It seems that you largely come onto this site principally to gloat. It is not such a good look.
There are a few of us basically from the centre-right who come on to the site to debate. A fair few of those who are obviously on the left engage in the debate, that is actually respond to to the points. Most (though not all) don't go full feral. Otherwise The Standard would be just a left echo chamber.
Why? Leader of another party does something stupid and may have been involved in posting of photo on a blog of ill repute. This is nowhere close to bring down the Government territory.
Yes, but I would say he wasn't upholding the ethical standards required of the role before he was elected, so this is largely on NZF voters. I agree it is a dilemma for Ardern though.
True. Imagine if people could be blocked from becoming Ministers for not exhibiting good enough character beforehand to be trusted to uphold the Cabinet Manual. Would save some anguish and arseholery.
Jacinda Ardern is sensible enough to allow the SFO to do their job.
She also has no role in scrutinising the behaviour of an MP outside Parliament, when there is no actual proof that he took the photo in question. His statement was probably a Royal "We" meaning A NZ First member.
Our Prime Minister has real problems to deal with, this is similar to other storms in tea cups.
Having announced the election date in 7 months, and therefore 4 months of practical government before the campaign proper starts, isn't the basic answer "that's a matter for the electorate to decide" ?
Of course – but as we all know there are two main purposes of this manufactured scandal: drive NZF under 5% and tarnish Ardern (albeit at one remove).
That said, the whole donations regime IS scandalous and National is donkey deep in it as Simon's phone call to Jamie shows. Perhaps Labour could front-foot it by a clear policy to end anonymity in donations, require that donations come only from named individuals not corporations, trusts, unions etc., and cap annual donations at something affordable by someone on the median wage.
I understand where you’re coming from Rosemary. Many of us who are activists on the left have had to grapple with disappointment at how NZ First has been a handbrake on the rate of transformation our Labour-led coalition has been able to achieve. Deceased rodents have been swallowed, to be sure. What needs to happen now, is a mobilisation for progression. We musn’t sucuumb to negativity and bitterness and become enemies of ourselves. I have a background in the health and disability sector. I may even have met you sometime and somewhere. We’re allies. We must mobilise this year to increase the majority for Labour, so we can improve the material well-being of those whom this dysfunctional economy has left behind. I urge anyone here, if you’re involved in political membership or campaigning, get involved. Start now. We need numbers. We need hands, feet, arms, legs, voices, moving whatever muscles we have, from whatever positions we may be in, to ensure this next term we, the left are in power and have the room and majority to be truly transformative.
Of course it isn’t. But neither is it just “another leader of another party”. This is the deputy PM, the leader of Labours coalition partner in government. Worse than that perhaps, the timing of all of this is making Bridges decision to cut NZF loose look righteous.
I reckon Simon knew this was about to hit the media else would have announced not working with NZF about a month before election. How did he know? The mind boggles.
“ “Labour may struggle to mobilise their fanbase come the next election; people are beginning to suspect this government is more interested in style over substance. And the gloss has definitely come off Ardern.”
that “year of delivery” may be a term jacinda wished she never muttered.
Meatstock is a music festival for non-vegetarian audiences where the sauces are hot but the music is not.
Bands playing there this year include the Poor Cribs, the Mutton Chops, the Lampton Quay Minces, Supersized, and the Burger Boys with their hit, "Do You Want Fries With That?"
Opposition Leader Simon Bridges will be drumming for the Crusty Piemen which is why James is going. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the band and that they were on fire. Nothing like live music, said the live musician….. Also glad the music was on fire and not the sauces (too much) or the BBQs.
Music brings us together like little else. One of my little conundrums is figuring out how such great music as country can be is loved and played by rednecks. Really confronts the stereotypical approach to politics and beliefs.
Don't imagine you are going to wind any of us up by mentioning 'Meatstock'. It might give you a trembly little thrill and a snigger to imagine you are – but it's a fail, mate. Last night I ate fish I had caught, killed (iki), and prepared myself. A few days earlier I barbecued lamb chops on a charcoal grill (the only way) getting some good smokey flavours by adding green rosemary sprigs to the coals. Most of us on the left are very well-rounded, tough and smart – completely unlike the idea of us you seem to have in your head.
Given the hysterical responses from some on the left when mentioning meat previously would indicate that some views of the left are reasonable to hold.
It's a bit like redheads or an Irishman being told stereotypically that they're prone to flying off the handle; then people use the way that the redheads and the Irish react, by getting riled, to this characterisation as proof!
Tell me often enough that I am ruining the planet by eating meat and I might start reacting to this form of over-simplification.
Maybe Facebook isn’t the demon we think it is. Certainly there are major differences between us and the UK when it comes to media consumption, but this article from the Guardian makes a good read.
The past footage of Bloomberg now appearing is very interesting for someone outside the US – he looks like a billionaire Republican who as mayor of New York was viciously racist and authoritarian. Also there's some laughable footage where he is spouting the meritocratic myth/lie that the way to get ahead is to be the first to arrive at work, the last to leave and don't take a lunch break – in a way spookily anticipating the systems of control and surveillance that have subsequently emerged in workplaces like Amazon warehouses.
With Biden seemingly tanking, it seems that Bloomberg's purpose is to get enough delegates to ensure Sanders doesn't get a majority. That results in a brokered Democratic convention where a 'centrist' could be given the nomination, even though Sanders has a plurality. Popcorn time if they try that – and tragically, yet another gift to Trump.
Still I guess it will be an super interesting battle if it ends up being Sanders/Bloomberg running directly against each other, you couldn't ask for a more clearer cut ideological battle to be waged out in the open..if Sanders can take on Bloomberg's billions, the establishment DNC and 99% of liberal media and still take the nomination, then we know he has a very real chance of defeating Trump.
Just to put these numbers in perspective, let us not forget that Trump is a man who the Democrats love to lampoon as a low-functioning moron, a grossly incompetent administrator, a corrupt crook and a sexual predator.
And there is probably not much in that assessment that I disagree with.
And yet after years of his supposed ineptitude and their supposed ingeniousness, they have not managed to advance a single person who is odds-on to beat him.
This is as great an embarrassment to the inner-city celebrity intelligentsia that has displaced the Democratic working-class heartland as any true soul could possibly imagine.
Yes I like that take too, it is so similar to the position the Republicans ( in their own twisted universe that is) found themselves during the last Rep nomination cycle that is is almost bizarre
As James and Friends sprinkle nonsense about the demise of Jacinda Ardern the more stupid and useless their words and predictions look. James has every support of every low mouth journo and rag ever produced here or abroad.
However, Prime Minister Ardern is in fact the most illustrious and sure – footed person in the world's political arena.
James knows that. His mentors know that. New Zealanders know that. James is delivering lies. As is Simon Bridges.
In the meantime, in the past 3.5 yrs, the mess that goes by the name "United Kingdom" has produced nothing like the Delivery of the NZ Coalition. Weight for Weight our Coalition is a five decades ahead of a crippled UK.
