web analytics

Open mike 16/05/2025

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 16th, 2025 - 17 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:


Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

17 comments on “Open mike 16/05/2025 ”

  1. Muttonbird 1
    16 May 2025 at 7:56 am

    The legacy of Nicola Willis:

    New Zealanders are paying nearly five percent more tax than last year despite personal income tax cuts, and a tax adviser says poor economic conditions are to blame.

    Rudd said it was clear "economic heavy weather" had "more than cancelled out" the impact of the government's tax cuts and cuts to public sector spending.

    So was it worth all the public sector cuts and job losses? "That's the $64,000 question," Rudd said.

    When you cut services and enact mass redundancies a frost descends through the entire economy. Surely, part of the responsibility of "good managers of the economy" is to not risk the economy.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/561177/taxpayers-forking-out-almost-5-percent-more-than-last-year-despite-income-tax-cuts-tax-adviser-says

    Reply
  2. Muttonbird 2
    16 May 2025 at 8:03 am

    Damning report into Orange Tamariki:

    (Willow-Jean Prime) said the providers were concerned by the "lack of response" from Oranga Tamariki and the "attacks" from the Minister for Children Karen Chourr, when they could see the harm this would do to children and vulnerable families.

    "It is really concerning that they were right and that the minister was wrong, had not listened to them, did not respond to that, continued to ignore them and this report shows that those concerns they had were, in fact, valid."

    Prime said it was "absolutely" down to the Minister's direction to the agency to find 6.5 percent in savings, "they did that through cutting contracts to community providers for services for intervention and early prevention, as well as other things like the restructuring of Oranga Tamariki".

    "Those decisions by the government and directed by the Minister, meant that Oranga Tamariki had to respond to those rash decisions.

    Prime said Chourr needed to "stop blaming and attacking providers, to listen and to fix the situation urgently".

    It's another example of an ACT minister lacking empathy. Chhour deliberately put vulnerable children and families at severe risk and after being told to stop blaming others, proceeds to blame others. Nothing's ever her fault but the media are remarkable soft on her because, like Brook van Vampire, she immediately portrays herself as the victim when challenged.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/561159/social-services-react-to-damning-report-into-oranga-tamariki

    Reply
    • gsays 2.1
      16 May 2025 at 9:01 am

      In regards to Chhour: With the release of the shameful Aotearoa youth suicide statistics, I heard Chhour quoted as saying that she was the Minister for Youth in Poverty and that questions about suicide should be directed to another minister.

      (I looked for a reference to link but couldn't find on RNZ s website this morning.)

      This is the kind of minister that Act produces. All about $, no idea about the impact to vulnerable people of their decisions.

      Reply
      • Barfly 2.1.1
        16 May 2025 at 1:20 pm

        Act MP's are idiots, surely someone can explain that youth suicide absolutely should be a very important focus for the ACT Party after all the birthing costs ,healthcare , vaccinations , education are lost with a youth suicide therefore the government is effectively losing nearly 100% of its investment! It's terrible that this stupid woman isn't interested in stemming this atrocious waste of Government funds!

        Reply
        • gsays 2.1.1.1
          16 May 2025 at 1:28 pm

          I agree with all of yr comment apart from the first four words.

          As van Velden showed us yesty, she turned an untenable position into a win, or at least, not a loss.

          It's grim though, to have to appeal to a financial disposition, rather than a compassionate approach.

          Reply
    • ianmac 2.2
      16 May 2025 at 9:41 am

      The commentary on Morning Report this morning was all about the report that showed how much damage was done to vulnerable kids. The cuts were announced at the end of June to take affect on the 1 July.

      No questions were asked on who ordered the cuts. Yet it was Willis/Chour who demanded the 6.5% cuts. Accountability? Never.

      Reply
  3. gsays 3
    16 May 2025 at 11:14 am

    I'm listening to a history podcast dealing with the uprising in India post East India company in the early 20th century.

    Strikes are illegal but Ghandi, who wished to unite the country, called for a prayer day. Nothing was to happen on that day. No tains, no commerce, no letters delivered, bureaucracy halts.

    Maybe the germ of an idea for our organisers.

    Reply
  4. joe90 4
    16 May 2025 at 12:06 pm

    Tl;dr, maintenance and operational costs that forced airlines to shift from the 4 engine jumbos to 2 engine long range wide-bodied aircraft have forced Qatari despots to ditch their 4 engine jumbos that nobody wants

    And then along came the man who bankrupted a casino.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2025/05/14/qatar-747-trump/

    Reply
    • alwyn 4.1
      16 May 2025 at 12:50 pm

      I prefer a more optimistic view. "The improved power, economy and reliability of modern jet engines meant that four engines are no longer required on long haul, wide-bodied aircraft".

