Set to Decriminalize Marijuana
Philadelphia is poised to become the largest U.S. city to decriminalize marijuana. Mayor Michael Nutter has pledged to sign a City Council bill imposing a $25 fine for possession of an ounce or less of pot. Those cited would reportedly have to appear before a judge, but would not have a criminal record. People caught smoking pot in public would face a $100 fine, which could be waived through community service. The measure could prevent thousands of arrests each year.
To add to this moment of truth day, here is a 3min videoclip showing our PM in untruthful action:
PM John Key grilled on Fletcher’s GCSB appointment
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics-videos/news/video.cfm?c_id=1503464&gal_cid=1503464&gallery_id=131968
Key says Rennie put forward Fletcher’s name @ 40 secs but changes his story @1.46 in, and Very Unusually was actually queried on it by a journalist @ 1.55 and repeats truth or lie @2.05mins. Only video I’ve seen and still able to access that shows him lying.
that’s a treasure trove of multi-duplicitous Keys isn’t it !@! Have saved it in case it disappears .. thx for posting.
Vote Internet MANA for cannabis law reform
https://www.facebook.com/robstewartIP/photos/a.294855604024887.1073741828.293809687462812/337688009741646/?type=1&theater
yep..!..internet/mana have the strongest cannabis policy..(pun intentional..)
..and laila harre has stated her ‘personal commitment’ to ending cannabis prohibition..
..it doesn’t get much better thn that for cannabis activists..
..i really hope those 12,000 people who voted for the aotearoa legalise cannabis party in 2011..can also see that..
..and will this time cast their vote for the best chance for cannabis-reform we have had since forever…
..the internet/mana party..
..and i hope they heed the words of one of their (deserved) heroes..the longtime cannabis-warrior dakta green..
..i am sure he won’t mind if i paste his reply to my open letter to the aotearoa legalise cannabis party..
..this issue is very important..those 12,000 voters are one and a half times the total number of people who went to the internet/mana roadshow up and down the country..
..that is a serious wedge of voters..
..and i really hope laila harre is reaching out to them..as we speak..
..(here is the good dakta..)
“..daktagreen says:
12/9/2014 at 12:40 am (Edit)
Phillip Ure. I was part way thru writing a piece with similar sentiments when your letter appeared. My piece had neither the style nor wit of yours so please allow me to endorse your thoughtful and timely letter addressed to all cannabis law reform activists.
I am well known for my activities around cannabis law reform. I have been fielding questions for some weeks asking why am I not voting ALCP. My answer has remained consistant. I want my vote to count.
As a member of Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party I stood in the Mt Albert by-election following Helen Clark’s resignation. Not for one second did I think I could win in Mt Albert. But the campaign gave me a good reason to drive a big green bus around town with ‘Legalise Cannabis’ emblazoned down the side and park in front of a captive audience. If I was able to educate anybody about issues surrounding cannabis then that was a bonus.
I was planning to stand for ALCP last election in the New Lynn electorate where I lived at The Daktory. Judge Gittos sentenced me to a term of imprisonment which would have had me released in time to campaign. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal on a Crown application increased my sentence from eight months to twenty three months. My political activities last election were therefore limited to casting my vote in prison for the ALCP.
I have made it clear to my friends and supporters that I cannot and will not waste my vote as a form of protest. We must all vote strategically. I have suggested people vote for any party other than the morally bankrupt administration of Key and his minions including his bum-boy parties Act and United Future. But today that is no longer enough. We must be more targeted.
There is no room for a protest vote. This election is much more important.
I love the Greens but cannabis law reform is my priority whilst saving the world is theirs. Greens will continue to grow in size and stature because they are right. But my party vote is valuable and I must use it carefully. My party vote becomes more valuable when it may be just the vote needed to get another MP from Internet/Mana into Parliament.
I want Laila Harre to represent my interests in Parliament.
Whilst the Greens would normally get my support, I believe the Internet/Mana ticket will be the sleeper this election. Some weeks ago I predicted Internet/Mana will poll between 6 and 8% on election day. I have seen little in the last few weeks to change my mind.
Just 3% of the Party vote will see Laila Harre in Parliament.
As a country we have endured a bruising six years under Team Key. The issue this election is leadership. National have played dirty one time to many.
Hone Harawira has transformed from activist to statesman as the Mana movement has grown and matured. Mana have clearly defined goals I can support.
I endorse Laila Harre and the Internet Party to represent me and the cannabis community in Parliament.