Let's not compare ourselves to the UK an pat ourselves on the back…
Maybe instead look at our homelessness, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc Judge the govt on the progress they are making on those stats.
James and his ilk are imho jealous of Jacinda’s popularity. Simple as that. And so they try to denigrate her at every opportunity. What nasty mean-minded people they are. At least Wayne from the right tries to show some balance with his comments and doesn’t come over as bitter and twisted.
Yes, they have increased the minimum wage and increased some welfare and family tax credit increases. These things are easy. Literally just the stroke of a pen.
But not so well on things that require actual delivery. Such as houses, operations, child poverty, promises on light rail, etc. These require Ministers to constantly monitor progress, and ensure that targets and objectives are actually met. Labour has a serious problem around the competency of delivery. Way too many people across the political spectrum don't think they can.
It explains why the centre-right vote has held up. If the government was solidly delivering and looking competent, they would be doing much better. Labour was doing so in 2002 and National was in 2011, both dates being the same point in the electoral cycle. The fact that this election looks to be competitive in quite an indictment. In 1975 a few months out from the election, the then Labour government looked incompetent. Which is why Rob Muldoon won.
Competency was the issue in 1975. Is it also going to be the case in 2020?
I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true.
Changing a tax rate is something done one a piece of legislation that can be passed in a couple of hours. Same as simply banning something.
But building houses according to a schedule is a management challenge. Requires buying land, letting contracts (and the whole tendering process that goes with this). Then the contracts have to be monitored, people kept to task. all has to be done with high managerial competence.
The minister doesn't negotiate and purchase for each plot of land any more than a minister individually analyses the economic impacts and revenue projections on a proposed tax change.
If you were handling your portfolios to that level of detail, you:
You are deliberately misinterpreting what I have said. Obviously Ministers don't actually let contracts, etc. But they are responsible for the systems, the monitoring of progress, trouble shooting (such as getting in experts to assist the Ministry) and keeping people to task.
All very different to changing a tax or benefit rate.
Wayne at least she fucking admitted their is a housing problem not like old smile and rave key . You should be ashamed you were part of a do nothing government
You'll never get Wayne to admit or concede anything.
"I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true"
He does all that 'I know best' stuff in a very modest and considered sort of way – probably why the media still see him as some fair and balanced sort of sage, enabling him to keep milking it as a rent-a-voice for a bit longer.
But he's not alone by any means. Aside from Mrs Wayne, he's got his own enterage of hero worshippers. Sorry to say many of them misrepresent themselves as being members of the 4th Estate. Others are fellow talking heads that sit there dripping with fashion, jewelery and wisdom telling us all what we’re supposed to know if we want to be aspirational and in with the in-crowd.
Personally I think they’re hideous specimens.
(Shit! did I say that out loud?)
By the way, I realise I might be sailing close to the wind, in as much as I realise I could be accused of attacking the messenger rather than the message. But when it's constant, it kind of goes to the legitimacy of the message.
I was kind of hoping Wayne might be bestowed with some other sort of honour – such as a knighthood. There'd be a better chance of his slinking into obscurity, honour and marbles intact; Mrs Wayne being allowed her pride (not sure if she's particularly "fat and cuddly" or good on the Elna); and the 4th Estate being forced to look for another talking head (going forward)
Nothing like a trade wind blowing, flittering and fluttering to give an exilarating feeling..
I'll step back @Cogs, and just watch (like I think I promised myself I would do as a NY resolution). I appreciate your job is hard enough having to deal with it all.
Most off the things you cite have actually got worse in the last 2 years. That is not the fault of National. The current government has to own responsibility for those things.
That's momentum. It's difficult to turn 9 years of neglect around in two years. The John Key and Bill English governments have to own responsibility for that.
Why not? Families are charged way more stuffed into dive private tenancies.
If motels are being used in the short to medium term as more than emergency housing then it's right to have them contribute what state house tenants contribute until such time they can be found a community to live in.
Slum landords need to be dealt with no doubt… but thats a poor example for the state to follow…
Perhaps you are eight and there should some cintribuition but shurly it should be considerably less than what you would pay in a state house… maybe 10 percent?
The surge in motel use began under a National government. When it started people were receiving benefit advances to pay for them which meant for many debts into the tens of thousands. Then, still under National, around 2014, a new category of grant was introduced especially for emergency housing. No government has addressed the issue of a significant number of people still repaying big debts back, $30k, $40k, $50k – John Campbell on Checkpoint reported one at $80k. About a year ago the Social Security Appeal Authority remitted one which was $10k. This government has said they will not go back and remit these hideous debts for those who were caught up in that complete mess. The irony is that the meet the criteria to receive the recoverable advance the person must be in dire financial straits, so by meeting that test they end up with a debt for $50k.
They have formed an entire measurement framework around budget outcomes, so that there is total transparency about what effect public investment is having under each budget line.
And of course they've continued that in December 11 2019, outlining the broad areas that they will focus on in the upcoming May budget.
This government is shying away from nothing. Sure, criticize them for not delivering fast enough, by they are following a clearly forecast course and a framework within which to hold them to account.
It was part of the trade off (along with extended brightline test) for the non inclusion of cgt.
The fly in the ointment is the constraint enacted by the RBNZ for bank lending to investors (borrowing limits) the rbnz will have to increase the investor equity requirement to constrain investor growth (and housing inflation).
What things are you referring to that the current government is responsible for which have worsened homelessness, the prison population, child poverty and affordable housing?
She, like other National Party bloggers, complains Labour and the Greens aren't doing enough in condemnation of NZF for photos of Lester Grey with reporters appearing on Whale Oil 2.0.
In her article she links to a piece she wrote in 2013 on the GCSB illegal spying scandal. The very first image, and before one word appears, is one of the beleaguered Hugh Wolfensohn BEING DOOR-STEPPED presumably by Vance and her photographer.
You worked at British tabloid News of the World for seven years. Did you enjoy that job?
I loved it. It was so much fun….I spent a large part of my life on stakeouts. I lived in my car. You spend up to 16 hours on a job, just waiting. You take turns with the photographer going to get the papers, a bacon roll, coffee and cigarettes.
I guess what's really happening is that journalists do not like it one bit when the tables are turned, even for a moment…do they really believe they are beyond reproach?
PS. Here’s the long history of the News of the World which was shut down for hacking the phone of a dead teenager. It’s also the paper at which Vance claims she had so much fun and presumably leaned all she knows.
Well Wayne given some of these projects are very large and require exhaustive planning and execution, it is understandable they are not all up and running right now.
With a housing deficit that National refused to accept, it obviously is taking a while to get up to speed with building more homes. What did National achieve in their last 9 years other than leave a huge problem for our current government.
Likewise the run down hospitals and schools and environmental vandalism mess that National left in their wake (with farmers allowed to have cows wading in rivers and streams).
The government readily acknowledges there is more to be done. National just adopted a nothing to see here, move on, let’s have a tax cut and raise GST.
