An election campaign can exacerbate that polarisation, one of the report’s authors maintains. Sir Peter Gluckman, president of the International Science Council, says that how election issues are conducted can further divide society.
Not rocket science though. Democracy was established for the purpose of dividing society so how issues are debated is divisive in consequence. To unify everyone, you'd have to create a different governance system.
Labour’s own pollsters Talbot-Mills in its April 27-May 3 testing where 40% believed the country was moving in the right direction, while 52% believed it was travelling in the wrong one.
Why do most feel headed in the wrong direction? Pollsters don't ask such questions. They'd likely get answers like "God's will" or "market forces".
Diagnosing a lack of trust & cohesion is no surprise, but advising everyone to behave themselves seems as much of a solution as whistling in the dark.
Half those 52% probably think where going to left the other half to right.
The 40% will be pragmatists ,optimists and those not paying attention, who think that decline is inevitable due to population growth and things are still not to bad.
One could do so at considerable length. A brief response is best but will challenge my ability to be concise! First, it depends on context. For ancient Greeks, that was the polis (city).
The best form of government of the polis for Plato is the one that leads to the common good. The philosopher king is the best ruler because, as a philosopher, he is acquainted with the Form of the Good. In Plato's analogy of the ship of state, the philosopher king steers the polis, as if it were a ship, in the best direction.
So we inherited governance as wise steering, combined with rulership. The latter element was morphed by democracy from natural group selection into a set of rules.
The British empire codified such time-tested rules into a body of law, which we inherited in the 19th century. It divides everyone into citizens & representatives, assuming the latter to act upon common interests with the former. Unfortunately the system never evolved the capacity to formalise that common-interest basis. Make it up as you go along became the pragmatic option, so reps realised their personal interests could always take precedence. Thus the democracy sham (Labour dude Bryan Gould wrote the book entitled that).
Oh, you mean the particular groups in power in any particular context? The behavioural pattern evident to whoever reads history is that a binary relation rules how that develops, in a generic sense: rulers/ruled.
The typical pattern is established by a conqueror, who then proceeds to delegate power to helpers, who entrench within a particular social ecosystem to form a ruling class (the 19th century framing, known earlier as aristocracy).
This division morphs into plurality via forms of democracy, incorporating merchants, scribes, officials. The originating binary becomes less apparent. Magna Carta being baron-enforced, later forming the basis of parliament. Then reps entered the ruling class to supplement the original division.
Weka might be satisfied with this non-answer but to me you’re just continuing with your flawed reckons. In good faith debate, parties meet somewhere in the middle rather than digging into their entrenched views & positions.
Your views of history and of democracy in particular are simplistic and deterministic. You still ignore/overlook the complexity and diversity of historical processes and contexts, and you still reduce them to a single pattern that ignores the role of agency, contingency, resistance, and change. You wrongly assume that democracy is a recent phenomenon that emerged from ‘a conqueror’ down to ‘the ruling class’, but democracy has a long & varied history that dates back to ancient Greece, as you already have correctly alluded to. I have already argued that it involves different forms of popular participation and self-government. You neglect the influence of other factors & forces that shaped the development of democracy, such as social movements, revolutions, wars, ideologies, cultures, religions, even (modern) technologies, et cetera. Lastly, you imply that democracy is a static & fixed concept. But democracy is a dynamic idea that evolves over time and differently in different geographical locations – the concept of democracy itself has been challenged too.
Yeah, I've written about ancient Greek democracy a few times on TS in the past. I'm interested in the general principles involved, and how they have morphed society & culture in their application thro various contexts.
I own books on ancient Greek democracy & I have read them. Likewise books reviewing the history of democracy. I comment on that basis.
I’ve no doubt that you’ve written about it here in the past and I’ll have to take your word for it.
Undoubtedly, you’re not the only one here with a keen interest in this topic. After all, this is a political blog site has been going strong since 2007.
I’m sure you own many books and have read them all, some probably more than once. They may even be good books, who knows?
The problem with your comments is that you seem to think that we should all take these things as a given, without a link or shred of evidence, and accept your authoritative views without challenge or hesitation!?
