Would be great if Fran O’Sullivan were as tough on the self-interested lackeys of virulent neo-liberalism as she is on Liam Messam. Of course she is not because by and large she is ‘with’ the former.
Messam articulates for people in the ‘lied-to’, dismissed as irrelevant, poor end of town. If The Gauche Greedy Man can have Crosby Textor (and the likes of Fran) the rest can have Messam and Weepu.
John Key has turned the All Blacks into political players so he/they will just have to suck it up when these newly minted players come up with comments they don’t like.
Ha fucking ha
edit: that is a terrible piece by O’Sullivan. All rant and polemic, no analysis or evidence in support. Crappola
Sadly it shows how ignorant Fran O’Sullivan is, as there is a clear connection between signing the TPP and further environmental degradation.
But she knew that, didn’t she?
So what does that make this article?
Words that come to mind.
spin
propaganda
misinformation
lap dog
With articles like this in the Herald, I think NZ was selected for the signing of the TPP as we have a compliant servile media.
Brewer – “……whiny little shit stirrer” – TC…..how perfect ! I could add ‘self important little punk-arse’. Reminds me of some plastic construct out of “The Thunderbirds”. Where the fuck is Lady Pamela ?
I was working at the china business summit here in Akld a few months ago.
Fran got up at the start when the PM was delayed and started dissing the labour parties proposed CGT for housing investors. I thought WTF, a lazy cheap put down at a supposed business summit.. (it’s all on record as the event was videoed)
I lost all respect for that woman right there and then.
(sorry, slightly OT)
Mind you, a few years earlier many got up and publicly stated they’d never do business with china because their lifes work had been stolen and manufactured by factories that quoted them for manufacturing said items. Many of the “fakes” had the samples’ serial number stamped on the product!
oops, too late to edit but..
To clarify the point she mentioned the Nats had been looking at doing it for a while and that labour were too slow on the uptake.
Isn’t he just? His own articles and the editorials he writes are incredibly patronising. The man is hardly one of life’s peers but he sure likes to lord it over us peasants.
If the Herald display their usual form they’ll with-hold the comments until his column falls off the first page and readers have moved on, he’s rarely well received by readers who heap (well deserved) scorn on him.
It’s notable he’s used the same bullet points as the TPP fan club who have been trolling this site. It’s obviously been well rehearsed.
Lizzie Marvelly: The only debate is what to do about child poverty
‘The idea that people living in poverty are somehow to blame for their fate is attractive if one wants to absolve oneself from any sense of responsibility, but it is a notion that I find deeply sad. When did we become so hardened and self-centred that we began to believe that those poorer than us deserve their suffering? When did we become so divorced from our own communities that we stopped caring about the families around us?
For those who are unperturbed by the idea of Kiwi kids going without, the financial impact of poverty is hard to ignore. Poverty is correlated with any number of negative social statistics and often a breeding ground for crime and sickness. With thousands of Kiwi kids growing up in deprivation, our health and justice systems are in for an expensive hit when they reach adulthood.
The wellbeing of our children should never be up for political debate. Nor should we feel disempowered.
There are so many things we could do to make the lives of Kiwi kids better: feeding kids in school, bringing back a means-tested child benefit like the one scrapped in the “mother of all budgets”, requiring a warrant of fitness for rental properties to prevent children growing up in cold, damp, leaky houses, and simply helping out in our neighbourhoods.
The first step, however, is for us to look out into our communities and really see other people, to realise that even in the most privileged areas, poverty is just five minutes down the road. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s real.’
The first step, however, is for us to look out into our communities and really see other people, to realise that even in the most privileged areas, poverty is just five minutes down the road. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s real.’
I guess you could say this kind of thing is a step in the right direction – using “innocent” children to pull the strings of hardened hearts etc. But it reminds of the TV ad about breast cancer which seemed to be mainly pitched at men. The “this could be your wife, lover, sister, mother…..” line, which seemed to assume that men wouldn’t support a breast cancer appeal unless it was personalised to something that might affect them. Because otherwise, why should men care about a disease that hurts and kills many women, but is rare in men? A join-the-dots, dumb-it-down, empathy lesson for the compassion-challenged, and a pretty offensive assumption.
If our communities have a serious problem with seeing others in our midst who are not just like us, as being fully human and worthy of human rights, care, and respect, I don’t think this kind of coddling is the right approach. It might raise some bucks in the short term, but it dog-whistles the very predjudices it is claiming to refute by appeasing rather than challenging.
The only debate is what to do about child poverty pfft. If only it were that simple, we wouldn’t have to radically change the way we live or think or behave, just make a few minor adjustments.
Telling true stories, providing information, refuting lies, these are all essential, but the framing is wrong to me.
I don’t know exactly, but a more honest, less manipulative framing.
The line between advertising and journalism is blurred.
Information needs to be clearly presented, not dumbed-down. People really don’t need to be spoon-fed and have their chins wiped. We can challenge without attacking, individually, the comfortable and complacent, or the just holding it together, keeping up appearances and anxious, amongst us, but also without going to the other extreme and appeasing them and their crumbling picture of the world.
Go Lizzie Marvelly. There is no one framing which will appeal to all, just saying. Communities have become siloed. If you live in a well-to-do area and your kids attend a decile 10 school, it is easy to believe that poverty is a myth.
Making compassion fashionable is valid if it raises awareness that doesn’t seem to be initiated in any other way. Women need to lead in this area and Lizzie is doing a great job imho.
Some people need to be manipulated- forced to confront the consequences of their mean spiritness.
Music can also provide a framing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojf18wT_Xtk
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understand
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away”
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it’s shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?
Songwriters: GILMOUR, MOORE
…it dog-whistles the very predjudices it is claiming to refute by appeasing rather than challenging.
just saying, I could not agree more! And it applies to a raft of issues. A month or so ago, a Hikoi for Housing in Auckland attracted about 400 marchers. On the following weekend a march against climate change attracted 15,000. Yes, in the big picture climate change is more important, but so long as the fundamental power imbalance goes unchallenged, our protests only end up giving them material for furthering their own agendas; e.g. “If you care about climate change you will accept the doubling of electricity prices,” or similar. The same with child poverty – Paula Rebstock is already making noises that suggest increased fostering as the answer, and I made a comment about this a couple of weeks ago.
“The only debate is what to do about child poverty pfft.”
The other problem I have with this is that it allows the deserving poor memes to continue which in turn allows the neoliberalis to keep treating so many people like shit. Whenever I hear the child poverty line now I think of two things. One is what happens to those children when they turn 18? Because as far as I can tell, the ones who’ve had poverty allievement targeting are just going to get thrown back on the scrapheap once they become adults if they’re not lucky enough to have a job or good physical and mental health etc.
The other is the people who have no families, particularly single people with mental health problems. Their mental health is instrinsically tied to poverty (i.e. mental health improves alongside improvement in general wellbeing), and once they become unable to work they are essentially stuck in a poverty/mental illness cycle unless they have family to support them. People in that situation, in the context of ‘the only debate is child poverty’, are the undeserving poor. Which is extremely fucked.
I get why child poverty is focussed on. For socially intelligent people, if you address child poverty you are in fact addressing family poverty (not so much for the neoliberals and socially inept), and that in turn creates more healthy societies.
It’s also been a pragmatic approach politically in a climate where people are afraid to be seen too much on the side of the welfare bludgers. But that last one is starting to look like a trap, and I can easily imagine a Labour-led government still not standing up for some of the most vulernable people in society because it’s taken part in the deserving poor meme too much. Little seems to belief that all people deserve wellbeing and only time will tell if he puts his money where his mouth is.
This is something I have been thinking about for some time. The emphasis on children is to try and soften hearts of those who basically don’t give a shit about rising inequality. It may occasionally get some rich people to donate to a food in schools programme but they will still vote National or Act.
