And a school that was reportedly sheltering people fleeing Aleppo! Further glory to great savior Putin, whose crimes do not count because he is not Western.
‘I oppose war crimes especially those targeting civilians and the medical infrastructure that supports civilian populations in a war zone. People who do these things are war criminals who should be tried in court and should lose the support of anyone who claims to be of the left’.
Keep looking Moz, it’s there somewhere. If you haven’t found it by this evening get back to me and I promise to take action. I’ve got the night shift at trp towers on standby just in case. They’re big fans of your work.
I wonder what they’re excuse will be. The US at least told a large part of the truth when it slaughtered innocents at a hospital . . .
. . . A U.S. airstrike that mistakenly killed 30 people at a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last month was, in part, the result of military personnel inadvertently aiming at the wrong target — the hospital compound — instead of a suspected nearby site, from which Taliban fighters were firing, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday . . .
As an internationalist, does it grind against your allegiance to accept that the USA and the UK are directly responsible for the very existence of ISIS ?
The fact that Putin fights like this, as has been known since Grozny, is why I don’t support him. The same reason I didn’t support what was done by Bush in Iraq and Kissinger in SE Asia.
I realise that other people do support Putin on the basis he is not Western though, I get that.
Putin is far from alone in the use of cluster bombs, although he is less likely to be breaking his own law than Obama is . . .
Human Rights Watch released a report Sunday providing new indications that Saudi Arabia has fired American-made cluster munitions, banned by international treaty, in civilian areas of Yemen, and said their use may also violate United States law.
The report included photographs from Yemen purporting to show unexploded but potentially lethal remnants of American cluster weapons, suggesting that they had failed legally required reliability standards . . .
“Good on Joycey for front-footing it!”
Is Hillary Barry auditioning for a future rôle as parliamentary head-nodder? Paul Henry, TV3, Tuesday 16 February 2016
Shortly after 6 o’clock news, the eponymous host and his two slaves engage in a discussion about the major news story of the last 24 hours: John Oliver’s coverage of the dildo attack on Steven Joyce at Waitangi. After Henry mentions that Joyce had quipped “Might as well send it straight to John Oliver and get it over with,” there’s a brief clip of Labour leader Andrew Little contending that this is no longer a laughing matter, and New Zealand is now an international laughing stock. Cut to news-reader slave Hilary Barry frowning at that killjoy, then expressing her North Korean level of support for the regime. “Good on Joycey,” she intones fervently, “for front-footing it!”
There is no longer even the slightest pretense of political objectivity on this show. That Key regime bail-out of Media Works a few years back is really paying off.
BREEN PREDICTS:
In a few years, look for National M.P. Hillary Barry to fill the vital parliamentary head-nodding rôle currently occupied by another old television hack, Maggie Barry and her understudies Louise Upston and Tim McIndoe.
Still think that hatchet job of the smelly TPP protesters was the lowest they’ve gone. Courtesy of Garner and du Plessis.
We should remember who were the enablers for the elite.
Joyce got a lot more than he wished for, mocked the crap out of. Key and his pet flag project copped it also. Teflon John can hardly blame anyone else but his lead snake oil salesman Joyce for really bringing the dildo saga to a worldwide audience.
Not the brightest dildo in the toy box, but certainly the biggest. Be a couple of angry hobbits in the House today. Keep it coming team teflon, laughter will make a change to the booing you have been getting lately.
I am no fan of Joyce but I actually think he has handled this as well as he possibly could. He had no control over getting smacked in the face with a big dick. Did he go full on offensive? no he actually pushed the humorous side of it. May have been un wise to goad Oliver but I wonder if John really could have avoided pulling the piss out of the guy who said that the NACT adds were “pretty legal”.
Audrey Young pens an odd piece together leading with John Key’s honeymoon is over than drops in the small crowd nonsense booing him at the BDO.
One thing is clear Natcorp are panicked. Last week they conducted polling in Northland & Whangarei electorates seeking information about do you know the candidates from the last election and who would you vote for if an election was held tomorrow? Monitoring Shane Reti’s popularity closely, given the likelihood that Shane Jones could make his comeback in the Whangarei seat. Interesting Peters was saying Whangarei will fall to NZF next.
the first comment is interesting, the Lady complaining that Winz appointments are weeks away, that the National MP for the electorate is not helpfull, and Unions were not allowed on the site.
Oh shucks. NZ is waking up from the beauty slumber of the last few years.
“A 70-year-old eco-warrior has been left bruised and battered after being beaten in a “cowardly” attack outside his Shannon home in the dead of night.
As they left the men commented on who had sent them. However, the Horowhenua Chronicle will not identify them as police are investigating the assault.
Mr Andrews is an environmental activist and spent Friday and Saturday prior to the attack, dealing with an issue to do with Shannon’s Sewerage Treatment Plant where he and Shannon councillor Ross Campbell filmed what they believed to be raw sewage being pumped into the nearby Otauru Stream (Standsell drain) which then poured into the nearby Mangaone Stream, which feeds the Manawatu River.”
The Horror Phew Enema city council is hopeless. I have been on at them for 2 years to do some proper recycling, but no. Everything still goes into the landfill.
Long term effects?
Blenheim 1999- 35 shops empty after nine years of National. Personally counted.
Come forward to 2011 after 9 years of Labour and three years of National.
Blenheim 15 shops empty.
After 7 years of National, in 2015
Blenheim 20 shops empty.
After 8 years of National in 2016?
Blenheim 29 shops empty. Double that of five years ago.
Figures from the Marlborough Express.
I wonder how other regional economies are faring under National? Was this neglect apparent in Northland and reflected in the message given recently to National by the election of Winston Peters in preference to a National lackey?
National seems to be lacking the key to economic growth.
as i posted yesterday, one of my real estate customers is really happy that the asian investors (her term not mine) are finally recieving their IRD numbers and sales in Auckland will pick up again and prices should raise accordingly.
don’t you feel the rockstar economy? All drugs rock n roll and early death?
Even the chief of the dairy industry says the government got it wrong while Goff lays out the differences in the public consultation process during the China agreement and the TPP. This highlights to me just why Labour moved away from the so called bi-partisan relationship – because the current government had abandoned the inclusive consultation process adopted by the more publicly responsible Labour government.
Farrer can whinge all he likes about the change in attitude by Labour but the real change in attitude was by Tim Groser and his paranoid, do-nothing department.
look it was a really funny video, and friends of mine from overseas really think that our government is worse than theirs, at least as one friend put it, they can keep it in their pants :
lol..
bwhahahahahahahahaha Dildo Baggins. Awesome comedy. Can you see the Honorable Mr. Joyce go and meet and greet dignitaries overseas…..Gentlement and Ladies….Dildo Bagg….err Steven Joyce Minster of something from NZ.
It doesn’t matter, that statement comes down right near the end which means the narrative has already been planted in the readers mind so when they get to the bottom (IF they get to the bottom) the idea that Little is humourless is already stuck there.
Whereas the first two paragraphs are:
“The Leader of the Opposition has expressed his concern over a skit which made fun of a government minister being hit with a sex toy.”
“Labour leader Andrew Little questioned minister Steven Joyce’s invitation for a comedian to poke fun at the incident which occurred a couple of weeks ago.”
I mean seriously can you really not see the issue here?
Whoever is running the media for Andrew Little should be all over this
You are a liar. You’ve made an argument that Little has no sense of humour and you’ve quoted some bits from a newspaper article to back that up and then left out the bit where they’ve said he was finding the whole thing funny. Hence you lied.
Or, you didn’t actually watch Little or read the whole article, which makes you stupid.
You must have liked the phrase John Oliver used at the beginning of the video regarding previous coverage of New Zealand and “their ridiculous Prime Minister .”
I know I did, even though I felt embarassed, it was such a relief to hear someone in the media speak the truth!
If the political left think that pushing a Twerking for a “Pervy PM” angle against “dirty old man” John Key is going to help prevent a 4th term for National, it has another think coming.
Good question, although another one might be ‘What would ensure a first term left wing coalition govt?’
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
– It will be a big thorn but that thorn will be for Labour (you don’t think Key will go hard on Littles support but not really support for the TPPA?)
