“Under the waka-jumping law if the caucus votes to expel Jami-Lee Ross he must be given 21 days to respond and Mr Bridges must also be able to show that Mr Ross has acted in a way that distorts the proportionality of Parliament and is likely to keep doing it. Once all those boxes are ticked, Mr Bridges could notify the Speaker of a vacancy. If Mr Ross is eventually expelled, that will force a by-election in his Botany electorate. National’s caucus meeting will start at about 10.30am.”
Bridges and the National Party caucus would become even more of a laughing stock if they used the waka-jumping law after being so vigorously against it.
The operative word here is “could” as in “could notify the Speaker of a vacancy”.
He doesn’t have to do anything except kick Ross out of the Caucus.
In fact National can probably continue to cast Ross’s vote, at least if he isn’t in the House.
The only way Ross could prevent that would be to tell The Speaker that he wished to be treated as an Independent member, not a National one.
If he did that of course HE would trigger his own expulsion from the House.
“Mr Bridges must also be able to show that Mr Ross has acted in a way that distorts the proportionality of Parliament”
Doesnt quite say ‘be able to show’ instead the wording is broader
“state that the parliamentary leader reasonably believes that the member of Parliament concerned has acted in a way that has distorted, and is likely to continue to distort, the proportionality of political party representation in Parliament as determined at the last general election;”
Reasonably believes distortion of Nats representation.
This could happen for instance if national loses questions in the house or positions on committees. The national leaders office could lose funding when Ross goes
A cliche’ I know – Will that be a Bridges too far? At this time anyway. The choice is between two youngish men with no sense of serving the whole country and a vision of well-being for NZ that they tap into each morning.
Rather than cross that bridge I’d go round the long way instead of paying the toll.
Anyway, the Nats have plenty more bridges to choose from but will they span the divide within the National party let alone across to the wider voters? At the moment they’re like the bridge at Avignon- cut off midstream, no traffic, suspect load-bearing, medieval foundations, and good only for watching the dancing.
On principle, J-L Ross has decided he may not pay the toll.
Right or wrong, he stands upon principle and will place himself outside of his party and parliament to seek re-election and a mandate from his electorate.
On the subject of Simon Bridges and what he would do with the $5.5 bn, the riposte would be easily returned that it would be there to pay for the ten bridges that he promised, but never delivered upon; to pay for all the things that he should have promised but didn’t; for the non-delivery of things he should have delivered upon; and for the fixing of things he delivered upon in an ineffectual manner.
It’s the height of what is so wrong with the US. To nakedly state that the interests of the arms industry trumps all else demands that global conflict be maintained and even nurtured and grown.
solkta
I think that is a perfect example of when pragmatism has to be reined in, and that deciding to carry out a negative-resulting action is okay, because others are doing it. It actually goes to the how and when to apply morality and ethics in a community.
No, but you can point out the hypocrisy of the US who says they support freedom and democracy. At least we all get Putin’s russia is a thuggish state, it’s not hiding behind nice words.
Remember this from late August? “The author of the text warned they suffered from mental health problems in the past and said being exposed publicly could push them over the edge and put their life at risk.”
So JLR is now directly contradicting himself. Makes us wonder if that’s a symptom of mental health problems, eh? If he has been diagnosed with such, why not tell the public in order to get sympathy? Lack of support for him in caucus will make it clear that he had no viability as a leadership contender, and it was all driven by hostility towards his leader.
JLR needs to be given the benefit of the doubt by the National caucus. When the content of JLR’s texts and the texts of the people who replied are known, this will be revealing.
It can be said that Bridges is being selective on what issue he is prepared to give JLR medical leave for.
Either way JLR is under pressuse.
JLR can resign whenever he wants to. The National party would not want the issue to drag on.
If the tape is real, and proof of law-breaking, Bridges will be gone. If JLR doesn’t promptly give it to the police, then it probably does not exist. Cue focus on the mental health problem.
If the police find insufficient evidence on the tape to prosecute Bridges, depends on how everyone sees the grey area. The thesis that the police prosecutor votes National will circulate. If what’s on the tape suggests unethical behaviour re mishandling of donations, Bridges will be found guilty in the court of public opinion regardless.
Ross is looking for the hush money the Nats will surely pay him to keep quiet. Yesterday’s tweets were to show he means business. You can be sure that if the recording don’t surface then the Nats have been that petrified that they’ve paid Ross whatever he wants.
National have a precedent paying out to not have the contents of a tape revealed. Not sure if Barclay’s electorate worker was made to sign a confidentiality clause. Did she not blow the whistle because of her loyalty to English or that life could be made difficult for her.
JLR has some big decisions to make.
Will he resign?
Will he continue to take medical leave?
Will he reveal the contents of texts, phone calls and taping?
Will he fight expulsion?
Does he have evidence of a matter which has not been disclosed and he will expose the dishonesty of a caucus member and implicate Bridges?
Some have said that Bridges may come out looking stronger. JLR may come out being the person who blew the whistle because it needed to be done.
As for the Bridges expense leaker, I feel that this was a warning shot. If it was JLR he will have to reveal the reason for denying this or it may become obvious why he denied it.
I think a matter of much more significance is the release of the Secret clauses in the Labour/New Zealand First agreement.
What things did Labour commit to in order to get the baubles of Office?
You will no doubt support this demand will you Treetop?
I would like to know what other insane promises the Labour Party made to Winnie.
Are they going to reduce the cut-off figure for getting Parliamentary seats for example?
How much more than the current $3,000,000,000.00 will NZF get if the current amount is not enough to buy them a seat in the Northern-most Maori Electorate?
Are there any limits on the money that Winston can direct to the people who supply the racehorses he has interests in?
And on and on and on.
Probably correct, but Boag predicted to Garner this morning that caucus will be unanimous against Ross, and if so that will make Bridges stronger due to lack of competitors. Short-term only, really, eh?
Remember Boags kiss of Death for bungling Billingsh.
So Boags backing Bridges kiss of Death.
Paddy Gower comments on Nationals civil war.
Paddy says this is poison for National
Nothing good for National it will eat away at National as Police get involved.
National Party insider are you Inc?
Why don’t you tell us what the polling numbers are?
Remember how before the last election Andrew would tell us what the Labour Party internal polling was whenever he thought it had risen above the abysmal level and into the merely terrible range.
Why aren’t the Labour Party releasing their own numbers if they are so good for Labour and so terrible for National?
I suspect that they show Labour and National about the same as at the last election but that both the Green and NZF numbers are under the 5% cut off.
The don’t dare let them out as their minor members in the Coalition of the Lost will have to start charting their own course.
Come on Labour. Tell us what you know and admit that in an election today it would mean a National Government, no NZF or Green members and Bridges as PM.
No, I have no idea how the Nat caucus operates, but I expect Boag to be clued up enough via her contacts that she’ll be proven right. If any other senior Nat was supporting JLR, they’d already have gone public with a sensible rationale to do so. They know how vital it is for National to remain strong as opposition.
It’s comments like these from Ed, on especially important days for the government, leaving open the ability to point out labours flaws that make me think he is the supreme concern troll
Yes, it’s at time like these when everyone’s attention turns to right wing comments on a left wing blog about how Labour is actually much, much worse… 🙄
I’m sure you could easily put in references to people like Meka Whaitiri and the Youth Camps.
It’s going back a bit but a spectacular example of excessive drinking was the Senior Whip, Ruth Dyson. Remember how she had to be dumped from the Ministerial ranks?
Excellent interview with Stephanie Kelton, Bernie Sander’s economist in the 2016 campaign who explains Modern Monetary Theory and how it works, plus says a lot of other interesting things
Given New Zealand’s two independently owned daily newspapers, the Wairarapa Times Age and Otago Daily Times are doing well, when the world is decrying the loss of newspapers due to changing habits, does this suggest that the demise of newspapers in New Zealand and places like the United States has more to do with corporate ownership than the Internet?
Wherever the news is concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, the quality of news seems to inevitably go down, followed by fewer sales, and more closures.
The state of radio is even worse. In many regions of New Zealand, where once each provincial town had one radio station that had its own local staff, djs and news journalists, now these towns have a plethora of robot radio stations to listen to, but no content whatsoever other than music and adverts, and definitely no local news. And yet concentrating all these radio stations into the hands of fewer corporates seems to lead to perpetually reducing the number of staff, news content, and even profitability.
We now should be considering that several regional papers should be publicly bought by a crowd funding policy move?
That way the regions will finally have back their own voice again as our family want to contribute to a move to take over local papers now, so can the Standard start a crowd funding project for each province?
I have not listened to ugly (commercial) radio for many moons.
The exception being the odd rugby test and occasional cricket broadcast.
Rnz, local student radio (radio control) and lately radio access.
Far more interesting and diverse and in the case of the last two very reflective of our community.
It demeans someone to have their name changed and distorted unless they agree with it. Are you a Christian, just happen to be Chris T-something and never noticed how it can be read as ChrisT, or is that deliberate?
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner paid almost no income tax for years
“An example of this was in 2015, when Mr Kushner took home US$1.7 million in salary and investment gains, but his earnings were swamped by US$8.3 million in losses because of “significant depreciation” on his real estate.”
Great (sarcasm) to see that under the new IRD proposed ring fencing of loses rules developers, builders and the BIG business for construction are exempt so the loopholes to transfer losses on paper are still available to them.
aka
“• land that is on revenue account because it is held in a land-related business5 (that is, a business of land dealing, development of land, division of land, or building).”
Phew, and I thought it might be bad news for billionaires owning billions of dollars of land and real estate in NZ, and they might have less financial engineering to fall back on under the new rules. But of course not. Don’t want to upset big business.
I have been waiting for Mr. Twyford to close these loopholes and crickets. Nothing more but a load of crickets.
and yes, i would vote again for the Greens or labour as really they are the lesser evil, and clearly that is the only choice we have, but this current bunch is not even trying.
Surely anytime now J.A will come and wave her magic wand to do something to solve the housing crisis.
Don’t worry the government are just targeting residential rental property that we have a shortage of, but not looking at the multinationals or commercial or builders or land developers and holders that are currently building stuff that people in this country on local wages can no longer afford to buy and big developers are being given subsidies and PPP’s by government and councils with NZ taxes and assets.
Apparently under ‘trickle down’ that helps first home buyers, so if they give up their avocado smashes they can somehow buy that 30 million Waiheke or Queenstown hideaway or a 5 million penthouse, billion dollar luxury hotel, stadium, and ‘gold bricks’ apartments, that the above construction are increasingly developing here subsidised by the taxpayers and with offshore cheap labour the the ratepayers will end up guarenteeing.
If you are one of those poor people in Auckland stuggling to buy a house on your $180k salary, you can apply for Kiwibuild, for the poor…
You have to wonder if $180k is the top salary for the poor under Kiwibuild, what about the increasing amount of people on $40k many of whom are being bought in by business to work in their cafe’s and building sites and are instantly needing taxpayer subsidy for wages and living, cos I can’t seem much long term housing being available to them and they are competing with the poor that were already in this country?
$180k is the limit for a ‘couple’ to buy Kiwibuild home, its not a ‘floor’
There are a lot more state rental homes being built for the those who cant even afford a deposit for a KB home let alone repayments.
previously first home buyers were being outbid by investors for homes at the bottom end. This means they have a fixed price and dont have the house rising in price before their eyes at auction.
But since you were in favour of the previous system saveNZ, how was that helping first home buyers – other than keeping them renting.
I’m not in favour of the old system, Dukeofurl, I’m in favour of a new system that actually bans foreign buyers off ALL residential and land property as well as ensuring that for every low cost family or individual who earns under $40k can get a state house and also tax rules tightened up in particular for those who are recent citizens and the new New Zealanders so that they don’t rout the system and make things worse for locals and operate satellite families and get free super and health while the locals paying taxes get a poorer service, at the same time clean up and make foreign businesses and multinationals operating in NZ pay real taxes for the privilege.
“Whether these terms represented a good deal for the state, which had after all built these homes and would lose the rental income from them, was not something the manifesto explored. Nor were related, even more fundamental questions. Would the country be left with enough cheap homes after the sell-off? And would the policy backfire if the population, and therefore the demand for housing, rose? Given that the UK was part of the EU, and also linked by other busy immigration routes to its vast former empire, and to the US, a stable or falling population, as had existed throughout the 1970s – a period of perceived British decline that Thatcher had noisily promised to reverse – could hardly be assumed.”
