Good to see an MSM article that focuses on the actual working poor. In comparison there’s been some articles (especially on the NZ Herald) where they use some of the middle-class and least precarious of the precariat to represent the least well off.
This Stuff article focuses on a couple of families struggling with little or no pay rises: “Rock stars or roadies?” – ref to NZ’s (alleged) rock star economy.
The article adds in some stats from Helen Kelly & the CTU:
Tairawhiti and Manson are not alone – almost half of workers did not receive a pay rise last year, according to the latest Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll.
For the majority (40 per cent) the increase was between 1 and 2 per cent. One in five got 3-4 per cent, and a quarter of us picked up 5 per cent or higher.
Despite forestry and dairying booming, driven by strong demand out of China, wages are low – and stagnant – in these industries, according to the Council of Trade Unions.
“Trickle down? Only the shit trickles down on a dairy farm,” says president Helen Kelly, who says it is “extraordinary” that 300,000 workers are on or near the minimum wage of $13.75 an hour.
“This excuse ‘that it is all we can afford’ . . . you can’t use it in dairy, forestry, supermarkets – who are making a fortune – and you can’t use it in banks. Some of our industries that pay the lowest wages are the most profitable. It is not a coincidence.”
Unfortunately the article then goes on to an optimistic note, with quotes from Phil O’Reilly and a focus on a graduate on the up.
Just had a read of that.
Let me guess, the families are union members Helen Kelly put forward to try and bad mouth National because It certainly reads like that.
I seriously doubt the level of “struggle” these people are “suffering”.
If the unions are going to do these stories of woe, don’t use the $5 a bottle of milk story, it’s nonsense.
i like the success story they include at the end, he gets help from his parents to make ends meet, but hes confident about the future. ok. & phil oreilly, who supports working for families topping up poor pay.
Reminds me of something i listened to on RadioNZ National a week or month ago, out of England the story was highlighting the fact that the young were leaving home in pursuit of the Uni degree as usual,
Having gained the degree tho, with the price of property over there, both to rent and to buy, more and more of them, even with good employment,were being forced back to live with mum and dad…
Big Mouth
BadMouthing
Your right wings effort at balanced News.
The very same polls you were crowing about yesterday has more information than you can handle Blinkered Monetarist.
World wide since the GFC the only people who have benefited are the top 10 or 20%.
These are Banksters Capital gaingsters(tax free of course) CEO’s
Have all done extemely well.
While the other 80% havehad to bite the bullet.
And the bottom 20% are doing it really tough as well as being used as a distraction by the sadistic elite blaming them for the ills creayed by the Ponzi scheming of the elite who put us in this situation.
Actually, it isn’t. I don’t buy milk myself, but, I checked around online: while there are some cheaper buys if you shop around, $5.00 for a 2 litre bottle of milk seems fairly average.
February 2014: 1 litre of milk average price – 2.42 NZ$
Bill english… rning and effectively acknowledge that Michael Cullen had done something right in his stewardship of the Government’s finances in the past nine years.
Having condemned his predecessor for many years for paying off debt too quickly, English said: “I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.”
“In New Zealand we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for,” he told reporters at the Treasury briefing on the state of the economy and forecasts.
English pointed to a graph of the debt track since 1972 and projected five years out from today.
The recent low was 17 per cent of GDP and the ghastly projection for 2013 is 33.1 per cent and possibly worse, under what Treasury calls a “downside scenario” – 38.6 per cent.
Unemployment is forecast to rise to 6.4 per cent in 2010 and deficits forecast to be $2.4 billion to $3.5 billion larger over the 2010 to 2013 years than forecast just before the election.
In the midst of the horrible outlook and depressing uncertainty about how bad it might get, English was forced to change his message about his inheritance from Labour because it was more important to inject some sense of positivity into the situation. He needed to do it for both political reasons and for real financial reasons.
As Labour finance spokesman David Cunliffe said yesterday, too much negativity could drive confidence down even further.
Of the plan that Cunliffe demanded of English today, the Finance Minister said: “The plan in essence is quite simple, that is to maintain significant short-term stimulus in the economy, to protect people from the sharp edge of recession and secondly to get on with the job of raising our longer term growth prospects…with some urgency.”
Tax cuts are on the way; decisions will be made in the New Year on which infrastructure projects will be brought forward and English and Prime Minister John Key will be meeting chief executives of Government departments this afternoon to give them the bad news: don’t ask for any more money in Budget 2009 because you won’t get it.
@ karol…as others have been saying on this site Labour is not preforming well in advocating for its core constituents………the working poor, beneficiaries, children…those struggling at the bottom of the economic heap…imo for what it is worth:
Labour needs to be taking serious professional advice from a top Advertising/PR Agency on how to get this message about the NACT poor across;
( no time now to be sweet and middle class…Labour needs to get mean and take the gloves off and punch out Nact)
The concept of Key as a REPTILE is brilliant!……it should be played for all its worth visually and verbally …ie concept /visuals/posters /talk of a Reptile leading a Reptilian Nact Party which is sucking NZ dry!!!! …
( one of those old fashioned 1950s muted colour posters)……….a Reptile octopus with many arms….eg. 1.) one arm squeezing the working poor to death 2) killing beneficiaries 3.) sucking the life blood from children 4.)another could be sucking the life out of NZ State education with Charter Schools …
Lets face it…..Sue Morroney ( Social Development ) and Jacinda Adern ( Children) are not cutting the mustard against Paula Bennett( and in comparison with Sue Braford and Metiria Turei)
…they may know a lot but Labour needs HIGH PROFILE SPOKESPEOPLE on these CORE issues of Labour ….not too late to change and get people who are not afraid to get nasty, get their hands dirty, swing the lead…. and are CREDIBLE to the struggling poor!!!!( ie look like they have been there or have relatives who are there!) ….Spokespeople who are CAPABLE of ATTRACTING MEDIA ATTENTION like Shane Jones has recently
…what about Louisa Wall ( Social Development ) and Poto Williams ( Children)…?….or any other Passionate MPS willing to take on and do what Shane Jones is doing?.
worth repeating this comment from Tombstone yesterday
Tombstone 25
15 February 2014 at 9:39 pm
… Labour’s brand is boring. It’s just National in red. Create a brand / visual campaign that really gets people excited and watch what happens. Suddenly people become interested in the message because they like what they see or they feel compelled to understand the message behind what they’re seeing. Like a photograph that speaks a thousand words – something that can’t be denied. Reality caught in a single shot. Powerful images without the need to cover them in statistics – the image speaks for itself. I live in Christchurch. I survived the quakes. I see the heartache every day that surrounds me and it’s not something that can be described in mere words but a single photograph can on the other hand be more powerful than the sum of all words combined. I work as a freelance graphic artist in my free time and do a lot of low brow art and so I guess I tend to see the world from a very visual perspective and the weak point I see in the National Party is Brand Key – that is the weak point in their armor. That is where you drive the spear home. Fuck the MSM. Let them gorge themselves on Key’s bullshit. What counts most is that you get the people excited and wanting more. Do that and the MSM will follow. Bye bye Key. Bye bye National.
NACT is Reptile Octopus with Many EYES…..which has and is sucking out the life blood of NZs economy…..STATE ASSETS!….WATER!….TOURISM!…BIG DEBTS ..unneccessary PRIVATISED MOTORWAYS
….it disguises itself and its real intentions by muddying the waters with its inky smoke screens and flag waving diversions
Bullshit, what high ground, do you think Key cares about the high ground – Key needs to be shown for what he is; how else do you do that without getting personal? The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough. Hound him constantly until he breaks and shows more of his true colours.
The time for being nice to Key is long gone. Gloves off time.Time to get serious if you want to win the election.
Agree about the need for ‘street fighters’ as shadow ministers/portfolio holders.
“The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough.”
If the left do this, they will lose the election. How can you not see that? John Key is immensely popular, and thoroughly likable. He is the kind of guy people just want to be around.
Focus on policies that will deliver prosperity. Otherwise this election is lost for you already. Ipredict stocks on “PM Labour” have been sliding again this week. And before someone tells me this is all a conspiracy by one rich guy to drive down the stock, the order book shows otherwise. The stock is being dumped by small traders in droves.
SSLands, ”stocks on PM Labour have been sliding”, you really are a fucking brainless fucking idiot aren’t you,
What was ex-PM Helen Clark’s polled popularity befor She became a 3 term Prime Minister, 3 or 6%, or something ridiculously s low,
If you place an ounce of faith in the ability of the gambling sit you refer to as being in any way accurate you would have to add that faith in accuracy to all the other gambles/predictions on that site,
Be a good little dear wont you and trot of back there and have a good read of the Party %’s which last time i had a squizz had National polling 42%, Labour 33%, Green 10% and for a gut-busting screamer DotComs Internet Party 8%,
Once you have had the little squizz over there SSLands, stay there, your masterbating all over these pages is at the least unseemly…
““The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough.”
If the left do this, they will lose the election. How can you not see that? John Key is immensely popular, and thoroughly likable. He is the kind of guy people just want to be around”
…if you say this then the opposite must st be the case…i am encouraged this is the way to go
@ McFlock…not talking about lying with hogs ….rather ST George spearing an Octopus Reptilian NACT Party that has NZ in its grip
….could be wrong….but i do think Labour needs to get a professional Adevertisng/PR Agency to give professional independent advice on how to get their message out there…because it doesn’t seem as if it is working
btw ….i thought you were a rather good hog wrestler with Chris 73…..it was gobsmackingly awe inspiring the insults on yesterdays Open Mike
It’s on the level of traditional propaganda. Not something the next government should be doing, IMO – that’s why the nactoids use the cetacean for it, and why key admitting a connection between himself and the cetacean was an error.
Me, I’m not connected with labgrns. And I did like “fustilarian”.
Let’s say key is a reptilian overlord who eats babies. Currently, a whole chunk of people still like him. That means that they either don’t know or don’t care. But he’s pretty obviously a reptile (isn’t one for blinking too much), so the people who don’t know are in denial.
They won’t be persuaded by anyone else that key is a reptile.
They might see it for themselves and be revolted, though.
So keep applying pressure on issues and so on, so he gets stressed and the mask slips, but calling him a reptile would just A) make you as bad as the stalkers in the other camp; and B) make the deniers entrench further into their position.
@ McFlock…..i didnt know you were sweet with middle class refined sensibilities
….i am thinking more of an octopus style reptile with many eyes and arms crushing the living blood and spirit out of things…more visual than verbal ….eg old fashioned 1950s style monotone posters to be stuck to lamp posts and reach those who dont watch tv or read newspapers
Rino Tirikatene and Meke Whaitiri are other potential spokespeople for these crucial Labour campaign Spokesperson roles
…it is no use waiting until after the election …it important to get kicking with the toughest boots into the fracas now ( there are 800,000 votes to woo)
…it should approached professionally ( ie an outside agency should decide … like an actor casting agency ) …no cronyism in the hunt for the best charismatic spokespeople that the voters can IDENTIFY with.
( this is no bad reflection on policy making skills which are equally important ….but lets be frank they are completely different skills and it is rare to get them in the same person)
Chooky @ 9.59 am, I think maybe you’ve mistaken me for a Labour Party Member and/or voter or an election campaign strategist.
I’m none of those things, nor am I a member of any political party. I will leave it to the Labour Partyy – its members, and those able to provide excellent advice, to get their campaign in order.
Winning at all costs, to end up with just Nat lite in government is not a good prospect. There needs to be a multi-pronged approach, in diverse ways.
I’m with what Bill says on the front page of his “Positive Things” post today:
Change becomes embedded when it emanates from and across many quarters and traditions.
Grass roots change, changes in the media (entertainment as well as serious media) etc are needed. I am very much behind the kinds of grass roots actions that Sue Bradford has been involved in. And Turei is one of the few current MPs who have come from a workign class background – our parliament needs more from diverse low income backgrounds.
The media needs on-going critique and challenges – not just so they change, but so that more people become aware of the, often subtle, ways the media can be politically slanted.
That’s what I was doing with my comment on the above Stuff article. Highlighting that it was at least an improvement on too many other articles of seen on Stuff and the NZ Herald’s website – but also indicating one of its shortcomings.
no i did not mistake you for those…i know you vote Green
…i just saw an opportunity( presumptuous and forward of me i know) to help Labour with is PR…. ha ha….but seems like others here do not agree…although some do! …..that Labour is not doing well with its PR
Ah. Sneaky, Chooky. I’m more concerned about the overall focus of parliamentary Labour. Until they clearly have shifted away from soft neoliberalism, and have less managerial type MPs, I may consider voting for them again – the problems go deepr than their PR, I think.
Karol I seem to have mistaken you for someone who gives a shit..
[deleted]
[lprent: Don’t abuse the authors – that is policy and always a bad mistake.
I’d have to say that you remind me of a vicariously shared dose of thrush and about as useful to the left. Just a pain to have around because of frustrated scratching, and a lot of whining. I’d point out that I’ve been a member of Labour party for about 35 years and volunteered for them for even longer. So you’re getting the benefit of an opinion by a genuine Labour party member – in case you think that being a party member is still important after I’ve explained exactly how much of a jerk you look to me.
I’ve helped organise many moderately large campaigns for the NZLP. Typically usually less than a third of the volunteers have been NZLP members. I’d have to say that much of the time that many of the volunteers from outside the party are more useful than the ones who bore the hell out of me at NZLP meetings. That is why all parties play nice to people who are active even when they are not members. You never know when you might need them.
So having some moronic fuckwit like yourself coming along and acting holier than thou about people who are active just makes me want to kick your arse off this site as being just another useless jerkoff more concerned with pleasuring yourself than doing any actual work. Being more concerned about your own self-righteousness than doing anything of any use is a characteristic of a person that I’d prefer not to be in any organisation I’m helping. Basically you impress me as being a waste of bandwidth with a ego backed by shallow opinions and a skill at being supremely stupid.
Of course that is just my opinion. But it would also be the opinion of damn near every other activist from almost any political party or activist group that I have ever worked with.
Banned for 3 weeks for stupidity and I’d advise you to read the policy so I don’t have to notice you again. ]
ooops sorry to have caused trouble for ecossemaid…..i do think there are many people out there who are genuinely frustrated with Labour’s fighting PR image though
….however we can always vote Green or Mana…and it will have the same end result
Lowest paid is around $38K + free house + free meat/milk
Highest paid is $47K + free house + free meat/milk + 3 free yearling bulls reared
All of them have 1 hour breakfast breaks, + 1 & 1/2 hour lunch breaks.
They work the equivalent of 5 & 1/3 days a week, no more than 9 hours in a day (5 hours for week end days)
Can’t tell me that employment on dairy farms has no trickle down affect.
The couple we had working for us last season drove an 2005 Ford XR8 and bought themselves a nice 14ft boat and went fishing on most of their days off.
Our 2ic this year we are helping to step up into either managing or share milking next year (giving her financial and business backing in order to do this)
So perhaps Ms Kelly’s pushing of a dairying stereotype of rich farm owners and destitute workers is nothing more than propaganda to push her own political/union barrow.
Oh and yes, these conditions of employment were all negotiated between us and our staff – no union required.
Or – possibly – other farms are run differently from yours and so the workers with different experiences are those engaging with Helen Kelly?
Perhaps your workers – while living within their means – via free house/milk – are purchasing items they can afford instead of those they can’t? – their own house, farm etc. Whilst your support for your 2ic means that you are aware of this and is admirable, it is an acknowledgement that this is true.