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
“My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour”
Sure, but how do you tie that into “the majority of voters don’t seem to care” about Key as PM supporting rape culture? I’m not talking about the next poll, I’m talking about a steady shift within the culture in NZ over time. The next poll could be influenced by a rugby game or any other event, I don’t see how you could pull out the influence of a dynamic happening over a year or so.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.
Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles
“You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.”
– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it
“Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles”
Only if things were really simple and people thought about voting in such simplistic ways. We’ve both agreed that the lefts polling isn’t going to move much until Labour look more competent, so there may be people upset at Key who still won’t say Labour until Labour change, but when Labour change they will jump easily. This is why the timeframes are important. It’s a long time until the next election and I can’t see Key improving his record in that time.
“– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it”
No, I’m not. I’m assuming that because in the past more NZers have voted on the left they can do so again. That might be part of the non-vote, it might be swing voters. It might be poor RW turnout, or centrist voters wanting to give Labour a chance. Your arguments are superficially tempting to some but the reality is more complex.
well hmm, the voters that booed at him both at the rugby game and the bgo might disagree with you. but in saying that, i agree that a lot of voters would not see it and hence not know about it.
tppa, hmm at the moment it is key’s thorn, and it will be labours thorn when they get to form a coalition government, but they will by then supported and restrained by the Greens (which is good in my eyes) and i think Winston Peters will have a thing to say or two.
again i agree that Labour needs to do better, and so do the Greens and NZ First if they want to be the grand coalition. They all need to up their game and play MMP instead of what evs.
However, reading the article about the Meatworkers that are not working because their chinese overlords are not ready yet (linked to the stuff article in Open Mike), and reading the comments, there are a lot of smaller lesser known National MP’s that are not getting good creds for doing their work, WINZ is not getting good cred for helping these people that are not pulling a wage for a few weeks and all points to the complete lack of care of the National MP’s in their electorate, and the National Governed Ministry that should help these people. I am guessing that nothing much is going to change over the next year, and if National voters get upset enough they might simply abstain from voting if they can’t be seen voting for any of the other parties.
So frankly i think at this day and age, everything is possible, and John Key has more to loose then any of the other parties.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
That’s going to guarantee a 4th term
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
Only in lefty world is the PM considered a disgrace, so there’s no win there, if anything it’s costing the left votes.
Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.
Lots and lots of pissed off parents having what is a nice experience ruined by some left wing wankers.
Absolute voter poison for the left, especially Labour.
So you say. I’m finding the whole CT mantra-repeating ‘National will win, the left will lose’ thing without any political substance boring. We need better RWNJs.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
Had a quick scroll through of a couple of those, it doesn’t look full of rapid left wingers destroying people’s family time. It looks mostly like Key fans posting applause and a few other people dropping in either political comments or angry insulting ones (and not necessarily lefties, not sure why you categorise them all that way). Par for the course for FB.
I don’t agree with calling Key a paedophile, mostly because I think we are really bad in NZ at dealing with rape culture and throwing round accusations like that makes things murkier not clearer. But I think you underestimate how many people in NZ will be feeling uncomfortable about the growing number of times Key demonstrates at the least poor judgement when it comes to issues close to sexual violence. Even of the people who are good with Key’s politics there will be some who are uncomfortable with how he is on this.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
And Labour can’t even get their shit together to interpret from that what they should do with regards to the TPP.
An absolute vote winning position on the TPP staring them right in the face and instead they choose to side with the corporates and transnational financial interests.
Yeah but rememeber there was also a lot of opposition to the partial sell down of shares in the power companies and it didn’t stop National then
The thing the left to recognize is theres a difference between a government enacting a policy that’s unpopular and a enacting a policy that will see you lose an election
This is an unpopular policy but its not going to cost the election for National but when protestors block of roads of people going to work then that will cost votes for the left
And all your doing pal is trying to tag these halfwits you talk about to Labour. We all know Key accused Mana and the Greens of being the small group who disrupted the GDO. You have to get in the real world, the likelihood of a fourth term is remote. For every 10 policies the Bats have put forward 1 or 2 will be met with disapproval, as the years roll by and more disapproving policies come with the years, some voters reach the tipping point. The TPPA, the flag change are big voter slippage, add more as we close in on the 2017 election and it is over for the incumbent. Happened to Clark and it will happen to Key. That is political life cobbah.
Not all voters think FPP not in Epsom as you know and not in Northland as you also know. It has taken a while for the opposition party’s to get their head around strategic voting but the whole country sat up and took notice when Peters took a seat that was regarded as a safe national stronghold. There are countless seats that the same result can happen. Especially in the forgotten regions.
Winston is a good man, an honest man, honest as the day is long, that is why so many Kiwis like the man and his party, his MP’s are solid too. Will be delighted when he can find time from his busy schedule to joins me on a friends super yacht for some much needed r & r with a wee celebration of a tidy donation to his party.
“Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.”
You have a lot of faith in people online, actually being who and what they say they are.
I will give you my opinion from someone who has tagged a few hits on Key and his cronies over the years.
Start now with theme’s that the public can relate to. Highlight their association with corporations, address them as National Corporation or Natcorp, it is clearly evident Kiwis distrust the sweet deal the multi national corporations are getting if the TPPA comes to pass. Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
Yes, i like to point out the changes to the welfare system since our National Led Government started. It is interesting to see how many people actually don’t know that you have no more Widowers benefits, no more Sickness Benefit, etc. That all those people now are on the JobSeekers benefit.
And so on and so on. Nope this did not happen under Labour, these were changes that came about under John Key and his National Party led Government.
Any issues, please contact your local National MP. 🙂
Sabine, the difficulty of pointing out National’s changes to the welfare system is Labour hasn’t committed, or even made mention, they would overturn them.
Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
– That is not a bad idea but the problem for Labour (specifically) is that Labour doesn’t look like its rejuvenated as much as National have, as an example National have two hold overs from the 80s whereas Labour has three but the real problem is that those three from Labour get a lot of air time (King, Goff and Mallard) whereas Williamson and McCully don’t get as much (in Williamsons case far too much but I digress)
Of course yes National could lose it and the opposition could win it but National are still keeping a reasonably tight lid on its internal struggles whereas Labour is still leaking like a sieve
Yes we’re in an MMP environment but the voting public still sees it as Labour + support partners as no one seriously considers that the Greens will ever be more then a support partner so if the left wing block are to take power then Labour MUST be seen to be a credible option for running the country
At the moment National haven’t had any major howlers and Labour hasn’t had any significant hits
If the language kept basic most kiwis (who are not political junkies) soon start following like sheep. “Time for a change this lot have had a good trot of 9 years and if the failed flag change was John Key’s legacy time to move on and let another regime have a go.”
It may be as simple as that or a few attachments may be required? Sold us out to multi national corporations, foreign speculators are changing the kiwi life as we use to know it.
Because National, though looking a bit frayed around the edges, is still preferable to a Labour/Green coalition
That will change in the future of course but at the moment theres no real appetite for change (the TPPA is not as big a deal as the left would like to think it is) and, in the voters minds, theres no other opposition worth giving a go to
Of course the Greens will take another hit, I mean whats one more when you’ve spent over 25 years in the wilderness
“Theres a good Green party you just roll over and lie on your back and let Labour rub your belly once again while Winston laughs at you, because its for the greater good don’t you know”
You’re still thinking about things like bills passed and policies. I’m talking about the much bigger influence the Greens have had and your still in denial about it. You can spin all you like, but the success of the GP doesn’t get defined by people like yourself that don’t understand what they do, or value it. Try and remember that when Climate Change gets really uncomfortable for you personally.
I think the real problem for the Labour Party, who must do well if National are displaced, is simply that they are continuously negative.
The editorial in the February 13 Listener illustrated their problem.
I can’t seem to link to it on-line. Sorry.
The editorial was about changing the flag. They start by pointing out that Labour, in a policy they wish to be forgotten, were in favour of a change.
As Mallard said before the last election “The time has come for a change and it is right for the issue to be put to the public”.
The article then goes on to say “Why has Labour spent the last few months sullenly resisting a proposal that it embraced less than two years ago”.
Then they explain it as “Labour is suffering from a severe case of sour grapes”. This is followed by “The party appears incapable of rising above its dislike of the Prime Minister, even fighting him on policies with which it might be expected to agree”
They also quote Labour man Nick Leggett that “People vote for hope, optimism and the promise of something better” and that Little should “stop barking at passing cars”.
