Great to see the Labour candidates getting out to the regions, even into places where Labour hasn’t had traditional support. Last night Chris Hipkins, David Shearer and TKC Labour Candidate Penny Gaylor provided an outstanding public meeting at the Otorohanga Rugby Club. There needs to be more of this.
On another note: This mornings Fonterra GDT auction is down 8.9%, the NZ Dairy market price has essentially collapsed, if this price holds then we will see a dairy payout under $6 which will be a problem for many farmers.
I understand there are clinics planned in each of the community centres in the electorate, which is an excellent way of boosting visibility and interacting directly with the community. The first one kicks off in Newlands this Saturday. If you look at Lynn’s very thorough analysis, NZ First – the Kingmakers? and the link provided regarding Ohariu:
you can see that the area of central east, which includes Newlands/Paparangi are the biggest supporters of a Left vote in the electorate – a great place to start the clinics! We had a food bank open up in Newlands last year, which may indicate that the area is suffering under our current Government, so I’m sure there will be lots of issues the people will want to discuss with the candidate.
I’m not a Labour Party member and am not involved with the campaign in Ohariu but what I’ve been hearing is ALL positive. ……………. hey, just imagine unseating Dunne………………. 😀
We’ve been working really hard in Clutha-Southland. We’ve door knocked all over the electorate Tapanui, Queenstown, Balclutha, Milton, Gore, Mataura, Nightcaps and Kaitangtata. We’ve had a lot of support in the electorate to my pleasant surprise. I’m thinking we will be taking some votes of National in the electorate this time.
What about your Labour candidate Rob MCCann? Looks like they have an open invitation to a coffee and chat get together this Friday. You could go along and find out what’s happening!
Financial problems for many farmers are seen as opportunities for the Tories with access to finance, or wanting to sell to foreign capital while grabbing a commission. They want the farms concentrated in fewer hands.
I note various Zionist cheerleaders and apologists on this site objecting to the gross disproportionality of references to ‘genocide’.
I dare say like references were objected to when the yellow Star of David had its first European outing.
Well it wasn’t the fucking Yellow Rose of Texas was it ? As we all now know.
Ironic how the word “solution” has crept into the conversation. “There must be a sensible solution…..blah blah blah” from the likes of Sooth-Creep-Wayne, formerly of cabinet fame.
Former prime minister Jenny Shipley’s involvement with the latest Chinese banking giant to set up shop in New Zealand has been described by Winston Peters as “economic treachery”.
I agree with Winston.
Later on in the article..
“We found China’s largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), was also registered here last November, chaired by former politician and Reserve Bank governor Don Brash.”
These NACT politicians are selling our sovereignty away for their own personal gain.
We are rapidly losing control of our own country. And we know the people who have facilitated this.
Lange, Douglas, Moore, Bolger, Richardson, Shipley, Brash, Key,
Yes, and Bolger was cover for Richardson and Lange cover for Douglas.
They provided the cheery reassuring face, whilst the others stuffed the country behind our backs.
Lange was the clown who took credit for uranium based breath fresheners, while giving Douglas and co. carte blanche to go where Thatcher had feared to tread. He was not OK. He is as responsible as Douglas or Prebble for the state of Aotearoa today.
Bolger also did little to stop Richardson rubbing salt into the wounds inflicted by the first ACT government. To call either of them OK is to lower our expectations to nothing.
China Construction Bank New Zealand’s chairwoman, former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley, said the bank’s initial focus would be on trade business, as well as “supporting high net worth individuals who are either present or wish to come to New Zealand and do business here”.
‘High net worth individuals?’
Maybe this is linked to this article. In May http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10007139/Wealthy-Chinese-knock-on-NZs-door
Wealthy Chinese knock on NZ’s door.
“Wealthy Chinese who wanted to emigrate because of concerns over pollution and a crackdown on corruption who had previously considered Canada were now interested in New Zealand and Australia.”
‘High net worth individuals?’…aka wealthy Chinese who wanted to emigrate because of a crackdown on corruption .
‘This wave of emigration has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some who cannot leave. Wrote one user on microblogging platform Sina Weibo, “Capital is continuously being transferred abroad, leaving a mess at home.”’
‘In November, 2011, an opinion piece in the state-run People’s Daily,entitled “We Should Make It Harder for the Wealthy to Emigrate,” attracted a great number of readers and went viral on Chinese social media sites. The article proposed an “exit tax” on wealthy Chinese leaving the country. Many Web users agreed that such a measure would benefit the majority of Chinese while limiting capital outflow. One anonymous commentator complained, “Once you have money and power, you’re no longer patriotic. Think about it – where did your money and power come from? They’re practically peacetime traitors.”’
Sounds like they are seen as traitors just like Winston see the wealthy of New Zealand as economic quislings.
The 1% are the same. whatever the country.
‘Several of New Zealand’s major export fish species have been listed as unsustainably managed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).
Its warnings appear on its website and on mobile phone apps to use while shopping. They include red lights or do-not-shop for hoki, squid and shark from New Zealand.
“Overall, there have been significant improvements in farming and the industry is improving transparency due to the fact more people care about where their seafood comes from,” Tooni Mahto, AMCS’s marine campaigns officer, said.
“But there is still a lot of work to do. It still takes 2.5 kilograms of wild-caught fish, to be used as fish food, to create 1kg of farmed fish.”
On hoki AMCS said it should not be eaten. Although the New Zealand fishery was healthy “there are significant concerns over threatened species bycatch and habitat damage in this fishery”.
Fast-food companies like McDonald’s use hoki in their fish burgers.’
And who have the government chosen to sell these same policies to the Pacific Island nations? None other than Labour’s own former mouthpiece for unsustainability, the late grate Shane Jones.
From my wireless this morning, RadioNZ National, at an annual $6 a kilo for milk solids 20% of New Zealand dairy farms are only reaching break even,
The auctions for the rest of the financial year may well spell out the fate of those farms which carry the most debt,
While ‘stockpiling’ has been trotted out as the cause of the current slump in prices there is evidence that ‘boom’ may well be about to turn to ‘bust’ worldwide for the dairy industry,
For the first time one of the Chinese players in the market, Yili, has entered the top 10 of production companies, at number 10, suggesting that the ramping up of production there will begin to hurt Western producers deeply,
A situation of over-supply, some say that point is at hand, will collapse the market prices of dairy products across the world and force up to 20% of all individual farms into insolvency,
i doubt, the inclusion in the New Zealand economy of two of China’s major banking groups is simply an incidental progression, while there is antagonism toward foreign ‘ownership’ of our farming sector, a collapsing dairy price will give those banks ‘virtual ownership’ of a large part of the local industry via their ability to prop up the industry with cash loans…
Dairy should be part of the economic mix not a dominant commodity.
There is not enough room for many more cows than the current six mill unless kept indoors in ‘sheds’ as per the shelved South Island Mckenzie basin plan. Cattle are often diseased and stressed to get the yield as it is. Dairy workers in processing and logistics are well unionised but farm workers themselves remain appallingly treated in many cases.
Forest and sheep have been run down and overlooked in the gold rush scamper to dairy. If the Chinese and Latin Americans really get rolling with dairy Fonterra will be in for a major downsize. The small independents like Synlait, Dairyworks, LIC, Sutton Group, Gardians etc. that do niche products are where dairy will have to go to survive.
The cash cow may run dry eh, oh well good news for the waterways eventually then. The thing is to replace it with something that provides reasonable employment not just inflated payouts to industrial farm owners.
Why should one sector be protected. Farming as a stand alone business case do not stack up with their operating results. All they are is property companies in hiding. Their operating results allow, is a basis for how much debt they can carry, with the financial returns based on saleability and the appreciation of the farms and stock.
I feel for those who have recently entered the farming industry as the stress they are under is a real concern, especially with rising interest rates on the horizon coupled with reduced commodity prices, and the increase world wide if dairy capacity.
And re environmental deterioration they should be compelled like other industries to mitigate at source so that their are no adverse effects down steam.
Fully agree. The biggest concern here (outside of the environmental issues) is what happens if milk solid prices continue to fall and large numbers of our dairy farmers are then “underwater” ie. running at a loss and unable to service the substantial loans on property.
Clearly in the normal course of events the creditors step in and the assets/property are sold to recoup the loan exposure. Now where are the buyers of said land likely to eventuate from? NZ’ers with spare capital? Heck of a straw man I know but one possibly worthy of consideration.
This price is at the regular low end of the trading year. But there is a stark warning in it nevertheless that many commentators have been pushing for a long time. Rod Oram is one of them, and Keith Woodford another, as noted below:
Regrettably despite my high hopes for Fonterra at its inception, I now want Fonterra to decline slowly over the next decade. Farmers and smart partners will then replace it with a thousand predominantly locally-owned small companies with the will to form their own brands, and take on the great value-added challenge of New Zealand dairy.
Fonterra, and too many other dairy companies, enjoy surfing the bulk commodity wave while it lasts, and simply refuse to believe there will be the hard landing of debt servicing and long price troughs as bulk storage is so slow to use up.
Only the cushion of a great range of world-beating specialist high-value products with unique brands from a multitude of local companies will turn this slow disaster.
In the true NZ way what would ensue is a rapid race to the bottom with NZ farmers competing with each other on lowest price volume rather than value add… not to mention much easier for processors to screw down milk supply on a farmer by farmer basis…
That could follow, agreed.
But there are some who are not vulnerable at all, and aggregate into companies, form their own processing, and their own brands, and their own marketing.
The two extremes between the NZ milk industry and the NZ wine industry don’t need to be so extreme.
i doubt, the inclusion in the New Zealand economy of two of China’s major banking groups is simply an incidental progression, while there is antagonism toward foreign ‘ownership’ of our farming sector, a collapsing dairy price will give those banks ‘virtual ownership’ of a large part of the local industry via their ability to prop up the industry with cash loans…
Yep, we need that ban on foreign ownership now. And not just mild restrictions either.
My point. re: the Chinese banks setting up shop here is it is a simple means of bypassing messy questions of foreign ownership,
Why own the farm via a land title with all the negative connotations that this generates when you can buy up through bank loans all that production sitting in an air conditioned office in the Auckland CBD…
On planet Draco such a banning probably has a 100% probability, on this one the chances are an enlarged ZERO,
At some point i can see the Chinese, through these banks ability to lend to the individual dairy farms and the major production companies, making the decisions on how big our dairy production is and of course what price the economy can tolerate for the products,
i doubt that ‘they’ see any point in collapsing our economy,(while we are still ‘friendly),and, as it our methods and stock breeding ability which is enhancing their ability to become in time the biggest dairy producer in the world there is in fact an impetus for controlled,(by them),competition to keep occurring,
A cynic would suggest that as we milk the cows we are in turn about to be milked ourselves…
It would seem dicriminatory to refuse a licence to a Chinese bank when most ot our banking facilities are Australian owned. However, I must admit that I would like to see all overseas banks leave NZ.
I suspect the real problem is nobody can figure out how to bleed money out of the great unwashed like alcohol and tobacco when you can just throw in a row of it next to the tomatoes. They’ll think of something eventually – medical marijuana seems to be where they’re headed at the moment
i am hoping they byepass that halfway-house of medical-marijuana only..
..that solves none of the prohibition problems..(criminal-control of markets..no control over sales to minors etc..to name just two..)
..and that the move is to the (proven-successes) of the colorado-model of legalisation/regulation/taxation..
…this can be done in two ways..
1)..the actual colorado-model:
..where private-enterprise is licensed/regulated to grow/sell/administer the scheme..(with the state receiving license-fees + revenue from taxation at point of sale…)
2)..the uruguay-model:
..where in a determination to totally remove the criminal-element from the market..
..the far-sighted president of uruguay has mandated a state-run model..
..where employment is created from the state running the show..
..from growing to retail..
..and as his crim-killer..
..he has deemed that cannabis will be sold to the public @ $2 per gram…
..(i prefer the second of those two models..who wouldn’t love pot @ $2 per gram..?..eh..?
Claudette Hauiti is making Aaron Gilmore look like a winner.
The Nats need to realise that putting all you diversity “ticks” in one box – Woman, Maori, Gay, and dare I say it “Intellectually challenged” hasnt worked so well for them.
We will all have to hope that this particular lady will be recycled out the door on 20 September.
The interesting thing is that this has been put into the public arena, and is being given top of the page NZH coverage. And the TaxpayersUnion is there getting the boot in.
Maybe the NActs aren’t keen to give her a high list placement? She slipped into the House from the list after the Nat resignations. She has been moved from standing as a south Auckland candidate, to Kelston, where she stands little chance against Carmel Sepuloni. My guess is that Hauiti’s political career will be pretty short. Not expecting a high list placement for her.
Have you ever watched her read a ‘question’ in the House? Each word delivered with careful deliberation as if there is some subtle nuance to impart. She stands tall and beams with the self-satisfaction that it is She that has been deemed worthy of asking if the Minister of Carousels has received any reports on whatever they are spinning that day?
”Don’t you know who i am”, such words, more fitting uttered from within a B grade mafia fillum could be said to have got MP ‘unhappy’ Aaron Gilmour the kick,
Readers could be forgiven uttering the same phrase when confronted with the name of ‘Unhappies’ replacement, Claudette Hauiti,
Given a naughty card for having hired on the ‘wife’ as an ‘issues assistant’ in Her electorate Office, Claudette could be said to have the perfect National Party sense of over-entitlement,
Buried in the pages of Stuff.co.nz this morning is a little tale of Hauiti taking a trip on the parliament’s ‘P-Card’,(i kid you not),to Australia where She indulged of the ‘P-card’ for a pile of personal spending,
Claudette has apparently handed back the credit card to Parliamentary Services and will face no sanctions from the National Government for having indulged in the mis-spending in the first place,
If you or i indulged in such behavior, or lack of it, we could be assured of a date to face the Judge on fraud charges,
Slippery the Prime Minister is probably eying up this particularly large pile of overblown entitlement for promotion to a Ministerial position so as She can treat Herself at our expense in a way She feels She should become accustomed to…
That article is particularly odd for the fact it doesn’t once clearly state which party she is an MP for.
I had to Google to confirm is a Nat MP.
You can bet your arse if it’d have been a Labour MP, the fact it was Labour would be all over the article about the Labour MP & it’d have some throw away line from Key about tricky Labour refusing to punish their Labour MP.
and the only figure mentioned is “$200 and something” for a flight to Oz ??
That does seem a little low, or does the MP travel cattle class and found the very cheapest seat possible, which is understandable seeing as she is obviously so concerned with accounting for her expenditure. Then again, maybe the MP mistook her taxi chit for the flight ticket?
Hauiti herself is at least making a clear mea-culpa about it
“Of course it’s absolutely no excuse for not knowing the Speaker’s rulings. It is my responsibility and I didn’t do it.”
But also there is an absence of dates in both articles, while NZ Herald indicates the info comes from a recent Parliamentary Services release -> not an immediate mea-culpa but only once someone asked about it.
I find it incredulous a new MP has their card removed for $200 of spending.
Which is what the article suggests
She said the trip over Christmas last year and other questionable spending, including refreshments for a hui on a marae, had cost about $200, which she has since repaid.
So a trip to Australia, ‘other questionable spending’ and hui refreshments cost only $200 ___ TUI TIME
This is not only outrageous – where does he think all the people living in these towns will go ?
But also it won’t solve inequality problems, and it shows little in the way of innovation, imagination
or ideas on how these towns could be re-built with a bit of central govt funding and support.
Its also contemptuous of the people who do now live in those towns – and who help support their local economy and their local communities.
I guess this is just one example of how National politicians view people who are not rich ! Yuk !
@Jenny Kirk
I’m thinking of this morning’s Radionz conversation with Transport Minister etc Gerry Brownlee about Northlands roads and their dire state and the pleas of Councils for action. Everything is going thru due process, and the main roads will be cleared to let emergency supplies through. But what about the other roads, the feeder roads into rural areas and distant farms? And the need to get all those logs through to Whangarei port that when it was dry caused dust storms and traffic to come to a halt till there was visibility, also dust overlying paddocks and crops and houses and animals and children and houses etc. Asthma territory, distress and horrible conditions.
Different than those enjoyed by those in Government and in the cosy Beehive and Bellamys. Who might not be so comfortable if they concentrated their minds on climate change and the forecast shift to changes in our weather with more tropical type moving south, a tendency for weather events to stay longer over one location, and a likelihood that some big event will happen not every century, but could be a number within a decade. Perhaps not nicely spaced out, but all in one year too. Time to build that old cathedral up in Christchurch and pray to bring back the past as well, when we still had hope and an economy earning and retaining money able to deal with disaster’s costs.