You seem to be relating honestly your lived experiences as a farmer, but that does not automatically mean that those workers who report otherwise are dishonest.
You are probably also likely to be aware of others in your farming community who are not as scrupulous – those are the ones whose workers needs advocates such as Helen Kelly.
So you are trying to tell me that they chose to buy the XR8 and boat simply because they could never buy a house?
Rubbish. In this situation the money they put into the car and boat was more than enough to use as a deposit on a house.
That wasn’t their goal. They wanted to drive a V8 and go fishing all the time. Full stop.
I know coz they told me about it for the two years prior to buying them. I said to them they were better off buying a house and paying it off by renting it out while they lived rent free.
Jimmie, you sound like a hardworking and ethical businessman who has a good relationship with his staff and treats them with dignity and honesty. That’s really cool, and it’s very heartening to read. However, you know as well as I do that every profession (mine’s early childhood teaching, by the way) has the good, the bad and the ugly and farming is no exception. People working on farms are more isolated than most of the population and if they are poorly treated they need the support that a good union can give them. You don’t need to get defensive as though the whole farming industry is being damned – town/country relationships are bad enough as it is. 🙂
I agree with you. Just pisses me off when the like of Ms Kelly deliberately paint a negative picture of a whole industry to suit her own political agenda.
The same when the msm (and the greens) go on about dairy farmers polluting waterways when the reality is that probably around 99% of dairy farmers dispose of farm effluent in a legal and sustainable manner.
However when you have stories like the ferry in auckland discharging raw human effluent into the harbour nobody says anything or councils allow raw human effluent to discharge into the sea during rain storms – oh well can’t be helped.
“when the reality is that probably around 99% of dairy farmers dispose of farm effluent in a legal and sustainable manner.”
[citation needed]
I agree that it’s not good to damn all dairy farmers. But let’s not pretend that almost all are doing the right things, when all the evidence and our own eyes suggests otherwise.
The New Zealand media rarely feature stories about bad employers in the dairy sector, yet horror stories about poor treatment of farm employees are rife.
I have to say farmer Jimmie Brown, while I agree not all you cockys are lousy employers, actually have a healthy respect with people working the land. The figure of 99% of farmers being clean is a stretch. I see unfenced waterways each and every week. Had a enough of it to tell the truth as a responsible Kiwi might need to start complaining to Fonterra shortly. The beef guys are alot worst as the law allows them to flaunt it.
It’s high time it was a level playing field with buying meat too while I’m having a gripe. Why should you guys be allowed homekill, when the rest of us city folk can’t openly rock up buy a beast and get in processed the same as you, without having to jump thru hoops with the paddock holding blockade that is.
And those rental cottages that some farmers rent out, (and they do) cash in back pocket. If only this Country had some decent investigative reporters left to show up life on the farm for the true blue National rural supporter is.
Now you get back on here and give us some answers please cobber, as I know it will be the farm boy pulling tits, probably hosing the cow shit by now, while your setting up to BBQ those tender fat scotch fillets that we never get at pak’ n slave!
Yes, I think all pollutants need the hard word + put on them – it’s not ok. I live in the country in Northland and a few kilometres down the road from me there’s a dry stock farm, heavily populated, and most of the cattle have free access to a stream – it makes my blood boil. No worse, though, than when I lived in Auckland and my friend’s dog came home dyed blue because he’d been in a creek polluted by industry. Makes a joke of clean and green, doesn’t it!
I didn’t know about the ferry – that’s awful – mind you I’ve never liked Fuller’s business practices – I left Waiheke Island mainly because of them
Fonterra are well aware of Northland farmers polluting Jen, but hey Fonterra is just fArmers looking after farms, blind eye..wink wink. Anyway there are votes in it if Labour & the Green get their shit together. Nothing like a bit of ‘lucky farmer’ envy to get some city votes off National.
I am happy to admit there are many farmers who pay their employees fairly, allow them reasonable time off, fence their waterways and deal with effluent properly.
My son works for one.
Usually the same ones do both.
Good on you, for being one of them.
If all employers were fair and reasonable, we would not need Unions.
However from observation of a great many farms in our area, you are in the minority.
The reality is more like half a dozen underpaid and overworked Filipino migrants, cows in the streams and the effluent pond emptied into the river at midnight.
You should be pleased that people like Helen Kelly are holding dodgy operators feet to the fire. It prevents them from undercutting, and pricing out of business, the business’s of those, like you, who want to do things properly.
Some of my long gone farming relatives, who took pride in how they looked after the land and waterways, would be disgusted if they could see those same waterways, now.
Great to hear that you treat your workers well and dispose of waste in a way that is sustainable. (Not sure if that is in an environmentally sustainable way or not)
But I would encourage you to talk with your farming mates and find out what their practices are and encourage them to practice good labour and environmental management as well.
Jimme. And your cows still shit, and pollute our rivers and streams. Makes them unsafe for our children to swim in, whilst you just chase the mighty dollar, and blindly kiss Key’s arse.
Free housing and meat/milk FFS what a rort. That has to be worth what, at least 10k a year?
I hate to be mean Jimmie but your lowest paid worker then is on $14.61 per hour and the highest oon $18 which may just not be enough to save for a house even rent free. It is a great shame to me that this level of wage can now be defended as good in this country. On another point – the rent is not really “rent free” as I think it is part of the salary package but regardless, I have the Federated Farmers report which is an extensive survey of wages in the sector. $19.49 is the average hour rate (total value package inlcuding rent, meat, power, and other benefits included and even training) for the whole dairy farming workforce, with Dairy Assistant roles (the most common role) appearing to have stagnant wages since 2010 despite record milk prices and an average total value package of just $17.02 per hour. So maybe you pay a bit above the average but I wouldn’t go to bed feeling to smug about your generosity. The reality is that in one of our very productive sectors the wages are very low and expectations high. 54% of those surveyed had been in the job less than a year. I do hear from farm workers very distressed at their working conditions and I think the industry would greatly benefit from collective bargaining. No political or hidden agenda there my friend!
Jimmie your a gem but you are a rarity amongst dairy farmers I habe visited and worked on many dairy farms as well I have interviewed many dairy workers outside the work place 90% of those IN spoke to are being under paid made to work unpaid hours over and above hours contracted.
Wage theft.
Along with abusive treatment from sharemilkers.
Animals on these farms are also mistreated.
Wacked with alkathene pipes,left milking for to long on milking table damaging udders very common.
Not seperating antibiotic treated cows.
Not keeping rearing areas clean allowing cows to become infected with clyptosporidiam.
Workers not vaccinated for clyptosporidium.
Workets not provided with clean drinking water.
Cows not rotated the full 35 days of fresh grass
Pregnant cows left in paddocks without proper shelter and no feed.
The list goes on.
Don’t want to seem flippant after Karol’s more serious comment, but I got a good laugh from Steve Braunias’ latest on Stuff this morning. before focusing on more weighty issues.
Billy Bragg’s misplaced praise of Bruce Springsteen
Radio NZ National, Sunday 16 February 2014
Listeners to this morning’s Sunday programme no doubt enjoyed Richard Langstone’s interview with Billy Bragg. Most of it was actually very good, albeit a tad worshipful and slightly embarrassing because of that. Billy Bragg is a thoughtful and serious person, who has a lot of valuable things to say. However, one of his comments raises a question about his judgement of character. I sent the following email to Richard Langstone….
Billy Bragg’s misplaced praise of Bruce Springsteen
Dear Richard,
Billy Bragg praised Bruce Springsteen as “a hero of mine”, but noted that he was “no Pete Seegar”, because he had not stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee. This seems to imply that Springsteen would have stood up to HUAC if only he had had the opportunity.
In fact, if Springsteen had any of the courage and integrity of people like Pete Seegar and Woody Guthrie, he would not have done THIS…..
I trust/believe billy bragg more than you moz therefore his praise is not misplaced at all. i think springsteen has had a positive influence and he started young…
“In September 1979, Springsteen and the E Street Band joined the Musicians United for Safe Energy anti-nuclear power collective at Madison Square Garden for two nights, playing an abbreviated set while premiering two songs from his upcoming album. The subsequent No Nukes live album, as well as the following summer’s No Nukes documentary film, represented the first official recordings and footage of Springsteen’s fabled live act, as well as Springsteen’s first tentative dip into political involvement.”
..’cos though disillusioned by them..myself and many others held onto the hope that once over the hurdle of re-election..that obama would go gangbusters..
..and do what he promised..
…(and tho’ a fucken drone-head killer..obama still has time..(some..!..)
..and romney was the other option..?..really..?
..and as an aside..i predict obama will announce full federal legalisation of cannabis..
..shortly after the mid-term elections..later this yr..)
..so..in/with that context..
..i reckon ‘harsh’ describes yr springsteen-condemnation..
Pete Seeger supported Obama, by the way, which kinda renders your email to RNZ a little null and void. He even shared the stage with Springsteen at Obama’s inauguration which makes your line about courage and conviction unintentionally funny. Close, but no Seegar.
Is that at the 2009 inauguration or the 2013 one? You could forgive people—naïve and poorly informed people like Hollywood “liberals” and TV talkback hosts—who obviously didn’t know anything about Obama, being full of hope in early 2009. But after four years of his administration, to sing that song is an exercise carried out in a spirit of deepest cynicism and darkest irony.
What’s the bet that if Seegar were younger and full of the energy he had in the 1950s, he would have spoken out against Obama’s war on dissent at home, and his campaign of terror abroad? He was in his 90s, and his activism was over by the time of this clip.
What excuse does Springsteen, much younger and much richer, have for this display of Obama worship? (The answer lies in the fact that he’s much richer.)
He later withdrew his ill-advised support for that blood-stained fraud, but his naïve comments about Springsteen show that he is still liable to misjudge people.
I think you “trust” your hero Billy Bragg in the same way his hero Springsteen “trusts” Obama—it’s blind, uncritical adulation. Springsteen joined in a cutely named “No Nukes” protest in 1979; so why is he supporting a politician who shamelessly promotes the use of nuclear power, as well as extrajudicial killing of American citizens and the persecution of political dissidents?
yeah yeah I know you hate them all with a vengeance moz – death, a slow excruciating painful and prolonged death to the fools who supported the fraudster!!! Do you know what fraud means? I’ve always liked billy bragg personally.
Marty, I like Billy Bragg too. I forgive him all his misjudgements, like supporting that fraudster, because I respect him. It’s just that I felt it was necessary to remind people that Bruce Springsteen—someone else I respect and admire—is also prone to misjudgements, and is certainly no Pete Seegar. When Billy Bragg stated that Springsteen had never confronted HUAC in 1954, many people might think he would have if he had been around then.
God save us from “Liberals” who think Obama, Gore and (Gor Blimey !!!) even Hillary “Rosie-the-Riveter” Clinton are the great progressives of our time.
Morrissey Springsteen was to young for that era.
Born in the USA an anti vietnam war song.
To more recently Banksters song .
Morrissey time to start reading some lyrics.
Certainly he was too young to speak out in a 1954 HUAC meeting, as Pete Seegar did. However, he is NOT too young to speak out against the regime that holds power in his country right now.
What has Springsteen said or done to support protestors and dissidents today?
Morrissey no relation to meat is murder Morissey who happens to be touring with Sir Cliff Richard.
Billy Bragg is more radical tha springsteen no doubt.
But springsteens message get to many times more people.
He’s My Home Town hero.
So don’t be Blinded by the Light.
Your insults hurt like a freight train runniing through the middle of my heart.
I’m On Fire.
Morrissey no relation to meat is murder Morissey who happens to be touring with Sir Cliff Richard.
Billy Bragg is more radical tha springsteen no doubt.
But springsteens message get to many times more people.
He’s My Home Town hero.
So don’t be Blinded by the Light.
Your insults hurt like a freight train runniing through the middle of my heart.
I’m On Fire.
It would be good for me to see a post that gives summary of what has been learned from this Dotcom, GCSB leaks, and so on that have dominated people’s thoughts here for, is it a week? There must be something to learn, that Labour can make use of either by drawing attention to, or avoiding or… I’m a bit confused. When will the revelations end?
It’s like watching Limmy’s Show. Have everyone else seen it? Revelations of the thought process emerge slowly, with a Scottish accent there. I prefer Philomena Cunk actually, such a seeker after truth, on Charlie Booker’s Show. But both as informative as any Herald jonolism.
I listened to Radionz this morning on Media Watch and am less anxious about the changes though still have a few questions in mind. Have to taste the pudding and check the flavour.
Just listening now and while it sounds ok?! I think he is being disingenuous is stating his reason for putting Mora in with Mary Wilson. It may well be that Mora has a longish contract and they had to bury him somewhere but surely we could have done that by giving him something like Hymns for Sunday.
No matter how you look at it Mora’s Panel Show is an event looking for excuses to publice right wing commentators. You could easily have a panel show that used people other than political hacks and it would be fine. I see Mora as watering down Checkpoint and introducing a political slant into a show that has in the past been scrupulously honest.
I am hoping that we do not see in a short time the resignation of Mary Wilson and the promotion of Mora to being the face of Checkpoint. Now that Ferguson has been moved to Morning Report RNZ has a serious lack of good journalists.
I never thought I would see it. A mainstream TV programme, this one made by Australian channel ABC, that shows the occupation in all its inhuman horror.
The 45-minute investigative film concerns the Israeli army’s mistreatment of Palestinian children. Along the way, it provides absolutely devastating evidence that the children’s abuse is not some unfortunate byproduct of the occupation but the cornerstone of Israel’s system of control and its related need to destroy the fabric of Palestinian society.
Omar Barghouti has spoken of Israelis’ view of Palestinians as only “relatively human”. Here that profound racism is on full show.
There are, of course, concessions to “balance” – in the hope of minimising the backlash from Israel – but they do nothing to dilute the power of the message.
This is brave film-making of the highest order.
It is an indication of quite how exceptional this film is that it has cornered Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, into expressing her “deep concern“. That’s the same Bishop who last month doubted that the settlements in the West Bank were illegal.
That first line says it all ABC
As a national Channel it really does try to present provocative intelligent overview of the news. It also manages to create some brilliant television.
Of course Abbott is now to set about dismantling ABC and doing what National has so successfully done in New Zealand.
If you want good television these days you will have to rely on the four great public services.
BBC, CBC, PBS and ABC.
I could maybe throw in DW as well.
I hope like hell if Labour gets in power that they will set about rebuilding not only our state broadcasters but resurrecting a state film industry like we had once with Nation Film. I think the rebuild should have one of the highest priority of all the tasks that Labour would have to do. If we don’t have a good public television service to inform and educate our people we may as well forget all the rest. What good a full stomach and a cheap house if all we get in the media is right wing propaganda
I never thought I would see it. A mainstream TV programme, this one made by Australian channel ABC,
Look closely, Ron: the BBC is also under attack. It’s never recovered from the Blair government’s furious attack on it after it had the temerity to point out that the case for attacking Iraq was completely false.
And PBS is, despite its grand sounding name, anything but a public broadcasting station.
If you want decent, intelligent reporting from the United Kingdom, read the BBC site, sure, but there are any number of better, more trustworthy sites.