The final part continues “what better time than now for Little to drop the curmudgeonly resistance” and concludes that Labour “need to stop sulking and get on board”
Why can’t Labour accept that an idea isn’t automatically unclean because Key supports it? Is the whole of Labour policy to be asking what John Key thinks and then simply spout it back after prefacing the words “We are opposed”.
I suspect that if John Key announced a policy of free tertiary education tomorrow Labour would do an immediate about turn and respond that they are opposed to the idea. They are never going to be the Government with their current we hate John Key attitude.
Labour doesn’t look like they’re even remotely ready to govern NZ.
Combine that with the left government having to consist of three good sized parties and maybe one or two small parties and you’ve got a recipe for instability and chaos.
How do you even reach an agreement?, let alone pitch this sort of scenario to the NZ voter.
Until one party on the left makes into the late 30’s, early 40’s the left will always be struggling to win.
The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.
Do you really think Labour is going to get over 30% in 2017?
I totally struggle to envisage a scenario where that is going to happen.
I am still picking them coming in at +/-3% of their 2014 result = 22% to 28%.
There are Labour supporters I know who are dead sure that Labour will deliver well over 30% next year.
Like I said, I cannot visualise it, excepting perhaps Key self destructing on live TV. Calling a snap election with an almost empty glass of scotch in one hand while tugging on the reporters pony tail should do it.
The thought of another 3 years is grim, still plenty of water to go under the bridge CV. From what I saw at Waitangi the usual suspects are still circling. I could have flogged the lot of them out of the party if I had a bull whip.
Moving on… I prefer operating as a free agent, have for a while now, quite close with First & Green crews and met a pleasant couple of new hopes within the old party. I still believe the Teflon is coming apart, thanks to the hardcore who are doing the heavy work trying to tear the system down.
Primary definition of “many” according to the Merriam/Webster dictionary
“consisting of or amounting to a large but indefinite number”
Do you really think 2 is a large number. Really truly?
The last 4 term Government left office in late 1972, or about 43 years ago. That seems a very short 2 generations to me rather than the grandiose claim of “many generations”.
i don’t think that the ‘left’ is underestimating Key.
they don’t like him, they abhor him and his posse. I frankly find the man to be as disgusting as one can find a man disgusting, but that is simply the female talking that had to deal many many times with managers like him. They are disgusting horrible little men. They win usually by walking over bodies and abusing everyone around them until either the leave or give up.
But CV, the ones that i count more dangerous like Key are people like you.
Disillusion, bitter and angry, and just too happy to cry constantly about how those that have wronged you are wrong no matter what they do. No matter that the wrong you are crying about are several decades old, that the people that have wronged you are maybe not even in the party any more or may have been young at the time. No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
And you have no alternative to offer, in fact you don’t want an alternative, you just want to beat your chest and whine.
But frankly we don’t need your saviour who will never show up, but if we want to stop the sell out of this country, literally and figuratively, than the left will have to work together.
And frankly I don’t care if Labour comes in with 30%, or the Green Party or NZ First, as long as the parties of the opposition understand that they each have a role to play in bringing this country back to its people.
You however should have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why you actually pretend to care about the left.
The Political Left in NZ is dead in the water, Sabine.
The biggest party of the “Left” wants to stay in the TPP, thinks that NZ Super is unaffordable, and voted for the bene bashing as well as the anti-terrorism and spying legislation that National put up on behalf of the NSA.
No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
Then do what the Left has always been good at, witch hunt out the enemy.
Have you noted that’s how Labour has always behaved, since the days of John A Lee?
And its exactly how Labour treated Cunliffe and Cunliffe’s supporters?
NB I don’t want a single thing more from the Labour Party because I know that they are incapable of holding firm to any worthwhile policy long enough to actually deliver it.
As for apologies etc. from Labour, who are you kidding. Many in there still think Rogernomics was necessary and the couldn’t even bring themselves to properly congratulate Corbyn on his victory in the UK.
Now your being silly and quiet surprised you have lowered yourself to turn to kaka’s that is abit childish I must say.
Anyway before you go have your forced afternoon nap answering your flippant opinion. In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up to the deceitful lies and awful mismanagement of our economy.
“In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up”
Do you actually think the electorate feels that way Skinny or is it just you and your friends. There doesn’t seem to be any such feeling being exhibited in the polls.
Alwyn I think you know about the little number I done the other week, deliberately planned for the day after the big anti TPPA protest in Auckland. My debriefing analysis showed Peters and to a lesser degree Labour and Greens gained some shift support, both their speakers spoke very well too.
Over 100,000 (now 160.000)) watched either live or afterwards on mainly the NZH fb feed, tho other media like tv1news were there but i never watched we were celebrating out for dinner. A truck load of comments and thousands of shares of the video. There were many comments who had voted National they were openly saying they had lost their vote, most were saying Winston was getting their viote next year, some it was the Greens or Labour. Looking at their profiles and friends suggested they were genuine. Crude but good enough as a guide. It will still up if you want to go look, I have moved on to the next little number planned in my head.
I assume that NZH fb means FaceBook.
From a link weka posted the other day it appears that to look at it you need a FaceBook persona.
That I will not do. I dislike FaceBooks mode of operation and refuse to have anything to do with it.
If I’ve interpreted you wrongly, or the bit about a persona on FB, or indeed if you published elsewhere please let me know. Otherwise I will have to give it a miss.
Just for you alwyn since you make a stand against the ever worsening Face Book.
If you use a search engine type Politicians voice concern over TPP at rally NZ Heard, this new item and a couple of video clips should be on there. I can not cut and paste on here for some reason.
You know how the right-wing have always told us that opening up more land for housing would lower prices?
Well, it seems that that doesn’t work:
The second is that greenfield land supply is not necessarily a solution for house price inflation. Tauranga is less than one-tenth the size of Auckland and its house prices are already high relative to local incomes. Adding greenfield land supply hasn’t prevented or reversed previous price increases. In larger cities, where fringe locations are much less of a substitute for desirable central locations, it’s likely to be even less effective.
well, if you think about it terms of ‘what comes around goes around’ what else was to be expected.
If, a big IF, cashed up Aucklanders are moving to Tauranga and other such nice places to buy there (now, that even with all the money they received from selling their property in AKL, that they can’t afford a property in Auckland anymore) they are running up prices in that market as they come with Cash that no one in Tauranga has.
And the same happens in other places. So essentially the housing crisis is carried from one town to the next, leaving ordinary citizens that only want to buy a house to live in out of a chance to ever buy, and leaving more and more properties waiting for that cashed up speculator to buy. Why sell your house, if keeping it empty will increase its value. Heck, why work 🙂
Anyone who could not see this happening needs to adjust their glasses, as that was a consequence quite a few of us have warned of.
Apologies about the loss of the mobile version. Looks like it turned off on Friday.
There was an update to wp-touch mobile theme that had a fix in it to deal with multi-site systems like The Standard (even though we have never used it in public). By the look of it, it deactivated the local website activation that was on.
I haven’t spent much time on the site for a few days, and none at all on mobile so I didn’t notice (bad Lynn…)
Just in case you’re interested the new Microsoft Edge browser is having terrible issues with caching.
Every link you click on serves a cached version, you then have to reload the page to get the latest version.
What the browsers are meant to do is to cache pages for a set period of time. But on a refresh, they are meant to request the page passing details of their cached version. If it is up to date, then the server returns just use that again. If it isn’t, then it returns a freshly generated page. There is a certain amount of caching going on at all sides. It is how the caching is handled that will be at fault.
It sounds like it is over interpreting the caching hints being passed to it and never bothering to go back to the server. In which case I probably need to tell edge never to cache for
He really doesn’t need to descend to that level (who does). He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals.
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals
– Yes hes a shrinking violet who avoids the limelight
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
– I’m a member of the tall poppy brigade because I think hes spinning like a top?
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
Might help reign in some of his ideas.
Sort of an oxymoron as that reign is royal not the horse-controlling kind. Probably a very apt choice of words PR.
Well, at least it was an interesting explanation of things from his point of view.
I think his assessment is flawed, though: as a commenter pointed out, the imperfect information distributed through the “crowd” was simply that his priority was personal advantage in access, rather than public access.