This is a recycling of Bill English's failed election campaign promises. Tax cuts for the rich will serve to motivate Labour's base more than ever, I suspect.
How to tackle decades of infrastructure deficit in Auckland made particularly acute in recent times after huge and unmanaged immigration increases?
Growth at 4% built on importing bodies isn't a sensible plan.
How to tackle housing affordability, dropping home ownership rates and the class separation and community health this inevitably affects.
Labour has not been able to turn the ship around yet it's true. Part of that is inexperience, but most of it is having a right wing coalition partner, a hostile Public Service and a middle class addicted to free house price gains and reluctant to give that up for the good of all.
And Bridges said today that they will pretty much reverse all the changes the government has made to the rental housing and they will allow foreigners back into the housing market.
The Nats have no problem with 'delivery' because they seldom attempt anything worthwhile or difficult. They can quite reliably deliver windfall cash into the pockets of their supporters – that's their whole purpose.
Downing Street has hired an adviser who compared women's sport to the paralympics as part of Dominic Cummings’ hiring drive for “misfits and weirdos”.
In one tweet, seen by The Times, Andrew Sabisky, a writer and researcher who calls himself as a “super-forecaster” said: "I am always straight up in saying that women’s sport is more comparable to the Paralympics than it is to men’s.”
According to the paper, the researcher also deleted tweets mocking people for “wetting themselves” over female Labour politicians including Yvette Cooper, Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long Bailey, all of whom he dismissed as “dim”.
Wow. I had these all over my succulents in Spring. I noticed quickly that something was attacking them and upon inspection at night the plants were crawling with these things. The damage was like nothing I'd see before.
I tried looking online to see if there was a known issue but nothing until now.
I eradicated them with Pyrethrum over several nights.
If it really was brown marmorated stink bugs, then MPI really really want to know about it. If there's any still around or they come back, get in touch with MPI.
Offering free money to National voters smacks of Bribery. To do it when there is an ongoing holocaust rampaging through ordinary men and women of Aotearoa is scandalous beyond pity.
Sir William English gave huge offers to the very Wealthy and much lesser amounts to the lowly Nationals. Unfortunately, Bill scummed himself. in front of his entire family.
There you go national plans to stop mimimum wage increase that will just create more of a mess in Aotearoa.
She is someone who caused you to grab a box of tissues.????????.
I think the amount of people with autism is much higher than that especially when there were stats of high percentage of adult people with reading levels of a 12 year old.????.
I would ride a electric bike it would be cool and great for the environment low carbon transport.
I seen some of his statements on Maori TV not good at all.
Maori tangata need to talk to New Zealanders f health help line it's a pain in the you know what when the person you are talking to don't understand what you're problem is and what you want.
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In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Over the past two years the government has repeatedly delayed a scheme to put cameras on boats to monitor Mew Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry. But it turns out that the industry actually wants cameras: Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the ...
Louise Delany (public health lawyer)Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use. ...
I like Andrew Curry’s succinct and insightful futures blog The Next Wave. His most recent post is about social change. In particular, the decadal-long periods usually required for changes in values. He highlights a 2016 paper by Inglehart and Norris, who examined whether economic insecurity or a “cultural backlash” ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate changeThe science has been settled to the highest degree, so now ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters acknowledged today the heavy price of trying to lead the National Party today. ‘One’s sympathy goes out to Todd Muller and his family. Todd is a good man, unlike most of his colleagues he does ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
We're keeping New Zealand moving, one progress-packed week at a time. Read below to find out how we're creating jobs, protecting the environment, looking out for the health of New Zealanders', and upgrading our critical infrastructure - and that's only this week. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is providing up to $19.5 million to boost innovative primary sector businesses and create training and job opportunities for Northland locals through the construction of an innovation and enterprise park at Ngawha, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones ...
The Green Party is today unveiling part one of its plan for a fossil-fuel free Aotearoa, including an immediate ban on new industrial coal boilers. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Kia ora tatou Today I am setting out our plan in the event we have a new case of community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. I will take a bit of time to do that, and then I’ll be happy to take questions at the end. Since we moved ...
·$124 million Government investment in recycling infrastructure ·Plans confirmed to increase and expand the waste levy to divert material from landfill, and recycle revenue into resource recovery and waste minimisation ·Innovative construction and demolition facility opened in Auckland with $3.1 million in support from Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF). As ...
A package of wellbeing infrastructure investments in Kaipara which focuses on improving the lives of the elderly and upgrading the iconic Kauri Museum has been announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones today. “These shovel-ready projects will have significant benefits for their respective communities and I’m pleased this funding ...
More support is rolling out for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impact of the virus. The Ministers for Economic Development and Small Business have announced a further $40 million for the Regional Business ...
Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. ...
The Crown will provide a loan to Hawke’s Bay Airport to ensure it can trade through COVID-19 economic impacts, support the region’s recovery and protect up to 200 jobs. The Crown has a 50 percent shareholding in Hawke’s Bay Airport Limited (HBAL), with Napier City Council holding 26 percent and ...
Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
From 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of Songs to new Tom Sainsbury comedy Sextortion, via a dead peacock, a trio of escaped circus lions and a sentimental wrist wallet.Orlando Stewart has never made a hit TV show.What he has done, dating all the way back to 2005’s Wayne Anderson: Singer of ...
Latest from the Beehive The government announced more funding for this and that – along with bigger levies for trash disposal – while the Nats were arranging for Crusher Collins to vie with Kindly Jacinda when voters determine who will lead the next government. Mind you, the Greens aren’t averse ...
The third annual Jonesie Awards were hosted at Parliament today, celebrating the best of the worst of Government waste. Watch the video at www.taxpayers.org.nz/2020_jonesies . New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Every year, ...
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change.Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much ...
The SpinoffBy Nalini Baruch, Ashia Ismail-Singer, Melissa Koh and Jennifer Yee Collinson
It is theoretically possible that Judith Collins could be the next Prime Minister but first she must prove she can wield the party into an effective, unified team. ...
Child Poverty Action Group is calling on the Government to nationalise early childhood education provision in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19 and reports of providers prioritising profits over quality of services. CPAG’s latest research ...
A new platform for Members, means 100% of contributions go towards making Spinoff journalism happen. Plus: A merch store!Kia ora,This is the biggest announcement we’ve had since the launch of The Spinoff Members a year ago.For many months now we’ve been ferreting away at a big overhaul of the way ...
Opinion - Judith Collins' first public remarks after becoming leader shows she means to continue in the same way she's always operated as a politician, writes Cat MacLennan*. ...
Finally! For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control (CAFCA) has existed - 45+ years - we have called for the closure of Rio Tinto's Bluff smelter (for example, see our historic Comalco comic at https://www.scribd.com/doc/25367862/Comalco-Comic ...
“We are absolutely thrilled with the government’s announcement that it will invest in recycling and change the waste levy. These are bold and important steps that will create employment in communities right throughout the country, reduce emissions ...