It is actually very easy for wealthy people to ignore poverty now because they no longer have to have any dealings with poor people. They live such blinkered lives, only interacting with other wealthy people, who share their belief that they deserve to be in the positions they are. Justifying wealth in the face of poverty can only be done if you either deny poverty exists or you blame those in poverty for the situation they are in. Focusing on children is an attempt to thwart the latter of these but all that happens is the parents are blamed instead.
I don’t know what the answer is but somehow the idea of the deserving wealthy has to be exposed for the lie that it is. Instead of appealing to hearts perhaps engendering guilt may help.
What does help is when their punk kids end up in court and then end up in Serco and get seriously smashed over. Then they’re full of concern. Oh yes…..turning to me, ‘uncle’, to ‘fix it’. As I’ve experienced in my own John Key loving family.
Nah, it’s not enough …….unfortunately it’s never gonna change until people lose their fascination with some surly, entitled punk lying on a beach in Hawaii playing with some gargoyle bimbo’s hair. LFLS.
I have to admit to also being uncomfortable with the use of ‘child poverty’. I’ve tried to accept it, thinking I’d get used to it over time, but I still get the same intuitive negative reaction as when I first heard it the term. It just clashes, there’s something not right about it.
I think I dislike it largely because it, perhaps unintentionally, dismisses adult poverty & hardship. Children certainly are more vulnerable and need better protection but that doesn’t mean adults should be ignored.
Many of the children in poverty today will be adults in poverty tomorrow and if we keep focussing on children yesterdays children will constantly be forgotten.
It is you who’s got it wrong DH. Do not say “child poverty” because that suggests blindness about poverty in the round ??? Stop it ! The bastards who couldn’t give a fuck about poverty, wherever it is, just love this pettifogging.
I’ve always taken it as read that the adult parents of poverty kids are themselves in poverty. That’s how come their kids are in poverty. Fair ?
Sure, you disagree with the effectiveness and/or direction of the political strategy, but that doesn’t negate the thinking behind it or why poverty groups frame it this way.
And I disagree that it’s a zero sum game; that those who highlight child poverty are not unaware or don’t care about adult poverty.
I think you’ve read too much into it. I don’t want or expect ‘framing’, that’s inherently dishonest and insulting. It’s about poverty so why not just call it that?
People connect to stories, we learn through stories, we share values through stories, we relate to others through stories.
By focussing on child poverty we do not have to navigate how the child became poor; were they a lazy drug addict? or injured and can no longer work? or were there simply not enough well paying jobs? or jobs at all?
Everyone can relate to a child.
A child is not worthy or unworthy, they are an innocent. They have not yet had time to become worthy or unworthy.
We can imagine ourselves as that child.
Looking at child poverty first gives people a relatable “in” to the issue.
From there we can look at the symptoms of poverty as well as the causes. This is where we encounter the worthy/unworthy or poverty as a moral failing type arguments.
The difference being that we have already established that poverty is not a choice – because children do not have the same level of autonomy and agency that adults possess.
We can easily see how a child growing up in poverty will be denied opportunities to flourish.
One might then ask the question; those adults in poverty, aren’t they just kids that have grown up?
framing it as child poverty reinforces the worthy poor meme, because it means we can talk about the poor children instead of their shitty parents and the bludgers. Who are still being pilloried btw.
Herald then closes – “It’s academic whether research funded for a worthy social cause or public health campaign is comparable to a commercial conflict of interest.” Academic ? Like meaningless ? Really ?
Do focus dear Gran’ editorial writer. Or at least be honest. If you’re saying it’s churlish to question the dynamic of ‘report bought and paid for by corporate’ then out with it dear Gran’.
That’s just how this shit works. It works the same in publicly-funded research as it does in privately-funded research. There’s no way any public-sector health organisations are going to fund someone like Fox, who doesn’t buy the official dogma that alcohol “causes” violence. Likewise, the reason we’ve had counter-productive nutrition advice for the last 40 years is that, once the official US bodies settled on a dogma, anyone who didn’t accept it didn’t get their research funded by those bodies. This is an excellent reason for not allowing academics to argue from authority and refusing to accept their pronouncements at face value – don’t believe any of this “studies show” bullshit unless you’ve read the studies and the findings are convincing.
In Fox’s case, her argument is compelling on a logical basis alone. If Kypri et al have an equally compelling counter-argument, they should front with it – you could claim they have, in that they’re publishing a rebuttal in Addiction, but if they’re going to trash-talk Fox to the media, they need to also get their compelling counter-argument in the media or on the open web, otherwise they just look like bad losers.
There’s no such thing in science as “official dogma”.
Dr Fox is based in the UK, not in the US.
This is an excellent reason for not allowing academics to argue from authority and refusing to accept their pronouncements at face value – don’t believe any of this “studies show” bullshit unless you’ve read the studies and the findings are convincing.
I am curious to know whether you have read the 99-page report by Fox?
”In Fox’s case, her argument is compelling on a logical basis alone.”
Which “argument” might that be? Do you mean that Fox stated a “hypothesis”? Do you mean that it appealed (!) to your (!) common sense? In any case, a compelling argument can still be wrong.
Kypri et al did not ”trash-talk Fox to the media”; some of their critique was highlighted in another recent NZH article.
I am also curious to know whether you have read the article by Kypri et al in Addiction?
There’s no such thing in science as “official dogma”.
Maybe not, but there sure as hell is in the social sciences, which is what the field of public health falls under.
Which “argument” might that be?
The argument for rejecting the claim that alcohol “causes” violence. The strongest elements of that argument are:
1. If alcohol caused drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see levels of violence match amount of alcohol consumed when we look at different cultures. We don’t see that – level of drinking and level of drunken violence vary wildly across cultures.
2. If alcohol causes drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see all or most drunk individuals committing acts of violence or agression. We don’t see that – most people don’t commit drunken violence, and the people who do commit drunken violence don’t do it every time they drink.
In any case, a compelling argument can still be wrong.
Sure. And maybe Kypri et al have something that totally refutes Fox’s argument But if they did, I expect they would have mentioned it to the Herald.
I am curious to know whether you have read the 99-page report by Fox?
Nope, just the summary. I was more interested in her argument that alcohol doesn’t cause violence than in what her recommendations might be.
I haven’t read the report PM but if your point number two is correct then Fox fails on this count straight away.
“If alcohol causes drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see all or most drunk individuals committing acts of violence or aggression. We don’t see that – most people don’t commit drunken violence, and the people who do commit drunken violence don’t do it every time they drink.”
Most people know that when people become intoxicated their personalities undergo a change from when they were sober. They also appear to lose inhibitions which would constrain their behaviour if they were sober.
This exhibits in various ways:
Harmless:
Happy Drunk. Someone who is the life of the party jumping around, joking, having a great old time.
Sleepy Drunk. They drink their box of alcohol and then fall asleep snoring cradling their bottle like a baby.
Not so Harmless:
Jealous Drunk. Drinks as their ex is seeing someone else. Jealousy rears up and Jealous Drunk decides to go sort them out – usually ends in blood and tears.
Angry Drunk. Once intoxicated decided the world is against them and decides to fight anyone and everyone and to smash stuff up.
Driving Drunk. Most people know that driving and intoxication don’t go together.
Vulnerable Drunk. Intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness. Vulnerable to being exploited/assaulted by others. (Females are especially vulnerable)
Thefts of money etc. Also includes those who can’t walk properly and end up injuring themselves.
Sexual Drunks. When intoxicated they decide they need to get it off with anyone or everyone – tends to lead to sexual assault complaints.
Cody Drunks. The special mix of alcohol and caffeine tends to cause Cody drunks to end up in trouble with the Police.
See Dr Fox. I could have made a lot more compelling arguments than your nonsense. All for free as well.
You could make some compelling arguments? Feel free to do so. However, be aware that the content of your comment above offers no evidence to refute Fox’s claim that alcohol doesn’t cause violence. All your different categories of drunks suggest that culture and personality are the determining factors for the category, not alcohol.