But effectively it was. The right to buy, say Jones and Murie, “was introduced at a time of some complacency in British housing policy … For the first time in over a century there was not a shortage.”
“Meanwhile rents for remaining council tenants rose with a new alacrity. By 1991 they were 55% higher, relative to average earnings, than they had been 10 years earlier. “If it were not for the right to buy,” conclude Jones and Murie, “the council housing sector as a whole would have generated huge surpluses [from rental income] and the rise in real rents … would not have been necessary.” Or to put it more directly: home ownership was made possible for wealthier council tenants through discounts paid for by their poorer neighbours.”
When you sell off land and housing you then have to work out how to pay to buy it back or rent it privately… so in the future our kids taxes may not be paying for welfare, health, super and education, but in fact rents to private landlords and large multinationals… as both governments have sold off land and assets with little provision for a rising population and how they are going to be able to afford housing under neoliberalism.
Good one savenz to notice that and provide an example of how useful this tax loophole is to rich USA people.
Unless that isn’t clearly taken out from our tax-avoidance opportunities in NZ, we will not have any respect for that earnest little circle of men (and women?) who have formed a clique facing outwards providing a defiant defence of the goodies (the investors) against the baddies, all the rest – the ordinary people living on the droppings of the rich.
When even those who are profiting from the sale of pesticides are calling for greater controls….
“Brodifacoum, a chemical used in poison to kill rats and possums, also makes the priority list. It is available for home use under the name Pest-Off.
Chief executive of Orillion, the firm that produces Pest-Off, William McCook, said he encouraged greater restrictions around the use of brodifacoum.
“In other countries internationally, there are usually greater controls on that in terms of who can purchase it and also, restrictions on how the products are used so I think it is quite timely for New Zealand to have a look at all of those things,” he said.
“In New Zealand we don’t have a lot of controls on some of the retail products… I think it is the responsible thing to do and it should perhaps not just be home use but all use.””
….and are being ignored by the regulatory authority, then we realize what a serious problem we have.
And: – “Dr Freeth has got one thing right. New Zealanders’ “level of distrust in science” is growing. When our EPA is so patently pro-agribusiness, at the expense of the environment, is it any wonder?
“When our EPA is so patently pro-agribusiness, at the expense of the environment, is it any wonder?”
And at the expense of human health.
All of those chemicals on the list score very highly for risk to human health.
And the agrichemical barons, these princes of toxic polluters claim the chemicals are needed to feed the world.
I guess that concern about the use of agrichemicals will now be met by the ‘left’ with piles of derision as meets those with concerns about 1080, fluoride, mass vaccinations and the like.
As was said to me by a peddler of agrichemicals when I pointed out he had for general sale in his store more than one product that was categorized as to be sold only to an Approved Handler…(“oh, and what is a MSDS????”)
“Look lady, these have been approved for sale, and they wouldn’t have approved them if they wern’t safe. Now would they…???”
Issues surrounding the withdrawn private member’s Agricultural Chemical Trespass Bill will be addressed by a working group of interested parties, the Minister for the Environment, Marian Hobbs announced today.
Te Taihauaauru MP, Nanaia Mahuta, withdrew the bill from Parliament’s consideration after persuading the Government to take up the issues covered by the bill.”
But I guess its not going to happen this decade.
edit, after taking another jaunt in my time machine….Marion Hobbs…jesus wept, you were so wrong.
I wondered at which point in the last twenty years that respect for politicians of all hues was lost.
It was over this. ‘ We’ll have us a working group, involve the stakeholders, examine the evidence and draw together various agencies to protect the rights of the masses from agrichemical trespass and we’ll wrap it all up in so many pieces of legislation that no bugger will be able to figure out whose up whom and who’s paying. ‘
You’ll recall the links you supplied me on trout were done by MPI – yet ostensibly the 1080 campaign is DOC’s.
If the motivation for the policy is agricultural then they may reasonably be required to take greater responsibility in terms of its social and environmental impacts – including funding greater use of ground teams and bait stations which reduce collateral kills in preference to air drops.
TBfree uses a combination of ground control methods and aerially applied 1080 in its strategy for containing and controlling possums. In 2014, TBfree treated approximately 307,334 hectares of land using aerial application of 1080.
TBfree’s total pest control area of approximately 10 million hectares.
DOC manages approximately 8.75 million hectares of conservation land. It uses a combination of ground control methods and aerial application of 1080.
In 2014, DOC treated approximately 645,3565 hectares for possums or rats using aerial application of 1080. This is a significant increase compared with last year, due to the Battle for our Birds programme undertaken to combat the beech mast-driven pest plague.
In 2014, regional councils reported aerially applying 1080 to approximately 12,102 hectares of land.
In 2014, 1080 was aerially applied for rabbit control over approximately 2,220 hectares, a reduction of more than 5,000 hectares from 2013.
Application information: The pest management cycle for an area under sustained management can span several years. The management cycle could see parts of the larger area treated in rotation or some parts treated more frequently than others, or years with no treatment. For example, some parts of an area under sustained management may be treated by aerial application on a five to seven-year cycle, while other parts of the area may be covered annually by ground control methods.
See Also TABLE 1: Aerial 1080 treatment area
On average, TBfree conducts aerial 1080 operations over a considerably larger total area and aerially applies more 1080 than any other user. In most years, TBfree’s aerial treatment accounts for more than half of the total land treated with aerially applied 1080. (See also breakdown, Pg 9.)
Post-operational water monitoring was carried out for 23 of the aerial 1080 operations in 2014, with 106 samples taken. The tests can detect down to 0.1 micrograms of 1080 per litre of water. Of the 106 samples, only five detected 1080 above the level of detection. All five were well below the TEL.
And; source references, (omitted yesterday for brevity, and civility), that MPI will have used to validate their position. Re Trout! As the “Lead agency” https://www.mpi.govt.nz/ , i.e. Food Safety.
P.O’B. Lyver, J. Ataria, K. Trought & P. Fisher (2005) Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) residues in longfin eels,Anguilla dieffenbachii, following exposure to contaminated water and food, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 39:6, 1243-1252, DOI: 10.1080/00288330.2005.9517390
Bit of a trial and error process with baiting one imagines. Something like walnut shells might not be out of order for aerial use – proof against most birdlife, but presenting no obstacle to possums, judging by what they used to make of my ungathered nuts.
Just got a news alert from CNN on my phone that claims Saudia Arabia are preparing a press release claiming that Jamal Khashoggi’s death was the result of an interrogation that went wrong.
The hit squad arrived from Saudi – you cant be a diplomatic immunity when you arent accredited diplomats.
Embassys and consulates have lots of staff – only a few have diplomatic immunity.
Yes, the autopsy specialist doctor and a bone saw both brought in for the ‘interrogation’. I presume the spin will be that they intended to give the victim, Khashoggi, full medical care after the interrogation………………
What will also happen is that this incident will also be used to beat up on Trump, as is happening now with his son-in-law’s relationship with the Saudi ruler, and upon Muslims, and upon whoever is out of favour at the moment.
Whereas I say a pox on all their houses. The same state-inspired killing is widespread throughout the world. It even reached New Zealand with the Rainbow Warrior sinking and killing, a crime sanctioned by the French state, who are supposed to be on ‘our’ side of the forces of liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
All must be condemned.
Consider the role of 007, that fictional character much admired in the West. A licensed and sanctioned killer on behalf of his state.
Can any one else see the disconnect between our outrage over the Saudi criminality here and our fictional heroes from Bond to the Game of Thrones?
I play FPS games, that doesn’t mean I cheer for school spree killers or will become one myself.
We use fiction to get away from real life.
The reason this crime is getting the attention it does isn’t just the brutality, but also the sheer gall of it. A diplomatic base was almost openly used as a torture, execution, and dismemberment facility for the murder of a journalist. Even without the rumoured recording devices, the “oh he must have left by another entrance” is the alibi of someone who knows they’re untouchable.
I can see a disconnect if Bond didn’t kill using torture. Game of Thrones is often OTT. Getting shot is very final, hopefully quick if one is going to die. Torture is not quick and there are lessons in the most effective ways apparently.
The two don’t compare. It would be good to have no killing at all, but that is not the human way. But there are grades of killing.
They need to make the video public to create outrage on what torture and assassinations are really like for their victims… and what the government leaders are agreeing too – when they ok them.
Saudi are not the only ones, the western government like to do it through middle men, and just kidnap themselves and then hand them over to third parties to torture and kill…
Time to draw a line, and say torture and assassinations not allowed under any circumstances, we already have the laws, time to enforce them, starting with Saudi.
An interrogation that went wrong! God save me from agencies and entities that come up with claims like that to cover their crimes. I hope our police and army don’t take it up as a possible line of explanation, and expiation, and actually never have the need to.
It follows the cunning and eviscerating description adopted by the USA of ‘extraordinary rendition’ (as opposed to ordinary rendition!). This was chosen as a term to apply to its treatment of terrorists to whom they wanted to apply the level of tortures down to that of unspeakable viciousness. I think the Gestapo and other less civilised countries have also resorted to such tortures.
But thinking about the term ‘rendition’; it is related to ‘render’ and rendering has a meaning relating to dead animals. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/rendering
rendering noun (OF DEAD ANIMALS)
…engineering the process of preparing or treating the bodies of dead animals in order to take out the fat and other substances that can be used in other products:
the rendering of beef products
a rendering plant
Playing with words by calling it ‘an interrogation that went wrong’ is the work of evil people, and pretending to be using vicious abuse of people for a righteous case as is used as an excuse, is despicable. And it seems that all Great Powers do this when looking at history, near or far, so what is truly great about the civilisation that flows from them?
Yep, that guy was probably luckier than most of the hundreds of thousands of renditions because they only had a limited time frame to torture him.
It’s abhorrent. We have international laws to stop it, and should never had allowed the practise to go on.
Now we have Obama with the most drone assassinations in presidency, Trump in charge of the Nukes, climate change already here but being ignored, and abhorrent individual assassinations from government leaders becoming the norm.
At least this one, captured the press for a microsecond before the spin starts and it disappears.
Well grey, it seems marginally better approach than our defence force tactic of deny, deny, attack the journalist, discredit the evidence then announce a secret enquiry of their own by their own.
Sorry what was marginally better than our fibbing, denials and cover-ups?
As Treetop has pointed out it can be soul-destroying to be questioned and harrassed and acccused; and cause a breakdown of ‘metal health’. But the harm is of a different sort to physical torture. But then there is psychological torture dealt at a high level leading to madness. That psycho style could be classified as what the Manus Island concentration camp detainees are suffering.
It is awful to be classifying cruelty into grades. I don’t know how we manage to compartmentalise the awful things we hear. It diminishes us yet we are surrounded by it. Soon we will be celebrating the end? of WW1 as if it ushered in a new dawn from the last ignoble event that happened to humans. But no.
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice that ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and their opponent, Germany.
Thanks – bit different though. The DF here have got caught up with that difficulty of not being able to identify clearly who the enemy are. What I am thinking of is, during the Vietnam war, there was a desire by the USA and allies for a death or injured count IIRR.
That resulted in the USA or allied forces attacking people who might possibly be connected to the enemy. As the enemy forced the locals to provide them with food and shelter then they were assisting the enemy and were considered as enemy sympathisers and so legitimate targets.
The violent torture as it seems it was, of this poor man is shocking – shooting the messenger, the questioning journalist, happens often at present. But these Saudis in Turkey seem to have taken this further as I said earlier, to Gestapo level or perhaps beyond.
I think in the case of our DF identified by Hager, a 10 year old boy was sho t IIRR. He was defending his home I think. People have talked about shooting a child, but no doubt one who could handle a gun quite capably. In the view of hostilities thinking, that made him a legitimate target.
The fact is that the western forces should not now be there at all. I would want to shoot invaders and there it seems to go on and on, and when is it going to end? It is a disaster every day and all this fighting has affected a huge number of countries and the disintegration of established societies and the refugee rush that has destabilised Europe. WTF do they think they are doing? Do they think at all?
The last thing the PTB want is a soldier that thinks.
As it turns out I am in Cambodia and have visited two horrific sites, prison S21, a former high school used by Pol Pot’s henchman Khang Khek (Comrade Duch) to torture and execute suspects. (Including Kiwi Kerry Hamill).
Also one of the killing fields just out of Phnom Penh.