But the other problem is that he’s assuming that minimising the purchase price is even a priority for the people who donated (who weren’t him). I didn’t donate to that campaign (because fundage), but I do donate on occasion. When I do, my attitude is that the money is sunk – I’m not looking for any return. So really, if they overpay to ensure public ownership, who gives a damn? Any overpayment is simply insurance against a gazumper at the post.
Tomorrow 9:10 AM I will be on Aaron’s Raglan Radio morning show.
We will be talking about the Global banking crisis, the Kiwi saver scam/scheme and the “Open bank resolution” which enables banks to confiscate deposits from small banking depositors if and when a bank fails and which was accepted by New Zealand in 2013.
Quote: “Perhaps you’ve had an experience in our health system recently?
I know a man who sat in a hospital some 18 months ago. He spent a week sitting in a ward, a man in his 40s, with a severely broken leg. It was a mess. And I think it took 8 days for him to have surgery. Short-staffed. Not enough operating theatre space anyway. And so he fasted every day until early afternoon, and then they told him he wouldn’t have surgery that day. Every day. For 8 days.
Our health needs aren’t reducing, they’re increasing. The only way to make cuts for many DHBs will be to staff.
We’re struggling with issues of unmet need, we’re struggling with the issues triggered by the diabetes and obesity epidemics — and so I really feel for our health workers right now.”
A British politician’s outrageous lies are given pride
of place in a BBC report; why does TVNZ go along with this farce?
Television One News, Tuesday 16 February 2016
There is a shameful history of disinformation and black propaganda— i.e., outright lies —by the Americans, the French, the Saudis, the Israelis and the British in the Middle East; most infamously, after the U.S.-U.K. ally Saddam Hussein of Iraq used poison gas to kill thousands of Kurdish civilians in Halabja in 1988, the United States blamed Iran for the massacre. More recently, the scofflaw Obama regime tried to blame the Syrian government for using chemical weapons which were actually used by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated “rebels” backed by the United States and Britain.
It is by no means reliable, and it is quite possibly a fabrication, but one of the major stories in today’s news is of the bombing of two Syrian hospitals by Russia. Anyone familiar with Television One’s dire, face-pulling, unfunny-joke-cracking, smirking, fist-pumping “news team” will not have been at all surprised to see that they decided to simply buy into the propaganda, without making even a gesture of due diligence.
Their “report” of the hospital bombings was not by any credible, independent, respected journalist of the stature of, say, New Zealand’s world-renowned Jon Stephenson. Instead, they went for one James Robbins, yet another robotic product of the BBC’s production line of robotic mediocrity; his “report” of the bombings was nothing more than a highly loaded, partisan denunciation of Britain’s official enemy, Russia. It was so lacking in any sense of balance, so lacking even the slightest sense of skepticism, it might as well have been written by someone at the Foreign Office. Farcically, but appropriately for this Pythonesque effort, Robbins’ “report” ended with a harried-looking British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, who wearily reiterated his patently false talking points: “Russia could stop this tomorrow, if it started bombing terrorists and stopped bombing the moderate opposition.”
Never, not even during the era of its reprehensibly biased reporting on Ireland in the 1980s under Thatcher’s draconian restrictions, has the BBC been more politically controlled, nor has it has it ever been more untrustworthy than it is now. That TVNZ routinely goes to the BBC, when it is so discredited, and so patently an arm of the British state, is depressing beyond measure.
At the end of this deplorable little propaganda exercise, Simon Dallow read a few closing remarks from his script, his eyes swiveled hard to the right in an apparent attempt to indicate moral disapproval of the evil bastards who bomb hospitals. Chiming in a few seconds later was Wendy “Fist Pumper” Petrie, who obviously felt obliged to follow suit and indicate her own sense of moral outrage at those dastardly Russians; she did this by pausing meaningfully and looking as doleful as she could, before moving on to the next item.
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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Please excuse me but heaps of people in the South Island are at an unacceptable heavy risk of death and injury this morning so this needs re-posting.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-15022016/#comment-1133459
Have you drawn this to the attention of whoever is Minister of Transport, vto ?
Probably a bit useless trying to get a response from the puppet who is Minister of “Tourism.
Aleppo, cluster bombs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXoIy3IKEso&feature=youtu.be&t=25s
I see the Russians have struck a significant blow against terrorism overnight, taking out three MSF field hospitals. That’ll learn ’em!
And a school that was reportedly sheltering people fleeing Aleppo! Further glory to great savior Putin, whose crimes do not count because he is not Western.
Te Reo,
I can find no evidence of your expressing any outrage at the sustained bombing of Kunduz Hospital in Afghanistan last year.
I condemned it, as I condemn this. Because I support things based on what’s done, not on who does it. How about you?
Wonder if you can find similar outrage about Fallujah and Odessa.
You’ll find it from me, but to reiterate,
‘I oppose war crimes especially those targeting civilians and the medical infrastructure that supports civilian populations in a war zone. People who do these things are war criminals who should be tried in court and should lose the support of anyone who claims to be of the left’.
Keep looking Moz, it’s there somewhere. If you haven’t found it by this evening get back to me and I promise to take action. I’ve got the night shift at trp towers on standby just in case. They’re big fans of your work.
‘
I wonder what they’re excuse will be. The US at least told a large part of the truth when it slaughtered innocents at a hospital . . .
As an internationalist, does it grind against your allegiance to accept that the USA and the UK are directly responsible for the very existence of ISIS ?
holy fuck is that what cluster bombs do?
heinous
Here is a timeline of their use.
It seems we should be condemning a lot of countries for their inhumane use.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/cluster-bombs/use-of-cluster-bombs.aspx
Indeed we should. I am, that’s why I posted it.
The fact that Putin fights like this, as has been known since Grozny, is why I don’t support him. The same reason I didn’t support what was done by Bush in Iraq and Kissinger in SE Asia.
I realise that other people do support Putin on the basis he is not Western though, I get that.
‘
Putin is far from alone in the use of cluster bombs, although he is less likely to be breaking his own law than Obama is . . .
“Good on Joycey for front-footing it!”
Is Hillary Barry auditioning for a future rôle as parliamentary head-nodder?
Paul Henry, TV3, Tuesday 16 February 2016
Shortly after 6 o’clock news, the eponymous host and his two slaves engage in a discussion about the major news story of the last 24 hours: John Oliver’s coverage of the dildo attack on Steven Joyce at Waitangi. After Henry mentions that Joyce had quipped “Might as well send it straight to John Oliver and get it over with,” there’s a brief clip of Labour leader Andrew Little contending that this is no longer a laughing matter, and New Zealand is now an international laughing stock. Cut to news-reader slave Hilary Barry frowning at that killjoy, then expressing her North Korean level of support for the regime. “Good on Joycey,” she intones fervently, “for front-footing it!”
There is no longer even the slightest pretense of political objectivity on this show. That Key regime bail-out of Media Works a few years back is really paying off.
BREEN PREDICTS:
In a few years, look for National M.P. Hillary Barry to fill the vital parliamentary head-nodding rôle currently occupied by another old television hack, Maggie Barry and her understudies Louise Upston and Tim McIndoe.
Apparently Key gave an audience to Henry the day before.
The Dear Leader was glorified by his media slaves.
Still think that hatchet job of the smelly TPP protesters was the lowest they’ve gone. Courtesy of Garner and du Plessis.
We should remember who were the enablers for the elite.
Joyce got a lot more than he wished for, mocked the crap out of. Key and his pet flag project copped it also. Teflon John can hardly blame anyone else but his lead snake oil salesman Joyce for really bringing the dildo saga to a worldwide audience.
Not the brightest dildo in the toy box, but certainly the biggest. Be a couple of angry hobbits in the House today. Keep it coming team teflon, laughter will make a change to the booing you have been getting lately.
I am no fan of Joyce but I actually think he has handled this as well as he possibly could. He had no control over getting smacked in the face with a big dick. Did he go full on offensive? no he actually pushed the humorous side of it. May have been un wise to goad Oliver but I wonder if John really could have avoided pulling the piss out of the guy who said that the NACT adds were “pretty legal”.
How to grief the death of a river
http://americanindiansandfriends.com/news/how-do-we-grieve-the-death-of-a-river-written-by-winona-laduke
That’s very interesting including the connection to NZ.
Can’t help but think we outsource our disasters though.
of course we do.
But what goes around comes around, and now it’s our time.
Sabine, who needs cluster bombs?