Carlson has long been one of our best comedians, and now the world can see it too, writes Sam Brooks. Last year, Urzila Carlson became the first comedian from our shores to perform her own Netflix special, a half hour episode of the Comedians of the World series. Now she’s ...
The US elections are in a bizarre and unsettling phase with President Donald Trump governing by tweets, spraying assaults on the medical profession and continuing to maintain the US has the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Really? No, as state after state (with the notable exclusion of New York) takes a ...
The AUT video … first of this year’s languags series.By Simon Smith of AUT News The Kiribati instalment in the AUT Pacific language video series – “Adapting to a changing world, shaping resilient futures” – has been released. The video, produced by Auckland University of Technology, is narrated in ...
The Government must develop a national plan to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence during and after a pandemic situation says Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo. She made the comments in a written submission ...
The Prime Minister says New Zealand has a robust plan in place to tackle any re-emergence of Covid-19 within our borders, Marc Daalder reports New Zealand is ready for a second wave. That's the message Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to get across in a speech to the nation on ...
Allegations of defamation led to a court-mandated apology by Mike Hosking to John Tamihere.This morning Michael Noel James Hosking IV delivered a court-mandated apology to Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere over defamatory comments made by Hosking in 2018.The comments relate to a $600,000 private shareholder payment from Whānau Ora contractor, ...
A new Māori organisation called Te Pātaka Inc is being established to continue providing kai and firewood to assist whānau experiencing hardship from COVID-19 in Te Tau Ihu (top of the South Island). Originally the eight Te Tau Ihu iwi in Marlborough, ...
Analysis by Josh Van Veen – The Democracy Project. New National Party leader, Judith Collins, with prominent Auckland Council (Manurewa-Papakura ward) councillor, Daniel Newman. “I’m with her,” Newman said on hearing of her successful appointment as Leader of the Opposition. When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the ...
LGNZ is welcoming the Government’s announcement of $124 million for onshore recycling and the expansion of the waste levy, but is calling on the Government to match the money with a strategic waste plan to ensure New Zealanders get the best bang for ...
In her first interview with Morning Report as National Party leader, Judith Collins outlined a minor reshuffle, said she's not particularly worried about diversity, and said Michael Woodhouse's fate will be decided today. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.Today’s contentJudith Collins elected leader of the National Party Richard Harman (Politik): Why National finally called on Collins Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins should have been elected as ...
We are now at a crucial time of Climate Change history, since Covid 19 pandemic diverted our Governments from the beginning of the movement of marching together for saving our climate, and now time is upon us to continue our fight to save our ...
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te AtuaUrupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on ...
Trade union activists will go from house to house asking Wellingtonians to pledge their vote in the general election to parties and candidates who support workers’ rights. Unions Wellington launches its election campaign at 6pm on Wednesday July ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maximilian de Courten, Health Policy Lead and Professor in Global Public Health at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University The World Health Organisation reported more than 230,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday — the world’s largest daily increase during the pandemic. The surge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lotti Tajouri, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Bond University You may remember when US President Donald Trump suggested exposing coronavirus patients to UV (ultraviolet) light – or “just very powerful light” – to help treat them. The use of UV light is not, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Raynor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Project, University of Melbourne After 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne were placed under the harshest coronavirus lockdown in Australia so far, acting Australian Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly referred to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Bertram, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Another year, another round of hostage-taking by the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. As always, Rio Tinto has made the first move, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Martin Hobbs, Researcher, University of Melbourne Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, out now on Netflix, tells the story of five Black US veterans who return to Vietnam to hunt for gold and recover the remains of their lost squad leader. Beginning ...
Huljich family sell quarter of Pushpay stake for $123.8m; US markets up on better-than-forecast US bank results; UK orders Huawei gear purged from 5G rollout 2027 ...
Hello, my name is Stewart Sowman-Lund and I’m the new editor of The Spinoff’s Live Updates. Thank you for having a read. If you have any feedback, please get in touch with me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.6.45am: Judith Collins, National leaderShortly before 10pm last night, Judith Collins was declared the new leader ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dramatic leadership change for National, government rolls out millions more in business support, and several police raids ruled unlawful by IPCA.If you didn’t pay attention to the news yesterday from about 7.15am onwards, there’s a bit to catch up on. The ...
Analysis - For years Judith Collins has had her eye on the top prize and it took a complete leadership meltdown, just 10 weeks out from an election, for her National Party colleagues to give her what she's always wanted. ...
Can we avoid the angst and embarrassment of another water crisis like the current one? Anthony Fowler takes a look. In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, Auckland’s water reservoirs dropped to levels not seen for a generation. WaterCare dusted off the drought management plan and we came out of ...
Less than 14 hours after Todd Muller announced his surprise resignation as National Party leader, Judith Collins has taken the helm of the opposition. Here's what you need to know. One of the National Party's longest-serving MPs and frequent leadership hopefuls, Judith Collins, has finally seized the top job. The ...
Judy Bailey (words) and Jane Ussher (photos) travel to the Hokianga to meet wellness author Wendyl Nissen: “I love being unattractive,” she writes. “It’s a personal goal.” “You have to try the sausage rolls,” says Wendyl Nissen. “That’s Bruce in there.” Bruce was one half of her much loved ...
The new woman on New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr, is all about making a difference - and in many walks of life, she tells Ashley Stanley. On top of making headlines as only the second woman appointed to New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr wants to add where she ...
Newly elected National leader Judith Collins has taken the job in unenviable circumstances, but she is unlikely to wallow as she tries to dethrone Jacinda Ardern, as Sam Sachdeva writes So much of Todd Muller’s ill-fated stint as National Party leader was defined by pain: the pain he caused Simon Bridges by ousting ...
The Tiwai Point closure announcement has put the spotlight on a gnarly and potentially expensive problem in our electricity network - the gap between where a lot of our power is produced (the South) and where it is used (the North), not to mention the more than 5 percent of our ...
Four months stranded, four tickets cancelled, and two weeks in isolation - Merja Myllylahti shares her nightmarish story of getting home during a pandemic After a gruelling 54+ hours travel via Helsinki-Frankfurt-Dubai-Bangkok, I arrived back to Auckland on July 10 having being stranded in Finland for four months. At last luck was on ...
Nicholas Agar explains why relocating statues and erasing their names may be what the people they commemorate would have wanted Would Clive of India really want to have a town in Hawkes Bay named after him? I’m writing these words in a café in Clive, Hawkes Bay. Clive was named ...
Facebook’s perceived lack of trust might be damaging to news publishers, but the company itself has become ever more interwoven into the fabric of the news business, writes Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.Mark Zuckerberg and Noam Chomsky are strange bedfellows in this ...
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By RNZ News New Zealand’s National Party has elected Judith Collins as its new leader to replace Todd Muller, with Gerry Brownlee as her deputy to take on the Labour-led coalition government in the September general election. Collins, 61, was first elected as an MP for Clevedon in 2002 and ...