Yes I am aware that BBC is being attacked, and also know about democracynow which also broadcasts on PBS channels just in case you are unaware, What I like about PBS is the wide variety of docos they provide some of which we pick up here. Unfortunately anything too touchy doesn’t get played here. They have some great investigations into money & medicine recently which could do with a play on NZTV
It is absolutely hopeless to attempt to minimise any backlash from Israel. They are on a full scale propaganda offensive, all over the world. I’m pretty sure they use at least some of the money they get from the US government to pay people to sit on Facebook full time, disseminating their propaganda. Their latest tactic, which almost makes me vomit, is to portray Zionist Israelis as indigenous people who have succeeded in reasserting their rights.
Unfortunately, a lot of the conspiracy theory crap about the Rothschilds and Bilderberg makes the task of anyone putting the Palestinian case disappear under a lot of white noise. It frustrates the crap out of me.
Go Matt McCarten you good thing, purveyor of the State’s propaganda par excellence, Matt’s taken to discussing health matters in His latest column,
Titillating us with the little ‘gem’ that using tobacco products kills half of those who partake, yes Matt heard it all befor, but, the problem with simply using the States Propaganda is given a deeper look into the facts an entirely different story can be told,
Fact: 29% of annual deaths in New Zealand are ’caused’ by cancer.
Fact: 40% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by heart disease.
Fact: 20% of the New Zealand population uses tobacco products*.
(the * is for a reason i will explain),
SO, fact: 69% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by cancer and heart disease, now for the purposes of a piece of blunt mathematics subtract the 20% of smokers from the 69% of deaths,
What this tells me is that at least 49% of us will die of cancer or heart disease who are not smokers, laughably when compared to the 50% of smokers who are supposed to die of the same disease solely upon the basis of the fact that they used tobacco products the diff is 1%,
Of course i could theorize that as smokers make up 20% of the population and the supposed data says that smoking will kill 50% of them, then the ‘real’ figure i should be calculating off of should be half that 20%, which would simply make the figures for those who do not smoke and die of cancer and heart disease look even worse coz if i only subtract 10%,(half of the population of smokers),from the total deaths annually from both cancer and heart disease the equation becomes 50% of smokers supposedly snuff it from the addiction as opposed to 59% of those who do not smoke going the same route by the same diseases,
And the asterisk*, Statistics NZ in a celebratory news release claim that 16% of the population are now smokers, yay what a victory for the anti tobacco zealots, or is it,
If you run the StatisticsNZ 16% figure through the blunt mathematical calculation i use above then the numbers for those who don’t smoke and die of cancer and heart disease climb even further above the supposed 50% of those who die from using tobacco products…
“SO, fact: 69% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by cancer and heart disease, now for the purposes of a piece of blunt mathematics subtract the 20% of smokers from the 69% of deaths,”
You are being ridiculous. The people who are dying of smoking related cancer now, are doing so as a result of smoking rates over the last three or four decades, when smoking rates were much higher. Yes your mathematics is “blunt” alright. It is stupid. There are many many more ex smokers than current smokers.
Smoking imposes costs on society. It also provides benefits to its users. But it is a classic public policy problem of all the benefits being private and all the costs being socialised (the main one is health costs but there is also the vileness of simply being near smokers). The excise raised is designed to do two things – 1. Compensate society for the socialised costs and 2. Bring smoking rates down.
I quite enjoyed watching an econofuck trying to do epidemiology.
Although in the end he continued the myth that smoking has a net monetary cost to the nation (which hasn’t been true for 20 years), I laughed at the idea that vileness should be taxed. SSpylands would be taxed into bankruptcy within a week.
Neoliberal economics imposes costs on society. It also provides benefits to a very small number of its users. But it is a classic public policy problem of all the benefits being private and all the costs being socialised (the main one is health costs but there is also the vileness of simply being near right wingers). The excise foregone is designed to do two things – 1. Compensate the filthy rich for being disgusting and 2. Destroy any sense of community and/or society.
Very poorly informed comment. 10 years off your life is the number to remember. Everyone used to love smoking – the problem was we found out it seemed to be killing people. A lot. Think about it – if the government’s plan was to keep raking in tax from cigarette sales then WHY ON EARTH would it celebrate smoking rates dropping?
Heart disease is our biggest and cancer our second biggest killer regardless of whether you smoke – we all have to die of something, right, RIGHT? The point is that smoking is associated with around 10 years less life overall – if you’ve made the decision that it improves your life enough to keep poisoning yourself then FINE but don’t spout that nonsense and try to convince other people to harm themselves in that way too.
Not only will it mean you die much SOONER but if you’re unlucky also much more painfully – think of chronic obstructive lung disease and being unable to breathe to the point where your body is chronically low on oxygen and you start to waste away and are in and out of hospital every other week and needing to leave with an oxygen tank.
There is obviously a cost to society with hospital bills but that’s exactly what hospitals are there for. The tax on cigarettes is mainly to discourage people from buying but also to balance those losses – and it seems to work somewhat. Although I don’t agree with targeting of certain groups (like prisoners) and saying that only those people cannot smoke.
My advice to you: talk to your family and your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy.
What a load of sanctimonious twaddle from one of the i want to live forever brigade, as if people who never smoke escape the indignity of the pain and suffering that goes along with death by cancer or heart disease,
You might want to live another 10 years having to be spoon fed your food with the excrement wiped off of your leaking arse by someone hired to do such a job, you might even get lucky and be one of the very small number who have good health until they die,
For 50+% of non-smokers though they will suffer just as much as those that smoke so climb down off of your high-horse,
Your comment is simply moralistic bullshit, your ten years of extra life is simply fantasizing bullshit, your replacement therapy for nicotine is simply bullshit i am not interested in,
And, do not start me on that ten years of extra life bullshit because it is simply arrived at by playing with %’s, what causes the supposed 5-10 years of extra life in the statistics is simply the lung cancer stats show a high amount of people dying of lung cancer, 20% of whom have been nowhere near tobacco products, at age 45 and under, those 1300 or so that do this very year simply distort the overall picture of longevity when applied across all cancers,
i have no fucking intention of quitting and the more bullshit i am force fed by the anti-amoking fanatics both paid and unpaid like i assume you to be the more i am determined to enjoy my use of tobacco….
I also urge you to talk to your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy. You sound in a bad way. Even if you reject the health arguments, smoking is disgusting.
SSLands, hang about a minute, i am just lighting another rolly, is that the best you can do SSLands, more moralistic nazism albeit shorter than that absolute twat above sprouts without a fact in sight in its whole weak diatribe,
Why would i stop, it cost me 5 or 6 bucks a week and there is as much chance of you getting cancer or snuffing it from heart disease as there is of me doing the same,
So all in all being a moralistic wanker gives you a 50% chance of snuffing it from the above mentioned diseases, i think i will take another puff and leave my fate in the hands of the various deity, same odds as you have got SSLands…
Lprent, fair comment, but such a fright is likely to bias your thinking in any direction, stressful job at the time???,
My point is this, and, i cannot say this with any certainty about the heart conditions that people survive as i havn’t dragged my tiny wee mind through the data, but, the rates of death scream out to me that 50% of those who do not/never smoke will die of cancer or heart disease, which makes the anti tobacco argument based around deaths of the same nature more than a little spurious,
Such is suggestive to me that there was a 50/50 chance of you having that heart attack whether you smoked or not…
My jobs are seldom stressful since I managed to sneak out of doing the management side of it (which I am really good at but find to be an appalling waste of my time). They certainly weren’t in 2010.
What deficiency in will power is this you speak of Phillis, laughably that accusation comes form an obvious poly-addict claiming to have quit Heroin only to take up various other drugs, now that i would call piss weak,
Yes four year olds have little toy tossing moments like claiming days ago that i am to be ignored only to be unable to resist having another look in the mirror by engaging bitterly and without an iota of fact in the following days,
Conclusion, a filthy fucking junky too piss weak to quit the habit so becomes a whining poly-addict who’s intellect has regressed to the point of equality with the average four year old…
Wheatbix tri. with all that is currently happening, great to see our youth in a positive manner and for many in Auckland giving their time freely. Thanks to all those volunteers.
Kiwi kids are Sanitorium (sic) kids… certainly lost in an ethnocentric silo, failing to learn languages other than their native tongues at an “alarming rate”; implications for ongoing international trade development; Wordly? Mate reckons that misunderstanding rests on the obligatory Kiwi OE…, before the return home to raise an Edmonds family…
I agree that seeing the community out running a sporting event is great, even though I have my doubts about corporate involvement. Sports clubs all over the country rely on the community and can foster a sense of organisation and action which we don’t see much in other areas. Well, except for the top Union clubs. They just get everything given to them by government, both local and national.
I have looked through the Standard’s archives to find a post I remember from the last couple of years analysing net profit outflows offshore from NZ by sector, and cannot find it. If the author of that post, or anyone else, could point me to it I would be very grateful.
In a related issue that might become of interest while hunting out various links to the figures i have used in the above comment i came across something really really interesting,
i first looked at the various web-pages detailing deaths from cancer and heart disease vis a vis the smoking issue about a year ago,
i did the trip again today starting afresh with a Google search asking the usual multiple questions so as to drag in the widest array of answers from the web,
In an ”It’s a modern miracle moment” i came across one page that claims the death rate from heart disease was down to 30%, go the Doctors and Nurses you good things, to have altered the upward spiral of heart disease by a full 10 or so % over the course of just 1 year would have to be truly a modern miracle,
Makes me wonder a couple of things, (1), being it seems a bit fucking strange that the rate of deaths from heart disease can fall 10% in a year and not a peep about such a miracle in the mass media???,
(2), of course has me wondering if our health authorities wishing to have the data reflect their zealism against the use of tobacco products would have them manipulating the figures???,
Nah couldn’t happen here in little old Noo Ziland right, the other 100 or so pages found on the web reporting a death rate for heart disease of 40% must have got it wrong, snigger…
“(2), of course has me wondering if our health authorities wishing to have the data reflect their zealism against the use of tobacco products would have them manipulating the figures???,
Nah couldn’t happen here in little old Noo Ziland right,”
No exactly it could not happen in New Zealand. So why are you raising it?
Bad 12 just about every smoker I know wants to quit but can’t because its highly addictive.
Your statistics are very dodgy you have grabbed a whole lot of percentages no hard numbers .
Percentages mean nothing without number.
Now since tariana turia has pushed for huge changes to tobacco taxes and and stopping marketing aimed at”Children” .
NZ’s smoking rates have dropped dramatically from 25% to lrss than 16%.
Those stats can’t be fudged or ignored.
Tricledown, please provide me and the other readers these other ‘numbers’ that proves what you are trying to impart is Fact and not some knee-jerk fiction,
The sum total of your comment is devoid of fact simply an emotive bluster, and where have i denied that the rate of those using tobacco products has not dropped,
Your spurious comment about ‘averages’ when applied to the annual % of those who die annually from both cancer and heart diseases is simply rubbish, if i were discussing the age at which these deaths occur then making a comparison would be based upon averages…
Ooooh look it’s Phillis… stalking me across the web…without a fact…nor a clue…just the normal filthy junkies whine…hardly bothering to address the comment…instead using snide low level abuse as the means of discourse…all the while unable to rise above the mediocre in ‘its’ chosen medium…
Phillis the filthy whinging junky has a certain ring to it…tell us all Phillis…your use of multiple drugs…ever heard of poly-addiction…that’s where the filthy whining junky aka you swaps one addiction for another depending on the availability of supply and whether the means of purchase is at hand…
You havn’t kicked the smack habit Phillis…you simply swapped it for dope which is easier to access and is affordable from your current income…i have seen this befor among many other junkies i know…given a suitably large wad of cash Phillis…you would be round at the nearest dealers place stocking up large on enough smack to ping up your arm to satisfy that craving that just wont go away…and…fucks up everything you say or do…that’s why Phillis…the sum total of originality in anything you have written in ten years…is totally zero…
Smoking tobacco Phillis…i fucken love it…can’t give up is only your latest of stupidly wrong comments…the truth is i have never bothered to try…the addiction cost me fuck-all except for rolly papers and lighters…so why would i want to give up…
You better stay impoverished Phillis for the reasons i point out above…and…with the purity of some of the shit going round these days i could well imagine you shooting up a spoonful which would seriously blow your mind…soon after tho…it would also stop what’s left of your heart…
Bad 12 just about every smoker I know wants to quit but can’t because its highly addictive.
Your statistics are very dodgy you have grabbed a whole lot of percentages no hard numbers .
Percentages mean nothing without number.
Now since tariana turia has pushed for huge changes to tobacco taxes and and stopping marketing aimed at”Children” .
NZ’s smoking rates have dropped dramatically from 25% to lrss than 16%.
Those stats can’t be fudged or ignored.
Actually Tricledown, your wee whine,laughable as you decry my use of %’s and then trot out a couple of your own, has just reminded me that my next large time consuming search through Google will be for the import/export figures for tobacco coming into and out of New Zealand,
Such figures might tell us all, by tonnage, just how much tobacco is currently being used in New Zealand, as apposed to that which is being imported, turned into cigarettes etc and then being re-exported…
PS, the current 16% figure for users of tobacco is from the census figures, i am pretty sure i accidently ticked the non-smoker box on my census form when i am in fact a heavy smoker, wonder how many other accidents occurred when others filled out theirs…
One More Time (don’t miss the bus, or the train) : No-Dig Gardening – mucho gracias Murray Olsen,
Building Depth, rather than remaining in The Shallows ; as competent as the Weather forecast
(memory being “the fundamental characteristic of life”- Samuel Butler). Where was he from ;).
Politicians aye?
Don’t
Even
Notice
I
Am
Lying
may be a fitting epaulette. Such are the questions addressed by the field of Theodicy …”the cravings of […] man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does”…, yet, it is The Year of The Snake!
On a related subject, we may notice the frequency the synonyms of catastrophic are being Heralded in the MSM…, conditions for beast and man becoming less favourable,
not back bad12, just a ‘birthday bash’, in tune one prays:
Simply put
Mow or Weed-spray
Cardboard or woolen carpet
Manure Fert Compost
Grass Clippings, Leaves, Hay or similar
Manure Fert Compost
Grass Clippings, Leaves, Hay or similar
and so on, reproducing forest floor texture.
For a number of reasons I prefer making own compost, collecting neighbor’s grass, NPK, Lime as required and chicken manure. Only ‘plants of joy’ out the window though 😉
Tah much Rogue, seems a lot of work, not necessarily for someone just starting a garden, but, i have all mine as raised boxes of soil, makes the digging that much easier,
i compost using the plastic bags that used to hold bought compost, stuff em full of weeds and clippings off of the plants, bush’s, and trees, wait awhile and hey presto ready to go into the soil,
Lolz, one of my neighbours throws all His weeding into a wheelie bin that He pays to have emptied once a week for 4 or 5 bucks, then moans about the soil being so poor in His garden , Lolz, He’s a redneck hypocrite so i have never bothered any attempt at enlightenment,
One of the other neighbor’s in the street has just started dropping off all His food scraps which go straight in the garden along with a suitable pile of my compost…
on to it bad12; I’m building up to improve soil, overcome oxalis, convolvulus, drainage issues, ease on back; no hurry, just a little at a time as materials are afforded. All the best, gonna be an interesting, yet sad year out there in the big wide world all media present to us spectator / visionaries.
Over, and, out!
