Agree with this. Restore Auckland’s St James Theatre. It’s more important to Auckland’s culture and heritage than the SkyCity, pokie convention centre.
Well, bb, it’s me that used the words “heritage” and “culture” – so thanks for the insult.
And for the righties, the commons doesn’t rate unless they can profiteer from it, and do so in the short term. They’d rather bleed a city by pandering to the gaming industry, and well-off convention attendees, via such things as SkyCity dirty deals. Culture and heritage is a living part of communities – a thing that brings people together.
The St James has been an important part of Auckland’s heart beat in the past, and can be again – and, for the right wingers who view everything through the immediate profits evident on the balance sheets of private businesses – the St James has been a great part of Auckland’s culture while being managed as a successful private business.
yeah i think you should refrain from pointing the bludger finger mate.
but its funny that you have this weird jump from the issue of the st james to some unemployed artist.
Do you remember the history of the Civic in Auckland?
Whats the general opinion of the Civic, and the fact that it was not just saved from demolition, but restored and is in regular, income and employment generating use today?
can you then explain exactly how any of that is in any way related to your weird delusion about personal hobbies?
“I suspect this is another in the long line of demands by the bludging arts crowd for free and easy access to my money”
Like professional rugby bludging off old lady ratepayers for a stadium
Like professional cricket bludging off old lady ratepayers for a Hagley oval.
Like dairy farmers bludging off taxpayers to subsidise their business
Like aluminium factories sucking at the taxpayer tit.
Like so much corporate fucking welfare that this government doles out left right and centre.
Hi BB, my experience of shelling out as a tax payer is to subsidise financiers and their investors (SCF rings a bell), and as a rate payer in Wellington for various Right Wing mayors public shows of largesse such as fireworks, concessions to developers etc. Please add these to your list of bludgers, carpetbaggers and free lunchers.
the outside is rumored to be equally impressive – what we actually see is some rather ugly facade that was added in the 70s or 80s
Ive done a bit of event work in there from time to time – theres a huge amount of amazing features and back stage capabilities that have simply been blocked off and forgotten
and its not just the st james – theres 3 other main spaces that were once cinemas behind the facade – each with distinctive features. But i think theres been some slicing and dicing of these spaces over the years. So some might once have been part of the st james in a previous life
Having such an ornate and intricate interior and such a drab communist bloc exterior didn’t really make sense.
We had something similar down in Hamilton with one of our buildings, some arse back in the 70’s thought covering up this ornate art deco styled building with a plain concrete block facade was the height in style.
They’ve removed the blocks now and returned it to it’s former glory.
The 70s have a lot to answer for, including my 1920s Craftsman-style doors, over which someone decided to nail (and glue) hardboard. They even stopped the hardboard 15mm from the edge to avoid having to re-hang the doors.
We do have a pretty cool fish tank that’s reminiscent of the architecture of communist-era Poland, including the burnt-umber stand.
From the Herald online, Slippery the Prime Minister, obviously in a panic over the Campbell Live roadshow gathering the opinion of ‘heartland’ Kiwis, has in a written statement to the Herald said that He will restrict the GCSB from accessing Kiwis email accounts,
As the Minister in charge of the GCSB He says that no warrants will be signed by Him for such access to emails unless there is some credible threat to that users account and the account holder would have to give permission to allow the GCSB to access their account,
Begs the question doesn’t it, why capitulate now making special provisions for the GCSB to only be able to access private email accounts only with a specific warrant to do so signed by the Prime Minister with the knowledge of the account holder,
The next question is, should not such measures be a matter of the Law, this measure should be part of the Legislation not something at the simple discretion of the Prime Minister as the Minister in charge of the GCSB…
A cynic might interpret the swift foot shuffle of Slippery the Prime Minister as an admission that the previous ‘plan’ for the GCSB was to in fact have free reign to access the email accounts of the country’s citizens,
If the GCSB or the SIS have grounds to look into the email accounts,(or any other accounts for that matter),of private citizens those organizations should seek a search warrant and serve that warrant on the citizen concerned,
That should be what the Law says, fishing expeditions by the country’s citizens are a matter of legal proscription and the agents of the State should carry out their business under the same legal proscriptions,
Looks like we have heard the last tho of the Prime Minister and His Shills whining like beaten dogs that ‘the people’ are more interested in the snapper catch limits than the GCSB’s intention to trawl the peoples email accounts hoping to land the ‘big one’…
geoff
Of course not he is The Principal! And he knows what he is talking about.
Some useful quotes relating to words meaning whatever the speaker wants.
Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland site:
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?”
“Come, we shall have some fun now!” thought Alice. “I’m glad they’ve begun asking riddles. — I believe I can guess that,” she added aloud.
“Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?” said the March Hare.
“Exactly so,” said Alice.
“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on.
“I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least–at least I mean what I say–that’s the same thing, you know.”
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7)
– You have to ensure subservience/submission of the masses (eg through debt peonage, job insecurity, transfer of economic power to the corporates etc)
– You have to ensure that potential dissident groups are kept silenced or silent (eg. academics, civil society groups like the Law Society, activists and advocacy groups, trade unions)
– You have to disable checks and balances on executive power e.g. take away the right for judicial review, appointment Yes men (and women) to bodies like the Race Relations office etc
– You have to bolster the security and intelligence services and actively undermine, discredit or put down protestors, activists and mass movements.