The Spirit Level (ie: its supporting research) has it that alcohol and drug abuse, being mental health issues, are proportional to inequality. So is violence.
That said “drunken violence” is certainly a thing where culture permits it.
If you want an example of the ‘paid’ report Psycho Milt, have a look at the rubbish (at God knows what cost maybe $3 hundy plus to the dame) ‘report’, completed by ‘Dame’ Margaret Bazley into legal aid.
No one, judges down, imagines that her report was other than a piece of paid for crappola.
The “respected now retired senior civil servant” and her ‘report’ (which she acknowledged was but anecdotally based) paved the way for this –
There’s your ‘paid for’ shit Psycho. Up a notch……Dame Rebstock……Oh God……seven, eight hundy ? A mill’ ? Forty hours a week for two and a half months. Bang ! A mill’.
I enjoy your semi-religious choice of words: “dogma” and “sure as hell”. You sound very assured and an expert on Social Sciences and Public Health; please don’t tell acrophobic 😉
Alcohol causes violence, just like smoking causes cancer, but it is not the only contributing factor nor is it a black & white situation in that it causes violence in each and every case or individual.
As you will hopefully appreciate, the human brain is quite possibly the most complex structure in the (known) Universe. To liken the effects of alcohol on the human brain and thus human behaviour to a simple on-off mechanism for causing violence is overly simplistic. In other words, just because alcohol does not invariably cause violence it does not mean that it does not cause violence at all!
I’d also like to emphasise that Kypri et al do not exclude other individual and contextual factors but point out that Fox is wrong to categorically ‘argue’ that alcohol does not cause violence.
I am also curious to know whether you have read the article by Kypri et al in Addiction?
Looks like it hasn’t been published yet. It’s not in either of the issues published so far this year, and a search for Kypri and Fox turned up nothing.
I thought you were a university librarian!? Anyway, a simple Google search gave it as 2nd hit, after the article in the NZH that I linked to in my previous comment:
The full article is behind a pay-wall but I assume you will have access, won’t you?
I think you ought to read it to form a more balanced opinion on this topic. In any case, the NZH is not the place where the scientific debate should take place.
I’ve had a look at it. Their counter-argument that alcohol does cause violence is that epidemiological studies have shown it does. Thing is, epidemiological studies are an excellent tool for finding the cause of infectious diseases, but for anything beyond that they’re useless. 70 years ago it was reasonable for social scientists to imagine that epidemiology might be applicable to things other than infectious diseases, but the resulting decades of “research” consisting of correlation = causation errors backed up by confirmation bias has done more to reduce the sum total of human knowledge than increase it. Epidemiological studies certainly have found that alcohol is associated with violence, and if I wanted I could do a study that found breast cancer is associated with wearing skirts – in short, epidemiology is worthless for establishing causation in this and most other cases.
Their “evidence-based” policy is similarly worthless. The evidence is that reducing the night-time availability of alcohol reduces the number of instances of violence. Well, duh. No shit, Sherlock? By the same token, imposing a night-time curfew on private motor vehicles would reduce the instances of reckless/dangerous driving causing injury/death, but that is not evidence that private motor vehicles cause crashes, nor is it evidence that a night-time curfew on private motor vehicles would be good public policy. Instead, we pay attention to the obvious fact that some people do aggressive and dangerous things in cars and we concentrate on dealing with those people. Fox’s findings support the same approach with drunken violence, and we’d be better off making policy on that basis.
The counter-arguments by Kypri et al are indeed based on but not limited to population studies.
You’re also partly correct that epidemiological methods have limitations, as do all methods, and that they do not establish causation per se. However, to state that ”epidemiological studies are an excellent tool for finding the cause of infectious diseases, but for anything beyond that they’re useless” is frankly absurd.
Your analogies are flawed as none come even close to the intake (consumption) of a powerful drug (alcohol) and its complex effects on the human brain.
You discard all (!) the evidence (and more) provided by Kypri et al as “useless” and “worthless” and judge the 7-week field study by Dr Fox, which included 10 focus groups (approximately 100 participants) convened by market research companies (!), as a sound basis for policy making!? Despite the many methodological shortcomings of her study!?
Subtle approaches will usually not work on those who have thick skins and little compassion.
A faux “dogwhistle” might initially hook their attention, that may not otherwise have been gained. The key is to then provide information that gradually arouses the empathy and sense of unfairness of child poverty.
To anyone with a well developed sense of fairness, this approach will seem wrong, but there are many people who have little or no ability to imagine what it would be like to be in any different situation other than their own. These people need dots.
My point is we need a variety of approaches to cover a wide spectrum of people.
What technique would work best on Paula Rebstock, for example?
What would the cyclists really like? Cycling advocate Patrick Morgan spells it out
“The “gold standard” for a kerbside cycleway was to have no off-street parking at all, so cyclists and motorists had no limits on their visibility, he said.”
And what does councillor Andy Foster, responsible for this shambles say?
“the council would perform a safety audit once the cycleway was finished, and would “tweak” the design to alleviate safety issues.
That could involve removing car parks to improve visibility and painting yellow lines to stop people from parking over driveways, he said.”
I expect that after a string of accidents on The Parade the councillor’s will decide to remove all parking in the area and claim that how could they possibly have known that it would have been a flop.
Foster was also responsible for the farce of the $11 million redevelopment of Victoria Street of which the DomPost said
“One of its most recent cycling projects – in Victoria St – was poorly designed, with one stretch regularly crossed by turning traffic, and another traffic lane that ran directly into car parks.”
This, I understand, also leads the cyclists into pedestrians waiting to cross the road.
Meanwhile the Council does nothing about building an emergency reservoir that would supply water to the main hospital after an earthquake. Not sexy enough for us seems to be their view.
My God, Paul you must think I have amazing powers. Sometimes your imagination runs away with you.
I can, of course, jump tall buildings in a single bound.
I can run faster than a speeding locomotive.
However I don’t have your powers.
Please enlighten us. What did you do about some of these things yesterday that solved these problems?
What did you do about the Oil Crash? Vowing that your next car will be a V8 doesn’t count.
About inequality? Leaving a tip with the waitress when you had a latte in Ponsonby doesn’t really count.
Syria, Iraq? Offering incantations to your voodoo gods to make Barack Obama’s hair fall out doesn’t really help.
So what specifically did you do to help resolve these problems?
I prefer to concentrate on things I can actually do something to improve.
But but , what about the national cycleway of national importance as advocated and paid for with tax payers money by the National led Government? I think there was even a picutre of the leader of the National Party opening the national cycleway of national importance as a major achievement of the National led Government?
Would you consider this too a huge waste of citizens money, or are you only upset cause it is your rates that are spend by someone who is not playing in your National Party Team?
as for cycling being unsafe in NZ, it is not the cycleway that is unsafe….it is a way to cycle on, so fairly stationary, what is unsafe is that the a. people in cars do generally give not a shit about anyone else in traffic, b. people in nz are generally crappy drivers, and absent of compulsory driving lessons these crappy drivers will teach their kids to become crappy drivers, c. give way and indicate are things of courtesy only and courtesy on NZ roads is over rated, and last but least anyone of these lycra clad sportsbike/race bike travelling fullahs and fullettes generally ride their bikes like they drive their cars.
The cycleway is fine Alwyn, its the people that are the problem.
What a lot of assumptions you make Sabine.
“the national cycleway of national importance”.
I haven’t heard of anything quite like that. If you mean things like the cycleways in the Napier/Hastings area I think they are an excellent idea. If you mean the cycle trail in Central Otago I think it is fine.
If you mean the insane Island Bay exercise on The Parade I think it is stupid.
“your National Party Team”
I’m not connected in any way to the National Party. Your imagination is running riot. I have commented before that over the last 30 years or so I have voted almost equally National and Labour. At the moment of course the Labour Party are in such a mess they are unworthy of anyone’s vote.
