“On to Te Tai Tonga and Maria said “Hurricane” (Clinton Dearlove) will storm Labour’s vote. Willie was on the right track when he disagreed and said Dearlove will steal Maori Party votes and hand the seat to Rino as a result. This is a point I made after the Te Tai Tonga debate.”
Hey Morgan, would it not be prudent to acknowledge that “Hurricane” (Clinton Dearlove) will take votes off the Greens, New Zealand First, Maori, and Labour Party. Remember the Greens and New Zealand First are only running a party vote campaign in the Te Tai Tonga.
Hey Morgan how about backing your story-telling with some data, or at least some logical reasoning if possible.
Please try and explain the following?
Te Tai Tokerau 2008 Labour Party vote 45% latest poll 27% a drop of 18%
Tamaki Makaurau 2008 Labour Party vote 49% latest poll 32% a drop of 17%
Waiariki 2008 Labour Party vote 51% latest poll 28% a drop of 23%
The average 2008 Labour party vote in the Maori seats was 49% the latest poll average is 29% a drop of 20%.
In the Te Tai Tonga in 2008 the Labour Party vote was 49% and the 2008 Labour candidate vote was 40% a drop of 9%
In the Te Tai Tonga in 2005 the Labour Party vote was 57% and the 2005 Labour candidate vote was 45% a drop of 12%
The average drop in the labour candidate vote was 10.5%.
Therefore based on the 2008 party vote result of 49% less the latest poll average drop in support for labour of 20%, the likely result would have the 2011 Labour Party vote at 29%. However when factoring in the fact that the Labour candidate receives less candidate votes than party votes.
29% less 10.5% leaves Rino Tirikatane with a likely result in the 2011 election of only attracting 18.5% of the Te Tai Tonga candidate vote.
Prof Margaret Mutu was interviewed on Stratos last night by the Southland interviewer that had previously fawned all over David Caygill after he and cohorts had taken over Environment Canterbury to get dairy irrigation underway..
Anyways, Mutu was very smart and articulate of course. But she fell into a hole when she was explaining something along the lines that NZ is / was not one people but two peoples, or many peoples, and she then said “but Maori are the original people and that is the difference”.
A few minutes later she was discussing immigrants who arrived a few hundred years after the Maori immigrants and complaining that they brought “a notion of superiority with them” that they were superior because of a belief in a different genetic makeup. Of course that “notion of superiority” is today more commonly known in these circumstances as racism.
Mutu however is blind to her situation. Her claim that Maori are “different” than the other peoples, based on a belief that being first in line confers something special, is the exact same sentiment that she sees in the original English when they thought they were “different”, based on a belief that their genetics conferred on them something special. The English had it wrong then. Mutu has it wrong now. It is a shame that someone of such academia and outright knowledge (though clearly falling short on the wisdom front) cannot see the glaring hole in her outlook.
I have had this argument many times but I have never seen any decent argument in support of Mutu’s “we’re different” idea. I am flummoxed as to why these supposedly smart people cannot see the stituation. But then I see why with Mutu – she believes her opinion as to “being different” is fact. Just as the English had believed their opinion re genetics was fact. It is a common human failing. And it is only the distance of history that can shed light on current situations for some people.
Mutu was otherwise very good and openly expressed the unstoppable brilliance that Maori and Pakeha working together alongside each other to their maximum potential could bring these islands. But sheesh, this continuing idea that Maori are different and special is as bad as the old idea that the English were different and special. Spectacular fail. And until it is recognised as incorrect by Maori the country will continue to stumble in its race relatonships.
There is something infinitely sad in being “special” or “chosen” because of some accident of birth, or equally sad about being disadvantaged because of the same accident of birth. I cringe at my English fathers attitude that represents his generations views on races / cultures other than his own. And I cringe at being asked to be responsible for historic wrongs, or at being deemed “inferior” because of my fore fathers.
We in NZ have a bigger issue than just Maori Euro relationships, we are now becoming a Pasifika Asian mix as well. Fortunately our children will lead the way as Ranganui Walker says “between the bed sheets”. In a few generations most NZ children might have a whakapapa including Chinese, Tongan and European ancestories.
“I have had this argument many times but I have never seen any decent argument in support of Mutu’s “we’re different” idea.”
The simple answer is that whether a person is a street sweeper, university professor or sportsperson, from time to time they engage in politics. Examine the context. In this country that means drawing lines between people: dark/ light, rich/poor, locals/immigrants, law abiding/criminal. That’s what Mutu was doing. Engaging in politics NZ style. What she said doesn’t have to make sense, she doesn’t even have to believe it, it just has to appeal to her target audience. When asked one way or the other, she’ll open a can of spaghetti reasoning for you to untangle. Welcome to politics 101.
Interesting that the police has issued a warning to TV3 not to publish the cuppatea recordings. I cannot recall the Police ever doing this before and there more than a slight stench of police interference in the political system.
If people are interested the section the police are referring to is section 216C of the Crimes Act 1961. The Act does require the interception to be unlawful, which requires the interception to be intentional.
The PM doesn’t like the content of his public conversations revealed. Wonder why?
Can New Zealand now watch this in a different light and still believe what he is saying about the cup-of-tea moment?
Some might say they wouldn’t trust him with the steam off their own …
And what was really printed on that piece of paper when he tried to defend his position on the S and P issue.
We all remember Gordon Brown’s tragic accident with a microphone – that was aired. Surely there are grounds to have the tapes released in the name of public interest?
There is a huge body of knowledge including from the academic community on indigenous thinking, ideology and ways of being. Indigeneity is different in the sense that its arguments, philosophies, dogma derive from the relationships it has to the natural world from which it emerges.
That specialness that comes from being indigenous is not simply a Māori thing, 144 countries world-wide signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (only recently did New Zealand sign albeit with the proviso that it will have no material effect on NZ legislation or policy) which articulates the rights inherent in being indigenous.
What is plainly an un-real expectation on behalf of people like yourself and the majority of Pākehā benefiting from colonial expansion is that we should be ‘all the same.’ In other words Māori, Pasifikan, Asian, should give away any notion of being Māori, Pasifikan or Asian and to, at the very least, parody a life of whiteness – to assimilate the values and aspirations of the western tradition.
Aotearoa New Zealand is the largest Polynesian island in the world – a mini-England, Ireland or Scotland it should not be. If there is to be oneness than at the very least let it have a brown skin and a Polynesian tongue. The relentless pursuit of the assimilation of diverse peoples into a homogenous soup of blotchy whiteness is the crime – not what Margaret Mutu articulates. .
Kotahitanga is unity of purpose – which recognises diverse interests pursuing a common purpose – a far better ideology in my opinion.
Adele, you make a couple of points sure, but kinda missed the sinlge base point I was making re the notions of difference, superiority, specialness.
In addition, this point you make here …. “What is plainly an un-real expectation on behalf of people like yourself and the majority of Pākehā benefiting from colonial expansion is that we should be ‘all the same.’ ” is way off the mark and I cannot see how you can pull that assumption from my post. I say vive la difference, but not when it comes to the standing (legal, moral, etc) of separate peoples in one location (and in this regard I guess I am at odds with both the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigineous People and Te Tiriti. Both are/were no doubt appropriate for the existing circumstance, but both are limited by that same circumstance. They have an end-by date due to their failure to acknowledge the issue raised in my post).
Your waffle vto mirrors the denial too many people are in regarding the colonial and post colonial history of this country.
Until all citizens have roughly equal health and wealth stats (improved ones that is) more people had better start learning about Te Tiriti and acting, it holds us all back as a nation in the meantime.