Audrey Young pens an odd piece together leading with John Key’s honeymoon is over than drops in the small crowd nonsense booing him at the BDO.
One thing is clear Natcorp are panicked. Last week they conducted polling in Northland & Whangarei electorates seeking information about do you know the candidates from the last election and who would you vote for if an election was held tomorrow? Monitoring Shane Reti’s popularity closely, given the likelihood that Shane Jones could make his comeback in the Whangarei seat. Interesting Peters was saying Whangarei will fall to NZF next.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11590131
Given her recent praise the Lord Key pieces, this one by Audrey has a plaintive tone, like when she discovered that Father Christmas was a fraud.
“With the greatest respect, TPP is not a gay and lesbian issue,” so says JK.
Foreign ownership is good for us, and what have Unions ever done for us.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/76912197/prime-range-meats-boss-gutted-for-130-workers-after-processing-suspended
the first comment is interesting, the Lady complaining that Winz appointments are weeks away, that the National MP for the electorate is not helpfull, and Unions were not allowed on the site.
Oh shucks. NZ is waking up from the beauty slumber of the last few years.
‘
Horowhenua District Council doing its bit for 100% Pure New Zealand . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnWtxWH6Vbc
And, strangely, this….http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11590284
“A 70-year-old eco-warrior has been left bruised and battered after being beaten in a “cowardly” attack outside his Shannon home in the dead of night.
As they left the men commented on who had sent them. However, the Horowhenua Chronicle will not identify them as police are investigating the assault.
Mr Andrews is an environmental activist and spent Friday and Saturday prior to the attack, dealing with an issue to do with Shannon’s Sewerage Treatment Plant where he and Shannon councillor Ross Campbell filmed what they believed to be raw sewage being pumped into the nearby Otauru Stream (Standsell drain) which then poured into the nearby Mangaone Stream, which feeds the Manawatu River.”
Shit, as they say, just got real.
To be fair, this particular issue isn’t new. The Mangaore Stream was an open sewer even in the early 80s.
The Horror Phew Enema city council is hopeless. I have been on at them for 2 years to do some proper recycling, but no. Everything still goes into the landfill.
The wheels on the bus are falling off.
Someone who knows more than I might know what the long term effect of having 2.2% growth entirely due to immigration, while real growth lies at zero.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11590214
Long term effects?
Blenheim 1999- 35 shops empty after nine years of National. Personally counted.
Come forward to 2011 after 9 years of Labour and three years of National.
Blenheim 15 shops empty.
After 7 years of National, in 2015
Blenheim 20 shops empty.
After 8 years of National in 2016?
Blenheim 29 shops empty. Double that of five years ago.
Figures from the Marlborough Express.
I wonder how other regional economies are faring under National? Was this neglect apparent in Northland and reflected in the message given recently to National by the election of Winston Peters in preference to a National lackey?
National seems to be lacking the key to economic growth.
as i posted yesterday, one of my real estate customers is really happy that the asian investors (her term not mine) are finally recieving their IRD numbers and sales in Auckland will pick up again and prices should raise accordingly.
don’t you feel the rockstar economy? All drugs rock n roll and early death?
-Phil Goff
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/296628/lobbyists-at-odds-over-tpp-consultation
Even the chief of the dairy industry says the government got it wrong while Goff lays out the differences in the public consultation process during the China agreement and the TPP. This highlights to me just why Labour moved away from the so called bi-partisan relationship – because the current government had abandoned the inclusive consultation process adopted by the more publicly responsible Labour government.
Farrer can whinge all he likes about the change in attitude by Labour but the real change in attitude was by Tim Groser and his paranoid, do-nothing department.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/76837125/Can-John-Key-pull-off-a-fourth-term-Here-are-the-reasons-why-he-might?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Well here’s a reason why he’ll get a fourth term:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76925005/labour-leader-andrew-little-on-john-olivers-dancing-dildos
I mean seriously who’s advising him?
“So we kind of asked for it, but what we got was absolutely full on,” he said.
“Once you had the dancing dildos and the full on hallelujah chorus, it goes beyond something where we’re just laughing at ourselves.”
I mean if you want to show NZ you have no sense of humour then well done he has certainly nailed it
3/10. Must try harder Puckish.
Little has a perception in wider NZ of being a humourless union appointee so when theres a chance to show that he has a sense of humour what does do?
Come off like hes po-faced whereas Joyce tweets it was quite funny so who do you think will resonate with the majority of voters?
look it was a really funny video, and friends of mine from overseas really think that our government is worse than theirs, at least as one friend put it, they can keep it in their pants :
lol..
bwhahahahahahahahaha Dildo Baggins. Awesome comedy. Can you see the Honorable Mr. Joyce go and meet and greet dignitaries overseas…..Gentlement and Ladies….Dildo Bagg….err Steven Joyce Minster of something from NZ.
bhwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I can see it more then I can see someone from Labour because Labour would have to be in a position of power first
Labour in power in before 2020 bhwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
You’re a liar PR.
“However, Little himself couldn’t stop grinning as he spoke about it.”
It doesn’t matter, that statement comes down right near the end which means the narrative has already been planted in the readers mind so when they get to the bottom (IF they get to the bottom) the idea that Little is humourless is already stuck there.
Whereas the first two paragraphs are:
“The Leader of the Opposition has expressed his concern over a skit which made fun of a government minister being hit with a sex toy.”
“Labour leader Andrew Little questioned minister Steven Joyce’s invitation for a comedian to poke fun at the incident which occurred a couple of weeks ago.”
I mean seriously can you really not see the issue here?
Whoever is running the media for Andrew Little should be all over this
Amateur hour is what it is
You are a liar. You’ve made an argument that Little has no sense of humour and you’ve quoted some bits from a newspaper article to back that up and then left out the bit where they’ve said he was finding the whole thing funny. Hence you lied.
Or, you didn’t actually watch Little or read the whole article, which makes you stupid.
I’m good with either.
mate, its all good.
I can see it MP / future PM Dildo Baggins, National Party….bwhahahahahaha
no matter what mate, this guy is all yours.
Joycie wasn’t so twerpy on twitter last night. That is because he knew he put his boot to his own head. Oh the joy of watching parliament later today!
pass the popcorn 🙂
Expect the opposition party’s to join in a chorus of booing when either Key or Joycie lose the plot and turn into angry hobbits 😂
bwhhahahahahahahaha
but would angry hobbits not be something more akin to Trolls?
2pm http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/about-parliament/see-hear/ptv
@puckish rogue
You must have liked the phrase John Oliver used at the beginning of the video regarding previous coverage of New Zealand and “their ridiculous Prime Minister .”
I know I did, even though I felt embarassed, it was such a relief to hear someone in the media speak the truth!
Colonial Viper:
So what would prevent a 4th term for national?
Good question, although another one might be ‘What would ensure a first term left wing coalition govt?’
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
In terms of preventing National getting a 4th term, I think the recording of and discussion about the PM of NZ being a disgrace of a PM (separate from his other sins) is useful.
– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care
I also think the TPPA is going to be a big thorn in their side if the protest momentum can be kept going.
– It will be a big thorn but that thorn will be for Labour (you don’t think Key will go hard on Littles support but not really support for the TPPA?)
But ultimately I think the problem isn’t that National are good, it’s that we need Labour to present as competent and then the left wing parties to present as a govt in waiting. No amount of dealing to National will make up for that if it’s missing.
– On this we’re in complete agreement
“– No it won’t, the majority of voters don’t seem to care”
Citation needed, or at least some credible theorising.
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour
We don’t need the majority of voters to care, we just need enough voters to vote on the left. The right didn’t win by a huge margin last time.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
“My theorising is that National and John Key are still high in the polls and Labours stagnating and I bet that the next round of polls will see a slight lift for National and a slight dip for Labour”
Sure, but how do you tie that into “the majority of voters don’t seem to care” about Key as PM supporting rape culture? I’m not talking about the next poll, I’m talking about a steady shift within the culture in NZ over time. The next poll could be influenced by a rugby game or any other event, I don’t see how you could pull out the influence of a dynamic happening over a year or so.
– Heres what the Left needed to win last time:
Labour + Green + NZFirst + Maori Party + UF + Act
and heres what National could have done
National + MP or National + UF or National + Act
You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.
Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles
“You are assuming that the left wouldn’t pick up any additional votes, so that doesn’t make sense.”
– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it
“Because if the voters did care, and more pertinently believed what the left were saying, then Nationals and John Keys numbers would be getting close to Labours and Littles”
Only if things were really simple and people thought about voting in such simplistic ways. We’ve both agreed that the lefts polling isn’t going to move much until Labour look more competent, so there may be people upset at Key who still won’t say Labour until Labour change, but when Labour change they will jump easily. This is why the timeframes are important. It’s a long time until the next election and I can’t see Key improving his record in that time.
“– I’m assuming you’re referring to the missing million voters? If so you’re falling into the trap that thinks all those voters are left wing voters and if Labour just went more left all the voters would flock to it”
No, I’m not. I’m assuming that because in the past more NZers have voted on the left they can do so again. That might be part of the non-vote, it might be swing voters. It might be poor RW turnout, or centrist voters wanting to give Labour a chance. Your arguments are superficially tempting to some but the reality is more complex.
The funny thing is I actually agree with most of what you’re saying, the only real difference is the time frame
I think National will win in 2017 and lose in 2020
You gotta be kidding mate.
Paula Bennett versus Grant Robertson 2020
There is only one possible outcome from that stoush.
well hmm, the voters that booed at him both at the rugby game and the bgo might disagree with you. but in saying that, i agree that a lot of voters would not see it and hence not know about it.
tppa, hmm at the moment it is key’s thorn, and it will be labours thorn when they get to form a coalition government, but they will by then supported and restrained by the Greens (which is good in my eyes) and i think Winston Peters will have a thing to say or two.
again i agree that Labour needs to do better, and so do the Greens and NZ First if they want to be the grand coalition. They all need to up their game and play MMP instead of what evs.
However, reading the article about the Meatworkers that are not working because their chinese overlords are not ready yet (linked to the stuff article in Open Mike), and reading the comments, there are a lot of smaller lesser known National MP’s that are not getting good creds for doing their work, WINZ is not getting good cred for helping these people that are not pulling a wage for a few weeks and all points to the complete lack of care of the National MP’s in their electorate, and the National Governed Ministry that should help these people. I am guessing that nothing much is going to change over the next year, and if National voters get upset enough they might simply abstain from voting if they can’t be seen voting for any of the other parties.
So frankly i think at this day and age, everything is possible, and John Key has more to loose then any of the other parties.
That’s going to guarantee a 4th term
Only in lefty world is the PM considered a disgrace, so there’s no win there, if anything it’s costing the left votes.
Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.
Lots and lots of pissed off parents having what is a nice experience ruined by some left wing wankers.
Absolute voter poison for the left, especially Labour.
“That’s going to guarantee a 4th term”
So you say. I’m finding the whole CT mantra-repeating ‘National will win, the left will lose’ thing without any political substance boring. We need better RWNJs.
A poll last year, fwiw, showed that something like 60% of NZers are against the TPPA, 34% for and the rest undecided. Of the National party voters only 22% are in favour.
Link to the FB convos or they didn’t happen.
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153901670390429
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153898014080429
https://www.facebook.com/pmjohnkey/posts/10153897587335429
-any photo with Key
This shit is what’s sinking the left
Had a quick scroll through of a couple of those, it doesn’t look full of rapid left wingers destroying people’s family time. It looks mostly like Key fans posting applause and a few other people dropping in either political comments or angry insulting ones (and not necessarily lefties, not sure why you categorise them all that way). Par for the course for FB.
I don’t agree with calling Key a paedophile, mostly because I think we are really bad in NZ at dealing with rape culture and throwing round accusations like that makes things murkier not clearer. But I think you underestimate how many people in NZ will be feeling uncomfortable about the growing number of times Key demonstrates at the least poor judgement when it comes to issues close to sexual violence. Even of the people who are good with Key’s politics there will be some who are uncomfortable with how he is on this.
And Labour can’t even get their shit together to interpret from that what they should do with regards to the TPP.
An absolute vote winning position on the TPP staring them right in the face and instead they choose to side with the corporates and transnational financial interests.
That’s why National will get a 4th term.
So you hope.
Yeah but rememeber there was also a lot of opposition to the partial sell down of shares in the power companies and it didn’t stop National then
The thing the left to recognize is theres a difference between a government enacting a policy that’s unpopular and a enacting a policy that will see you lose an election
This is an unpopular policy but its not going to cost the election for National but when protestors block of roads of people going to work then that will cost votes for the left
Civil resistance is going to cause inconvenience, no doubt about it.
But the real problem for the left is that there is no alternative political economic agenda being presented to the people.
Merely mild tweaking of the current agenda.
And in that case, why on Earth would you vote for fake vanilla when you can have real vanilla?
You can. Vote Mana.
And all your doing pal is trying to tag these halfwits you talk about to Labour. We all know Key accused Mana and the Greens of being the small group who disrupted the GDO. You have to get in the real world, the likelihood of a fourth term is remote. For every 10 policies the Bats have put forward 1 or 2 will be met with disapproval, as the years roll by and more disapproving policies come with the years, some voters reach the tipping point. The TPPA, the flag change are big voter slippage, add more as we close in on the 2017 election and it is over for the incumbent. Happened to Clark and it will happen to Key. That is political life cobbah.
Voters still think in FPP terms, they hear/read someone doing something offensive at John Key, automatically think must be a left winger.
Biggest party on the left is Labour, must be a Labour voter.
Little hasn’t got a chance with these fuckwits running around spraying their shit every where.
Not all voters think FPP not in Epsom as you know and not in Northland as you also know. It has taken a while for the opposition party’s to get their head around strategic voting but the whole country sat up and took notice when Peters took a seat that was regarded as a safe national stronghold. There are countless seats that the same result can happen. Especially in the forgotten regions.
Counting on Winstons support before the trading begins and the votes have been counted is not really a good idea
Winston is a good man, an honest man, honest as the day is long, that is why so many Kiwis like the man and his party, his MP’s are solid too. Will be delighted when he can find time from his busy schedule to joins me on a friends super yacht for some much needed r & r with a wee celebration of a tidy donation to his party.
🙂
“Seriously, go have a look at John Keys face book page and read some of the offensive comments left wingers have made under pictures of John Key talking and interacting with peoples kids.”
You have a lot of faith in people online, actually being who and what they say they are.
I will give you my opinion from someone who has tagged a few hits on Key and his cronies over the years.
Start now with theme’s that the public can relate to. Highlight their association with corporations, address them as National Corporation or Natcorp, it is clearly evident Kiwis distrust the sweet deal the multi national corporations are getting if the TPPA comes to pass. Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
Yes, i like to point out the changes to the welfare system since our National Led Government started. It is interesting to see how many people actually don’t know that you have no more Widowers benefits, no more Sickness Benefit, etc. That all those people now are on the JobSeekers benefit.
And so on and so on. Nope this did not happen under Labour, these were changes that came about under John Key and his National Party led Government.
Any issues, please contact your local National MP. 🙂
Sabine, the difficulty of pointing out National’s changes to the welfare system is Labour hasn’t committed, or even made mention, they would overturn them.
Use the Tories own trick that this government is tired out of fresh idea’s and use the time for change meme. All this stuff is basic but it will get the desired result.
– That is not a bad idea but the problem for Labour (specifically) is that Labour doesn’t look like its rejuvenated as much as National have, as an example National have two hold overs from the 80s whereas Labour has three but the real problem is that those three from Labour get a lot of air time (King, Goff and Mallard) whereas Williamson and McCully don’t get as much (in Williamsons case far too much but I digress)
again in an MMP environment Labour is just one party. It needs to do well, granted, but it does not need to go it alone.
So you see, there is still some time to come for National to loose it, for the opposition to win it.
And I frankly look forward to the National Party of Pulls Her Benefit and the Crusher, as clearly D. Baggins might have issues in the future.
Of course yes National could lose it and the opposition could win it but National are still keeping a reasonably tight lid on its internal struggles whereas Labour is still leaking like a sieve
Yes we’re in an MMP environment but the voting public still sees it as Labour + support partners as no one seriously considers that the Greens will ever be more then a support partner so if the left wing block are to take power then Labour MUST be seen to be a credible option for running the country
At the moment National haven’t had any major howlers and Labour hasn’t had any significant hits
If the language kept basic most kiwis (who are not political junkies) soon start following like sheep. “Time for a change this lot have had a good trot of 9 years and if the failed flag change was John Key’s legacy time to move on and let another regime have a go.”