Dakta Green, Internet/Mana Party voter..”
(the conversation then continues..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/comment-whoar-an-open-letter-to-the-aotearoa-legalise-cannabis-party/
and as a topical/related-issue..
..glenn greenwald has also written many wise/intelligent words on the subject of cannabis-prohibition..
..they can be found in this archive..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=greenwald
Just had a conversation with a left voting friend who doesn’t follow politics but she reckons that thing about so many people don’t use the MSM for their political information. Does anyone know what the figures are on how many people still get their news predominantly from the TV and radion networks or newpapers (irrespective of whether they are accessing them online or not)?
Saw that a few weeks ago, can’t recall where, but IIRC the figure was about 87% of the population still watched the MSM news on TV.
ta, I had a feeling it was still pretty high.
Oh dear oh dear.Transmission gully Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) ppp Australian partner is under investigation by Australian federal police.
Federal police probing alleged bribery by Leighton Holdings are finalising a brief of evidence to present to prosecutors in what looms as Australia’s next major white-collar crime case.
The revelations come with Fairfax Media obtaining a freshly leaked batch of company files, including correspondence between two top Leighton executives in 2011 describing a “disgusting history of incompetence and misbehaviour” and improper “rewards, special bonuses, travel rorts” in the company’s overseas operations.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/police-close-in-on-leighton-bribery-allegations-20140914-10gpgt.html#ixzz3DKuLyzmB
…oh dear more of NACT’s business buddies turn out to be crooks!
Labour /Left should axe NACTs big motorways and put the money into free Tertiary education for young New Zealanders
And that is prima facie evidence that National now needs to be investigated for taking bribes.
I was prepared to think that Slater’s recounting of Key’s unprintable comments regarding Jo Hall were almost total embellishment on Slater’s part. However, seeing his castigation of Glenn Greenwald as “Dotcom’s little henchman” and a “loser”, I can easily see Key making comments that were similar to what Slater reported, if not quite as foul-mouthed.
Today Key said that Dotcom has a big butt, and that this three speakers are “three little butts.”
Yep, he’s sounding more and more like Slater by the hour. In fact listening to him speak now gives me the same nauseous, slimy feeling.
kinda stunning language..from a prime minister..
..i’m scared to go near him..i’m sure he’ll call me ‘four-eyes’..and laugh at me..
..i think he is just reverting to the sneering tory-frat-boy he always has been..
lol…better than five eyes
Key is losing it and has has gone all Freudian slippish
key has also called greenwald ‘a loser’…
..he really is fucken losing it…
Yup all John Key’s loose name calling and butt talk is just a big smelly cover up and attempt at diversion ( not very sophisticated though)…
‘Why it simply isn’t credible that Key stepped in and shut down the mass surveillance program’
By Martyn Bradbury / September 15, 2014
“Key has been deceptive and has agreed to things no real leader of NZ would agree to. I don’t feel subservience to American Corporate Interests and the building of a mass surveillance state were spelt out in that nice TV advert where they’re all rowing….
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/09/15/why-it-simply-isnt-credible-that-key-stepped-in-and-shut-down-the-mass-surveillance-program/#sthash.EP4siAWF.dpuf
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/14/new-zealand-john-key-spying-glenn-greenwald
Today in the Guardian … New Zealand PM deceiving public over spying claims, says Glenn Greenwald
He added: “I’ve done reporting of surveillance all over the world and a lot of governments haven’t liked what I’ve said, but I’ve never seen a head of government lose their dignity and get down in the mud and start chucking names to discredit the journalist in order to discredit the journalism.”
Sad news, NZ guitar legend Peter ‘Gutman’ Gutteridge has died. In the original line ups of both The Chills & The Clean, he went on create Snapper, recording a handful of amazing singles, eps & lps. He just had a solo album released this year (a re-release of a cassette he recorded in the 90s). A sad day for Dunedin.
shit…!..vale..!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhyIV-XLgPo
That’s a bummer. Saw him many times in various bands, truly unique. This is a nice vid of him playing on a borrowed guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaWqDbpGYq4
He looked fairly healthy (for Pete) the last couple of times I’d seen him. He was certainly enthusiastic about his music projects. It was a real surprise to see this:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/315988/snapper-founder-peter-gutteridge-dies
Here you go folks – some BREAKING NEWS.- in an OIA reply just received today (15 September 2014) from the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank will NOT reveal:
“The names of the banks, financial institutions and the like, which have facilitated, enabled and/or provided derivatives market services, in any form, since the John Key led National Government took office in 2008″
___________________________________________________________________
Dear Ms Bright
On 29 August 2014 you made a request to the Treasury, under the provisions of Section 12 of the Official Information Act, seeking information relating to legislation that affects the derivatives market; Government exposures to the derivatives market; names of participants in the derivatives markets; and the value of derivatives exposures.