Which particular waffle and denial is that Mr Mountain? My point was specific – about Mutu’s missing link in her otherwise robust outlook. (point in post at 6.37 above)
“The relentless pursuit of the assimilation of diverse peoples into a homogenous soup of blotchy whiteness is the crime – not what Margaret Mutu articulates. . ”
You’re damn right is it, even if you’re white! I’d like it very much if as a nation of varied people, we all agreed that everyone should have – as unalienable right – enough to eat, a safe place to be, access to health free care and meaningful work.
I don’t care which language we speak or what colour we turn, but if it’s brown skin we need, can someone turn up the temperature? It’s November for godsakes and it’s not even warm!
See from this mornings Dom the Nats ( a branch of the Flat Earth Society ) are promoting roading again. At the same time Brent Crude flies high in prices and lwo in supply. Still infrastructural development follows the same mantra…roads roads roads….private transport.
When will these goons get that happy motoring is going to be a thing of the past sooner rather than later and in a post growth shrinking economy this represents a massive misallocation of precious resources and money?
There was once a PM who decided that oil was going to be (1) too expensive and (2) run out in the long run, who then built a synthetic fuel plant, electrified part of the rail network, built a dam on the Clyde, and a methanol plant. He is now roundly abhorred by the Left and castigated for these things. And oh, that’d be the Labour government that sold a good few of these projects off. Nice work.
yup, he’s admitted. He hasn’t bothered to flesh out what the mistakes were, and how he would have done anything differently, and which of his x-colleagues he is hanging out to dry. I suppose north of $9billion gives him the right to say he’s made a mistake though.
As I’ve constantly said though Colonial, go see the late Roger Kerrs stuff, it makes a mockery of labours anti-asset sales arguments.
I have read it several times over the decades. Very short term thinker. He always seemed to think of government as if he was an assets stripper who only ever lived in a bull market.
Of course most of the government procedures and assets are designed for hard times.
Sorry lprent, I was referring to his series on privatisation on his blog. Its very interesting reading and covers the selling of assets, obviously, but also the impact on dividends.
Draco, you have already shown in past posts that you couldnt differentiate a balance sheet from revenue statement, so calling the late Roger Kerr a twerp is a bit rich coming from you. I would respectfully suggest that his intellect would smother yours in a nano second.
IVV – you sound like a child boasting about how strong your dad is. You have a Kerr fetish – we get it – just don’t expect others to join in on the adulation.
All I have done Campbell, is direct readers to a series that analyses privatisations. And I don’t expect Kerr to be the recipient of adulation, and I certainly do not idolise the man. I respect him for his intellect, and I agree with his analysis since it is logical and hard to rebut. Perhaps if you read the series and debated it, your comments might have a wee bit more merit.
“No it does not” What does not KJT? Are you saying that Kerr’s series does not debunk the nonsense rhetoric from Labour surrounding asset sales and loss of dividends?
KJT, I’d be interested where your 14 billion dollars comes from.
You clearly haven’t read the series since you claim “reality has disproved his ideas” and “countries that have followed Kerrs religion are failing”. Therefore you have no idea what his ideas were. If you are suggesting that capitalism is failing, at least it will pick itself up and come again. When socialism fails, there are not comebacks, since socialism is great, until it runs out of other peoples money.
I have read the series. Along with many other economic and social commentators and experts.
Unlike RWNJ’s I read fast enough to have read more than Kerr in the last year.
14 billion dollars is the closest estimate I have seen of the loses to New Zealand’s annual current account, resulting from the last rounds of asset sales.
Greece has run out of other peoples money since it borrowed more than it could sustain. The Socialist governments did exactly what socialist governments always do, make promises that they have to borrow to pay for, to remain in government. They ran out of other peoples money to give the greek population a standard of living that they (1) could not sustain and (2) did not deserve.
New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic. After serving as the Cabinet of Greece from 2004 to 2009 , New Democracy is now the main opposition party in the Hellenic Parliament after its smashing defeat in the 2009 Greek elections in which they recorded their historical lowest percentage of votes.
The right was in charge during the collapse – just like Italy….
I actually had that conversation in 1982 with Muldoon at a social event….dont ask but he was not nearly as nasty as I had anticipated as a spotty belligerent twenty something. We agreed on the principle of energy sovereignty and the need to have internationally competitive and secure electricity supply etc. Might have argued details and costs but in principle he was on the right track.
I also had the privilege of chatting to him Bored, and would have been spotty and 20 something as well! He was a damned clever man and I found him entirely personable.
It is one of those strange secrets of politics that I’ve always noticed with talking to rather large numbers of politicians and wannabes. Politicians are usually personable, nice in person, and very good persuaders. It is part of the basic job description that they should be likable in person.
I tend to ignore what they say and concentrate on what they do. It is much more revealing
I also look at the people around them more than I look at the politician themselves. Do they retain staff? How fractional is the debate when they are involved. etc… What is their demeanor towards opponents inside their party. Inside other parties. What do they do with critics?
The Herald is once again showing it’s increasing irrelevance –
Less than two weeks till the election and their front page lead story is about the apology of some kid who plays rugby for getting pissed and making a dick of himself on holiday.
I agree Campbell L. I am so sick of hearing about this every time I put the radio on. And everyone is so caring and worried about the poor young drunk (I think he is just 21), the hypocrites. If those who were truly worried worked for tougher liquor laws they would be acting rightly. If we as a society showed determination to improve the situation and gave people the right to decide on the number of and placement of drinking outlets , that would be a plus in turning round this necrotising culture.
Also change the attitude in society that finds excuses for the people who fall foul of the ferment (beautiful alliteration prism). Slam drunks in jail, fine them, put a set charge on everyone who uses the A & E and refuse to treat the violent and abusive.
We all get stopped and breath tested as part of the pretence of doing something about drunkeness. So we are under surveillance in a semi-police state because the government and local authorities won’t or can’t make the changes to reduce alcohol addiction, because they won’t squeeze out the clubs and liquor outlets, reducing their numbers and making them bring in earlier closing times.
MANA leader Hone Harawira urges voters not to be fooled by phoney landline polls that create a false impression about which candidate is in front and which one is behind.
He says today’s poll released by Te Karere proves polls that rely on landlines are a thing of the past.
“It has long been known that mobile phones outstripped landlines as a method of communication five years ago for Maori. It’s about time polling companies caught up with modern day reality instead of rehashing flawed methodologies that do not reflect accurately what is happening on the ground.
“Polling companies and media networks need to be held to account. Instead of having minor margins of error, they should tell the truth when it comes to the Maori seats where the margin of error is give or take 20%?.
“We know that Annette Sykes has done remarkably well to narrow the margin between herself and Te Ururoa Flavell. People should remember she began at 0% and iPredict, the country’s most reliable forecaster of election results, has seen Annette’s vote grow by 10% each week.
“At present she trails Te Ururoa by the small margin of 10%. That means, based on the current trend, that she will win the election by 10%. That’s what we are hearing on the streets.
“Her remaining vote will come from a collapsing Labour vote. The national trend with the party vote is that Labour is in a downhill spiral from 30% to a possible 20%.
“Voters are awakening to the ability of MANA candidates, including Annette Sykes, to vehemently oppose National and the Maori Party plans to introduce policies that will hurt the poor. Left voters are being faced with two choices; put their faith with an imploding Labour Party or back MANA whose candidates have a long history of opposing right wing agendas?”
“Cyclone Sykes is gaining pace heading into the election. The momentum is with her and I ask Maori from Waiariki to think about who will be best at stopping National in Parliament.
Children are not people too
according to the welfare system.
everyone on welfare is allowed
$80 of income before being taxed at
70 cents in the dollar, except
of course the children (who are
not people). Every child a
mum on a dpb, or other benefit,
should increase the threshold
(before abatement starts) by $80.