Without support for your views they become merely reckons that cannot be reasonably debated here on TS and anyone who makes an attempt at this exercise in futility is guaranteed to waste their time.
Fair enough, but I wasn't trying to come on like some kind of authority figure. I'm aware that detecting patterns in history is subjective.
Re the democracy sham, did you read Bryan Gould's book about it? If so, I'd be interested in your take. He wrote it on the basis of his lengthy experience in Labour politics and his success with that.
He comes from an economics perspective primarily, but he's on about the warping effect neoliberalism has on democracy too. In terms of the gist of my earlier comments, he illuminates the rulers/ruled dichotomy via the influence of transnational corporations.
So his focus is the emergence of those as the primary determinants of the globalising of the market. Back in 2006 corporations were looming as public enemy #1 in the minds of many. Since then we've a trend towards benign corporations (see Senge's The Necessary Revolution, which documents that paradigm shift).
We thought MMP would provide more power to the people but it currently doesn't seem like it did really – or maybe it's just the winter of our discontent…
Your opinion of democracy and your pseudo-factual analysis & explanation are deeply flawed. Left unchallenged on a political blog, it would be highly problematic and a dereliction of duty of any politically-aware person with even only the slightest of historical knowledge and who cares about politics, democracy, and the democratic process.
Democracy doesn’t have a single origin and purpose; it has evolved over time and across different contexts. You completely ignore the wide range of democratic forms and practices, such as direct democracy, representative democracy, deliberative democracy, E-democracy, et cetera. Arguably, TS is an example of E-democracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-democracy). You’re conflating democracy with debate; democracy involves many other aspects such as participation, representation, accountability, transparency, et cetera. You imply that division is always negative and undesirable; perhaps somewhat contentiously, division (but not polarisation!) can also reflect pluralism, diversity and healthy disagreement aka a contest of ideas.
You cherry-pick one case, be it historical or literary-philosophical, and generalise it to all democracies, thereby ignoring the differences between ancient and modern contexts aka presentism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis)). You misrepresent the Greek notion of the polis as a unitary and homogeneous entity, i.e., like ‘a ship’, but in reality the polis was composed of multiple groups and factions with conflicting interests and values. You seem to idealise the role of the philosopher king as a benevolent and wise ruler who knows the common good. However, in reality such a ruler could be corrupt, biased or mistaken, as indeed plenty of historical examples have shown. You dismiss the value of popular sovereignty, self-government, and having a say in policy-making & decision-making as essential elements of democracy.
It was the polis page on Wikipedia, sorry. I would have thought the binary divide between govt & opposition was sufficiently well-known as a structural component of democracy to make the point all by itself.
Therefore I didn't mention it. However, if you want it spelt out: democracy divides, by design. Thus the eternal charade of left competing with right…
This week, former intelligence official turned whistleblower David Grusch is alleging the US government has "intact and partially intact craft of non-human origin…" Grusch led the analysis of unexplained anomalous phenomena (UAP) within a US Department of Defense agency during his 14-year career in US intelligence.
"When President Joe Biden wanted his presidential daily briefing, which is the intelligence briefing that's prepared for the President. It was David Grush who was involved in putting it together for the National Reconnaissance Office." His claims have prompted the US House of Representatives to announce an investigation into the allegations, with a hearing on the issue expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
So now its Congress vs the Deep State. More interesting than Trump vs the Deep State? We'll have to wait & see. Declaration of non-conflict of interest: it's true that I tried to give a class talk on UFOs exactly 60 years ago (part-way in, I fainted due to nervousness) but I've never seen a UFO.
More to the point – if Grush is so off-beam when it comes to alien spacecraft – what was the quality of advice he was presenting to Biden? I suspect this is the, entirely political, reason for the Congressional enquiry…
While I would love for alien spacecraft to be true – I find myself entirely unable to believe that the US establishment would have been able to keep this secret for more than 60 years. Other countries, possibly yes – but the US with its …. diversity … of opinion, all of whom have a direct line to media… I don't think so.