Here’s a hint Rogue, don’t look at a garden as a whole area that has to be dug over at once, form a daily habit,
What i do is dig across one fork width of garden most days, the top foot of soil i dig out laying it on top of the rest of the garden, the bottom foot i just dig in place to make sure its nice and loose, then i throw in the compost and rake the dug out soil back into place,
i do tho have the luxury of only planting the one crop a year, but, the system still works well if you have multiple boxes and can leave a couple un-planted…
Solar power is one of the greenest forms of electricity generation we have. It gives families independence from the big electricty companies. With no fuel cost, it insulates families against future power price rises.
Under the Greens’ Solar Homes initiative, Kiwi families and households will be able to get low-cost loans from the government to pay for solar power installation, repay the loan via their rates, and enjoy free, sustainable power for decades.
The loans will be cost neutral to the Crown, with an estimated administration cost to Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) of less than a million dollars a year.
Once the low-interest loan is repaid, the family will own their solar power system outright. Families will be able to earn money by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
This is an example of smarter, greener economics in action.
Looks like a smart, well thought out policy. I can pick some holes in it (esp around solar batteries), but for the mainstream it’s a good start, and a good example of holistic thinking getting into mainstream politics (the policy works at multiple, interrelated levels across many areas).
Yes. A positive step but the battery storage problem has not been solved yet has it? I think that the cost of solar panels has been tumbling downwards as new technology comes into force. Sunny Marlborough might be a good place to be.
my view is that this is a big step in the right direction, But, i think that far far more ‘thinking’ need be done around solar energy,
(1), A standard solar power kit need be designed so that all installations are basically a carbon copy of each other, where it is made easy to simply plug in more solar panels should space allow and the initial installation proved a financial success
(2),i am of the belief that such solar installations should be without the capacity to store energy, i see the use of batteries as a means of storage when we have a National Grid as a total waste of resources,
The power from solar installations should just be fed straight though a smart meter into the grid with the proposed ‘kiwi-power’ scheme of the Government as the single buyer of wholesale electricity buying all the generated electricity from households generating solar energy at wholesale rates on a preferential basis ahead of the commercial generators, thus a smart meter would measure house-hold use against household solar generation and a discount at the wholesale rate would occur at the point of billing the household…
Good idea bad12. Straight into the grid and avoid the need for batteries. However the Electricity Providers might be unhappy as thousands and thousands of solar panels would undermine their strangle hold.
Seriously ianmac???, as far s the major generators go i would simply say ‘tough’, it’s our dams and grid that my parents and grandparents built off of the back of being taxed and some very hard labour,
If the retailers start to go broke again i say tough, the insertion of these retailers into the ‘market’ which has been the cause of the rising price of electricity in many instances,and, as many of these retailers are in fact owned by the major generators who ‘kaching’ demand two lots of profit from the same generation, there would be no sad loss, how long would it take for the state to set up an electricity retailer…
Not a bad idea, but like others have said the batteries are the main problem.
I read some where the batteries need replacing every 10 -15 years and they aren’t cheap and also where do you stick them.
Also the panels do not last for ever, 20 -25 years seem to be the life expectancy.
Having said that I do like Bad12 idea of selling electricity into the grid.
So you like the Green Party’s policy of selling power to the grid, good for you.
“also where do you stick them.”
Think about all that space used to installing heat pumps. Most houses have room to spare. You can put them outside (although there are frost issues). Installers will help solve these problems just like they do with other technologies.
The price of panels and batteries will drop once more people are buying them. That’s part of the GP plan, to boost the solar industry in NZ.
I’m a capitalist, being able to make a bit of money selling power appeals greatly.
Photovoltaic panels I’m fairly meh about, their efficiency is rather poor and return to cost ratio isn’t great.
The only really question I have is how the electrical grid would cope with 30,000+ people randomly injecting various amounts of power into the grid.
Would that be an issue?
Distributed input is much easier to handle than the current model where power from large South Island generators has to be transported the length of the country to Auckland.
BM, i will have you eating mung beans and lentils yet, the final straw will be when you go into the office that you sell yourself to as an indentured serf muttering peace, love, happiness, and joyful times for all while counting your hippy beads,
The Green Party can expect your vote this year then???, the switch wont be a lonely one, a 58% rise in the Green party vote from within the Auckland electorates held by National was apparent in the data from the 2011 election…
Unfortunately I’m not quite ready to go out there and purchase a Morris dancing outfit, as tempting as it is.
Seriously though this is where the greens really trip up, good idea but it’s only one idea and very few people(hopefully) cast their vote purely on one issue or idea.
This is why I think the Greens need to be a more neutral party, take a leaf out of Switzerland’s book and learn to work with every one.
The greens have been around a long time, yet they’re still considered extremist nut bars by a large proportion of kiwis.
Until they actually work with National they always will be the 10% mung bean , hippy party.
Greens need to get sharper, they’re a business and sometimes you have work with other businesses you don’t particularly like, but you do it because you get something good out of it.
The fact that they’re still political virgins with no track record after all these years speaks volumes about how poor the greens political strategy is.
“Seriously though this is where the greens really trip up, good idea but it’s only one idea and very few people(hopefully) cast their vote purely on one issue or idea.”
Dude, read Norman’s speech. The standard even published the whole thing so you don’t have to go looking. One idea, my arse. At least base your criticisms on something even half way real.
On the contrary, if the greens ever go into coalition with national, it would be proof that they elevate mung beans above child welfare, employment and human suffering.
That’s different to working with individual nats on individual legislation, but they already try that.
“Guess ACT need to learn to work with Labour then. Unless they want to carry on as the fringe extremist nut bar sub-1% party that is.”
Now that ACT has ejected Banks and they have an intelligent, thoughtful leader, their vote will progressively recover. They will have 2 MPs in the next Parliament.
BM, ummm, the most educated eloquent answer my tiny little mind can formulate in answer to that is, sorry, fuck off with your lolly pops save them for National after the election, another 9 in opposition means they will need cheering up…
“another 9 in opposition means they will need cheering up…”
Thankfully, that is looking increasingly unlikely.
And the foul mouthed language .. if you and CV are indicative (“shit head”) it is a worrying indicator of Your mindset and of Him. i wonder for Your future and His if You keep behaving in this way.
SSLands, you sound like you need cheering up, why not slither off to that wee gambling site and console yourself with a good long drool over the ”next PM gamble”,
What scares you off from sitting and spitting your rubbish into the forum over there SSLands is the fact that those with a couple of working neurons and actual money, as opposed to you pretending to have some, is the fact that they would see through your rubbish in 2 seconds right,
Or have they already given you the message to stop masterbating in their forum…
Human trafficking, loan sharking, it is a desperate and miserable situation – and what do the corporate sponsors and others care as long as the event makes them money.
A quick comparative analysis of 2008 and 2011 Opinion Polls suggests that a little more than 50% of the time, Fairfax results are skewered about 3-6 percentage points to the Right in comparison with other polls taken around the same time (the rest of the time their results closely align with the other polls. Fairfax never favours the Left in comparison to other polls).
The last Fairfax poll of 08 overestimated National support by 4 points (and underestimated Labour by 3) in comparison with the Election results while the last Fairfax poll of 11 overestimated National support by 7 points (and underestimated Labour by 2).
The February 2013 document shows that the Indonesian government had retained the law firm for help in trade talks, the Times reported in a story posted on its website Saturday. The law firm was not identified in the document, but the Chicago-based firm Mayer Brown was advising the Indonesian government on trade issues at the time, according to the newspaper.
The document itself is a monthly bulletin from an NSA liaison office in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The NSA’s Australian counterpart, the Australian Signals Directorate, had notified the NSA that it was conducting surveillance of the talks, including communications between Indonesian officials and the American law firm, and offered to share the information, the Times reported.
Liaison officials asked the NSA general counsel’s office, on behalf of the Australians, for guidance about the spying. The bulletin notes only that the counsel’s office “provided clear guidance” and that the Australian eavesdropping agency “has been able to continue to cover the talks, providing highly useful intelligence for interested U.S. customers,” according to the Times story.
“Part of my TEDx Queenstown talk next week is about mass surveillance online. How governments are building the modern Panopticon.
I was therefore quite surprised yesterday when Prime Minister John Key said he has no reason to believe the NSA has undertaken mass surveillance on New Zealanders. To help the Prime Minister, let’s look at what we know about it and whether an objective person should come to the same conclusion…”
@Karol. Just a small point and this probably does not irk others. Please when you start an article of yours do not dive straight into the acronym of MSM. I understand what it means, yet others may not or have an educated guess. Perhaps in future to start your MSM article, then give it a one line, name check as to what it means “Mainstream Media” then revert to acronymsville? Otherwise it can lead to confusion. Is MSM like BDSM yet a lite version of it? Am I meant to eat M&M’s whilst indulging in NeoLiberal BDSM whilst glancing at Shortland Street on The MSM? I like reading the posts on The Standard aka TS. I dont want to have to invest in an Enigma machine to unravel the gobbledegook under the assumption that because the author knows what something stands for, therefore all the readers do. I just want to read the articles. Rest In Peace. Rip Msm/BdsmLite/NeoM&M’s/Fubar!
BDSM is usually practised by more than one consenting adult at a time, unless it’s a Tory with an asphyxiation fetish. MSM is forced on us. The two should not be compared.
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
RNZ PacificMarshall Islands Journal editor Giff Johnson says US President Donald Trump’s decision on aid “is an opening for anybody else who wants to fill the gap” in the Pacific. Trump froze all USAID for 90 days on his first day in office and is now looking to significantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Mazza, Director, SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care and Professor and Head of the Department of General Practice, Monash University PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Ahead of the government’s response this week ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle It generally ends badly. An old tyrant embarks on an ill-considered project that involves redrawing maps. They are heedless to wise counsel and indifferent to indigenous interests or experience. Before they fail, are killed, deposed or otherwise disposed of, these vicious old men can cause immense ...
The Cook Islands PM is in Beijing to sign an agreement with China - but the government says he failed to consult with NZ on the matter, as is required. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katinka van de Ven, Alcohol and other drug specialist, UNSW Sydney Fewer young Australians are drinking. And when they do drink, they are drinking less and less often than previous generations at the same age. It’s a trend happening all around the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flavio Macau, Associate Dean – School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Hitra/Shutterstock Coles is reducing its product range by at least 10%, a move that has sparked public backlash and renewed discussions about the role of supermarkets in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Humphrey, Research Fellow in Urban Ecology, RMIT University Golf courses are sometimes seen as harmful to the environment. According to the popular notion, the grass soaks up too much water, is cut too short and sprayed with dangerous chemicals. But in ...
New Zealand has long championed a fair, stable, and resilient global order. As a nation with deep ties to the Pacific and beyond, we cannot afford to be passive in the face of these shifts. ...
Things are going to look a little different this year. Here’s what to expect.Good news, Shortland Street fans: after a well-earned summer holiday, New Zealand’s longest running drama returns to TVNZ2 and TVNZ+ tonight. Ahead of us is a fresh year of living, loving and laughing in the nation’s ...
The poll, conducted between 02 and 04 February, shows National up 2.3 points to 31.9 percent, while Labour has risen 0.4 points from last month to 31.3 percent. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne New York Public Library Many of us take pleasure in listening to music. Music accompanies important life events and ...
The Cook Islands finds itself in a precarious dance — one between the promises of foreign investments and the integrity of our own sovereignty. As the country sways between partners China and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands News asks: “Do we continue to haka with the Taniwha, our constitutional ...
A diplomatic scuffle with the Cook Islands. Plus: What went down at Waitangi. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of the New Zealand foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the ...
The deputy chairperson of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Michael Connelly, said simply setting targets without "resourcing" them was a pointless exercise, as the number of patients - and their acuity - continuing to grow. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suvradip Maitra, PhD Student, Australian National University Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock Late last year, ChatGPT was used by a Victorian child protection worker to draft documents. In a glaring error, ChatGPT referred to a “doll” used for sexual purposes as an “age-appropriate toy”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Donald Trump has already made good on his threat to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, and is due to announce a 25% tariff on all steel and ...
Diplomatic tension between the Cook Islands and New Zealand is growing. Here's what it's about about, what China has to do with it, and why it matters. ...
Sick of human reality TV? Alex Casey has found a perfect solution in David Attenborough’s latest. I’m know I’m not alone when I say this: humans are bleaking me out at the moment. Turn on the news for the bleakest updates imaginable. Try to numb the pain with Married at ...
The Director of Public Health is a statutory role providing public health leadership across the Public Health Agency, within the Ministry of Health, and the National Public Health Service within Health NZ. ...
Zachary Forbes, a maths teacher from Whanganui, has started an unusual initiative on videogame streaming service Twitch. Shanti Mathias interviews him. “The people want First Samuel,” says the man who calls himself Brother Zac. Brown hair, headphones on, a wall behind him, he pauses and reflects on the comments he’s ...
Endless New Zealand politicians, including the present government, have pointed to our support for a rules-based international system, says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...
In January, the reversals to speed limit reductions on the state highway network began. Councils have been asked to reverse all reduced speed limits since 2020 by July. A retired rural healthcare worker found something missing from the conversation – a maths equation she learned in high school. As told ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natarsha McPherson, PhD Candidate in Spatial Ecology, University of Adelaide Rob D / Shutterstock On the vast expanse of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, two very different creatures live side by side – but not always peacefully. One is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John White, Associate Professor in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Deakin University Fire broke out in the Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) in December and raged for weeks. Then lightning strikes ignited fresh blazes late last month, which merged to form a mega-fire that’s ...
Good to see an MSM article that focuses on the actual working poor. In comparison there’s been some articles (especially on the NZ Herald) where they use some of the middle-class and least precarious of the precariat to represent the least well off.
This Stuff article focuses on a couple of families struggling with little or no pay rises: “Rock stars or roadies?” – ref to NZ’s (alleged) rock star economy.
The article adds in some stats from Helen Kelly & the CTU:
Unfortunately the article then goes on to an optimistic note, with quotes from Phil O’Reilly and a focus on a graduate on the up.
Just had a read of that.
Let me guess, the families are union members Helen Kelly put forward to try and bad mouth National because It certainly reads like that.
I seriously doubt the level of “struggle” these people are “suffering”.
If the unions are going to do these stories of woe, don’t use the $5 a bottle of milk story, it’s nonsense.
I also like to put my fingers in my ears and say ‘lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala!!!’, very loudly when I get told something I don’t want to hear.
i like the success story they include at the end, he gets help from his parents to make ends meet, but hes confident about the future. ok. & phil oreilly, who supports working for families topping up poor pay.
So its a good economic outlook if your parents can afford to bail you out until the econony gets… whT? Gooder?
Reminds me of something i listened to on RadioNZ National a week or month ago, out of England the story was highlighting the fact that the young were leaving home in pursuit of the Uni degree as usual,
Having gained the degree tho, with the price of property over there, both to rent and to buy, more and more of them, even with good employment,were being forced back to live with mum and dad…
And ceos never lie and bankers never get foung guilty of deceipt.
Do you play golf?
Big Mouth
BadMouthing
Your right wings effort at balanced News.
The very same polls you were crowing about yesterday has more information than you can handle Blinkered Monetarist.
World wide since the GFC the only people who have benefited are the top 10 or 20%.
These are Banksters Capital gaingsters(tax free of course) CEO’s
Have all done extemely well.
While the other 80% havehad to bite the bullet.
And the bottom 20% are doing it really tough as well as being used as a distraction by the sadistic elite blaming them for the ills creayed by the Ponzi scheming of the elite who put us in this situation.
