This govt is dragging us down – they and their supporters are part of the problem and the problem is so big it cannot be ignored.
“Government spends up to 20 times more money on wooing oil and gas companies to New Zealand than it does on promoting renewable energy, newly released figures show.
The disproportionate funding was justified, Government officials said, because of the large royalties paid by petroleum companies. The Green Party said it further confirmed the Government’s misplaced priorities.”
I met Gareth a number of times – very impressive young dude with a real future.
But I take your weaseling Nats and give you:
A directive banning the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) from investing in existing wind technology will also apply to small-scale solar projects, a move that will effectively throttle the industry, the Australian Solar Council said.
The federal government on Sunday confirmed that the $10bn CEFC will no longer invest in wind power, instead focussing on “emerging technologies”.
“It is our policy to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation because we think that if the projects stack up economically, there’s no reason why they can’t be supported in the usual way,” Abbott told reporters in Darwin. “But while the CEFC exists, what we believe it should be doing is investing in new and emerging technologies – certainly not existing windfarms.
phil twyford – “I’m not going to say anything about this individual… but they came to me” – sorry to raise this again but phil twyford is not the sort of mate you want to have when it gets tough. Shifty eyes, just said he approves stealing – go labour lol
““The whistleblower who I worked with wanted to shine a light on what is a very real issue for New Zealand – foreign investment pushing up house prices and shutting people who live here out of the property market.
They approached him and “he worked with them”, but remember, they approached him – it makes all the difference. Presumeably he looked the other way while they tucked the “data” in his top pocket, so as not to be involved with the words coming out of his own mouth later, or his inability to say, “No thanks, this light you’re shining in my eyes is racist and probably illegal.”.
ha ha ha
We’ve had some really good arguments:
“We’re all racists, therefore racism is the new norm and since normal means it’s ok, that means racism doesn’t exist anymore. In fact, not being racist would be racist.”
“I’m a shit, you’re a shit, therefore you may not look at the shit, point it out, or choose to change our shit or your own shit.”
“I don’t know what racism is, but if I did, it wouldn’t be this.”
“If I can’t blame Chinese people for everything I’ve done, how will I assert my identity?”
“You spelled it wrong, therefore everything else you say is wrong.”
“Just because we did something really wrong, doesn’t mean it wasn’t right if we ignore the wrongness.”
“If someone I admire does something wrong, that means I did something wrong, which makes me a bad person, and I’m not a bad person ever, therefore what the person did can’t be wrong.”
and my favourite,
“Yes but lots of people have money and lots of people are Chinese, therefore lots of Chinese people with money are dangerous. We need to stop them spending money by telling them they’re Chinese!”
and now,
“Your honor, that man gave me the stolen gun in a way that stolen things are supplied, how was I to know it was stolen or what would happen when I aimed it and pulled the trigger? Not my fault.”
But I wouldn’t want to bring it up. None of my business. Nothing wrong with English, Welsh and Scottish names all throughout the Labour Party. My name is English. Some of my best friends are Welsh and they aren’t smelly or dirty like the rest. They all have shifty eyes, but so what. It’d be hypocritical. I’m not looking for it. The membership list is neutral data. Could be anyone. What are we discussing, anyway? I don’t even…
NZ Herald. Since I posted that they’ve cut and edited the original story that made efforts to draw a line between being “approached” and “taking information”. Amazing, but true.
Yes, I think everyone knows that. I think that the question is if we should measure, and probably add restrictions on overseas purchases of residential property – or simply to tax them.
It is a very good question. Perhaps Labour should have waited till the first part of the question was answered or at least pushed for it to be answered in the affirmative.
The leak proved that we need to measure. National has been saying that we don’t and thus refusing to act on the issue at all. This means that the leak was in the public interest which should make the leaker’s firing illegal.
There is every possibility that that is correct and it wouldn’t be the first time this company has fired someone illegally – they are, as the saying goes, no better than they ought to be. My friend successfully sued them for thousands for that reason.
Its clunky and vague what was released, but its got relevant information that the government either ,is unwilling or unable to gather and release into the public domain ,against the wishes of people with vested interests in keeping it quite. That’s whistle blowing in my view.
Oh Marty your cruel on poor old Phil Twyford who is one of the hard working good guys in the Labour crew. He would be under instructions and playing the cards he has been dealt the best he can. I actually feel sorry for the poor bugger not playing his natural hand. So much so I put a call in to Jacko’s radio live show yesterday and gave him a Patsy question about cheap Chinese Central Government money to invest here.
It gave him a back straightener and he stuck to the task, I’m sure McCarten who was with him liked it 🙂
I certainly wouldn’t be embarrassed sitting down with Phil and tucking into a good feed of yum cha some time in the future while in Auckland.
Haha that is why I said ‘yum cha’ which you can pick and choose as the waitress goes from table to table with the offerings. Yes there would be a few eateries around the country where Twyford can expect a sudden bout of explosive diarrhea afterwards lol.
Well exporters with the exception of Dairy should be doing well soon, I expect that we may see a sub 60 cent Kiwi/USD exchange rate again because Whole Milk Powder just dropped to $1848 per tonne this morning….
The whole concept around Jane Kelsey’s The Fire Economy seems to make such logical sense…a must read.
I don’t think many people realise how deeply in the shit our dairy industry has found itself, on average every dairy farmer pays a bank $1.25 interest cost on every Milk Solid that they produce. In other words, banks are going to earn approx. $2 billion from the $7 billion revenue that the New Zealand dairy industry will earn this year.
Too all those that want to make Phil Twyford a racist, with shfty eyes and long teeth..
did you also scream racism when he raised the Issue of Australian Companies buying up our State Houses?
Or is that ok, because it is only State Houses and only Corporations? Or is it only racism when the houses sold to overseas speculators are private property and profit is to be made?
I really would like this to know? Because I am befuddled with it.
especially considering that after almost a week of screams of hell and damnation, some still don’t want to discuss the underlying issue of our country being sold to the highest bidder to the detriment of many and the leisure of a few.
how about the greens giving to National in order to attract the aquamarine vote?
how about the greens giving us Peter Effn Dunne?
how about the greens giving us Nikki Kaye?
purity, frankly no one has it.
and by all means, I am voting for people not saints.
as for the person that leaked the data, s/he should be a national hero. Because our young ones don’t find houses, or rentals for that matter. Our old ones live in decrepit cold houses. Our families are living in caravans, tents, cars, under bridges, in decrepit old leaking rubbish houses, that no one can do anything about, cause no one wants to do anything about.
so go be pure and green n stuff, and make sure to look away when you see a mother put her kids to bed in a caravan. Cause purity.
But stop moaning that Labour is not doing enough. Go run for office. Be pure. Be 100% green….oh wait….thats not true either.
No I am not, I am just pointing out that the Greens are no more pure and clean then any of the other parties.
In fact, if politians want to get something done they have to work across the aisles and compromise, barter and trade.
You however, expect the labour party to be pure and without fault in an almost biblical sense. So I leave you with the words of the Man Jesus, Those without sin shall cast the very first stone.
yeah well I’m not a christian or a believer of one of the big 3 religions from the middle east so the analogy doesn’t work – don’t believe in sin either so there you go.
But your point about clean and pure is good – how dirty is too dirty for you, is there a line that would make it difficult or impossible for you to accept the consequences even if they appeared beneficial?
I am starting to get the impression your one of these idiots that’s single mission in life is to kick the crap out of Labour. By all means not a problem giving them a crack every now and then, but every day Marty how does this help the collective cause?
“…especially considering that after almost a week of screams of hell and damnation, some still don’t want to discuss the underlying issue of our country being sold to the highest bidder to the detriment of many and the leisure of a few…”
If anyone was concerned with that, National wouldn’t be in power, neither would Labour.
“Australians” aren’t a race. They’re Colonials, like the people who form the basis of our establishment. They have no power over us. You have Google right? Why after all this time have you not Googled: What is Racism? Because WHAT THE FUCK. Discovering racist elements in oneself isn’t a problem. Just makes a person human. It’s like finding shit on your shoe. You can realise it and wipe it off, or, you can smear it over everyone and everything you meet and deny it exists.
Australians. like Chinese are the people living in one Country named Australia or Chinese.
There is actually no such thing as “Chinrese” maybe the Han come closest to it, but then you have a multitude of other “races” within China.
“Chinese Ethnic Groups: Han People and 55 Ethnic Minorities. As a large united multi-national state, China is composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for 91.59% of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining 8.41% according to the Fifth National Population Census of 2000.’
German is not a race either, in fact 200 years ago Germany did not exist. But you would not call the Germans a Friese, a Saxon, a bavarian, or a westphale.
And New Zealander by your admission is also not a race, but only colonialists.
Feel better now in your purity.
as for Phil Twyford having been approached with information. If you would look at his FB Page for instance, you would see that he continuously has asked for people with Housing issues, Housing Worries to come forward and to contact him.
He is doing what he is supposed to do as an elected MP, as the Housing Spokesperson of Labour. He is looking out for the best interest of the people that have put him into Parliament. Cause clearly if the people did not like him, or believe he would do a good job, they could have voted for Alfred Ngaro, List MP National.
no such thing as the race of kiwis or australians – that’s why ethnicity is a better way to express it all
I will say that I do admire twyford sticking to his guns and not backing off an inch in his portrayal even when presented with vitriol (from some) and dismay – a potential labour leader it seems
Oh geez, not the blood quantum argument. So Twyford says Chinese, and it’s safe, because that isn’t specific so not racist. Then later, Labour say they don’t mean Chinese here for longer than Granparents, but those still in China – arbitrarily severing family, cultural, religious and race lines to suit themselves = racist action. I imagine there are a huge amount of single parent half-European Chinese citizens in China, who’ve lived there for a few hundred years, without losing any of their Euro blood and resistent to the local culture, and it’s those who are “swarming in” to steal your café from you. Pointing it out isn’t racist though, because they’re only Chinese.
Like I said, Google racism, and read more than just the dictionary definition.
What is up with this “purity” and “virgin” stuff you’ve been saying all week?
Not to mention the fact that in NZ we talk about the Chinese as a race because we are largely ignorant about Chinese ethnicities and cultures.
But maybe we should ask Chinese people if they think that in NZ they experience racism directed at them because they are Chinese (or Asian).
Entirely agree about the dictionary thing. Semantics about race aren’t that helpful because they make abstract real world effects such as the one about family.
Interesting advice and terminology, Charles. Try googling Colonialism – “the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colony in one territory by a political power from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and often between the colonists and the indigenous population”. The issue is foreign capital colonialism affecting Auckland residential housing. Not it’s racial source.
Interesting the way you illogically turn 180 degrees in your reasoning to cover up racism. See above argument: “If we ignore the wrong… we’re right… because of “the threat” “. The issue isn’t foreign capital. Never was.
The issue I’m referencing is pretty simple. Is foreign capital inflating prices in the Auckland housing market? Yes or no? – not whether Twyford’s comments were inappropriate. Don’t require your gratuitous lessons in logic and reasoning, by the way.
Returning the favour. Why so touchy? And no the issue is not foreign capital inflating house prices. That never was my argument. That argument is the reason those idiots in Labour stepped into a world of racist pain. The reason people must support Labour over this, the reason they must stop at “foreign capital” is because if they go two more steps down the trail, they find everything they believe in, everything they attach their self worth to, is gone – it was all a lie.
“Foreign capital” is a symptom of a system that they thought was working for them. They can no longer protect our version of capitalism, they have to accept that working hard doesn’t win the day, that education can’t trump capital, that privilege exists, that politics is impotent in the face of capital, that laws are subjectively applied, that they are no longer favoured by law-makers as of right, and their social status evaporates. Must feel like hell. They have to accept Twyford et. al. made a racist statement, and then the history of their families in NZ is called into question. It’s the perfect storm. They have to turn Left, politically, if they want the solution, and not just a little bit Left, and they don’t want that. Cognitive dissonance writ large. Usually we just have to stop a corrupt Investment Company manager going to Golf to unleash that sort of pain on a man. But this stuff undermines everything.
Labour “knew the risk”? Like hell they did. If they did, then the only thing worse that they would be trying to comfort themselves over would be a complete economic collapse very soon.
High moral ground? haha no no you don’t know me well at all. See above logical fallacies.
Correction: “Economic collapse” isn’t the phrase I’m looking for. Sounds a bit apocolyptic. What Labour are hiding is that a big chunk of the middle class’ economic power is about to evaporate. That’s closer. i.e. they are about to unavoidably fall down the social class ladder. That’s why they turned it into a race issue. Hate the thing that out-gunned you at your own shoot-out – standard text book political strategy. Polarise voters, entrench existing support. Unless Labour now go Left, they just entered a poltical death-cycle.
“Foreign capital” is a symptom of a system that they thought was working for them. They can no longer protect our version of capitalism, they have to accept that working hard doesn’t win the day, that education can’t trump capital, that privilege exists, that politics is impotent in the face of capital, that laws are subjectively applied, that they are no longer favoured by law-makers as of right, and their social status evaporates. Must feel like hell. They have to accept Twyford et. al. made a racist statement, and then the history of their families in NZ is called into question. It’s the perfect storm. They have to turn Left, politically, if they want the solution, and not just a little bit Left, and they don’t want that.
Precisely.
EXCEPT Labour has no solutions for making Auckland housing affordable for an average worker on $50K pa. None at all.
The people who continue to defend Labour’s targetting of Chinese as ‘standing up for ordinary Kiwis’ must be talking about “ordinary Kiwis” who earn in the $100K plus bracket.
“…EXCEPT Labour has no solutions for making Auckland housing affordable for an average worker on $50K pa. None at all…”
That’s the “scarey” thing – scarey to some. If Labour could do anything to fix the situation, they wouldn’t have taken the race line. From their well-placed viewpoint (on the inside), they have just revealed that if we maintain present systems, “there is nothing anyone can do to save the middle classes”. The aspirational dream is over: the property ladder, your kids buying houses and turning out just like you etc etc. Potentially nasty stuff, socially, when that suddenly collapses. I would sort of sympathise, but not very strongly. No amount of praising the revelation of “the threat” will change that. People think Labour can do something, they just said they can’t or maybe – as you say – won’t.
Here’s the next curious thing:
If this theory is true (everything’s a theory, I guess) National know it too, and the race-to-win will not be over who can move to Centre Right this/next election, but who can go Left without losing the Right-in-denial and how to shore-up the last scraps before an inequality gap that can’t be (easily) closed occurs. It’s going to be hilarious… in a perverse sort of way. A frantic re-arranging of deckchairs.
If this theory is true (everything’s a theory, I guess) National know it too, and the race-to-win will not be over who can move to Centre Right this/next election, but who can go Left without losing the Right-in-denial and how to shore-up the last scraps before an inequality gap that can’t be (easily) closed occurs. It’s going to be hilarious… in a perverse sort of way. A frantic re-arranging of deckchairs.
Interesting, but I suggest that you may have picked the wrong starting point as Labour didn’t design this play in order to “go left.”
Internally, Labour is fairly (although not absolutely) convinced that being “too left” was a major part of its downfall over the last two elections.
Labour’s making a red meat play, and it is making a play for the comfortable middle class tired of being outbid by Chinese people for that $800K Onehunga villa.
Yes I agree, they didn’t create the event to go Left, what I say is that they have no choice but to go Left to avoid, well, political death as a party. The support they just entrenched, is the kind that doesn’t want to give up the thing they have to give up.
Depends if there’s bugs on the barbie. And if it’s VB then yep, for sure, totally human. XXXX… I’m not sure who likes that. That’s some extraterrestrial stuff.
The really stupid Australians are the ones who love XXXX.
You have, I am sure, have heard the old joke that they named it XXXX because Queenslanders were too ignorant to be able to spell BEER?
So it’s ok to say Australia, because that’s not racist because they’re the same as us, but it’s not ok to say China because they’re not.
There are two solutions to this problem as I see it:
1 Change the name of the country that my daughter-in-law’s ancestors come from
2 Look the other way because if something that harms us is being done by someone who isn’t the same as us we can’t say or do anything about it because that would, by definition, be racist.
What do you think, Charles?
“So it’s ok to say Australia, because that’s not racist because they’re the same as us, but it’s not ok to say China because they’re not.”
I guess you could call a rejection of foreign people (incl, Aussies, or their companies) as Xenophobic. That could be a subset of racism, but not necessarily racist. Import tariffs, for instance, are more a protectionist economic/legal issue than a private attack on a specific person’s ethnicity, race or origin, so not necessarily xenophobic. Very difficult, if not impossible, to prove private motivations with ideology.
The rest turns on two types of misunderstanding:
“Look the other way because if something that harms us is being done by someone who isn’t the same as us we can’t say or do anything about it because that would, by definition, be racist.”
No no no. If in, say, the normal course of your day a person not of your race hits you with a bat, for godsake, protect yourself. If they yell abuse at you, do what you think is best in reply. You will be two people duking it out. If you feel uncomfortable or put out by not knowing the language, that is just the sort of problems anyone deals with. They aren’t making a racist attack on you. They’re just either trying to communicate within certain limitations, like all humans do, or they’re being a dick.
Also, it is not ethical or logical to say, “If we do not discriminate (race, sex, gender etc etc), another group will gain power and overwhelm us, therefore we must discriminate against that group now to minimise the threat.”