Urbane Mr Brownlee says that TNZ I think the acronym used was Transport NZ, is conferring with councils as to priorities and he was vague about government money being offered. The Council commentator referred to their roading being equivalent to that of Auckland City but is maintained with just a fraction of Auckland’s rating return. There is nothing in the Northland kete to cope with this damage.
And the answer by some economic moron here is just to shut towns down. A triumph of capitalism coupled with neo liberalism over human civilisation needs. In the USA cities have gone bankrupt. That is the sort of thinking that resulted in dead societies in the past. ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (Horace Smith/Shelley)
We actually have the brains and the technology and the experience to do something both intelligent and useful – the suitable quote I offer with earnest – from Baron Ernest Rutherford.
“We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think!”.
the cynical-spin put on this by the right..to justify the holiday highway..
..is that opponents to the holiday-highway are somehow ‘hurting’ the people of northland…
..this is absolute bullshit..
(to believe that soon after this four-laner reaches holiday-home territory..that it will be nudging into kaitaia..would be taking cargo-cult beliefs to a whole new level..)
..and in nz we have rich/farming areas with roads like billiard-tables..(and they still scream for more more funding)..
..and northland is left with pot-holed cart-tracks as excuses for main roads..and major feeder-roads left unsealed..
..and haven’t those national electorate mp’s in northland for all these decades been really piss-weak in fighting for their constituents..eh..?
..as with everything from the bastards currently ruling over us..it is all lies/self-serving spin..
@phillip ure
roads like billiard tables. Try round Ashburton. Waiouru. What a dream to drive. Just some memories of when I looked round parts of the rohe.
Went through Kaeo a while ago. You might remember it small place in Far North – gets flooded regularly. It is built on the river probably because it was handy on the river bank for the old mission station that started it off. Now it needs some government funding to move the main part of town to a higher area. Perhaps just some land that can be leased long term, and a bit of regional funding as they move the shops and amenities.
The council have built up roads that act as barriers to the river but a storm coupled with high tide will flood them and so it goes on. Assistance to such rural and smaller areas, so they can improve their situations would be welcome from a sensible common sense government. Pity that sense isn’t common in government circles, or true concern for the people who need some help to make advances for themselves.
Can’t just blame the local MPs – they are up against others with bigger, brighter schemes. Probably the only way they could get in some punches would be if they could get some leverage or perhaps dirt on someone influential in the Party and use it as subtle blackmail. And that would have to be done quickly and carefully while there was a window of opportunity, and before something could be manufactured against them. It would need something that was a game changer.to get anything done. If you have ever read John Mortimer’s Titmuss series, I think that they give a feel of what it is like in political circles. Don’t know but this year’s NZ revelations seem similar.
@ phillip ure
I was just thinking of roads like billiard tables and really nice to drive on. Rich farmers wasn’t the point. I remember the areas I mentioned were outstanding for the motorist.
In reply to Phillip Ure, the “holiday highway” opponents know that it is not going to go anywhere near where the actual roading need is – the HH ends at Wellsford (that’s over 110kms from Whangarei) and the state highway from Whangarei north starts to deteriorate – and is now totally closed because of massive slip just south of Kawakawa – while any potlential alternative routes are unsealed, narrow, country roads.
Its a myth that the holiday highway will help the north ….. it will just help Aucklanders (and rich Nat PM and MPs) get as far as their holiday homes on the east coast, Omaha, Matakana, etc.
Hey – and the HH is years away. The north (that is, the north past Whangarei) needs govt support and roading finance NOW !
Yeah – to Phillip U – it would. Maybe if we can get a different govt in, we can then get some real strategic thinking and planning on what would really help the north …. here’s hoping !
@ jenny kirk
thats strange.
yesterday nathan guy and whats her name were on the teevee flashing their pearly whites and telling the nation just how much they were going to do for these people.
Read this and tell me if you still want NZ General Elections conducted online. Apart from being able to change online polls at will there’s this one:
“Ability to spoof any email address and send email under that identity” (CHANGELING)
Pretty handy stuff if you can get it.
• “Change outcome of online polls” (UNDERPASS)
• “Mass delivery of email messaging to support an Information Operations campaign” (BADGER) and “mass delivery of SMS messages to support an Information Operations campaign” (WARPARTH)
• “Disruption of video-based websites hosting extremist content through concerted target discovery and content removal.” (SILVERLORD)
• “Active skype capability. Provision of real time call records (SkypeOut and SkypetoSkype) and bidirectional instant messaging. Also contact lists.” (MINIATURE HERO)
• “Find private photographs of targets on Facebook” (SPRING BISHOP)
• “A tool that will permanently disable a target’s account on their computer” (ANGRY PIRATE)
• “Ability to artificially increase traffic to a website” (GATEWAY) and “ability to inflate page views on websites” (SLIPSTREAM)
• “Amplification of a given message, normally video, on popular multimedia websites (Youtube)” (GESTATOR)
• “Targeted Denial Of Service against Web Servers” (PREDATORS FACE) and “Distributed denial of service using P2P. Built by ICTR, deployed by JTRIG” (ROLLING THUNDER)
• “A suite of tools for monitoring target use of the UK auction site eBay (www.ebay.co.uk)” (ELATE)
• “Ability to spoof any email address and send email under that identity” (CHANGELING)
• “For connecting two target phone together in a call” (IMPERIAL BARGE)
All a basic degree means is a certain minimal level of understanding in a fairly narrow subject area for a short period of time.
It’s a plank to build on, rather than a deep comment about the quality of the person – otherwise you wouldn’t be able to get one within three years of leaving school.
i wonder why the ‘expert’/pontificator on such manners..cd/did not answer that skype/face-recognition software question/possible-solution to all the problems he listed..?
@Colonial Viper
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It’s a serious matter, and some people need to keep a clear head about IT technology. It is embraced so fervently as still the latest and best thing since sliced bread by so many people. But they only learn from it what they want to, not the down side. Not the findings of concerned people from other countries like the USA for instance, which show how it can be discombobulated in a big way.
And the thought chills me of government wanting to cut down personal interaction and physical presence with people a la HousingNZ and just use technological means to communicate with citizens. Using call centres perhaps not even in NZ (cf Fearfax and its admin from Manila)!
The toffs on the hill just need to cut the lines and how, where do you get to discuss things with your representatives in your local and central government? Or the people in private business which now supply what are government services to you who are rorting you. Sorry say gummint that’s an operational matter.
Sorry say the call centre our lines are busy today, phone again at 11pm when things are quieter or tomorrow possibly. Oh yes there is a long wait isn’t there, you didn’t like the music sorry, I have looked but can’t find your name in our databank sorry, you are not registered with us.
Who should you contact? Well there is a special help number run out of the Phillipines, but it costs $2 a minute and it can take 30 minutes of waiting before you can get through, so I recommend you phone about 3am our time as that is daytime over there. (This information may be incorrect but let’s face it who would care, and what are you going to do about it sucker, if we get to the scenario I have presented.)
Laughable from the Herald this morning, accessed online,(never paid for), a survey of a coupe of thousand shoppers who buy at the supermarket chains,
The headline: Big Backing for Sugarless,(checkout),Lanes,
34.1% of respondents want the checkout lanes to be free of all those sugar filled ‘treats’ that tempt us as we wait,
22% of those say that they would deliberately seek out supermarkets that provided such ‘sugar free checkouts’
70%,(snigger, welcome to the diabetes epidemic), of those surveyed basically couldn’t give a toss,(i can hear the masters at the food production companies quietly laughing up their sleeves as i type this),
The laughter???, i can well imagine Mum’s chagrin as She is cajoled,berated, and, implored by wee Janet or John, the offspring, at the supermarket checkout to include in the weekly shop one of the many sugar laden ‘rushes’ oh so conveniently placed by the cynical sugar rush industry at the checkout,
”No you cannot have that it will rot your teeth, and, you can have a nice healthy multi-grain bread sandwich when we get home” would be the usual standard reply from Mum,
What Mum tho doesn’t seem to know is that the loaf of bread She believes to be ‘oh so healthy’ is by the slice loaded with so much sugar that giving wee Janet or John a couple of slices each to make that sandwich is enough to have them breaching their daily recommended intake of sugar,
Mmmm, brown and multi-grain breads tho have got to be healthier for you right???, not a show, its all loaded with sugar, in the case of brown and multi-grain breads its worse,
All industrial produced flours are bleached white at the production stage of the flour,when it comes to making ‘brown bread, and, ‘multi-grain bread’ they add food coloring to make it look brown,
Eat a piece of bread raw and see just how ‘sweet’ it is, butter and other spreads simply act as masking agents to cover up that sugar load in each slice…
If you can hear sounds by reading what i write Draco i suggest you urgently consult your shrink,(i could suggest a couple of other personal delusions you might want to avail Her/Him of while your on the couch),
In 1997, 3000 deaths were reported in New Zealand due to complications brought about by overweight/obesity in the population,(news for you Draco, sugar when unused by the human body is stored as fat),
In 1996, 1500 deaths were recorded in New Zealand from complications surrounding diabetes, the vast majority of these deaths type 2 diabetes, these deaths are not from the human body having no ability to produce insulin, these deaths are from the amount of consumed sugar overpowering the individuals ability to produce enough insulin to cope with the overdose,
Those figures are ‘old’ and the death toll has since risen to yearly be more than that attributed to tobacco,(anyone with later figures, i would appreciate a look at them),
There are 50 new cases of type two diabetes reported daily in this country which in a few years will be costing the health system a billion dollars annually and some in the health field are speculating that on its current trajectory, by 2050, type 2 diabetes might feature in 50% of the population,
Off you go back to sleep Draco, dream your little fantasies while the masters load up your food with sugar…
Complain Draco, you will have to point out this complaining,
”Over the top harping on about sugar”, so opening up a discussion about the misuse of a product, Sugar, by the industrialized food industry which piles it into products with no care of the adverse health effects leading to the deaths of thousands on an annual basis and a soon to be billion dollar health bill in your words is ”over the top” and ”harping”,
That you see such deaths as nothing more than harping would have me viewing your latest comment on the subject as something that the likes of SSLands would be likely to publish…
So you have no actual debate in any regards about the question of the unnecessary loading of sugar into processed foods by those in control of this industry,who would have thunk that when asked the question you would expose the space in your cranium to be full of air,(an unkind person might insinuate shit),
Instead, and laughably, you want to debate about me, again who would have thunk that you contain such a paucity of intellect that such a serious subject as the poisoning of 1000’s of your fellow humans by the very foods they are encouraged to buy and consume fails to register in what passes for your mind,
my humility, Ha ha ha, prevents me from expounding upon just how great i am…
There was trailer on Radionz early news reports – something about what you do if your daughter wants to be a princess. Priceless!
In the past the people were denied such ‘bright and soft’ news. it wasn’t the custom to make it general news, it was just kept for the ladies page. Women were thought not willing or able to cope with the hard, gritty stuff. Now the public media wants to put everyone in this gormless condition. But it’s already covered by pulp fiction magazines fronted by attractive women gazing from supermarket shelves. An array of large mouths, unnaturally white teeth, hair like a pony’s tail with all the tips on how to look and behave. Let them cover the princess market FGS.
Possible past use of mood-enhancing snippets:
We regret to announce that we have declared war and keep listening for further news, in the meantime we have an item on how to become a princess.
The observers in Europe are shocked at the conditions in concentration camps and we will soon bring you tips on how to become a princess.
There are thought to be 29 miners remaining trapped in the Pike River Mine and we…
Military maneouvres are being practised by eleven countries (not however including China) in host country New Zealand and now we will bring….
I have to ask, did you actually listen to the “princess” section? I hear that title and wonder whether it would be light and fluffy (as you seem to assume) or actually an in-depth discussion of changing gender role models within society and how to deal with it if your daughter still likes pink and crowns…
We are progressive, young and educated, and we’ve figured out that the future doesn’t lie in old models, nostalgia or in running away from transformation. This means being brave. The Internet Party can be brave because we have no previous baggage. The Internet Party must be brave because what we represent is too important to shy away from.
@zorr
I didn’t listen to it. I am using it as an example of the way that the media is constantly messing with the news, diluting it, fitting ads into it, stroking the wealthy in it, supporting their favourite side in it, appealing to the masses who can be sold something in it, blah blah and on and on.
And getting at the people who can’t think beyond princesses and adore style and looks and are put off by substance and don’t show any interest in reality. And it may have been a sly way of introducing something serious and important to people. But it sounded more about how some like to think life is instead of just when it’s dress up and carnival time.
That’s what is going through my head and the precise details of what was said and what the item was about is not my main concern so don’t take it too literally.
“The sales data released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for the year ending March 2014, shows the lowest annual price increase since 2001 at 2.3 per cent,” Mr Bridges says.
“The figures
2.3%
annual price change in electricity, across all of New Zealand, in the year to March.
6.7%
increase in lines charges for the June quarter.
0.7%
decrease in energy charges for the June quarter.
$155 a year
Electricity Authority figures show consumers can save, on average, $155 a year by switching power retailers.
NZ Herald “
So one can spend hours constantly changing suppliers to save $155 per year??? Great work National 🙄
I know politics isn’t meant to be about personalities and should be all about the policy, stupid.
And I know we’ve had releases from our side, and it has to be said, some good one’s too.
And I know it’s the lull before the storm electioneering wise, but even as a committed voter to the cause, touching on recent comments I’ve made about timing and getting in people’s faces for maximum effect, I’m not getting a feel good vibes from our leaders.
If the game has partly or wholly changed to personality politics, then change you must, or you lose. That’s evolution and Darwinism in action.
If that hasn’t been realised (in both senses of the word) at the top tables, then someone best put the TV coaching they’ve had to good use and get their smiling faces front and center instead of grimacing and scowling at mum and dad New Zealand.
I accept wrongs should be righted and ministers held to account, but if you’re only getting limited airtime you can’t afford to waste it. Honest John won’t when he has to front up to Campbell when he comes home from holiday, again.
Hope JC points out, unlike the last time, when JK says you aren’t paying attention, he has the balls and the info to say “actually, yes I have, and here’s what we know”.
“actually, yes I have, and here’s what we know” and Campbell proceeds, for the duration of the show, to read aloud the entirety of Blip’s List . . . before the screen suddenly goes blank
Someone should. Would be great if Campbell opened with it after saying hello. Seven uncomfortable minutes until the ad break, or if he doesn’t walk out or chicken out or both, the full show. I’m sure the two headed tortoise piece can wait for another day, and serious as the issue of flooding in sunken Christchurch suburbs is, and how special blue paint is great and all, when all the people want is to just live where it won’t flood for ever more, thirty minutes of gotcha would be riveting stuff. It would certainly make up for the Herald and TV3’s discredit agenda.
I’d do it myself, but they’ve never responded before. I think it’s my user name that puts them off.
I’d miss the Simpsons for that any day, except maybe for a new Halloween episode. He’d have to convince in the last adverts before seven. Come on John, do it. lol.
I keep an eye on Slater’s blog to see what the right is doing.
Today he has come up with a conspiracy theory which is quite unique in that you don’t to whether to be more amazed at how crazy it is or more offended at how misogynist it is. He is claiming that Tania Billingsley was some sort of trap for the Malaysian diplomat …
The screaming question to his vapid opinion is if as Mr Slater contends, the diplomat has not been charged, then why would the Malaysian Government ask our Government to drop all charges?
(+ wtf is that Bush Tucker rubbish meant to be about)
that’s… rather special.
“The evidence is out there”???
Very X-Files.
Let along the comment list with such gems as “Is Billingley a real person or a puppet?”.
But most of the rest of the screenshot reminds me to avoid that place like the plague.
After finding the story I grabbed the shots of, I admit I did not look further as I did not imagine even the sewer would stoop so low on a topic of such real consequence.
Shows how wrong a person can be. The site is simply poison.
Reading the full ‘article’, my only reaction is not printable
but here is the ‘article’. I won’t share the comments this time
Give some people enough rope. A good link to use in demonstrating how rape complainants and survivors are put on trial – and CS is asking for info that would likely be part of a court case. Unbelievable.
I am so angry and the thoughts of how best to deal with this scum have actually triggered a full on anxiety attack and I have had to take meds for the first time in over a year.
I cannot imagine how Tania Billingsley must be reacting.
To all those who are supporting Tania,
Thank you and may you all be safe
Take care. It maybe should have a trigger warning on that post… and the site.
Yes, it shows what Tania Billingsley is having to put up with.
That post also reminds me why I rarely go to the WO site. And I am beyond understanding why anyone in the National Party, let alone the PM, want to be associated with it.
or if they do understand, they simply expose how vile large portions of our communities are and how lost they really have become.