Opinion - Collins has made clear for some time that she wanted the leadership. And now she has it. What will she do with it? Liam Hehir takes a look. ...
Judith Collins has been voted in by colleagues as leader of the National Party, with Gerry Brownlee as her deputy. Look back over the day's events here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Uncertainty surrounding a cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to a Sydney hotel has prompted reactions from the Queensland and South Australian governments, as the Victorian situation continues to be critical. Victorian authorities on Tuesday reported ...
In recent days an incorrect story has been repeated in the news about how Judith Collins had to resign after the book Dirty Politics was published but was later exonerated and returned to Cabinet. In the interests of accuracy, it is worth correcting this ...
Judith Collins is the new leader of the National Party and a vote for deputy is underway. Newsroom understands that the electorate MP for Papakura has been selected for the leadership. It will mark the first time in 23 years the party has selected a woman to lead it. Collins takes over ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University From songs and poems to novels and movies, romantic love is one of the most enduring subjects for artworks through the ages. But what about the science? Historical, cultural and ...
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Neon’s gender-flipped version of High Fidelity features Zoë Kravitz in the role John Cusack made famous 20 years ago. And it works far better than you might expect, writes Catherine McGregor.By now we’ve all accepted the fact that every last artistic touchstone we hold dear will one day end up ...
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Todd Muller’s brief leadership of the National Party ended this morning and his resignation creates opportunities for truly centrist, more stable and independent parties not under investigation by the SFO. Unfortunately this does point to some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Manuel, Director, Centre for Cyber Security Research & Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed last month Australia is actively being attacked by hostile foreign governments. An advisory note posted on the government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre website said ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ross Tapsell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific., Australian National University The recent police interrogations of six Al Jazeera journalists in Malaysia – five of whom are Australian – was not about ...
ANALYSIS:By Liam Hehir The detailed reasons for opposition National Party leader Todd Muller’s shock resignation are something we are not yet given to know. At this point, anything other than the statement made by Muller himself is nothing more than speculation. The announcement was a bolt from the blue ...
The rich become that way because they work hard to provide the everyday things that our nation needs. So runs the story that underpins the economic system we live under. Its something that is so taken for granted, it often goes uncommented upon. It seems ...
Open mike 16/02/2020 
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https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/119089844/polluters-making-windfall-gains-from-scheme-to-reduce-emissions
More proof the ets is a failure.
Beijing has released evidence that Xi JinPing was on the corona virus case much earlier than anyone suspected.
Now why, oh why does that remind me of Winston Smith's task to 'update' history in 1984?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/world/asia/coronavirus-china-live-updates.html
Or am I just being too cynical?
I wonder what wonderful things Winstons fan base of twitter bots will say about him today ?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/02/swarm-of-apparent-twitter-bots-claim-admiration-of-winston-peters-after-difficult-week.html
[I have asked you a few times to back up your accusations and allegations. Alwyn tried to save your butt but you ignored my other requests: https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-14-02-2020/#comment-1684990 and https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-13-02-2020/#comment-1684709. You simply continue with your shit stirring here without adding anything to the debate. Give us a break and take three weeks off – Incognito]
James,
It seems that you largely come onto this site principally to gloat. It is not such a good look.
There are a few of us basically from the centre-right who come on to the site to debate. A fair few of those who are obviously on the left engage in the debate, that is actually respond to to the points. Most (though not all) don't go full feral. Otherwise The Standard would be just a left echo chamber.
But do you want to actually debate?
Thank you, Wayne.
James only comes here to mass debate
See my Moderation note @ 8:28 AM.
Jacindas continues to say nothing about Winston and it’s going to cause damage.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/119518952/prime-minister-silent-on-winston-peters-covert-photo-controversy
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/119531489/snooping-on-journalists-is-an-attempt-to-silence-and-shut-them-down
and of course this opens up for nice adverts like this one:
https://www.facebook.com/183355881680015/posts/3451669638181940/?vh=e
Why? Leader of another party does something stupid and may have been involved in posting of photo on a blog of ill repute. This is nowhere close to bring down the Government territory.
I guess since he is Deputy PM and a minister you could male the case he isn't upholding the ethical standards required of the role…
Then you are left with does the PM act or let it slide, thats where some political risk sits but as you say not enough to bring down the govt….
Yes, but I would say he wasn't upholding the ethical standards required of the role before he was elected, so this is largely on NZF voters. I agree it is a dilemma for Ardern though.
True. Imagine if people could be blocked from becoming Ministers for not exhibiting good enough character beforehand to be trusted to uphold the Cabinet Manual. Would save some anguish and arseholery.
Cough. John Key.
Jacinda Ardern is sensible enough to allow the SFO to do their job.
She also has no role in scrutinising the behaviour of an MP outside Parliament, when there is no actual proof that he took the photo in question. His statement was probably a Royal "We" meaning A NZ First member.
Our Prime Minister has real problems to deal with, this is similar to other storms in tea cups.
Having announced the election date in 7 months, and therefore 4 months of practical government before the campaign proper starts, isn't the basic answer "that's a matter for the electorate to decide" ?
Of course – but as we all know there are two main purposes of this manufactured scandal: drive NZF under 5% and tarnish Ardern (albeit at one remove).
That said, the whole donations regime IS scandalous and National is donkey deep in it as Simon's phone call to Jamie shows. Perhaps Labour could front-foot it by a clear policy to end anonymity in donations, require that donations come only from named individuals not corporations, trusts, unions etc., and cap annual donations at something affordable by someone on the median wage.
One wonders if Certain Folks are now contemplating the wisdom of having sold what might have passed for their soul in signing the Pact with Winston.
Has it been Worth It In the Long Run?
Some of us have seen little other than SSDD.
And the Pretty Pony Tax of course.
Hark!
Is that the sound of the Wheels Falling Off?
"Hark! Is that the sound of the Wheels Falling Off?" – hope not; sounds painful.
I understand where you’re coming from Rosemary. Many of us who are activists on the left have had to grapple with disappointment at how NZ First has been a handbrake on the rate of transformation our Labour-led coalition has been able to achieve. Deceased rodents have been swallowed, to be sure. What needs to happen now, is a mobilisation for progression. We musn’t sucuumb to negativity and bitterness and become enemies of ourselves. I have a background in the health and disability sector. I may even have met you sometime and somewhere. We’re allies. We must mobilise this year to increase the majority for Labour, so we can improve the material well-being of those whom this dysfunctional economy has left behind. I urge anyone here, if you’re involved in political membership or campaigning, get involved. Start now. We need numbers. We need hands, feet, arms, legs, voices, moving whatever muscles we have, from whatever positions we may be in, to ensure this next term we, the left are in power and have the room and majority to be truly transformative.
Of course it isn’t. But neither is it just “another leader of another party”. This is the deputy PM, the leader of Labours coalition partner in government. Worse than that perhaps, the timing of all of this is making Bridges decision to cut NZF loose look righteous.