It removes the effect of the passage of time (incites fear over reason and reality) and eliminates any attempts to reach agreements: such as found in ToW disputes. Good faith is the ethical choice i.e. neither party tries to stop the other party geting what they need, and both parties are committed to mutually beneficial outcomes. That’s the theory, unrealistic as it may be in our current environment. However, which is better:
1) Accept the current environment (bad as it is) because it supports personal gain (my personal interests), and discard what is right for the collective.
2) Accept the current environment (bad as it is) for what it is, but decide to make a change for the collective good.
It doesn’t bother me that people want to choose #1. Just that they won’t admit it becomes grating. And I guess that they won’t admit it means they do want to choose option #2 on some level, but don’t know how to get to step one; and those solutions will be as varied as the situations. Sorry, can’t offer generalised counselling services all day.
But that isn’t what’s happening with Labour. Labour are an established power base. They aren’t a private citizen. They sit down and plan strategy, policy. They have ability to act against, or for, or influence, acts against or for anyone they choose. They had no need (or right) to isolate race as an indentifier of cause or harm, especially when the people targetted were not at fault. The reasoning they used validated racism (and stupidity) – suspected reason for that is above. Check the power imbalance/structure.
Point 1 relates to China – it seems to me that people, particularly people of a certain age who can remember the ghastly racism of decades ago, get the heebies every time someone talks about China and it’s citizens, known to the world as Chinese (just as New Zealanders are known to the world as New Zealanders). It seems to me that in order to have a sensible discussion on that country without hysteria, it might be an advantage to change its name so the Pavlovian reaction in some of us is not automatically triggered by its current one.
And Charles, we are discussing, or are trying to if we didn’t keep getting derailed, “protectionist economic/legal issue”s
And what’s with the patronising “Sorry, can’t offer generalised counselling services all day”? I’m not seeking advice, I’m trying to encourage you to unravel and analyse some of your, what I consider to be, rather hairy assumptions.
re: generalised counselling services.
The implication of the question you asked had so many possible answers, I couldn’t possibly imagine them all. It was a “you” in a wider readers sense, not you, as in you JanM. So not patronsing at all. I don’t think you missed that point.
re: “derailing”
Explaining the parameters of a term isn’t derailing. You asked, I answered, If you already know the answer, or don’t want to hear my answer the way I offer it, talk to yourself for answers you like.
Ok so your #1 point meant Twyford made an error of grammar? What you reckon is he should’ve said, instead of “Chinese money”, he should’ve said “money that originates somewhere to the west of Japan, owned more or less by people of the nearby continent”?
Christ. I made no hairy assumptions. I can see what you’re saying. You explained in your first sentence. Racist it was, racist it is, support it for your gain or not.
That Ben Guerin is a slow learner. Either that or just really arrogant.
He Posted this as a response to Lprent’s Dirty Politics Fuckwit post:
“On Sunday the 12th of July I was a member of the Young Nats team that produced the Kiwi-O-Meter on the url http://howkiwiareyou.nz. I would like to publicly state that this website is not at all affiliated with the New Zealand National Party, New Zealand Parliament, or any National Party MPs; and is not endorsed by, or representative of, the views of my employer.”
It was pointed out to him that despite his disclaimer that he may have hoped would magic everything away, his employer, Brett Hudson was indeed endorsing the fake howkiwiareyou.nz site on his Brett Hudson list MP facebook page.
Ben Guerin is not telling the truth when he says his employer doesn’t endorse his actions.
It’s now the 16th and Brett Hudson still has the fake website up on his facebook page.
Ben, did you read any responses to your post? Did you take on board the valuable info Lynn gave to you? Do you even speak to your boss? Why is your boss still endorsing your deceitful and murky behaviour?
I’ve asked the sales team at the local paper that covers the Ohariu electorate to discontinue taking Brett Hudson’s weekly advertising fee, and no longer run his ads, due to this sordid little Dirty Politics activity.
They are actually considering it.
I don’t think anything will come of it though, especially as it’s just one person asking them to boycott their advertising client. May have been effective if it were a group of us in Ohariu calling for a boycott.
The other thing, is the paper is not very on to it re politics. They didn’t cover the electorate activities in last years general election and a few months ago they ran a puff piece on Brett Hudson calling their article “Our man in Ohariu”.
It took a reader to point out to them that Brett Hudson isn’t in fact “our man” and that “our man” was in fact Peter Dunne. …………..
“Maybe you could write a guest post for the standard?”
What would I cover? I think it’s all been covered(?)
Lols. If I were to write a guest post it would be about that most immoral of taxes, GST, how it holds ordinary and poor households back, how it contributes to poverty, how this tax introduced in 1986 has got to go and how it’s abolition should be a policy statement that the Labour Party announce as part of their Centenary celebrations next year.
Alas, I can only argue it from a moral standpoint as I’m weak on economics and my brain doesn’t function like it used to. In recent years and through to the present I am coping with physical and mental illness and struggle to write in the way I used to.
I look at essays I wrote seven years ago and ask myself “who wrote this”. The deterioration of the mind, it’s scary.
GST isn’t on most people’s radar, it’s hardly a sexy topic but many people would be greatly uplifted by it’s disappearance.
It would be good to see someone write a post on the history and effects of GST and how our lives would change for the better without it, and how the introduction of an FTT and CGT would replace lost tax revenue.
I’m interested to know the name of the local paper. I doubt that “They are actually considering it”. What local paper can afford to turn away revenue?
And would you be happy if the paper also rejected all adverts from a person you agreed with just because other objectors had objected?
Don’t we also demand that the MSM be fair and balanced, telling both sides of an issue?
It intrigues me how often people call for a boycott on a business they have a different opinion to. Taken to it’s logical conclusion, you’re going to end up not buying from anyone.
“What local paper can afford to turn away revenue?”
A community paper with a conscience perhaps?
And you’re mixing journalism up with advertising when you talk about our expectations of media being ‘fair and balanced”. Media can turn away advertising clients at their discretion if they have an ethical issue with the client.
Ethics. Heard of that? Dirty Politics. Heard of that?
I doubt they will turn Brett Hudson away but some of us don’t live in the “don’t care about anything” camp and do attempt to right wrongs. Public pressure can work. Even MacDonalds is moving to use only free range eggs in all it’s products by the end of 2016. Chch and Dunedin MacDonalds already use free range eggs. Do you think that happened all by itself?
As for boycotts. Yes I do boycott a number of businesses and have done for years. It’s what happens in a free market. You have the choice of where to take your business.
Dreadful and hostile interview by Todd Niall on RNZ of Phil Twyford. What is Todd Naill’s background.
Is RNZ just becoming another mouthpiece of the National Party?
Compare that interview with the gentle way Stephen Joyce was handled?
RNZ clearly has an editorial line that you are not allowed to question the level of foreign speculation in land and property in NZ.
that’s not hard and Labour need to toughen up with these nactiod msm muppets and go on the attack with some one liners repeated as nauseum by all MP’s when asked.
Rodney Jones, a Principal of Wigram Capital Advisors, an Asian macro advisory firm, and who lives in Beijing, weighs in on the debate around what to do with Auckland property.
“While Phil Twyford’s data set based on names created a storm, and is less than ideal given it is implicitly based on ethnicity, rather than residency or citizenship, it does provide a sense as to the extent of non-resident demand for Auckland property.
In such a data void, it is natural that people look for informal data sets.
While Phil Twyford’s data set based on names created a storm, and is less than ideal given it is implicitly based on ethnicity, rather than residency or citizenship, it does provide a sense as to the extent of non-resident demand for Auckland property.
This is consistent with what has been observed in property markets as varied as Singapore, Hong Kong and Vancouver.
Across the Asia-Pacific region the anecdotal evidence of demand for offshore property by Chinese residents is overwhelming.
China is unique in financial history, in that combines a huge stock of financial assets with ill-defined property rights and a still evolving rule of law.
This mix combines buying power with demand for assets with certain property rights, such as houses on freehold land.
We have not seen this before, as typically foreign investment by individuals has been financial – equities, bonds and mutual funds.
To express concerns about the potential impact of these flows is not racism; it is sensible macro prudential management. …”
@ Penny B
Thanks for that quote. We are in need of this sort of experienced overview and a micro one together, on this issue so important to ordinary NZs, including settled Chinese immigrants and long term Kiwi Chinese citizens.
“How would New Zealanders respond if we faced a crisis of the magnitude confronting Greece today? Or that of Iceland or Ireland in 2009, or Argentina in the early 2000s? That question is at the heart of my new book, The FIRE Economy. New Zealand’s Reckoning, published today by Bridget Williams Books.
There is a terrible complacency in this country that ‘it couldn’t happen here’. After all, aren’t we a ‘rock star economy’? No one really believes that, unless they have vested interests in talking up the failing status quo. But it is the kind of fiction that sedates the majority of people and avoids confronting unpalatable realities.
The triggers of a crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand would be different from those in Greece, but our massive levels private – not public – debt in banks and households, and the massively inflated rural and Auckland property markets, mean we are prime candidates for a meltdown.
We have a chronically sick economy. The only way to make money is to borrow money to invest in the FIRE economy, where the creation of wealth is centred on finance, insurance and real estate. Real jobs, real production, ethical values, commitment to community – scarce at the best of times in a capitalist economy – are treated as relics of history. Shareholder capitalism means maximising short-term returns, while running down the business, exploiting workers, hollowing out the economy and the community…..
@Chooky
That is a good quote from what will be another important book and warning, The Fire Economy, (I guess meaning fire sale) from Jane Kelsey.
I think this is very pithy and on the nail. There is a terrible complacency in this country that ‘it couldn’t happen here’. After all, aren’t we a ‘rock star economy’? No one really believes that, unless they have vested interests in talking up the failing status quo. But it is the kind of fiction that sedates the majority of people and avoids confronting unpalatable realities.
“Say what you like about The Hosk, he works hard.”
Jack Tame’s empty praise of New Zealand’s shallowest radio host
Sycophancy: The fawning behavior of a sycophant; obsequious, servile flattery.
Driving around recently, listening to my car radio, I have twice chanced upon the always pleasant and jolly—except when he’s writing ultra-serious mood pieces about how he feels after playground massacres—Jack Tame. Both times he seems to have had only one thing on his mind….
NewstalkZB, Saturday 4 July 2015, 11:10 a.m. JANET WILSON: So you’re filling in for Mike Hosking on Seven Sharp for a few weeks. How’s it going? JACK TAME: Say what you like about The Hosk, he works hard.
“The Hits”, Wednesday 15 July 2015, 5:25 p.m. FLYNNY: So you’re on Seven Sharp again tonight. Have you got a Maserati yet? Like The Hosk? JACK TAME: Ha ha ha ha ha! He’s a divisive character, for sure. But I tell you what: he works HARD!
Mike Hosking works hard? Rubbish. Anyone who listens to him or endures his antics on television can see after a very short time that Hosking does little or no research, and knows less about politics, economics, philosophy or history than a poorly read Year 8 student.
Jack Tame’s empty words tell us nothing about Mike “The Hosk” Hosking, but they tell us an awful lot about Jack Tame.
Perhaps Tame was taking the piss? I imagine most of the Husk’s colleagues spend a lot of their time rolling their eyes at his pretensions and laughing along with Jeremy Wells’ wickedly good demolitions of the pompous prick.
I imagine most of the Husk’s colleagues spend a lot of their time rolling their eyes at his pretensions and laughing along with Jeremy Wells’ wickedly good demolitions of the pompous prick.
Jono, Ben and Guy have sent him up wickedly as well.
I don’t listen to commercial radio at all but this could be how it is: Jack Tame perhaps walking the fine line, not spoiling his chances for further employment so stating the obvious – about Mike Hosking’s busy tongue and speed of (noxious) delivery! And ‘the Hosk’, so blokey. But there are Tamihere and Jackson popular apparently. Just the thing for the hearty chaps and gals out there who don’t want to think too hard about the real nature of things. It’s called survival in today’s world.
Coming up at 8.35ish is the Scoop report on Radio Active. Redbird, Grant Robertson and Alistair Thompson are bound to discuss Chinesesoundingnames house sales data.
They usually discuss a variety of the weeks political events but this one will take up a lot of room.
Well they could start with the Mayor and his team, then look to the numerous PR hacks and cronies and then let us start on the absurd number of consultants… $8 million a year on employment agencies for a start.
Kudos to Penny for continuing her fight against the ACC for all these years.
There was a big fuss a while ago about whether the homeowners or the Council were going to mow the berms outside their houses. And some of the luxurious subdivisions have an almost park area in front of their homes they are finding the money to buy. If they want that, they can form a residents committee and pay for a contractor to do it.
Someone in my city backing onto an older people’s enclave, either Council or private, noted that they would not sweep fallen leaves in autumn but rang the Council.
These are cases where Council can cut expenditure, and insist on more resident input, where they are able. Actually I was told that in a part of Denmark, residents were responsible for paying for upkeep of the area in front of their house up to the middle of the road.
edited
There was a big fuss a while ago about whether the homeowners or the Council were going to mow the berms outside their houses.
What had happened there is that John Banks had got the council mowing the berms in the central city, a lot of which didn’t have berms. Considering the density of the central city this was possibly affordable (but probably not considering how much Banks had run up ACC’s debt).
Then we got the SuperCity change and all of a sudden the new ACC had a choice of putting up rates to pay for all the mowing that the Auckland sprawl would bring or canning it. They chose to can it. This got the people in central Auckland whinging about the loss of a service. Of course, they would have whinged more and more loudly if the rates had gone up.
The funniest thing about Labours Chinese-bashing stunt is that the left have gone out of their way over the last few decades to make anything to do with race contentious and now Labours getting a taste of their own medicine and they don’t like the taste of it 🙂
What goes around comes around and now its Labours turn to be labelled racist, though I have doubts Labour will recieve the same bump in polls that National did but we’ll see I guess
The Orewa speech was about NOT singling out people for different treatment on the basis of ethnicity, whereas Twford is targeted a specific group for different treatment on the basis of their ethnicity.
If your moral compass points to Orewa being racist, then Twford’s gambit must be much more so?
Indeed it was PR who was faffing on about “chinese-bashing” – not me. I’ve comprehensively argued it is not. My moral compass points to the idea that objective facts are in fact NOT racist.
It is the purpose they are used for which counts. And in this case Labour is using them to stand up for the rights of New Zealanders – that’s their job and they’d be failing in it if they were silenced on it.
That this may come at the expense of a narrow slice of hyper-wealthy individuals (from China or anywhere else) really doesn’t exercise me all that much.
” people with Chinese surnames are buying up big in the Auckland property market”
” people living overseas are buying up big in the Auckland property market.”
One of these statements targets a specific ethic group for attention as the cause of an issue. Can you spot which one it is?
Because the person who wrote the first sentence told us that he had come to this conclusion by specifically looking for Chinese surnames in data that contained many other surnames.
It’s that word ‘Chinese’.
Kind of includes people who are, and excludes people who aren’t.
When presented with a list of names that had 50% or more ‘maori sounding’ names on it – what conclusion would you draw if you were then told it was a list of current prison inmates?
When presented with a list of names that had 50% or more ‘maori sounding’ names on it – what conclusion would you draw if you were then told it was a list of current prison inmates?
I would conclude that Maori were included in the group ‘Prison Inmates’, and if an issue came up that all members of the group ‘Prison inmates’ were implicated in, I would be careful to use the term ‘Prison Inmates’, rather than single out ‘ Maori Prison Inmates’ and run the risk of someone thinking I was taking a racist approach to the issue.
So if you were concerned about violence in prisons you might study a leaked unofficial partial list of ‘prison inmates’ who had been convicted of such offenses, and then go public with the angle that on the basis of obviously Maori surnames there was an issue with ‘Maori violence’ in prisons?
I reckon most people would consider that racist on the basis that you were singling out a specific ethnic group as the cause of an issue that actually involved many ethnic groups.
No, nothing targeting Chinese in any of this Draco…sarc.
It’s every house sold in the Auckland region over that three-month period. What it shows, I think, is striking. Nearly 40% of the houses sold in that period went to people of Chinese descent, and as your introduction pointed out, the Chinese New Zealander population in Auckland, according to the most recent census data, is about 9%. Now, that is a remarkable discrepancy, and, in my view, it’s simply not plausible to suggest, as many have done in the last couple of years, that the Chinese— ethnic Chinese people who are buying houses in Auckland are all Chinese New Zealanders. It points, I think, to only one possible conclusion, and that is that offshore Chinese investors have a very significant presence in the Auckland real estate market when you consider that Auckland house prices are spiralling out of control at the moment.
Nope, none. Just Twyford pointing out simple facts.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to make an argument for or against something if you don’t use facts and Labour’s position, as is mine, is against more foreign ownership (although Labour are still trying to limit it through partial legislation rather than an outright ban as is needed). I suspect that this is true for most NZers.
Fuck it Draco, Labour has increased the permissiveness of anti-Chinese sentiment in NZ. And lots of people like yourself are Ok with that while ignoring the voices and opinions of the Kiwi Chinese minority, so maybe Andrew Little and the Leaders Office have done their calculations correctly after all.
“As you will be aware, there’s been a lot of commentary and debate on this issue. The majority of feedback has been in support – but there have also been accusations of racism because the data indicated that lots of offshore investment was coming from one particular country.