Not sure which is of greater concern.
Slater’s faecal writing has hit the fan on website ‘Femnist Aotearoa’ who have published his rubbish fully so women don’t have to look at his site and contribute to his already inflated hit list ego.
My feminist friends are angry, very angry.
I have sent them a photo of Key and Slater hugging each other to publish on their site.
It may well be that Key loses every New Zealand woman’s votes and Cam loses a key close friend.
I guess it depends on how widely the Slater-Key relationship is publicized..
I have noticed Labour candidates doing a bit too much self promotion of themselves opposed to promoting the party vote. The one candidate I’ve noticed getting it right is Tamati Coffey. Well done mate!
To those who should know better wake the hell up, this had a big part in last elections hiding!
Cyclists are pedestrians. Cycles are parked up everywhere, from hallways to fences, to assorted street furniture. There are no dedicated cycle parking spaces next to the road, no fines for parking. Bicycles are like rollerskating, a tool for pedestrians to get around.
Now I think its very harmful to view bicycles as road vehicles, or their equivalent. Take the recent panelist on Moro who said that he was deeply concerned at cyclists joining the traffic from anywhere. Since we all know that cars come out of obvious side roads, obvious road junctions, obvious car parking spaces. They have indicators, are large, are deeply entrenched in road laws to maintain safety. Bicycles are not, there can be locked up everywhere, and pedestrians hop on the everywhere and anywhere to join traffic JUST LIKE PEDESTRAINS who seek to cross traffic.
Because we need to see Cyclists as Pedestrians, and keep our distance, slow down. They are just as vulnerable as any other pedestrian. As to accidents, accidents will not occur if you see a bicyclist joining the traffic, and the more there are, the more you will see them, and get used to them turning up, and so lowering your speed where you know where cyclists are (town centers). And the idea that cyclists are dying because they enter traffic and surprise car drivers is false, since the accidents that kill, like the women who swerved to avoid a car door and was run over by a truck, or the child avoiding the street work bollard and was run over by a truck, or the family in Rotorua out cycling and run over by a truck, in none of these cases were they entering the road, they were there already and for some time.
Moro panelists are a joke sometimes, saying that it angered him that cyclists enter traaffic that it causes accidents, NO, cyclists have very much more to lose, and there are bad cyclists and bad drivers who get unnecessarily concerned about cyclists sharing ther road with them. Since if that were the case, anger is not the answer, slowing down and keeping your distance, as they RE PEDESTRIANS!!
a ‘fixation on righteous eating’ which causes people to ‘become consumed with what and how much to eat, and how to deal with “slip-ups,”‘ according to the American National Eating Disorders Association.
I tend not to get too much into foodie debates. I am for healthy lifestyles… but also for a fair amount of flexibility and the maxim “everything in moderation”… and the other “a little bit of what you fancy”.
Hi Karol, love your work. I learnt via Freedoms links above that there are some frothing at the mouth right wingers who are incredibly frightened by your superior intellect to the degree that they call you names. And the chief imbecile (Slater) thinks that because you said “Billingsley, and I had no confidence that they would follow through…” that you must be involved in some elaborate conspiracy.
Keep up the great work, watching these frothers disappear under their own froth is entertaining…
Slater mentioned me? * raises eyebrows * … and thinks I’m involved in some conspiracy with Billingsley ?…. *wide grin of disbelieve on my face *
Well, there you go…. if I needed any further evidence to be cynical about anything published on the WO blog…. journalist indeed!
PPS: Ah, I see there’s a misread of my quote. In fact, there should be another comma after “and I”. I have not now, nor ever had any communication with Billingsley, ….. nor Jan Logie, nor any Green Party people about Billingsley. I only have gone on what I read online.
I am not a Green Party member. I vote Green. I have offered to help as a foot soldier in their election campaign – you know… like delivering leaflets, etc.
And now it makes me think twice about participating as a volunteer. I have just been thinking I need to do more than participate via blog posts and comments.
No. He suffers from delusions of mediocrity-or just delusions.
There are plenty of journalists out there who are biased, stupid or just incompetent but when they have delusions, there is usually an editor (or a shrink) who can stop their delusions being published. Unfortunately in Mr Slater’s case there is no one to do this.. except perhaps the women of New Zealand.
Actually, I never buy and cook meat. Occasionally I buy and cook fish. I only eat meat at restaurants and when it’s dished up to me at people’s places.
But, like I pretty much said. I’m not very strict about my eating. There’s pros and cons for eating many things.
I am more concerned with the macro/institutional aspects of business practices re environmental sustainability, and cruel practices.
As I said, I’m not a foodie, and am not into spending very much time on such debates.
Do you see ‘orthorexia’ to be a pejorative term karol, i would suggest in terms of Fats/Sugars in our foods we all need to become a little orthorexic,
The correlation between Fats/Sugars in our health statistics is becoming glaringly apparent,(at least to me), the annual death toll rivaling that attributed to tobacco use,
As continual overdose of Sugar in the diet is metabolized by the body into stored Fat the two categories of health issues, obesity/diabetes, cannot be viewed in any way as separate issues, and while no political action is taken to curb the mis-use of sugar in all processed foods the death toll will rise,
50 new diabetes cases reported in New Zealand each and every day,
I would have thought that, rants about sugarism or veganism or high fructose corn syrup aside, the very existence of the word orthorexia simply reminds us that the healthiest method of eating is moderation in all things (including worrying about health).
“..the healthiest method of eating is moderation in all things..”
i’m calling ‘bullshit!’ on that one..
..show me one reputable dietician saying eat more red-flesh/animal-fats..
..that’s ‘cos that shit is bad 4 u..that’s why..
(..and cd i just dissolve that chimera that because i advocate on this subject..that i am sitting in judgement on everyone else..
..once again..’bullshit..!..i just don’t do that..i mean..f.f.s..!..i’m an ex-junkie/ex-con..i don’t make blanket judgements on people for matters thus/addictive-habits,,..
..idiots..?..now that’s another story..i sure as hell feel fucken superior to them..
..how could you not..?..
..i am just laying out the undeniable facts of the situation..and advocating on the behalf of the animals..
..and if being faced with/confronted by those uncomfortable facts makes people uneasy..and maybe makes them think..(lash out..?..with the only argument-option to hand..attack the messanger..)..
Yes, bad, the term does have pejorative overtones, although, it also highlights the dangers of extremism over food. I think part of the problem is in guilt-tripping individuals about the food they eat. There are so many individual differences about how foods interacts with metabolism and lifestyle limitations.
Many of the problems, like that of the sugar industry, can be dealt with at an institutional/system level. The problem is with the sugar industry, and the way they promote their products and infiltrate all kinds of food products.
Some people can eat a fair amount of sugar with no side effects. Most people can eat some sugary stuff as a treat, now and then.
I’ve seen it in my own family – 1 totally against sugary food, sweet things, and another who ate a fair amount of it. Guess who had the longest healthiest life?
Ditto for the consumption of, and industrial approaches to animal food. Humans have eaten animals since way back. I can’t see it ending any time soon. In NZ, there is probably, on average, too high a consumption of some animal products. But again, the issue is with the industry and their processes of production and marketing.
Leave individuals to make their own choices.
Guilt-tripping individuals does more harm than good. And, as I said, I go for moderation in most issues around food, and not getting too obsessive about it.
Relax and enjoy. As on many other issues, there’s also a place for encouraging an informed understanding. Ultimately, though, advice does keep changing, but nutritionists and others do keep talking about moderation, and the importance of a diverse diet.
”Leave individuals to make their own choices”, to believe in such ‘individual choice’ you would have to believe that there is no silent Obesity/Diabetes epidemic killing people every day???,
‘Choices’ are largely made around ‘education’ and ‘economy, i see little of this education occurring, and, what ‘choice’ do the poor have but the ‘poorest of food’ , how many people know such a simple piece of information as the daily recommended sugar intake for children and adults????,
Your argument about longevity has been applied to those who use tobacco, you favor Government action against tobacco use do you not???…
Of course individuals have limited choices – some more limited than others. That’s part of why I’m not into focusing on indiviuals’ choices and into focusing on the industries and their marketing.
Not tobacco USE (except when the use of the product impacts on the air others breathe – the tobacco industry and its marketing. Ditto the booze industry and marketing.
There is quite a bit of info around about the problems with sugar.
”There’s quite a bit of information around about the problems with sugar”,
Rather glib don’t you think karol, couple the above with the ‘fact’ that 20% of people have escaped the education system as functional illiterates, then add in the fact that this 20% will have the poor economy and thus in the majority have little ‘choice’ but the ‘poor diet’ with a high percentage of these being brown, and, such ‘information’ might as well be smoke signals…
But Karol doesn’t change come from the flax roots? How will macro/institutional change be effected without this?
Individuals can only make good choices if the underlying settings are right.
An example is the new ‘healthy food star rating’ system coming our way. Trim milk will score 5/5 while full-fat milk will get 3.5/5, according to the NZ Herald. Orange juice will rank higher than full fat milk. It’s an industry friendly regime, all to enable the consumer to make ‘good choices’ of course.
Changes do come from the grass roots. But it won’t be a change for the better if it just involves guilt-tripping individuals rather than being focused on industry and institutional change.
I see a lot of the issues being to do with a rampant consumer society – they are issues that focus on increasing consumption over working towards the social good.
The lack of balance in our approach to diet (as a society) is due to both free market forces, and academics whose ego driven research needlessly stigmatised fats.
I agree guilt-tripping does nothing to change the settings, and that food is tied in with our way of living, working, and consuming. But it’s a route into the wider issues: consumerism, the environment, health, the way we work – rather than something that is just bundled into the bigger progressive picture without too much thought. It is no coincidence those most affected by the obesity and type 2 diabetes disaster are also most hit by the smashing of the unions, flexibility of labour markets, and high cost of healthy food.
But finding a way to talk about it constructively is quite difficult.
It challenges everything that we thought we knew about politics—upending the idea that we get our beliefs solely from our upbringing, from our friends and families, from our personal economic interests, and calling into question the notion that in politics, we can really change (most of us, anyway).
reminds me of the old story of someone who went into a shop looking for a particular product, and the sales assistant said something like “I keep having to tell people, we don’t stock it because there’s no demand for it”.
I.e. the columnist drew enough comments about his lack of positive comments about labour’s performance that he had to justify it by saying that he didn’t think they were doing well, cf: the polls. But if this assessment (compared with the nats) were truly fair, he wouldn’t need to justify it.
The Deputy Leader of N.Z. First is pushing for charter schools, so I was told by a
Nat voter who is thinking of voting NZ First as a protest against Key. I just dont trust Winnie.
I wouldn’t trust your Nat source. Here is some info from the NZ First
“News
18 Jun 2014
Taxpayers’ Money At Risk In Charter Schools
Tracey Martin
It is unlikely the government will ever recover money from a charter school’s land and buildings if the school fails, says New Zealand First.”
I think I do trust my nat source at this stage. Wouldn’t be the first time Winnie has said he would do one thing and did the opposite. However I hope I am wrong and he goes with the left.
New Zealand First is strongly opposed to “charter” or “partnership” schools; public funding for these privately owned profit making opportunities would be ended by New
Zealand First.
wail boil is actually a paranoiac.
he attributes all his perversions and deviancy to others in the vain hope that he will escape notice by deflecting attention elsewhere..
the thing is with paranoids is that when they think you know their secret then they will try and kill you!
watchout for the “THING”.
Meanwhile in the same poll, Labour is down 4.5% and National is up 3%.
It seems like the soft Labour vote may be starting to pick their side as the election looms closer. Most of it is shifting to the Greens but a smaller amount is shifting towards National.
Labour and the parties to the left of Labour have a busy couple of months ahead to raise their vote.
I am STILL confident of a Labour led coalition government forming.
Here are the reasons:
The Labour’s dismal 23% I suspect is the superficial but temporary reaction to Cunliffe’s ‘ashamed to be a man’ quote. That was on July 4th. The poll period was June 30 to July 13. People misunderstood the serious reason for his statement. Labour will bounce back to over 30% by election date.
National’s current 51% will collapse to around 44%.
NZF will cross 6%.
So will Internet-Mana to about 5% with two electorate wins.
There were 5.5% in the poll who did not specify which party would get their party vote. I suspect the bulk of those 5.5% will not favour the right wing.
Many major policies are yet to be announced. Campaign proper has not yet started. Debates have not yet happened. Party policy materials have not yet reached homes. Two months is a long time in politics.
All in all, there is a greater chance of a left wing coalition than a right wing one.
Yep, you’re on the money. If we needed any proof of the depth of misogynist feeling in NZ, this poll is it. Onwards and upwards, we’re still gonna win.
The ignorance of people, even well educated ones, about politics and the REAL issues is appalling. I see that in my own family and among some of my friends where they are clued on on superficial material stuff, silly sitcoms and dumbed down news stories far more than serious issues. There in lies Hash-Key’s advantage!
If you look at the TM graphs, you will see that during some of the serious debates such as the spying issues etc, National was as low as 41%. Now not so, because public memory and loyalty is very fickle! Slide your cursor over the National graph below at different months and see how low and high they have been at different times.
Yes, I agree. Labour has outstanding Policy, but people who I thought would be up with the play on current affairs are completely ignorant of what Labour are offering. I suspect that as we get into more campaigning people will see more and become more aware of Labour’s outstanding Housing Policy, Monetary Policy , Education Policy, CGT, re balancing of our economics…all of these policies will improve our nation as compared to how National is running the country.
One of the major problems is our useless main stream media, case in point: refer TV3’s 3rd Degree tonight, eight weeks from an election, I would have thought any half decent current affairs show would be considering Politics. Native Affairs does politics regularly. The NZH will always play down any Labour Policy.
23.5% is surprising, but when you consider the support from the MSM that National have, perhaps not. When full campaigning starts…Labour’s message is strong and will get through, and then our share of the vote will improve.
National (51%) increases election winning lead over Labour/ Greens (38.5%) as Prime Minister John Key heads off for 10 days holiday in Hawaii and Labour’s increased spending on education fails to convince the electors
Not really that surprising, although I would be surprised if Labour polls that low at the election itself.
The same trend is occurring overseas. It looks like the UK Tories have a good chance of getting back in, and Abbott and Harper rule in their respective countries for the foreseeable future. Quite why this is, I have no idea. I guess “the people” are just stupid.
The people aren’t stupid the leaders of the Left are disappointingly weak. In the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced all round the globe under pressure from the Right, Left leaders are rolling over to vested interest and the fossil fuel lobby.
We need Churchills and we are getting Chamberlains
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Human Destabilisers: Russia now has a new strategic weapon – migratory waves of unwelcome human-beings. Desperate people with different coloured skins and different religious beliefs arriving at, or actually breaching, the national borders of Russia’s enemies can wreak as much havoc, culturally and politically, as a hypersonic missile exploding in the ...
Hi,After Webworm contributor Hayden Donnell wrote his latest piece, ‘RIP to Millennials Killing Everything’, he delivered this exciting and important bonus content.It will make more sense if you’ve read his piece.David. Read more ...
Hi,Before we get to Hayden’s column — RIP to Millennials Killing Everything — a quick observation.There was a day last week where it had suddenly reached 10pm and I hadn’t eaten all day. Hunger had suddenly gripped me with a panicky all-consuming force, so I jumped onto Uber Eats and ...
We add some of the CMIP6 models to the updateable MSU comparisons. After my annual update, I was pointed to some MSU-related diagnostics for many of the CMIP6 models (24 of them at least) from Po-Chedley et al. (2022) courtesy of Ben Santer. These are slightly different to what ...
In a memorable Pulp Fiction scene, Vincent inadvertently shoots their backseat passenger in the head. This leads our heroes Jules and Vincent to express alarm about their predicament.We're on a city street in broad daylight here!says Vincent. We gotta get this car off the roads. You know cops tend to ...
Primary, secondary and kindergarten teachers are all on strike today, demanding higher pay and an end to systematic understaffing. While the former is important - wages should at least keep up with inflation - its the latter which is the real issue. As with the health system, teachers have been ...
So the teachers are on strike, marching across Aotearoa today to press their demands for better pay and working conditions.Children remained in bed this brisk morning, many no doubt quite pleased about a day off school. Parents perhaps taking the day off to look after the kids, or working from ...
After the Cold War the consensus among Western military strategists was that the era of Big Wars, defined as peer conflict between large states with full spectrum military technologies, was at an end, at least for the foreseeable future. The … Continue reading → ...