And just look at what is happening in Egypt. Military forces killed over 500 civilians. And while the US is “monitoring” the situation, it is continuing military and political aid.
Also you raise divisions in society by targetting minority unliked classes (prisoners, benes, child abusers, …) and spreading out from there.
For the final steps of enabling a dictatorship you require a disaster or crisis to take advantage of, followed by a purge of all potential enemies. Can be quite nasty, looking back in history eg. the days after the Reichstag Fire.
News : Mining commentator says – Underground mining has no future in NZ.
News from informed opinion : New Zea-land has no future in New Zealand. Name seen as reflecting unpleasant reality of land being used with ‘New Zeal’ (of which land there will be considerably less and with change rendering it unrecognisable compared to its past appearance.) Soon to legislate for name change to New Nauru.
Interesting moderation program operates at present. I ‘m not using Godwin’s law or anything but must be doing something out of the usual lexicon to strike the warning bell in the machine.
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There is a big lie dripping from the side of the mouth of NZ business leaders.
I heard a report on a Dunedin meeting of regional worthies who want to stop job losses. We regularly hear business leaders talk of exporting difficulties.
One of the solutions to job losses and exporting difficulties is to get interest rates, and as a consequence, exchange rates down. The fear of house price inflation is the main reason for our high interests rates. A strong Capital Gains Tax, including the family home, will enable the lowering of interest rates.
Business and regional leaders know that a lower exchange rate will stimulate exports and jobs. That also know that a CGT is required.
They know the problem and they know a significant part of the solution: but dare not speak it until they have made their own personal Tax Free gain.
Not a PS Staffer
That tax review info bite sounds like one of the gold nuggets of information that are very valuable to understanding how things actually work in our economy. Could you please put up a link. We need to have a source for this if it is a fact.
edit – This is awaiting moderation! I am very moderate I think. Well most of the time. Haha.
Got those thanks Not a PSStaffer
Will study. Am organising recovery equipment, pillow for falling on, tissues for crying into, alcoholic drink to forget it all.
“I’m now a PAYE tax payer who subsidises all those businesses and farmers that are not paying a Capital Gains Tax.”
I am in favour of a capital gains tax, but how will this extract a lot of tax from farmers? What is the size of the sector’s realised taxable capital gains?
CGT regimes are complex, but there are generally heavy discounts on the tax for active assets. In Australia for example, under the 15 year exemption the whole of the capital gain made on the sale of an active asset, such as farming property, is tax exempt.
Given the imperitave for tax harmonisation with Australia, we would need to do something similar.
So a CGT, yes. But you won’t extract much from farmers.
It appears that someone has been feeding the monkeys bananas, Maurice Williamson the Minister of buildings or something, in the online Herald today, just back from a trip to the States where He is absolutely gushing about ‘Affordable Homes’ and how they do it over in yankeeland,
Maurice is impressed that they prefabricate kitchens, bathrooms and garages in factories over there and then truck the components to the building site, my opinion is that Maurice needs something a little more mind expanding in His diet so as to gain a full understanding of prefabrication,
With the correct planning Houses can be mass produced in factories and only primitive apes would be engaged in the house building process by building one house at a time,
In a series of factories all the internal components of a house can be constructed as a unit which then needs only bolting in to the house, everything including ALL the internal walls which can be jibbed and wired with all the necessary wiring and plugs leading into the ceiling can be mass produced in a factory using largely unskilled labour,
The only components of a house that need be built on site are in fact only the foundation and the floor, even the actual roof can be pre-built in 2 halves in a factory whether it be tiled or colour steel clad and bolted into place using L plates,
With the right planning such housing could be erected in a day after the foundation and floor was laid and all that would remain is for the wiring, plumbing and outside cladding to be attached and any organization planning such a venture would only need one qualified builder along with a labouring gang to achieve such an outcome,
Maurice goes on in His little gush to point out that Kiwis would have to get used to living in houses that were much the same, aaaah derrrr Maurice, the place i am in at the moment is one of a whole street full of houses that are ‘the same’, the differing fences gardens and other added bits and pieces tho would mean you have to look hard to ascertain such similarity…
NZ already has the capability far and away more advanced than what Maurice is describing… http://www.go-homes.co.nz/
is but one example.
I have one which I have had for 5 years on two different sites! When we sold lifestyle block the new Overseas purchasers didn’t want the Go Home – all the NZ enquirers wanted it but not the eventual buyer – who does not live on the property. It was just to be land banked. So we moved the Go Home to a coastal site and enjoy it still. It takes all of one day to resite it and then move in.
Why these are not being considered for those unhoused in ChCh I cannot fathom…
Something tells me that that ruling is going to result in a lot of people innocent of charges finding themselves out of a job and persecuted by the community.
Just read Trotter on http://thedailyblog.co.nz/category/bloggers/chris-trotter/ He makes the point that Key runs rings around the likes of Shearer. Can the next Labour leader please be a common garden type who is inarticulate in a Kiwi kind of way but speaks decisively about how to catch snapper, and can draw analogies that feature darning socks with number 8 wire.
“Hi Denni. I receive change.org regularly in my in box, but haven’t seen this as yet. Is this really really really for real? Serious question.
Does it have to reach 100 signature’s before change.org will put it out on their international mailing list or something?”
I heaven’t heard back. Does anyone know anything about this and whether it’s legit?
Seems like a great idea but in reality even though Key is arse and the decisions, lies and legislation of his govt are arse, can he actually be removed from the office of P.M? Or is is just a wonderful fantasy?