This is not about that. It’s about facing up to the effect foreign property speculation is having on the residential property market and having an open and honest debate about the housing crisis and how we fix it. Overseas buyers are making it harder for all New Zealanders to get on the property ladder, and that includes Chinese New Zealanders.
It’s been Labour policy since 2013 to ban overseas, non-resident speculators from buying housing in New Zealand. If people want to immigrate to New Zealand, from whatever country, we’ll welcome them with open arms as new New Zealanders. If offshore investors want to build new houses, we’ll welcome that too, as that adds to New Zealand’s housing stock. But if they are speculating on New Zealand homes, at the expense of resident New Zealanders – whatever their ethnicity – we think that’s wrong”
Only fools and horses may misunderstand his words.
+100 Clem…one has to wonder where some of the critics of Twyford and the Labour Party on facing up to this housing crisis are coming from …this is becoming more and more evident
…and their sincerity and loyalty to the interests of the vast majority of New Zealanders is questionable to say the least
There are two groups of people that are putting the boot into Twyford and the Labour party.
1. Almost all of the right wing nasty rogues from National and ACT who have tried to derail the issue as one of ‘racism’ for political expediency.
2. Some left wing low IQ do gooders who have completely misunderstood the actual issue and have instead framed the issue as one of ‘racism’ for political stupidity.
I don’t think Joyce is finding it funny at all. A friend of mine who’s yacht is berthed at the local marina seen him on Tuesday pacing up and down the walkway and heard him cursing about Labour into his phone. Guess Mr Snake Oil doesn’t like being exposed and the heat being applied over the Auckland property pyramid scheme.
The thing with pyramid schemes is there all good fun for those who get in and out with the other mugs loot, however eventually punters get rattled and the pyramid crashes and people get burnt. The future is not so bright afterwards for those who get torched and they they bane for blood. Key, Joyce and their cronies will be taking a bath together.
Enjoy it why it lasts this lots cycle is in it’s final term.
The usual bad after taste as their legacy. Oh and the flagship referendum…chuckle…the changing of the flag, yeah wait for the penny to drop when the punters see their winter power bill. I can hear the cursing already. $26 million on a stupid flag referendum, when this Key fucker doesn’t even bother on on a blinding one for our power assets.
I guess after Key retires to Hawaii and Kiwi’s look back it would be fair to say “John Key the one trick ponytail pulling pony.” Even you must agree with this surely?
Enjoy it why it lasts this lots cycle is in it’s final term.
You really think so? I think Key could be on track for a fourth term; they do need to tighten up on what they do and how they present themselves though.
As a long range forecast, I’m picking Labour in the 22% to 26% range on election day.
More wishful thinking CV on my behalf. I am assuming Key will pack it in and they implode in the bachwash. Some in the Labour caucus are too self interested in preserving their own gravy train ahead of the collective membership who they treat with distain. I heard a swing voter on Garners show today that has had a enough of the current regime, but then politely pointed out the same faces, referring to King. It really is the elephant in the room that they choose to ignore rather than address. So yes I concur with your numbers at this point in time, unless of course the back of the axe comes out which is good for 4-5%.
I wouldn’t bank on a fourth term.
When the wheels fall off this delinquent regime things will fall apart very quickly. I doubt they’ll make it through this one.
Labour’s handling of the Auckland housing story – which I initially thought was a huge mistake as it could spin out of control – shows definite signs of improved organisational competence under Little, whatever one’s view of the actual tactic.
the “spinning out of control” thing will be proven with August and September’s poll results IMO. For now, Labour has the intense media attention that they were seeking, so from their standpoint its already an early win.
If it was going to spin out in an omnishambles way it would have by now. Whether it leads to improved polls I have no idea – I’ve given up trying to second guess what has an impact on people.
The media coverage has certainly been intense – some of it supportive and some hostile.
I guess a mixed response isn’t all that surprising given the polarising nature of the story.
The Herald’s been pretty supportive; Fairfax has been quite negative.
Re TV3, its political reporting is appalling (apart from some good work by Sabin). A few weeks back they seemed to assiduously ignore the Saudi sheep story – was quite surprised by that.
Yeah I’m not happy about the handling of the Auckland property issue but the bridge head at this point in time needed to be broken to keep them in the fight. Either way National bleed and Labour need to be moving in close to keep the fight tight. The Nats will cut the Maori party before the next election and insight Maori bashing which is a tried and true winner so maybe the LP have deverted this for now and can muster the nationalism counter attack when that card is played. It’s going to get dirty for sure.
“THE OUTCRY precipitated by Labour’s critique of overseas Chinese investment in the Auckland housing market is profoundly disturbing. The “Liberal Intelligentsia” (to use Steven Joyce’s term) has reacted to Phil Twyford’s and Rob Salmond’s data as if this is 1915, not 2015….
Trotter’s piece starts out well, recognising that China is now returning to its normal pre-eminence in the Asia Pacific and that NZ has to realise that the order of things has changed.
But instead of triggering a discussion on NZ’s strategy and approach to this geopolitical and economic shift, he complains that the left’s “liberal intelligentisia” are missing the big picture of how we are to protect ourselves from this transformation, in the way they have reacted to Labour’s weekend foray into race politics.
Trotter might consider that might be because Labour was not actually interested in starting a broader discussion on the impact of China’s rise on NZ society and consequences for our nation’s strategies for the future. Labour’s interests were far more narrow and parochial than that.
Thinking about the new flag idea. If our present flag is changed now or in the near future, it will signal the end of an era for NZ. The end of the first colonial area and the hopes and dreams that went with it. The new flag will flaunt the strength and control of the new corporate era with limited human rights, enhanced property rights, and mercantile interests over every other consideration.
I want to see NZ restored to a place where all people have reasonable prosperity and those who are wealthy will have worked at their own business successfully. And the country being run in a careful way to conserve what’s good and lessen even eliminate most of what is negative for us. That’s a while off so I don’t agree with the new flag now or soon.
edited
Yes, symbols are very important, I agree. I always think – in the 19th century the grandest building in town was a place of worship. In the 21st century it is either a shopping mall or a finance tower.
A flag, however, is symbol of authority – think of the flags on ships, which are meant to indicate the authority under which they sail. I am deeply suspicious of the flag-change idea, coming as it does in tandem with the TPP agreement. It suggests to me that Mr Key thinks that in changing the flag he can also muddy the authority under which the NZ government acts. Even without changing the flag, he has shown little respect for the limits and conditions of that authority. So long as loans keep rolling in, and house prices don’t crash, he feels free lie with impunity and to use the the state apparatus for whatever purpose suits him.
Of course a flag has something to do with authority – think of the role of the flag in the military, think of the outrage at flag burning, and the rejection of someone’s claims to authority that lies behind it. The idea that the sun will never set on the British flag is meant to say that the British will never submit to an alien authority… and so on.
Military: The flag says “this is us”, it doesn’t confer any amount of authority over anyone. The actions of the people define the authority, and happens irrespective of the flag.
Burning: It doesn’t reject authority, it basically says “we hate anyone from {insert burning flag country here}”.
Sun will never set: That’s not an authoritative statement, it’s the collective will of the people who it represents. The flag is irrelevant.
I said it was a symbol of authority – a piece of fabric is not authority per se – and it is generally treated as such. Think of the ritualistic lowering and folding of the flag when a military base is vacated for example. There is more to it than “this is us.”
What is this “outrage” about burning a flag?
According to the New Zealand Culture and Heritage website that is precisely what you are supposed to do with an old flag.
As they say
“How should I dispose of an old flag?
The New Zealand Flag should never be flown in a dilapidated condition. You should dispose of an old flag by burning it discreetly in some type of incinerator,”
I think you know the form of public flag-burning that I am talking about – perhaps Tama Iti’s allegedly shooting the NZ flag might offer a clearer example of someone destroying a flag to show rejection of the authority with which it is associated.
I’m damned sure Alwyn was just being Alwyn: pretending to be unaware that the police tried to call flag-burning offensive behaviour. And the quote in the article “To burn the flag is an absolute slight. That’s the flag I served under, I think it’s disgusting” seems to be close to an expression of outrage.
A new flag will be appropriate when we ditch the royals and finally cut the apron-strings with the UK. As our ethnic profile changes – pretty quickly to judge from current news – this day is likely come sooner rather than later.
In the meanwhile the negative reaction to the flag change is just a passive-aggressive de-facto vote on John Key and his administration.
Dita does it again re overseas precedent for the Hager-like raids. Her writing is so clear and unequivocal:
“One that springs to mind is that of Audrey Hudson of the Washington Times, who was given a rude awakening at 4:30 one morning two years ago by armed government agents on the pretext of a search warrant for her husband’s firearms. (Probably a little less “polite and friendly” than the Hager raid then, as described by the Crown counsel).
While inside the American journalist’s house, the agents took all sorts of notes, articles, materials and other information, including the identities of people who had supplied Hudson information on the Department of Homeland Security, which she just happened to be investigating and reporting on…..”
I’m guessing in NZ we no longer collect this sort of data or write these sorts of report….but this is probably true here as well…the majority of poor children are from working families…and “just get a job” is not actually the way out of being poor any more…which in the UK and here seems to be the only idea that the govt has come up with..
“…The slogan pairing bread and roses, appealing for both fair wages and dignified conditions, found resonance as transcending “the sometimes tedious struggles for marginal economic advances” in the “light of labor struggles as based on striving for dignity and respect”, as Robert J. S. Ross wrote in 2013….” – Wikipedia
Just watched the dramatisation Pride (2014), and enjoyed the rendition there:
Just an argument for a the left in NZ to get it together for internationalism.
Am I alone thinking, that the navel gazing of the last few days must have ever Tory in this country rubbing their hands in glee.
The left were the first internationalist – we reached across boarders/cultures and embraced each other, as workers under the thumb of Tory idiocy. Contrary to how some want to play it out, the left was at the forefront of fighting racism, and other divisive tools the Tory scum use to divide and rule.
So let me put my case why we need to reach out again, and why we need to stop the navel gazing. You remember the Rock Star economy? You know who coined the term? Here I’ll let the Herald remind you –
Because if you think for one minute that the Tory bastards here and across the globe are not talking and working together your in lala land. Yes some of the elites are fighting each other, and using us as fodder – in that, nothing changes. But the reality is – these bastards are all playing from the same play book.
We are not alone folks. I could add hundred of links that the crippling and divisive actions of our Tory scum, is the same crippling and divisive actions of the Tory scum in Australian, England, Germany, and the USA.
You want solutions to this attack on working people, you want to end the crippling, and vicious attacks by our our of touch Tory idiots? Time to reach out, to workers and friends across the globe. Can I suggest you look how bad it really is in China for working people – One wee link to look at –
Please This link comes with a MAJOR WARNING!!!!! It has photographs and descriptions of young workers who have taken their own lives.
You remember the Rock Star economy? You know who coined the term?
The Washington post
Three years ago Sweden was widely regarded as a role model in how to deal with a global crisis. The nation’s exports were hit hard by slumping world trade but snapped back; its well-regulated banks rode out the financial storm; its strong social insurance programs supported consumer demand; and unlike much of Europe, it still had its own currency, giving it much-needed flexibility. By mid-2010 output was surging, and unemployment was falling fast. Sweden, declared The Washington Post, was “the rock star of the recovery.
Protest today by concerned New Zealanders outside Minister of Trade Tim Groser’s New Lynn Office:
WHEN: Thursday 16 July 2015
WHERE: 3136 Gt Nth Rd New Lynn
TIME: 3.30 – 5.30pm
With today’s news of the further collapse in dairy prices – how can NZ dairy farmers trust NZ Minister of Trade Tim Groser to negotiate the best possible deal for NZ dairy under the secretive, pro-corporate Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)?
Why is Minister of Trade Tim Groser, arrogantly dismissing the concerns of senior medical professionals, over the potential impact of the TPPA on the health of New Zealanders regarding Pharmac?
How can the Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, be trusted to look after New Zealand’s ‘national interest’, when the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is currently investigating (at her own volition) the use of the New Zealand GCSB – to spy on Tim Groser’s rivals in his (unsuccessful) bid for the leadership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)?
How was THAT in New Zealand’s ‘national interest’, and arguably how could Tim Groser NOT have known about it?
Can Tim Groser really be trusted to look after the best interests of New Zealand, the New Zealand people and New Zealand businesses – especially exporters?
Remember – Tim Groser is ‘widely tipped’ to be the next NZ Ambassador to the USA.
“As previously noted by Cognito, Trade Minister Tim Groser is widely tipped to replace Mike Moore as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United States.
If Minister Groser is moving on from his ministerial responsibilities with the National-led Government, he will be wanting to leave his stamp on the Trade portfolio which he has held since 2008. Delivering a significant milestone in New Zealand’s TPP journey would ensure he leaves on a high. …”
WHOM exactly will benefit from New Zealand signing the TPPA – behind the backs of the New Zealand people, New Zealand MPs and New Zealand businesses?
It might be good for Tim Groser – but what about the New Zealanders whose ‘national interest’ he allegedly represents?
TPPA – WALK AWAY!
______________________________________________________________________________________
That’s the point you are reinforcing Gosman. Germany wanted to send the signal to the rest of Europe that democracy and socialism would be crushed mercilessly if it got in the way of the banking and finance bosses of Europe. And if a small Mediterranean country of 12M people had to be fucked over to communicate the message loud and clear, so be it.
Irrelevant. None of that will allow Greece to pay back their 300B in debt, and Greece has already under gone the largest internal economic devaluation of any country in the Eurozone, as demanded by the Troika. Look where it has got Greece 5 years later.
As I said, this is not about economics or the mathematics of paying back the debt. Simply, Germany wanted the small country of Greece crushed, and wanted the Greek democracy subjugated, to make a point to the rest of Europe.
So you can produce novelty. It’s cheaper than ever to make a novel artifact.
If that artifact is information-based, a multiplier emerges: you can sell that novelty as many times as you can find a buyer for it. That’s why there’s so much money swirling around Silicon Valley.
It’s a region that produces money printers.
Put novelty into a form that can be distributed automatically and your bank balance increases whether you go to work that day or not. Of course, building a business is a lot more complicated than that.
But the end goal is a cybernetic golden goose.
If want to be prosperous in the 21st century, you’ll need your own goose
As a multimillionaire once told me: Working will never make you rich, you get others to work for you
“Chinese interests own the National Party, so for them to have an opinion more pro Beijing than Wellington shouldn’t be a surprise.
If Labour were smart, they would compare their concerns about Chinese overseas residential property speculators with the TPPA, because this is ultimately about Tino Rangatiratanga…
Apparently, not only does Serco not stop cellphones getting in, or have so little control over their prison that fight tournaments freely take place, the facility is so out of their control that the tournaments are recorded and posted to youtube.
The review, undertaken by an internal management team and business management consultancy McKinsey & Co, was started in December when it became clear the global dairy market wasn’t recovering as quickly as hoped.
The job losses come as world dairy prices continue to sink with prices in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction falling 10.7 per cent to $US2,082 ($NZ3,162), the lowest level since July 2009.
Units in the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund fell 1.1 per cent to $4.72, and have declined 21 per cent this year.
In another desperate attack on Labour and Phil’s metadata from a real estate agent source, Tova O’Brien dares to claim now, that Phil Twyford and Labour have claimed that 3 quarters of persons with ethnic Chinese names are “off shore” buyers. She must be meaning the comparison of the 9 percent census population share data for Auckland to the near 40 percent sales names for residential real estate for three months.
Now, did Phil Twyford and Labour actually make such a claim? I think that this was not so. It is just flabbergasting how the MSM get away with twisting and misrepresenting stuff again, again and yet again.
No wonder we have the government and system we have, misinformation dominates, and any attempt to shine light on what may go on, is straight away ridiculed or aggressively attacked and shot down.
The rest of this “news item”, a desperate attempt to disprove Labour’s suggestions that there may be a significant off-shore buyer share on the Auckland market, follows two other news items on each of the preceding two nights, all to attack Labour. And the quickly gathered, hand-picked data TV3 presents is according to the broadcaster supposed to be “statistical” as well, I presume. A big FAIL, I reckon, an embarrassing “news” bit.
MEMO Jerome Kaino:
It’s the referee that was unpredictable in the RWC final Seven Sharp, Television One, Thursday 16 July 2015
Tonight’s programme started with a special media conference: three All Blacks (Dan Carter, Jerome Kaino and Nepo Laulala) being asked questions not by hard-bitten rugby reporters but by a bunch of kids.
Now that sounds like a good idea, and for most of the session the interaction between the players and the kids was indeed lighthearted and positive. The kids asked questions like “Is it true that all the best All Blacks come from Canterbury?” and the players answered humorously and adeptly.
However, there was one troubling moment: Jerome Kaino’s cliché-larded and misleading answer to one question…..
YOUNG FAN: What has been your toughest game and why? JEROME KAINO:[suddenly grim] Ah, I’d have to say the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. The French were quite unpredictable.
Of course, in that match the Tricolors were not able to be “unpredictable” because the home side (New Zealand) cynically destroyed any chance that France might have had to play football by systematic, flagrant offside play, continually killing the ball and playing the ball illegally on the ground. Jerome Kaino was one of the worst offenders.