BM I May get banned for this..
But why don’t you just FUCK OFF!
I am just so sick of your negativity!
+1
Would you like a tissue David H?
Now David don’t be so negative.
Expressing one’s honest feelings about obvious mendacity is not negative, it is liberating.
Actually, it isn’t. I don’t buy milk myself, but, I checked around online: while there are some cheaper buys if you shop around, $5.00 for a 2 litre bottle of milk seems fairly average.
February 2014: 1 litre of milk average price – 2.42 NZ$
This website has it a $2.65 per 1 litre.
And the example in the article was comparing milk prices with cheap fizzy drinks.
Go into any dairy in NZ, 2 liters for $3.50, or $6.50 for 2x 2 liters been like that for years.
Even supermarkets are doing their house brands for roughly the same price, the only milk around $5.00 is your expensive Anchor blends.
Bill english… rning and effectively acknowledge that Michael Cullen had done something right in his stewardship of the Government’s finances in the past nine years.
Having condemned his predecessor for many years for paying off debt too quickly, English said: “I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.”
“In New Zealand we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for,” he told reporters at the Treasury briefing on the state of the economy and forecasts.
English pointed to a graph of the debt track since 1972 and projected five years out from today.
The recent low was 17 per cent of GDP and the ghastly projection for 2013 is 33.1 per cent and possibly worse, under what Treasury calls a “downside scenario” – 38.6 per cent.
Unemployment is forecast to rise to 6.4 per cent in 2010 and deficits forecast to be $2.4 billion to $3.5 billion larger over the 2010 to 2013 years than forecast just before the election.
In the midst of the horrible outlook and depressing uncertainty about how bad it might get, English was forced to change his message about his inheritance from Labour because it was more important to inject some sense of positivity into the situation. He needed to do it for both political reasons and for real financial reasons.
As Labour finance spokesman David Cunliffe said yesterday, too much negativity could drive confidence down even further.
Of the plan that Cunliffe demanded of English today, the Finance Minister said: “The plan in essence is quite simple, that is to maintain significant short-term stimulus in the economy, to protect people from the sharp edge of recession and secondly to get on with the job of raising our longer term growth prospects…with some urgency.”
Tax cuts are on the way; decisions will be made in the New Year on which infrastructure projects will be brought forward and English and Prime Minister John Key will be meeting chief executives of Government departments this afternoon to give them the bad news: don’t ask for any more money in Budget 2009 because you won’t get it.
@ karol…as others have been saying on this site Labour is not preforming well in advocating for its core constituents………the working poor, beneficiaries, children…those struggling at the bottom of the economic heap…imo for what it is worth:
Labour needs to be taking serious professional advice from a top Advertising/PR Agency on how to get this message about the NACT poor across;
( no time now to be sweet and middle class…Labour needs to get mean and take the gloves off and punch out Nact)
The concept of Key as a REPTILE is brilliant!……it should be played for all its worth visually and verbally …ie concept /visuals/posters /talk of a Reptile leading a Reptilian Nact Party which is sucking NZ dry!!!! …
( one of those old fashioned 1950s muted colour posters)……….a Reptile octopus with many arms….eg. 1.) one arm squeezing the working poor to death 2) killing beneficiaries 3.) sucking the life blood from children 4.)another could be sucking the life out of NZ State education with Charter Schools …
Lets face it…..Sue Morroney ( Social Development ) and Jacinda Adern ( Children) are not cutting the mustard against Paula Bennett( and in comparison with Sue Braford and Metiria Turei)
…they may know a lot but Labour needs HIGH PROFILE SPOKESPEOPLE on these CORE issues of Labour ….not too late to change and get people who are not afraid to get nasty, get their hands dirty, swing the lead…. and are CREDIBLE to the struggling poor!!!!( ie look like they have been there or have relatives who are there!) ….Spokespeople who are CAPABLE of ATTRACTING MEDIA ATTENTION like Shane Jones has recently
…what about Louisa Wall ( Social Development ) and Poto Williams ( Children)…?….or any other Passionate MPS willing to take on and do what Shane Jones is doing?.
worth repeating this comment from Tombstone yesterday
Tombstone 25
15 February 2014 at 9:39 pm
… Labour’s brand is boring. It’s just National in red. Create a brand / visual campaign that really gets people excited and watch what happens. Suddenly people become interested in the message because they like what they see or they feel compelled to understand the message behind what they’re seeing. Like a photograph that speaks a thousand words – something that can’t be denied. Reality caught in a single shot. Powerful images without the need to cover them in statistics – the image speaks for itself. I live in Christchurch. I survived the quakes. I see the heartache every day that surrounds me and it’s not something that can be described in mere words but a single photograph can on the other hand be more powerful than the sum of all words combined. I work as a freelance graphic artist in my free time and do a lot of low brow art and so I guess I tend to see the world from a very visual perspective and the weak point I see in the National Party is Brand Key – that is the weak point in their armor. That is where you drive the spear home. Fuck the MSM. Let them gorge themselves on Key’s bullshit. What counts most is that you get the people excited and wanting more. Do that and the MSM will follow. Bye bye Key. Bye bye National.
Because attacking John Key worked so well for the left in the last two elections. Need smarter strategy than that.
@ Sacha …the NACTs hounded Helen Clark and Winston Peters mercilessly
….because they knew they were the Labour Governments greatest political assets…and if they could undermine them they could WIN
…there were no holds barred as they went out like a pack of ferocious dogs to destroy the Queen on the chessboard and her Knight
….Labour Party counter attack was a patsy in comparison…and a patsy protecting their Queen and Knight
Cunliffe just needs to keep on Message. Shonkey will (if left alone) just self destruct
hope so….you may be right…..i dont think Winnie will be going with John Key….after being followed by Key’s spies to MR Dotcoms house
NACT is Reptile Octopus with Many EYES…..which has and is sucking out the life blood of NZs economy…..STATE ASSETS!….WATER!….TOURISM!…BIG DEBTS ..unneccessary PRIVATISED MOTORWAYS
….it disguises itself and its real intentions by muddying the waters with its inky smoke screens and flag waving diversions
…it is a cunning REPTILIAN PREDATOR
As soon as labour plays the man rather than the ball by calling key a reptile, they lose the high ground.
Doesn’t stop individuals from helping to make it a meme, though.
Bullshit, what high ground, do you think Key cares about the high ground – Key needs to be shown for what he is; how else do you do that without getting personal? The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough. Hound him constantly until he breaks and shows more of his true colours.
The time for being nice to Key is long gone. Gloves off time.Time to get serious if you want to win the election.
Agree about the need for ‘street fighters’ as shadow ministers/portfolio holders.
“The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough.”
If the left do this, they will lose the election. How can you not see that? John Key is immensely popular, and thoroughly likable. He is the kind of guy people just want to be around.
Focus on policies that will deliver prosperity. Otherwise this election is lost for you already. Ipredict stocks on “PM Labour” have been sliding again this week. And before someone tells me this is all a conspiracy by one rich guy to drive down the stock, the order book shows otherwise. The stock is being dumped by small traders in droves.
SSLands, ”stocks on PM Labour have been sliding”, you really are a fucking brainless fucking idiot aren’t you,
What was ex-PM Helen Clark’s polled popularity befor She became a 3 term Prime Minister, 3 or 6%, or something ridiculously s low,
If you place an ounce of faith in the ability of the gambling sit you refer to as being in any way accurate you would have to add that faith in accuracy to all the other gambles/predictions on that site,
Be a good little dear wont you and trot of back there and have a good read of the Party %’s which last time i had a squizz had National polling 42%, Labour 33%, Green 10% and for a gut-busting screamer DotComs Internet Party 8%,
Once you have had the little squizz over there SSLands, stay there, your masterbating all over these pages is at the least unseemly…
@ srylands
““The problem is Labour has NOT played the man enough.”
If the left do this, they will lose the election. How can you not see that? John Key is immensely popular, and thoroughly likable. He is the kind of guy people just want to be around”
…if you say this then the opposite must st be the case…i am encouraged this is the way to go
unless it’s a double-psych 😉
SSLands, please do not confuse your creepy desires to be around Key, preferably on you knees, with any desire felt by most people.
If you lie with hogs, you get covered in shit.
@ McFlock…not talking about lying with hogs ….rather ST George spearing an Octopus Reptilian NACT Party that has NZ in its grip
….could be wrong….but i do think Labour needs to get a professional Adevertisng/PR Agency to give professional independent advice on how to get their message out there…because it doesn’t seem as if it is working
btw ….i thought you were a rather good hog wrestler with Chris 73…..it was gobsmackingly awe inspiring the insults on yesterdays Open Mike
It’s on the level of traditional propaganda. Not something the next government should be doing, IMO – that’s why the nactoids use the cetacean for it, and why key admitting a connection between himself and the cetacean was an error.
Me, I’m not connected with labgrns. And I did like “fustilarian”.
actually, let me expand on that for a bit.
Let’s say key is a reptilian overlord who eats babies. Currently, a whole chunk of people still like him. That means that they either don’t know or don’t care. But he’s pretty obviously a reptile (isn’t one for blinking too much), so the people who don’t know are in denial.
They won’t be persuaded by anyone else that key is a reptile.
They might see it for themselves and be revolted, though.
So keep applying pressure on issues and so on, so he gets stressed and the mask slips, but calling him a reptile would just A) make you as bad as the stalkers in the other camp; and B) make the deniers entrench further into their position.
Excellent lols McFlock 🙂
@ McFlock…..i didnt know you were sweet with middle class refined sensibilities
….i am thinking more of an octopus style reptile with many eyes and arms crushing the living blood and spirit out of things…more visual than verbal ….eg old fashioned 1950s style monotone posters to be stuck to lamp posts and reach those who dont watch tv or read newspapers
sensibilities have nothing to do with it.
A reptile is cold blooded… thats the important bit
Yes COLD BLOODED!..is the feeling
Rino Tirikatene and Meke Whaitiri are other potential spokespeople for these crucial Labour campaign Spokesperson roles
…it is no use waiting until after the election …it important to get kicking with the toughest boots into the fracas now ( there are 800,000 votes to woo)
…it should approached professionally ( ie an outside agency should decide … like an actor casting agency ) …no cronyism in the hunt for the best charismatic spokespeople that the voters can IDENTIFY with.
( this is no bad reflection on policy making skills which are equally important ….but lets be frank they are completely different skills and it is rare to get them in the same person)
Chooky @ 9.59 am, I think maybe you’ve mistaken me for a Labour Party Member and/or voter or an election campaign strategist.
I’m none of those things, nor am I a member of any political party. I will leave it to the Labour Partyy – its members, and those able to provide excellent advice, to get their campaign in order.
Winning at all costs, to end up with just Nat lite in government is not a good prospect. There needs to be a multi-pronged approach, in diverse ways.
I’m with what Bill says on the front page of his “Positive Things” post today:
Grass roots change, changes in the media (entertainment as well as serious media) etc are needed. I am very much behind the kinds of grass roots actions that Sue Bradford has been involved in. And Turei is one of the few current MPs who have come from a workign class background – our parliament needs more from diverse low income backgrounds.
The media needs on-going critique and challenges – not just so they change, but so that more people become aware of the, often subtle, ways the media can be politically slanted.
That’s what I was doing with my comment on the above Stuff article. Highlighting that it was at least an improvement on too many other articles of seen on Stuff and the NZ Herald’s website – but also indicating one of its shortcomings.
@karol
no i did not mistake you for those…i know you vote Green
…i just saw an opportunity( presumptuous and forward of me i know) to help Labour with is PR…. ha ha….but seems like others here do not agree…although some do! …..that Labour is not doing well with its PR
Ah. Sneaky, Chooky. I’m more concerned about the overall focus of parliamentary Labour. Until they clearly have shifted away from soft neoliberalism, and have less managerial type MPs, I may consider voting for them again – the problems go deepr than their PR, I think.
Karol I seem to have mistaken you for someone who gives a shit..
[deleted]
[lprent: Don’t abuse the authors – that is policy and always a bad mistake.
I’d have to say that you remind me of a vicariously shared dose of thrush and about as useful to the left. Just a pain to have around because of frustrated scratching, and a lot of whining. I’d point out that I’ve been a member of Labour party for about 35 years and volunteered for them for even longer. So you’re getting the benefit of an opinion by a genuine Labour party member – in case you think that being a party member is still important after I’ve explained exactly how much of a jerk you look to me.
I’ve helped organise many moderately large campaigns for the NZLP. Typically usually less than a third of the volunteers have been NZLP members. I’d have to say that much of the time that many of the volunteers from outside the party are more useful than the ones who bore the hell out of me at NZLP meetings. That is why all parties play nice to people who are active even when they are not members. You never know when you might need them.
So having some moronic fuckwit like yourself coming along and acting holier than thou about people who are active just makes me want to kick your arse off this site as being just another useless jerkoff more concerned with pleasuring yourself than doing any actual work. Being more concerned about your own self-righteousness than doing anything of any use is a characteristic of a person that I’d prefer not to be in any organisation I’m helping. Basically you impress me as being a waste of bandwidth with a ego backed by shallow opinions and a skill at being supremely stupid.
Of course that is just my opinion. But it would also be the opinion of damn near every other activist from almost any political party or activist group that I have ever worked with.
Banned for 3 weeks for stupidity and I’d advise you to read the policy so I don’t have to notice you again. ]
ooops sorry to have caused trouble for ecossemaid…..i do think there are many people out there who are genuinely frustrated with Labour’s fighting PR image though
….however we can always vote Green or Mana…and it will have the same end result
Seriously? What would Hellen Kelly know?
We have 4 staff on our dairy farm.
Lowest paid is around $38K + free house + free meat/milk
Highest paid is $47K + free house + free meat/milk + 3 free yearling bulls reared
All of them have 1 hour breakfast breaks, + 1 & 1/2 hour lunch breaks.
They work the equivalent of 5 & 1/3 days a week, no more than 9 hours in a day (5 hours for week end days)
Can’t tell me that employment on dairy farms has no trickle down affect.
The couple we had working for us last season drove an 2005 Ford XR8 and bought themselves a nice 14ft boat and went fishing on most of their days off.
Our 2ic this year we are helping to step up into either managing or share milking next year (giving her financial and business backing in order to do this)
So perhaps Ms Kelly’s pushing of a dairying stereotype of rich farm owners and destitute workers is nothing more than propaganda to push her own political/union barrow.
Oh and yes, these conditions of employment were all negotiated between us and our staff – no union required.
Or – possibly – other farms are run differently from yours and so the workers with different experiences are those engaging with Helen Kelly?
Perhaps your workers – while living within their means – via free house/milk – are purchasing items they can afford instead of those they can’t? – their own house, farm etc. Whilst your support for your 2ic means that you are aware of this and is admirable, it is an acknowledgement that this is true.
You seem to be relating honestly your lived experiences as a farmer, but that does not automatically mean that those workers who report otherwise are dishonest.
You are probably also likely to be aware of others in your farming community who are not as scrupulous – those are the ones whose workers needs advocates such as Helen Kelly.
Seriously?
So you are trying to tell me that they chose to buy the XR8 and boat simply because they could never buy a house?
Rubbish. In this situation the money they put into the car and boat was more than enough to use as a deposit on a house.
That wasn’t their goal. They wanted to drive a V8 and go fishing all the time. Full stop.