The Treasury transferred to the Reserve Bank the second part of your request. The transferred part of the request seeks: The names of the banks, financial institutions and the like, which have facilitated, enabled and/or provided derivatives market services, in any form, since the John Key led National Government took office in 2008.
Given the context provided by the remainder of your request, I assumed that you’re particularly interested in organisations that operate in New Zealand and that are counterparties to derivative transactions involving New Zealand Government organisations. You confirmed to me in a telephone conversation on Monday 8 September 2014 that my assumption is correct.
Response
The Reserve Bank enters financial derivatives contracts with a range of counterparties. The names of counterparties are being withheld under the following provisions of the Official Information Act:
· Section 9(2)(b)(ii) – to avoid unreasonable prejudice to the commercial position of the person who supplied the
information or who is the subject of the information.
· Section 9(2)(d) – to avoid prejudice to the substantial economic interests of New Zealand.
· Section 9(2)(i) – to enable a department or organisation holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or
disadvantage, commercial activities.
· Section 9(2)(j) – to enable a department or organisation holding the information to carry on, without prejudice or
disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations).
This response meets in full part two of your request, as transferred to the Reserve Bank.
Under the provisions of section 28 of the Official Information Act, you have the right to seek a review by the Ombudsman of the Reserve Bank’s decisions about your information request.
Yours sincerely
………..
External Communications Advisor | Reserve Bank of New Zealand
…………………………………………….
___________________________________________________________________
Really?
Is this information ‘commercially sensitive’ or POLITICALLY sensitive?
Given that NZ Prime Minister John Key, former Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve, and former head of derivatives for Merrill Lynch, is currently a shareholder in the Bank of America?
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/00CLOOCMPPFinInterests20141/2e04287ad20ee5da12a308149e59bb16d7f47ce5
(Pg 30)
Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
Little Nell – property investment, Aspen, Colorado
Bank of America – banking
___________________________________________________________________
Serving WHOSE interests?
Try following the dollar …..
Penny Bright
+100 Penny… good work!…but what does that mean in two sentences and plain English for dummies with short attention spans?
Looks like Winnie will be the balance of power……now what might that entail?
I reckon he has it within his grasp to destroy National as “the” party of the Right, and install NZ First as the party holding the “conservative centre” (left and right). How? He only has to insist on a Royal Commission with independent cross party appointees to go into the issues ion Hagers book. And into any other accusations.
The end result I believe is that the Governor General would be forced to call another election and “Brand Key” would have disappeared from the ballot sheet. Corporate NZ would be running tails between their legs.
The question is “will Winston?” How deep is his animosity to National? I suspect that Winnie would still be National if it was not so aligned with the corporate sponsors who clearly nobbled the Winebox enquiry. Some fun times ahead methinks.
Pretty sure Peters is on record as saying he won’t force another election.
Someone posted yesterday that the process of forming govt is that the PM tells the GG who to appoint (not sure that is the right word), and that even where the PM is being an arse, the GG usually takes their advice.
@ weka 2.36
This morning in Mike W and Matthew H at 11.14 a.m. there was a discussion about how the gummint is decided. GG? From about 15 mins in on the sound clip.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
hmm, sounds like confusing speculation to me. The bit about the PM staying on and calling for a gote in parliament was interesting, but I’d like to hear that explained by someone with good legal knowledge rather than two partisan hacks and their enabler 😉
Permanent link http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20149650/politics-with-mike-williams-and-matthew-hooton-15-sept-2014
edit, have left in the typo.
@ weka 4.06
Can’t resist. ‘Calling for a goat in parliament’. FIFY
😀
That would be Peters presumably.
Mmmm a billy and a bit ropey and ropeable. Fits Winston perfectly.
Today Peters is talking about a possible Labour-NZ First led government.
Yep, if you want a left wing govt, vote for an actual left wing party, which doesn’t include one that has Winston Peteres in it.
oh, and the lefties who thought Winston was a good person to have on side, see this shit, again?