Routinely governments ignores
Human rights, and we lack a culture
of human rights thanks t the existence
of the Human rights Commission
shuffling human rights under the
carpet or hiding human rights thinking
in plain sight behind ‘Plain english’.
Why are Children not considered people?
Why can a grandparent open a trust
for their kid that pays their kid
$80 of income a week, that their
parent cannot touch and so would
be considered parential income.
But a grandparent less well off
who cannot afford lawyers cannot
provide extra for their grandchild?
Just imagine the nighmare, your
kid gets a credit card given to them
by your ex-partners parents, and they
can spend like happy little tightwads.
Know nothing of the guy apart from this little stunt. Mahon presents as a self promoting dick and immature provacateur at best. A team blue provocateur at worst. The artists job description involves button and boundary pushing but they should not expect to be liked for it. Two weeks out from the election? you tell us freedom what his timing is all about.
Political assassinations are no joke whatsoever in my view. We have had two politically linked murders in this country-FG Evans Waihi miner and unionist and Ernie Abbot Wellington Trades Hall cleaner.
It’s art for crissake ! Like most decent art, it is about perception. If you only see a crime, well that says a great deal about your socially programmed response when confronted with a reality that simply calls into question the morally and ethically ambiguous la-la land of modern politics. The work of the artist is not an assassination attempt nor suggesting there should be one. It is not condoning a crime nor is it commissioning one. It is not a crime to attempt to provoke thought in this country, yet.
Based on the views expressed against this piece i suspect a large number of brain dead idiots will be lining up for an RFID chip when the reality of the rapidly approaching Police State is finally made public.
The current media push on Tap’n’Go credit cards shows how the incremental plan is progressing nicely.
I do wish some of the vitriolic statements made against free speech were focused on matters such as the Search and Surveillance Bill, or The Customs’ Integrated Targeting and Operations Centre or the untested Backscatter Radiation Scanners now in operation in NZ, but no, let’s just bleat about creative attempts to get NZ people thinking about the future that is beng stolen from their children.
A number of commenters here and on other blogs have commented long and hard about the SSB in particular (and done stuff in the real world too). Kiwis do tend to suck it up, take photo drivers licenses, there were queues at the malls to bloody get one. Mate of mine held out for two years, could not afford the fines any longer.
My main point with Mahon’s Key work is the timing. Self censorship? that is why I asked your opinion on the timing. Art gets no exemption sticker from politics in the middle of an election.
I am happy for cows to be sectioned and mounted in formaldehyde filled glass cases, for small squares of semi gloss white paint to be slapped on matt white walls, for artists taking a dump to be videoed in close up, for artists to walk down K-road in crotchless chaps with no underwear; but I am not happy for an assassination image of the NZ Prime Minister to be launched in a tight election campaign that if National win will indeed be about “drill it, mine it, sell it”.
Then in 2008 National ignored a Labour Department recommendation that check inspectors be restored in underground mines. This undoubtedly ensured a lack of mine safety at Pike River with disastrous results…
Russell just needs to do the obvious Pete with those involved and he should be forgiven by supporters.
What a wallace that guy was appearing on RNZ though. Some people do lose the plot during election campaigns as even the Prime Minister has demonstrated.
Russell has to be seen to say the right thing, but like many of us know National is lying all over the place. A half page ad in my local paper today, full colour, building a brighter future, claiming they have reduced debt – lies
TV3 has a golden opportunity to question him and instead gives him a golden opportunity to totally deflect the focus – He has had hours to prepare himself for this interview and unfortunately the interviewer is a lightweight. She does however give him several chances to endorse Brash and ACT leadership and he cannot answer that directly either.
Opening question:
Q. “Do you have a clear conscience about what’s on the tape?”
Key: “I have a totally clear conscience about what I’ve done, I think it’s the Herald on Sunday…” followed by 7 minutes of rehearsed diatribe.
There is one interesting moment where he talks about confidentiality being breached – “If we let this go then today me, next … could be you. We cannot allow this principle to be breached.”
Go for it John Boy. We can’t wait for your public castigation of Paula Bennett over her breaching confidentiality in her totally inappropriate use of a beneficiary’s information to protect her own and your political hides.
If we let this go then today me, next … could be you. We cannot allow this principle to be breached.
John Key
Surely all this is deeply ironic?
Key was quite happy to “allow this principle to be breached”, when it was Maori who were being illegally taped. Passing legislation to retrospectively ‘legalise’, illegal and intrusive electronic snooping on Tuhoe.
Inadvertently condemning himself with his own words, “If we let this go then today me,…”
the whole thng was rehearsed from start to finish.
the tories know how to waste time inparliament and how to deliver red herrings to the juvenile infants at present infesting the media.
dumb and dumber.
No idiot, learn to read before you embarrass yourself again, and again and again.
The Leader of the Greens has taken the front foot and outed the person responsible. A person who is in a relationship to someone who works for the Greens. Certainly it is a close link and yes if the party roles were different and it was a NACT worker’s partner i would say the same thing. Who do you think does the regular vandalism to all Party billboards if not those supporters linked to the workers and the volunteers of political parties? Do you honestly think all that damage is from people not interested in Politics?
Based on your regularly discredited comments, it is little wonder you won’t even vote for yourself.
?? Are you trying to claim that calling for a cleanup of how we do politics is discredited?
Yes, Norman has dealt with it very well, but it is still highly embarrassing to him and the Greens.
Greens being involved in widespread planned illegal activity – which was totally unnecessary by the way the polls were looking – it illustrates how pervasive dirty politics is, if not directly in party leadership at least amongst party operatives.
To me that means intellect, ability, passion, a well articulated vision of where my country is headed and the political nous to be able to get there.
I’ve voted in every election since 1975 and the only politician that exhibited everything I wanted in a leader was Clark and the current offering, across all parties, leaves me cold.
Draco, as always you are willing to put your spin on past history – check out the Chief Electoral Officer’s take on it “inappropriate and illegal” were his words. Doesnt matter how you cut it Draco, Labour were caught with their hand in the till as it were.
You do realise that every party did the same thing don’t you? And had been doing it for 14 years? And if the AG went back further than three months Nationals bill would have been quite bit higher?
Not putting spin on past history – just relating how it was.
Oh dear – so it looks like any possible Green / National ‘coalition talks’ are probably now right off the table?
How sad 🙁
Not sure how telling the voting public the TRUTH is ‘defacing’ billboards?
If the mainstream media isn’t going to provide accurate information in order to better enable the voting public to ‘cast an informed’ vote – then this ‘piggy-backing’ technique seems fair to me.
I mean – it’s not like the National billboards have been physically damaged / knocked down?
hmmmm……….. maybe it’s just that the TRUTH hurts?
I predict that National’s apparently total reliance on fomer Wall St Bank$ter, ex-foreign exchange advisor for the (privately-owned) New York Federal Reserve, former Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch, current Bank of America shareholder – NZ Prime Minister John Key – is going to be their downfall in this 2011 election.
As one of my banners (yet to be published by mainstream media), but which has been publicly-displayed in the wilds of the Epsom electorate, states rather succintly –
“The KEY thing in life is sincerity.
(Same election hoarding photo of arguably ‘shonky’ John Key)
Once you can fake that – you’ve got it made.”
A week is a VERY long time in politics.
Eleven days to go…………..
🙂
Penny Bright
Independent Candidate for Epsom
Campaigning against ‘white collar’ CRIME, CORRUPTION (and its root cause – PRIVATISATION) and CORPORATE WELFARE.
National aren’t the only party putting arts and culture on the to do list though. An overall lack of any substantial policy creation has been highlighted in a current issue of the Listener.