“it is not the cycleway that is unsafe”. I suppose that is like the argument about gun control. You know “It’s not guns that kill people. It’s people who kill people” Therefore I, who is a good person, should be allowed to own an AK47.
Do you live in Wellington? Have you seen the appalling mess that is being created with their cycleway activities?
I agree about the standard of driving in New Zealand, and that the cyclists are at least as mad. Most Wellington roads though are very narrow and are overloaded. Making them even narrower by chopping out a couple of metres on each side for a cycle lane and expecting the traffic to keep operating safely is mad.
I, as a pedestrian, have never been hit by a car. I have twice been knocked down by a cyclist. In both cases it was in Oriental Bay where cycles are allowed on the footpath. They travel at high speed. They catch up and pass people, who don’t hear them coming, with no warning at all. No self respecting cyclist, indulging their fantasies of being in the Tour de France peleton, would ever fit, or use, a bell.
On one of those occasions I was walking, rather unsteadily, on crutches. The cyclist who hit me swore at me for not keeping on a straight path. Is it any wonder I think that they are imbeciles? In most parts of Wellington cycling is dangerous. tick to the cycle trails along the Hutt River for your exercise. They are proper cycleways and are admirable creations.
I love how you pop in with your date scone recipe just when things are heating up on a thread Trollwyn……when your cuzzies are shown to be no less than Key-slurping trollsters lost for words.
I suppose you know what you are talking about.
God knows it doesn’t make much sense to normal minds.
I think you need to have your prescription reviewed.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it was pulling the plug on its smallest store format and closing 269 stores globally, including 154 in the United States, in a restructuring that will affect 16,000 workers.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer by sales, said the move would reduce diluted earnings per share by 20 cents to 22 cents, with nearly all of that to be booked in the fourth quarter ending this month.
Poor people being to poor to shop at the buisness that helped make many of the poor.
The Walmart model has come full circle. Warehouse to follow soon?
A petition against New Zealand signing the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has gathered over 11,000 signatures in just two days.
The Government is denying a date has been set for the signing of the deal despite an official statement by Chile saying it will be done in New Zealand on 4 February.
Barry Coates from the ‘It’s Our Future Coalition’ set up the petition and said he expected more people to sign it.
“If we continue at that rate we’ll be in the hundreds of thousands of signatures. This petition particularly says to the Government ‘don’t sign the TPPA’. It’s a crucial point when our government signs it and we don’t think that they have a mandate to sign the agreement and this petition gives people a chance to say no.”
Barry Coates said the deal was designed to serve the interests of large corporations rather than those of people or the planet.
Because it’s the MSM, they don’t link to the petition. Anyone know where it is? Is it this ActionStation one?
Sign the petition if you want. Does that make you feel good. Excellent. Really go for signatures and get 400,000 names (and email adresses to exploit) I trump you with 4,000,000 people. That’s correct Four Million who will not sign such a petition. How can the government not have a mandate to sign it? They have a mandate to work for New Zealand. Our negotiaters worked long and hard to get a deal that gains us access to 40% of the world’s GDP. Get involved in our exporting companies. Put your efforts there. The possibilities of growth are tremendous but only if we buckle down and work hard. I believe we can. The Left know the price of everything but ignore the value. The public understand that our negotiaters have been tough and given us the best deal possible at this time. We are better in than out in the cold.
In other words, the person with the biggest stick wins. Problem is, that strategy brings us AGW, poverty and war. Which I’m sure you don’t mind, but many of us do.
“That’s correct Four Million who will not sign such a petition.”
Hyperbole much? You really don’t understand what a mandate is. It’s not making up shit about what other people want on the basis of them not doing something. But I can’t understand you might think it is given that the govt you voted for behaves like this all the time. They don’t have a mandate to do what they want no matter how you want to spin it.
Can you provide a link to that ridiculous claim? Do you seriously not understand the problems our exporters have due to trade restrictions from these 11 countries?
They have no mandate because most people don’t want it fisi.
That’s called democracy – and a government who are not traitors respects it.
But the Key kleptocracy is only there for what they can steal and thus the wants and needs of kiwis mean nothing to them.
What a shameful group of parasites you have chosen to befriend fisi – thieves and scoundrels with nothing to offer but lies. I guess there’s a reason you fit right in.
Yeah I had some trouble finding that petition too, it’s not on the “It’s Our Future” facebook page either…
So, I’m not sure how it’s getting so many signatures when it’s not being advertised. Maybe people are just finding it through the front page of http://www.actionstation.org.nz
In our view, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan for comprehensive financial reform is critical for avoiding another “too-big-to-fail” financial crisis. The Senator is correct that the biggest banks must be broken up and that a new 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, separating investment from commercial banking, must be enacted. Wall Street’s largest banks are now far bigger than they were before the crisis, and they still have every incentive to take excessive risks.
No major Wall Street executive has been indicted for the fraudulent behavior that led up to the 2008 crash, and fines imposed on the banks have been only a fraction of the banks’ potential gains. In addition, the banks and their lobbyists have succeeded in watering down the Dodd-Frank reform legislation, and the financial institutions that pose the greatest risk to our economy have still not devised sufficient “living wills” for winding down their operations in the event of another crisis.
Secretary Hillary Clinton’s more modest proposals do not go far enough. They call for a bit more oversight and a few new charges on shadow banking activity, but they leave intact the titanic financial conglomerates that practice most shadow banking. As a result, her plan does not adequately reduce the serious risks our financial system poses to the American economy and to individual Americans. Given the size and political power of Wall Street, her proposals would only invite more dilution and finagle.
The only way to contain Wall Street’s excesses is with reforms sufficiently bold and public they can’t be watered down. That’s why we support Senator Sanders’s plans for busting up the biggest banks and resurrecting a modernized version of Glass-Steagall.
There was a furore over a whistleblower on the USA Federal watchdog program for reporting on banks and controlling their excessive enthusiasm! She said that this watchdog had been munted. The banks had captured it and when anyone in the group tried to perform their legal function they got shafted.
The financial institutions are too big, with big pockets. If a frontal attack is not mounted, perhaps with some side fireworks to deflect some of the aggressive defensive moves, the opportunity may be lost. There may be a tipping point, there may have been one, there may be a window of opportunity now. Let’s push this economist alternative and try to do better than Sisyphus. (Look him up on Wikipedia.)
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 ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
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 ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
Would be great if Fran O’Sullivan were as tough on the self-interested lackeys of virulent neo-liberalism as she is on Liam Messam. Of course she is not because by and large she is ‘with’ the former.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11574627
Messam articulates for people in the ‘lied-to’, dismissed as irrelevant, poor end of town. If The Gauche Greedy Man can have Crosby Textor (and the likes of Fran) the rest can have Messam and Weepu.
In Fran O’Sullivan’s view, people like Messam aren’t allowed a view.
She believes in plutocracy, not democracy.
John Key has turned the All Blacks into political players so he/they will just have to suck it up when these newly minted players come up with comments they don’t like.
Ha fucking ha
edit: that is a terrible piece by O’Sullivan. All rant and polemic, no analysis or evidence in support. Crappola
Sadly it shows how ignorant Fran O’Sullivan is, as there is a clear connection between signing the TPP and further environmental degradation.
But she knew that, didn’t she?
So what does that make this article?
Words that come to mind.
spin
propaganda
misinformation
lap dog
With articles like this in the Herald, I think NZ was selected for the signing of the TPP as we have a compliant servile media.
O’shillivan writes on behalf of the national party as do pretty much all the remaining herald regulars. A fairly ordinary business commentator also.
Brewer gets in a pathetic piece about NIMBY development in his precious orakei ward also today the whiny little shit stirrer.
Brewer – “……whiny little shit stirrer” – TC…..how perfect ! I could add ‘self important little punk-arse’. Reminds me of some plastic construct out of “The Thunderbirds”. Where the fuck is Lady Pamela ?