I know coz they told me about it for the two years prior to buying them. I said to them they were better off buying a house and paying it off by renting it out while they lived rent free.
But no fishing was calling them.
Jimmie, you sound like a hardworking and ethical businessman who has a good relationship with his staff and treats them with dignity and honesty. That’s really cool, and it’s very heartening to read. However, you know as well as I do that every profession (mine’s early childhood teaching, by the way) has the good, the bad and the ugly and farming is no exception. People working on farms are more isolated than most of the population and if they are poorly treated they need the support that a good union can give them. You don’t need to get defensive as though the whole farming industry is being damned – town/country relationships are bad enough as it is. 🙂
I agree with you. Just pisses me off when the like of Ms Kelly deliberately paint a negative picture of a whole industry to suit her own political agenda.
The same when the msm (and the greens) go on about dairy farmers polluting waterways when the reality is that probably around 99% of dairy farmers dispose of farm effluent in a legal and sustainable manner.
However when you have stories like the ferry in auckland discharging raw human effluent into the harbour nobody says anything or councils allow raw human effluent to discharge into the sea during rain storms – oh well can’t be helped.
“when the reality is that probably around 99% of dairy farmers dispose of farm effluent in a legal and sustainable manner.”
[citation needed]
I agree that it’s not good to damn all dairy farmers. But let’s not pretend that almost all are doing the right things, when all the evidence and our own eyes suggests otherwise.
Mud gets in their eyes! 😀
Rogue Trooper you are back!
Abusive dairy employers “all too common” in NZ
Jimmie is living in a fantasy world.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/columnists/lyn-webster/7028998/Abusive-employers-all-too-common-in-NZ-dairy-farming-sector
*Most* dairy farmers currently pollute nearby waterways according to Fonterra et al’s own statistics. Nice try, bud.
I have to say farmer Jimmie Brown, while I agree not all you cockys are lousy employers, actually have a healthy respect with people working the land. The figure of 99% of farmers being clean is a stretch. I see unfenced waterways each and every week. Had a enough of it to tell the truth as a responsible Kiwi might need to start complaining to Fonterra shortly. The beef guys are alot worst as the law allows them to flaunt it.
It’s high time it was a level playing field with buying meat too while I’m having a gripe. Why should you guys be allowed homekill, when the rest of us city folk can’t openly rock up buy a beast and get in processed the same as you, without having to jump thru hoops with the paddock holding blockade that is.
And those rental cottages that some farmers rent out, (and they do) cash in back pocket. If only this Country had some decent investigative reporters left to show up life on the farm for the true blue National rural supporter is.
Now you get back on here and give us some answers please cobber, as I know it will be the farm boy pulling tits, probably hosing the cow shit by now, while your setting up to BBQ those tender fat scotch fillets that we never get at pak’ n slave!
Yes, I think all pollutants need the hard word + put on them – it’s not ok. I live in the country in Northland and a few kilometres down the road from me there’s a dry stock farm, heavily populated, and most of the cattle have free access to a stream – it makes my blood boil. No worse, though, than when I lived in Auckland and my friend’s dog came home dyed blue because he’d been in a creek polluted by industry. Makes a joke of clean and green, doesn’t it!
I didn’t know about the ferry – that’s awful – mind you I’ve never liked Fuller’s business practices – I left Waiheke Island mainly because of them
Fonterra are well aware of Northland farmers polluting Jen, but hey Fonterra is just fArmers looking after farms, blind eye..wink wink. Anyway there are votes in it if Labour & the Green get their shit together. Nothing like a bit of ‘lucky farmer’ envy to get some city votes off National.
Jimmie.
I am happy to admit there are many farmers who pay their employees fairly, allow them reasonable time off, fence their waterways and deal with effluent properly.
My son works for one.
Usually the same ones do both.
Good on you, for being one of them.
If all employers were fair and reasonable, we would not need Unions.
However from observation of a great many farms in our area, you are in the minority.
The reality is more like half a dozen underpaid and overworked Filipino migrants, cows in the streams and the effluent pond emptied into the river at midnight.
You should be pleased that people like Helen Kelly are holding dodgy operators feet to the fire. It prevents them from undercutting, and pricing out of business, the business’s of those, like you, who want to do things properly.
Some of my long gone farming relatives, who took pride in how they looked after the land and waterways, would be disgusted if they could see those same waterways, now.
KJT +100
Great to hear that you treat your workers well and dispose of waste in a way that is sustainable. (Not sure if that is in an environmentally sustainable way or not)
But I would encourage you to talk with your farming mates and find out what their practices are and encourage them to practice good labour and environmental management as well.
Mainly I was trying to point out that your anecdote does not accurately describe a whole industry practice.
Also, good luck with your workers saving the required 20% deposit before even going looking for a mortgage on that income – and then being given one.
Jimme. And your cows still shit, and pollute our rivers and streams. Makes them unsafe for our children to swim in, whilst you just chase the mighty dollar, and blindly kiss Key’s arse.
Free housing and meat/milk FFS what a rort. That has to be worth what, at least 10k a year?
How is that a rort?
I hate to be mean Jimmie but your lowest paid worker then is on $14.61 per hour and the highest oon $18 which may just not be enough to save for a house even rent free. It is a great shame to me that this level of wage can now be defended as good in this country. On another point – the rent is not really “rent free” as I think it is part of the salary package but regardless, I have the Federated Farmers report which is an extensive survey of wages in the sector. $19.49 is the average hour rate (total value package inlcuding rent, meat, power, and other benefits included and even training) for the whole dairy farming workforce, with Dairy Assistant roles (the most common role) appearing to have stagnant wages since 2010 despite record milk prices and an average total value package of just $17.02 per hour. So maybe you pay a bit above the average but I wouldn’t go to bed feeling to smug about your generosity. The reality is that in one of our very productive sectors the wages are very low and expectations high. 54% of those surveyed had been in the job less than a year. I do hear from farm workers very distressed at their working conditions and I think the industry would greatly benefit from collective bargaining. No political or hidden agenda there my friend!
Jimmie your a gem but you are a rarity amongst dairy farmers I habe visited and worked on many dairy farms as well I have interviewed many dairy workers outside the work place 90% of those IN spoke to are being under paid made to work unpaid hours over and above hours contracted.
Wage theft.
Along with abusive treatment from sharemilkers.
Animals on these farms are also mistreated.
Wacked with alkathene pipes,left milking for to long on milking table damaging udders very common.
Not seperating antibiotic treated cows.
Not keeping rearing areas clean allowing cows to become infected with clyptosporidiam.
Workers not vaccinated for clyptosporidium.
Workets not provided with clean drinking water.
Cows not rotated the full 35 days of fresh grass
Pregnant cows left in paddocks without proper shelter and no feed.
The list goes on.
Don’t want to seem flippant after Karol’s more serious comment, but I got a good laugh from Steve Braunias’ latest on Stuff this morning. before focusing on more weighty issues.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9701026/The-secret-diary-of-Kim-Dotcom
do you like yr laffs with a dash of politics..?
..bill maher is yr man..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/15/bill-maher-chris-christie_n_4794236.html?ref=topbar
phillip ure..
it’s later than previously promised..
..but here is that porridge-redux recipie..
(excerpt:..)
“….and this all adds up to a really healthy breakfast –
– that actually tastes/feels more like a comfort-dessert…
..and this is what makes it such a hit with kids..”
http://whoar.co.nz/2014/commentwhoar-porridge-redux/
(n.b..the instructions marked with an asterix..are v. important..(..and all guarantees/warranties are void..if ignored..)
phillip ure..
Billy Bragg’s misplaced praise of Bruce Springsteen
Radio NZ National, Sunday 16 February 2014
Listeners to this morning’s Sunday programme no doubt enjoyed Richard Langstone’s interview with Billy Bragg. Most of it was actually very good, albeit a tad worshipful and slightly embarrassing because of that. Billy Bragg is a thoughtful and serious person, who has a lot of valuable things to say. However, one of his comments raises a question about his judgement of character. I sent the following email to Richard Langstone….
Billy Bragg’s misplaced praise of Bruce Springsteen
Dear Richard,
Billy Bragg praised Bruce Springsteen as “a hero of mine”, but noted that he was “no Pete Seegar”, because he had not stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee. This seems to imply that Springsteen would have stood up to HUAC if only he had had the opportunity.
In fact, if Springsteen had any of the courage and integrity of people like Pete Seegar and Woody Guthrie, he would not have done THIS…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JygWoIeW224
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
I trust/believe billy bragg more than you moz therefore his praise is not misplaced at all. i think springsteen has had a positive influence and he started young…
“In September 1979, Springsteen and the E Street Band joined the Musicians United for Safe Energy anti-nuclear power collective at Madison Square Garden for two nights, playing an abbreviated set while premiering two songs from his upcoming album. The subsequent No Nukes live album, as well as the following summer’s No Nukes documentary film, represented the first official recordings and footage of Springsteen’s fabled live act, as well as Springsteen’s first tentative dip into political involvement.”
Ahhh the summer of 79… remember that one moz.
@ morrissey..
that’s a bit harsh isn’t it..?
..mix in some historical-context..eh..?
..’cos though disillusioned by them..myself and many others held onto the hope that once over the hurdle of re-election..that obama would go gangbusters..
..and do what he promised..
…(and tho’ a fucken drone-head killer..obama still has time..(some..!..)
..and romney was the other option..?..really..?
..and as an aside..i predict obama will announce full federal legalisation of cannabis..
..shortly after the mid-term elections..later this yr..)
..so..in/with that context..
..i reckon ‘harsh’ describes yr springsteen-condemnation..
..(the song pretty much sucks tho’..
..springsteen-by-numbers..)
..phillip ure..
Yes Phillip, just like you did, I hoped for Obama to defeat the unspeakable alternative in 2012. It was very much a case of the lesser of two evils.
The evil of two lessers?
Pete Seeger supported Obama, by the way, which kinda renders your email to RNZ a little null and void. He even shared the stage with Springsteen at Obama’s inauguration which makes your line about courage and conviction unintentionally funny. Close, but no Seegar.
😎
Nice to see you back in town Roguey 🙂
Is that at the 2009 inauguration or the 2013 one? You could forgive people—naïve and poorly informed people like Hollywood “liberals” and TV talkback hosts—who obviously didn’t know anything about Obama, being full of hope in early 2009. But after four years of his administration, to sing that song is an exercise carried out in a spirit of deepest cynicism and darkest irony.
What’s the bet that if Seegar were younger and full of the energy he had in the 1950s, he would have spoken out against Obama’s war on dissent at home, and his campaign of terror abroad? He was in his 90s, and his activism was over by the time of this clip.
What excuse does Springsteen, much younger and much richer, have for this display of Obama worship? (The answer lies in the fact that he’s much richer.)
Close, but no Seegar.
😀
Good one, Te Reo.
I trust/believe billy bragg more than you moz therefore his praise is not misplaced at all.
Sorry to have to say this my friend, but that statement is the most lamentably illogical thing I’ve seen on this board for some considerable time.
You “trust” Billy Bragg? Did you trust him when he was hobnobbing with a bloke he called “Tony” in the late 1990s and still supporting him as late as 2005?
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Rockin-the-vote-Billy-Bragg-for/
He later withdrew his ill-advised support for that blood-stained fraud, but his naïve comments about Springsteen show that he is still liable to misjudge people.
I think you “trust” your hero Billy Bragg in the same way his hero Springsteen “trusts” Obama—it’s blind, uncritical adulation. Springsteen joined in a cutely named “No Nukes” protest in 1979; so why is he supporting a politician who shamelessly promotes the use of nuclear power, as well as extrajudicial killing of American citizens and the persecution of political dissidents?
yeah yeah I know you hate them all with a vengeance moz – death, a slow excruciating painful and prolonged death to the fools who supported the fraudster!!! Do you know what fraud means? I’ve always liked billy bragg personally.
Marty, I like Billy Bragg too. I forgive him all his misjudgements, like supporting that fraudster, because I respect him. It’s just that I felt it was necessary to remind people that Bruce Springsteen—someone else I respect and admire—is also prone to misjudgements, and is certainly no Pete Seegar. When Billy Bragg stated that Springsteen had never confronted HUAC in 1954, many people might think he would have if he had been around then.
He would not have.
God save us from “Liberals” who think Obama, Gore and (Gor Blimey !!!) even Hillary “Rosie-the-Riveter” Clinton are the great progressives of our time.
Spot on, Morrissey.
Morrissey Springsteen was to young for that era.
Born in the USA an anti vietnam war song.
To more recently Banksters song .
Morrissey time to start reading some lyrics.
Morrissey Springsteen was to young for that era.
Certainly he was too young to speak out in a 1954 HUAC meeting, as Pete Seegar did. However, he is NOT too young to speak out against the regime that holds power in his country right now.
What has Springsteen said or done to support protestors and dissidents today?
i kinda went off springsteen when this news was going round, tho i thinks hes an incredible song writer & gives a good live show, hes a greedy tax avoider unfortunately. http://www.humanevents.com/2012/03/12/bruce-springsteen-a-taxdodging-farmer/
Yeah, Jason ‘chickenhawk’ Mattera is fair and balanced.
/
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jason_Mattera#Attacks_on_Judy_Shepard
Morrissey no relation to meat is murder Morissey who happens to be touring with Sir Cliff Richard.
Billy Bragg is more radical tha springsteen no doubt.
But springsteens message get to many times more people.
He’s My Home Town hero.
So don’t be Blinded by the Light.
Your insults hurt like a freight train runniing through the middle of my heart.
I’m On Fire.
But springsteens message get to many times more people.
Correct. And the message of him singing in support of Obama, even after four years of Obama’s regime, is…. what, exactly?
Morrissey no relation to meat is murder Morissey who happens to be touring with Sir Cliff Richard.
Billy Bragg is more radical tha springsteen no doubt.
But springsteens message get to many times more people.
He’s My Home Town hero.
So don’t be Blinded by the Light.
Your insults hurt like a freight train runniing through the middle of my heart.
I’m On Fire.
“What has Springsteen said or done to support protestors and dissidents today?”
He asks them to buy his records and keep hope alive by voting for the war party that starts with the letter D.
It would be good for me to see a post that gives summary of what has been learned from this Dotcom, GCSB leaks, and so on that have dominated people’s thoughts here for, is it a week? There must be something to learn, that Labour can make use of either by drawing attention to, or avoiding or… I’m a bit confused. When will the revelations end?
It’s like watching Limmy’s Show. Have everyone else seen it? Revelations of the thought process emerge slowly, with a Scottish accent there. I prefer Philomena Cunk actually, such a seeker after truth, on Charlie Booker’s Show. But both as informative as any Herald jonolism.
I listened to Radionz this morning on Media Watch and am less anxious about the changes though still have a few questions in mind. Have to taste the pudding and check the flavour.
On Sunday mornings at Radionz Wallace Chapman will be starting about end of March.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
The HORROR, the HORROR…..
Wait till you get Israel’s official apologist on the morning show every weekday
Just listening now and while it sounds ok?! I think he is being disingenuous is stating his reason for putting Mora in with Mary Wilson. It may well be that Mora has a longish contract and they had to bury him somewhere but surely we could have done that by giving him something like Hymns for Sunday.
No matter how you look at it Mora’s Panel Show is an event looking for excuses to publice right wing commentators. You could easily have a panel show that used people other than political hacks and it would be fine. I see Mora as watering down Checkpoint and introducing a political slant into a show that has in the past been scrupulously honest.