Claiming that climate change is a plot to steal American freedom is rather tame by Heartland standards. Over the course of this two-day conference, I will learn that Obama’s campaign promise to support locally owned biofuels refineries was really about “green communitarianism,” akin to the “Maoist” scheme to put “a pig iron furnace in everybody’s backyard” (the Cato Institute’s Patrick Michaels). That climate change is “a stalking horse for National Socialism” (former Republican senator and retired astronaut Harrison Schmitt). And that environmentalists are like Aztec priests, sacrificing countless people to appease the gods and change the weather (Marc Morano, editor of the denialists’ go-to website, ClimateDepot.com).
Did I hear – “Sorry Russel, I had a brain storm and encouraged the vandalisation of about 700 National billboards”? Just the sort of activist the Green Party doesn’t need. Someone who outsources their brain work obviously.
The radiation is apparently not from Fukushima and the Czech Republic is adamant that none of their reactors have released radiation that would account for the higher levels of Iodine 131 in the atmosphere. So where the hell did the radiation come from?
Why NZ can never compete in the modern world economy. Rakon a NZ business has had a 14 per cent rise in revenue but its profits cut by a rise in the exchange rate to 81 cents when it was 10 cents lower last year. Then it made a $5 million profit, this year on more revenue, a measly $569,000.
Listen to the Radionz business report and get the details, and then you will understand why we are forever falling behind. Films occasionally show a person being dragged on the ground behind a horse. If we think of our country like this, being dragged along by a mendacious and vicious financial system we can get a true and instant image of our position.
Why should, how can businesses stay in this country that pays lip service to wanting a thriving, innovative country but then allows the profit to be siphoned off through whimsical runs or drops in the exchange rate as a result of playing with our currency by the the financial masses, leaving us an uncertain amount that no planning can define. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5968560/Rakon-returns-to-the-red-shares-slump
I think the statement that we can never compete in a modern world economy is false but educated. If we really looked into this we would see that economies of scale and trade terms have a very distorting impact. Contrary to popular belief “free trade” deals rarely do anything fair for the smaller nations, in fact they merely open them up to anti competitive practices.
One of the biggest problems we have is the differential of “slave” wage levels, for example we could never compete with Chinese wages because they are so low. Consequently we should in an ideal world create equal opportunity by tariffing them. It wont happen….but what will is that energy scarcity will level the playing field to a high degree in the near future. Those with adequate energy resources to leverage versus raw manpower will come out ahead.
Come 2020 my forecast is that we will have a very hungry world, the petro chems needed to fertilise and plow will be in short supply…and then there will be the effects of climate change. Ugly picture but we will still in NZ be doing that one thing we are really good at is growing grass all year round and turning it into protein for export. That’s a distinct competitive advantage.
Bored – I am blinded by tears from seeing our exchange rate swoop about like an out-of-control rocket. It’s seeing the carry trade et al buying and selling our money for short-term gains. We are quite small in the world economy yet I think we are 11th most traded, when there are over 100 countries.
It just makes me despair as we keep watching our balance and footing as we run on this treadmill no-one ever admitting that we will never get ahead. Relying on big splashes in our small pond from oil shocks and climate change is dangerous. We will have given away our ability to grow what we want to Monsanto by then. The cretins in charge of our economy, the idiot savants, won’t recognise a tipping point if they fall over it.
Akshully. National should be prosecuted under the commerce act for false advertising on their bill boards. And thanking those who changed them, for helping them avoid prosecution..
So we have our very own kiwi curtain twitchers club–“Snitchline” over at blubbers blog. Disgusting, the ultimate neighbourhood watch. Not quite Stasi junior but given their political masters Search and Surveillence Bill who knows where such snooping will go. http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2011/11/information-please/#disqus_thread
A humorous little story on stuff – Key’s bus crashes at the first corner .
Not so humorous is the fact that two apparently legally parked vehicles “were broken in to police and shifted to allow the bus to pass” (in Stuff’s unparalleled sub-editing paucity). Isn’t that unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle? Shouldn’t they just have driven the bus out the same way they brought it in? Arrogant fucktards.
Serious Fraud Office Chief Executive Adam Feeley says it’s concerning that fraud against banks and other lending institutions continues to represent a significant portion of SFO cases. – Link
Just been to Meet the Candidates meeting for the Waitakere Electorate in Glen Eden this evening. I just wish someone had planted a recording device in the vicinity of Paula Bennett and Winston Peters – they were having a few intimate discussions with a few giggles along the way!
After a large number of National’s election hoardings were vandalized, John Key decided he would have to commission some more appropriate artwork for his re-election campaign to be successful. His brief was to design a new set of hoardings that captures exactly what the National party really stands for…
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
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The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
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Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
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Morgan Godfery on his blog Maui Street states
“On to Te Tai Tonga and Maria said “Hurricane” (Clinton Dearlove) will storm Labour’s vote. Willie was on the right track when he disagreed and said Dearlove will steal Maori Party votes and hand the seat to Rino as a result. This is a point I made after the Te Tai Tonga debate.”
Hey Morgan, would it not be prudent to acknowledge that “Hurricane” (Clinton Dearlove) will take votes off the Greens, New Zealand First, Maori, and Labour Party. Remember the Greens and New Zealand First are only running a party vote campaign in the Te Tai Tonga.
Hey Morgan how about backing your story-telling with some data, or at least some logical reasoning if possible.
Please try and explain the following?
Te Tai Tokerau 2008 Labour Party vote 45% latest poll 27% a drop of 18%
Tamaki Makaurau 2008 Labour Party vote 49% latest poll 32% a drop of 17%
Waiariki 2008 Labour Party vote 51% latest poll 28% a drop of 23%
The average 2008 Labour party vote in the Maori seats was 49% the latest poll average is 29% a drop of 20%.
In the Te Tai Tonga in 2008 the Labour Party vote was 49% and the 2008 Labour candidate vote was 40% a drop of 9%
In the Te Tai Tonga in 2005 the Labour Party vote was 57% and the 2005 Labour candidate vote was 45% a drop of 12%
The average drop in the labour candidate vote was 10.5%.
Therefore based on the 2008 party vote result of 49% less the latest poll average drop in support for labour of 20%, the likely result would have the 2011 Labour Party vote at 29%. However when factoring in the fact that the Labour candidate receives less candidate votes than party votes.
29% less 10.5% leaves Rino Tirikatane with a likely result in the 2011 election of only attracting 18.5% of the Te Tai Tonga candidate vote.
Prof Margaret Mutu was interviewed on Stratos last night by the Southland interviewer that had previously fawned all over David Caygill after he and cohorts had taken over Environment Canterbury to get dairy irrigation underway..
Anyways, Mutu was very smart and articulate of course. But she fell into a hole when she was explaining something along the lines that NZ is / was not one people but two peoples, or many peoples, and she then said “but Maori are the original people and that is the difference”.
A few minutes later she was discussing immigrants who arrived a few hundred years after the Maori immigrants and complaining that they brought “a notion of superiority with them” that they were superior because of a belief in a different genetic makeup. Of course that “notion of superiority” is today more commonly known in these circumstances as racism.
Mutu however is blind to her situation. Her claim that Maori are “different” than the other peoples, based on a belief that being first in line confers something special, is the exact same sentiment that she sees in the original English when they thought they were “different”, based on a belief that their genetics conferred on them something special. The English had it wrong then. Mutu has it wrong now. It is a shame that someone of such academia and outright knowledge (though clearly falling short on the wisdom front) cannot see the glaring hole in her outlook.
I have had this argument many times but I have never seen any decent argument in support of Mutu’s “we’re different” idea. I am flummoxed as to why these supposedly smart people cannot see the stituation. But then I see why with Mutu – she believes her opinion as to “being different” is fact. Just as the English had believed their opinion re genetics was fact. It is a common human failing. And it is only the distance of history that can shed light on current situations for some people.