I was working at the china business summit here in Akld a few months ago.
Fran got up at the start when the PM was delayed and started dissing the labour parties proposed CGT for housing investors. I thought WTF, a lazy cheap put down at a supposed business summit.. (it’s all on record as the event was videoed)
I lost all respect for that woman right there and then.
(sorry, slightly OT)
Mind you, a few years earlier many got up and publicly stated they’d never do business with china because their lifes work had been stolen and manufactured by factories that quoted them for manufacturing said items. Many of the “fakes” had the samples’ serial number stamped on the product!
oops, too late to edit but..
To clarify the point she mentioned the Nats had been looking at doing it for a while and that labour were too slow on the uptake.
Labour were too slow on the uptake, and its become clear now that Labour were never seriously committed to the policy because they have dropped it.
John Roughan pimps for the TPP.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11574580
He has form after his hagiography of Key.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonfiction/biography/politics/auction-1007331709.htm
And was it him that wrote this servile editorial the other day?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11573339
Adjectives that come to mind.
Shameful, treasonous, compliant, cheerleading
Emmerson
‘The Ministry of Sound.
Trust us we know what we’re doing’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11574577
That editorial could only have been written by Roughan.
I thought that straight away. Pompous little prat!!
“Pompous little prat!!”
Isn’t he just? His own articles and the editorials he writes are incredibly patronising. The man is hardly one of life’s peers but he sure likes to lord it over us peasants.
If the Herald display their usual form they’ll with-hold the comments until his column falls off the first page and readers have moved on, he’s rarely well received by readers who heap (well deserved) scorn on him.
It’s notable he’s used the same bullet points as the TPP fan club who have been trolling this site. It’s obviously been well rehearsed.
Lizzie Marvelly: The only debate is what to do about child poverty
‘The idea that people living in poverty are somehow to blame for their fate is attractive if one wants to absolve oneself from any sense of responsibility, but it is a notion that I find deeply sad. When did we become so hardened and self-centred that we began to believe that those poorer than us deserve their suffering? When did we become so divorced from our own communities that we stopped caring about the families around us?
For those who are unperturbed by the idea of Kiwi kids going without, the financial impact of poverty is hard to ignore. Poverty is correlated with any number of negative social statistics and often a breeding ground for crime and sickness. With thousands of Kiwi kids growing up in deprivation, our health and justice systems are in for an expensive hit when they reach adulthood.
The wellbeing of our children should never be up for political debate. Nor should we feel disempowered.
There are so many things we could do to make the lives of Kiwi kids better: feeding kids in school, bringing back a means-tested child benefit like the one scrapped in the “mother of all budgets”, requiring a warrant of fitness for rental properties to prevent children growing up in cold, damp, leaky houses, and simply helping out in our neighbourhoods.
The first step, however, is for us to look out into our communities and really see other people, to realise that even in the most privileged areas, poverty is just five minutes down the road. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s real.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11574600
The first step, however, is for us to look out into our communities and really see other people, to realise that even in the most privileged areas, poverty is just five minutes down the road. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s real.’
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-holes
I guess you could say this kind of thing is a step in the right direction – using “innocent” children to pull the strings of hardened hearts etc. But it reminds of the TV ad about breast cancer which seemed to be mainly pitched at men. The “this could be your wife, lover, sister, mother…..” line, which seemed to assume that men wouldn’t support a breast cancer appeal unless it was personalised to something that might affect them. Because otherwise, why should men care about a disease that hurts and kills many women, but is rare in men? A join-the-dots, dumb-it-down, empathy lesson for the compassion-challenged, and a pretty offensive assumption.
If our communities have a serious problem with seeing others in our midst who are not just like us, as being fully human and worthy of human rights, care, and respect, I don’t think this kind of coddling is the right approach. It might raise some bucks in the short term, but it dog-whistles the very predjudices it is claiming to refute by appeasing rather than challenging.
The only debate is what to do about child poverty pfft. If only it were that simple, we wouldn’t have to radically change the way we live or think or behave, just make a few minor adjustments.
Telling true stories, providing information, refuting lies, these are all essential, but the framing is wrong to me.
So what is the ‘right’ framing Just Saying ?
I don’t know exactly, but a more honest, less manipulative framing.
The line between advertising and journalism is blurred.
Information needs to be clearly presented, not dumbed-down. People really don’t need to be spoon-fed and have their chins wiped. We can challenge without attacking, individually, the comfortable and complacent, or the just holding it together, keeping up appearances and anxious, amongst us, but also without going to the other extreme and appeasing them and their crumbling picture of the world.
Go Lizzie Marvelly. There is no one framing which will appeal to all, just saying. Communities have become siloed. If you live in a well-to-do area and your kids attend a decile 10 school, it is easy to believe that poverty is a myth.
Making compassion fashionable is valid if it raises awareness that doesn’t seem to be initiated in any other way. Women need to lead in this area and Lizzie is doing a great job imho.
Some people need to be manipulated- forced to confront the consequences of their mean spiritness.
Music can also provide a framing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojf18wT_Xtk
Yeah, but the song you linked to is a good example of appealing to people’s hearts and challenging their thinking without pandering or appeasing.
Different framing altogether:
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understand
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away”
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it’s shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?
Songwriters: GILMOUR, MOORE
…it dog-whistles the very predjudices it is claiming to refute by appeasing rather than challenging.
just saying, I could not agree more! And it applies to a raft of issues. A month or so ago, a Hikoi for Housing in Auckland attracted about 400 marchers. On the following weekend a march against climate change attracted 15,000. Yes, in the big picture climate change is more important, but so long as the fundamental power imbalance goes unchallenged, our protests only end up giving them material for furthering their own agendas; e.g. “If you care about climate change you will accept the doubling of electricity prices,” or similar. The same with child poverty – Paula Rebstock is already making noises that suggest increased fostering as the answer, and I made a comment about this a couple of weeks ago.
http://thestandard.org.nz/sir-lynton-crosby-and-dame-paula-restock/#comment-1113555
“The only debate is what to do about child poverty pfft.”
The other problem I have with this is that it allows the deserving poor memes to continue which in turn allows the neoliberalis to keep treating so many people like shit. Whenever I hear the child poverty line now I think of two things. One is what happens to those children when they turn 18? Because as far as I can tell, the ones who’ve had poverty allievement targeting are just going to get thrown back on the scrapheap once they become adults if they’re not lucky enough to have a job or good physical and mental health etc.
The other is the people who have no families, particularly single people with mental health problems. Their mental health is instrinsically tied to poverty (i.e. mental health improves alongside improvement in general wellbeing), and once they become unable to work they are essentially stuck in a poverty/mental illness cycle unless they have family to support them. People in that situation, in the context of ‘the only debate is child poverty’, are the undeserving poor. Which is extremely fucked.
I get why child poverty is focussed on. For socially intelligent people, if you address child poverty you are in fact addressing family poverty (not so much for the neoliberals and socially inept), and that in turn creates more healthy societies.
It’s also been a pragmatic approach politically in a climate where people are afraid to be seen too much on the side of the welfare bludgers. But that last one is starting to look like a trap, and I can easily imagine a Labour-led government still not standing up for some of the most vulernable people in society because it’s taken part in the deserving poor meme too much. Little seems to belief that all people deserve wellbeing and only time will tell if he puts his money where his mouth is.
+1 just saying
This is something I have been thinking about for some time. The emphasis on children is to try and soften hearts of those who basically don’t give a shit about rising inequality. It may occasionally get some rich people to donate to a food in schools programme but they will still vote National or Act.
It is actually very easy for wealthy people to ignore poverty now because they no longer have to have any dealings with poor people. They live such blinkered lives, only interacting with other wealthy people, who share their belief that they deserve to be in the positions they are. Justifying wealth in the face of poverty can only be done if you either deny poverty exists or you blame those in poverty for the situation they are in. Focusing on children is an attempt to thwart the latter of these but all that happens is the parents are blamed instead.