Absolutely heart breaking the inhumanity displayed by one Khmer to another.
This is in contrast to the Vietnam Remnants Museum in Hong Chi Minh.
Probably the hardest few hours I have spent in a museum.
What America and their allies visited on Vietnam and Cambodia is despicable. Experimental chemical warfare, phosphorus bombs, B52s bombing civilian targets and the damage continues for generations.
Why, to protect capitalism and stop the ‘Commies’.
You are right, western troops should not be there now.
However the reason is the same, protect capitalism’s interests and stop the ‘Commies’
+100
The money-making ACC drive has become paramount, not that of serving the needs of people as when it was set up. Your points Treetop go right to the heart of the matter. And heart needs to be in there as well as financial prudence.!!
I am surprised that ACC sensitive claims do not ask a person with mental injury caused by sexual violation /rape, which incident of sexual violation/rape caused the PTSD.
My assessment in 2009 asked the question any other significant trauma?
When I raised what the NZ police have put me through, the response I got was that I had to prove this without having the resources to do so.
Naive psychiatrist thought he could just ring up the police and they would assist him. He did not ring up the police. I could not complete my claim and I am unable to complete my claim until there is a review of my police complaints.
A CIB interview in 1979 triggered fully blowen PTSD. The incident which caused me to be interviewed is complex.
The way a clever psychologist put it in 2004 was, had sexual offending not have occurred in my childhood the CIB interview would not have impacted as it did. I developed crippling anxiety, OCD and severe depression due to the CIB interview. I threatened to expose a cop in the media. In 2003 he told me why he went to his employer. He said “if you did it and I didn’the report it.”
This now ex cop after a 38 year career has had depression for 25 years.
His employer used him for political purposes.
You did not misread my post. I am genuinely interested in the causes of PTSD.
Fark! Farrar on Nine to Noon …… can someone find me an interpreter?
I can handle the Quk fuxizz (quick fixes) OK, it’s the spin and bullshit I’m finding a bit challenging. I can even handle the “yee ‘o’s” (you know).
@Chuck – can you assist with a translayshun goan forwid?
And thank God it’s Freeman rather than Ryan
And TV is pretty well real isn’t it?
Sometimes it is so close to the truth that it has been banned. And that is a true story about a series at one time called Mogal that that had an episode about a group blowing up an oil depot. Then it happened in real life the week before it was to be screened. So it was too sensitive material to put on in public, like inciting or sensationalising it further.
That’s an example of how plastic our brains are, how protean and easily influenced – truth being stranger than fiction? Or vice versa. Which is which? What do we believe today folks, listen in to your breakfast jock to be told your line of thinking. It saves time and money. Clean your mind out of uncomfortable, painful or dirty thoughts here at your friendly brainwashing laundrette.
Please! Someone put that guy in a pair of leather breaches and some suspender braces and prop him up on an alp.
He could rival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQhqikWnQCU and go on to lead the European far right
Half the rates seems to be going on wages, rather than services like libraries and rubbish collection that they are constantly trying to cut costs on, so that is a worry… also I suspect it is not going to increase those at the bottoms wages but more on those at the top at executive level and there is an open cheque book to consultants such as the 1 million dollar bill for Phil Goffs private report into the Stadium that nobody wants, that was so ‘secret’ that he had parts of it redacted from his own councillors. Transparency, what a joke!
Makes me think of Joni Mitchell (writer and singer) of The Big Yellow Taxi….
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot SPOT
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ’em
I always thought it was ‘The Pay Paradise’, which is satirical in itself. Perhaps the Council could monetise the wages bill and profit from it, assembling $1 billion of notes behind a bullet proof clear screen and charge the ratepayers ‘a dollar and a half just to see ’em’. It would be like a New World pyramid. And with cash getting used less it would remind people just what it looks like.
The sum only tells us about a cost, not what we buy with it. That’s what neoliberalism does, including one-eyed cheerleaders like the Taxdodgers Onion.
We do know what they are spending the rates on, America’s cup, ports of Auckland cruise ship. lawyers, developers, more lawyers to clean up all the messes when they screw up.
And 50% is just on Auckland Transport which in spite of their alarming amount of spin doctors nobody in Auckland is happy with their disgusting and poor service, but still more handouts given to them and new public taxes assigned to them, rather than independent investigations on how they are operating.
I hear the Ports of Auckland wages bills are on the rise. Maybe they need a lot more union representative there for a start with the amount of accidents they seem to have, but a better bet is more pork barreling at the top, more lawyers to steal the harbour and consultants for the polluting cruise ships and how to spin the pollution they bring to the residents.
If people want to have fun and business profit off that fun, they don’t have to poison people and oceans around them for that fun and then make the people of Auckland pay to help them with extras for them while stealing our harbour off those who actually do pay for it and live here.
That tickled a vague memory about some countries wanting to limit sulphur pollution in their territorial waters, which would mean ships would use cleaner fuel near the coast and dirtier fuel out at sea. So I went looking for up to date info.
Seems there’s moves afoot to reduce the sulfur content globally in bunker oil.
Unlikely to see the mainstream reference how the debt is essentially unpayable…interest payments increasing perpetually…better hope interest rates stay historically low and the debt rating holds up…
The money advertisements often talk about something being affordable at less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day. How many cups@ $4 by NZs to just pay the interest per day?
People are getting poorer too including the middle classes, but the accountants say it’s all good, so whose to worry?
If they did an investigation, I’d say that people born in NZ will be the poorest of them all, we are having a wealth transfer which is hiding how much worse off, many people born in NZ are compared to 30 years ago.
Its hidden because people coming to NZ from around the world already have the money on them and can use it to increase their prospects, while those born here are saddled with low wages, high costs and have to fight it out with all the competition which is not a fair fight when people already have more money and less debt (aka no student loans) and more ability to leave NZ and work elsewhere while still maintaining a satellite existence here.
We already have people who can shell out $30k for a fake job – they don’ need to work or earn money from the outset.
It’s skewing everything from bad labour to poor wages to increasing the social costs, and encouraging scammers here, but the government does nothing to stop the problem. The opposite, taking resources away from it.
We have one of the lowest National debts of any country.
Countries use debt to make money.
The cost of servicing debt at $5billion is very little compared to the amount of economic activity it creates.
Focusing on National debt is like barking at cars and shows how little people who do lack economic’.
The cost of servicing debt at $5billion is very little compared to the amount of economic activity it creates.
1. The amount of ‘economic activity’ that it produces is negative.
2. A country which can create its own currency never needs to borrow and thus should never be paying interest.
3. Private debt is actually the problem which is why, after the GFC, it was national printing of money that was used to bail out failed banks and rich people.
DTB countries who would rely on printed money would not be able to trade as they would be cut out of trade.
The big trading blocks can call the tune.
NZ is just a small back office who have to do as they are told.
Utopic ideas don’t work in the real world as the big boys get to call the shots.
We would be treated like Cuba.
By the way DTB the Social Credit Party has tanked and most of their 20 “odd” members have moved to NZ first.
I know many of them, they are anti green more than money printers, Fringe politicians socially awkward and naive.
Read political science 101 research on Fringe politics.
If you want to change people’s voting the further your ideas are from the Center the less support you get.
Don Brash ACT, libitarians, the Socialist Party, Social Credit all Fringe parties with miniscule support.
It’s better to get small change than trying to change the whole system.
Futile Utopism is a wasted vote and a waste of time.
By the way DTB the Social Credit Party has tanked and most of their 20 “odd” members have moved to NZ first.
Never voted for SC and their ideas on money aren’t the best.
I know many of them, they are anti green more than money printers, Fringe politicians socially awkward and naive.
What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
Read political science 101 research on Fringe politics.
You do know that they got more than 20% of the vote at one point right? And that it was only the workings of FPP that kept them out of government?
It’s better to get small change than trying to change the whole system.
The whole system needs to be changed and incrementalism isn’t working. In fact, IMO, it’s making things worse as it prevents the necessary changes going through.
DTB countries who would rely on printed money would not be able to trade as they would be cut out of trade.
So?
Not being able to trade isn’t a death sentence. It just means that such a country would have to actually develop it’s economy and society.
The big trading blocks can call the tune.
Only if the Rest of the World allows them to.
NZ is just a small back office who have to do as they are told.
No, we’re actually an independent country.
Utopic ideas don’t work in the real world as the big boys get to call the shots.
Our present system is a utopic ideal and it’s not working.
We would be treated like Cuba.
That’s because most of the countries of the world are frightened of the USA and they’re not actually doing too bad. Think about that for a second – USA’s sanctions on Cuba only actually apply to the USA. It was never a global rule and yet most of the world ran with those sanctions anyway.
Not holding back is he? Looking forward to the police investigation.If there is one. Sounds like this has Paula’s grubby little handprints all over it.
There isnt going to be a police investigation. Ross may be matey with the local police chief but that wont count for anything as Police National Office would keep it quiet.
I must say, that after 9 years of being constantly under attack from this mob I am thoroughly enjoying today. Each new RNZ breaking news notification brings yet another grin 🙂
Just a break from the artificial side of what passes for life amongst humans,
All the lessons of history in four sentences:
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.
The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.
The bee fertilizes the flower it robs.
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
I should add that the flower and bee perform a co-ordinated dance, the flower has developed to encourage the bee’s visit – so it isn’t robbing, it’s a giving and taking – pollen offered in exchange for pollenisation and renewal of life.
10. DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What effect, if any, will Genesis Energy’s plans to import coal due to a shortage of gas have on carbon emissions?
12. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Has she seen reports that the wholesale price of electricity reached a peak of $192/MWh on 6 October because of low hydro levels and the continued outage of the Pohokura gas field?
The USPS only gives Tribal residents PO boxes. Only residents with street addresses can vote. The Supreme Court just cut off voting rights to Native Americans in ND. https://t.co/DafJRisfgk— G-Wiz (@gwheele1) October 9, 2018
I literally burst into tears at this. Do you KNOW how many Native Americans have PO Boxes across the US?? Don't kid yourself. It won't stay in ND. We were the last allowed to vote & now the 1st to lose it. Hear this: THEY FOUND A WAY TO TAKE AWAY THE VOTE. #SCOTUS Who is next? https://t.co/Cj0TNAd210— DeeTenorio (@DeeTenorio) October 10, 2018
This is huge stakes .. ND is the seat of Dem Senator Heidi Heitkamp .. and it is widely believed that with her seat goes control of the Senate to either D or R.
According to Rachel Maddow on msnbc tonight US time, the tribes seem to have found a go round … providing new ID cards with addresses to everyone .. complex and difficult, and may even occur at the places of voting. But the chairman of the united tribes ( sorry don’t have name) said it will cause an uptick in voting as the anger rouses intention to vote ! (Under tribal treaty they can create streets and name them at will, which they are now being forced to do.)
The gross criminality of the repubs is that there is a system in place with the fire dept to get a 911 address in case of emergencies .. but the electoral office blocked that as a group application, insisting each person should apply as an individual, with 22 days to go.
NB .. This link is free access to live MSNBC. CNN, AlJazeera, BBC .. all of them ! Rachel Maddow is superlative in her analysis and perspicacity .. plays at 2 pm NZ and then later again in our evening time .. I think at 5pm nz, but not sure 🙂 )
A clear explanation of why the market is the enemy of democracy. In the first 15.00 minutes – after a very funny story to begin with. After that till the end a discussion on Wars.
Here is the next instalment of the Wentworth Races as they now head down the home straight for the last time.
Over the 24hrs, Labour is faded away and is a few lengths behind the leading pack in 3rd place with no hope at winning. While the leading pack are battling it out between the Sharma and Phelps with Phelps out by half a length in 1st. This horse race is slowly becoming a mud race as I predicted on Sunday as the Libs are now shit scared at losing are starting to throw mud, flour bombs, rotten food etc at Phelps at a hope of nobbling her before she crossers the line on Saturday.
As the Liberal Candidate is Jew and the seat of Wentworth is 12% Jewish. The Libs are trying to link the independent Kerryn Phelps as supporter of the BDS against the Jewish State as her Campaign manger and spokesman Darren Barnett is contracted for the AMU which is a pound supporter of the BDS of the Jewish State. Meanwhile, a hoax email has been distributed to university students purporting to say that Dr Phelps has pulled out of the race.
“Sorry for this late notice. Kerry’s Phelps no longer runs for Wentworth by- election in Sydney and can you please direct your vote to Dave Sharma instead? It is very urgent; please let your friends know too, as the voting card has been printed already, you will still see her name but she has already quit.”