It’s a fantasy. It’s a waste of time. Even if he had the power to do it, why on Earth would the ex head of the GCSB and great servant of the Empire that is our GG get rid of Key? I wish people would stop dreaming such useless rubbish.
Thanks Murray and yeshe. As expected. It was the (apparently) sudden appointment of such a military man that raised many an eyebrow, and for what? To protect the agenda.
He has nice digs though, if you ever get the opportunity to visit.
Basically, Kalecki said that the full employment delivered by Keynesian policy would eventually lead to a more assertive working class and weakening of the social position of business leaders, causing the elite to use their political power to force the displacement of the Keynesian policy even though profits would be higher than under a laissez faire system: The erosion of social prestige and political power would be unacceptable to the elites despite higher profits.
I think we can say that that is exactly what has happened over the last few decades.
From my understanding, the conservative blowback was the main reason Marx felt that incremental change was futile, and eventually the proles would simply pack a sad and have a revolution. But then of course the transitional dictatorship of the proletariat might end up wanting to preserve its elite status and forestall the completeion of the revolution (which is the main reason some communists I’ve met claimed that communism had never been tried – but it smacks as being the flipside of spylands’ argument that reason the country has tanked is simply because the neolib reforms of the last thirty years didn’t go far enough. An irrefutable proposition is a profession of faith, not an evaluation of fact).
I never really got into the hegelian dialectic thing, though I do think that Marx outlined the problems of capitalism thoroughly and robustly.
(which is the main reason some communists I’ve met claimed that communism had never been tried
According to the academics communism lasted about 50 days after the Russian Revolution. As far as I know, no other “communist” country even got that far instead going straight down the oppressive/dictatorial route following Russia.
Marx’s argument though was that communism was the culmination (“synthesis”) of history, so it couldn’t “last” for a period and then fail. Basically if a community or nation is not genuinely communist now, then there never has been. Ergo none of its faults can be blamed on communism, because if it were communist everything would be pretty grand.
Like I say, a bit too semantically perfect for my liking.
“A theory like this, which cannot be falsified by any set of observations, is closer to religion than science.” – A good description of economics in general. Though, it is a stretch to think of economics as anything like a science.
Phillips, of the curve fame, was another Dannevirke product.
He spent his time talking about boxing, basically all sport is about clan affiliation, your team, your hero sportsman, etc. Yet then he goes on to call the winner economic view as neo-liberalism, like it hadn’t been pretty well crushed as bluster. Neo-liberals make a false claim, that the wealth we’ve experienced in the last thirty years was an effect of their economic views, when in fact the rush of cheap high density fuels would have engaged any democracy, and rewarded any open economy. The question is of course neo-liberals believe in one ‘perfect’ economy, and ignore the reality that no economy will or is perfect, or run by perfect ayran economists.
. . . My point is that the mainstream press in countries such as Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom, have (more often than not) failed to engage in critical investigations into, and analyses of, the accumulation and utilisation of power. And, it is this failure that has created a vacuum filled, at least in part, by WikiLeaks and Anonymous . . .
And then there is this, also from last nights Campbell Live, the rest home workers made ‘redundant’ by a paper shuffle which changed the name of the company running the rest home but to all extents and purposes the same people who owned the previous company are the ‘new’ owners,
Excuse my language but this is simply f**king fraud, a fraud designed to have the employees re-apply for their jobs where they will be offered a lower rate of pay,
RING RING, is anyone home over at :Labour, it is obvious from the actions of this company in particular that the Law has to be re-written so as to define for what are essentially criminal employers what is and what is not redundancy,
While your at it why not include some criminal sanctions like 5 years jail for employers that attempt to circumvent the Law surrounding redundancy it might just act as a deterrent,
Shuffling paper work also allows these same people to avoid orders from the various Tribunals where knowing that they are likely to have to cough up cash as the result of a Tribunal order these same ‘oh so honest’ people simply change the name of their company and resume trading the next day suffering no penalty what-so-ever,
All Tribunal orders made against a business entity should also make the beneficial owners of that entity responsible for the orders express wishes and where the beneficial owners have registered their business entity in people that are not the beneficial owners they too should end up parked in a jail cell…
Rock and Roll, wasn’t that a decent quake, not a shake the s**t of the shelves model but bigger than any of the previous in the series felt out here East of the City…
Hang a small weight on a nylon thread in a window you can see from where you spend most of your time. Watch for the wobble on that. My eyes have spent a lot of time in the last 3 years peering intensely at such a device.
6.9 according to the rickety scale, no damage what-so-ever here but in the City might be a different story,
The thing with these ongoing series is the damage to the bigger buildings that is not necessarily visible, all of the shakes will be stressing steel in various ways, and continued stressing will weaken structures…
Yes, it was big up the top of Newlands bad12. Got on the ground this time. Ground took a while to stop rolling. And it was rock n roll. It usually jolts and shakes up here on the rock. Everyone ok?
LOLZ, i deliberately sat in the chair to see what it felt like but fear got the better of me in the end and i parked my carcass in the doorway for the last bit,
Out here we are all good but i feel for anyone in the tower blocks downtown, felt as a ‘dip’ here followed by a shudder then a long rolling motion…
Central city and can still feel it rocking. I’m leaving next week – don’t know whether to be worried my family will still be here, or happy to be getting out of it.