I don’t know what the answer is but somehow the idea of the deserving wealthy has to be exposed for the lie that it is. Instead of appealing to hearts perhaps engendering guilt may help.
Oops.
My words have become attached to my name!
….and here’s me thinking we had a new commenter with a truly cryptic moniker!
What does help is when their punk kids end up in court and then end up in Serco and get seriously smashed over. Then they’re full of concern. Oh yes…..turning to me, ‘uncle’, to ‘fix it’. As I’ve experienced in my own John Key loving family.
Nah, it’s not enough …….unfortunately it’s never gonna change until people lose their fascination with some surly, entitled punk lying on a beach in Hawaii playing with some gargoyle bimbo’s hair. LFLS.
I have to admit to also being uncomfortable with the use of ‘child poverty’. I’ve tried to accept it, thinking I’d get used to it over time, but I still get the same intuitive negative reaction as when I first heard it the term. It just clashes, there’s something not right about it.
I think I dislike it largely because it, perhaps unintentionally, dismisses adult poverty & hardship. Children certainly are more vulnerable and need better protection but that doesn’t mean adults should be ignored.
Many of the children in poverty today will be adults in poverty tomorrow and if we keep focussing on children yesterdays children will constantly be forgotten.
+1
It does not dismiss adult poverty. Framing it as child poverty is done to bypass the “worthy poor” argument.
Because it doesn’t matter if a childs parents are any good or not, only a monster would deny innocent children an opportunity to succeed.
Sure it does. You just dismissed adult poverty. You said nothing about denying adults the opportunity to succeed, you only mentioned children.
You were quite patronising there too btw.
It is you who’s got it wrong DH. Do not say “child poverty” because that suggests blindness about poverty in the round ??? Stop it ! The bastards who couldn’t give a fuck about poverty, wherever it is, just love this pettifogging.
I’ve always taken it as read that the adult parents of poverty kids are themselves in poverty. That’s how come their kids are in poverty. Fair ?
Didn’t mean to be patronising.
Sure, you disagree with the effectiveness and/or direction of the political strategy, but that doesn’t negate the thinking behind it or why poverty groups frame it this way.
And I disagree that it’s a zero sum game; that those who highlight child poverty are not unaware or don’t care about adult poverty.
Ok.
I think you’ve read too much into it. I don’t want or expect ‘framing’, that’s inherently dishonest and insulting. It’s about poverty so why not just call it that?
Framing is not inherently dishonest or insulting.
People connect to stories, we learn through stories, we share values through stories, we relate to others through stories.
By focussing on child poverty we do not have to navigate how the child became poor; were they a lazy drug addict? or injured and can no longer work? or were there simply not enough well paying jobs? or jobs at all?
Everyone can relate to a child.
A child is not worthy or unworthy, they are an innocent. They have not yet had time to become worthy or unworthy.
We can imagine ourselves as that child.
Looking at child poverty first gives people a relatable “in” to the issue.
From there we can look at the symptoms of poverty as well as the causes. This is where we encounter the worthy/unworthy or poverty as a moral failing type arguments.
The difference being that we have already established that poverty is not a choice – because children do not have the same level of autonomy and agency that adults possess.
We can easily see how a child growing up in poverty will be denied opportunities to flourish.
One might then ask the question; those adults in poverty, aren’t they just kids that have grown up?
framing it as child poverty reinforces the worthy poor meme, because it means we can talk about the poor children instead of their shitty parents and the bludgers. Who are still being pilloried btw.
Herald opens – “Academic research into public health problems has an uncanny way of confirming the concerns of its funder.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11574567
Herald then closes – “It’s academic whether research funded for a worthy social cause or public health campaign is comparable to a commercial conflict of interest.” Academic ? Like meaningless ? Really ?
Do focus dear Gran’ editorial writer. Or at least be honest. If you’re saying it’s churlish to question the dynamic of ‘report bought and paid for by corporate’ then out with it dear Gran’.
That’s just how this shit works. It works the same in publicly-funded research as it does in privately-funded research. There’s no way any public-sector health organisations are going to fund someone like Fox, who doesn’t buy the official dogma that alcohol “causes” violence. Likewise, the reason we’ve had counter-productive nutrition advice for the last 40 years is that, once the official US bodies settled on a dogma, anyone who didn’t accept it didn’t get their research funded by those bodies. This is an excellent reason for not allowing academics to argue from authority and refusing to accept their pronouncements at face value – don’t believe any of this “studies show” bullshit unless you’ve read the studies and the findings are convincing.
In Fox’s case, her argument is compelling on a logical basis alone. If Kypri et al have an equally compelling counter-argument, they should front with it – you could claim they have, in that they’re publishing a rebuttal in Addiction, but if they’re going to trash-talk Fox to the media, they need to also get their compelling counter-argument in the media or on the open web, otherwise they just look like bad losers.
There’s no such thing in science as “official dogma”.
Dr Fox is based in the UK, not in the US.
I am curious to know whether you have read the 99-page report by Fox?
”In Fox’s case, her argument is compelling on a logical basis alone.”
Which “argument” might that be? Do you mean that Fox stated a “hypothesis”? Do you mean that it appealed (!) to your (!) common sense? In any case, a compelling argument can still be wrong.
Kypri et al did not ”trash-talk Fox to the media”; some of their critique was highlighted in another recent NZH article.
I am also curious to know whether you have read the article by Kypri et al in Addiction?
There’s no such thing in science as “official dogma”.
Maybe not, but there sure as hell is in the social sciences, which is what the field of public health falls under.
Which “argument” might that be?
The argument for rejecting the claim that alcohol “causes” violence. The strongest elements of that argument are:
1. If alcohol caused drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see levels of violence match amount of alcohol consumed when we look at different cultures. We don’t see that – level of drinking and level of drunken violence vary wildly across cultures.
2. If alcohol causes drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see all or most drunk individuals committing acts of violence or agression. We don’t see that – most people don’t commit drunken violence, and the people who do commit drunken violence don’t do it every time they drink.
In any case, a compelling argument can still be wrong.
Sure. And maybe Kypri et al have something that totally refutes Fox’s argument But if they did, I expect they would have mentioned it to the Herald.
I am curious to know whether you have read the 99-page report by Fox?
Nope, just the summary. I was more interested in her argument that alcohol doesn’t cause violence than in what her recommendations might be.
I haven’t read the report PM but if your point number two is correct then Fox fails on this count straight away.
“If alcohol causes drinkers of it to become violent, we could expect to see all or most drunk individuals committing acts of violence or aggression. We don’t see that – most people don’t commit drunken violence, and the people who do commit drunken violence don’t do it every time they drink.”
Most people know that when people become intoxicated their personalities undergo a change from when they were sober. They also appear to lose inhibitions which would constrain their behaviour if they were sober.
This exhibits in various ways:
Harmless:
Happy Drunk. Someone who is the life of the party jumping around, joking, having a great old time.
Sleepy Drunk. They drink their box of alcohol and then fall asleep snoring cradling their bottle like a baby.
Not so Harmless:
Jealous Drunk. Drinks as their ex is seeing someone else. Jealousy rears up and Jealous Drunk decides to go sort them out – usually ends in blood and tears.
Angry Drunk. Once intoxicated decided the world is against them and decides to fight anyone and everyone and to smash stuff up.
Driving Drunk. Most people know that driving and intoxication don’t go together.
Vulnerable Drunk. Intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness. Vulnerable to being exploited/assaulted by others. (Females are especially vulnerable)
Thefts of money etc. Also includes those who can’t walk properly and end up injuring themselves.
Sexual Drunks. When intoxicated they decide they need to get it off with anyone or everyone – tends to lead to sexual assault complaints.
Cody Drunks. The special mix of alcohol and caffeine tends to cause Cody drunks to end up in trouble with the Police.
See Dr Fox. I could have made a lot more compelling arguments than your nonsense. All for free as well.