Mutu was otherwise very good and openly expressed the unstoppable brilliance that Maori and Pakeha working together alongside each other to their maximum potential could bring these islands. But sheesh, this continuing idea that Maori are different and special is as bad as the old idea that the English were different and special. Spectacular fail. And until it is recognised as incorrect by Maori the country will continue to stumble in its race relatonships.
There is something infinitely sad in being “special” or “chosen” because of some accident of birth, or equally sad about being disadvantaged because of the same accident of birth. I cringe at my English fathers attitude that represents his generations views on races / cultures other than his own. And I cringe at being asked to be responsible for historic wrongs, or at being deemed “inferior” because of my fore fathers.
We in NZ have a bigger issue than just Maori Euro relationships, we are now becoming a Pasifika Asian mix as well. Fortunately our children will lead the way as Ranganui Walker says “between the bed sheets”. In a few generations most NZ children might have a whakapapa including Chinese, Tongan and European ancestories.
“I have had this argument many times but I have never seen any decent argument in support of Mutu’s “we’re different” idea.”
The simple answer is that whether a person is a street sweeper, university professor or sportsperson, from time to time they engage in politics. Examine the context. In this country that means drawing lines between people: dark/ light, rich/poor, locals/immigrants, law abiding/criminal. That’s what Mutu was doing. Engaging in politics NZ style. What she said doesn’t have to make sense, she doesn’t even have to believe it, it just has to appeal to her target audience. When asked one way or the other, she’ll open a can of spaghetti reasoning for you to untangle. Welcome to politics 101.
Interesting that the police has issued a warning to TV3 not to publish the cuppatea recordings. I cannot recall the Police ever doing this before and there more than a slight stench of police interference in the political system.
If people are interested the section the police are referring to is section 216C of the Crimes Act 1961. The Act does require the interception to be unlawful, which requires the interception to be intentional.
Let’s see if the media have the guts to have the police opinion tested in court.
Not holding my breath for that to happen, bock bock bock……
The PM doesn’t like the content of his public conversations revealed. Wonder why?
Can New Zealand now watch this in a different light and still believe what he is saying about the cup-of-tea moment?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwcCNdTYyQ
Some might say they wouldn’t trust him with the steam off their own …
And what was really printed on that piece of paper when he tried to defend his position on the S and P issue.
And of course there is this little beauty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrPgK3bf9_4
We all remember Gordon Brown’s tragic accident with a microphone – that was aired. Surely there are grounds to have the tapes released in the name of public interest?
True, certainly a worthwhile comparison. And key is very good at foot in mouth behaviour
What about Bill English and the Kiwibank gone by lunchtime secret tape.
vto,
There is a huge body of knowledge including from the academic community on indigenous thinking, ideology and ways of being. Indigeneity is different in the sense that its arguments, philosophies, dogma derive from the relationships it has to the natural world from which it emerges.
That specialness that comes from being indigenous is not simply a Māori thing, 144 countries world-wide signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (only recently did New Zealand sign albeit with the proviso that it will have no material effect on NZ legislation or policy) which articulates the rights inherent in being indigenous.
What is plainly an un-real expectation on behalf of people like yourself and the majority of Pākehā benefiting from colonial expansion is that we should be ‘all the same.’ In other words Māori, Pasifikan, Asian, should give away any notion of being Māori, Pasifikan or Asian and to, at the very least, parody a life of whiteness – to assimilate the values and aspirations of the western tradition.
Aotearoa New Zealand is the largest Polynesian island in the world – a mini-England, Ireland or Scotland it should not be. If there is to be oneness than at the very least let it have a brown skin and a Polynesian tongue. The relentless pursuit of the assimilation of diverse peoples into a homogenous soup of blotchy whiteness is the crime – not what Margaret Mutu articulates. .
Kotahitanga is unity of purpose – which recognises diverse interests pursuing a common purpose – a far better ideology in my opinion.
Adele, you make a couple of points sure, but kinda missed the sinlge base point I was making re the notions of difference, superiority, specialness.
In addition, this point you make here …. “What is plainly an un-real expectation on behalf of people like yourself and the majority of Pākehā benefiting from colonial expansion is that we should be ‘all the same.’ ” is way off the mark and I cannot see how you can pull that assumption from my post. I say vive la difference, but not when it comes to the standing (legal, moral, etc) of separate peoples in one location (and in this regard I guess I am at odds with both the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigineous People and Te Tiriti. Both are/were no doubt appropriate for the existing circumstance, but both are limited by that same circumstance. They have an end-by date due to their failure to acknowledge the issue raised in my post).
Your waffle vto mirrors the denial too many people are in regarding the colonial and post colonial history of this country.
Until all citizens have roughly equal health and wealth stats (improved ones that is) more people had better start learning about Te Tiriti and acting, it holds us all back as a nation in the meantime.
Which particular waffle and denial is that Mr Mountain? My point was specific – about Mutu’s missing link in her otherwise robust outlook. (point in post at 6.37 above)
A couple more generations, as R Walker said, when we are all chocolate coloured, will sort this out without any intervention.
Going to the beach later to work on it!
It’s all cool, though – by the time we’re all chocolate-hued we’ll have discovered other reasons to argue.
“The relentless pursuit of the assimilation of diverse peoples into a homogenous soup of blotchy whiteness is the crime – not what Margaret Mutu articulates. . ”
You’re damn right is it, even if you’re white! I’d like it very much if as a nation of varied people, we all agreed that everyone should have – as unalienable right – enough to eat, a safe place to be, access to health free care and meaningful work.
I don’t care which language we speak or what colour we turn, but if it’s brown skin we need, can someone turn up the temperature? It’s November for godsakes and it’s not even warm!
See from this mornings Dom the Nats ( a branch of the Flat Earth Society ) are promoting roading again. At the same time Brent Crude flies high in prices and lwo in supply. Still infrastructural development follows the same mantra…roads roads roads….private transport.
When will these goons get that happy motoring is going to be a thing of the past sooner rather than later and in a post growth shrinking economy this represents a massive misallocation of precious resources and money?
There was once a PM who decided that oil was going to be (1) too expensive and (2) run out in the long run, who then built a synthetic fuel plant, electrified part of the rail network, built a dam on the Clyde, and a methanol plant. He is now roundly abhorred by the Left and castigated for these things. And oh, that’d be the Labour government that sold a good few of these projects off. Nice work.
Actually I’m Left and I think that some of the infrastructure Muldoon built was damn good, and has supported the NZ economy for decades.
Further, Goff admits that Labour made mistakes with asset sales and learnt from them.
National hasn’t.
yup, he’s admitted. He hasn’t bothered to flesh out what the mistakes were, and how he would have done anything differently, and which of his x-colleagues he is hanging out to dry. I suppose north of $9billion gives him the right to say he’s made a mistake though.
As I’ve constantly said though Colonial, go see the late Roger Kerrs stuff, it makes a mockery of labours anti-asset sales arguments.
I have read it several times over the decades. Very short term thinker. He always seemed to think of government as if he was an assets stripper who only ever lived in a bull market.
Of course most of the government procedures and assets are designed for hard times.
Sorry lprent, I was referring to his series on privatisation on his blog. Its very interesting reading and covers the selling of assets, obviously, but also the impact on dividends.
It’s a load of bollocks is what it is. But that’s true of everything the twerp said.
Kerr or IVV?
Draco, you have already shown in past posts that you couldnt differentiate a balance sheet from revenue statement, so calling the late Roger Kerr a twerp is a bit rich coming from you. I would respectfully suggest that his intellect would smother yours in a nano second.
IVV – you sound like a child boasting about how strong your dad is. You have a Kerr fetish – we get it – just don’t expect others to join in on the adulation.