LOLZ, in my guise as a labourer i worked on a lot of Wellington’s tower blocks but always quit once they started getting off the ground, if the piles start going on them you can feel free to blame me, l worked for years for a piling firm,
I only ever go into the City these days if i absolutely have to…
We live on the edge of the centre of the city, lol. So getting out is not an option. Not near any high rises though, and our building is earthquake strengthened (phew) – so you’re safe from blame from me.
At least we’re not one of the workers in cars trying to get home right now…
Thanks for the hot tip re the weight on a nylon line vto. Thats sage advice. Turns out the ground was still rolling after all with quakes coming in from the north and the south, only minutes apart. A real bombardment
Husband whose a civil defence volunteer who works on the 16th floor of a building in town said they are considering leaving for the day. It was really bad for them and others no doubt.
Yeah true, has been upgraded and then downgraded, cant those people get anything right, when Wellington gets it’s long overdue ‘Biggy’ i want to know immediately the minutae of destruction,
Another one just as i am typing, that i would call moderate but seemed to be a side-to-side east west motion whereas the 6.2 seemed to be a south to north rolling…
In town Contrarian? Just listening to radio active. Apparently it’s mass exodus heading north out of town, Glover park is full of people drinking (nothing new in that though) and the pubs are busier than they usually are on Friday arvo, so they must be heaving.
A man received 5 years 9 months jail sentence.
Taia beat up a St Albans neighbour, Vaea Lam, so badly that he had serious head and brain injuries and had to have part of his skull removed, and he lost five teeth.
Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said the head injury almost resulted in Lam’s death, and Taia had an extensive, very serious and alarming history of violence.
Lam was in court, and Taia called out, “Yeah but I didn’t start this, you should man up, man”.
There apparently was provocation. But that doesn’t excuse violence, certainly not to this level. This man should be kept in jail for a long, long time. He is a danger to anyone round him and is sure to commit other crimes up to an surpassing this.
Let half of our jail population with minor offences out after a month of intensive counselling, training, and life and trade skills orientation, the rest of their time to be suspended unless they commit law-breaking that is sufficiently serious. But keep people like this man in jail under safe conditions and away from other prisoners till he can handle anger and self-control issues and get a vision of making a better life for himself and others.
Here is a video of proxy voters who are being interrogated in the belief that it will give an indication of future voting preferences. They are all looking a bit uncertain and sheepish though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcE5aDTszrY
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Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
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Agree with this. Restore Auckland’s St James Theatre. It’s more important to Auckland’s culture and heritage than the SkyCity, pokie convention centre.
karol.
I suspect this is another in the long line of demands by the bludging arts crowd for free and easy access to my money.
Whenever I see the words “heritage” and “culture” it is normally means that some talentless hack wants the public to subsidise their hobby.
Well, bb, it’s me that used the words “heritage” and “culture” – so thanks for the insult.
And for the righties, the commons doesn’t rate unless they can profiteer from it, and do so in the short term. They’d rather bleed a city by pandering to the gaming industry, and well-off convention attendees, via such things as SkyCity dirty deals. Culture and heritage is a living part of communities – a thing that brings people together.
The St James has been an important part of Auckland’s heart beat in the past, and can be again – and, for the right wingers who view everything through the immediate profits evident on the balance sheets of private businesses – the St James has been a great part of Auckland’s culture while being managed as a successful private business.
Yep agree Karol, lucky we saved from it the Cath Tizard and the visionless Auckland council who wanted to knock it over.
yeah i think you should refrain from pointing the bludger finger mate.
but its funny that you have this weird jump from the issue of the st james to some unemployed artist.
Do you remember the history of the Civic in Auckland?
Whats the general opinion of the Civic, and the fact that it was not just saved from demolition, but restored and is in regular, income and employment generating use today?
can you then explain exactly how any of that is in any way related to your weird delusion about personal hobbies?
“I suspect this is another in the long line of demands by the bludging arts crowd for free and easy access to my money”
Like professional rugby bludging off old lady ratepayers for a stadium
Like professional cricket bludging off old lady ratepayers for a Hagley oval.
Like dairy farmers bludging off taxpayers to subsidise their business
Like aluminium factories sucking at the taxpayer tit.
Like so much corporate fucking welfare that this government doles out left right and centre.
You’re a joke bb
“Like dairy farmers bludging off taxpayers to subsidise their business”
New Zealand agricultural subsidies are by far the lowest in the world. So this statement is a bit silly. One thing we have got right in NZ.
http://www.economist.com/node/21563323
You will find the picture is similar across other sectors (but less stark than for ag).
So the “corporate welfare” mantra is a myth. A chant not supported by any empirical evidence.
what absolute rubbish
“Whenever I see the words “heritage” and “culture” it is normally means that some talentless hack wants the public to subsidise their hobby.”
Like the America’s Cup or the Velodrome at Cambridge
Hi BB, my experience of shelling out as a tax payer is to subsidise financiers and their investors (SCF rings a bell), and as a rate payer in Wellington for various Right Wing mayors public shows of largesse such as fireworks, concessions to developers etc. Please add these to your list of bludgers, carpetbaggers and free lunchers.
I just googled the St James theater, looks really average from the out side, but the inside is really impressive.