I am hoping that we do not see in a short time the resignation of Mary Wilson and the promotion of Mora to being the face of Checkpoint. Now that Ferguson has been moved to Morning Report RNZ has a serious lack of good journalists.
Ron +1
😀 Hymns on Sunday. A slot with NZ music for the older person as well?
Aussie TV dares to show the real Israeli occupation
from JONATHAN COOK, in Nazareth, 11 February 2014
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1392193514.html
I never thought I would see it. A mainstream TV programme, this one made by Australian channel ABC, that shows the occupation in all its inhuman horror.
The 45-minute investigative film concerns the Israeli army’s mistreatment of Palestinian children. Along the way, it provides absolutely devastating evidence that the children’s abuse is not some unfortunate byproduct of the occupation but the cornerstone of Israel’s system of control and its related need to destroy the fabric of Palestinian society.
Omar Barghouti has spoken of Israelis’ view of Palestinians as only “relatively human”. Here that profound racism is on full show.
There are, of course, concessions to “balance” – in the hope of minimising the backlash from Israel – but they do nothing to dilute the power of the message.
This is brave film-making of the highest order.
It is an indication of quite how exceptional this film is that it has cornered Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, into expressing her “deep concern“. That’s the same Bishop who last month doubted that the settlements in the West Bank were illegal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz8_qzdDdM4
If the video above is removed, you can also watch the film here:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm
http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2014-02-11/aussie-tv-dares-to-show-the-real-occupation/
That first line says it all ABC
As a national Channel it really does try to present provocative intelligent overview of the news. It also manages to create some brilliant television.
Of course Abbott is now to set about dismantling ABC and doing what National has so successfully done in New Zealand.
If you want good television these days you will have to rely on the four great public services.
BBC, CBC, PBS and ABC.
I could maybe throw in DW as well.
I hope like hell if Labour gets in power that they will set about rebuilding not only our state broadcasters but resurrecting a state film industry like we had once with Nation Film. I think the rebuild should have one of the highest priority of all the tasks that Labour would have to do. If we don’t have a good public television service to inform and educate our people we may as well forget all the rest. What good a full stomach and a cheap house if all we get in the media is right wing propaganda
Look closely, Ron: the BBC is also under attack. It’s never recovered from the Blair government’s furious attack on it after it had the temerity to point out that the case for attacking Iraq was completely false.
And PBS is, despite its grand sounding name, anything but a public broadcasting station.
If you want decent, intelligent reporting from the United Kingdom, read the BBC site, sure, but there are any number of better, more trustworthy sites.
If you want decent, intelligent reporting from the United States, go here….
http://www.democracynow.org/
Yes I am aware that BBC is being attacked, and also know about democracynow which also broadcasts on PBS channels just in case you are unaware, What I like about PBS is the wide variety of docos they provide some of which we pick up here. Unfortunately anything too touchy doesn’t get played here. They have some great investigations into money & medicine recently which could do with a play on NZTV
It is absolutely hopeless to attempt to minimise any backlash from Israel. They are on a full scale propaganda offensive, all over the world. I’m pretty sure they use at least some of the money they get from the US government to pay people to sit on Facebook full time, disseminating their propaganda. Their latest tactic, which almost makes me vomit, is to portray Zionist Israelis as indigenous people who have succeeded in reasserting their rights.
Unfortunately, a lot of the conspiracy theory crap about the Rothschilds and Bilderberg makes the task of anyone putting the Palestinian case disappear under a lot of white noise. It frustrates the crap out of me.
Go Matt McCarten you good thing, purveyor of the State’s propaganda par excellence, Matt’s taken to discussing health matters in His latest column,
Titillating us with the little ‘gem’ that using tobacco products kills half of those who partake, yes Matt heard it all befor, but, the problem with simply using the States Propaganda is given a deeper look into the facts an entirely different story can be told,
Fact: 29% of annual deaths in New Zealand are ’caused’ by cancer.
Fact: 40% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by heart disease.
Fact: 20% of the New Zealand population uses tobacco products*.
(the * is for a reason i will explain),
SO, fact: 69% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by cancer and heart disease, now for the purposes of a piece of blunt mathematics subtract the 20% of smokers from the 69% of deaths,
What this tells me is that at least 49% of us will die of cancer or heart disease who are not smokers, laughably when compared to the 50% of smokers who are supposed to die of the same disease solely upon the basis of the fact that they used tobacco products the diff is 1%,
Of course i could theorize that as smokers make up 20% of the population and the supposed data says that smoking will kill 50% of them, then the ‘real’ figure i should be calculating off of should be half that 20%, which would simply make the figures for those who do not smoke and die of cancer and heart disease look even worse coz if i only subtract 10%,(half of the population of smokers),from the total deaths annually from both cancer and heart disease the equation becomes 50% of smokers supposedly snuff it from the addiction as opposed to 59% of those who do not smoke going the same route by the same diseases,
And the asterisk*, Statistics NZ in a celebratory news release claim that 16% of the population are now smokers, yay what a victory for the anti tobacco zealots, or is it,
If you run the StatisticsNZ 16% figure through the blunt mathematical calculation i use above then the numbers for those who don’t smoke and die of cancer and heart disease climb even further above the supposed 50% of those who die from using tobacco products…
“SO, fact: 69% of annual deaths in New Zealand are caused by cancer and heart disease, now for the purposes of a piece of blunt mathematics subtract the 20% of smokers from the 69% of deaths,”
You are being ridiculous. The people who are dying of smoking related cancer now, are doing so as a result of smoking rates over the last three or four decades, when smoking rates were much higher. Yes your mathematics is “blunt” alright. It is stupid. There are many many more ex smokers than current smokers.
Smoking imposes costs on society. It also provides benefits to its users. But it is a classic public policy problem of all the benefits being private and all the costs being socialised (the main one is health costs but there is also the vileness of simply being near smokers). The excise raised is designed to do two things – 1. Compensate society for the socialised costs and 2. Bring smoking rates down.
Masterbation in public is frowned upon SSLands, please refrain….
I quite enjoyed watching an econofuck trying to do epidemiology.
Although in the end he continued the myth that smoking has a net monetary cost to the nation (which hasn’t been true for 20 years), I laughed at the idea that vileness should be taxed. SSpylands would be taxed into bankruptcy within a week.
Neoliberal economics imposes costs on society. It also provides benefits to a very small number of its users. But it is a classic public policy problem of all the benefits being private and all the costs being socialised (the main one is health costs but there is also the vileness of simply being near right wingers). The excise foregone is designed to do two things – 1. Compensate the filthy rich for being disgusting and 2. Destroy any sense of community and/or society.
There, SSLands, I fixed it for you.
Nice m.o. MO
Very poorly informed comment. 10 years off your life is the number to remember. Everyone used to love smoking – the problem was we found out it seemed to be killing people. A lot. Think about it – if the government’s plan was to keep raking in tax from cigarette sales then WHY ON EARTH would it celebrate smoking rates dropping?
Heart disease is our biggest and cancer our second biggest killer regardless of whether you smoke – we all have to die of something, right, RIGHT? The point is that smoking is associated with around 10 years less life overall – if you’ve made the decision that it improves your life enough to keep poisoning yourself then FINE but don’t spout that nonsense and try to convince other people to harm themselves in that way too.
Not only will it mean you die much SOONER but if you’re unlucky also much more painfully – think of chronic obstructive lung disease and being unable to breathe to the point where your body is chronically low on oxygen and you start to waste away and are in and out of hospital every other week and needing to leave with an oxygen tank.
There is obviously a cost to society with hospital bills but that’s exactly what hospitals are there for. The tax on cigarettes is mainly to discourage people from buying but also to balance those losses – and it seems to work somewhat. Although I don’t agree with targeting of certain groups (like prisoners) and saying that only those people cannot smoke.
My advice to you: talk to your family and your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy.
What a load of sanctimonious twaddle from one of the i want to live forever brigade, as if people who never smoke escape the indignity of the pain and suffering that goes along with death by cancer or heart disease,
You might want to live another 10 years having to be spoon fed your food with the excrement wiped off of your leaking arse by someone hired to do such a job, you might even get lucky and be one of the very small number who have good health until they die,
For 50+% of non-smokers though they will suffer just as much as those that smoke so climb down off of your high-horse,
Your comment is simply moralistic bullshit, your ten years of extra life is simply fantasizing bullshit, your replacement therapy for nicotine is simply bullshit i am not interested in,
And, do not start me on that ten years of extra life bullshit because it is simply arrived at by playing with %’s, what causes the supposed 5-10 years of extra life in the statistics is simply the lung cancer stats show a high amount of people dying of lung cancer, 20% of whom have been nowhere near tobacco products, at age 45 and under, those 1300 or so that do this very year simply distort the overall picture of longevity when applied across all cancers,
i have no fucking intention of quitting and the more bullshit i am force fed by the anti-amoking fanatics both paid and unpaid like i assume you to be the more i am determined to enjoy my use of tobacco….
I also urge you to talk to your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy. You sound in a bad way. Even if you reject the health arguments, smoking is disgusting.
SSLands, hang about a minute, i am just lighting another rolly, is that the best you can do SSLands, more moralistic nazism albeit shorter than that absolute twat above sprouts without a fact in sight in its whole weak diatribe,
Why would i stop, it cost me 5 or 6 bucks a week and there is as much chance of you getting cancer or snuffing it from heart disease as there is of me doing the same,
So all in all being a moralistic wanker gives you a 50% chance of snuffing it from the above mentioned diseases, i think i will take another puff and leave my fate in the hands of the various deity, same odds as you have got SSLands…
“and there is as much chance of you getting cancer or snuffing it from heart disease as there is of me doing the same,”
The evidence to the contrary is extremely compelling.
SSLands, i see no production of this compelling evidence from you, masterbating in public is frowned upon, please refrain…
The correlation of decades of smoking with having early heart attacks is pretty compelling. It didn’t come home to me until I woke up in hospital.
Lprent, fair comment, but such a fright is likely to bias your thinking in any direction, stressful job at the time???,
My point is this, and, i cannot say this with any certainty about the heart conditions that people survive as i havn’t dragged my tiny wee mind through the data, but, the rates of death scream out to me that 50% of those who do not/never smoke will die of cancer or heart disease, which makes the anti tobacco argument based around deaths of the same nature more than a little spurious,
Such is suggestive to me that there was a 50/50 chance of you having that heart attack whether you smoked or not…
My jobs are seldom stressful since I managed to sneak out of doing the management side of it (which I am really good at but find to be an appalling waste of my time). They certainly weren’t in 2010.
the denial runs deep in that one..
..smokers’-excuses – 101…
phillip ure..
What denial Phillis…
didn’t you get the memo..
..you are on ‘ignore’..
..i can’t be fucked any more responding to the drivel you post..
..to try to defend how piss-weak you are in the area of will-power..
phillip ure..
What deficiency in will power is this you speak of Phillis, laughably that accusation comes form an obvious poly-addict claiming to have quit Heroin only to take up various other drugs, now that i would call piss weak,
Yes four year olds have little toy tossing moments like claiming days ago that i am to be ignored only to be unable to resist having another look in the mirror by engaging bitterly and without an iota of fact in the following days,
Conclusion, a filthy fucking junky too piss weak to quit the habit so becomes a whining poly-addict who’s intellect has regressed to the point of equality with the average four year old…
Wheatbix tri. with all that is currently happening, great to see our youth in a positive manner and for many in Auckland giving their time freely. Thanks to all those volunteers.
Kiwi kids are Sanitorium (sic) kids… certainly lost in an ethnocentric silo, failing to learn languages other than their native tongues at an “alarming rate”; implications for ongoing international trade development; Wordly? Mate reckons that misunderstanding rests on the obligatory Kiwi OE…, before the return home to raise an Edmonds family…
Kiwi kids are sanitorium (sick) kids….
Accurate
Pervasive
Terminal
I agree that seeing the community out running a sporting event is great, even though I have my doubts about corporate involvement. Sports clubs all over the country rely on the community and can foster a sense of organisation and action which we don’t see much in other areas. Well, except for the top Union clubs. They just get everything given to them by government, both local and national.
I have looked through the Standard’s archives to find a post I remember from the last couple of years analysing net profit outflows offshore from NZ by sector, and cannot find it. If the author of that post, or anyone else, could point me to it I would be very grateful.
In a related issue that might become of interest while hunting out various links to the figures i have used in the above comment i came across something really really interesting,
i first looked at the various web-pages detailing deaths from cancer and heart disease vis a vis the smoking issue about a year ago,
i did the trip again today starting afresh with a Google search asking the usual multiple questions so as to drag in the widest array of answers from the web,
In an ”It’s a modern miracle moment” i came across one page that claims the death rate from heart disease was down to 30%, go the Doctors and Nurses you good things, to have altered the upward spiral of heart disease by a full 10 or so % over the course of just 1 year would have to be truly a modern miracle,
Makes me wonder a couple of things, (1), being it seems a bit fucking strange that the rate of deaths from heart disease can fall 10% in a year and not a peep about such a miracle in the mass media???,
(2), of course has me wondering if our health authorities wishing to have the data reflect their zealism against the use of tobacco products would have them manipulating the figures???,
Nah couldn’t happen here in little old Noo Ziland right, the other 100 or so pages found on the web reporting a death rate for heart disease of 40% must have got it wrong, snigger…
“(2), of course has me wondering if our health authorities wishing to have the data reflect their zealism against the use of tobacco products would have them manipulating the figures???,
Nah couldn’t happen here in little old Noo Ziland right,”
No exactly it could not happen in New Zealand. So why are you raising it?
SSLands, please refer to my comment at 12.49pm, and refrain…
Bad 12 just about every smoker I know wants to quit but can’t because its highly addictive.
Your statistics are very dodgy you have grabbed a whole lot of percentages no hard numbers .
Percentages mean nothing without number.
Now since tariana turia has pushed for huge changes to tobacco taxes and and stopping marketing aimed at”Children” .
NZ’s smoking rates have dropped dramatically from 25% to lrss than 16%.
Those stats can’t be fudged or ignored.
Tricledown, please provide me and the other readers these other ‘numbers’ that proves what you are trying to impart is Fact and not some knee-jerk fiction,
The sum total of your comment is devoid of fact simply an emotive bluster, and where have i denied that the rate of those using tobacco products has not dropped,
Your spurious comment about ‘averages’ when applied to the annual % of those who die annually from both cancer and heart diseases is simply rubbish, if i were discussing the age at which these deaths occur then making a comparison would be based upon averages…
@ b12..
..the denialist-writhings/obfuscations of the tobacco-addict..
..weak as piss..
..can’t even give up the ciggies..
..’aww!!..paw me..!!.im adwicted..!..’.
..it;s more addwictive than hewoin..!..
..pity me..!
..i ‘can’t help it..!