All I have done Campbell, is direct readers to a series that analyses privatisations. And I don’t expect Kerr to be the recipient of adulation, and I certainly do not idolise the man. I respect him for his intellect, and I agree with his analysis since it is logical and hard to rebut. Perhaps if you read the series and debated it, your comments might have a wee bit more merit.
No it does not.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/09/ten-myths-about-asset-sales/
Any businessman knows that selling income earning assets to pay the grocery bill is idiocy.
Not to mention the need to have control of energy assets, for strategic reasons, in a world where energy supplies are going to be extremely valuable.
Kerr, Like Douglas and Brash is ether blinded by his religion or a venal thief.
Kerr died recently.
“No it does not” What does not KJT? Are you saying that Kerr’s series does not debunk the nonsense rhetoric from Labour surrounding asset sales and loss of dividends?
Kerr’s ideas are nonsense. As reality has thoroughly disproved his ideas.
All the countries who have followed Kerr’s religion are failing. Havn’t you noticed.
14 Billion dollars annually off New Zealand’s balance sheet since the last round of asset sales.
If you think Kerr was an intelligent man, it is just relative to yours.
KJT, I’d be interested where your 14 billion dollars comes from.
You clearly haven’t read the series since you claim “reality has disproved his ideas” and “countries that have followed Kerrs religion are failing”. Therefore you have no idea what his ideas were. If you are suggesting that capitalism is failing, at least it will pick itself up and come again. When socialism fails, there are not comebacks, since socialism is great, until it runs out of other peoples money.
What’s this other peoples money. It is ours, we earnt it.
We should be able to democratically decide where it goes.
Neo-Liberal unregulated capitalism is running out of our money at present.
In Greece and Italy they are coming back with their hands out for more money to waste.
http://kjt-kt.blogspot.com/2011/03/voodoo-economics.html
I have read the series. Along with many other economic and social commentators and experts.
Unlike RWNJ’s I read fast enough to have read more than Kerr in the last year.
14 billion dollars is the closest estimate I have seen of the loses to New Zealand’s annual current account, resulting from the last rounds of asset sales.
Greece has run out of other peoples money since it borrowed more than it could sustain. The Socialist governments did exactly what socialist governments always do, make promises that they have to borrow to pay for, to remain in government. They ran out of other peoples money to give the greek population a standard of living that they (1) could not sustain and (2) did not deserve.
Ahem IVV…
The right was in charge during the collapse – just like Italy….
14 billion a year says asset sales are a fail.
I actually had that conversation in 1982 with Muldoon at a social event….dont ask but he was not nearly as nasty as I had anticipated as a spotty belligerent twenty something. We agreed on the principle of energy sovereignty and the need to have internationally competitive and secure electricity supply etc. Might have argued details and costs but in principle he was on the right track.
I also had the privilege of chatting to him Bored, and would have been spotty and 20 something as well! He was a damned clever man and I found him entirely personable.
It is one of those strange secrets of politics that I’ve always noticed with talking to rather large numbers of politicians and wannabes. Politicians are usually personable, nice in person, and very good persuaders. It is part of the basic job description that they should be likable in person.
I tend to ignore what they say and concentrate on what they do. It is much more revealing
I also look at the people around them more than I look at the politician themselves. Do they retain staff? How fractional is the debate when they are involved. etc… What is their demeanor towards opponents inside their party. Inside other parties. What do they do with critics?
Quite so. And as a spotty 20 something, I doubt whether my questions would have been particularly taxing!
Said it before.
If oil prices had continued to rise at the same rate, which everyone thought at the time, Muldoon would have been a hero.
The problem with his Government was not the borrowing for infrastructure and assets.
Many of them are still making good returns, for their private owners, after the first ACT Government gave them away, now!
If Borrowing to make us less dependent on imported energy is necessary it is still a good idea.
The problem was that Muldoon, like National now, borrowed excessively for bribes to National party voters. Farmers welfare, Super, Tax cuts etc.
Sound familiar.
The Herald is once again showing it’s increasing irrelevance –
Less than two weeks till the election and their front page lead story is about the apology of some kid who plays rugby for getting pissed and making a dick of himself on holiday.
I agree Campbell L. I am so sick of hearing about this every time I put the radio on. And everyone is so caring and worried about the poor young drunk (I think he is just 21), the hypocrites. If those who were truly worried worked for tougher liquor laws they would be acting rightly. If we as a society showed determination to improve the situation and gave people the right to decide on the number of and placement of drinking outlets , that would be a plus in turning round this necrotising culture.
Also change the attitude in society that finds excuses for the people who fall foul of the ferment (beautiful alliteration prism). Slam drunks in jail, fine them, put a set charge on everyone who uses the A & E and refuse to treat the violent and abusive.
We all get stopped and breath tested as part of the pretence of doing something about drunkeness. So we are under surveillance in a semi-police state because the government and local authorities won’t or can’t make the changes to reduce alcohol addiction, because they won’t squeeze out the clubs and liquor outlets, reducing their numbers and making them bring in earlier closing times.
MANA MEDIA RELEASE
14 November 2011
MANA SAYS LANDLINE POLLS MUST GO
MANA leader Hone Harawira urges voters not to be fooled by phoney landline polls that create a false impression about which candidate is in front and which one is behind.
He says today’s poll released by Te Karere proves polls that rely on landlines are a thing of the past.
“It has long been known that mobile phones outstripped landlines as a method of communication five years ago for Maori. It’s about time polling companies caught up with modern day reality instead of rehashing flawed methodologies that do not reflect accurately what is happening on the ground.
“Polling companies and media networks need to be held to account. Instead of having minor margins of error, they should tell the truth when it comes to the Maori seats where the margin of error is give or take 20%?.
“We know that Annette Sykes has done remarkably well to narrow the margin between herself and Te Ururoa Flavell. People should remember she began at 0% and iPredict, the country’s most reliable forecaster of election results, has seen Annette’s vote grow by 10% each week.
“At present she trails Te Ururoa by the small margin of 10%. That means, based on the current trend, that she will win the election by 10%. That’s what we are hearing on the streets.
“Her remaining vote will come from a collapsing Labour vote. The national trend with the party vote is that Labour is in a downhill spiral from 30% to a possible 20%.
“Voters are awakening to the ability of MANA candidates, including Annette Sykes, to vehemently oppose National and the Maori Party plans to introduce policies that will hurt the poor. Left voters are being faced with two choices; put their faith with an imploding Labour Party or back MANA whose candidates have a long history of opposing right wing agendas?”
“Cyclone Sykes is gaining pace heading into the election. The momentum is with her and I ask Maori from Waiariki to think about who will be best at stopping National in Parliament.
HONE HARAWIRA
Media Liaison Peter Verschaffelt
media@mana.net.nz http://mana.net.nz
The Waiariki electorate will be very interesting, especially as Tuhoe will be well behind Annette, as Te Ururoa was complicit in Hone’s removal.
Children are not people too
according to the welfare system.
everyone on welfare is allowed
$80 of income before being taxed at
70 cents in the dollar, except
of course the children (who are
not people). Every child a
mum on a dpb, or other benefit,
should increase the threshold
(before abatement starts) by $80.
Routinely governments ignores
Human rights, and we lack a culture
of human rights thanks t the existence
of the Human rights Commission
shuffling human rights under the
carpet or hiding human rights thinking
in plain sight behind ‘Plain english’.
Why are Children not considered people?
Why can a grandparent open a trust
for their kid that pays their kid
$80 of income a week, that their
parent cannot touch and so would
be considered parential income.
But a grandparent less well off
who cannot afford lawyers cannot
provide extra for their grandchild?
Just imagine the nighmare, your
kid gets a credit card given to them
by your ex-partners parents, and they
can spend like happy little tightwads.