You could make some compelling arguments? Feel free to do so. However, be aware that the content of your comment above offers no evidence to refute Fox’s claim that alcohol doesn’t cause violence. All your different categories of drunks suggest that culture and personality are the determining factors for the category, not alcohol.
The Spirit Level (ie: its supporting research) has it that alcohol and drug abuse, being mental health issues, are proportional to inequality. So is violence.
That said “drunken violence” is certainly a thing where culture permits it.
If you want an example of the ‘paid’ report Psycho Milt, have a look at the rubbish (at God knows what cost maybe $3 hundy plus to the dame) ‘report’, completed by ‘Dame’ Margaret Bazley into legal aid.
No one, judges down, imagines that her report was other than a piece of paid for crappola.
The “respected now retired senior civil servant” and her ‘report’ (which she acknowledged was but anecdotally based) paved the way for this –
http://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news-and-communications/latest-news/2012/justice-andrew-tippings-final-sitting-speech
There’s your ‘paid for’ shit Psycho. Up a notch……Dame Rebstock……Oh God……seven, eight hundy ? A mill’ ? Forty hours a week for two and a half months. Bang ! A mill’.
I enjoy your semi-religious choice of words: “dogma” and “sure as hell”. You sound very assured and an expert on Social Sciences and Public Health; please don’t tell acrophobic 😉
Alcohol causes violence, just like smoking causes cancer, but it is not the only contributing factor nor is it a black & white situation in that it causes violence in each and every case or individual.
As you will hopefully appreciate, the human brain is quite possibly the most complex structure in the (known) Universe. To liken the effects of alcohol on the human brain and thus human behaviour to a simple on-off mechanism for causing violence is overly simplistic. In other words, just because alcohol does not invariably cause violence it does not mean that it does not cause violence at all!
I’d also like to emphasise that Kypri et al do not exclude other individual and contextual factors but point out that Fox is wrong to categorically ‘argue’ that alcohol does not cause violence.
just because alcohol does not invariably cause violence it does not mean that it does not cause violence at all!
That’s not the argument that’s being made.
Fascinating reply! You confirmed that it is the argument in 4.1.1.1:
”The argument for rejecting the claim that alcohol “causes” violence.”
The key-word is “causes”, of course.
Missed this earlier:
I am also curious to know whether you have read the article by Kypri et al in Addiction?
Looks like it hasn’t been published yet. It’s not in either of the issues published so far this year, and a search for Kypri and Fox turned up nothing.
I thought you were a university librarian!? Anyway, a simple Google search gave it as 2nd hit, after the article in the NZH that I linked to in my previous comment:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.13149/abstract
The full article is behind a pay-wall but I assume you will have access, won’t you?
I think you ought to read it to form a more balanced opinion on this topic. In any case, the NZH is not the place where the scientific debate should take place.
I’ve had a look at it. Their counter-argument that alcohol does cause violence is that epidemiological studies have shown it does. Thing is, epidemiological studies are an excellent tool for finding the cause of infectious diseases, but for anything beyond that they’re useless. 70 years ago it was reasonable for social scientists to imagine that epidemiology might be applicable to things other than infectious diseases, but the resulting decades of “research” consisting of correlation = causation errors backed up by confirmation bias has done more to reduce the sum total of human knowledge than increase it. Epidemiological studies certainly have found that alcohol is associated with violence, and if I wanted I could do a study that found breast cancer is associated with wearing skirts – in short, epidemiology is worthless for establishing causation in this and most other cases.
Their “evidence-based” policy is similarly worthless. The evidence is that reducing the night-time availability of alcohol reduces the number of instances of violence. Well, duh. No shit, Sherlock? By the same token, imposing a night-time curfew on private motor vehicles would reduce the instances of reckless/dangerous driving causing injury/death, but that is not evidence that private motor vehicles cause crashes, nor is it evidence that a night-time curfew on private motor vehicles would be good public policy. Instead, we pay attention to the obvious fact that some people do aggressive and dangerous things in cars and we concentrate on dealing with those people. Fox’s findings support the same approach with drunken violence, and we’d be better off making policy on that basis.
The counter-arguments by Kypri et al are indeed based on but not limited to population studies.
You’re also partly correct that epidemiological methods have limitations, as do all methods, and that they do not establish causation per se. However, to state that ”epidemiological studies are an excellent tool for finding the cause of infectious diseases, but for anything beyond that they’re useless” is frankly absurd.
Your analogies are flawed as none come even close to the intake (consumption) of a powerful drug (alcohol) and its complex effects on the human brain.
You discard all (!) the evidence (and more) provided by Kypri et al as “useless” and “worthless” and judge the 7-week field study by Dr Fox, which included 10 focus groups (approximately 100 participants) convened by market research companies (!), as a sound basis for policy making!? Despite the many methodological shortcomings of her study!?
I do admire your mental gymnastics though 😉
Subtle approaches will usually not work on those who have thick skins and little compassion.
A faux “dogwhistle” might initially hook their attention, that may not otherwise have been gained. The key is to then provide information that gradually arouses the empathy and sense of unfairness of child poverty.
To anyone with a well developed sense of fairness, this approach will seem wrong, but there are many people who have little or no ability to imagine what it would be like to be in any different situation other than their own. These people need dots.
My point is we need a variety of approaches to cover a wide spectrum of people.
What technique would work best on Paula Rebstock, for example?
I think being forced to live on, say, $15000 a year in Auckland for 2 years would sort Paula Rebstock out a bit.
Another few million wasted by the Wellington City Council
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/75932119/cyclists-agree-that-wellingtons-island-bay-cycleway-is-unsafe
What would the cyclists really like? Cycling advocate Patrick Morgan spells it out
“The “gold standard” for a kerbside cycleway was to have no off-street parking at all, so cyclists and motorists had no limits on their visibility, he said.”
And what does councillor Andy Foster, responsible for this shambles say?
“the council would perform a safety audit once the cycleway was finished, and would “tweak” the design to alleviate safety issues.
That could involve removing car parks to improve visibility and painting yellow lines to stop people from parking over driveways, he said.”
I expect that after a string of accidents on The Parade the councillor’s will decide to remove all parking in the area and claim that how could they possibly have known that it would have been a flop.
Foster was also responsible for the farce of the $11 million redevelopment of Victoria Street of which the DomPost said
“One of its most recent cycling projects – in Victoria St – was poorly designed, with one stretch regularly crossed by turning traffic, and another traffic lane that ran directly into car parks.”
This, I understand, also leads the cyclists into pedestrians waiting to cross the road.
Meanwhile the Council does nothing about building an emergency reservoir that would supply water to the main hospital after an earthquake. Not sexy enough for us seems to be their view.
As if the issues caused by Wellington Council are the most pressing the world and NZ at the moment…
Serious climate change consequences
TPP
Oil Crash
China imploding
Inequality
Unemployment
Syria, Iraq
My God, Paul you must think I have amazing powers. Sometimes your imagination runs away with you.
I can, of course, jump tall buildings in a single bound.
I can run faster than a speeding locomotive.
However I don’t have your powers.
Please enlighten us. What did you do about some of these things yesterday that solved these problems?
What did you do about the Oil Crash? Vowing that your next car will be a V8 doesn’t count.
About inequality? Leaving a tip with the waitress when you had a latte in Ponsonby doesn’t really count.
Syria, Iraq? Offering incantations to your voodoo gods to make Barack Obama’s hair fall out doesn’t really help.
So what specifically did you do to help resolve these problems?
I prefer to concentrate on things I can actually do something to improve.
poor design, incompetent approvals, inflated cost/benefit scenarios, no accountability or responsibility, welcome to NZ of the 21st century.
But but , what about the national cycleway of national importance as advocated and paid for with tax payers money by the National led Government? I think there was even a picutre of the leader of the National Party opening the national cycleway of national importance as a major achievement of the National led Government?