The response from the Lib’s over this fake email has been very quiet 🤫. Funny that and I’m wondering if old Sharma has called on a few favs from the Jewish community 😉 😉 😉.
OMG. What next? Someone should be taking a doco of this, and then with a few name changes it can be a tv reality series in another year when everyone has forgotten what happened.
Yeah, you right there. Apparently the Libs are so shit sacred at losing just about every man and his dog from cabinet and from the Jewish wing of the Liberal Party have the hit streets of the Wentworth electorate, so much so as one cafe owner down on Rose Bay was saying “I’ve never been so busy atm and you would think their life depends on the outcome of this by- election”.
Also I forgot to add this as well ScoMo is looking at moving the Australian embassy in Israel atm similar to what old Trump. Mmmm starting wonder if the Libs own polling has got them losing the Wentworth by-election atm as this has come out of the blue?
A computing and communications academic warns that livestreaming music, films and information via the Internet is harming the environment.
A senior lecturer at Lancaster University, Dr Mike Hazas, said it was leading to increased carbon emissions, and therefore adding to challenges around climate change.
He said standard household appliances and lighting used about 15 per cent of domestic electricity demand – although air conditioning use was on the rise in some places.
But consumer electronics such as Smart televisions took up around 35 per cent of electricity demand.
Listen to Dr Mike Hazas speak to Lynn Freeman duration 10′ :46″
Kia ora Newshub The Salvation Army is my favorite charity and I do tau toko thee idea of low cost loans for the poor tangata to buy houses I say in the regions our government need to use all the tools it has to calm te Tsunami of homeless people.
I do not agree on the idea of other country’s paying for and building OUR assets we can afford to pay for this our selves and keep all the capital gains. In my view country’s build/buy
Is just another form of selling the futures silverware no intelligent KIWI does that.
I got a sore face over the Ross bridges affairs as we will carry on our path to a green energy carbon neutral future for our offspring with not chance of the money first national rising out of there ashes and stuffing it up Tova.
With the union striking phenomenon its history repeating its self same thing happened when Clark first won parliament enough said.
Dabo Australia it will be a place I would visit being pro natives and farmers.
That’s a mean drought our Aussie cousin’s are going through at the minute and the pollies want to burn more coal figure that one out.
Ka kite ano
Mark Sainsbury Eco agrees with you political donations should be banned or over a set amount we get a written statement of who made the donation and what laws they are pushing to change that’s democracy open and transparent if information is been hidden its not democracy as the democratic theory is everyone is include in the voting processes equally at the minute the wealthy have the biggest say .Ka kite ano
I totally support this view on the WORLD’S reality we have been lead conned to believe that working together is wrong why we have done this since the start of human kind to get ahead and survive the most successful creatures are ant’s they work collectivelyfor millions of years .
Governments are collectives it has to be set whats good for the many comes first and people having BILLIONS IN WEALTH IS NOT GOOD FOR THE MANY that only serves a very few.
Well It’s harder for the super wealthy to pull the wool over a collectives EYE’S .
Its harder to control a collectives lives and rip us off and lie about all the atrocities that they are serving the %099.99 of people we need to work collectively and vote out these IDIOTS that are human caused climate change deniers OUT of power .
They are putting the existence of OUR future children lives in GREAT danger all because of GREED for POWER and MONEY .
Lady’s natives minority all cultures we all need to join force’s and vote these fools out of POWER the Whole World over KIA KAHA ka kite and
This gives Eco Maori hope that my grandchildren will have a happy bright future .
With Bill Gates and Ban Ki moon pushing for the private sector to invest more in the Worlds green economy .
Eco hold no beef with all business people my beef is with the ones that are pushing carbon lie’s the ones that are causing humanitarian crises around the world I DON’T MIND people making money that’s the way of the World at the minute.
I could capitalize on my Influence I have figured out ways I could make money from this phenomenon but I chose to protect my Influence by not going down that road .
I would prefer to use Eco Maori’s influence to protect ALL OUR GRANDCHILDREN’S future and not just my small life style KIA KAHA ka kite ano
The reality is that the Saudis have found trumps weak spot his hip pocket keep that full and trump will let you do anything .
I seen it with the Mexico Canada trade agreement Mexico does not mind fulling trumps hip pocket and Trudeau refused to bribe trump that was quite clear for me to see.
What gives me a sore face is he has not stopped his political rallies he has keep them rolling out WHY because he knows his support has dropped drastically why else would one keep rallying . He is spending money interfering in the polls as they don’t line up with the Democrats they have received 3x the donations as the go oil party.
I see trump interfareing with the media all over the World suppressing the truth about climate change and now he is shit stiring with China .
trump is doing everything that will cause OUR WORLDS environment to BURN the fool .
Enough said I mite start swearing Ka kite ano P.S Amercian voters don’t let the bull —-in the media dishearten your efforts get out there and rally the voters and vote these fools out link is below.
Kia ora Te Kaea Its good that more tracks have been closed to save Tane mahuta mokopunas .
Winston has a sore face over the national circus they tryed to low blow him x2 no effect.
Its good to see the young maori wahine taking a strong interest in politics and the issues of the local Maori community this is how we will make the systems better for all .
I say Ngati Porou & Ngapuhi have the worst bad stat’s of all IWI unemployment sickness etc Ka kite ano P.S my moko just went home that frees up my time
Kia ora Newshub I agree with Winston & Jones there has to be some control of the mud slinging .
Waitomo fuels has good fuel to thats the way when we were in Karori the fuel was high in wellington then the fuel company’s price gouging that’s what I don’t like is % 15 to 18 profits % 6 to 8 is ok.
That’s correct we do not want to have 2nd classes citizens just to suit Australian pollies EGO’s. They created the Nauru mess they can do thing correctly & humanly to clean it up .
There you go the New Zealand defence force was there helping the poor people on Indonesia town Palu ka pai were are the other world leading nations they need help.
Kate Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga move looks awesome I will take the wife to watch that one. Ka kite ano
Kia ora The Crowd Goes Wild James & Mulls it will be a good game of League this weekend the Tongan fans are proud of there team and will let everyone know .
All the best for the Silver ferns in there next game .
Our man in the NBA comp Star is shining bright ka pai .
Rugby is one off Aotearoa big export’s players coaches and many more
Its cool so long as the come home to retire .
Brad shields I hope he has a good run in Britain ka pai.
Ka kite ano P.S can I come to your shout Rick. lol I will be to busy with the whano cool competition the high ball catch $2500 for the winner and $2500 donated to youth sports Ana and Storm
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
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Burnt Bridges today?
Not according to key players in the Nat caucus: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/368736/ross-facing-wrath-of-party-and-possible-expulsion
“Under the waka-jumping law if the caucus votes to expel Jami-Lee Ross he must be given 21 days to respond and Mr Bridges must also be able to show that Mr Ross has acted in a way that distorts the proportionality of Parliament and is likely to keep doing it. Once all those boxes are ticked, Mr Bridges could notify the Speaker of a vacancy. If Mr Ross is eventually expelled, that will force a by-election in his Botany electorate. National’s caucus meeting will start at about 10.30am.”
Bridges and the National Party caucus would become even more of a laughing stock if they used the waka-jumping law after being so vigorously against it.
The operative word here is “could” as in “could notify the Speaker of a vacancy”.
He doesn’t have to do anything except kick Ross out of the Caucus.
In fact National can probably continue to cast Ross’s vote, at least if he isn’t in the House.
The only way Ross could prevent that would be to tell The Speaker that he wished to be treated as an Independent member, not a National one.
If he did that of course HE would trigger his own expulsion from the House.
“Mr Bridges must also be able to show that Mr Ross has acted in a way that distorts the proportionality of Parliament”
Doesnt quite say ‘be able to show’ instead the wording is broader
“state that the parliamentary leader reasonably believes that the member of Parliament concerned has acted in a way that has distorted, and is likely to continue to distort, the proportionality of political party representation in Parliament as determined at the last general election;”
Reasonably believes distortion of Nats representation.
This could happen for instance if national loses questions in the house or positions on committees. The national leaders office could lose funding when Ross goes
Will anyone want to cross Bridges after today?
Will there be any Bridges to cross?
over troubled waters.
A cliche’ I know – Will that be a Bridges too far? At this time anyway. The choice is between two youngish men with no sense of serving the whole country and a vision of well-being for NZ that they tap into each morning.
Rather than cross that bridge I’d go round the long way instead of paying the toll.
Anyway, the Nats have plenty more bridges to choose from but will they span the divide within the National party let alone across to the wider voters? At the moment they’re like the bridge at Avignon- cut off midstream, no traffic, suspect load-bearing, medieval foundations, and good only for watching the dancing.
On principle, J-L Ross has decided he may not pay the toll.
Right or wrong, he stands upon principle and will place himself outside of his party and parliament to seek re-election and a mandate from his electorate.
Good for him!
Regardless of who and when, it’s going to be a swing bridge.
Or a Bridges to Nowhere.
The original bridge cost a thousand pounds! Simon cost us a bit more……….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_to_Nowhere_(New_Zealand)
On the subject of Simon Bridges and what he would do with the $5.5 bn, the riposte would be easily returned that it would be there to pay for the ten bridges that he promised, but never delivered upon; to pay for all the things that he should have promised but didn’t; for the non-delivery of things he should have delivered upon; and for the fixing of things he delivered upon in an ineffectual manner.
Yemen in total crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/oct/15/yemen-on-brink-worst-famine-100-years-un
But the glorious US looks for any excuse to keep selling arms to the Saudi regime.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/368737/trump-blames-rogue-killers-over-khashoggi
It’s the height of what is so wrong with the US. To nakedly state that the interests of the arms industry trumps all else demands that global conflict be maintained and even nurtured and grown.
That is a truely revolting concept.
Welcome to reality Ed.
If it was not the US selling arms it would be the Russians, Chinese, France, UK, etc…
Such sound moral logic there. Now i can start selling P conscience free knowing that if i don’t someone else in my neighborhood will.
“Now i can start selling P conscience free knowing that if i don’t someone else in my neighborhood will.”
Yes, you could solkta – if you have decided to become a P dealer/cook.
Maybe its gone a little over your head, but the countries listed above ALL have major armament industry.
I think it is the concept of morality that is a little over your head.
solkta you can try to imply I have no morality and that somehow by me pointing out the facts confirms it.
If you want to change the world, my friend, firstly you need to understand how and why it works the way it does.
The major powers are alike and different in equal amounts. On the question of morality, I am sure they all think they are moral. That’s the issue.
solkta
I think that is a perfect example of when pragmatism has to be reined in, and that deciding to carry out a negative-resulting action is okay, because others are doing it. It actually goes to the how and when to apply morality and ethics in a community.
but when putin does it it’s ok right?
Putin was invited by an elected Syrian Government to battle insurgents that have been tearing a country apart.
No, but you can point out the hypocrisy of the US who says they support freedom and democracy. At least we all get Putin’s russia is a thuggish state, it’s not hiding behind nice words.
Remember this from late August? “The author of the text warned they suffered from mental health problems in the past and said being exposed publicly could push them over the edge and put their life at risk.”
And this: “2 October: National MP Jami-Lee Ross stands down from his portfolios and from the front bench of the opposition, citing personal health issues. In a statement, Mr Ross said he had asked for time off on medical leave for “a few months”.” https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/368705/national-leak-scandal-what-we-know-so-far
And now: “his outburst on Twitter, accusing his leader of forcing him out on medical leave and of unlawful behaviour (which Mr Bridges denies), would make it untenable for him to stay in the caucus under the current leadership.” https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/368728/power-play-jami-lee-ross-looking-to-take-simon-bridges-down-with-him
So JLR is now directly contradicting himself. Makes us wonder if that’s a symptom of mental health problems, eh? If he has been diagnosed with such, why not tell the public in order to get sympathy? Lack of support for him in caucus will make it clear that he had no viability as a leadership contender, and it was all driven by hostility towards his leader.
JLR needs to be given the benefit of the doubt by the National caucus. When the content of JLR’s texts and the texts of the people who replied are known, this will be revealing.
It can be said that Bridges is being selective on what issue he is prepared to give JLR medical leave for.
Either way JLR is under pressuse.
JLR can resign whenever he wants to. The National party would not want the issue to drag on.
The contents of the alleged tape between JLR and Bridges needs to be revealed.