The unpredictability in that game was that of the so-called “referee”, Craig Joubert, who throughout the game refused to penalize the home side. When it became clear that Joubert would not do anything to stop them, the All Blacks naturally took advantage of the situation, and fouled throughout the game.
The cuteness of the young interviewers doesn’t seem to have had any impact on the All Blacks’ established practice of casually mouthing obfuscatory bullshit. No matter what the audience, even when talking to kids, the players, just like “Sir” Graham Henry and the management team, are still resolutely on message.
Your one sad miserable puppy Morrissey if that clip got you going, man how pathetic, let it go it was 4 years ago, the show was about the kids not the abs you ding bat
Your [sic] one sad miserable puppy Morrissey if that clip got you going,
No, what got me, and many others—especially in France—“going” was not that clip, but the sight of the travesty unfolding, live. Something tells me that YOU do not understand French, but people interested in fair play should watch the following analysis of that farcical night in October 2011….
man how pathetic, let it go it was 4 years ago,
That game was a disgrace as it happened, and it doesn’t get any better with the passage of time.
the show was about the kids not the abs you ding bat
The show was a highly organized PR exercise, given massive free publicity by Television One and other media.
Topically, here’s the summary of the respective positions of NZ and Greece. (Obviously written some time before Syriza’s rapid destruction of the Greek economy)
New Zealand advances one rank to 17th place—
its best rank since the introduction of the current GCI
methodology. Among the highlights, the country is
ranked 1st in the institutions pillar and features in the top
10 of five more pillars. In particular, New Zealand ranks
third in the financial market development pillar. It boasts
an excellent education system (9th), while the efficiency
of its goods (6th) and labor (6th) markets is among the
highest in the world.
Following the recovery that started last year, Greece
advances 10 spots to reach 81st place. Improvements
in the functioning of its goods market (85th) with
enhanced levels of competition (71st) and more flexible
labor markets (although they remain rather rigid, 117th),
along with a better macroeconomic performance with
a sharp reduction in the budget deficit, have resulted in
this more positive outlook despite its very high levels of
government debt. All this suggests that the implemented
reforms are starting to pay off. Notwithstanding this
better performance, Greece continues to face important
challenges that need to be addressed in order to
continue improving its competitiveness. More precisely,
the functioning of its institutions remains weak and it
achieves a poor evaluation for government efficiency
(129th), its financial market (130th) has not yet recovered
from the recent financial crisis, there are concerns
about the soundness of its banks (141st), and access to
financing (136th) remains the most problematic factor
for doing business in the country. Moreover, in order to
support a structural change of the Greek economy so
that it can move toward more productive, knowledge-
based activities, it will need to boost its innovation
capacity (109th). That will require improvements in the
quality of its education system (111th) as well as higher
investments in knowledge-generating activities, such as
R&D (114th).
Yep unfortunately another case study of socialism crashing and burning. It fails as usual when the strategy of using other peoples money runs dry and they have squeezed the life out of the wealth generation and industrial, innovative capacity of the economy. More than often replaced with a bloated public service creating sweet nothing or heavily subsidised and inefficient state enterprises
And it so fast working! Syrisa managed to use all of the other peoples money and squeeze the life out of the wealth generation capacity of the economy in just six months! And things were going so well before they got there, too!
“Yep unfortunately another case study of socialism crashing and burning. ”
Comrade Red, Please give us a example of a success story by the neo liberals who you seem to LOVE ? Just one, no I will make it easy just half, or better still a quarter.
As for “have squeezed the life out of the wealth generation and industrial,”
Why does it seem New Zealand does not understand what racism means anymore. The lines have been blurred between sovereignty, citizenship and nationality.
It seems to me people are choosing which bandwagon to jump on in order to justify their world view, some are genuine, others disingenuous, and some plain patronising.
The unregulated housing market most now recognise is detrimental to resident kiwis no matter how hard they work.
Housing has become a global financial market and is no longer about having a home, it’s an investment. If values keep going up as currently trending, I’m sure the government feels this will self finance peoples retirement years that the state can no longer afford due to reduced taxation, and keep the baby boomers within the means they are used to. Just see what you can buy for equivalent money in the US (forget the likes of New York – no matter what anyone says, no where in New Zealand compares), this is because Americans rely on their 401K etc.
The problem has been raised by the only means available to get it into the MSM, this has been whispered under breath for over a decade, it has to be dealt with. It’s a festering boil, distorting our low wage economic market. It meets all the macroeconomic ideals of building wealth, but it’s a false economy based on future debt, no long term rental rights, and a new landowner class.
Chinese people are not the evil, easy money from China based investors is the problem.
I’m going to guess that a large proportion of the people offended by apparent racial overtures on this blog are not ethnically Chinese, that in itself is uncomfortable. You cannot act as thought police, accusing people genuinely concerned about national interests with colonial era racism.
Sorry to disappoint you thorn but expression from local Chinese leaders and local Chinese media ( not necessary investors) are that they are offended by this racial profiling
possibly over done re faux outrage but the left are so good at throwing the racist tag around it is quite humorous seen them squirm over this issue
Agree not all Syrisa fault, Greece has been a basket case for years, bloated public service, inefficien and heavily subsidised state industries, tax fraud by all of society, massive welfare fraud, government corruption ….. etc cheap money kept it going but the tap has been turned off A good dose of neoliberal economics will do it some good, unfortunately one generation will have to go through the transition. tough love by the Germans
I don't want to give pblicity to certain parts of the internet that are better left to fester in their own irrelevance (I know, a bit like this place) but the listing of Chris Trotter as a 'author' on Cameron Slater's spinoff website, the BFD requires some explanation.Now, I don't ...
The text below is a Twitter thread by Heather Heying that explains the essence of sexual reproduction and it long evolutionary history. She is an evolutionary biologist and a “professor-in-exile” after she and her husband, Bret Weinstein, stood up to supporters of an enforced “Day of Absence” for white staff and teachers ...
With crunch time for new Zealand climate policy approaching, most of the New Zealand media have got on board with a global reporting effort to cover the issue. There's one strand of stories today about polling and what it shows about changing public attitudes to the crisis, but the strand ...
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...
by Rafael D. Quiles (gender-critical gay man from Puerto Rico) The writing on the wall is right in people’s faces and people just don’t see it or don’t want to. What could actually possess a heterosexual male to want to feminize himself and claim that he is a lesbian? Because ...
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...
by the Redline blog collective At Redline we are very saddened to hear of the death of Magdalen Burns who passed away on the morning of Friday, September 13 (British time). Magdalen was a great fighter for the rights of women in general and lesbian women in particular, a defender ...
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...
The government has released its Arms Legislation Bill, containing the second tranche of changes to gun laws following the March 15 massacre. And it all looks quite sensible: a national gun register, higher penalties for illegal possession and dealing, tighter restrictions on arms dealers and shooting clubs, and a shorter ...
Private prisons are a stain on humanity. Prison operators explicitly profit from human misery, then lobby for longer prisons terms so they can keep on profiting. And in the US, prison companies run not only local and state prisons, but also Donald Trump's immigration concentration camps. Faced with this moral ...
When National was in power, they were very keen on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - basicly, using private companies to finance public infrastructure as a way of hiding debt from the public. They were keen on using them for everything - roads, schools, hospitals. But as the UK shows, that "service" ...
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...
The media is reporting that the (alleged) Labour party sexual assaulter has resigned from their job at Parliament, which means hopefully he won't be turning up there making people feel unsafe in future. Good. But as with everything about this scandal, it just raises other questions. Most significantly: why the ...
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...
Property developers think there is an "oversupply" of houses in Auckland:High turnover rates and falling prices may be a sign that there are too many new houses going in to some parts of Auckland, commentators say. [...] Property developer David Whitburn said there was a "bit of an oversupply" in ...
Labour Party president Nigel Haworth resigned yesterday over the party's sexual assault scandal. But while that's good news, its unlikely to take away the stench of a coverup. Because according to Paula Bennett in Parliament yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Prime Minister's office was involved as well:I have been ...
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...
There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...
Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...
I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...
Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...
Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...
This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...
Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...
by Daphna Whitmore Every Sunday for the past two months unionists from First Union, with supporters from other unions, have set out to the Ihumatao land protest, put up gazebos and gas barbeques, and cooked food for a few hundred locals and supporters who have come from across the country. ...
Newsroom today has an excellent, in-depth article on pine trees as carbon sinks. The TL;DR is that pine is really good at soaking up carbon, but people prefer far-less efficient native forests instead. Which is understandable, but there's two problems: firstly, we've pissed about so long on this problem that ...
Canan Kaftancioglu is a Turkish politician and member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Like most modern politicians, she tweets, and uses the platform to criticise the Turkish government. She has criticised them over the death of a 14-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas grenade during ...
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has published their report on whether the SIS and GCSB had any complicity in American torture. And its damning. The pull quote is this:The Inquiry found both agencies, but to a much greater degree, the NZSIS, received many intelligence reports obtained from detainees who, ...
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...
For most of the time I was a British MP, my party was out of government – these were the Thatcher years, when it was hard for anyone else to get a look-in. As a front-bencher and shadow minister, I became familiar with the strategies required in a parliamentary democracy ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On August 29th a video in which veteran FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) commander Iván Márquez announced that they had taken up arms again was released. There was no delay in the reaction to it, from longtime Liberal Party figure and former president Uribe, for ...
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...
No-one on the anti-capitalist left in this country today puts forward a case that Labour is on the side of the working class. There are certainly people who call themselves ‘socialist’ who do, but they are essentially liberals with vested interests in Labourism – often for career reasons. Nevertheless, there ...
When National was in government and fucking over the poor for the benefit of the rich, foodbanks were a growth industry. And now Labour is in charge, nothing has changed: A huge demand for emergency food parcels means the Auckland City Mission is struggling to prepare for the impending arrival ...
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...
Today the government released its Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, aimed at cleaning up our lakes and rivers. Its actually quite good. There will be protection for wetlands, better standards for swimming spots, a requirement for continuous improvement, and better standards for wastewater and stormwater. But most importantly, there's a ...
Today I appeared before the Environment Committee to give an oral submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Over 1,500 people have asked to appear in person, so they've divided into subcommittees and are off touring the country, giving people a five minute slot each. The other submitters were a mixed ...
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ...
So, those who “know best” have again done their worst. While constantly claiming to be the guardians of democracy and the constitution, and respecters of the 2016 referendum result, diehard Remainers (who have never brought themselves to believe that their advice could have been rejected) have striven might and main ...
Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...
Over the next week or two we will be running three synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Marx began Capital not with a sweeping historical ...
The State Services Commission and Ombudsman have released another batch of OIA statistics, covering the last six months. Request volumes are up, and the core public service is generally handling them within the legal timeframe, though this may be because they've learned to extend rather than just ignore things. And ...
In 1994, I was editing an ambitious street mag called Planet, from a fabled office at at 309 Karangahape Road. The thirteenth issue of the magazine was published in the winter of that year and its cover embodied a particularly ambitious goal: the end of cannabis prohibition.I wanted to do ...
KiwiBuild was one of the Ardern government's core policies. The government would end the housing crisis and make housing affordable again by building 100,000 new homes. Of course, it didn't work out like that: targets weren't met, the houses they did build were in the wrong place, and the whole ...
As the climate crisis escalates, it is now obvious that we need to radically decarbonise our economy. The good news is that its looking easy and profitable for the energy sector. Wind is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and now solar is too:The levellised cost of solar PV has fallen ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...
New Zealand's new fresh water regulation rules will have no major impacts on the national economy, according to an independent report just out. The report by independent economic consultancy New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that dairying ...
Fish & Game New Zealand has welcomed the findings of a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research report, which rejects claims the Government’s freshwater proposals will have a significant economic impact. ...
The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the Government should take its proposed firearms legislation to the people with a touring Select Committee, as it just has with the Zero Carbon bill. ...
Water reforms and the long term sustainability of water will be a key focus at the Water New Zealand conference and expo this week (18-20 September) in Hamilton. ...
“Kiwi ex-smokers are mobilising against the Government’s plans to drastically limit vaping flavours. Flavours have been key to them quitting tobacco and they now just want other smokers to have the same chance,” says Jonathan Devery, co-owner ...
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the left-wing campaign group “ActionStation” to front up and be transparent about how much taxpayer funding it takes from the Government to underwrite its activism activities. Earlier in the month, the Taxpayers’ ...
The ‘ Unplanned ’ movie is here and Family First has secured one of the first screenings in New Zealand tonight. ‘Unplanned’ brings an eye-opening look inside the abortion industry from a woman who was once its most passionate advocate. All ...
James Renwick claim that NZ is failing on climate change is valid, and since James has been receiving widespread media coverage that we outline most of it again here now as we gear up for the ‘Global climate change conference’ beginning next week. ...
Protestors will be outside the venue of the fourth hearing for Operation Burnham Inquiry on Monday morning from 8.30am to give a message to former and current military officers as they arrive to speak about the ongoing coverup of the 2010 attack on ...
The long-running campaign against purported Chinese “interference” in New Zealand’s political system intensified in the past week following a five-day visit to Beijing by opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges. ...
National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett spent the week claiming a serious cover-up in the Prime Minister's office. She used parliamentary privilege to name three of the Prime Minister's closest advisors who, she says, knew about the sexual assault ...
Six months on from the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand history, Simon Shepherd asked Al Noor Mosque spokesperson Anthony Green how the Christchurch Muslim is community faring. ...
“The Game Animal Council is concerned that the Government’s second tranche of firearms legislation released today may contain unreasonable provisions that will unfairly impact hunters,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
Government policy work on the Carbon Zero bill highlights connections between climate change, carbon sequestration and agriculture. Water quality and allocation are also topical with the release of the Draft Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming this afternoon’s announcement that consultation on Essential Freshwater has been extended by two weeks - but is calling on the Minister to go further. ...
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle is calling on the Government to move swiftly to extend the six-week timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation. ...
Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from an large investment of money, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the immigration sector. “Instead of spending $25m ...
In recent times there has been no shortage of commentary regarding whistleblowers, with the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. These are aimed at strengthening the protection available to whistleblowers in New Zealand. That ...
Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and ...
Federated Farmers agrees with most of the steps by government to protect people from illegal or irresponsible firearms use. But concerns about pest control and the effectiveness of a register remain. ...
Today at Parliament the NZ Drug Foundation released Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation, a new report that shows how we can take back control of cannabis from organised crime. ...
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...
Responding to reports that Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarette liquid, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says: ...
Māori and non- Māori value different aspects of plantation forestry, which owners should bear in mind if they want to maximise their social licence to operate, a new study shows. ...
The Prime Minister’s Award in the first annual Spirit of Service Awards has been won by the Ministry of Health and five agencies who teamed up on the Healthy Homes Initiative. ...
Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...
A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...
For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...
The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...
“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...
An unannounced inspection at Tongariro Prison has found a safe and well-managed prison, with a clear sense of purpose and striving for continuous improvement. ...
The Auditor-General’s discussion paper Public accountability: A matter of trust and confidence was presented to the House of Representatives today. ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) are proud to announce the winners of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less 2019 competition. ...
The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was not justified in tasering a man for a second time during an arrest in Picton on 23 June 2018. ...
The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...
“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...
Could it be that that the press, especially the US press, is finally waking up to the climate story? Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, co-founders of the Covering Climate Now initiative, report. ...
In spite of Jacinda Ardern’s exhortation that ‘it would be preferable if this case were not in the public domain’, differing accounts of what was said in an inquiry into the conduct of a (now former) Labour staffer, who denies wrongdoing, have been issued today to media from the chair ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s time to change Australia’s economic course “in a responsible and affordable way which doesn’t jeopardise the surplus”. Chalmers predicts the budget outcome for last financial year, forecast to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, James Cook University Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has ...
One of the people who investigated complaints about a Labour staffer has hired a forensic computer expert to prove he was never told about sexual assault allegations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Sherwen, Director Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, University of Melbourne Each year, from September to mid-October, the tiny and very precious mountain pygmy-possums arise from their months of hibernation under the snow and begin feasting on billions of bogong moths ...
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Alex Braae breaks down the surprisingly bitter Hutt City mayoral race.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Where?Hutt City covers the ...
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus ...
Covering Climate Now: Grim post-apocalyptic settings are a dime a dozen in gaming, but which ones are the most realistic? Sam Brooks talked to climate scientist David Tong to find out.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Every year there’s a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kassia Beetham, Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Expectant mothers receive an avalanche of information about potential risks to their baby. There’s a growing list of foods, toxins and environmental threats to avoid. It’s normal for this to lead to an increased ...
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Labour Party sexual assault allegations John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the ...
Facebook electioneering.Dr Bryce EdwardsThe National Party is in trouble again for its Facebook advertising campaigning. Late last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against one of the party’s social media ads targeting the Government’s vehicle efficiency feebate scheme. The authority ruled it was “likely to confuse or ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsIf the political reputation of the Labour-led Government and Jacinda Ardern have been badly or even fatally damaged by the ongoing #MeTooLabour scandal, it will be because they’ve disappointed their own supporters, and failed to live up to their own values. This is very different to a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...
Politicians have been criticised for their "cowardice" in persisting with a "racist" refugee policy, as the government repeatedly points to a review underway to excuse the lack of action. ...