      Comes to the same thing of course. I will miss the A380 though. It is a wonderful aircraft to travel on.

      Reply
      • Incognito 4.1.1
        16 May 2025 at 1:31 pm

        I will miss the A380 though.

        Oh, how I miss those days when I could afford a pint in the pub with good friends, meet great new people, and just have a good rant and a laugh. Nowadays, I need all of those more than ever!

        Reply
        • AB 4.1.1.1
          16 May 2025 at 1:59 pm

          I thought the A380 was a congested 4-lane dual carriageway in south Devon. It's not something one misses. Though that may be because it doesn't offer business class travel as an option.

          Reply
        • alwyn 4.1.1.2
          16 May 2025 at 2:17 pm

          "and just have a good rant".

          You don't need a pub for that. Isn't that why people spend their time on The Standard?

          Reply
          • Incognito 4.1.1.2.1
            16 May 2025 at 2:59 pm

            No, we call it robust debate here on TS; for rants there’s Social Media – take heed.

            Reply
      • joe90 4.1.2
        16 May 2025 at 1:52 pm

        . I will miss the A380 though.

        Improved ETOPS (extended-range twin-engine operations performance standards) have changed the world.

        ETOPS limits

        Twin-engine aircraft have always been limited in operations. Before 1985, all twin aircraft had to remain within 60 minutes of a suitable diversion airport. This is why most transoceanic operations were handled by four-engined aircraft like the Boeing 747.

        It also explains why the three-engined trijet was so popular at the time. The 60-minute limit was waived for such aircraft in 1964, leading to the development of aircraft, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.

        […]

        The A350XWB was the first aircraft to receive the current maximum, ETOPS 370 rating. It was the first aircraft to receive a rating higher than 180 minutes before it even entered service, showing the abundance of data available.

        https://simpleflying.com/etops-banned-areas/

        Reply
        • alwyn 4.1.2.1
          16 May 2025 at 2:13 pm

          'limit was waived for such aircraft in 1964'.

          I have never thought about the reason for developing three-engined aircraft. I didn't even think about it being because of that rule and how long it was before they dropped it. Flying the Pacific from Auckland certainly must give you quite a big piece of ocean where you would be more than 60 minutes from a landing place.

          It was apparently the case that when they were planning to introduce a new aircraft to be used as the US Air Force 1 the Secret Service insisted that it have four engines. The only US made plane with the required number by that time was the 747 so they were made using that huge aircraft.

          Reply
  5. joe90 5
    16 May 2025 at 2:54 pm

    The US pres is a tired, obese old man with galloping dementia who fell asleep at a funeral, at the papal inauguration, at a briefing in Saudi Arabia, etc.

    But Biden is in decline.

    /

    @atrupar

    Trump to UAE president: "We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old fashioned sound but groceries are down."

    https://x.com/atrupar/status/1923060574419644924

    Trump's aides released just 20% of the transcripts of his speeches and interactions with the press over his first 100 days, excluding many of his most unhinged comments

    […]

    The self-proclaimed “most transparent” White House in history, as it turns out, has little interest in making the vast majority of Trump’s speeches and interactions with journalists readily accessible to the public whose taxes pay for their transcription, publishing just 29 transcripts of the 146 public remarks Trump made in his first 100 days in office.

    Trump’s White House posted transcripts for only 11 of the 40 speeches in which Trump did not take questions from the media, and for only one of his six formal news conferences, according to a HuffPost review. And of the 98 media “availabilities” in which Trump took questions from reporters informally — a practice that his aides point to as proof of his great accessibility — only 15 of the transcripts have been made public.

    […]

    Trump aides would not explain their decision to withhold 80% of the transcripts that have been prepared. White House communications director Steven Cheung, however, did insult HuffPost for asking the question:

    “You must be truly fucking stupid if you think we’re not transparent. The president regularly does multiple press engagements per day and they are streamed live on multiple platforms. We’ve even granted low-level outlets like HuffPo [sic] additional access to events, because we’re so transparent. For anyone to think otherwise proves they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Stop beclowning yourself,” he wrote, demanding that his statement be published “in full.”

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-secret-transcripts_n_6824fe20e4b021b5064adc84

    Reply

Leave a Comment