Such scepticism is sensible. However, as one who has sporadically examined UFO books for 60 years, I can report that some authors have impressed me. When you get inclusions of eyewitness testimony, legally certified as documentation, it's a level above hearsay. Congress may seek such evidence from officials. Nevertheless, Deep State operatives aren't likely to comply…
Back in the '90s folks were camping out on the Area 51 fence-line, using telephoto lenses, to try & spot nefarious goings-on. I never did hear of them publicising anything notable.
The meanies running the base kept their saucers deep within, I guess. There was a trend claiming that stealth fighters derived from alien tech re-engineering. However I haven't heard of them being capable of the sharp 90 degree turns that the saucers used to irritate the US fighter pilots pursuing them.
Those were cited by the radar operators doing liaison with the fighter pilots as their eyewitness experiences. So you had two different groups in the armed forces validating each other. Understandable that the guys in the hierarchy would take it seriously.
As a physics grad, I know that such evidence of a lack of momentum defies the laws of physics. Rather than believe others though, I choose the pragmatic option of not believing in something I haven't seen personally.
My neighbour on one side & I get on real well. He's a staunch Labour man from way back but we've had political conversations with no discord since I moved back here (NP) 6.5 years ago. However those on the other side are definitely peculiar…
An expert on landslides and natural hazards warns much of New Zealand may become "uninsurable" in the future.
The storm that triggered a massive slip in Lower Hutt last winter and forced the evacuation of three cliff-top properties was a shock to residents – but not the council.
Only the year before, it paid $35,500 (plus GST) to engineering consultancy WSP for an analysis of unstable slopes across the city, including Eastern Hutt Road.
That report – obtained under the Official Information Act – refers to previous studies dating back to 1977.
Well…uninsurable…is coming. And that Council knowing…(since 1977?) IMO pretty much par for Councils throughout NZ. They know stuff..but..for whatever reasons…sit on or otherwise bury/ignore.
All the mass developments….concrete over waterways, drain wetlands, etc; etc; are now coming home.
We can always take the National Party preferred option of simply gobbling up more prime agricultural land and turning it into yuppie housing estates and not worry about unimportant things like transport and storm water.
Hi. Yep everyone..will have to pay for the shortsighted me ! me ! mindset. Even those Nact voters. We really must prevent them getting control of NZ again. Any of the positive movements (admit some slow…) ..will be trashed.
I remember talking years ago with a GNS researcher: they had mapped potential slip sites in Wgtn and Hutt, and said slips were a big potential hazard in many places.
Here something I remembered…anyone know where it ended up?
Arable farmers here are considering planting more milling wheat this autumn to help combat global shortages.
Hurst said growers would be able to switch from growing feed grains to milling wheat.
"The problem with switching is we don't want to create shortages on the other side but the preference is to feed people rather than the livestock sector – these are things we need to work out."
About 70 percent of the wheat used in flour production in New Zealand is imported, mostly from Australia.
That was due to freight costs. Hurst said.
"Basically, we grow 100 percent of the milling wheat grown for the South Island, the main market is in North Island so we need to work on the infrastructure to transport it up there and efficient manner because It's cheaper to bring wheat from Australia to Auckland as opposed from Canterbury to Auckland, that's the problem."
Well..feeding people rather than stock. Thats good. Importing from Australia cheaper !? Why…cant we transport it on Rail? The Rail that has been marginalised…by the old neolib "labour" and national govts.
IMO defies belief that we cant do this in NZ. NZ needs Rail.
Arable production includes wheat, barley and maize for humans and animals to eat and seeds for sowing.
Last year those farmers produced crops worth $1 billion and production and sales from the entire sector, including milling and further production, were worth $2b while more than 7500 people were employed.
The Arable Food Industry Council secretary Thomas Chin said arable producers flew below the radar but were vitally important to New Zealand's economy, both locally and for exports.
Importing from Australia cheaper !? Why…cant we transport it on Rail? The Rail that has been marginalised…by the old neolib "labour" and national govts.
Shipping, not rail. The grain is shipped from Australia.