It would be a real shame to see something of that caliber disappear.
the outside is rumored to be equally impressive – what we actually see is some rather ugly facade that was added in the 70s or 80s
Ive done a bit of event work in there from time to time – theres a huge amount of amazing features and back stage capabilities that have simply been blocked off and forgotten
and its not just the st james – theres 3 other main spaces that were once cinemas behind the facade – each with distinctive features. But i think theres been some slicing and dicing of these spaces over the years. So some might once have been part of the st james in a previous life
I did wonder about that.
Having such an ornate and intricate interior and such a drab communist bloc exterior didn’t really make sense.
We had something similar down in Hamilton with one of our buildings, some arse back in the 70’s thought covering up this ornate art deco styled building with a plain concrete block facade was the height in style.
They’ve removed the blocks now and returned it to it’s former glory.
“some arse back in the 70′s thought covering up this ornate art deco styled building with a plain concrete block facade was the height in style.”
heh – thats some what NZ architectural history from that time distilled into one sentence
The 70s have a lot to answer for, including my 1920s Craftsman-style doors, over which someone decided to nail (and glue) hardboard. They even stopped the hardboard 15mm from the edge to avoid having to re-hang the doors.
We do have a pretty cool fish tank that’s reminiscent of the architecture of communist-era Poland, including the burnt-umber stand.
yeah some communist era design has its merits – though i think they did better at the monument side of things
Move aside Miss Liberty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Motherland_Calls
Never to be forgiven.
http://www.worldarchitecturemap.org/buildings/wanganui-departmental-building
Wasn’t just NZ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture
I hate to see beautiful buildings go – once they are gone you can never get them back.
Holy fuck! http://eyeonauckland.com/2013/06/akl-inspired-2/
According to this page, the facade was added in the 50s for a royal visit.
any gamers out there..?
..my son found this deal yesterday..that really needs to be passed around..
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/ed-gamers-have-electronic-arts-got-a-deal-for-you/
..electronic arts..(the dark empire of gaming) are attempting to rehabilitate their lousy reputation with gamers..
..by offering a killer humble-deal..
..eight a-grade/big-selling games – for about u.s.$4-$5..
..plus monies from all sales go to a charity you choose from a provided-list..
..what is not to love about that..?
(just one of those eight games will cost you $60 if brought over the counter today..in auckland..
(nb..i am not in the employ of electronic arts..or any of their agents..and receive no gain of any sort from this recommendation..
..but this one is just too good not to pump..
phillip ure..
Just a pity that they’re not the type of games that I play.
Still, there is always GOG.com and Steam.
From the Herald online, Slippery the Prime Minister, obviously in a panic over the Campbell Live roadshow gathering the opinion of ‘heartland’ Kiwis, has in a written statement to the Herald said that He will restrict the GCSB from accessing Kiwis email accounts,
As the Minister in charge of the GCSB He says that no warrants will be signed by Him for such access to emails unless there is some credible threat to that users account and the account holder would have to give permission to allow the GCSB to access their account,
Begs the question doesn’t it, why capitulate now making special provisions for the GCSB to only be able to access private email accounts only with a specific warrant to do so signed by the Prime Minister with the knowledge of the account holder,
The next question is, should not such measures be a matter of the Law, this measure should be part of the Legislation not something at the simple discretion of the Prime Minister as the Minister in charge of the GCSB…
Yep.
As I said in karol’s Key vs Campbell transcript, John boy only responds to threats to his popularity. He has no principles.
A cynic might interpret the swift foot shuffle of Slippery the Prime Minister as an admission that the previous ‘plan’ for the GCSB was to in fact have free reign to access the email accounts of the country’s citizens,
If the GCSB or the SIS have grounds to look into the email accounts,(or any other accounts for that matter),of private citizens those organizations should seek a search warrant and serve that warrant on the citizen concerned,
That should be what the Law says, fishing expeditions by the country’s citizens are a matter of legal proscription and the agents of the State should carry out their business under the same legal proscriptions,
Looks like we have heard the last tho of the Prime Minister and His Shills whining like beaten dogs that ‘the people’ are more interested in the snapper catch limits than the GCSB’s intention to trawl the peoples email accounts hoping to land the ‘big one’…
geoff
Of course not he is The Principal! And he knows what he is talking about.
Some useful quotes relating to words meaning whatever the speaker wants.
Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland site:
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?”
“Come, we shall have some fun now!” thought Alice. “I’m glad they’ve begun asking riddles. — I believe I can guess that,” she added aloud.
“Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?” said the March Hare.
“Exactly so,” said Alice.
“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on.
“I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least–at least I mean what I say–that’s the same thing, you know.”
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7)
But does not restrict NSA etc access to all Kiwi emails plus metadata .. we should yet remain vigilant !
What are the steps toward dictatorship?
– You have to ensure subservience/submission of the masses (eg through debt peonage, job insecurity, transfer of economic power to the corporates etc)
– You have to ensure that potential dissident groups are kept silenced or silent (eg. academics, civil society groups like the Law Society, activists and advocacy groups, trade unions)
– You have to disable checks and balances on executive power e.g. take away the right for judicial review, appointment Yes men (and women) to bodies like the Race Relations office etc
– You have to bolster the security and intelligence services and actively undermine, discredit or put down protestors, activists and mass movements.
And just look at what is happening in Egypt. Military forces killed over 500 civilians. And while the US is “monitoring” the situation, it is continuing military and political aid.
Also you raise divisions in society by targetting minority unliked classes (prisoners, benes, child abusers, …) and spreading out from there.