Dairy giant Fonterra has posted a 50% lift in net profit to $546m, doubled its interim dividend, and is proposing a return of capital of 50c a share, injecting a note of optimism into the nation’s dairy industry. Fonterra’s strong performance is against a backdrop of market volatility. It ...
Buzz from the Beehive The bothersome economic news today is that New Zealand’s GDP fell by 0.6% in the December quarter, weaker than market forecasts of a fall of around 0.2% and much weaker than the Reserve Bank’s assumption of a 0.7% rise. This followed the even-more-bothersome news yesterday that ...
Ouch: Hipkins’ policy bonfire has resulted in an expensive self-administered removal of a Budgetary foot with an explosive device. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Bonfires can be dangerous things when they get out of control. They also create a lot of smoke and heat and burn the grass. ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – I teach a first-year course at Victoria University of Wellington about government and the political process in New Zealand. In “Introduction to Government and Law”, students learn there are rules preventing senior public servants from getting involved in big political debates – as we ...
I teach a first year course at Victoria University of Wellington about government and the political process in New Zealand. In “Introduction to Government and Law”, students learn there are rules preventing senior public servants from getting involved in big political debates – as we have recently witnessed with Rob ...
An issue of integrity has claimed the first ministerial scalp in Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ premiership. Police Minister Stuart Nash lasted mere weeks in the role after admitting in a radio interview this morning that he had called Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to ask him if police were going to ...
For some time now we’ve known that the cost and completion timeframe for the City Rail Link would increase. Yesterday we finally learned by just how much. Costs City Rail Link Ltd (CRL Ltd) today confirms it has submitted a formal funding request to its Sponsors – the Crown and ...
The Government’s decision to back peddle on lowering speed limits is hitting potholes. At this stage, although it is part of the Government’s reprioritisation efforts to free up money to alleviate cost of living increases, the speed limit change looks unlikely to do that. And it appears that it ...
The University of Otago – the oldest university in New Zealand – towers over my home city of Dunedin. When classes are on, something like a fifth of Dunedin’s population are university students. It is also the largest employer in the South Island. To say that this is a ...
Last weekend brought the latest instalment in Stuff’s bravura satirical series Of course you can afford a house! Just dig deeper!I love how much their appreciation of humour has evolved in just a few short years since the days when I would get to produce, for a few meagre dollars, ...
Australia’s move to strengthen its defence capability with five nuclear-powered attack submarines underlines how relatively defenceless New Zealand is in the Pacific. Kiwis may gasp that the Labor government in Australia recognises it must outlay $400bn on the nuclear subs, but this ensures that Australia is not exposed ...
Ironically, a repurposed Auckland Ratepayers Alliance placard (with a demand for climate action on the front) featured at the recent climate march. Voting ratepayers don’t want ‘bureaucrats in cushy council jobs’ borrowing or increasing rates, even when the need for investment is becoming increasingly obvious. So is council cost-cutting a ...
The quarterly ETS auction was held today. In the past, these have seen collusion by big players to game the price and force a dump of extra credits from the cost-containment reserve (essentially, trying to pick stuff up cheap now in the belief that it will be more valuable later). ...
Buzz from the Beehive Exempting bikes, electric bikes and scooters from fringe benefit tax looked like something of a sop for a Green Party that had good grounds to grumble after a bunch of climate change measures was tossed on to the PM’s policy bonfire. The combustibles included the clean car ...
Today is a Member's Day, the first of the year. Unfortunately it also looks to be a boring one. First, there's a two hour debate on the budget policy statement (somehow inexplicably "member's business", despite it being fundamentally a government thing). Then there's a couple of "private bills" - people ...
Most days, Chris Hipkins and James Shaw seem a bit like the Seals and Crofts of the centre-left: Earnest, inoffensive, and capable of quite nice harmonies at times. They blow gently through the jasmine in your mind, but you know they’re never going to rock your world. Back in 2020, ...
The reflection gazed back at him. Pale and a little paunchy, he wasn’t a well man.He had a toga made from a fitted sheet and it kept bunching up under his armpits.His Laurel wreath was made from some Christmas tree branches he’d found in the shed, not a real pine ...
Yesterday we covered the government’s latest policy/delivery changes with a focus on light rail. But there was another important transport part of the announcement: The government will also intends to scale back its road safety plans. The programmes that are being reprioritised include: Significantly narrowing the speed reduction programme to ...
Unbridled Consumption: This civilisation we have built (we being the whole human species) is the most astonishingly wonderful thing homo sapiens has ever seen. We love it. We cannot imagine how awful life would be without it. And, we most certainly are not going to co-operate with anyone who advises ...
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 ...
Let’s start with the absolute truisms.Politics is the art of the possibleHalf of something is better than all of nothingLet us now consider these with reference to the Under New Management government.What is a supporter of progressive politics to make of the abandonment of various policies, as announced in recent post-cabinet ...
Chris Hipkins has surprised even some of his closest friends and backers with the bounce he has secured for Labour in public polls since he became Prime Minister. He has been put to the test since he took over from Jacinda Ardern in the top job, and has shown a ...
Buzz from the Beehive It was a big day for the stopping or slowing of a second tranche of government programmes, an exercise which Beehive publicists are pitching as measures to allow the Government to focus more time, energy and resources on “the bread and butter issues” facing New Zealanders. ...
Last night there was a One News political poll which was welcomed by the left and will cause some concern in the opposition camp. A poll that showed no path to victory for ACT and National and which would likely result in another Labour/Greens government, possibly with the inclusion, or ...
Our young renters can vote Labour or Green as often as they like, but will end up paying the price of more and bigger climate emergencies, while also paying most of their after-tax income on rent with little hope of owning their own homes. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR:PM ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Labour’s shift in focus is working. Under Jacinda Ardern they were a party and government focused on the voters and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central. Now under Prime Minister Chris Hipkins Labour has a laser-like focus directed at ...
Labour’s shift in focus is working. Under Jacinda Ardern they were a party and government focused on the voters and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central. Now under Prime Minister Chris Hipkins Labour has a laser-like focus directed at the working class politics of places like West Auckland ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Chris Baraniuk It was an engineering problem that had bugged Zhibin Yu for years — but now he had the perfect chance to fix it. Stuck at home during the first UK lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic, the thermal engineer suddenly had all ...
Hi,I just wanted to say hello as this week really gets going, and check in about a few things. They’re a series of fractured random thoughts, so bear with me! First up — I haven’t watched the Oscars in ages and I’m really glad I watched yesterday. It felt like ...
Yesterday the Prime Minister laid out the next tranche of plans to scale back the ambition of Labour’s policy/delivery programme – and this time the Auckland light rail project gets a mention. “I can also confirm today that we will roll out transport projects in Auckland in stages. “Reducing transport ...
The Hipkins Government revealed its true colours yesterday as it chopped a whole series of “nice to have” policies — many of them promoted by the Greens — and instead diverted the savings to relieve the impact of inflation. His approach is all about taking action; no more excuses, ...
Saving The People From ... The People: The strangest aspect of the mass Israeli protests, from a New Zealand perspective, is that the judicial reforms proposed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would only confer upon Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, powers which the New Zealand House of Representatives has not only exercised ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council budget proposals. ...
With calls growing for inquiries and action on bank profits, the Greens say the Government has all the information it needs to act now and put a levy on banks. ...
As large parts of Aotearoa recover from two of the worst climate disasters we have ever experienced, it would be a huge mistake for the Government to deprioritise climate action from future transport investments, the Green Party says. ...
The Green Party is celebrating the signing of a historic United Nations Ocean Treaty, and calls on the new Oceans and Fisheries Minister to urgently step up protection for Aotearoa’s oceans. ...
This year has seen a series of extreme weather events, unparalleled in New Zealand’s recent history. From Cape Reinga in the far north down to the Tararua Ranges, families and businesses across the country have suffered enormous loss and hardship. While the severe weather hasn’t directly affected every part of ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
The economy has continued to show its resilience despite today’s GDP figures showing a modest decline in the December quarter, leaving the Government well positioned to help New Zealanders face cost of living pressures in a challenging global environment. “The economy had grown strongly in the two quarters before this ...
Aucklanders now have more ways to get around as Transport Minister Michael Wood opened the direct State Highway 1 (SH1) to State Highway 18 (SH18) underpass today, marking the completion of the 48-kilometre Western Ring Route (WRR). “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, more ...
This section contains briefings received by incoming ministers following changes to Cabinet in January. Some information may have been withheld in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Where information has been withheld that is indicated within the document. ...
Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta reaffirmed her commitment to working together with the new Government of Fiji on issues of shared importance, including on the prioritisation of climate change and sustainability, at a meeting today, in Nadi. Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand’s close relationship is underpinned by the Duavata ...
The Government is delivering a coastal shipping lifeline for businesses, residents and the primary sector in the cyclone-stricken regions of Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced today. The Rangitata vessel has been chartered for an emergency coastal shipping route between Gisborne and Napier, with potential for ...
The Government will progress to the next stage of the NZ Battery Project, looking at the viability of pumped hydro as well as an alternative, multi-technology approach as part of the Government’s long term-plan to build a resilient, affordable, secure and decarbonised energy system in New Zealand, Energy and Resources ...
This morning I was made aware of a media interview in which Minister Stuart Nash criticised a decision of the Court and said he had contacted the Police Commissioner to suggest the Police appeal the decision. The phone call took place in 2021 when he was not the Police Minister. ...
The Government’s sharp focus on trade continues with Aotearoa New Zealand set to host Trade Ministers and delegations from 10 Asia Pacific economies at a meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission members in July, Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor announced today. “New Zealand ...
$25 million boost to support more businesses with clean-up in cyclone affected regions, taking total business support to more than $50 million Demand for grants has been strong, with estimates showing applications will exceed the initial $25 million business support package Grants of up to a maximum of $40,000 per ...
80 per cent of 2021 Resident Visas applications have been processed – three months ahead of schedule Residence granted to 160,000 people 84,000 of 85,000 applications have been approved Over 160,000 people have become New Zealand residents now that 80 per cent of 2021 Resident Visa (2021RV) applications have been ...
The Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques travels to Melbourne, Australia today to represent New Zealand at the fourth Sub-Regional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Security. “The Government is committed to reducing the threat of terrorism ...
The health and safety practices at our nation’s ports will be improved as part of a new industry-wide action plan, Workplace Relations and Safety, and Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced. “Following the tragic death of two port workers in Auckland and Lyttelton last year, I asked the Port Health ...
Bikes, electric bikes and scooters will be added to the types of transport exempted from fringe benefit tax under changes proposed today. Revenue Minister David Parker said the change would allow bicycles, electric bicycles, scooters, electric scooters, and micro-mobility share services to be exempt from fringe benefit tax where they ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will hold bilateral meetings with Fiji this week. The visit will be her first to the country since the election of the new coalition Government led by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sitiveni Rabuka. The visit will be an opportunity to meet kanohi ki ...
The Government is introducing the Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill to ensure the recovery and rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle is streamlined and efficient with unnecessary red tape removed. The legislation is similar to legislation passed following the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes that modifies existing legislation in order to remove constraints ...
Approximately 1.4 million people will benefit from increases to rates and thresholds for social assistance to help with the cost of living Superannuation to increase by over $100 a pay for a couple Main benefits to increase by the rate of inflation, meaning a family on a benefit with children ...
$1 billion in savings which will be reallocated to support New Zealanders with the cost of living A range of transport programmes deferred so Waka Kotahi can focus on post Cyclone road recovery Speed limit reduction programme significantly narrowed to focus on the most dangerous one per cent of state ...
The remaining state of national emergency over the Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay regions will end on Tuesday 14 March, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. Minister McAnulty gave notice of a national transition period over these regions, which will come into effect immediately following the end of the ...
The Government is today delivering on one of its commitments as part of the New Zealand Government’s Dawn Raids apology, welcoming a cohort of emerging Pacific leaders to Aotearoa New Zealand participating in the He Manawa Tītī Scholarship Programme. This cohort will participate in a bespoke leadership training programme that ...
Industry Transformation Plan to transform advanced manufacturing through increased productivity and higher-skilled, higher-wage jobs into a globally-competitive low-emissions sector. Co-created and co-owned by business, unions and workers, government, Māori, Pacific peoples and wider stakeholders. A plan to accelerate the growth and transformation of New Zealand’s advanced manufacturing sector was launched ...
New Zealand will provide support for Pacific countries to prevent the spread of harmful animal diseases, Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri said. The Associate Minister is attending a meeting of Pacific Ministers during the Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry in Nadi, Fiji. “Highly contagious diseases such as African ...
The Public Transport Futures project will deliver approximately: 100 more buses providing a greater number of seats to a greater number of locations at a higher frequency Over 470 more bus shelters to support a more enjoyable travel experience Almost 200 real time display units providing accurate information on bus ...
All but six schools and kura have reopened for onsite learning All students in the six closed schools or kura are being educated in other schools, online, or in alternative locations Over 4,300 education hardpacks distributed to support students Almost 38,000 community meals provided by suppliers of the Ka Ora ...
A new health centre has opened with financial support from the Government and further investment has been committed to projects that will accelerate Māori economic opportunities, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says. Community health provider QE Health will continue its long history in Rotorua with the official opening of the ...
The new three year NZ UK Working Holiday Visas (WHV) will now be delivered earlier than expected, coming into force by July this year in time to support businesses through the global labour shortages Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says. The improved WHV, successfully negotiated alongside the NZ UK Free trade ...
It seems like only yesterday that we launched the discussion document Enabling Investment in Offshore Renewable Energy, which is the key theme for this Forum. Everyone in this room understands the enormous potential of offshore wind in Aotearoa New Zealand – and particularly this region. Establishing a regime to pave ...
Police has reached a major milestone filing over 28,000 charges related to Operation Cobalt. “I’m extremely proud of the fantastic work that our Police has been doing to crack down on gangs, and keep our communities safe. The numbers speak for themselves – with over 28,000 charges, Police are getting ...
The Government will provide $15 million in the short term to local councils to remove rubbish, as a longer-term approach is developed, the Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Several regions are facing significant costs associated with residential waste removal, which has the potential to become a public ...
$15 million of immediate reimbursement for marae, iwi, recognised rural and community groups $2 million for community food providers $0.5 million for additional translation services Increasing the caps of the Community and Provider funds The Government has announced $17.5 million to further support communities and community providers impacted by Cyclone ...
The Government’s approach of using frontline service providers to address inequities for Māori with mental health and addiction needs is making good progress in many communities, a new report says. An independent evaluation into the Māori Access and Choice programme, commissioned by Te Whatu Ora has highlighted the programme’s success ...
“This is it; 2023 will be the last opportunity New Zealand has to get a government that will confront the climate emergency with the urgency it demands,” says the Green Party’s co-leader and climate change spokesperson, James Shaw. Speaking after ...
Today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, released its ‘synthesis report’, summarising six previous reports. Greenpeace says that the latest report confirms the industrial drivers of climate change, its dire planetary impacts, and ...
Phase One Ventures chief executive Mahesh Muralidhar has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Auckland Central for the 2023 General Election. “I want to thank our local party members for backing me to campaign for ...
On the holy terror and absolute love of parenting Picked up by Octavia outside the book shop, the kid and I clambered into the back, to the soundtrack of classic hits from what seemed to be a tape she was playing. We were thankful to get in. The sun ...
A new investigative series from RNZ reveals just how broken the government communications machine is, writes Duncan Greive.Investigative journalist Guyon Espiner is peeling back the lid on the world of external lobbyists and corporate affairs strategists employed by the public sector. His new series, being published on RNZ this ...
Fresh from a Melbourne rally that attracted neo-Nazi supporters, British anti-transgender rights speaker Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull is scheduled to appear at two events in Aotearoa. So what’s the lowdown? Another controversial international speaker wants to visit New Zealand, and, as expected, reaction has covered the full spectrum from outrage to support. ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme was always a neoliberal, market-based, get-out-of-jail-free plan. Time to lead the way with Tradable Energy Quotas insteadOpinion: The old saying about news – that it’s always bad or it wouldn’t be news – is distressingly true for the climate, both in terms of this summer’s weather ...
The Detail finds out why a law change in 2017 has led to a proliferation of independent taxi drivers – and why they're leaving some passengers feeling ripped off Not all taxis are created equal. RNZ newsreader Evie Ashton found this out the hard way, after Dave Chapelle's recent show at Auckland's ...
Companies have tended to be louder in lobbying politicians against climate change mitigation rather than in favour of it. This election, that needs to change ...
H5N1 only sporadically infects humans - but it kills half of those who catch it. As the largest ever outbreak of the virus continues to rage, is New Zealand prepared?Special report: Kiwi scientist Robert Webster knew two things about the avian flu virus he dripped into his nose one day ...