Almost as if he'd been given the heads-up…
I reckon Simon knew this was about to hit the media else would have announced not working with NZF about a month before election. How did he know? The mind boggles.
One final link before heading off to Meatstock for the day
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/15/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-election-vote-disillusioned
“ “Labour may struggle to mobilise their fanbase come the next election; people are beginning to suspect this government is more interested in style over substance. And the gloss has definitely come off Ardern.”
that “year of delivery” may be a term jacinda wished she never muttered.
Wasn't that an incompetent spin doctor, not her?
Excuse me James but what is meatstock.
just curious.
I also wondered what it was and here is what I found – a music and BBQ festival in Auckland this weekend at the ASB showgrounds …
https://meatstock.nztix.co.nz/Default.aspx?Event=109192
Meatstock is a music festival for non-vegetarian audiences where the sauces are hot but the music is not.
Bands playing there this year include the Poor Cribs, the Mutton Chops, the Lampton Quay Minces, Supersized, and the Burger Boys with their hit, "Do You Want Fries With That?"
Opposition Leader Simon Bridges will be drumming for the Crusty Piemen which is why James is going. 🙂
I wonder if producers of plant-based 'meat' products are welcome to exhibit there…
Yip one was on tv saying they were going
You get what you ask for! I had no idea what Meatstock was, so I made it all up…….. and found out I was right. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/meatstock/auckland/epsom
Yep. Some here. Tried it. Not bad,not great
Katchafire played last night and were excellent
Glad you enjoyed the band and that they were on fire. Nothing like live music, said the live musician….. Also glad the music was on fire and not the sauces (too much) or the BBQs.
Music brings us together like little else. One of my little conundrums is figuring out how such great music as country can be is loved and played by rednecks. Really confronts the stereotypical approach to politics and beliefs.
I suggest you set your sights more towards alt country, mac1. Go check out Drive-by Truckers latest, The Unraveling.
Thanks for that, riffer. 🙂
You're in my thoughts and prayers!
"jacinda" / james; "jacinda" / james – who to believe? Have fun at Meatstock, james.
Bill Gates (not to mention Peter Jackson) being that well known investor in ‘Impossible Foods‘.
C'mon james, it's not too late to ‘get with the programme‘
Don't imagine you are going to wind any of us up by mentioning 'Meatstock'. It might give you a trembly little thrill and a snigger to imagine you are – but it's a fail, mate. Last night I ate fish I had caught, killed (iki), and prepared myself. A few days earlier I barbecued lamb chops on a charcoal grill (the only way) getting some good smokey flavours by adding green rosemary sprigs to the coals. Most of us on the left are very well-rounded, tough and smart – completely unlike the idea of us you seem to have in your head.
Given the hysterical responses from some on the left when mentioning meat previously would indicate that some views of the left are reasonable to hold.
You surely don’t know what you’re talking about James if you think ‘the left’ are universally outraged by meat eating
I dunno, it seems meateaters get riled whenever vegetarianism is brought up.
It's a bit like redheads or an Irishman being told stereotypically that they're prone to flying off the handle; then people use the way that the redheads and the Irish react, by getting riled, to this characterisation as proof!
Tell me often enough that I am ruining the planet by eating meat and I might start reacting to this form of over-simplification.
Thanks for your concern, James, but not to worry – from your linked article:
True dat.
Ardern doesn't have a winning card, just a joker.
Maybe Facebook isn’t the demon we think it is. Certainly there are major differences between us and the UK when it comes to media consumption, but this article from the Guardian makes a good read.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/15/reports-of-social-media-influence-on-voters-are-greatly-exaggerated?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
It will be very interesting (though probably not at all surprising) to see who gets unmasked during this Dem election cycle…
Elites Turn to Bloomberg and Remove Their Masks
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/panicked-over-sanders-elites-turn-to-bloomberg/
The past footage of Bloomberg now appearing is very interesting for someone outside the US – he looks like a billionaire Republican who as mayor of New York was viciously racist and authoritarian. Also there's some laughable footage where he is spouting the meritocratic myth/lie that the way to get ahead is to be the first to arrive at work, the last to leave and don't take a lunch break – in a way spookily anticipating the systems of control and surveillance that have subsequently emerged in workplaces like Amazon warehouses.
With Biden seemingly tanking, it seems that Bloomberg's purpose is to get enough delegates to ensure Sanders doesn't get a majority. That results in a brokered Democratic convention where a 'centrist' could be given the nomination, even though Sanders has a plurality. Popcorn time if they try that – and tragically, yet another gift to Trump.
"viciously racist and authoritarian"
That describes the Democrat Party very well.
Well Bloomberg was actually a Republican – who endorsed Dubya twice.
For a few giggles – watch Bloomberg telling you not to use the bathroom
Here is another good piece from FAIR on the Bloomberg bullshit spewing forth from most liberal media…
"Pundits Look to Bloomberg as Their Anti-Sanders Savior"
https://fair.org/home/pundits-look-to-bloomberg-as-their-anti-sanders-savior/
Still I guess it will be an super interesting battle if it ends up being Sanders/Bloomberg running directly against each other, you couldn't ask for a more clearer cut ideological battle to be waged out in the open..if Sanders can take on Bloomberg's billions, the establishment DNC and 99% of liberal media and still take the nomination, then we know he has a very real chance of defeating Trump.
Joe Hildebrand
I'd not endorse all of this particular column, but this para in particular stands out as indisputably true.
Yes I like that take too, it is so similar to the position the Republicans ( in their own twisted universe that is) found themselves during the last Rep nomination cycle that is is almost bizarre
Yup !
Your dream ticket, Adrian! Mikey and Hillz!
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/15/michael-bloomberg-hillary-clinton-vp-115407
The Misery Struggle of National
As James and Friends sprinkle nonsense about the demise of Jacinda Ardern the more stupid and useless their words and predictions look. James has every support of every low mouth journo and rag ever produced here or abroad.
However, Prime Minister Ardern is in fact the most illustrious and sure – footed person in the world's political arena.
James knows that. His mentors know that. New Zealanders know that. James is delivering lies. As is Simon Bridges.
In the meantime, in the past 3.5 yrs, the mess that goes by the name "United Kingdom" has produced nothing like the Delivery of the NZ Coalition. Weight for Weight our Coalition is a five decades ahead of a crippled UK.
Let's not compare ourselves to the UK an pat ourselves on the back…
Maybe instead look at our homelessness, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc Judge the govt on the progress they are making on those stats.
or perhaps "look at our homelessness, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc"…. Judge the previous govt on that.
Nz did that's why we had a change of govt…
It's up to the new Govt to follow through on its promises and like it or not that's what they'll be judged on…
James and his ilk are imho jealous of Jacinda’s popularity. Simple as that. And so they try to denigrate her at every opportunity. What nasty mean-minded people they are. At least Wayne from the right tries to show some balance with his comments and doesn’t come over as bitter and twisted.