It may be as simple as that or a few attachments may be required? Sold us out to multi national corporations, foreign speculators are changing the kiwi life as we use to know it.
The list goes on….
Labour look old, broke and clapped out, that’s where your plan turns to poos.
Government in waiting, I don’t think so
so do National, which is where your argument turns to poos. NZers havent’ done 4 term govts in many generations, why would they start now?
Because National, though looking a bit frayed around the edges, is still preferable to a Labour/Green coalition
That will change in the future of course but at the moment theres no real appetite for change (the TPPA is not as big a deal as the left would like to think it is) and, in the voters minds, theres no other opposition worth giving a go to
It looks likely to be Labour and NZF with the Greens happy to sit on the cross benches or vice versa with NZF.
Of course the Greens will take another hit, I mean whats one more when you’ve spent over 25 years in the wilderness
“Theres a good Green party you just roll over and lie on your back and let Labour rub your belly once again while Winston laughs at you, because its for the greater good don’t you know”
I wouldn’t mind seeing that
The Greens are so good they’ve been getting NZ to change without even being in govt yet, and you’ve failed to notice lol
weka they get some table scraps thrown to them every now and then and only when it suits National
Act and Peter Dunne have had more of an effect on NZ then the Greens ever will until the Greens realise you get more done when in power
But hey if you’re happy the Greens staying outside government then that makes you, me, Winston and Helen all in agreement
You’re still thinking about things like bills passed and policies. I’m talking about the much bigger influence the Greens have had and your still in denial about it. You can spin all you like, but the success of the GP doesn’t get defined by people like yourself that don’t understand what they do, or value it. Try and remember that when Climate Change gets really uncomfortable for you personally.
I think the real problem for the Labour Party, who must do well if National are displaced, is simply that they are continuously negative.
The editorial in the February 13 Listener illustrated their problem.
I can’t seem to link to it on-line. Sorry.
The editorial was about changing the flag. They start by pointing out that Labour, in a policy they wish to be forgotten, were in favour of a change.
As Mallard said before the last election “The time has come for a change and it is right for the issue to be put to the public”.
The article then goes on to say “Why has Labour spent the last few months sullenly resisting a proposal that it embraced less than two years ago”.
Then they explain it as “Labour is suffering from a severe case of sour grapes”. This is followed by “The party appears incapable of rising above its dislike of the Prime Minister, even fighting him on policies with which it might be expected to agree”
They also quote Labour man Nick Leggett that “People vote for hope, optimism and the promise of something better” and that Little should “stop barking at passing cars”.
The final part continues “what better time than now for Little to drop the curmudgeonly resistance” and concludes that Labour “need to stop sulking and get on board”
Why can’t Labour accept that an idea isn’t automatically unclean because Key supports it? Is the whole of Labour policy to be asking what John Key thinks and then simply spout it back after prefacing the words “We are opposed”.
I suspect that if John Key announced a policy of free tertiary education tomorrow Labour would do an immediate about turn and respond that they are opposed to the idea. They are never going to be the Government with their current we hate John Key attitude.
Because there’s no alternative.
Labour doesn’t look like they’re even remotely ready to govern NZ.
Combine that with the left government having to consist of three good sized parties and maybe one or two small parties and you’ve got a recipe for instability and chaos.
How do you even reach an agreement?, let alone pitch this sort of scenario to the NZ voter.
Until one party on the left makes into the late 30’s, early 40’s the left will always be struggling to win.
The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.
“The only chance the left has is if NZ falls completely apart and the voters feels like they’ve got nothing to lose.”
Yes we obviously agree on that!
Do you really think Labour is going to get over 30% in 2017?
I totally struggle to envisage a scenario where that is going to happen.
I am still picking them coming in at +/-3% of their 2014 result = 22% to 28%.
There are Labour supporters I know who are dead sure that Labour will deliver well over 30% next year.
Like I said, I cannot visualise it, excepting perhaps Key self destructing on live TV. Calling a snap election with an almost empty glass of scotch in one hand while tugging on the reporters pony tail should do it.
But short of that…
The thought of another 3 years is grim, still plenty of water to go under the bridge CV. From what I saw at Waitangi the usual suspects are still circling. I could have flogged the lot of them out of the party if I had a bull whip.
Moving on… I prefer operating as a free agent, have for a while now, quite close with First & Green crews and met a pleasant couple of new hopes within the old party. I still believe the Teflon is coming apart, thanks to the hardcore who are doing the heavy work trying to tear the system down.
Primary definition of “many” according to the Merriam/Webster dictionary
“consisting of or amounting to a large but indefinite number”
Do you really think 2 is a large number. Really truly?
The last 4 term Government left office in late 1972, or about 43 years ago. That seems a very short 2 generations to me rather than the grandiose claim of “many generations”.
The Left are still seriously underestimating Key.
Yes, indeed.
Trotter had an interesting post on this some time ago.
At least at that time I don’t think he was.
i don’t think that the ‘left’ is underestimating Key.
they don’t like him, they abhor him and his posse. I frankly find the man to be as disgusting as one can find a man disgusting, but that is simply the female talking that had to deal many many times with managers like him. They are disgusting horrible little men. They win usually by walking over bodies and abusing everyone around them until either the leave or give up.
But CV, the ones that i count more dangerous like Key are people like you.
Disillusion, bitter and angry, and just too happy to cry constantly about how those that have wronged you are wrong no matter what they do. No matter that the wrong you are crying about are several decades old, that the people that have wronged you are maybe not even in the party any more or may have been young at the time. No you want a personal apology, back tracking and what nots. YOU want, you you you you you.
You, and man and women like you, are the ‘left’ biggest enemy.
And you have no alternative to offer, in fact you don’t want an alternative, you just want to beat your chest and whine.
But frankly we don’t need your saviour who will never show up, but if we want to stop the sell out of this country, literally and figuratively, than the left will have to work together.
And frankly I don’t care if Labour comes in with 30%, or the Green Party or NZ First, as long as the parties of the opposition understand that they each have a role to play in bringing this country back to its people.
You however should have a good look in the mirror and ask yourself why you actually pretend to care about the left.
The Political Left in NZ is dead in the water, Sabine.
The biggest party of the “Left” wants to stay in the TPP, thinks that NZ Super is unaffordable, and voted for the bene bashing as well as the anti-terrorism and spying legislation that National put up on behalf of the NSA.
Then do what the Left has always been good at, witch hunt out the enemy.
Have you noted that’s how Labour has always behaved, since the days of John A Lee?
And its exactly how Labour treated Cunliffe and Cunliffe’s supporters?
NB I don’t want a single thing more from the Labour Party because I know that they are incapable of holding firm to any worthwhile policy long enough to actually deliver it.
As for apologies etc. from Labour, who are you kidding. Many in there still think Rogernomics was necessary and the couldn’t even bring themselves to properly congratulate Corbyn on his victory in the UK.
The political left blah blah blah. It would help if you stopped talking in steretypes and cliches.
Maybe you should join NZF.
Hey weka if you give me some specific examples, maybe I would have some idea of what you are talking about.
Now your being silly and quiet surprised you have lowered yourself to turn to kaka’s that is abit childish I must say.
Anyway before you go have your forced afternoon nap answering your flippant opinion. In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up to the deceitful lies and awful mismanagement of our economy.
“In the end the electorate just want the incumbent gone burger, having finally woken up”
Do you actually think the electorate feels that way Skinny or is it just you and your friends. There doesn’t seem to be any such feeling being exhibited in the polls.
Alwyn I think you know about the little number I done the other week, deliberately planned for the day after the big anti TPPA protest in Auckland. My debriefing analysis showed Peters and to a lesser degree Labour and Greens gained some shift support, both their speakers spoke very well too.
Over 100,000 (now 160.000)) watched either live or afterwards on mainly the NZH fb feed, tho other media like tv1news were there but i never watched we were celebrating out for dinner. A truck load of comments and thousands of shares of the video. There were many comments who had voted National they were openly saying they had lost their vote, most were saying Winston was getting their viote next year, some it was the Greens or Labour. Looking at their profiles and friends suggested they were genuine. Crude but good enough as a guide. It will still up if you want to go look, I have moved on to the next little number planned in my head.