The hat-trick hero of the Black Ferns’ 2017 World Cup win, Toka Natua is back in rugby – discovering the pros and cons of playing as a mum. And the double international is ready for her next chapter in France. There are the odd moments at training where Toka Natua’s mind goes blank ...
With a number of events planned down the length of the country, the scene at this weekend’s ‘Stop Co-Governance’ rally in Orewa could be just the first of many Social media erupted with pictures of distorted faces, pulled into expressions of anger or yelling gleefully into the camera. The mugshots ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy and Head of Energy, Institute for Climate Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University IISD/ENB The world is in deep trouble on climate change, but if we really put our shoulder to ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonia’s only daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, has folded after the commercial court accepted the publishing company’s request for its liquidation. The court had deferred its decision by a day after an injunction by the public prosecutor who wanted to see if there was still a possibility ...
By Arieta Vakasukawaqa in Suva The installation of the Turaga Bale na Vunivalu Na Tui Kaba, Ratu Epenisa Cakobau, clearly indicates that Fiji’s traditional chiefly system still has a strong footing and chiefs still command respect among the country’s citizens. This is the view of Dr Paul Geraghty, the University ...
ANALYSIS:By Shailendra Bahadur Singh in Suva The long-running row between the former Fiji government and the Suva-based regional University of the South Pacific (USP) has come back to haunt former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who spent a night in a police cell on March 9 before appearing in ...
By Antoine Samoyeau in Pape’ete About 3000 activists of French Polynesia’s pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira party met for six hours at the weekend with the executives insisting that they were “united’ after a recent upheaval over leadership. The party also presented a “renewed” slate of 73 candidates for next month’s territorial ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The first arrest has been made following the Brereton inquiry into allegations that Australians committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Former SAS soldier, Oliver Schulz, 41, has been remanded in custody after his arrest by ...
We have our 2023 finalists after a big Sunday double-header at North Shore Stadium. Alice Soper reviews.Matatū vs BluesMatatū have scored the first try in every match they have played this season. It looked like this streak was going to be broken as the Blues finally found ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Park, Judith and David Coffey Chair in Sustainable Agriculture, Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney Shutterstock Some 70% of the World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island has been closed to non-essential visitors in response to a recurrence of the plant ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suranga Seneviratne, Senior Lecturer – Security, University of Sydney Shutterstock Are you tired of receiving SMS scams pretending to be from Australia Post, the tax office, MyGov and banks? You’re not alone. Each year, thousands of Australians fall victim to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Misha Ketchell, Editor, The Conversation Thanks in no small part to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), today few people would be foolish enough to dispute the scientific consensus on the climate crisis. But as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Windholz, Senior Lecturer and Associate, Monash Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies, Monash University Inadequate, inequitable, and in some cases possibly in breach of workers’ compensation laws. That’s how bad the current insurance arrangements are for Australia’s professional sports people, ...
The newly-minted Police Minister, Ginny Andersen, has been called on by the Council of Licensed Firearm Owners (COLFO) to investigate how the previous Minister allowed Police to propose extraordinary fee increases for licensed firearm owners without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Kingsford, Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney Bill Ormonde, Author provided Millions of dead fish float on the surface of the river. Native bony herring and introduced young carp, as well as a few mature ...
Things make more sense when people are speaking your language! This CAB Awareness Week (20-26 March), we are celebrating diversity and multiculturalism within our service. At the Citizens Advice Bureau, we are committed to making sure our service ...
The second week of the Auckland Arts Festivals showed the versatility of the city’s spaces, even when not matched entirely correctly with shows. Sam Brooks reviews (with assistance from Shanti Mathias).I often dismay at the lack of performance spaces we have in Auckland, and it takes something like the ...
The free and easy SMS two factor authentication (2FA) to log into your Twitter account ends today. That concerns Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster because it takes away one of the most common ways to verify who users are on their free accounts, which ...
New Zealand’s new minister of police will be one of the freshest faces around the cabinet table. Ginny Andersen, the MP for Hutt South, has been named as the new minister taking over from Stuart Nash. Andersen first became an MP in 2017 and only became a minister for the ...
The government has announced further roading reconnections, several weeks on from Cyclone Gabrielle. Earlier this morning it was confirmed the link between Napier and Taupō had been reestablished. And now, transport minister Michael Wood said another six bailey bridges would be constructed. “Our immediate priority has been to reopen lifeline ...
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The first edition felt like a breath of fresh, local music-filled air. This year, with many of the same headliners as 2008 (and every year since), the formula has grown stale. It’s finally time to admit that on a cold night in Palmy 20 years ago, I felt Shihad frontman ...
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The anti-transgender activist that provoked aggressive protests in Australia over the weekend may not be able to enter New Zealand. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, the British anti-transgender campaigner, is scheduled to visit New Zealand next weekend for two public events. But according to a new statement from Immigration NZ, her ability to ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is pleased to hear that the Minister of Local Government, Kieran McAnulty, has invited concerned mayors to the Beehive to discuss the Three Waters reforms but believe he should meet with the country’s largest ...
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Whether the anti-trans campaigner can enter the country without a visa is now up in the air. Controversy surrounds the upcoming visit by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, the British anti-transgender campaigner on a global tour who is scheduled to visit New Zealand next weekend for two public events. During an appearance in Melbourne ...
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Analysis by By Geoffrey Miller. Political Roundup: NZ’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq ...
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MP Ibrahim Omer will replace Grant Robertson as Labour’s candidate in the Wellington Central electorate after beating former party president Claire Szabo in the candidate selection race. Omer arrived in New Zealand as a refugee and worked as a cleaner before enrolling at Victoria University in 2014. “As someone who has ...
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Great to see the Labour candidates getting out to the regions, even into places where Labour hasn’t had traditional support. Last night Chris Hipkins, David Shearer and TKC Labour Candidate Penny Gaylor provided an outstanding public meeting at the Otorohanga Rugby Club. There needs to be more of this.
On another note: This mornings Fonterra GDT auction is down 8.9%, the NZ Dairy market price has essentially collapsed, if this price holds then we will see a dairy payout under $6 which will be a problem for many farmers.
Great to hear from Otorohonga. Straight at them in the King Country.
Anyone else got good campaign stories this morning?
“Anyone else got good campaign stories this morning?”
Yes, I hear that Labour volunteers have been going hard on door knocking in Ohariu and the feed back gives us reason for hope:
“The vast majority of people I speak to are over Dunne.” From Virginia Andersen, Labour candidate.
https://www.facebook.com/virginia.andersen.ohariu
I understand there are clinics planned in each of the community centres in the electorate, which is an excellent way of boosting visibility and interacting directly with the community. The first one kicks off in Newlands this Saturday. If you look at Lynn’s very thorough analysis, NZ First – the Kingmakers? and the link provided regarding Ohariu:
http://www.tallyroom.com.au/nz2014/ohariu2014
you can see that the area of central east, which includes Newlands/Paparangi are the biggest supporters of a Left vote in the electorate – a great place to start the clinics! We had a food bank open up in Newlands last year, which may indicate that the area is suffering under our current Government, so I’m sure there will be lots of issues the people will want to discuss with the candidate.
I’m not a Labour Party member and am not involved with the campaign in Ohariu but what I’ve been hearing is ALL positive. ……………. hey, just imagine unseating Dunne………………. 😀
We’ve been working really hard in Clutha-Southland. We’ve door knocked all over the electorate Tapanui, Queenstown, Balclutha, Milton, Gore, Mataura, Nightcaps and Kaitangtata. We’ve had a lot of support in the electorate to my pleasant surprise. I’m thinking we will be taking some votes of National in the electorate this time.
Great stuff Saarbo! Really good to hear.
Would be nice to know that there are more MP’s for Otaki than that moron Nathan guy.
What about your Labour candidate Rob MCCann? Looks like they have an open invitation to a coffee and chat get together this Friday. You could go along and find out what’s happening!
https://www.facebook.com/robmccann4otaki
Nathan Guy has to go!
Financial problems for many farmers are seen as opportunities for the Tories with access to finance, or wanting to sell to foreign capital while grabbing a commission. They want the farms concentrated in fewer hands.
“We Have the Right to Defend Ourselves”
Part 2 ….
http://innerstandingisness.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/image00210.jpg
See also….
No. 1: http://floridamemory.com/fpc/reference/rc11499.jpg
I note various Zionist cheerleaders and apologists on this site objecting to the gross disproportionality of references to ‘genocide’.
I dare say like references were objected to when the yellow Star of David had its first European outing.
Well it wasn’t the fucking Yellow Rose of Texas was it ? As we all now know.
Ironic how the word “solution” has crept into the conversation. “There must be a sensible solution…..blah blah blah” from the likes of Sooth-Creep-Wayne, formerly of cabinet fame.
Quislings.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10270498/Shipleys-bank-role-treachery-says-Peters
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11294019
Former prime minister Jenny Shipley’s involvement with the latest Chinese banking giant to set up shop in New Zealand has been described by Winston Peters as “economic treachery”.
I agree with Winston.
Later on in the article..
“We found China’s largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), was also registered here last November, chaired by former politician and Reserve Bank governor Don Brash.”
These NACT politicians are selling our sovereignty away for their own personal gain.
We are rapidly losing control of our own country. And we know the people who have facilitated this.
Lange, Douglas, Moore, Bolger, Richardson, Shipley, Brash, Key,
Nah Bolger was OK just as Lange was OK. Both their caucus had huge cadres of rabid neolibs though.
Yes, and Bolger was cover for Richardson and Lange cover for Douglas.
They provided the cheery reassuring face, whilst the others stuffed the country behind our backs.
Lange was the clown who took credit for uranium based breath fresheners, while giving Douglas and co. carte blanche to go where Thatcher had feared to tread. He was not OK. He is as responsible as Douglas or Prebble for the state of Aotearoa today.
Bolger also did little to stop Richardson rubbing salt into the wounds inflicted by the first ACT government. To call either of them OK is to lower our expectations to nothing.
China Construction Bank New Zealand’s chairwoman, former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley, said the bank’s initial focus would be on trade business, as well as “supporting high net worth individuals who are either present or wish to come to New Zealand and do business here”.
‘High net worth individuals?’
Maybe this is linked to this article. In May
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10007139/Wealthy-Chinese-knock-on-NZs-door
Wealthy Chinese knock on NZ’s door.
“Wealthy Chinese who wanted to emigrate because of concerns over pollution and a crackdown on corruption who had previously considered Canada were now interested in New Zealand and Australia.”
‘High net worth individuals?’…aka wealthy Chinese who wanted to emigrate because of a crackdown on corruption .
And it doesn’t sound like the wealthy of China are very popular in their own country.
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/04/why-chinas-rich-want-to-leave/274920/
‘This wave of emigration has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some who cannot leave. Wrote one user on microblogging platform Sina Weibo, “Capital is continuously being transferred abroad, leaving a mess at home.”’
‘In November, 2011, an opinion piece in the state-run People’s Daily,entitled “We Should Make It Harder for the Wealthy to Emigrate,” attracted a great number of readers and went viral on Chinese social media sites. The article proposed an “exit tax” on wealthy Chinese leaving the country. Many Web users agreed that such a measure would benefit the majority of Chinese while limiting capital outflow. One anonymous commentator complained, “Once you have money and power, you’re no longer patriotic. Think about it – where did your money and power come from? They’re practically peacetime traitors.”’
Sounds like they are seen as traitors just like Winston see the wealthy of New Zealand as economic quislings.
The 1% are the same. whatever the country.
Our fish are running out.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10270523/Group-warns-shoppers-off-NZ-hoki
‘Several of New Zealand’s major export fish species have been listed as unsustainably managed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).
Its warnings appear on its website and on mobile phone apps to use while shopping. They include red lights or do-not-shop for hoki, squid and shark from New Zealand.
“Overall, there have been significant improvements in farming and the industry is improving transparency due to the fact more people care about where their seafood comes from,” Tooni Mahto, AMCS’s marine campaigns officer, said.
“But there is still a lot of work to do. It still takes 2.5 kilograms of wild-caught fish, to be used as fish food, to create 1kg of farmed fish.”
On hoki AMCS said it should not be eaten. Although the New Zealand fishery was healthy “there are significant concerns over threatened species bycatch and habitat damage in this fishery”.
Fast-food companies like McDonald’s use hoki in their fish burgers.’
And who have the government chosen to sell these same policies to the Pacific Island nations? None other than Labour’s own former mouthpiece for unsustainability, the late grate Shane Jones.
“It still takes 2.5 kilograms of wild-caught fish, to be used as fish food, to create 1kg of farmed fish.”
This just always comes across as completely barmy …. why not eat the 2.5 kgs directly ffs? I loves them little fishes …..
I guess it will be totally about the money as always. Useless humans.
Rockstar economy…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11293749
‘Global dairy prices plunge 8.9 per cent.’
And the underlying causes as pointed out by lprent and joe90
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-11/milk-output-expansion-poised-to-spur-5-year-world-surplus.html?_ga=1.106995911.432890989.1404940857
From my wireless this morning, RadioNZ National, at an annual $6 a kilo for milk solids 20% of New Zealand dairy farms are only reaching break even,
The auctions for the rest of the financial year may well spell out the fate of those farms which carry the most debt,
While ‘stockpiling’ has been trotted out as the cause of the current slump in prices there is evidence that ‘boom’ may well be about to turn to ‘bust’ worldwide for the dairy industry,
For the first time one of the Chinese players in the market, Yili, has entered the top 10 of production companies, at number 10, suggesting that the ramping up of production there will begin to hurt Western producers deeply,
A situation of over-supply, some say that point is at hand, will collapse the market prices of dairy products across the world and force up to 20% of all individual farms into insolvency,
i doubt, the inclusion in the New Zealand economy of two of China’s major banking groups is simply an incidental progression, while there is antagonism toward foreign ‘ownership’ of our farming sector, a collapsing dairy price will give those banks ‘virtual ownership’ of a large part of the local industry via their ability to prop up the industry with cash loans…
Dairy should be part of the economic mix not a dominant commodity.
There is not enough room for many more cows than the current six mill unless kept indoors in ‘sheds’ as per the shelved South Island Mckenzie basin plan. Cattle are often diseased and stressed to get the yield as it is. Dairy workers in processing and logistics are well unionised but farm workers themselves remain appallingly treated in many cases.
Forest and sheep have been run down and overlooked in the gold rush scamper to dairy. If the Chinese and Latin Americans really get rolling with dairy Fonterra will be in for a major downsize. The small independents like Synlait, Dairyworks, LIC, Sutton Group, Gardians etc. that do niche products are where dairy will have to go to survive.
The cash cow may run dry eh, oh well good news for the waterways eventually then. The thing is to replace it with something that provides reasonable employment not just inflated payouts to industrial farm owners.
@TM
Great summation of the situation.
Need a dairy shed workers union.
And govt needs to refinance all mortgaged dairy farms at 2% interest in exchange for strict environmental and employment standards.
Why should one sector be protected. Farming as a stand alone business case do not stack up with their operating results. All they are is property companies in hiding. Their operating results allow, is a basis for how much debt they can carry, with the financial returns based on saleability and the appreciation of the farms and stock.
I feel for those who have recently entered the farming industry as the stress they are under is a real concern, especially with rising interest rates on the horizon coupled with reduced commodity prices, and the increase world wide if dairy capacity.
And re environmental deterioration they should be compelled like other industries to mitigate at source so that their are no adverse effects down steam.
Fully agree. The biggest concern here (outside of the environmental issues) is what happens if milk solid prices continue to fall and large numbers of our dairy farmers are then “underwater” ie. running at a loss and unable to service the substantial loans on property.
Clearly in the normal course of events the creditors step in and the assets/property are sold to recoup the loan exposure. Now where are the buyers of said land likely to eventuate from? NZ’ers with spare capital? Heck of a straw man I know but one possibly worthy of consideration.
This price is at the regular low end of the trading year. But there is a stark warning in it nevertheless that many commentators have been pushing for a long time. Rod Oram is one of them, and Keith Woodford another, as noted below:
http://keithwoodford.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/dairy-commodities-and-value-add-the-strategic-choice/
Regrettably despite my high hopes for Fonterra at its inception, I now want Fonterra to decline slowly over the next decade. Farmers and smart partners will then replace it with a thousand predominantly locally-owned small companies with the will to form their own brands, and take on the great value-added challenge of New Zealand dairy.
Fonterra, and too many other dairy companies, enjoy surfing the bulk commodity wave while it lasts, and simply refuse to believe there will be the hard landing of debt servicing and long price troughs as bulk storage is so slow to use up.