Just had another look at Taco doing Puttin on the Ritz. His portayal of a good time johnny amongst the poor street people is pretty much like National and Act. Conservatives wouldn’t countenance any street people – they would be arrested and jailed for being layabouts or, just, alive.
Wonderful tap and effects. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG3PnQ3tgzY
There was a gerfuffle about this clip because some performers have black-face. It is an important symbolic thing to protest about. Black people were discriminated against for too long. They were also leaders in show biz, and happy to be there during the Depression, anyone blacking up was copying them. Black people wouldn’t have got acknowledgment of discrimination in 1964 without their unrelenting and intolerable pressure on the authorities. But appearing to care about the convention of respect and being PC about black-face is important to the leading bigots, even if in their hearts still they think, no.
Good luck to Kim tonight.
“Mr Peters said he was the first MP to back Mr Parker in 2006 when he resigned as Attorney-General following an allegation he had filed an incorrect return to the Companies Office.
Mr Peters said he stood by Mr Parker because he was a “man of honour” and was being “unfairly vilified”.
He also said he admired Finance Minister Bill English’s integrity on the issues of dirty politics and the affordability of tax cuts.
“Like Mr Parker, he has a certain integrity and honour. Consequently I see both of them as capable of being Ministers of Finance.””
I guess Winston considers double dipping at the tax payer’s expense a sign of honour and integrity
Awww it was just an involuntary reflex. A short-term operational matter. A momentary slip of the pen. ‘And Labour did it sometime!’
Great to see stuff are keeping up their high levels of professional standards and making a joke out of an issue of immense national importance:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10500039/Kim-Dotcom-Seven-Moment-of-Truth-alternatives.
Coz we haz a profeshunal jealousy?
🙄
Cartoon on the state of Western democracy from bold Australian cartoonist, Bruce Petty.
http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/national/cartoons-for-monday-11-march-20130310-2fuex.html
@ Rosie 1.47
You are a good person, patient etc. Undies comment just got my antennae twitching. Just so naive with so many questions. Actually if wanting to vote, I think someone should be able to think things out for themselves.
An irritation, personal to me. I wish that my piece on transport and rail would get as much attention. So much to think about and we run rings around some pseudo pseudonym. There is a case for having to pass a simple test before voting. I understand those wanting to live in the United States have to answer all sorts of deep questions, and from what I have read of their general knowledge, citizens would have failed.
If this Undie is young let her/him look on google. I do. And then come and discuss what I have found out. Latest thing that I haven’t found out is what Scotland will use as cash money if they go solo? Anyone know that? I would probably find it in the archives here.
Hi Warbs. Super quickly because the Moment of Truth live stream is about to start. Understand your points and for what it’s worth I have given up on Undies. I won’t bother again.
Scotland to retain the the pound. That is my understanding of the form of currency in an Independent Scotland.
Gotta go! Let her rip M.O.T! (not the former Ministry of Transport)
@ Rosie
I made people laugh when I said that seeing and hearing Edward Snowden was the biggest celebrity event for me since the Beatles came here. Great to hear and overall may nothave delivered all that was hoped but was anothr step up to getting info out there.
Just fwiw .. just enjoyed lunch with a close friend from the oh-so-blue Pakuranga electorate. She told me, unsolicited, that she and her family, and all their closest friends have always voted Nat and Maurice Williamson. Never again. They are all angry and changing their votes.
Not only are they distrustful of Williamson, they are now in the anyone-but-Key voters — this is at least 8 or 9 votes. Decent Kiwis just seeing the light now they have had their eyes forced open.
Yes, just an anecdote but I know this one is 100% true.
Happy trails ….
good news yeshe.!..a sign of things to come all around the country hopefully
Good to hear pieces of news like this yeshe
Radio NZ continues to seek comment from the Sensible Sentencing Trust.
Why doesn’t it seek comment from the NZ National Front as well?
The Panel, Radio New Zealand National, Thursday 11 September 2014
Jim Mora, Lavina Good, Tim Watkin, Zara Potts
ZARA POTTS: Boeing has SLAMMED an upcoming Al Jazeera documentary about its new Dreamliner plane. A worker secretly filmed conversations with fifteen of his colleagues, during which ten of them said they would not fly on the plane themselves. He also exposed a high level of drinking and drug taking at the Boeing factory. But Boeing says that the workers were simply letting off steam.
JIM MORA: Just irresponsible banter, essentially….
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!!!!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Yes it is true. You were not dreaming when you heard that. Jim Mora actually said that. He actually had the chutzpah to pass comment about “irresponsible banter”. That is beyond parody. You just could not make that up.