You'd need to look at coastal shipping from Canterbury to Auckland to be comparable. Rail is not a great solution – especially with the Cook Strait in the way…..
I dunno about shipping instead of rail. Shipping (on fuel) is less efficient, due to water being horribly friction-less compared to hard metal rails. Buses too, incidentally.
The main disadvantage with sea freight is time – it's just slower. But for bulk goods in a regular pipeline – that's not necessarily a disadvantage.
And here's a general article comparing the various kinds of freight moving from an emissions, as well as a cost perspective
Even so, there’s a reason all this stuff travels by boat. Aside from being the cheapest mode, it’s also the most carbon-efficient method of shipping: A big ship will emit about 0.4 ounces of carbon dioxide to transport 2 tons of cargo 1 mile. That’s roughly half as much as a train, one-fifth as much as a truck and nearly a fiftieth of what an airplane would emit to accomplish the same task.
It doesn't seem to match up with any of the sources I've seen. Sea/water freight is cheaper and lower carbon emission than any other mode of transport.
The reasons not to use it are timeliness (it takes longer) and size of shipments. [As well, obviously, only being suitable for shipping to ports]
But for bulk cargo it's the transit method of choice.
This doc is somewhat dated (2012) – but seems to show that it's the same in NZ as for the rest of the world
When considering the maximum number of containers that can be transported by each transport mode (ie 550 for coastal shipping, 40 for rail, and 1 for road), the maritime mode is shown to be slightly more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions than the rail mode, and markedly better than the road mode. In fact, both maritime and rail modes are about twice as efficient as the road mode.
For the approximately 1500km journey from Auckland to Dunedin, the ratio of costs in transporting a 20ft container was 1 (sea):1.7 (rail):2.8 (road).
Of the three transport modes investigated, coastal shipping appears to be a very cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable means of transporting containerised freight between the North and South Islands.
It also makes it clear that you have to use around 14 trains to equal one cargo ship (the ratio is a lot higher for the big super-size cargo ships).
We would need to substantially increase production and we would also carry the risk of sourcing our supply from (largely) one region…perhaps somewhat risky in an environment of increasing climate extremes.
Hi. I didnt intend it to be an "eggs in one basket" ..case ? (and those eggs are a whole other problem ! ) Thats why i also include RegenAg. Because of Climate Change…which Nact would deny…and set that denial in place forever..if they get back.
There are enough people incl so many Experts ..that are telling us all.. we need to change. More dairy, and Pine-plot Climate pollution offset.. is no way forward.
The comment was to demonstrate that transport is not the only issue….we were self sufficient in milling flour decades ago when the population was half what it is now….and the suitable land area hasnt increased.
Ah, ok thanks for clarification of your thought. And of course..times, process and the Climate ! have all changed hugely. Why we should be seriously (the writing is on.. the everywhere) looking at Alternatives. RegenAg, Other Crops, et al…Because the way we are going..aint going to end well.
I agree. The rough polling of the minnow parties in the last few polls has been: NZF 2-4%; Top 1-2%; NCP 1%
I wonder if this poll only offered the 4 main parties and TPM as options?
It does annoy me when clients of polling companies release the data without the accompanying info about what the questions were, and any limitations on polling. It makes a significant difference in some cases.
It seems obvious to me. Any party that was not going to get seats either through not getting 5% or through not winning an electorate seat has been left out.
Previous TM polls seem to have been covered by media about a week after the end of the polling period. There is no current media coverage of the poll Ian refers to, not a whisper, so it will be interesting to see if he comes back with a source. TM do Labours internal polling, so he may have access via the LP?
Thanks Observer. I’ve tried the search criteria you suggested, and don’t get the Twitter thread. I do get the Herald link, but it’s behind a paywall, so not much use unless you’re a subscriber.
Setting aside the oddity of other minor parties not being counted – this poll might explain the latest pronouncements of Matthew Hooton. My guess is that Hooton thinks Luxon is such an empty suit, that mid-30's in percentage terms in his limit. Hooton therefore aims to persuade centrist, mildly leftish liberals from Labour over to ACT as the best way of ensuring a right-wing government. That's a move that many of them in my experience do not find so hard after all. They are the sort of people who have convinced themselves that they are not really ideological at all, but are simply interested in 'solutions'. Hooton may be malevolent, but he's not dumb.