For the final steps of enabling a dictatorship you require a disaster or crisis to take advantage of, followed by a purge of all potential enemies. Can be quite nasty, looking back in history eg. the days after the Reichstag Fire.
All good points C.V.
News : Mining commentator says – Underground mining has no future in NZ.
News from informed opinion : New Zea-land has no future in New Zealand. Name seen as reflecting unpleasant reality of land being used with ‘New Zeal’ (of which land there will be considerably less and with change rendering it unrecognisable compared to its past appearance.) Soon to legislate for name change to New Nauru.
Interesting moderation program operates at present. I ‘m not using Godwin’s law or anything but must be doing something out of the usual lexicon to strike the warning bell in the machine.
And that awaits moderation also. I am Numero Uno on the unbucket list.
[Bunji: an awful lot going to moderation at the moment, not just from you… LPrent? What’s happening?]
I’ve been getting these this morning
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LOLZ, me too, made me feel like the enemy at the gate, snigger, a small ,matter of log off log back on fixes it…
I just wait and refresh the page.
me too
You get that when you have lots of tabs open.
Ultra user like me who likes to swallow the Standard by the pint gets annoyed with waiting tho 😈
There is a big lie dripping from the side of the mouth of NZ business leaders.
I heard a report on a Dunedin meeting of regional worthies who want to stop job losses. We regularly hear business leaders talk of exporting difficulties.
One of the solutions to job losses and exporting difficulties is to get interest rates, and as a consequence, exchange rates down. The fear of house price inflation is the main reason for our high interests rates. A strong Capital Gains Tax, including the family home, will enable the lowering of interest rates.
Business and regional leaders know that a lower exchange rate will stimulate exports and jobs. That also know that a CGT is required.
They know the problem and they know a significant part of the solution: but dare not speak it until they have made their own personal Tax Free gain.
Yep.
Classic example of the capitalist class working against everyone else.
Aaaaah Tax Free income!
I’m now a PAYE tax payer who subsidises all those businesses and farmers that are not paying a Capital Gains Tax.
Many farms are set up to pay very lille tax and for all the gain to be in the Tax Free “sale” to the next generation or a third party.
The average kiwi farmers pays less tax than PAYE farmworkers. (See the Tax Review commissioned by Key in 2009).
Not a PS Staffer
That tax review info bite sounds like one of the gold nuggets of information that are very valuable to understanding how things actually work in our economy. Could you please put up a link. We need to have a source for this if it is a fact.
edit – This is awaiting moderation! I am very moderate I think. Well most of the time. Haha.
Hi Greywarbler,
Here is the report
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/sacl/cagtr/pdf/tax-report-website.pdf
If you are a PAYE tax payer i suggest a large box of tissues and a still drink to accompny the reading.
and here is some related comment.
http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2009-10-19-finance-ministers-speech-nzica
https://www.victoria.ac.nz/vbs/about/publications/twg-whatlessonsforpolicydevelopment.pdf
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0906/S00174.htm
Got those thanks Not a PSStaffer
Will study. Am organising recovery equipment, pillow for falling on, tissues for crying into, alcoholic drink to forget it all.
“I’m now a PAYE tax payer who subsidises all those businesses and farmers that are not paying a Capital Gains Tax.”
I am in favour of a capital gains tax, but how will this extract a lot of tax from farmers? What is the size of the sector’s realised taxable capital gains?
CGT regimes are complex, but there are generally heavy discounts on the tax for active assets. In Australia for example, under the 15 year exemption the whole of the capital gain made on the sale of an active asset, such as farming property, is tax exempt.
Given the imperitave for tax harmonisation with Australia, we would need to do something similar.
So a CGT, yes. But you won’t extract much from farmers.
It appears that someone has been feeding the monkeys bananas, Maurice Williamson the Minister of buildings or something, in the online Herald today, just back from a trip to the States where He is absolutely gushing about ‘Affordable Homes’ and how they do it over in yankeeland,
Maurice is impressed that they prefabricate kitchens, bathrooms and garages in factories over there and then truck the components to the building site, my opinion is that Maurice needs something a little more mind expanding in His diet so as to gain a full understanding of prefabrication,
With the correct planning Houses can be mass produced in factories and only primitive apes would be engaged in the house building process by building one house at a time,
In a series of factories all the internal components of a house can be constructed as a unit which then needs only bolting in to the house, everything including ALL the internal walls which can be jibbed and wired with all the necessary wiring and plugs leading into the ceiling can be mass produced in a factory using largely unskilled labour,
The only components of a house that need be built on site are in fact only the foundation and the floor, even the actual roof can be pre-built in 2 halves in a factory whether it be tiled or colour steel clad and bolted into place using L plates,
With the right planning such housing could be erected in a day after the foundation and floor was laid and all that would remain is for the wiring, plumbing and outside cladding to be attached and any organization planning such a venture would only need one qualified builder along with a labouring gang to achieve such an outcome,
Maurice goes on in His little gush to point out that Kiwis would have to get used to living in houses that were much the same, aaaah derrrr Maurice, the place i am in at the moment is one of a whole street full of houses that are ‘the same’, the differing fences gardens and other added bits and pieces tho would mean you have to look hard to ascertain such similarity…
NZ already has the capability far and away more advanced than what Maurice is describing…
http://www.go-homes.co.nz/
is but one example.