Now it is quite clear that, after close to a decade of delivering this crap chat show, Jim Mora has the hide of a rhinoceros. He is, patently, inured to irony. But even Jim Mora, that glib, determinedly trivial and insincere chatterbox, must have realized, even as he mouthed the words, just how hypocritical that comment was.
Late in the program, we were given a stark example of just how grievously Mora and his producers lack not only basic common sense, but more importantly how they lack integrity, or even a rudimentary sense of decency. Mora, his voice carefully modulated to convey the impression of deep concern, brought up the topic of the parole hearing for Akshay Chand, the murderer of Christie Marceau.
After a brief discussion with the two Panelists, neither of whom belongs to an organization that applauds or advocates murderous violence, Mora announced that they would be talking to someone who most certainly does: Stephen Franks, an “active member and adviser” for that bloodthirsty pack of knife-killing enthusiasts the Sensible Sentencing Trust. I know that many regular posters on this forum have remonstrated with Mora, and with the management of Radio NZ, about their practice of routinely seeking comment from the S.S. Trust, which is beyond doubt a monstrous and disreputable organization.
It is quite obvious that Mora and his producers have not taken these protests seriously. That is the reason that listeners were treated to the absurd and obscene spectacle of Franks said something about the Christie Marceau case, then, in answer to another question, took the opportunity to embark on a wandery rant against what he sneeringly calls “well meaning” prison reforms which have, according to him at least, taken the “top dog” status in prisons away from the wardens. Of course, trifling concerns like prison officers no longer being licensed to torture, abuse or degrade prisoners obviously count for nothing to the kind of person who belongs to the S.S.Trust.
I will not burden Standardisti by subjecting them to Stephen Franks’s sardonic and deeply hypocritical reproach of “well meaning” liberals, which was pretty much the same speech he always gives whenever he gets the chance. What is interesting, and deeply concerning, is that this vicious, utterly discredited vigilante gang is still being treated with unwarranted respect, is still routinely asked for comment by Radio NZ, and is still referred to as a “victims’ rights organization”.
Not being in NZ, I don’t pick up much about this sort of thing, but I just caught the National campaign ad in an ad-break on Campbell Live online. They appear to have changed the backing music. It’s no longer the D-minor Eminem doppelganger that sounds like it’s been pulled straight out of a documentary about illegal spying. It might be a clip from another part of the same piece, but it’s in a major key, is much more upbeat and no longer has those ultra-sinister overtones that make it sound like National are sending agents into your home at night to confiscate your red scarves, paint your pets blue and teach three-way handshakes to your children.
Has anyone else noticed that change, or when it happened?
Right up there with the radio ad I heard promoing Nact the other evening. Smarmy voice goes ‘we look after NZ’s mosty vulnerable”. Code for Slater & Ede?
Caught seven sharp while channel flicking – hosking’s rant at the end was outrageous. The pm’s lovely, we should trust him, everyone else are horrid liars.
I’m paraphrasing. What he said was even worse – I can’t find a link yet, but it really was desperate, blatant propaganda.
It is funny how the born to rule respond when their world view is threatened.
here we are. Hosking starts the paid political broadcast at 21m40s.
Starting to get into territory like this.
Fuck.
*bites tongue about Labour*
Fingers crossed it’s distorted by being a landline poll.
Now the Aussies are seeing how our spy boys tapping the cable also affected them. Big story in SMH:
Edward Snowden reveals tapping of major Australia-New Zealand undersea telecommunications cable
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/edward-snowden-reveals-tapping-of-major-australianew-zealand-undersea-telecommunications-cable-20140915-10h96v.html
Did anyone catch Campbell Live’s partial broadcast of the IP big reveal tonight.
Campbell had as a guest former head of the GCSB Sir Bruce Ferguson running defense for Key and the GCSB.
Although he departed the organisation in 2010 (?) he said fairly categorically that they would not be collecting wholesale metadata on New Zealanders.
Campbell then quizzed him on whether the GCSB used Xkeyscore, which Ferguson did not deny existed and then in the last few moments of the interview totally contradicted his earlier statement “that they don’t collect data” by saying that ‘they have tools like that so they can go through the data”
Campbell didn’t seem to pick up on this.
Paraphrased, happy to be corrected or confirmed.
lots of smoke and mirrors going on. And semantics.
The layers peeling off as those involved have trouble keeping on top of so many lies and half-truths. What a morass this government has dived into.