David Hannay, who has for decades been trying to get a seat on the council, will not be taking part in a major debate this week because he is facing open heart surgery. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...
In the first of our Covering Climate Now week of news features, Eloise Gibson finds moving coastal land due to earthquakes could double the risks of rising seas for some New Zealanders.. ...
Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand. Nikki Mandow discovers the superhuman efforts that officials and scientists are making to eradicate the brown marmorated stink bug. ...
A scheme to get low income families out of debt and into safe cars is being delayed because no one can agree who should stump up the money to get a pilot off the ground. ...
As sea-levels rise globally and around New Zealand, this country's earthquakes are also causing some land to sink, meaning certain coastlines could face twice inundation risk. Eloise Gibson reports. ...
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines ...
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has just released a proposed model for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in Aotearoa. With the 2020 referendum fast approaching, what should the government be considering in their approach to this legislation?As the days tick down towards 2020 and the referendum on cannabis legalisation ...
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Open mike 16/07/2015 
Open mike is your post.
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This govt is dragging us down – they and their supporters are part of the problem and the problem is so big it cannot be ignored.
“Government spends up to 20 times more money on wooing oil and gas companies to New Zealand than it does on promoting renewable energy, newly released figures show.
The disproportionate funding was justified, Government officials said, because of the large royalties paid by petroleum companies. The Green Party said it further confirmed the Government’s misplaced priorities.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11481624
All Greens are good greens.
I met Gareth a number of times – very impressive young dude with a real future.
But I take your weaseling Nats and give you:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/12/abbott-government-extends-ban-on-renewable-energy-to-solar-panels
“a greater presence of billionaires in a country actually slows down its economic growth”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/15/billionaires-drive-economic-growth-crony
Interesting stuff!
As I say: We cannot afford the rich.
phil twyford – “I’m not going to say anything about this individual… but they came to me” – sorry to raise this again but phil twyford is not the sort of mate you want to have when it gets tough. Shifty eyes, just said he approves stealing – go labour lol
Has he realised “the risk” finally?
““The whistleblower who I worked with wanted to shine a light on what is a very real issue for New Zealand – foreign investment pushing up house prices and shutting people who live here out of the property market.
They approached him and “he worked with them”, but remember, they approached him – it makes all the difference. Presumeably he looked the other way while they tucked the “data” in his top pocket, so as not to be involved with the words coming out of his own mouth later, or his inability to say, “No thanks, this light you’re shining in my eyes is racist and probably illegal.”.
ha ha ha
We’ve had some really good arguments:
“We’re all racists, therefore racism is the new norm and since normal means it’s ok, that means racism doesn’t exist anymore. In fact, not being racist would be racist.”
“I’m a shit, you’re a shit, therefore you may not look at the shit, point it out, or choose to change our shit or your own shit.”
“I don’t know what racism is, but if I did, it wouldn’t be this.”
“If I can’t blame Chinese people for everything I’ve done, how will I assert my identity?”
“You spelled it wrong, therefore everything else you say is wrong.”
“Just because we did something really wrong, doesn’t mean it wasn’t right if we ignore the wrongness.”
“If someone I admire does something wrong, that means I did something wrong, which makes me a bad person, and I’m not a bad person ever, therefore what the person did can’t be wrong.”
and my favourite,
“Yes but lots of people have money and lots of people are Chinese, therefore lots of Chinese people with money are dangerous. We need to stop them spending money by telling them they’re Chinese!”
and now,
“Your honor, that man gave me the stolen gun in a way that stolen things are supplied, how was I to know it was stolen or what would happen when I aimed it and pulled the trigger? Not my fault.”
But I wouldn’t want to bring it up. None of my business. Nothing wrong with English, Welsh and Scottish names all throughout the Labour Party. My name is English. Some of my best friends are Welsh and they aren’t smelly or dirty like the rest. They all have shifty eyes, but so what. It’d be hypocritical. I’m not looking for it. The membership list is neutral data. Could be anyone. What are we discussing, anyway? I don’t even…
“They approached him and “he worked with them”, but remember, they approached him – it makes all the difference.”
That’s not what is says in the piece you’ve quoted. Where did you get that from?
NZ Herald. Since I posted that they’ve cut and edited the original story that made efforts to draw a line between being “approached” and “taking information”. Amazing, but true.
So your claim is based on an error in the Herald which has been corrected? Good to know!
I know, I had to laugh, myself. At least I spelled Herald right.
LOL
Nonetheless if you know the data has been stolen… and it reveals NO wrong doing… (that is a key differentiation) … you say NO.
So snowden , assange and rawshark where wrong to do what they did?.
Nothiong illegal was going on at the real estate agent
Yes, I think everyone knows that. I think that the question is if we should measure, and probably add restrictions on overseas purchases of residential property – or simply to tax them.
It is a very good question. Perhaps Labour should have waited till the first part of the question was answered or at least pushed for it to be answered in the affirmative.
The leak proved that we need to measure. National has been saying that we don’t and thus refusing to act on the issue at all. This means that the leak was in the public interest which should make the leaker’s firing illegal.
Then I guess the guy’s just been illegally fired for nothing.
There is every possibility that that is correct and it wouldn’t be the first time this company has fired someone illegally – they are, as the saying goes, no better than they ought to be. My friend successfully sued them for thousands for that reason.
are you saying there is no confidentiality clause in this employees contract? That would be very unusual.
Of course there was – I don’t know the details
sorry, what wrong doing was B&T involved with?
Illegally firing someone
breaching confidentiality is serious misconduct. how was this person illegally fired?
Illegally firing someone
Illegally firing someone
Mm was having a go at labour for using stolen material in what I see is a “greater good” situation . none of the the whistle blowing is legal.
how is this situation whistleblowing in the usual use of that term?
Explained here, Tracey.
Its clunky and vague what was released, but its got relevant information that the government either ,is unwilling or unable to gather and release into the public domain ,against the wishes of people with vested interests in keeping it quite. That’s whistle blowing in my view.
Oh Marty your cruel on poor old Phil Twyford who is one of the hard working good guys in the Labour crew. He would be under instructions and playing the cards he has been dealt the best he can. I actually feel sorry for the poor bugger not playing his natural hand. So much so I put a call in to Jacko’s radio live show yesterday and gave him a Patsy question about cheap Chinese Central Government money to invest here.
It gave him a back straightener and he stuck to the task, I’m sure McCarten who was with him liked it 🙂
I certainly wouldn’t be embarrassed sitting down with Phil and tucking into a good feed of yum cha some time in the future while in Auckland.
Do you really want to be sitting next to Phil, I’m just saying watch out if some of the dumplings taste off…
Haha that is why I said ‘yum cha’ which you can pick and choose as the waitress goes from table to table with the offerings. Yes there would be a few eateries around the country where Twyford can expect a sudden bout of explosive diarrhea afterwards lol.
You’re a smart man, heh.
Well exporters with the exception of Dairy should be doing well soon, I expect that we may see a sub 60 cent Kiwi/USD exchange rate again because Whole Milk Powder just dropped to $1848 per tonne this morning….
http://www.globaldairytrade.info/en/product-results/whole-milk-powder/
This is crisis material now for regional NZ Im thinking.
Rock star economy …no
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11481405
Fire economy…..yes
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1507/S00048/time-of-reckoning-for-new-zealand-imminent-says-academic.htm
The whole concept around Jane Kelsey’s The Fire Economy seems to make such logical sense…a must read.
I don’t think many people realise how deeply in the shit our dairy industry has found itself, on average every dairy farmer pays a bank $1.25 interest cost on every Milk Solid that they produce. In other words, banks are going to earn approx. $2 billion from the $7 billion revenue that the New Zealand dairy industry will earn this year.
Interesting data.
Where did you find that out?
Too all those that want to make Phil Twyford a racist, with shfty eyes and long teeth..
did you also scream racism when he raised the Issue of Australian Companies buying up our State Houses?
Or is that ok, because it is only State Houses and only Corporations? Or is it only racism when the houses sold to overseas speculators are private property and profit is to be made?
I really would like this to know? Because I am befuddled with it.
especially considering that after almost a week of screams of hell and damnation, some still don’t want to discuss the underlying issue of our country being sold to the highest bidder to the detriment of many and the leisure of a few.
one hand giveth the other taketh away – that’s labour through and through imo
how about the greens giving to National in order to attract the aquamarine vote?
how about the greens giving us Peter Effn Dunne?
how about the greens giving us Nikki Kaye?
purity, frankly no one has it.
and by all means, I am voting for people not saints.
as for the person that leaked the data, s/he should be a national hero. Because our young ones don’t find houses, or rentals for that matter. Our old ones live in decrepit cold houses. Our families are living in caravans, tents, cars, under bridges, in decrepit old leaking rubbish houses, that no one can do anything about, cause no one wants to do anything about.
so go be pure and green n stuff, and make sure to look away when you see a mother put her kids to bed in a caravan. Cause purity.
But stop moaning that Labour is not doing enough. Go run for office. Be pure. Be 100% green….oh wait….thats not true either.
right, so you’re blaming the greens…
You do appear to be driving a Green hit job, so why not?
No I am not, I am just pointing out that the Greens are no more pure and clean then any of the other parties.
In fact, if politians want to get something done they have to work across the aisles and compromise, barter and trade.
You however, expect the labour party to be pure and without fault in an almost biblical sense. So I leave you with the words of the Man Jesus, Those without sin shall cast the very first stone.
yeah well I’m not a christian or a believer of one of the big 3 religions from the middle east so the analogy doesn’t work – don’t believe in sin either so there you go.
But your point about clean and pure is good – how dirty is too dirty for you, is there a line that would make it difficult or impossible for you to accept the consequences even if they appeared beneficial?
For me racism is one of those lines.
I am starting to get the impression your one of these idiots that’s single mission in life is to kick the crap out of Labour. By all means not a problem giving them a crack every now and then, but every day Marty how does this help the collective cause?
I’d much rather they were skillful and effective.
ca you explain how the sale to an australian company was racism. It could be many things but racist?
Can you explain the constant increase of central auckland prices since 1990, befre Chinese were buying up?
Why weren’t the UK and SA buyers data released?
100+ Sabine
“…especially considering that after almost a week of screams of hell and damnation, some still don’t want to discuss the underlying issue of our country being sold to the highest bidder to the detriment of many and the leisure of a few…”
If anyone was concerned with that, National wouldn’t be in power, neither would Labour.
“Australians” aren’t a race. They’re Colonials, like the people who form the basis of our establishment. They have no power over us. You have Google right? Why after all this time have you not Googled: What is Racism? Because WHAT THE FUCK. Discovering racist elements in oneself isn’t a problem. Just makes a person human. It’s like finding shit on your shoe. You can realise it and wipe it off, or, you can smear it over everyone and everything you meet and deny it exists.
Australians. like Chinese are the people living in one Country named Australia or Chinese.
There is actually no such thing as “Chinrese” maybe the Han come closest to it, but then you have a multitude of other “races” within China.
“Chinese Ethnic Groups: Han People and 55 Ethnic Minorities. As a large united multi-national state, China is composed of 56 ethnic groups. Among them Han Chinese account for 91.59% of the overall Chinese population and the other 55 make up the remaining 8.41% according to the Fifth National Population Census of 2000.’
German is not a race either, in fact 200 years ago Germany did not exist. But you would not call the Germans a Friese, a Saxon, a bavarian, or a westphale.
And New Zealander by your admission is also not a race, but only colonialists.
Feel better now in your purity.
as for Phil Twyford having been approached with information. If you would look at his FB Page for instance, you would see that he continuously has asked for people with Housing issues, Housing Worries to come forward and to contact him.
He is doing what he is supposed to do as an elected MP, as the Housing Spokesperson of Labour. He is looking out for the best interest of the people that have put him into Parliament. Cause clearly if the people did not like him, or believe he would do a good job, they could have voted for Alfred Ngaro, List MP National.
no such thing as the race of kiwis or australians – that’s why ethnicity is a better way to express it all
I will say that I do admire twyford sticking to his guns and not backing off an inch in his portrayal even when presented with vitriol (from some) and dismay – a potential labour leader it seems
Oh geez, not the blood quantum argument. So Twyford says Chinese, and it’s safe, because that isn’t specific so not racist. Then later, Labour say they don’t mean Chinese here for longer than Granparents, but those still in China – arbitrarily severing family, cultural, religious and race lines to suit themselves = racist action. I imagine there are a huge amount of single parent half-European Chinese citizens in China, who’ve lived there for a few hundred years, without losing any of their Euro blood and resistent to the local culture, and it’s those who are “swarming in” to steal your café from you. Pointing it out isn’t racist though, because they’re only Chinese.
Like I said, Google racism, and read more than just the dictionary definition.
What is up with this “purity” and “virgin” stuff you’ve been saying all week?
Not to mention the fact that in NZ we talk about the Chinese as a race because we are largely ignorant about Chinese ethnicities and cultures.
But maybe we should ask Chinese people if they think that in NZ they experience racism directed at them because they are Chinese (or Asian).
Entirely agree about the dictionary thing. Semantics about race aren’t that helpful because they make abstract real world effects such as the one about family.
so say what you mean, there are other words for it, than racism (which is simply inaccurate).
ends justice the means aye Sabine, national Lite (labour) is better than national, right?
Interesting advice and terminology, Charles. Try googling Colonialism – “the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colony in one territory by a political power from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and often between the colonists and the indigenous population”. The issue is foreign capital colonialism affecting Auckland residential housing. Not it’s racial source.
Interesting the way you illogically turn 180 degrees in your reasoning to cover up racism. See above argument: “If we ignore the wrong… we’re right… because of “the threat” “. The issue isn’t foreign capital. Never was.
The issue I’m referencing is pretty simple. Is foreign capital inflating prices in the Auckland housing market? Yes or no? – not whether Twyford’s comments were inappropriate. Don’t require your gratuitous lessons in logic and reasoning, by the way.
Returning the favour. Why so touchy? And no the issue is not foreign capital inflating house prices. That never was my argument. That argument is the reason those idiots in Labour stepped into a world of racist pain. The reason people must support Labour over this, the reason they must stop at “foreign capital” is because if they go two more steps down the trail, they find everything they believe in, everything they attach their self worth to, is gone – it was all a lie.
“Foreign capital” is a symptom of a system that they thought was working for them. They can no longer protect our version of capitalism, they have to accept that working hard doesn’t win the day, that education can’t trump capital, that privilege exists, that politics is impotent in the face of capital, that laws are subjectively applied, that they are no longer favoured by law-makers as of right, and their social status evaporates. Must feel like hell. They have to accept Twyford et. al. made a racist statement, and then the history of their families in NZ is called into question. It’s the perfect storm. They have to turn Left, politically, if they want the solution, and not just a little bit Left, and they don’t want that. Cognitive dissonance writ large. Usually we just have to stop a corrupt Investment Company manager going to Golf to unleash that sort of pain on a man. But this stuff undermines everything.
Labour “knew the risk”? Like hell they did. If they did, then the only thing worse that they would be trying to comfort themselves over would be a complete economic collapse very soon.
Interesting soliloquy. Oh to occupy the moral high ground with such equanimity.
High moral ground? haha no no you don’t know me well at all. See above logical fallacies.
Correction: “Economic collapse” isn’t the phrase I’m looking for. Sounds a bit apocolyptic. What Labour are hiding is that a big chunk of the middle class’ economic power is about to evaporate. That’s closer. i.e. they are about to unavoidably fall down the social class ladder. That’s why they turned it into a race issue. Hate the thing that out-gunned you at your own shoot-out – standard text book political strategy. Polarise voters, entrench existing support. Unless Labour now go Left, they just entered a poltical death-cycle.
Precisely.
EXCEPT Labour has no solutions for making Auckland housing affordable for an average worker on $50K pa. None at all.
The people who continue to defend Labour’s targetting of Chinese as ‘standing up for ordinary Kiwis’ must be talking about “ordinary Kiwis” who earn in the $100K plus bracket.
“…EXCEPT Labour has no solutions for making Auckland housing affordable for an average worker on $50K pa. None at all…”
That’s the “scarey” thing – scarey to some. If Labour could do anything to fix the situation, they wouldn’t have taken the race line. From their well-placed viewpoint (on the inside), they have just revealed that if we maintain present systems, “there is nothing anyone can do to save the middle classes”. The aspirational dream is over: the property ladder, your kids buying houses and turning out just like you etc etc. Potentially nasty stuff, socially, when that suddenly collapses. I would sort of sympathise, but not very strongly. No amount of praising the revelation of “the threat” will change that. People think Labour can do something, they just said they can’t or maybe – as you say – won’t.
Here’s the next curious thing:
If this theory is true (everything’s a theory, I guess) National know it too, and the race-to-win will not be over who can move to Centre Right this/next election, but who can go Left without losing the Right-in-denial and how to shore-up the last scraps before an inequality gap that can’t be (easily) closed occurs. It’s going to be hilarious… in a perverse sort of way. A frantic re-arranging of deckchairs.
I suggest events could well prove you wrong Charles. Twyford may well have more up his sleeve yet.
Yep. This ball is definitely still in play. For better or for worse.
But I am picking that Labour will not commit to any new policy at all around making Auckland housing affordable for the average kiwi.
Their call to “collect more data” is a way of calling for action without committing themselves to taking any future action themselves.