Yeah that must be it. If fact she’s so popular she’s heading (on the latest poll) do be our first single term PM for a long time
And the reason I comment on her is that I think she is doing a terrible job as pm. Over promising and under delivering on a grand scale.
You should be happy because what she promised and under-delivered you didn't want anyway!
Some items yes – others no.
James, here's where you detail what items 'yes' and what items 'no'. Briefly if you like. Something, anything!
If you want to be taken seriously, that is.
Hmm, what has the government actually delivered?
Yes, they have increased the minimum wage and increased some welfare and family tax credit increases. These things are easy. Literally just the stroke of a pen.
But not so well on things that require actual delivery. Such as houses, operations, child poverty, promises on light rail, etc. These require Ministers to constantly monitor progress, and ensure that targets and objectives are actually met. Labour has a serious problem around the competency of delivery. Way too many people across the political spectrum don't think they can.
It explains why the centre-right vote has held up. If the government was solidly delivering and looking competent, they would be doing much better. Labour was doing so in 2002 and National was in 2011, both dates being the same point in the electoral cycle. The fact that this election looks to be competitive in quite an indictment. In 1975 a few months out from the election, the then Labour government looked incompetent. Which is why Rob Muldoon won.
Competency was the issue in 1975. Is it also going to be the case in 2020?
No MMP in 1975 so issues of competency could be directed at the one party government.
I agree this government could be one term. The next government will be a Labour Green government which will get things done.
That's where the race is.
So MMP hides a lack of competency in the Govt?
It explains the increased difficulty in gaining the consensus required to get major reform implemented.
Testosterone poisoning in one coalition partner, yes.
All government is done with the stroke of a pen. Twyford didn't promise to build all the damned houses himself.
A thousand more state houses every year.
The trees that the nats scoffed at are well on schedule.
First year tertiary education now free.
Single-use plastic bags nixed.
Migration compact ratified.
Saw that govt needed a chief technology person (hopefully reducing odds of another novopay).
Healthy homes rquirements.
Railway lines reopening.
Abortion being decriminalised and laws made more sensible.
McFlock,
I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true.
Changing a tax rate is something done one a piece of legislation that can be passed in a couple of hours. Same as simply banning something.
But building houses according to a schedule is a management challenge. Requires buying land, letting contracts (and the whole tendering process that goes with this). Then the contracts have to be monitored, people kept to task. all has to be done with high managerial competence.
This has not been obviously always present.
The minister doesn't negotiate and purchase for each plot of land any more than a minister individually analyses the economic impacts and revenue projections on a proposed tax change.
If you were handling your portfolios to that level of detail, you:
You are deliberately misinterpreting what I have said. Obviously Ministers don't actually let contracts, etc. But they are responsible for the systems, the monitoring of progress, trouble shooting (such as getting in experts to assist the Ministry) and keeping people to task.
All very different to changing a tax or benefit rate.
So what do they do if the projections from the change in rate don't match reality?
Wayne at least she fucking admitted their is a housing problem not like old smile and rave key . You should be ashamed you were part of a do nothing government
You'll never get Wayne to admit or concede anything.
"I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true"
He does all that 'I know best' stuff in a very modest and considered sort of way – probably why the media still see him as some fair and balanced sort of sage, enabling him to keep milking it as a rent-a-voice for a bit longer.
By the way – it's Dr. to you
That's what makes him a dangerous mofo.
/agree
But he's not alone by any means. Aside from Mrs Wayne, he's got his own enterage of hero worshippers. Sorry to say many of them misrepresent themselves as being members of the 4th Estate. Others are fellow talking heads that sit there dripping with fashion, jewelery and wisdom telling us all what we’re supposed to know if we want to be aspirational and in with the in-crowd.
Personally I think they’re hideous specimens.
(Shit! did I say that out loud?)
By the way, I realise I might be sailing close to the wind, in as much as I realise I could be accused of attacking the messenger rather than the message. But when it's constant, it kind of goes to the legitimacy of the message.
I was kind of hoping Wayne might be bestowed with some other sort of honour – such as a knighthood. There'd be a better chance of his slinking into obscurity, honour and marbles intact; Mrs Wayne being allowed her pride (not sure if she's particularly "fat and cuddly" or good on the Elna); and the 4th Estate being forced to look for another talking head (going forward)
Yes, you’re close to the wind.
Nothing like a trade wind blowing, flittering and fluttering to give an exilarating feeling..
I'll step back @Cogs, and just watch (like I think I promised myself I would do as a NY resolution). I appreciate your job is hard enough having to deal with it all.
Best of the British old bean
Mayor Pete.. amazing human being…
Yes Cricklewood
The Wealthy Nationals have done nothing that you commend.
They developed the homeless, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc
Judge this govt on the great progress they are making while the Wealthy play tennis and ping pong.
While you are at it, have a look at the Disgusting Cost of Housing you guys have thrown at the Common man.
Observer,
Most off the things you cite have actually got worse in the last 2 years. That is not the fault of National. The current government has to own responsibility for those things.
That's momentum. It's difficult to turn 9 years of neglect around in two years. The John Key and Bill English governments have to own responsibility for that.
Very true but I would argue that charging families stuffed into dive motels is not a step in the right direction.
Why not? Families are charged way more stuffed into dive private tenancies.
If motels are being used in the short to medium term as more than emergency housing then it's right to have them contribute what state house tenants contribute until such time they can be found a community to live in.
Slum landords need to be dealt with no doubt… but thats a poor example for the state to follow…
Perhaps you are eight and there should some cintribuition but shurly it should be considerably less than what you would pay in a state house… maybe 10 percent?
Paying $55 weekly for a motel room that is costing MSD $1500 is a real bargain. Not to mention free power / fresh towels and linen daily.
The surge in motel use began under a National government. When it started people were receiving benefit advances to pay for them which meant for many debts into the tens of thousands. Then, still under National, around 2014, a new category of grant was introduced especially for emergency housing. No government has addressed the issue of a significant number of people still repaying big debts back, $30k, $40k, $50k – John Campbell on Checkpoint reported one at $80k. About a year ago the Social Security Appeal Authority remitted one which was $10k. This government has said they will not go back and remit these hideous debts for those who were caught up in that complete mess. The irony is that the meet the criteria to receive the recoverable advance the person must be in dire financial straits, so by meeting that test they end up with a debt for $50k.
Thankfully this government is.
They have formed an entire measurement framework around budget outcomes, so that there is total transparency about what effect public investment is having under each budget line.
And of course they've continued that in December 11 2019, outlining the broad areas that they will focus on in the upcoming May budget.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1912/S00093/priorities-for-2020-wellbeing-budget-outlined.htm
This government is shying away from nothing. Sure, criticize them for not delivering fast enough, by they are following a clearly forecast course and a framework within which to hold them to account.
Geez Wayne,
Bridges announcement just cost them 5 points.
On TVNZ1's Q+A, he told host Jack Tame he would reverse Labour's changes to ring-fencing losses, which no longer lets landlords offset residential property deductions against other income.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/simon-bridges-pledges-changes-housing-and-renting-rules
Wow, reversing ring fencing. Is that part of the 'Bold Moves' strategy along with tax cuts for the rich?