I assume that NZH fb means FaceBook.
From a link weka posted the other day it appears that to look at it you need a FaceBook persona.
That I will not do. I dislike FaceBooks mode of operation and refuse to have anything to do with it.
If I’ve interpreted you wrongly, or the bit about a persona on FB, or indeed if you published elsewhere please let me know. Otherwise I will have to give it a miss.
Just for you alwyn since you make a stand against the ever worsening Face Book.
If you use a search engine type Politicians voice concern over TPP at rally NZ Heard, this new item and a couple of video clips should be on there. I can not cut and paste on here for some reason.
You know how the right-wing have always told us that opening up more land for housing would lower prices?
Well, it seems that that doesn’t work:
The right-wing: Wrong by ideology.
well, if you think about it terms of ‘what comes around goes around’ what else was to be expected.
If, a big IF, cashed up Aucklanders are moving to Tauranga and other such nice places to buy there (now, that even with all the money they received from selling their property in AKL, that they can’t afford a property in Auckland anymore) they are running up prices in that market as they come with Cash that no one in Tauranga has.
And the same happens in other places. So essentially the housing crisis is carried from one town to the next, leaving ordinary citizens that only want to buy a house to live in out of a chance to ever buy, and leaving more and more properties waiting for that cashed up speculator to buy. Why sell your house, if keeping it empty will increase its value. Heck, why work 🙂
Anyone who could not see this happening needs to adjust their glasses, as that was a consequence quite a few of us have warned of.
Tauranga is the Florida of NZ.
You get old, sell up and move to Tauranga, the weather is better and it’s not that far from Auckland.
Tauranga will always be in demand.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/11/miami-drowning-climate-change-deniers-sea-levels-rising
Apologies about the loss of the mobile version. Looks like it turned off on Friday.
There was an update to wp-touch mobile theme that had a fix in it to deal with multi-site systems like The Standard (even though we have never used it in public). By the look of it, it deactivated the local website activation that was on.
I haven’t spent much time on the site for a few days, and none at all on mobile so I didn’t notice (bad Lynn…)
😈
Just in case you’re interested the new Microsoft Edge browser is having terrible issues with caching.
Every link you click on serves a cached version, you then have to reload the page to get the latest version.
Ummm. Ok I will try it out somehow.
What the browsers are meant to do is to cache pages for a set period of time. But on a refresh, they are meant to request the page passing details of their cached version. If it is up to date, then the server returns just use that again. If it isn’t, then it returns a freshly generated page. There is a certain amount of caching going on at all sides. It is how the caching is handled that will be at fault.
It sounds like it is over interpreting the caching hints being passed to it and never bothering to go back to the server. In which case I probably need to tell edge never to cache for
No worries, I use chrome for 99% of my internetting, I’d just upgraded to windows 10 and I thought I’d give the edge browser a go
https://garethsworld.com/blog/economics/the-beach-the-monkey-and-rationality/
With this level of hubris he really should run for parliament
He really doesn’t need to descend to that level (who does). He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals.
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
He has neither the push to duty that a few have in that position nor the blatant egoistical need to be at the centre of attention nor the lust for power nor the rent grabbing of some of the political professionals
– Yes hes a shrinking violet who avoids the limelight
It is quite apparent that he just has an arrogant regard for his own abilities and he has a track record that he values to back it up. I don’t think that he really gives a shit about what you and other members of the tall poppy brigade like you think.
– I’m a member of the tall poppy brigade because I think hes spinning like a top?
Why would he bother to become an MP? It’d constrain his ability to say what he thinks.
– Might help reign in some of his ideas
Might help reign in some of his ideas.
Sort of an oxymoron as that reign is royal not the horse-controlling kind. Probably a very apt choice of words PR.
Well, at least it was an interesting explanation of things from his point of view.
I think his assessment is flawed, though: as a commenter pointed out, the imperfect information distributed through the “crowd” was simply that his priority was personal advantage in access, rather than public access.
But the other problem is that he’s assuming that minimising the purchase price is even a priority for the people who donated (who weren’t him). I didn’t donate to that campaign (because fundage), but I do donate on occasion. When I do, my attitude is that the money is sunk – I’m not looking for any return. So really, if they overpay to ensure public ownership, who gives a damn? Any overpayment is simply insurance against a gazumper at the post.
Tomorrow 9:10 AM I will be on Aaron’s Raglan Radio morning show.
We will be talking about the Global banking crisis, the Kiwi saver scam/scheme and the “Open bank resolution” which enables banks to confiscate deposits from small banking depositors if and when a bank fails and which was accepted by New Zealand in 2013.
http://www.raglanradio.com/index.php/listen/listen-live
Rock Star Economy
Surplus
Tax Cuts 2017
4th term National Party led rationing of vital service – wow it sounds like we are “back to the USSR” to me 🙂
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kpmg-early-edition/opinion/rachel-smalley-no-spin-can-hide-health-sector-cuts/
Quote: “Perhaps you’ve had an experience in our health system recently?
I know a man who sat in a hospital some 18 months ago. He spent a week sitting in a ward, a man in his 40s, with a severely broken leg. It was a mess. And I think it took 8 days for him to have surgery. Short-staffed. Not enough operating theatre space anyway. And so he fasted every day until early afternoon, and then they told him he wouldn’t have surgery that day. Every day. For 8 days.
Our health needs aren’t reducing, they’re increasing. The only way to make cuts for many DHBs will be to staff.
We’re struggling with issues of unmet need, we’re struggling with the issues triggered by the diabetes and obesity epidemics — and so I really feel for our health workers right now.”
Boo hoo, the bully suggests he’s being bullied
boo hoo, the bully Slater seems to be suggesting he is being bullied
A British politician’s outrageous lies are given pride
of place in a BBC report; why does TVNZ go along with this farce?
Television One News, Tuesday 16 February 2016
There is a shameful history of disinformation and black propaganda— i.e., outright lies —by the Americans, the French, the Saudis, the Israelis and the British in the Middle East; most infamously, after the U.S.-U.K. ally Saddam Hussein of Iraq used poison gas to kill thousands of Kurdish civilians in Halabja in 1988, the United States blamed Iran for the massacre. More recently, the scofflaw Obama regime tried to blame the Syrian government for using chemical weapons which were actually used by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated “rebels” backed by the United States and Britain.
It is by no means reliable, and it is quite possibly a fabrication, but one of the major stories in today’s news is of the bombing of two Syrian hospitals by Russia. Anyone familiar with Television One’s dire, face-pulling, unfunny-joke-cracking, smirking, fist-pumping “news team” will not have been at all surprised to see that they decided to simply buy into the propaganda, without making even a gesture of due diligence.
Their “report” of the hospital bombings was not by any credible, independent, respected journalist of the stature of, say, New Zealand’s world-renowned Jon Stephenson. Instead, they went for one James Robbins, yet another robotic product of the BBC’s production line of robotic mediocrity; his “report” of the bombings was nothing more than a highly loaded, partisan denunciation of Britain’s official enemy, Russia. It was so lacking in any sense of balance, so lacking even the slightest sense of skepticism, it might as well have been written by someone at the Foreign Office. Farcically, but appropriately for this Pythonesque effort, Robbins’ “report” ended with a harried-looking British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, who wearily reiterated his patently false talking points: “Russia could stop this tomorrow, if it started bombing terrorists and stopped bombing the moderate opposition.”
Never, not even during the era of its reprehensibly biased reporting on Ireland in the 1980s under Thatcher’s draconian restrictions, has the BBC been more politically controlled, nor has it has it ever been more untrustworthy than it is now. That TVNZ routinely goes to the BBC, when it is so discredited, and so patently an arm of the British state, is depressing beyond measure.
At the end of this deplorable little propaganda exercise, Simon Dallow read a few closing remarks from his script, his eyes swiveled hard to the right in an apparent attempt to indicate moral disapproval of the evil bastards who bomb hospitals. Chiming in a few seconds later was Wendy “Fist Pumper” Petrie, who obviously felt obliged to follow suit and indicate her own sense of moral outrage at those dastardly Russians; she did this by pausing meaningfully and looking as doleful as she could, before moving on to the next item.
Yes, I’ve seen that little post-item ‘act’ by the Dallow/Petrie coupling on numerous occasions.