I have one which I have had for 5 years on two different sites! When we sold lifestyle block the new Overseas purchasers didn’t want the Go Home – all the NZ enquirers wanted it but not the eventual buyer – who does not live on the property. It was just to be land banked. So we moved the Go Home to a coastal site and enjoy it still. It takes all of one day to resite it and then move in.
Why these are not being considered for those unhoused in ChCh I cannot fathom…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10913071
– Finally somethings being done about this and why was it suddenly envoked?
Something tells me that that ruling is going to result in a lot of people innocent of charges finding themselves out of a job and persecuted by the community.
Just read Trotter on http://thedailyblog.co.nz/category/bloggers/chris-trotter/ He makes the point that Key runs rings around the likes of Shearer. Can the next Labour leader please be a common garden type who is inarticulate in a Kiwi kind of way but speaks decisively about how to catch snapper, and can draw analogies that feature darning socks with number 8 wire.
Sounds like Shearer…
+1 Ennui
And be someone who has proven themselves in Parliament
And be someone who has won a seat by winning direct votes from the Public.
And not a former parliamentary office boy/girl.
Yesterday this petition was posted in the comments on The Daily Blog:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-general-of-new-zealand-dismiss-the-national-led-government-of-new-zealand
And I asked this question:
“Hi Denni. I receive change.org regularly in my in box, but haven’t seen this as yet. Is this really really really for real? Serious question.
Does it have to reach 100 signature’s before change.org will put it out on their international mailing list or something?”
I heaven’t heard back. Does anyone know anything about this and whether it’s legit?
Seems like a great idea but in reality even though Key is arse and the decisions, lies and legislation of his govt are arse, can he actually be removed from the office of P.M? Or is is just a wonderful fantasy?
It’s a fantasy. It’s a waste of time. Even if he had the power to do it, why on Earth would the ex head of the GCSB and great servant of the Empire that is our GG get rid of Key? I wish people would stop dreaming such useless rubbish.
yes, the appt of our current GG is going to come back to bite us .. this was well-planned by thems as wish to hold power regardless.
Thanks Murray and yeshe. As expected. It was the (apparently) sudden appointment of such a military man that raised many an eyebrow, and for what? To protect the agenda.
He has nice digs though, if you ever get the opportunity to visit.
IS THE “NATURAL RATE” OF UNEMPLOYMENT AN OUT-OF-DATE CONCEPT?
Yeah its a totally false mathematical construct to justify throwing some people on the waste heap of unemployment
Economist Michal Kalecki’s amazingly correct prediction
I think we can say that that is exactly what has happened over the last few decades.
Marx beat him to it, methinks.
From my understanding, the conservative blowback was the main reason Marx felt that incremental change was futile, and eventually the proles would simply pack a sad and have a revolution. But then of course the transitional dictatorship of the proletariat might end up wanting to preserve its elite status and forestall the completeion of the revolution (which is the main reason some communists I’ve met claimed that communism had never been tried – but it smacks as being the flipside of spylands’ argument that reason the country has tanked is simply because the neolib reforms of the last thirty years didn’t go far enough. An irrefutable proposition is a profession of faith, not an evaluation of fact).
I never really got into the hegelian dialectic thing, though I do think that Marx outlined the problems of capitalism thoroughly and robustly.
According to the academics communism lasted about 50 days after the Russian Revolution. As far as I know, no other “communist” country even got that far instead going straight down the oppressive/dictatorial route following Russia.
Academics are not a homogeneous mass 🙂
Marx’s argument though was that communism was the culmination (“synthesis”) of history, so it couldn’t “last” for a period and then fail. Basically if a community or nation is not genuinely communist now, then there never has been. Ergo none of its faults can be blamed on communism, because if it were communist everything would be pretty grand.
Like I say, a bit too semantically perfect for my liking.
“A theory like this, which cannot be falsified by any set of observations, is closer to religion than science.” – A good description of economics in general. Though, it is a stretch to think of economics as anything like a science.
Phillips, of the curve fame, was another Dannevirke product.
Bob Jones is an idiot, saying neo-liberalism works because it got rid of restaurant vetos, like bad law is now no longer possible, or that no regulation is good for the economy. what a twerp.http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20130816-1006-sir_robert_jones_-_nz_businessman_and_author-048.mp3
He spent his time talking about boxing, basically all sport is about clan affiliation, your team, your hero sportsman, etc. Yet then he goes on to call the winner economic view as neo-liberalism, like it hadn’t been pretty well crushed as bluster. Neo-liberals make a false claim, that the wealth we’ve experienced in the last thirty years was an effect of their economic views, when in fact the rush of cheap high density fuels would have engaged any democracy, and rewarded any open economy. The question is of course neo-liberals believe in one ‘perfect’ economy, and ignore the reality that no economy will or is perfect, or run by perfect ayran economists.
‘
Interesting opinion piece from Christian Christensen over at Al Jazeera . . .