Only the cushion of a great range of world-beating specialist high-value products with unique brands from a multitude of local companies will turn this slow disaster.
In the true NZ way what would ensue is a rapid race to the bottom with NZ farmers competing with each other on lowest price volume rather than value add… not to mention much easier for processors to screw down milk supply on a farmer by farmer basis…
That could follow, agreed.
But there are some who are not vulnerable at all, and aggregate into companies, form their own processing, and their own brands, and their own marketing.
The two extremes between the NZ milk industry and the NZ wine industry don’t need to be so extreme.
Yep, we need that ban on foreign ownership now. And not just mild restrictions either.
My point. re: the Chinese banks setting up shop here is it is a simple means of bypassing messy questions of foreign ownership,
Why own the farm via a land title with all the negative connotations that this generates when you can buy up through bank loans all that production sitting in an air conditioned office in the Auckland CBD…
Banning foreign ownership would prevent the bank from setting up here in the first place.
On planet Draco such a banning probably has a 100% probability, on this one the chances are an enlarged ZERO,
At some point i can see the Chinese, through these banks ability to lend to the individual dairy farms and the major production companies, making the decisions on how big our dairy production is and of course what price the economy can tolerate for the products,
i doubt that ‘they’ see any point in collapsing our economy,(while we are still ‘friendly),and, as it our methods and stock breeding ability which is enhancing their ability to become in time the biggest dairy producer in the world there is in fact an impetus for controlled,(by them),competition to keep occurring,
A cynic would suggest that as we milk the cows we are in turn about to be milked ourselves…
That’s a different beast altogether DTB. It’s a sanction against foreign banks operating in NZ. Which means no Australian banks either.
Semantics 😛
But that is what we actually need to do – prevent all foreign owned businesses from setting up here.
And the treatment of existing foreign owned businesses?
They get to leave peacefully.
+1
The banks make money, not the average farmer
It would seem dicriminatory to refuse a licence to a Chinese bank when most ot our banking facilities are Australian owned. However, I must admit that I would like to see all overseas banks leave NZ.
“..Even Republicans Support Colorado’s Marijuana Legalization Law..”
Americans across party lines say they support Colorado’s marijuana legalization law – a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds.
And the poll results show the majority of Americans think efforts to enforce current marijuana laws are not worth the cost.
In the poll – 61 percent of Americans said they support the Colorado law – which as the poll described it –
Twenty-seven percent oppose it..”
(cont..)
(ed:..and of course recent polling here in new zealand showed that 45% of national party supporters support ending the prohibition of cannabis..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/marijuana-poll_n_5588147.html
I suspect the real problem is nobody can figure out how to bleed money out of the great unwashed like alcohol and tobacco when you can just throw in a row of it next to the tomatoes. They’ll think of something eventually – medical marijuana seems to be where they’re headed at the moment
i am hoping they byepass that halfway-house of medical-marijuana only..
..that solves none of the prohibition problems..(criminal-control of markets..no control over sales to minors etc..to name just two..)
..and that the move is to the (proven-successes) of the colorado-model of legalisation/regulation/taxation..
…this can be done in two ways..
1)..the actual colorado-model:
..where private-enterprise is licensed/regulated to grow/sell/administer the scheme..(with the state receiving license-fees + revenue from taxation at point of sale…)
2)..the uruguay-model:
..where in a determination to totally remove the criminal-element from the market..
..the far-sighted president of uruguay has mandated a state-run model..
..where employment is created from the state running the show..
..from growing to retail..
..and as his crim-killer..
..he has deemed that cannabis will be sold to the public @ $2 per gram…
..(i prefer the second of those two models..who wouldn’t love pot @ $2 per gram..?..eh..?
..but cd live with the first..)
I just think you should be able to grow your own – there’s no black market or criminal element in tomatoes and lettuces, is there
of course that as well..
Philj asked (over on Dotcom thread)
“Whatever happened to transparency, accountability and higher standards? ”
Well, don’t ask Claudette Hauiti, it seems her knowledge on the topic is a bit light
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10271326/MP-hands-in-her-charge-card-after-Australia-trip
Claudette Hauiti is making Aaron Gilmore look like a winner.
The Nats need to realise that putting all you diversity “ticks” in one box – Woman, Maori, Gay, and dare I say it “Intellectually challenged” hasnt worked so well for them.
We will all have to hope that this particular lady will be recycled out the door on 20 September.
The interesting thing is that this has been put into the public arena, and is being given top of the page NZH coverage. And the TaxpayersUnion is there getting the boot in.
Maybe the NActs aren’t keen to give her a high list placement? She slipped into the House from the list after the Nat resignations. She has been moved from standing as a south Auckland candidate, to Kelston, where she stands little chance against Carmel Sepuloni. My guess is that Hauiti’s political career will be pretty short. Not expecting a high list placement for her.
there is some very cool stuff in this one..
“..11 Simple Inventions That Could Change The World..
So what are the little-known technologies that hold the power right now to transform the world for the better?
We decided to find out – and give them their due..”
(cont..)
(ed:..the electric bike-wheel is very very cool…)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/simple-inventions-change-world_n_5565040.html
National’s lowest list position MP (replacement for Aaron Gilmore) defrauding the public: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10271326/MP-hands-in-her-charge-card-after-Australia-trip
They really are scraping the bottom of the talent barrel.
”Snap”…
sorry guys I got the card down first 🙂
True, i will have to give you the deck, be careful with them the whole foundation of the ‘house’ sits on them…
Have you ever watched her read a ‘question’ in the House? Each word delivered with careful deliberation as if there is some subtle nuance to impart. She stands tall and beams with the self-satisfaction that it is She that has been deemed worthy of asking if the Minister of Carousels has received any reports on whatever they are spinning that day?
”Don’t you know who i am”, such words, more fitting uttered from within a B grade mafia fillum could be said to have got MP ‘unhappy’ Aaron Gilmour the kick,
Readers could be forgiven uttering the same phrase when confronted with the name of ‘Unhappies’ replacement, Claudette Hauiti,
Given a naughty card for having hired on the ‘wife’ as an ‘issues assistant’ in Her electorate Office, Claudette could be said to have the perfect National Party sense of over-entitlement,
Buried in the pages of Stuff.co.nz this morning is a little tale of Hauiti taking a trip on the parliament’s ‘P-Card’,(i kid you not),to Australia where She indulged of the ‘P-card’ for a pile of personal spending,
Claudette has apparently handed back the credit card to Parliamentary Services and will face no sanctions from the National Government for having indulged in the mis-spending in the first place,
If you or i indulged in such behavior, or lack of it, we could be assured of a date to face the Judge on fraud charges,
Slippery the Prime Minister is probably eying up this particularly large pile of overblown entitlement for promotion to a Ministerial position so as She can treat Herself at our expense in a way She feels She should become accustomed to…
That article is particularly odd for the fact it doesn’t once clearly state which party she is an MP for.
I had to Google to confirm is a Nat MP.
You can bet your arse if it’d have been a Labour MP, the fact it was Labour would be all over the article about the Labour MP & it’d have some throw away line from Key about tricky Labour refusing to punish their Labour MP.
@hoom
+1
and the only figure mentioned is “$200 and something” for a flight to Oz ??
That does seem a little low, or does the MP travel cattle class and found the very cheapest seat possible, which is understandable seeing as she is obviously so concerned with accounting for her expenditure. Then again, maybe the MP mistook her taxi chit for the flight ticket?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11294367
Herald at least managed to start with ‘National MP’
Hauiti herself is at least making a clear mea-culpa about it
But also there is an absence of dates in both articles, while NZ Herald indicates the info comes from a recent Parliamentary Services release -> not an immediate mea-culpa but only once someone asked about it.
I find it incredulous a new MP has their card removed for $200 of spending.
Which is what the article suggests
So a trip to Australia, ‘other questionable spending’ and hui refreshments cost only $200 ___ TUI TIME
I see that Wayne Mapp over at Pundit is agreeing with the economist that “zombie towns” like Moerewa and Kaikohe should be closed down.
http://pundit.co.nz/content/time-to-close-down-zombie-towns
This is not only outrageous – where does he think all the people living in these towns will go ?
But also it won’t solve inequality problems, and it shows little in the way of innovation, imagination
or ideas on how these towns could be re-built with a bit of central govt funding and support.
Its also contemptuous of the people who do now live in those towns – and who help support their local economy and their local communities.
I guess this is just one example of how National politicians view people who are not rich ! Yuk !
@Jenny Kirk
I’m thinking of this morning’s Radionz conversation with Transport Minister etc Gerry Brownlee about Northlands roads and their dire state and the pleas of Councils for action. Everything is going thru due process, and the main roads will be cleared to let emergency supplies through. But what about the other roads, the feeder roads into rural areas and distant farms? And the need to get all those logs through to Whangarei port that when it was dry caused dust storms and traffic to come to a halt till there was visibility, also dust overlying paddocks and crops and houses and animals and children and houses etc. Asthma territory, distress and horrible conditions.
Different than those enjoyed by those in Government and in the cosy Beehive and Bellamys. Who might not be so comfortable if they concentrated their minds on climate change and the forecast shift to changes in our weather with more tropical type moving south, a tendency for weather events to stay longer over one location, and a likelihood that some big event will happen not every century, but could be a number within a decade. Perhaps not nicely spaced out, but all in one year too. Time to build that old cathedral up in Christchurch and pray to bring back the past as well, when we still had hope and an economy earning and retaining money able to deal with disaster’s costs.
Urbane Mr Brownlee says that TNZ I think the acronym used was Transport NZ, is conferring with councils as to priorities and he was vague about government money being offered. The Council commentator referred to their roading being equivalent to that of Auckland City but is maintained with just a fraction of Auckland’s rating return. There is nothing in the Northland kete to cope with this damage.
And the answer by some economic moron here is just to shut towns down. A triumph of capitalism coupled with neo liberalism over human civilisation needs. In the USA cities have gone bankrupt. That is the sort of thinking that resulted in dead societies in the past. ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (Horace Smith/Shelley)
We actually have the brains and the technology and the experience to do something both intelligent and useful – the suitable quote I offer with earnest – from Baron Ernest Rutherford.
the cynical-spin put on this by the right..to justify the holiday highway..
..is that opponents to the holiday-highway are somehow ‘hurting’ the people of northland…
..this is absolute bullshit..
(to believe that soon after this four-laner reaches holiday-home territory..that it will be nudging into kaitaia..would be taking cargo-cult beliefs to a whole new level..)
..and in nz we have rich/farming areas with roads like billiard-tables..(and they still scream for more more funding)..
..and northland is left with pot-holed cart-tracks as excuses for main roads..and major feeder-roads left unsealed..
..and haven’t those national electorate mp’s in northland for all these decades been really piss-weak in fighting for their constituents..eh..?
..as with everything from the bastards currently ruling over us..it is all lies/self-serving spin..
@phillip ure
roads like billiard tables. Try round Ashburton. Waiouru. What a dream to drive. Just some memories of when I looked round parts of the rohe.
Went through Kaeo a while ago. You might remember it small place in Far North – gets flooded regularly. It is built on the river probably because it was handy on the river bank for the old mission station that started it off. Now it needs some government funding to move the main part of town to a higher area. Perhaps just some land that can be leased long term, and a bit of regional funding as they move the shops and amenities.
The council have built up roads that act as barriers to the river but a storm coupled with high tide will flood them and so it goes on. Assistance to such rural and smaller areas, so they can improve their situations would be welcome from a sensible common sense government. Pity that sense isn’t common in government circles, or true concern for the people who need some help to make advances for themselves.
Can’t just blame the local MPs – they are up against others with bigger, brighter schemes. Probably the only way they could get in some punches would be if they could get some leverage or perhaps dirt on someone influential in the Party and use it as subtle blackmail. And that would have to be done quickly and carefully while there was a window of opportunity, and before something could be manufactured against them. It would need something that was a game changer.to get anything done. If you have ever read John Mortimer’s Titmuss series, I think that they give a feel of what it is like in political circles. Don’t know but this year’s NZ revelations seem similar.
don’t mean to be picky..
..but ‘waiouru’..?..’rich-farmers’?..
@ phillip ure
I was just thinking of roads like billiard tables and really nice to drive on. Rich farmers wasn’t the point. I remember the areas I mentioned were outstanding for the motorist.
In reply to Phillip Ure, the “holiday highway” opponents know that it is not going to go anywhere near where the actual roading need is – the HH ends at Wellsford (that’s over 110kms from Whangarei) and the state highway from Whangarei north starts to deteriorate – and is now totally closed because of massive slip just south of Kawakawa – while any potlential alternative routes are unsealed, narrow, country roads.
Its a myth that the holiday highway will help the north ….. it will just help Aucklanders (and rich Nat PM and MPs) get as far as their holiday homes on the east coast, Omaha, Matakana, etc.
Hey – and the HH is years away. The north (that is, the north past Whangarei) needs govt support and roading finance NOW !
one that really puzzles me for not being sealed..is the cross-road from sh1 to taipa..thru peria..
..as it wd make a perfect tourism-loop/experience..
..and if only for those reasons..you’d think that shd get some priority..
Yeah – to Phillip U – it would. Maybe if we can get a different govt in, we can then get some real strategic thinking and planning on what would really help the north …. here’s hoping !
@ jenny kirk
thats strange.
yesterday nathan guy and whats her name were on the teevee flashing their pearly whites and telling the nation just how much they were going to do for these people.
The hand wringing over the price of milk proves Cunliffe’s point about diversifying the economy.
Yeah, but will the right-wing ever actually admit that?
NASA info on flyby of Pluto
GCHQ online dirty tricks toolkit+ programme code names
Read this and tell me if you still want NZ General Elections conducted online. Apart from being able to change online polls at will there’s this one:
“Ability to spoof any email address and send email under that identity” (CHANGELING)
Pretty handy stuff if you can get it.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/07/14/manipulating-online-polls-ways-british-spies-seek-control-internet/
hmm.!!..
..wd skype-ing votes..and facial-recognition software circumvent those hacking problems…?
Not sure that using thoroughly compromised software platforms and then adding additional layers of ad hoc complexity on top of them is the way to go.
sorry..excuse my dumbness..but is that answering my question..?
..surely facial recognition for a vote could only be done once..?
..and only by the person named on the electoral-role..?
..how cd that be ‘compromised’..?
it wd also see a big uptake in those eligible to vote who are out of the country..
..they can just get ‘recognised’ online..and then vote..
..easy as..
..i repeat..given the perilous scenarios posited..
..how cd this be ‘compromised’..?
You cant be dumb Phillip, or do they hand out Uni degrees to the dumb these days…
Now that is flat hilarious.
Great spotting.
lol
All a basic degree means is a certain minimal level of understanding in a fairly narrow subject area for a short period of time.
It’s a plank to build on, rather than a deep comment about the quality of the person – otherwise you wouldn’t be able to get one within three years of leaving school.
five years 4 a masters..
..and what you get taught is how to think…
and it shows you have the intellect/discipline to run that marathon successfully..
whatever, tofuboy
“sorry..excuse my dumbness”
What if we all started wearing V for Vendetta masks?
i wonder why the ‘expert’/pontificator on such manners..cd/did not answer that skype/face-recognition software question/possible-solution to all the problems he listed..?
..it was an honest question..not a piss-take..
CV answered your question at 14.1.1 above.
“..but is that answering my question..?”
Yes it is.
“..excuse my dumbness..”
Note that saying that in no way obliges him to do so.
no he didn’t..
@Colonial Viper
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It’s a serious matter, and some people need to keep a clear head about IT technology. It is embraced so fervently as still the latest and best thing since sliced bread by so many people. But they only learn from it what they want to, not the down side. Not the findings of concerned people from other countries like the USA for instance, which show how it can be discombobulated in a big way.
And the thought chills me of government wanting to cut down personal interaction and physical presence with people a la HousingNZ and just use technological means to communicate with citizens. Using call centres perhaps not even in NZ (cf Fearfax and its admin from Manila)!
The toffs on the hill just need to cut the lines and how, where do you get to discuss things with your representatives in your local and central government? Or the people in private business which now supply what are government services to you who are rorting you. Sorry say gummint that’s an operational matter.
Sorry say the call centre our lines are busy today, phone again at 11pm when things are quieter or tomorrow possibly. Oh yes there is a long wait isn’t there, you didn’t like the music sorry, I have looked but can’t find your name in our databank sorry, you are not registered with us.
Who should you contact? Well there is a special help number run out of the Phillipines, but it costs $2 a minute and it can take 30 minutes of waiting before you can get through, so I recommend you phone about 3am our time as that is daytime over there. (This information may be incorrect but let’s face it who would care, and what are you going to do about it sucker, if we get to the scenario I have presented.)