I hope the sleuths here are having fun figuring this one out
http://www.whokilledjohnkey.com/
Know nothing of the guy apart from this little stunt. Mahon presents as a self promoting dick and immature provacateur at best. A team blue provocateur at worst. The artists job description involves button and boundary pushing but they should not expect to be liked for it. Two weeks out from the election? you tell us freedom what his timing is all about.
Political assassinations are no joke whatsoever in my view. We have had two politically linked murders in this country-FG Evans Waihi miner and unionist and Ernie Abbot Wellington Trades Hall cleaner.
It’s art for crissake ! Like most decent art, it is about perception. If you only see a crime, well that says a great deal about your socially programmed response when confronted with a reality that simply calls into question the morally and ethically ambiguous la-la land of modern politics. The work of the artist is not an assassination attempt nor suggesting there should be one. It is not condoning a crime nor is it commissioning one. It is not a crime to attempt to provoke thought in this country, yet.
Based on the views expressed against this piece i suspect a large number of brain dead idiots will be lining up for an RFID chip when the reality of the rapidly approaching Police State is finally made public.
The current media push on Tap’n’Go credit cards shows how the incremental plan is progressing nicely.
I do wish some of the vitriolic statements made against free speech were focused on matters such as the Search and Surveillance Bill, or The Customs’ Integrated Targeting and Operations Centre or the untested Backscatter Radiation Scanners now in operation in NZ, but no, let’s just bleat about creative attempts to get NZ people thinking about the future that is beng stolen from their children.
A number of commenters here and on other blogs have commented long and hard about the SSB in particular (and done stuff in the real world too). Kiwis do tend to suck it up, take photo drivers licenses, there were queues at the malls to bloody get one. Mate of mine held out for two years, could not afford the fines any longer.
My main point with Mahon’s Key work is the timing. Self censorship? that is why I asked your opinion on the timing. Art gets no exemption sticker from politics in the middle of an election.
I am happy for cows to be sectioned and mounted in formaldehyde filled glass cases, for small squares of semi gloss white paint to be slapped on matt white walls, for artists taking a dump to be videoed in close up, for artists to walk down K-road in crotchless chaps with no underwear; but I am not happy for an assassination image of the NZ Prime Minister to be launched in a tight election campaign that if National win will indeed be about “drill it, mine it, sell it”.
so you don’t mind being asked to think, you just don’t want that pressure during an election. got it! 😉
Who’s liable for Pike River?
Then in 2008 National ignored a Labour Department recommendation that check inspectors be restored in underground mines. This undoubtedly ensured a lack of mine safety at Pike River with disastrous results…
Green party link to billboard attacks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/campaign-trail/5967550/Green-party-link-to-billboard-attacks
Dr Norman’s EA’s partner in fact.
O dear, how sad, all of the nice caring image gone up in smoke.
O dear, how true what the stickers said!
Some removable sign enhancement is small change compared to the vandalism the National Party has performed on this country.
Russell Norman isn’t so flippant about it, it’s a major kick in the guts for him, from his own people.
Russell just needs to do the obvious Pete with those involved and he should be forgiven by supporters.
What a wallace that guy was appearing on RNZ though. Some people do lose the plot during election campaigns as even the Prime Minister has demonstrated.
Nah Pete it was sticky on words that were then removed.
Russell has to be seen to say the right thing, but like many of us know National is lying all over the place. A half page ad in my local paper today, full colour, building a brighter future, claiming they have reduced debt – lies
Column from Phil Heatley in the local rag. Taking credit for things he said they have done while in Government.
All, but one, were started/approved while Labour was in.
TV3 has a golden opportunity to question him and instead gives him a golden opportunity to totally deflect the focus – He has had hours to prepare himself for this interview and unfortunately the interviewer is a lightweight. She does however give him several chances to endorse Brash and ACT leadership and he cannot answer that directly either.
Opening question:
Q. “Do you have a clear conscience about what’s on the tape?”
Key: “I have a totally clear conscience about what I’ve done, I think it’s the Herald on Sunday…” followed by 7 minutes of rehearsed diatribe.
http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-John-Key-discusses-the-teapot-tapes/tabid/370/articleID/232760/Default.aspx
There is one interesting moment where he talks about confidentiality being breached – “If we let this go then today me, next … could be you. We cannot allow this principle to be breached.”
Go for it John Boy. We can’t wait for your public castigation of Paula Bennett over her breaching confidentiality in her totally inappropriate use of a beneficiary’s information to protect her own and your political hides.
Surely all this is deeply ironic?
Key was quite happy to “allow this principle to be breached”, when it was Maori who were being illegally taped. Passing legislation to retrospectively ‘legalise’, illegal and intrusive electronic snooping on Tuhoe.
Inadvertently condemning himself with his own words, “If we let this go then today me,…”
Cry me a river Key you hypocrite.
the whole thng was rehearsed from start to finish.
the tories know how to waste time inparliament and how to deliver red herrings to the juvenile infants at present infesting the media.
dumb and dumber.
The Greens have admitted going dirty in their campaigning, things are getting bad when they stoop into the mire.
Most voters are turned off politics and politicians because of dirt, smear and negativeness.
Time to clean up the campaign.
No idiot, learn to read before you embarrass yourself again, and again and again.
The Leader of the Greens has taken the front foot and outed the person responsible. A person who is in a relationship to someone who works for the Greens. Certainly it is a close link and yes if the party roles were different and it was a NACT worker’s partner i would say the same thing. Who do you think does the regular vandalism to all Party billboards if not those supporters linked to the workers and the volunteers of political parties? Do you honestly think all that damage is from people not interested in Politics?
Based on your regularly discredited comments, it is little wonder you won’t even vote for yourself.
?? Are you trying to claim that calling for a cleanup of how we do politics is discredited?
Yes, Norman has dealt with it very well, but it is still highly embarrassing to him and the Greens.
Greens being involved in widespread planned illegal activity – which was totally unnecessary by the way the polls were looking – it illustrates how pervasive dirty politics is, if not directly in party leadership at least amongst party operatives.
Back biting, defacing hoardings, sneering and doing your best to smear the opposition is a tradition Pete.
Some proper dirty politics for ya.
It’s a tradition that in this day and age surely we could leave in the past.
It’s usually counter-productive and counter to good leadership. We should demand better.
Good leadership?
To me that means intellect, ability, passion, a well articulated vision of where my country is headed and the political nous to be able to get there.
I’ve voted in every election since 1975 and the only politician that exhibited everything I wanted in a leader was Clark and the current offering, across all parties, leaves me cold.
But good luck with that wee pipe dream Pete.
The only way to achieve something is to try. I’m starting small and working my way up.
We’d all be better off if your leader was edged out of Wellington.
“exhibited everything I wanted in a leader was Clark”
And that would include the lazy $800K of tax payers funds inappropriately and illegally taken?
keep playing with those venn diagrams, ivv. You’ll figure them out.
You mean the funds that were decided, after 14 years of them being appropriately and legally taken, to be inappropriate and illegal?
Draco, as always you are willing to put your spin on past history – check out the Chief Electoral Officer’s take on it “inappropriate and illegal” were his words. Doesnt matter how you cut it Draco, Labour were caught with their hand in the till as it were.
The same till that ate national’s GST invoice?
You do realise that every party did the same thing don’t you? And had been doing it for 14 years? And if the AG went back further than three months Nationals bill would have been quite bit higher?
Not putting spin on past history – just relating how it was.
http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2011/11/russel-norman-apologises.html
Oh dear – so it looks like any possible Green / National ‘coalition talks’ are probably now right off the table?
How sad 🙁
Not sure how telling the voting public the TRUTH is ‘defacing’ billboards?