And then there is this, also from last nights Campbell Live, the rest home workers made ‘redundant’ by a paper shuffle which changed the name of the company running the rest home but to all extents and purposes the same people who owned the previous company are the ‘new’ owners,
Excuse my language but this is simply f**king fraud, a fraud designed to have the employees re-apply for their jobs where they will be offered a lower rate of pay,
RING RING, is anyone home over at :Labour, it is obvious from the actions of this company in particular that the Law has to be re-written so as to define for what are essentially criminal employers what is and what is not redundancy,
While your at it why not include some criminal sanctions like 5 years jail for employers that attempt to circumvent the Law surrounding redundancy it might just act as a deterrent,
Shuffling paper work also allows these same people to avoid orders from the various Tribunals where knowing that they are likely to have to cough up cash as the result of a Tribunal order these same ‘oh so honest’ people simply change the name of their company and resume trading the next day suffering no penalty what-so-ever,
All Tribunal orders made against a business entity should also make the beneficial owners of that entity responsible for the orders express wishes and where the beneficial owners have registered their business entity in people that are not the beneficial owners they too should end up parked in a jail cell…
Rock and Roll, wasn’t that a decent quake, not a shake the s**t of the shelves model but bigger than any of the previous in the series felt out here East of the City…
a long wobble felt here in chch. would have been a doozy. hope everyone’s ok.
Not sure if ground still moving or my nerves are shattered…………..
Hang a small weight on a nylon thread in a window you can see from where you spend most of your time. Watch for the wobble on that. My eyes have spent a lot of time in the last 3 years peering intensely at such a device.
6.9 according to the rickety scale, no damage what-so-ever here but in the City might be a different story,
The thing with these ongoing series is the damage to the bigger buildings that is not necessarily visible, all of the shakes will be stressing steel in various ways, and continued stressing will weaken structures…
Yes, it was big up the top of Newlands bad12. Got on the ground this time. Ground took a while to stop rolling. And it was rock n roll. It usually jolts and shakes up here on the rock. Everyone ok?
LOLZ, i deliberately sat in the chair to see what it felt like but fear got the better of me in the end and i parked my carcass in the doorway for the last bit,
Out here we are all good but i feel for anyone in the tower blocks downtown, felt as a ‘dip’ here followed by a shudder then a long rolling motion…
Central city and can still feel it rocking. I’m leaving next week – don’t know whether to be worried my family will still be here, or happy to be getting out of it.
LOLZ, in my guise as a labourer i worked on a lot of Wellington’s tower blocks but always quit once they started getting off the ground, if the piles start going on them you can feel free to blame me, l worked for years for a piling firm,
I only ever go into the City these days if i absolutely have to…
We live on the edge of the centre of the city, lol. So getting out is not an option. Not near any high rises though, and our building is earthquake strengthened (phew) – so you’re safe from blame from me.
At least we’re not one of the workers in cars trying to get home right now…
Since 2.31pm this afternoon (20 minutes ago) there has been
a 6.2 near Seddon
a 5.7 near Seddon
a 3.5 near Murupara
a 4.4 near Seddon
a 3.5 near Taihape
a 5.3 near Seddon
The place is going nuts. Seddon will be terrified.
edit update: and a 3.6 near Wellington
Thanks for the hot tip re the weight on a nylon line vto. Thats sage advice. Turns out the ground was still rolling after all with quakes coming in from the north and the south, only minutes apart. A real bombardment
Husband whose a civil defence volunteer who works on the 16th floor of a building in town said they are considering leaving for the day. It was really bad for them and others no doubt.
Apparently there has been two aftershocks measuring 5.7 and 5.3, havn’t felt any of those two, these are all centered south of Seddon,
The 6.7 was felt in Auckland, ( Don’t tell anyone in case they unleash the men in white coats on me, but i quite enjoyed that one)…
It is apparently still shaking big-time down Seddon/Ward way…
6.2
Yeah true, has been upgraded and then downgraded, cant those people get anything right, when Wellington gets it’s long overdue ‘Biggy’ i want to know immediately the minutae of destruction,
Another one just as i am typing, that i would call moderate but seemed to be a side-to-side east west motion whereas the 6.2 seemed to be a south to north rolling…
Mental. It’s still rolling, like being on the ocean. Palms getting clammy……….
http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/all
I was out walking and didn’t feel a god damn thing
In town Contrarian? Just listening to radio active. Apparently it’s mass exodus heading north out of town, Glover park is full of people drinking (nothing new in that though) and the pubs are busier than they usually are on Friday arvo, so they must be heaving.
I was up near Karori. Not sure how I missed it.
Brain death is usually the cause of such a failure…
meanie!
Huh? I’m getting stuck into auto-moderation for some reason.
[Bunji: Seem to be having a little trouble today – quite a lot going into auto-moderation for no apparent reason]
This is the sort of thing that fuels Garth McVicar and his bunch.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9051400/Victim-lost-part-of-skull-five-teeth-in-beating
A man received 5 years 9 months jail sentence.
Taia beat up a St Albans neighbour, Vaea Lam, so badly that he had serious head and brain injuries and had to have part of his skull removed, and he lost five teeth.
Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said the head injury almost resulted in Lam’s death, and Taia had an extensive, very serious and alarming history of violence.
Lam was in court, and Taia called out, “Yeah but I didn’t start this, you should man up, man”.
There apparently was provocation. But that doesn’t excuse violence, certainly not to this level. This man should be kept in jail for a long, long time. He is a danger to anyone round him and is sure to commit other crimes up to an surpassing this.
Let half of our jail population with minor offences out after a month of intensive counselling, training, and life and trade skills orientation, the rest of their time to be suspended unless they commit law-breaking that is sufficiently serious. But keep people like this man in jail under safe conditions and away from other prisoners till he can handle anger and self-control issues and get a vision of making a better life for himself and others.
This prick.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10913336
Here is a video of proxy voters who are being interrogated in the belief that it will give an indication of future voting preferences. They are all looking a bit uncertain and sheepish though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcE5aDTszrY