Scarey scenario, Grey Warbler ….. and like you, I think this is a possibility in the future.
I’m a bit worried about “CHANGELING”. I always thought his comments were quite sensible.
““For connecting two target phone together in a call” (IMPERIAL BARGE)”
Hmm what’s that about? Manufacturing ‘evidence’ of communication between two individuals?
this one is a head-bender..
two weeks ago..dynamo..on a sky sport show..
..predicted that germany wd win the world cup with a goal in the 113th minute…
..and that neymeyer wd be out with a back-injury..and wd not play in that final..
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/dynamo-predicted-germany-would-win-the-world-cup-in-the-113-minute-and-neymar-would-be-out-with-a-back-injury-two-weeks-ago-9606566.html
now..how the fuck did he do that..?
Laughable from the Herald this morning, accessed online,(never paid for), a survey of a coupe of thousand shoppers who buy at the supermarket chains,
The headline: Big Backing for Sugarless,(checkout),Lanes,
34.1% of respondents want the checkout lanes to be free of all those sugar filled ‘treats’ that tempt us as we wait,
22% of those say that they would deliberately seek out supermarkets that provided such ‘sugar free checkouts’
70%,(snigger, welcome to the diabetes epidemic), of those surveyed basically couldn’t give a toss,(i can hear the masters at the food production companies quietly laughing up their sleeves as i type this),
The laughter???, i can well imagine Mum’s chagrin as She is cajoled,berated, and, implored by wee Janet or John, the offspring, at the supermarket checkout to include in the weekly shop one of the many sugar laden ‘rushes’ oh so conveniently placed by the cynical sugar rush industry at the checkout,
”No you cannot have that it will rot your teeth, and, you can have a nice healthy multi-grain bread sandwich when we get home” would be the usual standard reply from Mum,
What Mum tho doesn’t seem to know is that the loaf of bread She believes to be ‘oh so healthy’ is by the slice loaded with so much sugar that giving wee Janet or John a couple of slices each to make that sandwich is enough to have them breaching their daily recommended intake of sugar,
Mmmm, brown and multi-grain breads tho have got to be healthier for you right???, not a show, its all loaded with sugar, in the case of brown and multi-grain breads its worse,
All industrial produced flours are bleached white at the production stage of the flour,when it comes to making ‘brown bread, and, ‘multi-grain bread’ they add food coloring to make it look brown,
Eat a piece of bread raw and see just how ‘sweet’ it is, butter and other spreads simply act as masking agents to cover up that sugar load in each slice…
You’re starting to sound like phillip ure.
If you can hear sounds by reading what i write Draco i suggest you urgently consult your shrink,(i could suggest a couple of other personal delusions you might want to avail Her/Him of while your on the couch),
In 1997, 3000 deaths were reported in New Zealand due to complications brought about by overweight/obesity in the population,(news for you Draco, sugar when unused by the human body is stored as fat),
In 1996, 1500 deaths were recorded in New Zealand from complications surrounding diabetes, the vast majority of these deaths type 2 diabetes, these deaths are not from the human body having no ability to produce insulin, these deaths are from the amount of consumed sugar overpowering the individuals ability to produce enough insulin to cope with the overdose,
Those figures are ‘old’ and the death toll has since risen to yearly be more than that attributed to tobacco,(anyone with later figures, i would appreciate a look at them),
There are 50 new cases of type two diabetes reported daily in this country which in a few years will be costing the health system a billion dollars annually and some in the health field are speculating that on its current trajectory, by 2050, type 2 diabetes might feature in 50% of the population,
Off you go back to sleep Draco, dream your little fantasies while the masters load up your food with sugar…
/woosh
/facepalm
Figures, no intelligence apparent in the latest comment either…
You complain to phillip over his veganism and his advocating for marijuana and yet, here you are with you’re over the top harping on about sugar.
Complain Draco, you will have to point out this complaining,
”Over the top harping on about sugar”, so opening up a discussion about the misuse of a product, Sugar, by the industrialized food industry which piles it into products with no care of the adverse health effects leading to the deaths of thousands on an annual basis and a soon to be billion dollar health bill in your words is ”over the top” and ”harping”,
That you see such deaths as nothing more than harping would have me viewing your latest comment on the subject as something that the likes of SSLands would be likely to publish…
Well, I suppose whinging might be more accurate.
So you have no actual debate in any regards about the question of the unnecessary loading of sugar into processed foods by those in control of this industry,who would have thunk that when asked the question you would expose the space in your cranium to be full of air,(an unkind person might insinuate shit),
Instead, and laughably, you want to debate about me, again who would have thunk that you contain such a paucity of intellect that such a serious subject as the poisoning of 1000’s of your fellow humans by the very foods they are encouraged to buy and consume fails to register in what passes for your mind,
my humility, Ha ha ha, prevents me from expounding upon just how great i am…
There was trailer on Radionz early news reports – something about what you do if your daughter wants to be a princess. Priceless!
In the past the people were denied such ‘bright and soft’ news. it wasn’t the custom to make it general news, it was just kept for the ladies page. Women were thought not willing or able to cope with the hard, gritty stuff. Now the public media wants to put everyone in this gormless condition. But it’s already covered by pulp fiction magazines fronted by attractive women gazing from supermarket shelves. An array of large mouths, unnaturally white teeth, hair like a pony’s tail with all the tips on how to look and behave. Let them cover the princess market FGS.
Possible past use of mood-enhancing snippets:
We regret to announce that we have declared war and keep listening for further news, in the meantime we have an item on how to become a princess.
The observers in Europe are shocked at the conditions in concentration camps and we will soon bring you tips on how to become a princess.
There are thought to be 29 miners remaining trapped in the Pike River Mine and we…
Military maneouvres are being practised by eleven countries (not however including China) in host country New Zealand and now we will bring….
I have to ask, did you actually listen to the “princess” section? I hear that title and wonder whether it would be light and fluffy (as you seem to assume) or actually an in-depth discussion of changing gender role models within society and how to deal with it if your daughter still likes pink and crowns…
good news..!..there is a god..!
..jeremy kyle got pepper-sprayed by a nightclub-bouncer..
..(‘good news’ for many..i feel..)
..hallelujah..!..eh..?
This may have already been linked to but I’ll put it up because it really made me feel great.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/07/15/guest-blog-miriam-pierard-the-internet-party-what-weve-been-waiting-for/
Make your choice – Miriam has, I have.
@zorr
I didn’t listen to it. I am using it as an example of the way that the media is constantly messing with the news, diluting it, fitting ads into it, stroking the wealthy in it, supporting their favourite side in it, appealing to the masses who can be sold something in it, blah blah and on and on.
And getting at the people who can’t think beyond princesses and adore style and looks and are put off by substance and don’t show any interest in reality. And it may have been a sly way of introducing something serious and important to people. But it sounded more about how some like to think life is instead of just when it’s dress up and carnival time.
That’s what is going through my head and the precise details of what was said and what the item was about is not my main concern so don’t take it too literally.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-price-monitoring-shows-competition-strengthening
“The sales data released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for the year ending March 2014, shows the lowest annual price increase since 2001 at 2.3 per cent,” Mr Bridges says.
Well done National
“New way of monitoring electricity prices”, similar to the crime statistics fraud by any chance…
“The figures
2.3%
annual price change in electricity, across all of New Zealand, in the year to March.
6.7%
increase in lines charges for the June quarter.
0.7%
decrease in energy charges for the June quarter.
$155 a year
Electricity Authority figures show consumers can save, on average, $155 a year by switching power retailers.
So one can spend hours constantly changing suppliers to save $155 per year???
Great work National 🙄
Did you miss the part where it said lowest increase since 2001?
Wow, you’re proud that it took Bill English six years to do what Michael Cullen did in two?
While the pace of price rises has slowed, rates continue to outstrip inflation and push-up the cost of living
At minimum replace the Electricity Commission – bunch of softcocks
I know politics isn’t meant to be about personalities and should be all about the policy, stupid.
And I know we’ve had releases from our side, and it has to be said, some good one’s too.
And I know it’s the lull before the storm electioneering wise, but even as a committed voter to the cause, touching on recent comments I’ve made about timing and getting in people’s faces for maximum effect, I’m not getting a feel good vibes from our leaders.
If the game has partly or wholly changed to personality politics, then change you must, or you lose. That’s evolution and Darwinism in action.
If that hasn’t been realised (in both senses of the word) at the top tables, then someone best put the TV coaching they’ve had to good use and get their smiling faces front and center instead of grimacing and scowling at mum and dad New Zealand.
I accept wrongs should be righted and ministers held to account, but if you’re only getting limited airtime you can’t afford to waste it. Honest John won’t when he has to front up to Campbell when he comes home from holiday, again.
Hope JC points out, unlike the last time, when JK says you aren’t paying attention, he has the balls and the info to say “actually, yes I have, and here’s what we know”.
“actually, yes I have, and here’s what we know” and Campbell proceeds, for the duration of the show, to read aloud the entirety of Blip’s List . . . before the screen suddenly goes blank
Has anyone ever sent John Campbell a Blip’s list?
Someone should. Would be great if Campbell opened with it after saying hello. Seven uncomfortable minutes until the ad break, or if he doesn’t walk out or chicken out or both, the full show. I’m sure the two headed tortoise piece can wait for another day, and serious as the issue of flooding in sunken Christchurch suburbs is, and how special blue paint is great and all, when all the people want is to just live where it won’t flood for ever more, thirty minutes of gotcha would be riveting stuff. It would certainly make up for the Herald and TV3’s discredit agenda.
I’d do it myself, but they’ve never responded before. I think it’s my user name that puts them off.
I’d miss the Simpsons for that any day, except maybe for a new Halloween episode. He’d have to convince in the last adverts before seven. Come on John, do it. lol.
Laila Harré at Cape Reinga yesterday, she is really quite good on camera, this is only 1.40 min with a rather apt last line.
@ tiger mt..chrs 4 that..i’ve linked to it..
I keep an eye on Slater’s blog to see what the right is doing.
Today he has come up with a conspiracy theory which is quite unique in that you don’t to whether to be more amazed at how crazy it is or more offended at how misogynist it is. He is claiming that Tania Billingsley was some sort of trap for the Malaysian diplomat …
Big ups to you Micky for risking the health of your eyes…
Slater is a total arsehole to suggest such a thing, he likes to prove he can go lower and lower than anyone imagined possible.
The things I do for the left …
🙂
Thanks for bringing this to everyone’s attention mickysavage.
Let’s all make sure people know exactly how low Slater has gone
Here is a screenshot of the post for folk to share,
for those who do not want to go near Slater’s site
(2nd link includes comments)
The screaming question to his vapid opinion is if as Mr Slater contends, the diplomat has not been charged, then why would the Malaysian Government ask our Government to drop all charges?
(+ wtf is that Bush Tucker rubbish meant to be about)
thanks for the screenshots, i never go to that site, but jeez theres some unhinged nutters on there.
that’s… rather special.
“The evidence is out there”???
Very X-Files.
Let along the comment list with such gems as “Is Billingley a real person or a puppet?”.
But most of the rest of the screenshot reminds me to avoid that place like the plague.
Thanks freedom but would you believe there is a post that is even worse …
Bomber talks about it at http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/07/16/surely-whaleoil-insinuating-tania-billingsley-led-her-rapist-on-is-the-new-lowest-of-the-low/
Best blogsite of the year, apparently…
Well slater was happy to reveal the name of a sexual abuse victim against her wishes to promote himself and his crusade de jour.
After finding the story I grabbed the shots of, I admit I did not look further as I did not imagine even the sewer would stoop so low on a topic of such real consequence.
Shows how wrong a person can be. The site is simply poison.
Reading the full ‘article’, my only reaction is not printable
but here is the ‘article’. I won’t share the comments this time
DO WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW
WHAT JOHN KEY’S FRIEND IS PUBLISHING
Give some people enough rope. A good link to use in demonstrating how rape complainants and survivors are put on trial – and CS is asking for info that would likely be part of a court case. Unbelievable.
I am so angry and the thoughts of how best to deal with this scum have actually triggered a full on anxiety attack and I have had to take meds for the first time in over a year.
I cannot imagine how Tania Billingsley must be reacting.
To all those who are supporting Tania,
Thank you and may you all be safe
Take care. It maybe should have a trigger warning on that post… and the site.
Yes, it shows what Tania Billingsley is having to put up with.
That post also reminds me why I rarely go to the WO site. And I am beyond understanding why anyone in the National Party, let alone the PM, want to be associated with it.
Slater and the cretins posting in support of his ‘article’ just show how little they understand of what they do .
or if they do understand, they simply expose how vile large portions of our communities are and how lost they really have become.
Not sure which is of greater concern.
Has gosman questioned him relentlessly? And slylands and puckish rogue
Slater’s faecal writing has hit the fan on website ‘Femnist Aotearoa’ who have published his rubbish fully so women don’t have to look at his site and contribute to his already inflated hit list ego.
My feminist friends are angry, very angry.
I have sent them a photo of Key and Slater hugging each other to publish on their site.
It may well be that Key loses every New Zealand woman’s votes and Cam loses a key close friend.
I guess it depends on how widely the Slater-Key relationship is publicized..
have you got a link to share?
not having much luck with google finding it
I hope you get a good electricity price on your hot water for your troubles there micky.
I have noticed Labour candidates doing a bit too much self promotion of themselves opposed to promoting the party vote. The one candidate I’ve noticed getting it right is Tamati Coffey. Well done mate!
To those who should know better wake the hell up, this had a big part in last elections hiding!
+1 Skinny
Cyclists are pedestrians. Cycles are parked up everywhere, from hallways to fences, to assorted street furniture. There are no dedicated cycle parking spaces next to the road, no fines for parking. Bicycles are like rollerskating, a tool for pedestrians to get around.
Now I think its very harmful to view bicycles as road vehicles, or their equivalent. Take the recent panelist on Moro who said that he was deeply concerned at cyclists joining the traffic from anywhere. Since we all know that cars come out of obvious side roads, obvious road junctions, obvious car parking spaces. They have indicators, are large, are deeply entrenched in road laws to maintain safety. Bicycles are not, there can be locked up everywhere, and pedestrians hop on the everywhere and anywhere to join traffic JUST LIKE PEDESTRAINS who seek to cross traffic.
Because we need to see Cyclists as Pedestrians, and keep our distance, slow down. They are just as vulnerable as any other pedestrian. As to accidents, accidents will not occur if you see a bicyclist joining the traffic, and the more there are, the more you will see them, and get used to them turning up, and so lowering your speed where you know where cyclists are (town centers). And the idea that cyclists are dying because they enter traffic and surprise car drivers is false, since the accidents that kill, like the women who swerved to avoid a car door and was run over by a truck, or the child avoiding the street work bollard and was run over by a truck, or the family in Rotorua out cycling and run over by a truck, in none of these cases were they entering the road, they were there already and for some time.
Moro panelists are a joke sometimes, saying that it angered him that cyclists enter traaffic that it causes accidents, NO, cyclists have very much more to lose, and there are bad cyclists and bad drivers who get unnecessarily concerned about cyclists sharing ther road with them. Since if that were the case, anger is not the answer, slowing down and keeping your distance, as they RE PEDESTRIANS!!
I learnt a new word today : orthorexia
I tend not to get too much into foodie debates. I am for healthy lifestyles… but also for a fair amount of flexibility and the maxim “everything in moderation”… and the other “a little bit of what you fancy”.
Hi Karol, love your work. I learnt via Freedoms links above that there are some frothing at the mouth right wingers who are incredibly frightened by your superior intellect to the degree that they call you names. And the chief imbecile (Slater) thinks that because you said “Billingsley, and I had no confidence that they would follow through…” that you must be involved in some elaborate conspiracy.
Keep up the great work, watching these frothers disappear under their own froth is entertaining…
Slater mentioned me? * raises eyebrows * … and thinks I’m involved in some conspiracy with Billingsley ?…. *wide grin of disbelieve on my face *
Well, there you go…. if I needed any further evidence to be cynical about anything published on the WO blog…. journalist indeed!
PPS: Ah, I see there’s a misread of my quote. In fact, there should be another comma after “and I”. I have not now, nor ever had any communication with Billingsley, ….. nor Jan Logie, nor any Green Party people about Billingsley. I only have gone on what I read online.
I am not a Green Party member. I vote Green. I have offered to help as a foot soldier in their election campaign – you know… like delivering leaflets, etc.
🙂
He suffers from Authorexia or Author-rectum-exia..