In a way, I hope I am wrong. Because uncontrolled social class collapse would make quite a mess. Not good for anyone.
Yes indeed and the targets to blame when the shit hits the fan as the bubble bursts have been set in place and oh what convenient targets they are.
“Twyford may well have more up his sleeve yet.”
He may, but his and Labour’s problem is that so many people no longer trust them. We’ve been waiting a long time on too many issues.
Interesting, but I suggest that you may have picked the wrong starting point as Labour didn’t design this play in order to “go left.”
Internally, Labour is fairly (although not absolutely) convinced that being “too left” was a major part of its downfall over the last two elections.
Labour’s making a red meat play, and it is making a play for the comfortable middle class tired of being outbid by Chinese people for that $800K Onehunga villa.
Yes I agree, they didn’t create the event to go Left, what I say is that they have no choice but to go Left to avoid, well, political death as a party. The support they just entrenched, is the kind that doesn’t want to give up the thing they have to give up.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201761887/insight-for-12-july-2015-future-financial-stability
Good little piece. Neat they talked to Steve Keen.
Are Australians human then?
Depends if there’s bugs on the barbie. And if it’s VB then yep, for sure, totally human. XXXX… I’m not sure who likes that. That’s some extraterrestrial stuff.
The really stupid Australians are the ones who love XXXX.
You have, I am sure, have heard the old joke that they named it XXXX because Queenslanders were too ignorant to be able to spell BEER?
are friends electric?
So it’s ok to say Australia, because that’s not racist because they’re the same as us, but it’s not ok to say China because they’re not.
There are two solutions to this problem as I see it:
1 Change the name of the country that my daughter-in-law’s ancestors come from
2 Look the other way because if something that harms us is being done by someone who isn’t the same as us we can’t say or do anything about it because that would, by definition, be racist.
What do you think, Charles?
“So it’s ok to say Australia, because that’s not racist because they’re the same as us, but it’s not ok to say China because they’re not.”
I guess you could call a rejection of foreign people (incl, Aussies, or their companies) as Xenophobic. That could be a subset of racism, but not necessarily racist. Import tariffs, for instance, are more a protectionist economic/legal issue than a private attack on a specific person’s ethnicity, race or origin, so not necessarily xenophobic. Very difficult, if not impossible, to prove private motivations with ideology.
The rest turns on two types of misunderstanding:
“Look the other way because if something that harms us is being done by someone who isn’t the same as us we can’t say or do anything about it because that would, by definition, be racist.”
No no no. If in, say, the normal course of your day a person not of your race hits you with a bat, for godsake, protect yourself. If they yell abuse at you, do what you think is best in reply. You will be two people duking it out. If you feel uncomfortable or put out by not knowing the language, that is just the sort of problems anyone deals with. They aren’t making a racist attack on you. They’re just either trying to communicate within certain limitations, like all humans do, or they’re being a dick.
Also, it is not ethical or logical to say, “If we do not discriminate (race, sex, gender etc etc), another group will gain power and overwhelm us, therefore we must discriminate against that group now to minimise the threat.”
It removes the effect of the passage of time (incites fear over reason and reality) and eliminates any attempts to reach agreements: such as found in ToW disputes. Good faith is the ethical choice i.e. neither party tries to stop the other party geting what they need, and both parties are committed to mutually beneficial outcomes. That’s the theory, unrealistic as it may be in our current environment. However, which is better:
1) Accept the current environment (bad as it is) because it supports personal gain (my personal interests), and discard what is right for the collective.
2) Accept the current environment (bad as it is) for what it is, but decide to make a change for the collective good.
It doesn’t bother me that people want to choose #1. Just that they won’t admit it becomes grating. And I guess that they won’t admit it means they do want to choose option #2 on some level, but don’t know how to get to step one; and those solutions will be as varied as the situations. Sorry, can’t offer generalised counselling services all day.
But that isn’t what’s happening with Labour. Labour are an established power base. They aren’t a private citizen. They sit down and plan strategy, policy. They have ability to act against, or for, or influence, acts against or for anyone they choose. They had no need (or right) to isolate race as an indentifier of cause or harm, especially when the people targetted were not at fault. The reasoning they used validated racism (and stupidity) – suspected reason for that is above. Check the power imbalance/structure.
Sorry I don’t know what your #1 point relates to.
Point 1 relates to China – it seems to me that people, particularly people of a certain age who can remember the ghastly racism of decades ago, get the heebies every time someone talks about China and it’s citizens, known to the world as Chinese (just as New Zealanders are known to the world as New Zealanders). It seems to me that in order to have a sensible discussion on that country without hysteria, it might be an advantage to change its name so the Pavlovian reaction in some of us is not automatically triggered by its current one.
And Charles, we are discussing, or are trying to if we didn’t keep getting derailed, “protectionist economic/legal issue”s
And what’s with the patronising “Sorry, can’t offer generalised counselling services all day”? I’m not seeking advice, I’m trying to encourage you to unravel and analyse some of your, what I consider to be, rather hairy assumptions.
re: generalised counselling services.
The implication of the question you asked had so many possible answers, I couldn’t possibly imagine them all. It was a “you” in a wider readers sense, not you, as in you JanM. So not patronsing at all. I don’t think you missed that point.
re: “derailing”
Explaining the parameters of a term isn’t derailing. You asked, I answered, If you already know the answer, or don’t want to hear my answer the way I offer it, talk to yourself for answers you like.
Ok so your #1 point meant Twyford made an error of grammar? What you reckon is he should’ve said, instead of “Chinese money”, he should’ve said “money that originates somewhere to the west of Japan, owned more or less by people of the nearby continent”?
Christ. I made no hairy assumptions. I can see what you’re saying. You explained in your first sentence. Racist it was, racist it is, support it for your gain or not.
I give up!
That Ben Guerin is a slow learner. Either that or just really arrogant.
He Posted this as a response to Lprent’s Dirty Politics Fuckwit post:
“On Sunday the 12th of July I was a member of the Young Nats team that produced the Kiwi-O-Meter on the url http://howkiwiareyou.nz. I would like to publicly state that this website is not at all affiliated with the New Zealand National Party, New Zealand Parliament, or any National Party MPs; and is not endorsed by, or representative of, the views of my employer.”
It was pointed out to him that despite his disclaimer that he may have hoped would magic everything away, his employer, Brett Hudson was indeed endorsing the fake howkiwiareyou.nz site on his Brett Hudson list MP facebook page.
Ben Guerin is not telling the truth when he says his employer doesn’t endorse his actions.
It’s now the 16th and Brett Hudson still has the fake website up on his facebook page.
Ben, did you read any responses to your post? Did you take on board the valuable info Lynn gave to you? Do you even speak to your boss? Why is your boss still endorsing your deceitful and murky behaviour?
Good work Rosie.
I’ve asked the sales team at the local paper that covers the Ohariu electorate to discontinue taking Brett Hudson’s weekly advertising fee, and no longer run his ads, due to this sordid little Dirty Politics activity.
They are actually considering it.
I don’t think anything will come of it though, especially as it’s just one person asking them to boycott their advertising client. May have been effective if it were a group of us in Ohariu calling for a boycott.
The other thing, is the paper is not very on to it re politics. They didn’t cover the electorate activities in last years general election and a few months ago they ran a puff piece on Brett Hudson calling their article “Our man in Ohariu”.
It took a reader to point out to them that Brett Hudson isn’t in fact “our man” and that “our man” was in fact Peter Dunne. …………..
Gotta try though!
That’s great stuff Rosie. Maybe you could write a guest post for the standard?
“Maybe you could write a guest post for the standard?”
What would I cover? I think it’s all been covered(?)
Lols. If I were to write a guest post it would be about that most immoral of taxes, GST, how it holds ordinary and poor households back, how it contributes to poverty, how this tax introduced in 1986 has got to go and how it’s abolition should be a policy statement that the Labour Party announce as part of their Centenary celebrations next year.
Alas, I can only argue it from a moral standpoint as I’m weak on economics and my brain doesn’t function like it used to. In recent years and through to the present I am coping with physical and mental illness and struggle to write in the way I used to.
I look at essays I wrote seven years ago and ask myself “who wrote this”. The deterioration of the mind, it’s scary.
GST isn’t on most people’s radar, it’s hardly a sexy topic but many people would be greatly uplifted by it’s disappearance.
It would be good to see someone write a post on the history and effects of GST and how our lives would change for the better without it, and how the introduction of an FTT and CGT would replace lost tax revenue.
I’m interested to know the name of the local paper. I doubt that “They are actually considering it”. What local paper can afford to turn away revenue?
And would you be happy if the paper also rejected all adverts from a person you agreed with just because other objectors had objected?
Don’t we also demand that the MSM be fair and balanced, telling both sides of an issue?
It intrigues me how often people call for a boycott on a business they have a different opinion to. Taken to it’s logical conclusion, you’re going to end up not buying from anyone.
that’s how free market pressures work mate. You understand free market pressure, right?
Yes I do. But that doesn’t answer my first three questions.
“What local paper can afford to turn away revenue?”
A community paper with a conscience perhaps?
And you’re mixing journalism up with advertising when you talk about our expectations of media being ‘fair and balanced”. Media can turn away advertising clients at their discretion if they have an ethical issue with the client.
Ethics. Heard of that? Dirty Politics. Heard of that?
I doubt they will turn Brett Hudson away but some of us don’t live in the “don’t care about anything” camp and do attempt to right wrongs. Public pressure can work. Even MacDonalds is moving to use only free range eggs in all it’s products by the end of 2016. Chch and Dunedin MacDonalds already use free range eggs. Do you think that happened all by itself?
As for boycotts. Yes I do boycott a number of businesses and have done for years. It’s what happens in a free market. You have the choice of where to take your business.
You’re confusing the reporting side with the editorial side.
Reporters are part of editorial. They’re not separate.
lol
touche – I meant the distinction between advertising and news.
Dreadful and hostile interview by Todd Niall on RNZ of Phil Twyford. What is Todd Naill’s background.
Is RNZ just becoming another mouthpiece of the National Party?
Compare that interview with the gentle way Stephen Joyce was handled?
RNZ clearly has an editorial line that you are not allowed to question the level of foreign speculation in land and property in NZ.
Is RNZ just becoming another mouthpiece of the National Party?
Yes.
Twyford made Niall look a bit stupid though.
that’s not hard and Labour need to toughen up with these nactiod msm muppets and go on the attack with some one liners repeated as nauseum by all MP’s when asked.
Niall seemed might biased in his approach.
has been since Griffin took the chair.
See this?
NZ Herald 15 July 2015
“Top China expert’s answer to property crisis
By Rodney Jones
Rodney Jones, a Principal of Wigram Capital Advisors, an Asian macro advisory firm, and who lives in Beijing, weighs in on the debate around what to do with Auckland property.
“While Phil Twyford’s data set based on names created a storm, and is less than ideal given it is implicitly based on ethnicity, rather than residency or citizenship, it does provide a sense as to the extent of non-resident demand for Auckland property.
In such a data void, it is natural that people look for informal data sets.
While Phil Twyford’s data set based on names created a storm, and is less than ideal given it is implicitly based on ethnicity, rather than residency or citizenship, it does provide a sense as to the extent of non-resident demand for Auckland property.
This is consistent with what has been observed in property markets as varied as Singapore, Hong Kong and Vancouver.
Across the Asia-Pacific region the anecdotal evidence of demand for offshore property by Chinese residents is overwhelming.
China is unique in financial history, in that combines a huge stock of financial assets with ill-defined property rights and a still evolving rule of law.
This mix combines buying power with demand for assets with certain property rights, such as houses on freehold land.
We have not seen this before, as typically foreign investment by individuals has been financial – equities, bonds and mutual funds.
To express concerns about the potential impact of these flows is not racism; it is sensible macro prudential management. …”
Penny Bright
@ Penny B
Thanks for that quote. We are in need of this sort of experienced overview and a micro one together, on this issue so important to ordinary NZs, including settled Chinese immigrants and long term Kiwi Chinese citizens.
+100 Penny…always sensible
…and to put it in context…this from Professor Jane Kelsey on New Zealand’s economy:
‘The FIRE Economy’
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/14/the-fire-economy/
“How would New Zealanders respond if we faced a crisis of the magnitude confronting Greece today? Or that of Iceland or Ireland in 2009, or Argentina in the early 2000s? That question is at the heart of my new book, The FIRE Economy. New Zealand’s Reckoning, published today by Bridget Williams Books.
There is a terrible complacency in this country that ‘it couldn’t happen here’. After all, aren’t we a ‘rock star economy’? No one really believes that, unless they have vested interests in talking up the failing status quo. But it is the kind of fiction that sedates the majority of people and avoids confronting unpalatable realities.
The triggers of a crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand would be different from those in Greece, but our massive levels private – not public – debt in banks and households, and the massively inflated rural and Auckland property markets, mean we are prime candidates for a meltdown.
We have a chronically sick economy. The only way to make money is to borrow money to invest in the FIRE economy, where the creation of wealth is centred on finance, insurance and real estate. Real jobs, real production, ethical values, commitment to community – scarce at the best of times in a capitalist economy – are treated as relics of history. Shareholder capitalism means maximising short-term returns, while running down the business, exploiting workers, hollowing out the economy and the community…..
@Chooky
That is a good quote from what will be another important book and warning, The Fire Economy, (I guess meaning fire sale) from Jane Kelsey.
I think this is very pithy and on the nail.
There is a terrible complacency in this country that ‘it couldn’t happen here’. After all, aren’t we a ‘rock star economy’? No one really believes that, unless they have vested interests in talking up the failing status quo. But it is the kind of fiction that sedates the majority of people and avoids confronting unpalatable realities.
“Say what you like about The Hosk, he works hard.”
Jack Tame’s empty praise of New Zealand’s shallowest radio host
Sycophancy: The fawning behavior of a sycophant; obsequious, servile flattery.
Driving around recently, listening to my car radio, I have twice chanced upon the always pleasant and jolly—except when he’s writing ultra-serious mood pieces about how he feels after playground massacres—Jack Tame. Both times he seems to have had only one thing on his mind….
NewstalkZB, Saturday 4 July 2015, 11:10 a.m.
JANET WILSON: So you’re filling in for Mike Hosking on Seven Sharp for a few weeks. How’s it going?
JACK TAME: Say what you like about The Hosk, he works hard.
“The Hits”, Wednesday 15 July 2015, 5:25 p.m.
FLYNNY: So you’re on Seven Sharp again tonight. Have you got a Maserati yet? Like The Hosk?
JACK TAME: Ha ha ha ha ha! He’s a divisive character, for sure. But I tell you what: he works HARD!
Mike Hosking works hard? Rubbish. Anyone who listens to him or endures his antics on television can see after a very short time that Hosking does little or no research, and knows less about politics, economics, philosophy or history than a poorly read Year 8 student.
Jack Tame’s empty words tell us nothing about Mike “The Hosk” Hosking, but they tell us an awful lot about Jack Tame.
More—if you can bear it—of this Hosk-worshipper….
Perhaps Tame was taking the piss? I imagine most of the Husk’s colleagues spend a lot of their time rolling their eyes at his pretensions and laughing along with Jeremy Wells’ wickedly good demolitions of the pompous prick.
Perhaps Tame was taking the piss?
Quite possibly.
I imagine most of the Husk’s colleagues spend a lot of their time rolling their eyes at his pretensions and laughing along with Jeremy Wells’ wickedly good demolitions of the pompous prick.
Jono, Ben and Guy have sent him up wickedly as well.
I don’t listen to commercial radio at all but this could be how it is: Jack Tame perhaps walking the fine line, not spoiling his chances for further employment so stating the obvious – about Mike Hosking’s busy tongue and speed of (noxious) delivery! And ‘the Hosk’, so blokey. But there are Tamihere and Jackson popular apparently. Just the thing for the hearty chaps and gals out there who don’t want to think too hard about the real nature of things. It’s called survival in today’s world.
Coming up at 8.35ish is the Scoop report on Radio Active. Redbird, Grant Robertson and Alistair Thompson are bound to discuss Chinesesoundingnames house sales data.
They usually discuss a variety of the weeks political events but this one will take up a lot of room.
If you’re outside of Wellington listen on line:
http://www.radioactive.fm/
Thanks for the link. 🙂
I was amused to see Aucklanders having a moan about their rats!! (oops rates)
They look to have a about the same rates as we do, but without 26% increase in our valuations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11481629
None seems to be willing to say what services they want to cut to keep rates down.
Well they could start with the Mayor and his team, then look to the numerous PR hacks and cronies and then let us start on the absurd number of consultants… $8 million a year on employment agencies for a start.
Kudos to Penny for continuing her fight against the ACC for all these years.
There was a big fuss a while ago about whether the homeowners or the Council were going to mow the berms outside their houses. And some of the luxurious subdivisions have an almost park area in front of their homes they are finding the money to buy. If they want that, they can form a residents committee and pay for a contractor to do it.
Someone in my city backing onto an older people’s enclave, either Council or private, noted that they would not sweep fallen leaves in autumn but rang the Council.
These are cases where Council can cut expenditure, and insist on more resident input, where they are able. Actually I was told that in a part of Denmark, residents were responsible for paying for upkeep of the area in front of their house up to the middle of the road.
edited
What had happened there is that John Banks had got the council mowing the berms in the central city, a lot of which didn’t have berms. Considering the density of the central city this was possibly affordable (but probably not considering how much Banks had run up ACC’s debt).