If the mainstream media isn’t going to provide accurate information in order to better enable the voting public to ‘cast an informed’ vote – then this ‘piggy-backing’ technique seems fair to me.
I mean – it’s not like the National billboards have been physically damaged / knocked down?
hmmmm……….. maybe it’s just that the TRUTH hurts?
I predict that National’s apparently total reliance on fomer Wall St Bank$ter, ex-foreign exchange advisor for the (privately-owned) New York Federal Reserve, former Head of Derivatives for Merrill Lynch, current Bank of America shareholder – NZ Prime Minister John Key – is going to be their downfall in this 2011 election.
As one of my banners (yet to be published by mainstream media), but which has been publicly-displayed in the wilds of the Epsom electorate, states rather succintly –
“The KEY thing in life is sincerity.
(Same election hoarding photo of arguably ‘shonky’ John Key)
Once you can fake that – you’ve got it made.”
A week is a VERY long time in politics.
Eleven days to go…………..
🙂
Penny Bright
Independent Candidate for Epsom
Campaigning against ‘white collar’ CRIME, CORRUPTION (and its root cause – PRIVATISATION) and CORPORATE WELFARE.
If there was any justice National would be in court for their bill boards.
They should be required to tell the truth.
Vote National. We will steal your wealth and assets and leave you to pay our debts..
Ignoring arts and culture
National aren’t the only party putting arts and culture on the to do list though. An overall lack of any substantial policy creation has been highlighted in a current issue of the Listener.
Naomi Klein: Capitalism vs. the Climate.
Claiming that climate change is a plot to steal American freedom is rather tame by Heartland standards. Over the course of this two-day conference, I will learn that Obama’s campaign promise to support locally owned biofuels refineries was really about “green communitarianism,” akin to the “Maoist” scheme to put “a pig iron furnace in everybody’s backyard” (the Cato Institute’s Patrick Michaels). That climate change is “a stalking horse for National Socialism” (former Republican senator and retired astronaut Harrison Schmitt). And that environmentalists are like Aztec priests, sacrificing countless people to appease the gods and change the weather (Marc Morano, editor of the denialists’ go-to website, ClimateDepot.com).
Single page
Did I hear – “Sorry Russel, I had a brain storm and encouraged the vandalisation of about 700 National billboards”? Just the sort of activist the Green Party doesn’t need. Someone who outsources their brain work obviously.
Radiation release unaccounted for
The radiation is apparently not from Fukushima and the Czech Republic is adamant that none of their reactors have released radiation that would account for the higher levels of Iodine 131 in the atmosphere. So where the hell did the radiation come from?
Why NZ can never compete in the modern world economy. Rakon a NZ business has had a 14 per cent rise in revenue but its profits cut by a rise in the exchange rate to 81 cents when it was 10 cents lower last year. Then it made a $5 million profit, this year on more revenue, a measly $569,000.
Listen to the Radionz business report and get the details, and then you will understand why we are forever falling behind. Films occasionally show a person being dragged on the ground behind a horse. If we think of our country like this, being dragged along by a mendacious and vicious financial system we can get a true and instant image of our position.
Why should, how can businesses stay in this country that pays lip service to wanting a thriving, innovative country but then allows the profit to be siphoned off through whimsical runs or drops in the exchange rate as a result of playing with our currency by the the financial masses, leaving us an uncertain amount that no planning can define.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5968560/Rakon-returns-to-the-red-shares-slump
I think the statement that we can never compete in a modern world economy is false but educated. If we really looked into this we would see that economies of scale and trade terms have a very distorting impact. Contrary to popular belief “free trade” deals rarely do anything fair for the smaller nations, in fact they merely open them up to anti competitive practices.
One of the biggest problems we have is the differential of “slave” wage levels, for example we could never compete with Chinese wages because they are so low. Consequently we should in an ideal world create equal opportunity by tariffing them. It wont happen….but what will is that energy scarcity will level the playing field to a high degree in the near future. Those with adequate energy resources to leverage versus raw manpower will come out ahead.
Come 2020 my forecast is that we will have a very hungry world, the petro chems needed to fertilise and plow will be in short supply…and then there will be the effects of climate change. Ugly picture but we will still in NZ be doing that one thing we are really good at is growing grass all year round and turning it into protein for export. That’s a distinct competitive advantage.
Bored – I am blinded by tears from seeing our exchange rate swoop about like an out-of-control rocket. It’s seeing the carry trade et al buying and selling our money for short-term gains. We are quite small in the world economy yet I think we are 11th most traded, when there are over 100 countries.
It just makes me despair as we keep watching our balance and footing as we run on this treadmill no-one ever admitting that we will never get ahead. Relying on big splashes in our small pond from oil shocks and climate change is dangerous. We will have given away our ability to grow what we want to Monsanto by then. The cretins in charge of our economy, the idiot savants, won’t recognise a tipping point if they fall over it.
I hope the greens are going to compensate national.
Akshully. National should be prosecuted under the commerce act for false advertising on their bill boards. And thanking those who changed them, for helping them avoid prosecution..
😈
Is a coalition agreement what you had in mind for ‘compensation’?
I hear Key is relaxed about it.
So we have our very own kiwi curtain twitchers club–“Snitchline” over at blubbers blog. Disgusting, the ultimate neighbourhood watch. Not quite Stasi junior but given their political masters Search and Surveillence Bill who knows where such snooping will go.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2011/11/information-please/#disqus_thread
Would expect anything less from the sickness beneficiary.
comment deleted
[sprout]
I missed what he said sprout – was it mildly insulting?
Not from that fine fellow, surely!
A humorous little story on stuff – Key’s bus crashes at the first corner .
Not so humorous is the fact that two apparently legally parked vehicles “were broken in to police and shifted to allow the bus to pass” (in Stuff’s unparalleled sub-editing paucity). Isn’t that unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle? Shouldn’t they just have driven the bus out the same way they brought it in? Arrogant fucktards.
” The 1% are the very best destroyers of wealth the world has ever seen” George Monbiot, The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/07/one-per-cent-wealth-destroyers
The Green party is tested over National’s billboard revelations and it is interesting to contrast the way Russel Norman dealt with the situation compared to Key’s handling of the Standard and Poors debacle:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/11/green-leadership-tested-over-billboards.html
History repeats itself on Wall street
.http://i.imgur.com/5zlio.jpg
National’s Election Hoarding’s 13
On September 2nd John Key opened the Customs’ Integrated Targeting and Operations Centre, saying: “Anyone who is innocent has nothing to fear.”
Quick, someone get me some tissues. (*sniff*)
I think it’s time we passed the hat around.
The National Government will organise that.
Closeup tonight is bringing in a lip reader.
“I’m not sure what he’s saying but he’s definitely drunk”
heh. Is it possible to lip read much by watching a face from side on?
Yeah! Key talks out the side of his mouth so should be easy.
And he sits on his brain (what little there is)
Its all a joke to the born-to-rule.
This does provide an explanation with why Key was reportedly injudicious with his comments, however.
What was Key’s prior engagement to turning up at the cafe? Why was he drinking at it?
http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution
Incredible live stream from the police raid on Zuccotti Park and the Occupy Wall Street people
Just been to Meet the Candidates meeting for the Waitakere Electorate in Glen Eden this evening. I just wish someone had planted a recording device in the vicinity of Paula Bennett and Winston Peters – they were having a few intimate discussions with a few giggles along the way!
Paula and Winston being intimate
*shudder*
Please no more detail, have mercy.
Campbell, that was my original reaction too!
John Key announces brand new hoarding’s
After a large number of National’s election hoardings were vandalized, John Key decided he would have to commission some more appropriate artwork for his re-election campaign to be successful. His brief was to design a new set of hoardings that captures exactly what the National party really stands for…