“That's a move that many of them in my experience do not find so hard after all. “
I agree.
“.,.people who have convinced themselves that they are not really ideological at all, but are simply interested in 'solutions'. “
They may also be tired of the old binary of national v labour. And/or they want to express some level of reactionary vote, but no longer find appeal in NZF?
Andrea Vance has a different take on what appears to be the Talbot Mills poll figures:
The latest corporate polling from Labour’s internal pollsters has the party up 3 points to 36%; National down 1 to 35%; ACT up to 11% and the Greens down 2 points to 7%.
Really, brings point to the fact that leaked polls aren't worth the paper they're written on (or the electrons required to bring them to the screen).
If the 'corporate' who commissioned the polls is going to regularly leak them (or versions of them), then they should have the courage of their convictions and just publish the result.
Maybe not corporate leaking by intent. Maybe employees or contractors doing their own thing. Gossip online. I agree re the anecdotal nature of the twittering.
The current policy of not sending people to prison certainly seems to be having an effect.
I'm not sure that repeated rape offenses is only worth home detention though when the justification is that the offender, at least according to his lawyer, might not like prison.
"Stephen Hembrow asked the judge not to send his client to prison as he would find it “extraordinarily difficult”, stating any sentence imposed will be “crushing” for him."
”The policy was on its way to Cabinet to be considered but, when Allan took over the portfolio, she threw it on the policy bonfire and on Friday threw her predecessors under the bus.
"This is a proposal that was carried through by previous ministers. It started under Andrew Little and I inherited it after Kris Faafoi."
They hinted that the offender had serious mental issues and may be intellectually handicapped. If so prison would be very unsuitable but his crimes are serious so one would hope that he would be helped in other ways.
This piece of shit sexually abused a young girl for years, and he gets to go home with an ankle bracelet. I hope the victim gets the help to deal with not only his offending, but this piss poor excuse for a sentence.
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 1 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a burnt-out corporate escapee explains how she gets by ‘working as little as possible’. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 31 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Contractor in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Albert Russ / Shutterstock The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like “what do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our ...
Another `be kind to each other' moment…
Not rocket science though. Democracy was established for the purpose of dividing society so how issues are debated is divisive in consequence. To unify everyone, you'd have to create a different governance system.
Why do most feel headed in the wrong direction? Pollsters don't ask such questions. They'd likely get answers like "God's will" or "market forces".
Diagnosing a lack of trust & cohesion is no surprise, but advising everyone to behave themselves seems as much of a solution as whistling in the dark.
Half those 52% probably think where going to left the other half to right.
The 40% will be pragmatists ,optimists and those not paying attention, who think that decline is inevitable due to population growth and things are still not to bad.
care to explain that a bit more?
One could do so at considerable length. A brief response is best but will challenge my ability to be concise! First, it depends on context. For ancient Greeks, that was the polis (city).
So we inherited governance as wise steering, combined with rulership. The latter element was morphed by democracy from natural group selection into a set of rules.
The British empire codified such time-tested rules into a body of law, which we inherited in the 19th century. It divides everyone into citizens & representatives, assuming the latter to act upon common interests with the former. Unfortunately the system never evolved the capacity to formalise that common-interest basis. Make it up as you go along became the pragmatic option, so reps realised their personal interests could always take precedence. Thus the democracy sham (Labour dude Bryan Gould wrote the book entitled that).
ok that's interesting but it doesn't explain,
Who established that particular purpose? And how is the purpose one of dividing society? Do you mean having representatives is dividing society?
Oh, you mean the particular groups in power in any particular context? The behavioural pattern evident to whoever reads history is that a binary relation rules how that develops, in a generic sense: rulers/ruled.
The typical pattern is established by a conqueror, who then proceeds to delegate power to helpers, who entrench within a particular social ecosystem to form a ruling class (the 19th century framing, known earlier as aristocracy).