Then we got the SuperCity change and all of a sudden the new ACC had a choice of putting up rates to pay for all the mowing that the Auckland sprawl would bring or canning it. They chose to can it. This got the people in central Auckland whinging about the loss of a service. Of course, they would have whinged more and more loudly if the rates had gone up.
The funniest thing about Labours Chinese-bashing stunt is that the left have gone out of their way over the last few decades to make anything to do with race contentious and now Labours getting a taste of their own medicine and they don’t like the taste of it 🙂
The truly side-splitting thing has been watching the heirs of Orewa work themselves into a ditsy faux-outrage over it.
What goes around comes around and now its Labours turn to be labelled racist, though I have doubts Labour will recieve the same bump in polls that National did but we’ll see I guess
So it’s all ok with your if it gets a ‘bump in the polls’? Good-oh.
No no you misunderstand, I’m a National voter but I’m interested in seeing how this will play out
The stratagy around politics is fascinating
according to national and act ….Yes. 🙂
and oh, National does it too 🙂
National does it better 😉
‘heirs of Orewa’?
The Orewa speech was about NOT singling out people for different treatment on the basis of ethnicity, whereas Twford is targeted a specific group for different treatment on the basis of their ethnicity.
If your moral compass points to Orewa being racist, then Twford’s gambit must be much more so?
ummm … history re-write alert.
Indeed it was PR who was faffing on about “chinese-bashing” – not me. I’ve comprehensively argued it is not. My moral compass points to the idea that objective facts are in fact NOT racist.
It is the purpose they are used for which counts. And in this case Labour is using them to stand up for the rights of New Zealanders – that’s their job and they’d be failing in it if they were silenced on it.
That this may come at the expense of a narrow slice of hyper-wealthy individuals (from China or anywhere else) really doesn’t exercise me all that much.
” people with Chinese surnames are buying up big in the Auckland property market”
” people living overseas are buying up big in the Auckland property market.”
One of these statements targets a specific ethic group for attention as the cause of an issue. Can you spot which one it is?
The second statement begs the question: how do you know?
Because the person who wrote the first sentence told us that he had come to this conclusion by specifically looking for Chinese surnames in data that contained many other surnames.
It’s that word ‘Chinese’.
Kind of includes people who are, and excludes people who aren’t.
Your so smart.
When presented with a list of names that had 50% or more ‘maori sounding’ names on it – what conclusion would you draw if you were then told it was a list of current prison inmates?
“specifically looking for”.
[citation needed]
Looks like a strawman to me.
When presented with a list of names that had 50% or more ‘maori sounding’ names on it – what conclusion would you draw if you were then told it was a list of current prison inmates?
I would conclude that Maori were included in the group ‘Prison Inmates’, and if an issue came up that all members of the group ‘Prison inmates’ were implicated in, I would be careful to use the term ‘Prison Inmates’, rather than single out ‘ Maori Prison Inmates’ and run the risk of someone thinking I was taking a racist approach to the issue.
Red – why use that example? – what a wanker
@marty.
For someone with such impeccable sensitivity to racism and sexist purity – you’re remarkably fast to make it offensive and personal.
@tls
So in summary it is racist to talk about Maori being over-represented prisons?
you would use anything and anyone to make your point – what a zero
Sheep, Marty, twisting yourselves into knots in order to willfully miss R/L’s point much?
“Over-represented” is the phrase you are refusing to acknowledge. As such, it’s a very good example.
““Over-represented” is the phrase you are refusing to acknowledge. As such, it’s a very good example.”
Not quite. Can you think of situations where the high ratio of Māori in prison compared to their actualy population stats is used against Māori?
Data may be neutral. How it gets used isn’t.
@Weka: “how it gets used isn’t”
R/L’s original comment asks: “what conclusion would you draw…?”
You’re right, some people will draw odious conclusions, as in this case.
So if you were concerned about violence in prisons you might study a leaked unofficial partial list of ‘prison inmates’ who had been convicted of such offenses, and then go public with the angle that on the basis of obviously Maori surnames there was an issue with ‘Maori violence’ in prisons?
I reckon most people would consider that racist on the basis that you were singling out a specific ethnic group as the cause of an issue that actually involved many ethnic groups.
No he didn’t. He simply pointed to the data showing that house prices in Auckland were because of foreign buyers.
No, nothing targeting Chinese in any of this Draco…sarc.
It’s every house sold in the Auckland region over that three-month period. What it shows, I think, is striking. Nearly 40% of the houses sold in that period went to people of Chinese descent, and as your introduction pointed out, the Chinese New Zealander population in Auckland, according to the most recent census data, is about 9%. Now, that is a remarkable discrepancy, and, in my view, it’s simply not plausible to suggest, as many have done in the last couple of years, that the Chinese— ethnic Chinese people who are buying houses in Auckland are all Chinese New Zealanders. It points, I think, to only one possible conclusion, and that is that offshore Chinese investors have a very significant presence in the Auckland real estate market when you consider that Auckland house prices are spiralling out of control at the moment.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1507/S00095/lisa-owen-interviews-labours-housing-spokesman-phil-twyford.htm
Nope, none. Just Twyford pointing out simple facts.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to make an argument for or against something if you don’t use facts and Labour’s position, as is mine, is against more foreign ownership (although Labour are still trying to limit it through partial legislation rather than an outright ban as is needed). I suspect that this is true for most NZers.
Fuck it Draco, Labour has increased the permissiveness of anti-Chinese sentiment in NZ. And lots of people like yourself are Ok with that while ignoring the voices and opinions of the Kiwi Chinese minority, so maybe Andrew Little and the Leaders Office have done their calculations correctly after all.
Phil Twyford’s words :
“As you will be aware, there’s been a lot of commentary and debate on this issue. The majority of feedback has been in support – but there have also been accusations of racism because the data indicated that lots of offshore investment was coming from one particular country.
This is not about that. It’s about facing up to the effect foreign property speculation is having on the residential property market and having an open and honest debate about the housing crisis and how we fix it. Overseas buyers are making it harder for all New Zealanders to get on the property ladder, and that includes Chinese New Zealanders.
It’s been Labour policy since 2013 to ban overseas, non-resident speculators from buying housing in New Zealand. If people want to immigrate to New Zealand, from whatever country, we’ll welcome them with open arms as new New Zealanders. If offshore investors want to build new houses, we’ll welcome that too, as that adds to New Zealand’s housing stock. But if they are speculating on New Zealand homes, at the expense of resident New Zealanders – whatever their ethnicity – we think that’s wrong”
Only fools and horses may misunderstand his words.
+100 Clem…one has to wonder where some of the critics of Twyford and the Labour Party on facing up to this housing crisis are coming from …this is becoming more and more evident
…and their sincerity and loyalty to the interests of the vast majority of New Zealanders is questionable to say the least
Chooky, it is quite simple:
There are two groups of people that are putting the boot into Twyford and the Labour party.
1. Almost all of the right wing nasty rogues from National and ACT who have tried to derail the issue as one of ‘racism’ for political expediency.
2. Some left wing low IQ do gooders who have completely misunderstood the actual issue and have instead framed the issue as one of ‘racism’ for political stupidity.
But no matter…The truth will ultimately prevail.
I don’t think Joyce is finding it funny at all. A friend of mine who’s yacht is berthed at the local marina seen him on Tuesday pacing up and down the walkway and heard him cursing about Labour into his phone. Guess Mr Snake Oil doesn’t like being exposed and the heat being applied over the Auckland property pyramid scheme.
The thing with pyramid schemes is there all good fun for those who get in and out with the other mugs loot, however eventually punters get rattled and the pyramid crashes and people get burnt. The future is not so bright afterwards for those who get torched and they they bane for blood. Key, Joyce and their cronies will be taking a bath together.
Gee not like that hasn’t been trotted out over the last 7 years…still hasn’t happened though has it
Even Ken Rings predictions are more accurate and thats saying something
Enjoy it why it lasts this lots cycle is in it’s final term.
The usual bad after taste as their legacy. Oh and the flagship referendum…chuckle…the changing of the flag, yeah wait for the penny to drop when the punters see their winter power bill. I can hear the cursing already. $26 million on a stupid flag referendum, when this Key fucker doesn’t even bother on on a blinding one for our power assets.
I guess after Key retires to Hawaii and Kiwi’s look back it would be fair to say “John Key the one trick ponytail pulling pony.” Even you must agree with this surely?
You really think so? I think Key could be on track for a fourth term; they do need to tighten up on what they do and how they present themselves though.
As a long range forecast, I’m picking Labour in the 22% to 26% range on election day.
You’re certainly trying you’re hardest to keep them there.
unlike them i don’t get paid $160,000 p.a. to come up with badly judged political bullshit; mine is purely volunteer work.
I’m seeing a party that is growing in strength ,and a leader who is very clever in his management of his MPs . Its game on IMO
More wishful thinking CV on my behalf. I am assuming Key will pack it in and they implode in the bachwash. Some in the Labour caucus are too self interested in preserving their own gravy train ahead of the collective membership who they treat with distain. I heard a swing voter on Garners show today that has had a enough of the current regime, but then politely pointed out the same faces, referring to King. It really is the elephant in the room that they choose to ignore rather than address. So yes I concur with your numbers at this point in time, unless of course the back of the axe comes out which is good for 4-5%.
yes, Key imploding would do it. But these bastards are pretty good at their succession transitions too.
I wouldn’t bank on a fourth term.
When the wheels fall off this delinquent regime things will fall apart very quickly. I doubt they’ll make it through this one.
Labour’s handling of the Auckland housing story – which I initially thought was a huge mistake as it could spin out of control – shows definite signs of improved organisational competence under Little, whatever one’s view of the actual tactic.
the “spinning out of control” thing will be proven with August and September’s poll results IMO. For now, Labour has the intense media attention that they were seeking, so from their standpoint its already an early win.
If it was going to spin out in an omnishambles way it would have by now. Whether it leads to improved polls I have no idea – I’ve given up trying to second guess what has an impact on people.
The media coverage has certainly been intense – some of it supportive and some hostile.
Very much rather very critical, even hostile, at least on TV3, see my comment further below.
I guess a mixed response isn’t all that surprising given the polarising nature of the story.
The Herald’s been pretty supportive; Fairfax has been quite negative.
Re TV3, its political reporting is appalling (apart from some good work by Sabin). A few weeks back they seemed to assiduously ignore the Saudi sheep story – was quite surprised by that.
Yeah I’m not happy about the handling of the Auckland property issue but the bridge head at this point in time needed to be broken to keep them in the fight. Either way National bleed and Labour need to be moving in close to keep the fight tight. The Nats will cut the Maori party before the next election and insight Maori bashing which is a tried and true winner so maybe the LP have deverted this for now and can muster the nationalism counter attack when that card is played. It’s going to get dirty for sure.
Labour has a long history of bashing Chinese, I guess this what Labour means when they say “getting back to Party roots”.
Rule number 1: when in a hole, stop digging. Mr Twyford should do that.
Rule number 2: always thank and enemy for their concern, but never assume their advice was given in good faith.
so: thanks for your concern.
+1 McFlock, the rights lines are transparently crap, no one feels sorry for property developers or the parasitic real estate agents. Tossers.
Good article by Chris Trotter
‘Perilous Whites: Labour, China and the Liberal Intelligentsia’
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/perilous-whites-labour-china-and-the-liberal-intelligentsia/#comment-293522
“THE OUTCRY precipitated by Labour’s critique of overseas Chinese investment in the Auckland housing market is profoundly disturbing. The “Liberal Intelligentsia” (to use Steven Joyce’s term) has reacted to Phil Twyford’s and Rob Salmond’s data as if this is 1915, not 2015….
Is he using the term ‘liberal intelligensia’ in a derogatory way?
Kind of like people have picked up the term ‘purity’ here recently and started to use it meanly.
Trotter’s piece starts out well, recognising that China is now returning to its normal pre-eminence in the Asia Pacific and that NZ has to realise that the order of things has changed.
But instead of triggering a discussion on NZ’s strategy and approach to this geopolitical and economic shift, he complains that the left’s “liberal intelligentisia” are missing the big picture of how we are to protect ourselves from this transformation, in the way they have reacted to Labour’s weekend foray into race politics.
Trotter might consider that might be because Labour was not actually interested in starting a broader discussion on the impact of China’s rise on NZ society and consequences for our nation’s strategies for the future. Labour’s interests were far more narrow and parochial than that.
Trotter had an opportunity to line Hide up and crack him over the role he played with fucked up Auckland property market. His supersux city plan.
Thinking about the new flag idea. If our present flag is changed now or in the near future, it will signal the end of an era for NZ. The end of the first colonial area and the hopes and dreams that went with it. The new flag will flaunt the strength and control of the new corporate era with limited human rights, enhanced property rights, and mercantile interests over every other consideration.
I want to see NZ restored to a place where all people have reasonable prosperity and those who are wealthy will have worked at their own business successfully. And the country being run in a careful way to conserve what’s good and lessen even eliminate most of what is negative for us. That’s a while off so I don’t agree with the new flag now or soon.
edited
A flag doesn’t define a nation, it’s people do.
It’s irrelevant what’s on it, please explain exactly how it looks influences what we do, and how we do it.
Spot on
True.
But symbols are always important. Like Mt Fuji does not define Japan, but you try telling them its’ just a pile of rock’.
Yes, symbols are very important, I agree. I always think – in the 19th century the grandest building in town was a place of worship. In the 21st century it is either a shopping mall or a finance tower.
Actually, the grandest buildings in town have been banks for the last four or five centuries.
no, I don’t think that’s true. What bank building in what city are you thinking of?
A flag, however, is symbol of authority – think of the flags on ships, which are meant to indicate the authority under which they sail. I am deeply suspicious of the flag-change idea, coming as it does in tandem with the TPP agreement. It suggests to me that Mr Key thinks that in changing the flag he can also muddy the authority under which the NZ government acts. Even without changing the flag, he has shown little respect for the limits and conditions of that authority. So long as loans keep rolling in, and house prices don’t crash, he feels free lie with impunity and to use the the state apparatus for whatever purpose suits him.
Rubbish… the Government’s coat-of-arms is the symbol of authority.
The flag should be a reflection of the nation, it has nothing to do with authority.
Disclaimer: I can see both sides of the flag debate, I’m fence-sitting at the moment on change.
Of course a flag has something to do with authority – think of the role of the flag in the military, think of the outrage at flag burning, and the rejection of someone’s claims to authority that lies behind it. The idea that the sun will never set on the British flag is meant to say that the British will never submit to an alien authority… and so on.
Military: The flag says “this is us”, it doesn’t confer any amount of authority over anyone. The actions of the people define the authority, and happens irrespective of the flag.
Burning: It doesn’t reject authority, it basically says “we hate anyone from {insert burning flag country here}”.
Sun will never set: That’s not an authoritative statement, it’s the collective will of the people who it represents. The flag is irrelevant.
I said it was a symbol of authority – a piece of fabric is not authority per se – and it is generally treated as such. Think of the ritualistic lowering and folding of the flag when a military base is vacated for example. There is more to it than “this is us.”
What is this “outrage” about burning a flag?
According to the New Zealand Culture and Heritage website that is precisely what you are supposed to do with an old flag.
As they say
“How should I dispose of an old flag?
The New Zealand Flag should never be flown in a dilapidated condition. You should dispose of an old flag by burning it discreetly in some type of incinerator,”
I think you know the form of public flag-burning that I am talking about – perhaps Tama Iti’s allegedly shooting the NZ flag might offer a clearer example of someone destroying a flag to show rejection of the authority with which it is associated.
I’m damned sure Alwyn was just being Alwyn: pretending to be unaware that the police tried to call flag-burning offensive behaviour. And the quote in the article “To burn the flag is an absolute slight. That’s the flag I served under, I think it’s disgusting” seems to be close to an expression of outrage.
“The flag should be a reflection of the nation,”
But it’s irrelevant what’s on it? How does that work?
… in the context of authority, not nationhood.
A new flag will be appropriate when we ditch the royals and finally cut the apron-strings with the UK. As our ethnic profile changes – pretty quickly to judge from current news – this day is likely come sooner rather than later.
In the meanwhile the negative reaction to the flag change is just a passive-aggressive de-facto vote on John Key and his administration.
I agree – we’re in the south pacific (southern cross on blue), but our head of state is still a British monarch (union jack at the top).
Change that, then we have an excuse to change the flag. Change the flag without changing that, and we’re just lying to ourselves.
Dita does it again re overseas precedent for the Hager-like raids. Her writing is so clear and unequivocal:
“One that springs to mind is that of Audrey Hudson of the Washington Times, who was given a rude awakening at 4:30 one morning two years ago by armed government agents on the pretext of a search warrant for her husband’s firearms. (Probably a little less “polite and friendly” than the Hager raid then, as described by the Crown counsel).
While inside the American journalist’s house, the agents took all sorts of notes, articles, materials and other information, including the identities of people who had supplied Hudson information on the Department of Homeland Security, which she just happened to be investigating and reporting on…..”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11481542
I’m guessing in NZ we no longer collect this sort of data or write these sorts of report….but this is probably true here as well…the majority of poor children are from working families…and “just get a job” is not actually the way out of being poor any more…which in the UK and here seems to be the only idea that the govt has come up with..