Hard to see what part of the electorate Bridges is targeting, lol.
It was part of the trade off (along with extended brightline test) for the non inclusion of cgt.
The fly in the ointment is the constraint enacted by the RBNZ for bank lending to investors (borrowing limits) the rbnz will have to increase the investor equity requirement to constrain investor growth (and housing inflation).
What things are you referring to that the current government is responsible for which have worsened homelessness, the prison population, child poverty and affordable housing?
Interesting one from former News of the World reporter Andrea Vance.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/119531489/snooping-on-journalists-is-an-attempt-to-silence-and-shut-them-down
She, like other National Party bloggers, complains Labour and the Greens aren't doing enough in condemnation of NZF for photos of Lester Grey with reporters appearing on Whale Oil 2.0.
In her article she links to a piece she wrote in 2013 on the GCSB illegal spying scandal. The very first image, and before one word appears, is one of the beleaguered Hugh Wolfensohn BEING DOOR-STEPPED presumably by Vance and her photographer.
How's that for intimidation?
Then I found a 12 questions story on Vance done by the Horrid in 2017. Question 2:
I guess what's really happening is that journalists do not like it one bit when the tables are turned, even for a moment…do they really believe they are beyond reproach?
PS. Here’s the long history of the News of the World which was shut down for hacking the phone of a dead teenager. It’s also the paper at which Vance claims she had so much fun and presumably leaned all she knows.
Well Wayne given some of these projects are very large and require exhaustive planning and execution, it is understandable they are not all up and running right now.
With a housing deficit that National refused to accept, it obviously is taking a while to get up to speed with building more homes. What did National achieve in their last 9 years other than leave a huge problem for our current government.
Likewise the run down hospitals and schools and environmental vandalism mess that National left in their wake (with farmers allowed to have cows wading in rivers and streams).
The government readily acknowledges there is more to be done. National just adopted a nothing to see here, move on, let’s have a tax cut and raise GST.
Oh and apparently Natz are promising more of running down services and infrastructure if they are reelected. (translation – more tax cuts!!)
This is a recycling of Bill English's failed election campaign promises. Tax cuts for the rich will serve to motivate Labour's base more than ever, I suspect.
Indeed.
How to tackle decades of infrastructure deficit in Auckland made particularly acute in recent times after huge and unmanaged immigration increases?
Growth at 4% built on importing bodies isn't a sensible plan.
How to tackle housing affordability, dropping home ownership rates and the class separation and community health this inevitably affects.
Labour has not been able to turn the ship around yet it's true. Part of that is inexperience, but most of it is having a right wing coalition partner, a hostile Public Service and a middle class addicted to free house price gains and reluctant to give that up for the good of all.
Surprise, Surprise. Nats to promise their usual tax cuts for the coming election. that's it folks, same old, same old.
good good. The longer they remain mediocre and unimaginative, the better.
And Bridges said today that they will pretty much reverse all the changes the government has made to the rental housing and they will allow foreigners back into the housing market.
The Nats have no problem with 'delivery' because they seldom attempt anything worthwhile or difficult. They can quite reliably deliver windfall cash into the pockets of their supporters – that's their whole purpose.
On ya Phil 😀
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12308954
Was good eh? The only snag is that Hosking isn’t going anywhere unfortunately. In Sydney or LA he’d be just another deadbeat nobody.
And in Queenstown there's plenty of people who would take him for a ride and spend his money for him
Fighting for their right to exploit:
Landlord organisations mount challenge to new rental rules
I hope the Coalition don’t “do a CGT” on this one too.
Only the best people.
Downing Street has hired an adviser who compared women's sport to the paralympics as part of Dominic Cummings’ hiring drive for “misfits and weirdos”.
In one tweet, seen by The Times, Andrew Sabisky, a writer and researcher who calls himself as a “super-forecaster” said: "I am always straight up in saying that women’s sport is more comparable to the Paralympics than it is to men’s.”
According to the paper, the researcher also deleted tweets mocking people for “wetting themselves” over female Labour politicians including Yvette Cooper, Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long Bailey, all of whom he dismissed as “dim”.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/dominic-cummings-weirdos-hiring-downing-street-1742024
Wow. I had these all over my succulents in Spring. I noticed quickly that something was attacking them and upon inspection at night the plants were crawling with these things. The damage was like nothing I'd see before.
I tried looking online to see if there was a known issue but nothing until now.
I eradicated them with Pyrethrum over several nights.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/02/new-zealand-scientists-working-to-stop-spread-of-brown-marmorated-stink-bugs.html
If it really was brown marmorated stink bugs, then MPI really really want to know about it. If there's any still around or they come back, get in touch with MPI.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/protection-and-response/responding/alerts/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
Ok, Thanks. Could have been a Brown Shield Bug or Brown Soldier Bug.
https://tomsaunders.co.nz/bmsb-vs-nz-stink-bugs/
Have a read far more likely it was a native version.
We do have something that looks similar but smaller. I think you are OK
Bribery by any other name
Offering free money to National voters smacks of Bribery. To do it when there is an ongoing holocaust rampaging through ordinary men and women of Aotearoa is scandalous beyond pity.
Sir William English gave huge offers to the very Wealthy and much lesser amounts to the lowly Nationals. Unfortunately, Bill scummed himself. in front of his entire family.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
There you go national plans to stop mimimum wage increase that will just create more of a mess in Aotearoa.
She is someone who caused you to grab a box of tissues.????????.
I think the amount of people with autism is much higher than that especially when there were stats of high percentage of adult people with reading levels of a 12 year old.????.
I would ride a electric bike it would be cool and great for the environment low carbon transport.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Newshub.
I say that New Zealand handled the Covid virus people quite good actually. Some people don't know how to be thankful.
PEE is very dangerous crap.
The Tongan Comedy film will show some more of Aotearoa humour I will be keen to watch it.
The Coalition Government did not make this mess it was your government———-.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I seen some of his statements on Maori TV not good at all.
Maori tangata need to talk to New Zealanders f health help line it's a pain in the you know what when the person you are talking to don't understand what you're problem is and what you want.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora The Breakfast Show.
There you go PEE equates to more violence.
Racist people using Racism to grab power. New Zealand is in denial that most people are discriminatory.
Trade training is the best education most people can get it will be their backstop in life.
Billy T James was using his Comedy projecting what people's Attitude to Maori was in his time I know I had that attitude heaped on me and it still is.
Ka kite Ano
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
I don't think that the Government new tenants law will cause negative effects for the tenants.
That's good for the tamariki free school lunches in schools.
That stop and frisk was a stupid racist law in New York.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Kai in Kura is cool.
That's is cool a Maori Carving on the state highway in Te Tairawhiti.
Australians and New Zealand indigenous cultures have a lot in common.
That's a good idea E Sports fund rising for Heart foundation .
Ka kite Ano