That could now be the crux of the situation. If the tape is real! The Herald editorial today has a focus on this, along with observing that Bridges has spent months setting himself up. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107850211/national-leader-simon-bridges-needs-his-mps-100-per-cent-behind-him
If the tape is real, and proof of law-breaking, Bridges will be gone. If JLR doesn’t promptly give it to the police, then it probably does not exist. Cue focus on the mental health problem.
If the police find insufficient evidence on the tape to prosecute Bridges, depends on how everyone sees the grey area. The thesis that the police prosecutor votes National will circulate. If what’s on the tape suggests unethical behaviour re mishandling of donations, Bridges will be found guilty in the court of public opinion regardless.
That’s the second time you’ve linked to the Watkins article.
Are you trying to direct the National Party narrative?
Thanks. Looks like when I copied the Herald editorial link, it failed to take so the prior one defaulted into place instead. Anyway, here’s the actual: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12142736
Send the tape to a reputable NZ journalist; there’re still a few left.
Ross is looking for the hush money the Nats will surely pay him to keep quiet. Yesterday’s tweets were to show he means business. You can be sure that if the recording don’t surface then the Nats have been that petrified that they’ve paid Ross whatever he wants.
National have a precedent paying out to not have the contents of a tape revealed. Not sure if Barclay’s electorate worker was made to sign a confidentiality clause. Did she not blow the whistle because of her loyalty to English or that life could be made difficult for her.
JLR has some big decisions to make.
Will he resign?
Will he continue to take medical leave?
Will he reveal the contents of texts, phone calls and taping?
Will he fight expulsion?
Does he have evidence of a matter which has not been disclosed and he will expose the dishonesty of a caucus member and implicate Bridges?
Some have said that Bridges may come out looking stronger. JLR may come out being the person who blew the whistle because it needed to be done.
As for the Bridges expense leaker, I feel that this was a warning shot. If it was JLR he will have to reveal the reason for denying this or it may become obvious why he denied it.
I think a matter of much more significance is the release of the Secret clauses in the Labour/New Zealand First agreement.
What things did Labour commit to in order to get the baubles of Office?
You will no doubt support this demand will you Treetop?
I’d rather like to hear the buried tape recordings from the Clutha-Southland electoral office when Barclay was the MP.
If you do not like the fact that an entire coalition agreement is not made public do something about it.
That was tried.
The Coalition of Losers leaders claimed that it was exempt from the OIA and refused to release it.
Is it the privacy commissioner or the ombudsman who has the final say. They are who you need to contact.
The Privacy Act’s main purpose is not confidentiality, it is to have control over the information.
New legislation is required to replace/update the Privacy Act.
Been there, done that.
Ardern claimed that the agreement was made solely in her capacity as leader of the Labour Party.
They excluded themselves from the OIA and therefor the Ombudsman can’t make them cough up.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/346188/ardern-doesn-t-have-to-reveal-what-s-inside-the-secret-document
What is it that you hope to gain from the release of the coalition agreement?
I would like to know what other insane promises the Labour Party made to Winnie.
Are they going to reduce the cut-off figure for getting Parliamentary seats for example?
How much more than the current $3,000,000,000.00 will NZF get if the current amount is not enough to buy them a seat in the Northern-most Maori Electorate?
Are there any limits on the money that Winston can direct to the people who supply the racehorses he has interests in?
And on and on and on.
Be patient in time your questions will be answered.
I tried changing my FB password to SimonBridges, but Facebook said it was to weak.
Of course it is. Change it to #Goneby12.00noon.
The best way for National to move forward is to expel JLR and roll SB as leader and pick a new leader, for the interim.
Probably correct, but Boag predicted to Garner this morning that caucus will be unanimous against Ross, and if so that will make Bridges stronger due to lack of competitors. Short-term only, really, eh?
Hahahahahaha spin it boag, spin it.
Remember Boags kiss of Death for bungling Billingsh.
So Boags backing Bridges kiss of Death.
Paddy Gower comments on Nationals civil war.
Paddy says this is poison for National
Nothing good for National it will eat away at National as Police get involved.
Ah yes, the united party front 😉
Did Boag spin away the abysmal internal polling as well?
Good question! Garner didn’t ask her that, but she’s unlikely to be aware of the current numbers – unless the Nats still use her as consultant.
National Party insider are you Inc?
Why don’t you tell us what the polling numbers are?
Remember how before the last election Andrew would tell us what the Labour Party internal polling was whenever he thought it had risen above the abysmal level and into the merely terrible range.
Why aren’t the Labour Party releasing their own numbers if they are so good for Labour and so terrible for National?
I suspect that they show Labour and National about the same as at the last election but that both the Green and NZF numbers are under the 5% cut off.
The don’t dare let them out as their minor members in the Coalition of the Lost will have to start charting their own course.
Come on Labour. Tell us what you know and admit that in an election today it would mean a National Government, no NZF or Green members and Bridges as PM.
It takes one to know one, Al.
And you have ways to fact-check those numbers?
Alwynger this is Nationals own doing.
Your desperate deflections look pathetic.
Are you a National MP or just a Dogmatic Distractor
Do you know what the numbers need to be for a vote against JLR?
No, I have no idea how the Nat caucus operates, but I expect Boag to be clued up enough via her contacts that she’ll be proven right. If any other senior Nat was supporting JLR, they’d already have gone public with a sensible rationale to do so. They know how vital it is for National to remain strong as opposition.
A culture of bullying, sexual violence, drinking and cover-ups……
….. in the military.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/368668/nicky-hager-reveals-fresh-allegations-on-nzdf-cover-ups-and-abuse
…….in sport
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/sport/368683/sex-lies-bullies-and-alcohol-lead-to-wheels-coming-off-cycling-programme
……..in law firms
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11996826
When are we going to join the dots in this country and tackle our overall culture of bullying, sexual violence, drinking and cover-ups?
never, or when men finally accept that women, children and those weaker then them are humans too, which is …never.
signed
History.
Which men would that be Sabine?
all men. .
In the labour party?!
Culture change starts at the top with government
I agree with you Ed but you left out government
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/06/25/130989/arrest-in-labour-party-sex-assault-case
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107632218/probable-that-meka-whaitiri-grabbed-staffer-investigation-finds
It’s comments like these from Ed, on especially important days for the government, leaving open the ability to point out labours flaws that make me think he is the supreme concern troll
He could be but I’m more of the idea that he has a memory that would make a goldfish blush with embarrassment
It was such an easy slam dunk I almost didn’t want to mention it
Yes, it’s at time like these when everyone’s attention turns to right wing comments on a left wing blog about how Labour is actually much, much worse… 🙄
Tiresome isn’t it? …skims over comments from the usual suspects…
and yet you took the time to reply
You missed out the last group.
Why don’t you also put in
……. In the New Zealand Labour Party.
I’m sure you could easily put in references to people like Meka Whaitiri and the Youth Camps.
It’s going back a bit but a spectacular example of excessive drinking was the Senior Whip, Ruth Dyson. Remember how she had to be dumped from the Ministerial ranks?
I’d like to see people being held accountable for their behaviour.
As for consequences, education about the impact their behaviour has for those, who they have affected.
Practising self discipline and restraint as well.
Excellent interview with Stephanie Kelton, Bernie Sander’s economist in the 2016 campaign who explains Modern Monetary Theory and how it works, plus says a lot of other interesting things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5baKgv7Zl5g&t=717s
That is an excellent video. Still leaves a lot of questions to answer, but good introduction.
I hope a lot of people in Labour start looking at this, instead of repeating same totally incorrect assumptions about how state finances work.
Given New Zealand’s two independently owned daily newspapers, the Wairarapa Times Age and Otago Daily Times are doing well, when the world is decrying the loss of newspapers due to changing habits, does this suggest that the demise of newspapers in New Zealand and places like the United States has more to do with corporate ownership than the Internet?
Wherever the news is concentrated into fewer and fewer hands, the quality of news seems to inevitably go down, followed by fewer sales, and more closures.
The state of radio is even worse. In many regions of New Zealand, where once each provincial town had one radio station that had its own local staff, djs and news journalists, now these towns have a plethora of robot radio stations to listen to, but no content whatsoever other than music and adverts, and definitely no local news. And yet concentrating all these radio stations into the hands of fewer corporates seems to lead to perpetually reducing the number of staff, news content, and even profitability.
+1 esoteric pineapples
We now should be considering that several regional papers should be publicly bought by a crowd funding policy move?
That way the regions will finally have back their own voice again as our family want to contribute to a move to take over local papers now, so can the Standard start a crowd funding project for each province?
I have not listened to ugly (commercial) radio for many moons.
The exception being the odd rugby test and occasional cricket broadcast.
Rnz, local student radio (radio control) and lately radio access.
Far more interesting and diverse and in the case of the last two very reflective of our community.
I see the Megsta’ and Hazza have just announced they are preggers.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/107865975/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-are-expecting-a-baby
Good luck to them
It demeans someone to have their name changed and distorted unless they agree with it. Are you a Christian, just happen to be Chris T-something and never noticed how it can be read as ChrisT, or is that deliberate?
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner paid almost no income tax for years
“An example of this was in 2015, when Mr Kushner took home US$1.7 million in salary and investment gains, but his earnings were swamped by US$8.3 million in losses because of “significant depreciation” on his real estate.”
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/10/president-donald-trump-s-son-in-law-jared-kushner-paid-almost-no-income-tax-for-years.html
Great (sarcasm) to see that under the new IRD proposed ring fencing of loses rules developers, builders and the BIG business for construction are exempt so the loopholes to transfer losses on paper are still available to them.
aka
“• land that is on revenue account because it is held in a land-related business5 (that is, a business of land dealing, development of land, division of land, or building).”
Phew, and I thought it might be bad news for billionaires owning billions of dollars of land and real estate in NZ, and they might have less financial engineering to fall back on under the new rules. But of course not. Don’t want to upset big business.
I have been waiting for Mr. Twyford to close these loopholes and crickets. Nothing more but a load of crickets.
and yes, i would vote again for the Greens or labour as really they are the lesser evil, and clearly that is the only choice we have, but this current bunch is not even trying.
Surely anytime now J.A will come and wave her magic wand to do something to solve the housing crisis.
Any day now…………………….
Petty sure we still have the 0% tax havens too, but they just can’t be quite as secret as they were under Key.
Don’t worry the government are just targeting residential rental property that we have a shortage of, but not looking at the multinationals or commercial or builders or land developers and holders that are currently building stuff that people in this country on local wages can no longer afford to buy and big developers are being given subsidies and PPP’s by government and councils with NZ taxes and assets.
Apparently under ‘trickle down’ that helps first home buyers, so if they give up their avocado smashes they can somehow buy that 30 million Waiheke or Queenstown hideaway or a 5 million penthouse, billion dollar luxury hotel, stadium, and ‘gold bricks’ apartments, that the above construction are increasingly developing here subsidised by the taxpayers and with offshore cheap labour the the ratepayers will end up guarenteeing.
If you are one of those poor people in Auckland stuggling to buy a house on your $180k salary, you can apply for Kiwibuild, for the poor…
You have to wonder if $180k is the top salary for the poor under Kiwibuild, what about the increasing amount of people on $40k many of whom are being bought in by business to work in their cafe’s and building sites and are instantly needing taxpayer subsidy for wages and living, cos I can’t seem much long term housing being available to them and they are competing with the poor that were already in this country?
$180k is the limit for a ‘couple’ to buy Kiwibuild home, its not a ‘floor’
There are a lot more state rental homes being built for the those who cant even afford a deposit for a KB home let alone repayments.
previously first home buyers were being outbid by investors for homes at the bottom end. This means they have a fixed price and dont have the house rising in price before their eyes at auction.
But since you were in favour of the previous system saveNZ, how was that helping first home buyers – other than keeping them renting.
I’m not in favour of the old system, Dukeofurl, I’m in favour of a new system that actually bans foreign buyers off ALL residential and land property as well as ensuring that for every low cost family or individual who earns under $40k can get a state house and also tax rules tightened up in particular for those who are recent citizens and the new New Zealanders so that they don’t rout the system and make things worse for locals and operate satellite families and get free super and health while the locals paying taxes get a poorer service, at the same time clean up and make foreign businesses and multinationals operating in NZ pay real taxes for the privilege.
Sorry that is so threatening for some lefties.