And now it makes me think twice about participating as a volunteer. I have just been thinking I need to do more than participate via blog posts and comments.
No. He suffers from delusions of mediocrity-or just delusions.
There are plenty of journalists out there who are biased, stupid or just incompetent but when they have delusions, there is usually an editor (or a shrink) who can stop their delusions being published. Unfortunately in Mr Slater’s case there is no one to do this.. except perhaps the women of New Zealand.
@ karol..
..the treatment of the animals you eat..before you eat them..doesn’t feature on yr radar..?
It does. I don’t each much animal food, especially not from factory-farmed animals. Don’t eat very much meat.
u wd b a potential customer for ethical/cruelty-free meat then…eh..?
Actually, I never buy and cook meat. Occasionally I buy and cook fish. I only eat meat at restaurants and when it’s dished up to me at people’s places.
But, like I pretty much said. I’m not very strict about my eating. There’s pros and cons for eating many things.
I am more concerned with the macro/institutional aspects of business practices re environmental sustainability, and cruel practices.
As I said, I’m not a foodie, and am not into spending very much time on such debates.
my mistake..there i was thinking you had kicked this debate off..
..did you take a seagull-approach to it..?
No. It’s the term orthorexia that caught my attention. You seem to have nothing to say about it..
‘about’ peoples’ obsessions with killing and eating animals..?..when they don’t have to..on so many levels..?
..and can’t imagine a life without masticating animal-flesh @ regular intervals..?
..once again..when they don’t have to..?
..others tell me i say far too much about that manifestation of orthorexia already..
..but if you insist…
“..others tell me i say far too much about that manifestation of orthorexia already..”
Yeah Lucy told me she’s sick of surviving on toast and lacks the energy to get off the blankie…
you should have seen her scooting thru the park about 40 mins ago…
..and she is 16 yrs old..and looks/moves/runs like a fit/healthy 5 yr old..
..she cd be a poster-child for the vegan diet for dogs…shiny coat and all..
..(btw..they just love fresh tofu..and so much more..toast is just a treat..)
..and yesterday at the park..there was someone with a 14 yr old dog..who could barely drag herself across the grass..
..his mind was blown when i told him lucy is 16…
..and lives on a vegan diet..
..the undeniable-evidence was right b4 his eyes..
..the only downside with lucy is that she is a terrible bully..
..and if i haven’t done things by the time she deems right..
..she gets quite antsy/standoverish..
..bordering on demanding..
she has been with me long enough to know what buttons to push..
..to get me to do her will..
..and i have been around/dug dogs all my life..
..i had my first dog b4 i cd walk..
..and she is the smartest/most clever/intuitive..of all those dogs..
Do you see ‘orthorexia’ to be a pejorative term karol, i would suggest in terms of Fats/Sugars in our foods we all need to become a little orthorexic,
The correlation between Fats/Sugars in our health statistics is becoming glaringly apparent,(at least to me), the annual death toll rivaling that attributed to tobacco use,
As continual overdose of Sugar in the diet is metabolized by the body into stored Fat the two categories of health issues, obesity/diabetes, cannot be viewed in any way as separate issues, and while no political action is taken to curb the mis-use of sugar in all processed foods the death toll will rise,
50 new diabetes cases reported in New Zealand each and every day,
http://www.foe.org.nz/obesity-the-facts/health-risks/
By 2050 half of the population may be at risk of becoming type 2 diabetic,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/…/spread-of-diabetes-smouldering-fire
I would have thought that, rants about sugarism or veganism or high fructose corn syrup aside, the very existence of the word orthorexia simply reminds us that the healthiest method of eating is moderation in all things (including worrying about health).
“..the healthiest method of eating is moderation in all things..”
i’m calling ‘bullshit!’ on that one..
..show me one reputable dietician saying eat more red-flesh/animal-fats..
..that’s ‘cos that shit is bad 4 u..that’s why..
(..and cd i just dissolve that chimera that because i advocate on this subject..that i am sitting in judgement on everyone else..
..once again..’bullshit..!..i just don’t do that..i mean..f.f.s..!..i’m an ex-junkie/ex-con..i don’t make blanket judgements on people for matters thus/addictive-habits,,..
..idiots..?..now that’s another story..i sure as hell feel fucken superior to them..
..how could you not..?..
..i am just laying out the undeniable facts of the situation..and advocating on the behalf of the animals..
..and if being faced with/confronted by those uncomfortable facts makes people uneasy..and maybe makes them think..(lash out..?..with the only argument-option to hand..attack the messanger..)..
..so be it..
..but how about arguing the case..?..eh..?
..not just taking great assumption-leaps..
..to come to wrong/fanciful conclusions..
too garbled, didn’t read.
Yes, bad, the term does have pejorative overtones, although, it also highlights the dangers of extremism over food. I think part of the problem is in guilt-tripping individuals about the food they eat. There are so many individual differences about how foods interacts with metabolism and lifestyle limitations.
Many of the problems, like that of the sugar industry, can be dealt with at an institutional/system level. The problem is with the sugar industry, and the way they promote their products and infiltrate all kinds of food products.
Some people can eat a fair amount of sugar with no side effects. Most people can eat some sugary stuff as a treat, now and then.
I’ve seen it in my own family – 1 totally against sugary food, sweet things, and another who ate a fair amount of it. Guess who had the longest healthiest life?
Ditto for the consumption of, and industrial approaches to animal food. Humans have eaten animals since way back. I can’t see it ending any time soon. In NZ, there is probably, on average, too high a consumption of some animal products. But again, the issue is with the industry and their processes of production and marketing.
Leave individuals to make their own choices.
Guilt-tripping individuals does more harm than good. And, as I said, I go for moderation in most issues around food, and not getting too obsessive about it.
Relax and enjoy. As on many other issues, there’s also a place for encouraging an informed understanding. Ultimately, though, advice does keep changing, but nutritionists and others do keep talking about moderation, and the importance of a diverse diet.
”Leave individuals to make their own choices”, to believe in such ‘individual choice’ you would have to believe that there is no silent Obesity/Diabetes epidemic killing people every day???,
‘Choices’ are largely made around ‘education’ and ‘economy, i see little of this education occurring, and, what ‘choice’ do the poor have but the ‘poorest of food’ , how many people know such a simple piece of information as the daily recommended sugar intake for children and adults????,
Your argument about longevity has been applied to those who use tobacco, you favor Government action against tobacco use do you not???…
Of course individuals have limited choices – some more limited than others. That’s part of why I’m not into focusing on indiviuals’ choices and into focusing on the industries and their marketing.
Not tobacco USE (except when the use of the product impacts on the air others breathe – the tobacco industry and its marketing. Ditto the booze industry and marketing.
There is quite a bit of info around about the problems with sugar.
”There’s quite a bit of information around about the problems with sugar”,
Rather glib don’t you think karol, couple the above with the ‘fact’ that 20% of people have escaped the education system as functional illiterates, then add in the fact that this 20% will have the poor economy and thus in the majority have little ‘choice’ but the ‘poor diet’ with a high percentage of these being brown, and, such ‘information’ might as well be smoke signals…
But Karol doesn’t change come from the flax roots? How will macro/institutional change be effected without this?
Individuals can only make good choices if the underlying settings are right.
An example is the new ‘healthy food star rating’ system coming our way. Trim milk will score 5/5 while full-fat milk will get 3.5/5, according to the NZ Herald. Orange juice will rank higher than full fat milk. It’s an industry friendly regime, all to enable the consumer to make ‘good choices’ of course.
Changes do come from the grass roots. But it won’t be a change for the better if it just involves guilt-tripping individuals rather than being focused on industry and institutional change.
I see a lot of the issues being to do with a rampant consumer society – they are issues that focus on increasing consumption over working towards the social good.
The lack of balance in our approach to diet (as a society) is due to both free market forces, and academics whose ego driven research needlessly stigmatised fats.
I agree guilt-tripping does nothing to change the settings, and that food is tied in with our way of living, working, and consuming. But it’s a route into the wider issues: consumerism, the environment, health, the way we work – rather than something that is just bundled into the bigger progressive picture without too much thought. It is no coincidence those most affected by the obesity and type 2 diabetes disaster are also most hit by the smashing of the unions, flexibility of labour markets, and high cost of healthy food.
But finding a way to talk about it constructively is quite difficult.
Anyone wanting to see how corrupt our so called government has become:
http://rt.com/usa/167088-wikileaks-tisa-secret-trade/
@ sable..
..shit..!..thnx 4 the heads-up..
..i’ll link to it..
(they will probably try to rush this thru b4 the election…
..traitorous-bastards..!..)
..(is the will-never-be-passed-tpp just a stalking-horse for this sucker..?…)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/10264045/Bias-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder
That’s why peer review is so important. Since you can’t check your assumptions, we’re here to do it for you 😈
People on here think the herald its a right-wing paper while people over at whaleoil think its a left-wing paper
Or the monumental disasters and multiple deaths resulting from right wing climate denial and market fundamentalism.
So that means it’s necessary to look beyond the completing claims to the substance that they base their claims on.
And with that, slaters followers heads exploded.
May not work.
Scientists Are Beginning to Figure Out Why Conservatives Are…Conservative
reminds me of the old story of someone who went into a shop looking for a particular product, and the sales assistant said something like “I keep having to tell people, we don’t stock it because there’s no demand for it”.
I.e. the columnist drew enough comments about his lack of positive comments about labour’s performance that he had to justify it by saying that he didn’t think they were doing well, cf: the polls. But if this assessment (compared with the nats) were truly fair, he wouldn’t need to justify it.
Is that the same Liam Hehir that has taken to commenting on here and TDB, and is systematically corrected after posting half-baked ideas?
Don’t know, but his name anagrams to “Him, he liar”
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_dismal_science/2014/07/sweden_school_choice_the_country_s_disastrous_experiment_with_milton_friedman.html
Just saying.
What are you just saying? Why should I click on your link?
f.w.i.w..
..if readers have any interest in the privatising of education.. charter-schools/vouchers etc..
..it is worth the read..
..sweden has more charter schools than anywhere in the world..
..and they have really fucked up..
..their international rankings have plummeted since they listened to milton friedman..
It’s about the failure of the Charter School system in Sweden.
The Deputy Leader of N.Z. First is pushing for charter schools, so I was told by a
Nat voter who is thinking of voting NZ First as a protest against Key. I just dont trust Winnie.
I wouldn’t trust your Nat source. Here is some info from the NZ First
“News
18 Jun 2014
Taxpayers’ Money At Risk In Charter Schools
Tracey Martin
It is unlikely the government will ever recover money from a charter school’s land and buildings if the school fails, says New Zealand First.”
http://nzfirst.org.nz/education
I think I do trust my nat source at this stage. Wouldn’t be the first time Winnie has said he would do one thing and did the opposite. However I hope I am wrong and he goes with the left.
NZFirst Manifesto (PDF)
You’ll find that on page 26.
Interesting but I wont shatter the nat voter’s illusions!
I don’t seem to get the ‘subscribe’/Confirm email these days.
Also, sometimes the ‘edit’ button does not work as it says ‘loaded successfully’ straight after posting.
Is anyone else having these problems ?
Have a look at the ‘cookies’ in your computer, the problem could be internal…
wail boil is actually a paranoiac.
he attributes all his perversions and deviancy to others in the vain hope that he will escape notice by deflecting attention elsewhere..
the thing is with paranoids is that when they think you know their secret then they will try and kill you!
watchout for the “THING”.
The Greens are on the up and up in the latest Roy Morgan.
……the Greens are 15% (up 3% – the highest since August 26-September 8, 2013)
Meanwhile in the same poll, Labour is down 4.5% and National is up 3%.
It seems like the soft Labour vote may be starting to pick their side as the election looms closer. Most of it is shifting to the Greens but a smaller amount is shifting towards National.
Labour and the parties to the left of Labour have a busy couple of months ahead to raise their vote.
I am STILL confident of a Labour led coalition government forming.
Here are the reasons:
The Labour’s dismal 23% I suspect is the superficial but temporary reaction to Cunliffe’s ‘ashamed to be a man’ quote. That was on July 4th. The poll period was June 30 to July 13. People misunderstood the serious reason for his statement. Labour will bounce back to over 30% by election date.
National’s current 51% will collapse to around 44%.
NZF will cross 6%.
So will Internet-Mana to about 5% with two electorate wins.
There were 5.5% in the poll who did not specify which party would get their party vote. I suspect the bulk of those 5.5% will not favour the right wing.
Many major policies are yet to be announced. Campaign proper has not yet started. Debates have not yet happened. Party policy materials have not yet reached homes. Two months is a long time in politics.
All in all, there is a greater chance of a left wing coalition than a right wing one.
Yep, you’re on the money. If we needed any proof of the depth of misogynist feeling in NZ, this poll is it. Onwards and upwards, we’re still gonna win.
The ignorance of people, even well educated ones, about politics and the REAL issues is appalling. I see that in my own family and among some of my friends where they are clued on on superficial material stuff, silly sitcoms and dumbed down news stories far more than serious issues. There in lies Hash-Key’s advantage!
If you look at the TM graphs, you will see that during some of the serious debates such as the spying issues etc, National was as low as 41%. Now not so, because public memory and loyalty is very fickle! Slide your cursor over the National graph below at different months and see how low and high they have been at different times.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5684-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-july-16-2014-201407160655
Yes, I agree. Labour has outstanding Policy, but people who I thought would be up with the play on current affairs are completely ignorant of what Labour are offering. I suspect that as we get into more campaigning people will see more and become more aware of Labour’s outstanding Housing Policy, Monetary Policy , Education Policy, CGT, re balancing of our economics…all of these policies will improve our nation as compared to how National is running the country.
One of the major problems is our useless main stream media, case in point: refer TV3’s 3rd Degree tonight, eight weeks from an election, I would have thought any half decent current affairs show would be considering Politics. Native Affairs does politics regularly. The NZH will always play down any Labour Policy.
23.5% is surprising, but when you consider the support from the MSM that National have, perhaps not. When full campaigning starts…Labour’s message is strong and will get through, and then our share of the vote will improve.
Shallow minds and GUILTY FEET ain’t got no rhythm
Watch this and cringe.
Celebrities dance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
(People with GUILTY FEET are in CAPITAL LETTERS.)
Marilyn Milian, Rashida Jones, Jessica Biel, Carmen Electra, Drew Barrymore, Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Blunt, Christina Applegate, Pink, Heidi Klum, Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé Knowles, Michelle Obama, BARACK OBAMA, Jessica Lange, Will Smith, Drew Barrymore, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, John Travolta, Heidi Klum, Hilary Swank, Eva Longoria, Portia de Rossi, Hilary Duff, John Mayer, Mike Myers, Halle Berry, Jim Carrrey, Elle Fanning, Amanda Bynes, Teri Hatcher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Matthews, Halle Berry, Jaden Smith, Chris Brown, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, MC Hammer, Heidi Klum, Vanessa Hudgens, Jessica Biel, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Swank, Madonna, Jonas Brothers, Slumdog Millionaire Cast, Emma Thompson and Ellen DeGeneres.
Song: Rihanna – Don’t Stop The Music (Deejay Scream Remix)
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5684-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-july-16-2014-201407160655
National (51%) increases election winning lead over Labour/ Greens (38.5%) as Prime Minister John Key heads off for 10 days holiday in Hawaii and Labour’s increased spending on education fails to convince the electors
Labour 23.5% ouch.
Not really that surprising, although I would be surprised if Labour polls that low at the election itself.
The same trend is occurring overseas. It looks like the UK Tories have a good chance of getting back in, and Abbott and Harper rule in their respective countries for the foreseeable future. Quite why this is, I have no idea. I guess “the people” are just stupid.
I see that David Cunliffe is really making his mark as Labour leader. All the way down to 23.5%.
Cunliffe really is the best thing that ever happened to the National Party.
I don’t think it’s his fault. It’s the same in other countries as well. The dumbs are taking over.
The people aren’t stupid the leaders of the Left are disappointingly weak. In the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced all round the globe under pressure from the Right, Left leaders are rolling over to vested interest and the fossil fuel lobby.
We need Churchills and we are getting Chamberlains
What is your issue with The Greens and Mana exactly? How do they not reflect the views you support?
I see that John Key is really making his mark as National leader. All the way down to Cameron Slater.
Key really is the best thing that ever happened to the Left.
A Netherlands court has just ruled that the state has responsibility for allowing the Srebrenica massacre to happen. Massive implications for peacekeeping forces around the world.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28313285
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre
When will Nationals madness end
Uranium mining to occur in New Zealand – Nick Smith not bothered
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10280295/Seafood-industry-claims-uranium-threat