Would you consider this too a huge waste of citizens money, or are you only upset cause it is your rates that are spend by someone who is not playing in your National Party Team?
https://www.national.org.nz/news/news/media-releases/detail/2014/08/18/$100-million-for-urban-cycleways
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11442581
another little write up on the 3 million for a Northland cycleway, and for what its worth the Leader of the National Party complies with the law and wears a helmet 🙂
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/68226606/3-million-to-Northland-cycle-way
a review of 2009, i like the paragraph named economy, and how the economy and the employment stats where spurred into growth with the building of the national cycleway of national importance.
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2010/12/review-of-new-zealand-politics-in-2009.html
as for cycling being unsafe in NZ, it is not the cycleway that is unsafe….it is a way to cycle on, so fairly stationary, what is unsafe is that the a. people in cars do generally give not a shit about anyone else in traffic, b. people in nz are generally crappy drivers, and absent of compulsory driving lessons these crappy drivers will teach their kids to become crappy drivers, c. give way and indicate are things of courtesy only and courtesy on NZ roads is over rated, and last but least anyone of these lycra clad sportsbike/race bike travelling fullahs and fullettes generally ride their bikes like they drive their cars.
The cycleway is fine Alwyn, its the people that are the problem.
What a lot of assumptions you make Sabine.
“the national cycleway of national importance”.
I haven’t heard of anything quite like that. If you mean things like the cycleways in the Napier/Hastings area I think they are an excellent idea. If you mean the cycle trail in Central Otago I think it is fine.
If you mean the insane Island Bay exercise on The Parade I think it is stupid.
“your National Party Team”
I’m not connected in any way to the National Party. Your imagination is running riot. I have commented before that over the last 30 years or so I have voted almost equally National and Labour. At the moment of course the Labour Party are in such a mess they are unworthy of anyone’s vote.
“it is not the cycleway that is unsafe”. I suppose that is like the argument about gun control. You know “It’s not guns that kill people. It’s people who kill people” Therefore I, who is a good person, should be allowed to own an AK47.
Do you live in Wellington? Have you seen the appalling mess that is being created with their cycleway activities?
I agree about the standard of driving in New Zealand, and that the cyclists are at least as mad. Most Wellington roads though are very narrow and are overloaded. Making them even narrower by chopping out a couple of metres on each side for a cycle lane and expecting the traffic to keep operating safely is mad.
I, as a pedestrian, have never been hit by a car. I have twice been knocked down by a cyclist. In both cases it was in Oriental Bay where cycles are allowed on the footpath. They travel at high speed. They catch up and pass people, who don’t hear them coming, with no warning at all. No self respecting cyclist, indulging their fantasies of being in the Tour de France peleton, would ever fit, or use, a bell.
On one of those occasions I was walking, rather unsteadily, on crutches. The cyclist who hit me swore at me for not keeping on a straight path. Is it any wonder I think that they are imbeciles? In most parts of Wellington cycling is dangerous. tick to the cycle trails along the Hutt River for your exercise. They are proper cycleways and are admirable creations.
I love how you pop in with your date scone recipe just when things are heating up on a thread Trollwyn……when your cuzzies are shown to be no less than Key-slurping trollsters lost for words.
Well done Trollwyn !
I suppose you know what you are talking about.
God knows it doesn’t make much sense to normal minds.
I think you need to have your prescription reviewed.
Emmerson on the TPP
ugh ugh ouch
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/walmart-layoffs_5698fe89e4b0b4eb759e101d
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it was pulling the plug on its smallest store format and closing 269 stores globally, including 154 in the United States, in a restructuring that will affect 16,000 workers.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer by sales, said the move would reduce diluted earnings per share by 20 cents to 22 cents, with nearly all of that to be booked in the fourth quarter ending this month.
Poor people being to poor to shop at the buisness that helped make many of the poor.
The Walmart model has come full circle. Warehouse to follow soon?
RNZ were reporting this a couple of days ago,
TPPA petition gets thousands of signatures
A petition against New Zealand signing the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has gathered over 11,000 signatures in just two days.
The Government is denying a date has been set for the signing of the deal despite an official statement by Chile saying it will be done in New Zealand on 4 February.
Barry Coates from the ‘It’s Our Future Coalition’ set up the petition and said he expected more people to sign it.
“If we continue at that rate we’ll be in the hundreds of thousands of signatures. This petition particularly says to the Government ‘don’t sign the TPPA’. It’s a crucial point when our government signs it and we don’t think that they have a mandate to sign the agreement and this petition gives people a chance to say no.”
Barry Coates said the deal was designed to serve the interests of large corporations rather than those of people or the planet.
Because it’s the MSM, they don’t link to the petition. Anyone know where it is? Is it this ActionStation one?
http://www.actionstation.org.nz/dontsign (20,000 signatures).
Can’t see it on the ‘It’s Our Future Coalition’ website (which is bizarre),
http://itsourfuture.org.nz/
Sign the petition if you want. Does that make you feel good. Excellent. Really go for signatures and get 400,000 names (and email adresses to exploit) I trump you with 4,000,000 people. That’s correct Four Million who will not sign such a petition. How can the government not have a mandate to sign it? They have a mandate to work for New Zealand. Our negotiaters worked long and hard to get a deal that gains us access to 40% of the world’s GDP. Get involved in our exporting companies. Put your efforts there. The possibilities of growth are tremendous but only if we buckle down and work hard. I believe we can. The Left know the price of everything but ignore the value. The public understand that our negotiaters have been tough and given us the best deal possible at this time. We are better in than out in the cold.
In other words, the person with the biggest stick wins. Problem is, that strategy brings us AGW, poverty and war. Which I’m sure you don’t mind, but many of us do.
“That’s correct Four Million who will not sign such a petition.”
Hyperbole much? You really don’t understand what a mandate is. It’s not making up shit about what other people want on the basis of them not doing something. But I can’t understand you might think it is given that the govt you voted for behaves like this all the time. They don’t have a mandate to do what they want no matter how you want to spin it.
You know we already have access to that 40% of the world’s GDP right? International trade has been going on for how many centuries now?
Can you provide a link to that ridiculous claim? Do you seriously not understand the problems our exporters have due to trade restrictions from these 11 countries?
Fisiani. A cheap brochure for something. Or other. Or other.
They have no mandate because most people don’t want it fisi.
That’s called democracy – and a government who are not traitors respects it.
But the Key kleptocracy is only there for what they can steal and thus the wants and needs of kiwis mean nothing to them.
What a shameful group of parasites you have chosen to befriend fisi – thieves and scoundrels with nothing to offer but lies. I guess there’s a reason you fit right in.
Yeah I had some trouble finding that petition too, it’s not on the “It’s Our Future” facebook page either…
So, I’m not sure how it’s getting so many signatures when it’s not being advertised. Maybe people are just finding it through the front page of http://www.actionstation.org.nz
and it just breaks the heart to see this.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/terminally-ill-helen-kelly-calls-for-referendum-on-legalising-cannabis
Any comments on how significant this is?
http://www.occupydemocrats.com/170-top-economists-pen-letter-backing-bernie-sanders-plan-to-break-up-the-biggest-banks/
There was a furore over a whistleblower on the USA Federal watchdog program for reporting on banks and controlling their excessive enthusiasm! She said that this watchdog had been munted. The banks had captured it and when anyone in the group tried to perform their legal function they got shafted.
The financial institutions are too big, with big pockets. If a frontal attack is not mounted, perhaps with some side fireworks to deflect some of the aggressive defensive moves, the opportunity may be lost. There may be a tipping point, there may have been one, there may be a window of opportunity now. Let’s push this economist alternative and try to do better than Sisyphus. (Look him up on Wikipedia.)
Ziggy’s stardust.
Brian Eno
@dark_shark
David Bowie Tribute: Starman Gets His Own Constellation http://www.psfk.com/2016/01/david-bowie-tribute-
https://twitter.com/dark_shark/status/688151460345819138