Kiwibuild is based on the Thatcher and third way ideology… or in the NZ context, National party and Rogernomics ideology.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/26/right-to-buy-margaret-thatcher-david-cameron-housing-crisis
“Whether these terms represented a good deal for the state, which had after all built these homes and would lose the rental income from them, was not something the manifesto explored. Nor were related, even more fundamental questions. Would the country be left with enough cheap homes after the sell-off? And would the policy backfire if the population, and therefore the demand for housing, rose? Given that the UK was part of the EU, and also linked by other busy immigration routes to its vast former empire, and to the US, a stable or falling population, as had existed throughout the 1970s – a period of perceived British decline that Thatcher had noisily promised to reverse – could hardly be assumed.”
But effectively it was. The right to buy, say Jones and Murie, “was introduced at a time of some complacency in British housing policy … For the first time in over a century there was not a shortage.”
“Meanwhile rents for remaining council tenants rose with a new alacrity. By 1991 they were 55% higher, relative to average earnings, than they had been 10 years earlier. “If it were not for the right to buy,” conclude Jones and Murie, “the council housing sector as a whole would have generated huge surpluses [from rental income] and the rise in real rents … would not have been necessary.” Or to put it more directly: home ownership was made possible for wealthier council tenants through discounts paid for by their poorer neighbours.”
When you sell off land and housing you then have to work out how to pay to buy it back or rent it privately… so in the future our kids taxes may not be paying for welfare, health, super and education, but in fact rents to private landlords and large multinationals… as both governments have sold off land and assets with little provision for a rising population and how they are going to be able to afford housing under neoliberalism.
This is the effects…
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/apr/25/mod-privatise-military-housing-disaster-guy-hands
and the new sell scam…
(btw in Auckland councils books they have already sold off 400 million of public council assets, but what have they got to show for it?)
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/haringey-council-s-multi-million-pound-assets-sell-off-hits-a-hurdle-1-5106276
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/2bn-selloff-of-haringey-council-property-will-force-out-families-and-destroy-community-a3480646.html
Good one savenz to notice that and provide an example of how useful this tax loophole is to rich USA people.
Unless that isn’t clearly taken out from our tax-avoidance opportunities in NZ, we will not have any respect for that earnest little circle of men (and women?) who have formed a clique facing outwards providing a defiant defence of the goodies (the investors) against the baddies, all the rest – the ordinary people living on the droppings of the rich.
SSDD when it comes to the management of hazardous substances in good old Godzone.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/368744/controversial-chemicals-not-on-new-safety-review-list
When even those who are profiting from the sale of pesticides are calling for greater controls….
“Brodifacoum, a chemical used in poison to kill rats and possums, also makes the priority list. It is available for home use under the name Pest-Off.
Chief executive of Orillion, the firm that produces Pest-Off, William McCook, said he encouraged greater restrictions around the use of brodifacoum.
“In other countries internationally, there are usually greater controls on that in terms of who can purchase it and also, restrictions on how the products are used so I think it is quite timely for New Zealand to have a look at all of those things,” he said.
“In New Zealand we don’t have a lot of controls on some of the retail products… I think it is the responsible thing to do and it should perhaps not just be home use but all use.””
….and are being ignored by the regulatory authority, then we realize what a serious problem we have.
here’s the list…https://www.epa.govt.nz/industry-areas/hazardous-substances/chemical-reassessment-programme/priority-chemicals-list
SSDD….
https://sciblogs.co.nz/public-health-expert/2017/08/16/environmental-protection-glyphosate/
And: – “Dr Freeth has got one thing right. New Zealanders’ “level of distrust in science” is growing. When our EPA is so patently pro-agribusiness, at the expense of the environment, is it any wonder?
https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/13-12-2017/what-gives-with-the-chief-scientist-of-the-environmental-protection-agency/
Just one of the Many issues with an earlier morph, and the “current” EPA!
Hence Eugenie Sage’s brave “involvement” to address this earlier in the year
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/353178/green-mp-accused-of-ministerial-interference
“When our EPA is so patently pro-agribusiness, at the expense of the environment, is it any wonder?”
And at the expense of human health.
All of those chemicals on the list score very highly for risk to human health.
And the agrichemical barons, these princes of toxic polluters claim the chemicals are needed to feed the world.
I guess that concern about the use of agrichemicals will now be met by the ‘left’ with piles of derision as meets those with concerns about 1080, fluoride, mass vaccinations and the like.
As was said to me by a peddler of agrichemicals when I pointed out he had for general sale in his store more than one product that was categorized as to be sold only to an Approved Handler…(“oh, and what is a MSDS????”)
“Look lady, these have been approved for sale, and they wouldn’t have approved them if they wern’t safe. Now would they…???”
I had hoped for this wee legislative gem to be dug up….http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0008/S00335.htm
“CHEMICAL TRESPASS WORKING GROUP
Issues surrounding the withdrawn private member’s Agricultural Chemical Trespass Bill will be addressed by a working group of interested parties, the Minister for the Environment, Marian Hobbs announced today.
Te Taihauaauru MP, Nanaia Mahuta, withdrew the bill from Parliament’s consideration after persuading the Government to take up the issues covered by the bill.”
But I guess its not going to happen this decade.
edit, after taking another jaunt in my time machine….Marion Hobbs…jesus wept, you were so wrong.
I wondered at which point in the last twenty years that respect for politicians of all hues was lost.
It was over this. ‘ We’ll have us a working group, involve the stakeholders, examine the evidence and draw together various agencies to protect the rights of the masses from agrichemical trespass and we’ll wrap it all up in so many pieces of legislation that no bugger will be able to figure out whose up whom and who’s paying. ‘
SSDD
Hitting the nail on the head there.
You’ll recall the links you supplied me on trout were done by MPI – yet ostensibly the 1080 campaign is DOC’s.
If the motivation for the policy is agricultural then they may reasonably be required to take greater responsibility in terms of its social and environmental impacts – including funding greater use of ground teams and bait stations which reduce collateral kills in preference to air drops.
“You’ll recall the links you supplied me on trout were done by MPI – yet ostensibly the campaign is DOC’s.”
ostensibly
/ɒˈstɛnsɪbli/
adverb
1. as appears or is stated to be true, though not necessarily so; apparently.
FYI;
https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/Hazardous-Substances/1080-reports/Annual-reports/2014-Annual-Report-1080.pdf
TBfree uses a combination of ground control methods and aerially applied 1080 in its strategy for containing and controlling possums. In 2014, TBfree treated approximately 307,334 hectares of land using aerial application of 1080.
TBfree’s total pest control area of approximately 10 million hectares.
DOC manages approximately 8.75 million hectares of conservation land. It uses a combination of ground control methods and aerial application of 1080.
In 2014, DOC treated approximately 645,3565 hectares for possums or rats using aerial application of 1080. This is a significant increase compared with last year, due to the Battle for our Birds programme undertaken to combat the beech mast-driven pest plague.
In 2014, regional councils reported aerially applying 1080 to approximately 12,102 hectares of land.
In 2014, 1080 was aerially applied for rabbit control over approximately 2,220 hectares, a reduction of more than 5,000 hectares from 2013.
Application information: The pest management cycle for an area under sustained management can span several years. The management cycle could see parts of the larger area treated in rotation or some parts treated more frequently than others, or years with no treatment. For example, some parts of an area under sustained management may be treated by aerial application on a five to seven-year cycle, while other parts of the area may be covered annually by ground control methods.
See Also TABLE 1: Aerial 1080 treatment area
On average, TBfree conducts aerial 1080 operations over a considerably larger total area and aerially applies more 1080 than any other user. In most years, TBfree’s aerial treatment accounts for more than half of the total land treated with aerially applied 1080. (See also breakdown, Pg 9.)
Post-operational water monitoring was carried out for 23 of the aerial 1080 operations in 2014, with 106 samples taken. The tests can detect down to 0.1 micrograms of 1080 per litre of water. Of the 106 samples, only five detected 1080 above the level of detection. All five were well below the TEL.
And; source references, (omitted yesterday for brevity, and civility), that MPI will have used to validate their position. Re Trout! As the “Lead agency” https://www.mpi.govt.nz/ , i.e. Food Safety.
http://www.1080facts.co.nz/uploads/2/9/5/8/29588301/cawthron-report-1080-uptake-trout.pdf
P.O’B. Lyver, J. Ataria, K. Trought & P. Fisher (2005) Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) residues in longfin eels,Anguilla dieffenbachii, following exposure to contaminated water and food, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 39:6, 1243-1252, DOI: 10.1080/00288330.2005.9517390
https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/2968.pdf
“On average, TBfree conducts aerial 1080 operations over a considerably larger total area and aerially applies more 1080 than any other user.”
I had surmised as much from budget data – something called the Animal Health Board was prominent.
tbfree.org.nz has moved to ospri.co.nz – please update your bookmarks.
Cheers – The toxicology piece is much improved.
Bit of a trial and error process with baiting one imagines. Something like walnut shells might not be out of order for aerial use – proof against most birdlife, but presenting no obstacle to possums, judging by what they used to make of my ungathered nuts.
Wow.
Just got a news alert from CNN on my phone that claims Saudia Arabia are preparing a press release claiming that Jamal Khashoggi’s death was the result of an interrogation that went wrong.
That will be interesting.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1051922561846657025
So someone up for murder charges then…
Pretty sure they would claim diplomatic immunity on that one…
The hit squad arrived from Saudi – you cant be a diplomatic immunity when you arent accredited diplomats.
Embassys and consulates have lots of staff – only a few have diplomatic immunity.
Of course the presence of the bone doctor was totally incidental.
yep and letting the embassy staff have the day off, and the 15 member team sent in for 1 day… and their claims he left alive…
Yes, the autopsy specialist doctor and a bone saw both brought in for the ‘interrogation’. I presume the spin will be that they intended to give the victim, Khashoggi, full medical care after the interrogation………………
Its a full bullshit story- as they did a full denial that anything had even happened.
No ones going to believe that bullshit – except Trump
What will also happen is that this incident will also be used to beat up on Trump, as is happening now with his son-in-law’s relationship with the Saudi ruler, and upon Muslims, and upon whoever is out of favour at the moment.
Whereas I say a pox on all their houses. The same state-inspired killing is widespread throughout the world. It even reached New Zealand with the Rainbow Warrior sinking and killing, a crime sanctioned by the French state, who are supposed to be on ‘our’ side of the forces of liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
All must be condemned.
Consider the role of 007, that fictional character much admired in the West. A licensed and sanctioned killer on behalf of his state.
Can any one else see the disconnect between our outrage over the Saudi criminality here and our fictional heroes from Bond to the Game of Thrones?
+ 1 All must be condemned.
I play FPS games, that doesn’t mean I cheer for school spree killers or will become one myself.
We use fiction to get away from real life.
The reason this crime is getting the attention it does isn’t just the brutality, but also the sheer gall of it. A diplomatic base was almost openly used as a torture, execution, and dismemberment facility for the murder of a journalist. Even without the rumoured recording devices, the “oh he must have left by another entrance” is the alibi of someone who knows they’re untouchable.
And they’ll get away with it.
Rude awakening for a lot of people.
I can see a disconnect if Bond didn’t kill using torture. Game of Thrones is often OTT. Getting shot is very final, hopefully quick if one is going to die. Torture is not quick and there are lessons in the most effective ways apparently.
The two don’t compare. It would be good to have no killing at all, but that is not the human way. But there are grades of killing.
Always on the cards when violence is involved.
They need to make the video public to create outrage on what torture and assassinations are really like for their victims… and what the government leaders are agreeing too – when they ok them.
Saudi are not the only ones, the western government like to do it through middle men, and just kidnap themselves and then hand them over to third parties to torture and kill…
Time to draw a line, and say torture and assassinations not allowed under any circumstances, we already have the laws, time to enforce them, starting with Saudi.
An interrogation that went wrong! God save me from agencies and entities that come up with claims like that to cover their crimes. I hope our police and army don’t take it up as a possible line of explanation, and expiation, and actually never have the need to.
It follows the cunning and eviscerating description adopted by the USA of ‘extraordinary rendition’ (as opposed to ordinary rendition!). This was chosen as a term to apply to its treatment of terrorists to whom they wanted to apply the level of tortures down to that of unspeakable viciousness. I think the Gestapo and other less civilised countries have also resorted to such tortures.