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/16/ifs-majority-poor-children-working-families-study
a little over 1/3 in NZ.
The criticism still stands, though – all work should provide a dignified income, not just perpetuate poverty.
“Bread and Roses” eh, McFlock.
“…The slogan pairing bread and roses, appealing for both fair wages and dignified conditions, found resonance as transcending “the sometimes tedious struggles for marginal economic advances” in the “light of labor struggles as based on striving for dignity and respect”, as Robert J. S. Ross wrote in 2013….” – Wikipedia
Just watched the dramatisation Pride (2014), and enjoyed the rendition there:
Bread & Roses sung by Bronwyn Lewis
Just an argument for a the left in NZ to get it together for internationalism.
Am I alone thinking, that the navel gazing of the last few days must have ever Tory in this country rubbing their hands in glee.
The left were the first internationalist – we reached across boarders/cultures and embraced each other, as workers under the thumb of Tory idiocy. Contrary to how some want to play it out, the left was at the forefront of fighting racism, and other divisive tools the Tory scum use to divide and rule.
So let me put my case why we need to reach out again, and why we need to stop the navel gazing. You remember the Rock Star economy? You know who coined the term? Here I’ll let the Herald remind you –
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11430263
Notice the date please of this piece by the herald – the 10th of April. Because not two day’s earlier, this broke.
http://www.icij.org/project/swiss-leaks/banking-giant-hsbc-sheltered-murky-cash-linked-dictators-and-arms-dealers
Now a few days ago HSBC agreed to pay a fine to the Swiss government – But that comes with a hook. No admission of guilt.
http://www.icij.org/blog/2015/06/hsbc-pays-swiss-authorities-record-breaking-fine
Because if you think for one minute that the Tory bastards here and across the globe are not talking and working together your in lala land. Yes some of the elites are fighting each other, and using us as fodder – in that, nothing changes. But the reality is – these bastards are all playing from the same play book.
We are not alone folks. I could add hundred of links that the crippling and divisive actions of our Tory scum, is the same crippling and divisive actions of the Tory scum in Australian, England, Germany, and the USA.
You want solutions to this attack on working people, you want to end the crippling, and vicious attacks by our our of touch Tory idiots? Time to reach out, to workers and friends across the globe. Can I suggest you look how bad it really is in China for working people – One wee link to look at –
Please This link comes with a MAJOR WARNING!!!!! It has photographs and descriptions of young workers who have taken their own lives.
http://libcom.org/blog/four-years-later-still-graveyard-chinese-youth
You remember the Rock Star economy? You know who coined the term?
The Washington post
Three years ago Sweden was widely regarded as a role model in how to deal with a global crisis. The nation’s exports were hit hard by slumping world trade but snapped back; its well-regulated banks rode out the financial storm; its strong social insurance programs supported consumer demand; and unlike much of Europe, it still had its own currency, giving it much-needed flexibility. By mid-2010 output was surging, and unemployment was falling fast. Sweden, declared The Washington Post, was “the rock star of the recovery.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/opinion/krugman-sweden-turns-japanese.html?_r=0
wow
An insult to the Nation’s pop star group ABBA
New Zealand should do the right thing and correct this injustice.
National and their Pop Star economic vision. Yes much more realistic. Rock was always too solid.
FYI!
TPPA – WALK AWAY!!
Protest today by concerned New Zealanders outside Minister of Trade Tim Groser’s New Lynn Office:
WHEN: Thursday 16 July 2015
WHERE: 3136 Gt Nth Rd New Lynn
TIME: 3.30 – 5.30pm
With today’s news of the further collapse in dairy prices – how can NZ dairy farmers trust NZ Minister of Trade Tim Groser to negotiate the best possible deal for NZ dairy under the secretive, pro-corporate Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11481405
Particularly when the USA is currently awash with milk – which they are literally tipping down the drain?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/milk-spilled-into-manure-pits-as-supplies-overwhelm-u-s-dairies
Why on earth would the USA want more milk from New Zealand?
Can Fonterra representatives see the TPPA text?
Yes or no?
If NO – then how can NZ dairy farmers feel confident about what exactly Minister of Trade Tim Groser is negotiating on their behalf?
How come over 600 USA corporate advisors can see the TPPA text?
(Here’s the list!)
http://www.flushthetpp.org/tpp-corporate-insiders/
What about PHARMAC?
Why is Minister of Trade Tim Groser, arrogantly dismissing the concerns of senior medical professionals, over the potential impact of the TPPA on the health of New Zealanders regarding Pharmac?
http://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/70236755/critics-of-trade-deal-are-not-politically-irrelevant
How can the Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, be trusted to look after New Zealand’s ‘national interest’, when the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is currently investigating (at her own volition) the use of the New Zealand GCSB – to spy on Tim Groser’s rivals in his (unsuccessful) bid for the leadership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/68556708/Spy-watchdog-launches-inquiry-into-WTO-job-surveillance
How was THAT in New Zealand’s ‘national interest’, and arguably how could Tim Groser NOT have known about it?
Can Tim Groser really be trusted to look after the best interests of New Zealand, the New Zealand people and New Zealand businesses – especially exporters?
Remember – Tim Groser is ‘widely tipped’ to be the next NZ Ambassador to the USA.
http://www.senateshj.co.nz/news/cognito-tpp-picks-pace#.VabwnaSqqko
“As previously noted by Cognito, Trade Minister Tim Groser is widely tipped to replace Mike Moore as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United States.
If Minister Groser is moving on from his ministerial responsibilities with the National-led Government, he will be wanting to leave his stamp on the Trade portfolio which he has held since 2008. Delivering a significant milestone in New Zealand’s TPP journey would ensure he leaves on a high. …”
WHOM exactly will benefit from New Zealand signing the TPPA – behind the backs of the New Zealand people, New Zealand MPs and New Zealand businesses?
It might be good for Tim Groser – but what about the New Zealanders whose ‘national interest’ he allegedly represents?
TPPA – WALK AWAY!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
+100 Penny…walk away from the TPPA !
So much for Syriza’s election earlier this year heralding a monumental change.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33535205
That’s the point you are reinforcing Gosman. Germany wanted to send the signal to the rest of Europe that democracy and socialism would be crushed mercilessly if it got in the way of the banking and finance bosses of Europe. And if a small Mediterranean country of 12M people had to be fucked over to communicate the message loud and clear, so be it.
Or maybe Greece could have reformed their systems, collected some taxes, cut down on the corruption etc etc
Irrelevant. None of that will allow Greece to pay back their 300B in debt, and Greece has already under gone the largest internal economic devaluation of any country in the Eurozone, as demanded by the Troika. Look where it has got Greece 5 years later.
As I said, this is not about economics or the mathematics of paying back the debt. Simply, Germany wanted the small country of Greece crushed, and wanted the Greek democracy subjugated, to make a point to the rest of Europe.
Democracy is dead in the country it was born.
Looks like another Socialist experiment is heading rapidly for the scapheap of history.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33483653
Everything I wish I’d known at 17 about creating value
As a multimillionaire once told me: Working will never make you rich, you get others to work for you
‘Chinese property speculation & TPPA – why it’s about Tino Rangatiratanga ‘
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/15/chinese-property-speculation-tppa-why-its-about-tino-rangatiratanga/
“Chinese interests own the National Party, so for them to have an opinion more pro Beijing than Wellington shouldn’t be a surprise.
If Labour were smart, they would compare their concerns about Chinese overseas residential property speculators with the TPPA, because this is ultimately about Tino Rangatiratanga…
Thats a big if
‘IF’.. a poem for Labour ( and everyone else)
I’m sure there will be a post on this soon, but Fonterra a bit top heavy? 523 jobs to go. The end of white gold and the Rockcow economy.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/70287979/fonterra-scraps-523-jobs-hopes-to-save-up-to-60m-a-year
Oh look, privatising prison operations has a down side. Who knew?
Apparently, not only does Serco not stop cellphones getting in, or have so little control over their prison that fight tournaments freely take place, the facility is so out of their control that the tournaments are recorded and posted to youtube.
slow clap…
fonterra to sack 523 people
The review, undertaken by an internal management team and business management consultancy McKinsey & Co, was started in December when it became clear the global dairy market wasn’t recovering as quickly as hoped.
The job losses come as world dairy prices continue to sink with prices in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction falling 10.7 per cent to $US2,082 ($NZ3,162), the lowest level since July 2009.
Units in the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund fell 1.1 per cent to $4.72, and have declined 21 per cent this year.
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/fonterra-to-axe-hundreds-of-jobs-2015071613#ixzz3g1plEdwU
—————————————-
funny, i got information yesteday that the price for my milk will go up. Guess someone has to pay for the re-strucuring.
Tova O’Brien spreading more lies about Labours “names data”, making claims not even Labour’s Phil Twyford has made:
http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/door-knocking-labours-chinese-sounding-names-2015071617#axzz3g2XoH2nY
In another desperate attack on Labour and Phil’s metadata from a real estate agent source, Tova O’Brien dares to claim now, that Phil Twyford and Labour have claimed that 3 quarters of persons with ethnic Chinese names are “off shore” buyers. She must be meaning the comparison of the 9 percent census population share data for Auckland to the near 40 percent sales names for residential real estate for three months.
Now, did Phil Twyford and Labour actually make such a claim? I think that this was not so. It is just flabbergasting how the MSM get away with twisting and misrepresenting stuff again, again and yet again.
No wonder we have the government and system we have, misinformation dominates, and any attempt to shine light on what may go on, is straight away ridiculed or aggressively attacked and shot down.
The rest of this “news item”, a desperate attempt to disprove Labour’s suggestions that there may be a significant off-shore buyer share on the Auckland market, follows two other news items on each of the preceding two nights, all to attack Labour. And the quickly gathered, hand-picked data TV3 presents is according to the broadcaster supposed to be “statistical” as well, I presume. A big FAIL, I reckon, an embarrassing “news” bit.
Shame on you, Tova.
Mike the savage one ………saw Tova O’brien’s piece. disgraceful.
MEMO Jerome Kaino:
It’s the referee that was unpredictable in the RWC final
Seven Sharp, Television One, Thursday 16 July 2015
Tonight’s programme started with a special media conference: three All Blacks (Dan Carter, Jerome Kaino and Nepo Laulala) being asked questions not by hard-bitten rugby reporters but by a bunch of kids.
Now that sounds like a good idea, and for most of the session the interaction between the players and the kids was indeed lighthearted and positive. The kids asked questions like “Is it true that all the best All Blacks come from Canterbury?” and the players answered humorously and adeptly.
However, there was one troubling moment: Jerome Kaino’s cliché-larded and misleading answer to one question…..
YOUNG FAN: What has been your toughest game and why?
JEROME KAINO: [suddenly grim] Ah, I’d have to say the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. The French were quite unpredictable.
Of course, in that match the Tricolors were not able to be “unpredictable” because the home side (New Zealand) cynically destroyed any chance that France might have had to play football by systematic, flagrant offside play, continually killing the ball and playing the ball illegally on the ground. Jerome Kaino was one of the worst offenders.
The unpredictability in that game was that of the so-called “referee”, Craig Joubert, who throughout the game refused to penalize the home side. When it became clear that Joubert would not do anything to stop them, the All Blacks naturally took advantage of the situation, and fouled throughout the game.
The cuteness of the young interviewers doesn’t seem to have had any impact on the All Blacks’ established practice of casually mouthing obfuscatory bullshit. No matter what the audience, even when talking to kids, the players, just like “Sir” Graham Henry and the management team, are still resolutely on message.
Your one sad miserable puppy Morrissey if that clip got you going, man how pathetic, let it go it was 4 years ago, the show was about the kids not the abs you ding bat
Your [sic] one sad miserable puppy Morrissey if that clip got you going,
No, what got me, and many others—especially in France—“going” was not that clip, but the sight of the travesty unfolding, live. Something tells me that YOU do not understand French, but people interested in fair play should watch the following analysis of that farcical night in October 2011….
man how pathetic, let it go it was 4 years ago,
That game was a disgrace as it happened, and it doesn’t get any better with the passage of time.
the show was about the kids not the abs you ding bat
The show was a highly organized PR exercise, given massive free publicity by Television One and other media.
Some interesting reading here…….
http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2014-2015
Topically, here’s the summary of the respective positions of NZ and Greece. (Obviously written some time before Syriza’s rapid destruction of the Greek economy)
New Zealand advances one rank to 17th place—
its best rank since the introduction of the current GCI
methodology. Among the highlights, the country is
ranked 1st in the institutions pillar and features in the top
10 of five more pillars. In particular, New Zealand ranks
third in the financial market development pillar. It boasts
an excellent education system (9th), while the efficiency
of its goods (6th) and labor (6th) markets is among the
highest in the world.
Following the recovery that started last year, Greece
advances 10 spots to reach 81st place. Improvements
in the functioning of its goods market (85th) with
enhanced levels of competition (71st) and more flexible
labor markets (although they remain rather rigid, 117th),
along with a better macroeconomic performance with
a sharp reduction in the budget deficit, have resulted in
this more positive outlook despite its very high levels of
government debt. All this suggests that the implemented
reforms are starting to pay off. Notwithstanding this
better performance, Greece continues to face important
challenges that need to be addressed in order to
continue improving its competitiveness. More precisely,
the functioning of its institutions remains weak and it
achieves a poor evaluation for government efficiency
(129th), its financial market (130th) has not yet recovered
from the recent financial crisis, there are concerns
about the soundness of its banks (141st), and access to
financing (136th) remains the most problematic factor
for doing business in the country. Moreover, in order to
support a structural change of the Greek economy so
that it can move toward more productive, knowledge-
based activities, it will need to boost its innovation
capacity (109th). That will require improvements in the
quality of its education system (111th) as well as higher
investments in knowledge-generating activities, such as
R&D (114th).
Yep unfortunately another case study of socialism crashing and burning. It fails as usual when the strategy of using other peoples money runs dry and they have squeezed the life out of the wealth generation and industrial, innovative capacity of the economy. More than often replaced with a bloated public service creating sweet nothing or heavily subsidised and inefficient state enterprises
And it so fast working! Syrisa managed to use all of the other peoples money and squeeze the life out of the wealth generation capacity of the economy in just six months! And things were going so well before they got there, too!
“Yep unfortunately another case study of socialism crashing and burning. ”
Comrade Red, Please give us a example of a success story by the neo liberals who you seem to LOVE ? Just one, no I will make it easy just half, or better still a quarter.
As for “have squeezed the life out of the wealth generation and industrial,”
Get a load of this.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/03/supermarkets-kill-free-markets-communities
Why does it seem New Zealand does not understand what racism means anymore. The lines have been blurred between sovereignty, citizenship and nationality.
It seems to me people are choosing which bandwagon to jump on in order to justify their world view, some are genuine, others disingenuous, and some plain patronising.
The unregulated housing market most now recognise is detrimental to resident kiwis no matter how hard they work.
Housing has become a global financial market and is no longer about having a home, it’s an investment. If values keep going up as currently trending, I’m sure the government feels this will self finance peoples retirement years that the state can no longer afford due to reduced taxation, and keep the baby boomers within the means they are used to. Just see what you can buy for equivalent money in the US (forget the likes of New York – no matter what anyone says, no where in New Zealand compares), this is because Americans rely on their 401K etc.
The problem has been raised by the only means available to get it into the MSM, this has been whispered under breath for over a decade, it has to be dealt with. It’s a festering boil, distorting our low wage economic market. It meets all the macroeconomic ideals of building wealth, but it’s a false economy based on future debt, no long term rental rights, and a new landowner class.
Chinese people are not the evil, easy money from China based investors is the problem.
I’m going to guess that a large proportion of the people offended by apparent racial overtures on this blog are not ethnically Chinese, that in itself is uncomfortable. You cannot act as thought police, accusing people genuinely concerned about national interests with colonial era racism.
Sorry to disappoint you thorn but expression from local Chinese leaders and local Chinese media ( not necessary investors) are that they are offended by this racial profiling
possibly over done re faux outrage but the left are so good at throwing the racist tag around it is quite humorous seen them squirm over this issue
@ Reddelusion….well you would say that wouldn’t you ?
Yes some people are always offended by any issue, and offended people are loud. Tough.
+100 Thom Pietersen
Agree not all Syrisa fault, Greece has been a basket case for years, bloated public service, inefficien and heavily subsidised state industries, tax fraud by all of society, massive welfare fraud, government corruption ….. etc cheap money kept it going but the tap has been turned off A good dose of neoliberal economics will do it some good, unfortunately one generation will have to go through the transition. tough love by the Germans
Ah, the Germans and their tough love. Bad eggs, Fawlty!
most appropriate Syrisa stewardship of Greece would make Basel proud,
Cybil ( Merkel) is back now
Where Phil Ure, have not heard from him for ages ?
On an enforced break, Red. Annoyed the wrong person. Allowed back around xmas, if I recall correctly.
Shhhhh!…….. peeaaceful………
…………. innit?
If Labour is not going to speak for these people, and the Nats certainly aren’t, who will?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11367207
Not the Greens. They’re too busy with cycleways that only the privileged can afford to use.