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.
If the video above is removed, you can also watch the film here:
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.
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThere is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Last month, NZDF's shoddy coverup of what it knew about civilian casualties in Operation Burnham began to fall apart, with the revelation that a report on the matter, which NZDF claimed not to have, had been sitting in an NZDF safe for the past nine years. Yesterday, the man responsible ...
While many imagine that countries like the USA and Europe dominate space activities, in fact India is now a major player on this stage. It launches satellites for its own purposes and also commercially, and has constellations orbiting our planet and returning data of vital importance to that nation in ...
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
An essay by Judith Collins MP reported on Carbon News yesterday seems to show an alarming shift in attitude within the National Party. Collins argues against the Zero Carbon Bill, the Paris Agreement, and downplays the magnitude of climate impacts. The Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015 and ratified ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
How could government evolve over the next decades? Reports of democracy’s imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. However, satisfaction with political systems in many countries is low, so there is much to do for governments of all political stripes to improve relevance and trust. Digital technologies are seen as one ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand has prided itself for decades with regard to its lack of pollution, and all will be aware that the ‘100% Pure New Zealand‘ meme is under threat through land, water and air pollution of various causes. There is another type of contamination that the country also faces: light ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
What is language? We generally assume that it a facility unique to humans, allowing us to share what’s in and on our minds. We can tell of our plans, our past exploits, our knowledge. It also allows us to lie. And yet there are vast numbers of people we can’t ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. ...
The New Zealand Police have been used as a political pawn which is stretching their resources and seriously affecting their ability to address the real causes of crime, such as gang related supply of illicit drugs. ...
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience.When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out ...
Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th--there is very little evidence that says high pay and bonuses improve the performance of a company. Most ...
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, Australian National University It has been more than two years since “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces, the Tatmadaw, forced more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. During this time, the UN Security Council has ...
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea police have issued a warrant for the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. According to EMTV News, the Waigana district court issued the warrant which was based on evidence previously compiled by police investigators. Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said he ...
Patient Voice Aotearoa welcomes the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on ‘The Project’ on Friday last week. Peters stated “Right now…we know we are not spending nearly enough on pharmaceuticals and first world drugs…the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack.Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Arif Hasan, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
There’s an innovation renaissance brewing in post-earthquake Christchurch as multicultural entrepreneurship replaces the old boys’ network. This required a new name, writes Steven Moe.An unusual name that evokes images from Harry Potter is fine by the Ministry of Awesome, because it immediately sets it apart. Founded in the aftermath of ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Ngā Tāngata Microfinance endorse the Salvation Army’s call for tougher regulations on debt collectors and mechanisms to provide forgiveness or waivers for debts to private lenders and Government that are "effectively ...
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ...
Today the Wellington Howard League releases the results of its fourth annual Wellington Howard League prison survey. The survey suggests a variation in the conditions experienced across prisons in New Zealand and an overall decline in most aspects surveyed. This ...
Some people go for a run to let off steam after work, while others try their hand at ballroom dancing or hit up a pub quiz. And some, as Greta Yeoman discovers, throw sharp objects at walls. She gives it a go.An uncoordinated, anxious journalist with terrible aim is probably ...
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...
A staffing survey carried out by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has found a gaping shortfall of hospital specialists at the Northland DHB. ...
Iain Lees-Galloway has defended granting residency to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions saying the person had been in the country for 20 years and had kept out of trouble for a long time. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Industrial relations Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters holds the keys to new union laws. Will ...
Yes we fully support Minister of transport plan to use special speed cameras finally catching all speeding trucks, and other vehicles on our narrow single lane roads that are not fit to use as a speedway by any vehicle. ...
This afternoon Fish & Game posted a public statement responding to my email to supporters this morning – specifically rejecting our claim that steel shot is now deemed "enhanced penetration ammunition" and therefore possession of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”. Research shows high levels of exam stress can interfere with attention and reduce working memory, leading ...
The National Party's outrage that the Immigration Minister granted residency to a protected person and recidivist drink driver, entitling them to the same benefits as New Zealanders, has backfired. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Melbourne Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Lycett, Senior Research Officer, Deakin University; Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Three simple factors can predict whether a child is likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence: the child’s body mass ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University It’s unlikely Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, realised he’d be sparking an international diplomatic incident when, on October 4, he tweeted the following Stand with Hong ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination.Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ ...
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show canceled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive.A trio of shows which have been amongst Three’s most important local productions are either being canceled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising ...
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated.Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
Open mike 16/02/2014 
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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…..
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.
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