(I call it eviscerating because it gets me in my guts).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition
But thinking about the term ‘rendition’; it is related to ‘render’ and rendering has a meaning relating to dead animals.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/rendering
rendering noun (OF DEAD ANIMALS)
…engineering the process of preparing or treating the bodies of dead animals in order to take out the fat and other substances that can be used in other products:
the rendering of beef products
a rendering plant
Playing with words by calling it ‘an interrogation that went wrong’ is the work of evil people, and pretending to be using vicious abuse of people for a righteous case as is used as an excuse, is despicable. And it seems that all Great Powers do this when looking at history, near or far, so what is truly great about the civilisation that flows from them?
Yep, that guy was probably luckier than most of the hundreds of thousands of renditions because they only had a limited time frame to torture him.
It’s abhorrent. We have international laws to stop it, and should never had allowed the practise to go on.
Now we have Obama with the most drone assassinations in presidency, Trump in charge of the Nukes, climate change already here but being ignored, and abhorrent individual assassinations from government leaders becoming the norm.
At least this one, captured the press for a microsecond before the spin starts and it disappears.
Well grey, it seems marginally better approach than our defence force tactic of deny, deny, attack the journalist, discredit the evidence then announce a secret enquiry of their own by their own.
Remarkably similar to the cops.
Politicians too come to think of it,.
Sorry what was marginally better than our fibbing, denials and cover-ups?
As Treetop has pointed out it can be soul-destroying to be questioned and harrassed and acccused; and cause a breakdown of ‘metal health’. But the harm is of a different sort to physical torture. But then there is psychological torture dealt at a high level leading to madness. That psycho style could be classified as what the Manus Island concentration camp detainees are suffering.
It is awful to be classifying cruelty into grades. I don’t know how we manage to compartmentalise the awful things we hear. It diminishes us yet we are surrounded by it. Soon we will be celebrating the end? of WW1 as if it ushered in a new dawn from the last ignoble event that happened to humans. But no.
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice that ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and their opponent, Germany.
I was referring to the Saudi’s belated acknowledgement of the death of Khashoggi and contrasting it to the current stance of our defence force.
Thanks – bit different though. The DF here have got caught up with that difficulty of not being able to identify clearly who the enemy are. What I am thinking of is, during the Vietnam war, there was a desire by the USA and allies for a death or injured count IIRR.
That resulted in the USA or allied forces attacking people who might possibly be connected to the enemy. As the enemy forced the locals to provide them with food and shelter then they were assisting the enemy and were considered as enemy sympathisers and so legitimate targets.
The violent torture as it seems it was, of this poor man is shocking – shooting the messenger, the questioning journalist, happens often at present. But these Saudis in Turkey seem to have taken this further as I said earlier, to Gestapo level or perhaps beyond.
I think in the case of our DF identified by Hager, a 10 year old boy was sho t IIRR. He was defending his home I think. People have talked about shooting a child, but no doubt one who could handle a gun quite capably. In the view of hostilities thinking, that made him a legitimate target.
The fact is that the western forces should not now be there at all. I would want to shoot invaders and there it seems to go on and on, and when is it going to end? It is a disaster every day and all this fighting has affected a huge number of countries and the disintegration of established societies and the refugee rush that has destabilised Europe. WTF do they think they are doing? Do they think at all?
Do they think at all?
The last thing the PTB want is a soldier that thinks.
As it turns out I am in Cambodia and have visited two horrific sites, prison S21, a former high school used by Pol Pot’s henchman Khang Khek (Comrade Duch) to torture and execute suspects. (Including Kiwi Kerry Hamill).
Also one of the killing fields just out of Phnom Penh.
Absolutely heart breaking the inhumanity displayed by one Khmer to another.
This is in contrast to the Vietnam Remnants Museum in Hong Chi Minh.
Probably the hardest few hours I have spent in a museum.
What America and their allies visited on Vietnam and Cambodia is despicable. Experimental chemical warfare, phosphorus bombs, B52s bombing civilian targets and the damage continues for generations.
Why, to protect capitalism and stop the ‘Commies’.
You are right, western troops should not be there now.
However the reason is the same, protect capitalism’s interests and stop the ‘Commies’
See ACC have a strict criteria on accepting a claim for PTSD from police officers.
There has to be a single incident which caused the PTSD. This is bullshit as an accumulation of incidents can end up being the cause.
A person either has the diagnosis of PTSD or they do not.
There needs to be a change in ACC practise on the matter of mental injury claims.
+100
The money-making ACC drive has become paramount, not that of serving the needs of people as when it was set up. Your points Treetop go right to the heart of the matter. And heart needs to be in there as well as financial prudence.!!
I am surprised that ACC sensitive claims do not ask a person with mental injury caused by sexual violation /rape, which incident of sexual violation/rape caused the PTSD.
My assessment in 2009 asked the question any other significant trauma?
When I raised what the NZ police have put me through, the response I got was that I had to prove this without having the resources to do so.
Naive psychiatrist thought he could just ring up the police and they would assist him. He did not ring up the police. I could not complete my claim and I am unable to complete my claim until there is a review of my police complaints.
I misread your initial post. You are talking about a ptsd claim caused by police?
I am very sorry you have been put through, and still undergoing, this unnecessary additional stress.
I work with people with ptsd – it is a very challenging state to be in. Kia kaha to you
A CIB interview in 1979 triggered fully blowen PTSD. The incident which caused me to be interviewed is complex.
The way a clever psychologist put it in 2004 was, had sexual offending not have occurred in my childhood the CIB interview would not have impacted as it did. I developed crippling anxiety, OCD and severe depression due to the CIB interview. I threatened to expose a cop in the media. In 2003 he told me why he went to his employer. He said “if you did it and I didn’the report it.”
This now ex cop after a 38 year career has had depression for 25 years.
His employer used him for political purposes.
You did not misread my post. I am genuinely interested in the causes of PTSD.
I will not comment further.
Fark! Farrar on Nine to Noon …… can someone find me an interpreter?
I can handle the Quk fuxizz (quick fixes) OK, it’s the spin and bullshit I’m finding a bit challenging. I can even handle the “yee ‘o’s” (you know).
@Chuck – can you assist with a translayshun goan forwid?
And thank God it’s Freeman rather than Ryan
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
Audio later….
All pretty boring, but I was impressed by Farrar referencing a made- for- tv drama as grist to his political analysis.
As if verisimilitude was not part of his vocabulary.
Oooh Rosemary – those big words, verisi….?
And TV is pretty well real isn’t it?
Sometimes it is so close to the truth that it has been banned. And that is a true story about a series at one time called Mogal that that had an episode about a group blowing up an oil depot. Then it happened in real life the week before it was to be screened. So it was too sensitive material to put on in public, like inciting or sensationalising it further.
That’s an example of how plastic our brains are, how protean and easily influenced – truth being stranger than fiction? Or vice versa. Which is which? What do we believe today folks, listen in to your breakfast jock to be told your line of thinking. It saves time and money. Clean your mind out of uncomfortable, painful or dirty thoughts here at your friendly brainwashing laundrette.
And Farrar continues with the telly theme…art imitating life imitating art….
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2018/10/like_a_bad_house_of_cards_episode.html#comments
Please! Someone put that guy in a pair of leather breaches and some suspender braces and prop him up on an alp.
He could rival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQhqikWnQCU and go on to lead the European far right
Auckland Council wages bill nearing $1 billion
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12142579
The overall sum doesn’t tell us much. Need to know more about the differences between high and low paid staff.
Half the rates seems to be going on wages, rather than services like libraries and rubbish collection that they are constantly trying to cut costs on, so that is a worry… also I suspect it is not going to increase those at the bottoms wages but more on those at the top at executive level and there is an open cheque book to consultants such as the 1 million dollar bill for Phil Goffs private report into the Stadium that nobody wants, that was so ‘secret’ that he had parts of it redacted from his own councillors. Transparency, what a joke!
Makes me think of Joni Mitchell (writer and singer) of The Big Yellow Taxi….
I always thought it was ‘The Pay Paradise’, which is satirical in itself. Perhaps the Council could monetise the wages bill and profit from it, assembling $1 billion of notes behind a bullet proof clear screen and charge the ratepayers ‘a dollar and a half just to see ’em’. It would be like a New World pyramid. And with cash getting used less it would remind people just what it looks like.
The sum only tells us about a cost, not what we buy with it. That’s what neoliberalism does, including one-eyed cheerleaders like the Taxdodgers Onion.
We do know what they are spending the rates on, America’s cup, ports of Auckland cruise ship. lawyers, developers, more lawyers to clean up all the messes when they screw up.
And 50% is just on Auckland Transport which in spite of their alarming amount of spin doctors nobody in Auckland is happy with their disgusting and poor service, but still more handouts given to them and new public taxes assigned to them, rather than independent investigations on how they are operating.
I hear the Ports of Auckland wages bills are on the rise. Maybe they need a lot more union representative there for a start with the amount of accidents they seem to have, but a better bet is more pork barreling at the top, more lawyers to steal the harbour and consultants for the polluting cruise ships and how to spin the pollution they bring to the residents.
All ships burn the same fuel, it cant be a port if they ban ships for using ‘bunker oil’
Cruise ships are worse and a discretionary activity, up to 1 million cars in some of their emission per day https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/pollution-cruise-ships-po-oceana-higher-piccadilly-circus-channel-4-dispatches-a7821911.html.
If people want to have fun and business profit off that fun, they don’t have to poison people and oceans around them for that fun and then make the people of Auckland pay to help them with extras for them while stealing our harbour off those who actually do pay for it and live here.
That tickled a vague memory about some countries wanting to limit sulphur pollution in their territorial waters, which would mean ships would use cleaner fuel near the coast and dirtier fuel out at sea. So I went looking for up to date info.
Seems there’s moves afoot to reduce the sulfur content globally in bunker oil.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-fuel-sulphur/new-rules-on-ship-emissions-herald-sea-change-for-oil-market-idUSKCN1II0PP
That may cause a bit of an upward blip in global warming, since sulphur particulates are somewhat reflective for incoming solar energy.
Pollution is pollution, and the so called Greener cruise ships are still major polluters.
While there has been much talk about the New Zealand government surplus, we seem to be deeper in debt as a country than ever before:
New Zealand currently owes NZ$126 billion
Interest Payments Per Year
NZ$5,935,331,759
Interest Payments Per Second
NZ$188
National Debt Per Citizen
NZ$26,737
Debt as % of GDP
43.43%
https://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/debtclock/newzealand
Unlikely to see the mainstream reference how the debt is essentially unpayable…interest payments increasing perpetually…better hope interest rates stay historically low and the debt rating holds up…
Time to call in Arthur Anderson…
I hear the shares in Enron are still good:)
Interest payments per second – NZ$188
The money advertisements often talk about something being affordable at less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day. How many cups@ $4 by NZs to just pay the interest per day?
People are getting poorer too including the middle classes, but the accountants say it’s all good, so whose to worry?
If they did an investigation, I’d say that people born in NZ will be the poorest of them all, we are having a wealth transfer which is hiding how much worse off, many people born in NZ are compared to 30 years ago.
Its hidden because people coming to NZ from around the world already have the money on them and can use it to increase their prospects, while those born here are saddled with low wages, high costs and have to fight it out with all the competition which is not a fair fight when people already have more money and less debt (aka no student loans) and more ability to leave NZ and work elsewhere while still maintaining a satellite existence here.
We already have people who can shell out $30k for a fake job – they don’ need to work or earn money from the outset.
It’s skewing everything from bad labour to poor wages to increasing the social costs, and encouraging scammers here, but the government does nothing to stop the problem. The opposite, taking resources away from it.
We have one of the lowest National debts of any country.
Countries use debt to make money.
The cost of servicing debt at $5billion is very little compared to the amount of economic activity it creates.
Focusing on National debt is like barking at cars and shows how little people who do lack economic’.
1. The amount of ‘economic activity’ that it produces is negative.
2. A country which can create its own currency never needs to borrow and thus should never be paying interest.
3. Private debt is actually the problem which is why, after the GFC, it was national printing of money that was used to bail out failed banks and rich people.
DTB countries who would rely on printed money would not be able to trade as they would be cut out of trade.
The big trading blocks can call the tune.
NZ is just a small back office who have to do as they are told.
Utopic ideas don’t work in the real world as the big boys get to call the shots.
We would be treated like Cuba.
By the way DTB the Social Credit Party has tanked and most of their 20 “odd” members have moved to NZ first.