..awww!!!!!)
phillip ure
Ooooh look it’s Phillis… stalking me across the web…without a fact…nor a clue…just the normal filthy junkies whine…hardly bothering to address the comment…instead using snide low level abuse as the means of discourse…all the while unable to rise above the mediocre in ‘its’ chosen medium…
Phillis the filthy whinging junky has a certain ring to it…tell us all Phillis…your use of multiple drugs…ever heard of poly-addiction…that’s where the filthy whining junky aka you swaps one addiction for another depending on the availability of supply and whether the means of purchase is at hand…
You havn’t kicked the smack habit Phillis…you simply swapped it for dope which is easier to access and is affordable from your current income…i have seen this befor among many other junkies i know…given a suitably large wad of cash Phillis…you would be round at the nearest dealers place stocking up large on enough smack to ping up your arm to satisfy that craving that just wont go away…and…fucks up everything you say or do…that’s why Phillis…the sum total of originality in anything you have written in ten years…is totally zero…
Smoking tobacco Phillis…i fucken love it…can’t give up is only your latest of stupidly wrong comments…the truth is i have never bothered to try…the addiction cost me fuck-all except for rolly papers and lighters…so why would i want to give up…
You better stay impoverished Phillis for the reasons i point out above…and…with the purity of some of the shit going round these days i could well imagine you shooting up a spoonful which would seriously blow your mind…soon after tho…it would also stop what’s left of your heart…
lozenges working for me; 2migs, PRN
Bad 12 just about every smoker I know wants to quit but can’t because its highly addictive.
Your statistics are very dodgy you have grabbed a whole lot of percentages no hard numbers .
Percentages mean nothing without number.
Now since tariana turia has pushed for huge changes to tobacco taxes and and stopping marketing aimed at”Children” .
NZ’s smoking rates have dropped dramatically from 25% to lrss than 16%.
Those stats can’t be fudged or ignored.
Actually Tricledown, your wee whine,laughable as you decry my use of %’s and then trot out a couple of your own, has just reminded me that my next large time consuming search through Google will be for the import/export figures for tobacco coming into and out of New Zealand,
Such figures might tell us all, by tonnage, just how much tobacco is currently being used in New Zealand, as apposed to that which is being imported, turned into cigarettes etc and then being re-exported…
PS, the current 16% figure for users of tobacco is from the census figures, i am pretty sure i accidently ticked the non-smoker box on my census form when i am in fact a heavy smoker, wonder how many other accidents occurred when others filled out theirs…
One More Time (don’t miss the bus, or the train) : No-Dig Gardening – mucho gracias Murray Olsen,
Building Depth, rather than remaining in The Shallows ; as competent as the Weather forecast
(memory being “the fundamental characteristic of life”- Samuel Butler). Where was he from ;).
Politicians aye?
Don’t
Even
Notice
I
Am
Lying
may be a fitting epaulette. Such are the questions addressed by the field of Theodicy …”the cravings of […] man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does”…, yet, it is The Year of The Snake!
On a related subject, we may notice the frequency the synonyms of catastrophic are being Heralded in the MSM…, conditions for beast and man becoming less favourable,
yes, that’s Disorder for ya’s.
-just a little from recent Back Catalogue
Many Kind Regards,
John. ( un- Licensed To Kill)
Rogue, welcome back, a good holiday???, No-Dig gardening, i am all ears, please enlighten us or point in the general direction of,
Of course if you are talking Indo, i is already well versed in that…
not back bad12, just a ‘birthday bash’, in tune one prays:
Simply put
Mow or Weed-spray
Cardboard or woolen carpet
Manure Fert Compost
Grass Clippings, Leaves, Hay or similar
Manure Fert Compost
Grass Clippings, Leaves, Hay or similar
and so on, reproducing forest floor texture.
For a number of reasons I prefer making own compost, collecting neighbor’s grass, NPK, Lime as required and chicken manure. Only ‘plants of joy’ out the window though 😉
Tah much Rogue, seems a lot of work, not necessarily for someone just starting a garden, but, i have all mine as raised boxes of soil, makes the digging that much easier,
i compost using the plastic bags that used to hold bought compost, stuff em full of weeds and clippings off of the plants, bush’s, and trees, wait awhile and hey presto ready to go into the soil,
Lolz, one of my neighbours throws all His weeding into a wheelie bin that He pays to have emptied once a week for 4 or 5 bucks, then moans about the soil being so poor in His garden , Lolz, He’s a redneck hypocrite so i have never bothered any attempt at enlightenment,
One of the other neighbor’s in the street has just started dropping off all His food scraps which go straight in the garden along with a suitable pile of my compost…
on to it bad12; I’m building up to improve soil, overcome oxalis, convolvulus, drainage issues, ease on back; no hurry, just a little at a time as materials are afforded. All the best, gonna be an interesting, yet sad year out there in the big wide world all media present to us spectator / visionaries.
Over, and, out!
Here’s a hint Rogue, don’t look at a garden as a whole area that has to be dug over at once, form a daily habit,
What i do is dig across one fork width of garden most days, the top foot of soil i dig out laying it on top of the rest of the garden, the bottom foot i just dig in place to make sure its nice and loose, then i throw in the compost and rake the dug out soil back into place,
i do tho have the luxury of only planting the one crop a year, but, the system still works well if you have multiple boxes and can leave a couple un-planted…
Greens announce their Solar Homes policy
Solar power is one of the greenest forms of electricity generation we have. It gives families independence from the big electricty companies. With no fuel cost, it insulates families against future power price rises.
Under the Greens’ Solar Homes initiative, Kiwi families and households will be able to get low-cost loans from the government to pay for solar power installation, repay the loan via their rates, and enjoy free, sustainable power for decades.
The loans will be cost neutral to the Crown, with an estimated administration cost to Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) of less than a million dollars a year.
Once the low-interest loan is repaid, the family will own their solar power system outright. Families will be able to earn money by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
This is an example of smarter, greener economics in action.
Full policy and announcements at https://www.greens.org.nz/solarhomes
intriguing
Looks like a smart, well thought out policy. I can pick some holes in it (esp around solar batteries), but for the mainstream it’s a good start, and a good example of holistic thinking getting into mainstream politics (the policy works at multiple, interrelated levels across many areas).
Yes. A positive step but the battery storage problem has not been solved yet has it? I think that the cost of solar panels has been tumbling downwards as new technology comes into force. Sunny Marlborough might be a good place to be.
my view is that this is a big step in the right direction, But, i think that far far more ‘thinking’ need be done around solar energy,
(1), A standard solar power kit need be designed so that all installations are basically a carbon copy of each other, where it is made easy to simply plug in more solar panels should space allow and the initial installation proved a financial success
(2),i am of the belief that such solar installations should be without the capacity to store energy, i see the use of batteries as a means of storage when we have a National Grid as a total waste of resources,
The power from solar installations should just be fed straight though a smart meter into the grid with the proposed ‘kiwi-power’ scheme of the Government as the single buyer of wholesale electricity buying all the generated electricity from households generating solar energy at wholesale rates on a preferential basis ahead of the commercial generators, thus a smart meter would measure house-hold use against household solar generation and a discount at the wholesale rate would occur at the point of billing the household…
Good idea bad12. Straight into the grid and avoid the need for batteries. However the Electricity Providers might be unhappy as thousands and thousands of solar panels would undermine their strangle hold.
Seriously ianmac???, as far s the major generators go i would simply say ‘tough’, it’s our dams and grid that my parents and grandparents built off of the back of being taxed and some very hard labour,
If the retailers start to go broke again i say tough, the insertion of these retailers into the ‘market’ which has been the cause of the rising price of electricity in many instances,and, as many of these retailers are in fact owned by the major generators who ‘kaching’ demand two lots of profit from the same generation, there would be no sad loss, how long would it take for the state to set up an electricity retailer…
Not a bad idea, but like others have said the batteries are the main problem.
I read some where the batteries need replacing every 10 -15 years and they aren’t cheap and also where do you stick them.
Also the panels do not last for ever, 20 -25 years seem to be the life expectancy.
Having said that I do like Bad12 idea of selling electricity into the grid.
So you like the Green Party’s policy of selling power to the grid, good for you.
“also where do you stick them.”
Think about all that space used to installing heat pumps. Most houses have room to spare. You can put them outside (although there are frost issues). Installers will help solve these problems just like they do with other technologies.
The price of panels and batteries will drop once more people are buying them. That’s part of the GP plan, to boost the solar industry in NZ.
I’m a capitalist, being able to make a bit of money selling power appeals greatly.
Photovoltaic panels I’m fairly meh about, their efficiency is rather poor and return to cost ratio isn’t great.
The only really question I have is how the electrical grid would cope with 30,000+ people randomly injecting various amounts of power into the grid.
Would that be an issue?
Distributed input is much easier to handle than the current model where power from large South Island generators has to be transported the length of the country to Auckland.
BM, i will have you eating mung beans and lentils yet, the final straw will be when you go into the office that you sell yourself to as an indentured serf muttering peace, love, happiness, and joyful times for all while counting your hippy beads,
The Green Party can expect your vote this year then???, the switch wont be a lonely one, a 58% rise in the Green party vote from within the Auckland electorates held by National was apparent in the data from the 2011 election…
Unfortunately I’m not quite ready to go out there and purchase a Morris dancing outfit, as tempting as it is.
Seriously though this is where the greens really trip up, good idea but it’s only one idea and very few people(hopefully) cast their vote purely on one issue or idea.
This is why I think the Greens need to be a more neutral party, take a leaf out of Switzerland’s book and learn to work with every one.
They’d have so much more success.
lols
Another desperate stab at a coalition partner for the party with no friends…
Seriously?
The greens have been around a long time, yet they’re still considered extremist nut bars by a large proportion of kiwis.
Until they actually work with National they always will be the 10% mung bean , hippy party.
Greens need to get sharper, they’re a business and sometimes you have work with other businesses you don’t particularly like, but you do it because you get something good out of it.
The fact that they’re still political virgins with no track record after all these years speaks volumes about how poor the greens political strategy is.
Greens are their own worst enemy.
“Seriously though this is where the greens really trip up, good idea but it’s only one idea and very few people(hopefully) cast their vote purely on one issue or idea.”
Dude, read Norman’s speech. The standard even published the whole thing so you don’t have to go looking. One idea, my arse. At least base your criticisms on something even half way real.
On the contrary, if the greens ever go into coalition with national, it would be proof that they elevate mung beans above child welfare, employment and human suffering.
That’s different to working with individual nats on individual legislation, but they already try that.
Hey shit head
This is about politics, not corporations. It’s about people, not corporations. It’s about communities, not corporations.
I know in your style of National led neolib politics it’s all about big corporations and all about big money. But your style of politics can fuck off.
“The greens have been around a long time, yet they’re still considered extremist nut bars by a large proportion of kiwis.
Until they actually work with National they always will be the 10% mung bean , hippy party.”
Guess ACT need to learn to work with Labour then. Unless they want to carry on as the fringe extremist nut bar sub-1% party that is.
“Guess ACT need to learn to work with Labour then. Unless they want to carry on as the fringe extremist nut bar sub-1% party that is.”
Now that ACT has ejected Banks and they have an intelligent, thoughtful leader, their vote will progressively recover. They will have 2 MPs in the next Parliament.
Whoosh
BM, ummm, the most educated eloquent answer my tiny little mind can formulate in answer to that is, sorry, fuck off with your lolly pops save them for National after the election, another 9 in opposition means they will need cheering up…
“another 9 in opposition means they will need cheering up…”
Thankfully, that is looking increasingly unlikely.
And the foul mouthed language .. if you and CV are indicative (“shit head”) it is a worrying indicator of Your mindset and of Him. i wonder for Your future and His if You keep behaving in this way.
SSLands, you sound like you need cheering up, why not slither off to that wee gambling site and console yourself with a good long drool over the ”next PM gamble”,
What scares you off from sitting and spitting your rubbish into the forum over there SSLands is the fact that those with a couple of working neurons and actual money, as opposed to you pretending to have some, is the fact that they would see through your rubbish in 2 seconds right,
Or have they already given you the message to stop masterbating in their forum…
Soccer World Cup blood: 400 Nepalese immigrant workers dead so for for Qatar event
This is beyond a disgrace; why the multi-millionaires who run global soccer allow this to continue is a question every NZ fan must ask.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/16/qatar-world-cup-400-deaths-nepalese
That’s truly astounding
Human trafficking, loan sharking, it is a desperate and miserable situation – and what do the corporate sponsors and others care as long as the event makes them money.
Yeah, as a lifelong football fan who played competitive soccer well into my 30s, I’ve gotta say it’s a bloody disgrace. All-too-typical exploitation of migrant workers. See https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/qatar-end-corporate-exploitation-migrant-construction-workers-2013-11-17 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24980013
Meanwhile, the money-grubbing corruption at the heart of FIFA continues to be a stain on the game.
Further to the latest Fairfax poll.
A quick comparative analysis of 2008 and 2011 Opinion Polls suggests that a little more than 50% of the time, Fairfax results are skewered about 3-6 percentage points to the Right in comparison with other polls taken around the same time (the rest of the time their results closely align with the other polls. Fairfax never favours the Left in comparison to other polls).
The last Fairfax poll of 08 overestimated National support by 4 points (and underestimated Labour by 3) in comparison with the Election results while the last Fairfax poll of 11 overestimated National support by 7 points (and underestimated Labour by 2).
Winning hearts and minds.
The February 2013 document shows that the Indonesian government had retained the law firm for help in trade talks, the Times reported in a story posted on its website Saturday. The law firm was not identified in the document, but the Chicago-based firm Mayer Brown was advising the Indonesian government on trade issues at the time, according to the newspaper.
The document itself is a monthly bulletin from an NSA liaison office in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The NSA’s Australian counterpart, the Australian Signals Directorate, had notified the NSA that it was conducting surveillance of the talks, including communications between Indonesian officials and the American law firm, and offered to share the information, the Times reported.
Liaison officials asked the NSA general counsel’s office, on behalf of the Australians, for guidance about the spying. The bulletin notes only that the counsel’s office “provided clear guidance” and that the Australian eavesdropping agency “has been able to continue to cover the talks, providing highly useful intelligence for interested U.S. customers,” according to the Times story.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/report-document-shows-surveillance-us-law-firm
Let’s do the time warp
The Wall Street Journal’s advice to young women
Susan Patton: A Little Valentine’s Day Straight Talk http://on.wsj.com/1dLV3OS
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11203037
WoW
NSA’s mass surveillance of NZers online – by Vikram Kumar
http://internetganesha.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/nsas-mass-surveillance-of-nzers-online/
“Part of my TEDx Queenstown talk next week is about mass surveillance online. How governments are building the modern Panopticon.
I was therefore quite surprised yesterday when Prime Minister John Key said he has no reason to believe the NSA has undertaken mass surveillance on New Zealanders. To help the Prime Minister, let’s look at what we know about it and whether an objective person should come to the same conclusion…”
@Karol. Just a small point and this probably does not irk others. Please when you start an article of yours do not dive straight into the acronym of MSM. I understand what it means, yet others may not or have an educated guess. Perhaps in future to start your MSM article, then give it a one line, name check as to what it means “Mainstream Media” then revert to acronymsville? Otherwise it can lead to confusion. Is MSM like BDSM yet a lite version of it? Am I meant to eat M&M’s whilst indulging in NeoLiberal BDSM whilst glancing at Shortland Street on The MSM? I like reading the posts on The Standard aka TS. I dont want to have to invest in an Enigma machine to unravel the gobbledegook under the assumption that because the author knows what something stands for, therefore all the readers do. I just want to read the articles. Rest In Peace. Rip Msm/BdsmLite/NeoM&M’s/Fubar!
BDSM is usually practised by more than one consenting adult at a time, unless it’s a Tory with an asphyxiation fetish. MSM is forced on us. The two should not be compared.
Fair enough, Yossarian. Noted.
snafu
PO ecosse
lol