I know many of them, they are anti green more than money printers, Fringe politicians socially awkward and naive.
Read political science 101 research on Fringe politics.
If you want to change people’s voting the further your ideas are from the Center the less support you get.
Don Brash ACT, libitarians, the Socialist Party, Social Credit all Fringe parties with miniscule support.
It’s better to get small change than trying to change the whole system.
Futile Utopism is a wasted vote and a waste of time.
Never voted for SC and their ideas on money aren’t the best.
What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
You do know that they got more than 20% of the vote at one point right? And that it was only the workings of FPP that kept them out of government?
The whole system needs to be changed and incrementalism isn’t working. In fact, IMO, it’s making things worse as it prevents the necessary changes going through.
So?
Not being able to trade isn’t a death sentence. It just means that such a country would have to actually develop it’s economy and society.
Only if the Rest of the World allows them to.
No, we’re actually an independent country.
Our present system is a utopic ideal and it’s not working.
That’s because most of the countries of the world are frightened of the USA and they’re not actually doing too bad. Think about that for a second – USA’s sanctions on Cuba only actually apply to the USA. It was never a global rule and yet most of the world ran with those sanctions anyway.
Jami-lee going full carnage in stand up.
I wanted to say sorry again for last week when I turned into Hosking
Thanks.
I’ve been the prick on this forum not you.
Not holding back is he? Looking forward to the police investigation.If there is one. Sounds like this has Paula’s grubby little handprints all over it.
Yep could scupper Paula’s high ambition as she goes down with The Bridge.
The Bridge of Si’s.
There isnt going to be a police investigation. Ross may be matey with the local police chief but that wont count for anything as Police National Office would keep it quiet.
Oooohhhh. Crystal ball! Are we going to have a fine day tomorrow? Eh DoE?
I must say, that after 9 years of being constantly under attack from this mob I am thoroughly enjoying today. Each new RNZ breaking news notification brings yet another grin 🙂
Just a break from the artificial side of what passes for life amongst humans,
All the lessons of history in four sentences:
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power.
The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.
The bee fertilizes the flower it robs.
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
Charles A. Beard Biography Author Profession: Historian Nationality: American Born: November 27, 1874 Died: September 1, 1948
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_a_beard_276638?src=t_bee
I should add that the flower and bee perform a co-ordinated dance, the flower has developed to encourage the bee’s visit – so it isn’t robbing, it’s a giving and taking – pollen offered in exchange for pollenisation and renewal of life.
In other news.
10. DAVID SEYMOUR to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What effect, if any, will Genesis Energy’s plans to import coal due to a shortage of gas have on carbon emissions?
12. JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Energy and Resources: Has she seen reports that the wholesale price of electricity reached a peak of $192/MWh on 6 October because of low hydro levels and the continued outage of the Pohokura gas field?
Wholesale prices >$300
https://www.electricityinfo.co.nz/
The amoral, shameless, win at all costs right.
https://twitter.com/DeeTenorio/status/1050018717818482689
Yep thanks Joe. Fighting for justice and equality everywhere.
Joe90 …
This is huge stakes .. ND is the seat of Dem Senator Heidi Heitkamp .. and it is widely believed that with her seat goes control of the Senate to either D or R.
According to Rachel Maddow on msnbc tonight US time, the tribes seem to have found a go round … providing new ID cards with addresses to everyone .. complex and difficult, and may even occur at the places of voting. But the chairman of the united tribes ( sorry don’t have name) said it will cause an uptick in voting as the anger rouses intention to vote ! (Under tribal treaty they can create streets and name them at will, which they are now being forced to do.)
The gross criminality of the repubs is that there is a system in place with the fire dept to get a 911 address in case of emergencies .. but the electoral office blocked that as a group application, insisting each person should apply as an individual, with 22 days to go.
NB .. This link is free access to live MSNBC. CNN, AlJazeera, BBC .. all of them ! Rachel Maddow is superlative in her analysis and perspicacity .. plays at 2 pm NZ and then later again in our evening time .. I think at 5pm nz, but not sure 🙂 )
http://www.livenewson.com/american/msnbc.html
A clear explanation of why the market is the enemy of democracy. In the first 15.00 minutes – after a very funny story to begin with. After that till the end a discussion on Wars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=965DwRyfcmo&ab_channel=TheJimmyDoreShow
Here is the next instalment of the Wentworth Races as they now head down the home straight for the last time.
Over the 24hrs, Labour is faded away and is a few lengths behind the leading pack in 3rd place with no hope at winning. While the leading pack are battling it out between the Sharma and Phelps with Phelps out by half a length in 1st. This horse race is slowly becoming a mud race as I predicted on Sunday as the Libs are now shit scared at losing are starting to throw mud, flour bombs, rotten food etc at Phelps at a hope of nobbling her before she crossers the line on Saturday.
As the Liberal Candidate is Jew and the seat of Wentworth is 12% Jewish. The Libs are trying to link the independent Kerryn Phelps as supporter of the BDS against the Jewish State as her Campaign manger and spokesman Darren Barnett is contracted for the AMU which is a pound supporter of the BDS of the Jewish State. Meanwhile, a hoax email has been distributed to university students purporting to say that Dr Phelps has pulled out of the race.
“Sorry for this late notice. Kerry’s Phelps no longer runs for Wentworth by- election in Sydney and can you please direct your vote to Dave Sharma instead? It is very urgent; please let your friends know too, as the voting card has been printed already, you will still see her name but she has already quit.”
The response from the Lib’s over this fake email has been very quiet 🤫. Funny that and I’m wondering if old Sharma has called on a few favs from the Jewish community 😉 😉 😉.
OMG. What next? Someone should be taking a doco of this, and then with a few name changes it can be a tv reality series in another year when everyone has forgotten what happened.
Yeah, you right there. Apparently the Libs are so shit sacred at losing just about every man and his dog from cabinet and from the Jewish wing of the Liberal Party have the hit streets of the Wentworth electorate, so much so as one cafe owner down on Rose Bay was saying “I’ve never been so busy atm and you would think their life depends on the outcome of this by- election”.
Also I forgot to add this as well ScoMo is looking at moving the Australian embassy in Israel atm similar to what old Trump. Mmmm starting wonder if the Libs own polling has got them losing the Wentworth by-election atm as this has come out of the blue?
If there’s something you enjoy, you can be certain that,
It’s illegal, it’s unhealthy (or immoral), or it makes you fat.
Now this:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018667012/live-streamers-warned-of-their-carbon-footprint
internet media
Live streamers warned of their carbon footprint
From Nine To Noon, 9:31 am today
A computing and communications academic warns that livestreaming music, films and information via the Internet is harming the environment.
A senior lecturer at Lancaster University, Dr Mike Hazas, said it was leading to increased carbon emissions, and therefore adding to challenges around climate change.
He said standard household appliances and lighting used about 15 per cent of domestic electricity demand – although air conditioning use was on the rise in some places.
But consumer electronics such as Smart televisions took up around 35 per cent of electricity demand.
Listen to Dr Mike Hazas speak to Lynn Freeman duration 10′ :46″
Kia ora Newshub The Salvation Army is my favorite charity and I do tau toko thee idea of low cost loans for the poor tangata to buy houses I say in the regions our government need to use all the tools it has to calm te Tsunami of homeless people.
I do not agree on the idea of other country’s paying for and building OUR assets we can afford to pay for this our selves and keep all the capital gains. In my view country’s build/buy
Is just another form of selling the futures silverware no intelligent KIWI does that.
I got a sore face over the Ross bridges affairs as we will carry on our path to a green energy carbon neutral future for our offspring with not chance of the money first national rising out of there ashes and stuffing it up Tova.
With the union striking phenomenon its history repeating its self same thing happened when Clark first won parliament enough said.
Dabo Australia it will be a place I would visit being pro natives and farmers.
That’s a mean drought our Aussie cousin’s are going through at the minute and the pollies want to burn more coal figure that one out.
Ka kite ano
Mark Sainsbury Eco agrees with you political donations should be banned or over a set amount we get a written statement of who made the donation and what laws they are pushing to change that’s democracy open and transparent if information is been hidden its not democracy as the democratic theory is everyone is include in the voting processes equally at the minute the wealthy have the biggest say .Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig
I totally support this view on the WORLD’S reality we have been lead conned to believe that working together is wrong why we have done this since the start of human kind to get ahead and survive the most successful creatures are ant’s they work collectivelyfor millions of years .
Governments are collectives it has to be set whats good for the many comes first and people having BILLIONS IN WEALTH IS NOT GOOD FOR THE MANY that only serves a very few.
Well It’s harder for the super wealthy to pull the wool over a collectives EYE’S .
Its harder to control a collectives lives and rip us off and lie about all the atrocities that they are serving the %099.99 of people we need to work collectively and vote out these IDIOTS that are human caused climate change deniers OUT of power .
They are putting the existence of OUR future children lives in GREAT danger all because of GREED for POWER and MONEY .
Lady’s natives minority all cultures we all need to join force’s and vote these fools out of POWER the Whole World over KIA KAHA ka kite and
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2017/jul/17/neoliberalism-has-conned-us-into-fighting-climate-change-as-individuals
This gives Eco Maori hope that my grandchildren will have a happy bright future .
With Bill Gates and Ban Ki moon pushing for the private sector to invest more in the Worlds green economy .
Eco hold no beef with all business people my beef is with the ones that are pushing carbon lie’s the ones that are causing humanitarian crises around the world I DON’T MIND people making money that’s the way of the World at the minute.
I could capitalize on my Influence I have figured out ways I could make money from this phenomenon but I chose to protect my Influence by not going down that road .
I would prefer to use Eco Maori’s influence to protect ALL OUR GRANDCHILDREN’S future and not just my small life style KIA KAHA ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/16/leaders-move-past-trump-to-protect-world-from-climate-change
A link for my post above
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Cdt5Kj90U
The reality is that the Saudis have found trumps weak spot his hip pocket keep that full and trump will let you do anything .
I seen it with the Mexico Canada trade agreement Mexico does not mind fulling trumps hip pocket and Trudeau refused to bribe trump that was quite clear for me to see.
What gives me a sore face is he has not stopped his political rallies he has keep them rolling out WHY because he knows his support has dropped drastically why else would one keep rallying . He is spending money interfering in the polls as they don’t line up with the Democrats they have received 3x the donations as the go oil party.
I see trump interfareing with the media all over the World suppressing the truth about climate change and now he is shit stiring with China .
trump is doing everything that will cause OUR WORLDS environment to BURN the fool .
Enough said I mite start swearing Ka kite ano P.S Amercian voters don’t let the bull —-in the media dishearten your efforts get out there and rally the voters and vote these fools out link is below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/16/khashoggi-saudi-arabia-bin-salman-trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ad4MH7fMLs
Kia ora Te Kaea Its good that more tracks have been closed to save Tane mahuta mokopunas .
Winston has a sore face over the national circus they tryed to low blow him x2 no effect.
Its good to see the young maori wahine taking a strong interest in politics and the issues of the local Maori community this is how we will make the systems better for all .
I say Ngati Porou & Ngapuhi have the worst bad stat’s of all IWI unemployment sickness etc Ka kite ano P.S my moko just went home that frees up my time
Kia ora Newshub I agree with Winston & Jones there has to be some control of the mud slinging .
Waitomo fuels has good fuel to thats the way when we were in Karori the fuel was high in wellington then the fuel company’s price gouging that’s what I don’t like is % 15 to 18 profits % 6 to 8 is ok.
That’s correct we do not want to have 2nd classes citizens just to suit Australian pollies EGO’s. They created the Nauru mess they can do thing correctly & humanly to clean it up .
There you go the New Zealand defence force was there helping the poor people on Indonesia town Palu ka pai were are the other world leading nations they need help.
Kate Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga move looks awesome I will take the wife to watch that one. Ka kite ano
Kia ora The Crowd Goes Wild James & Mulls it will be a good game of League this weekend the Tongan fans are proud of there team and will let everyone know .
All the best for the Silver ferns in there next game .
Our man in the NBA comp Star is shining bright ka pai .
Rugby is one off Aotearoa big export’s players coaches and many more
Its cool so long as the come home to retire .
Brad shields I hope he has a good run in Britain ka pai.
Ka kite ano P.S can I come to your shout Rick. lol I will be to busy with the whano cool competition the high ball catch $2500 for the winner and $2500 donated to youth sports Ana and Storm