This division morphs into plurality via forms of democracy, incorporating merchants, scribes, officials. The originating binary becomes less apparent. Magna Carta being baron-enforced, later forming the basis of parliament. Then reps entered the ruling class to supplement the original division.
Weka might be satisfied with this non-answer but to me you’re just continuing with your flawed reckons. In good faith debate, parties meet somewhere in the middle rather than digging into their entrenched views & positions.
Your views of history and of democracy in particular are simplistic and deterministic. You still ignore/overlook the complexity and diversity of historical processes and contexts, and you still reduce them to a single pattern that ignores the role of agency, contingency, resistance, and change. You wrongly assume that democracy is a recent phenomenon that emerged from ‘a conqueror’ down to ‘the ruling class’, but democracy has a long & varied history that dates back to ancient Greece, as you already have correctly alluded to. I have already argued that it involves different forms of popular participation and self-government. You neglect the influence of other factors & forces that shaped the development of democracy, such as social movements, revolutions, wars, ideologies, cultures, religions, even (modern) technologies, et cetera. Lastly, you imply that democracy is a static & fixed concept. But democracy is a dynamic idea that evolves over time and differently in different geographical locations – the concept of democracy itself has been challenged too.
Yeah, I've written about ancient Greek democracy a few times on TS in the past. I'm interested in the general principles involved, and how they have morphed society & culture in their application thro various contexts.
I own books on ancient Greek democracy & I have read them. Likewise books reviewing the history of democracy. I comment on that basis.
I’ve no doubt that you’ve written about it here in the past and I’ll have to take your word for it.
Undoubtedly, you’re not the only one here with a keen interest in this topic. After all, this is a political blog site has been going strong since 2007.
I’m sure you own many books and have read them all, some probably more than once. They may even be good books, who knows?
The problem with your comments is that you seem to think that we should all take these things as a given, without a link or shred of evidence, and accept your authoritative views without challenge or hesitation!?
Without support for your views they become merely reckons that cannot be reasonably debated here on TS and anyone who makes an attempt at this exercise in futility is guaranteed to waste their time.
QED
Fair enough, but I wasn't trying to come on like some kind of authority figure. I'm aware that detecting patterns in history is subjective.
Re the democracy sham, did you read Bryan Gould's book about it? If so, I'd be interested in your take. He wrote it on the basis of his lengthy experience in Labour politics and his success with that.
Ok, thanks. I may have misread the tone of your comments, but the many problems with them remain.
No, I have not read Gould’s book. He’s written a few, hasn’t he?
https://bryangould.com/the-democracy-sham/
He comes from an economics perspective primarily, but he's on about the warping effect neoliberalism has on democracy too. In terms of the gist of my earlier comments, he illuminates the rulers/ruled dichotomy via the influence of transnational corporations.
So his focus is the emergence of those as the primary determinants of the globalising of the market. Back in 2006 corporations were looming as public enemy #1 in the minds of many. Since then we've a trend towards benign corporations (see Senge's The Necessary Revolution, which documents that paradigm shift).
We thought MMP would provide more power to the people but it currently doesn't seem like it did really – or maybe it's just the winter of our discontent…
Your opinion of democracy and your pseudo-factual analysis & explanation are deeply flawed. Left unchallenged on a political blog, it would be highly problematic and a dereliction of duty of any politically-aware person with even only the slightest of historical knowledge and who cares about politics, democracy, and the democratic process.
Democracy doesn’t have a single origin and purpose; it has evolved over time and across different contexts. You completely ignore the wide range of democratic forms and practices, such as direct democracy, representative democracy, deliberative democracy, E-democracy, et cetera. Arguably, TS is an example of E-democracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-democracy). You’re conflating democracy with debate; democracy involves many other aspects such as participation, representation, accountability, transparency, et cetera. You imply that division is always negative and undesirable; perhaps somewhat contentiously, division (but not polarisation!) can also reflect pluralism, diversity and healthy disagreement aka a contest of ideas.
You cherry-pick one case, be it historical or literary-philosophical, and generalise it to all democracies, thereby ignoring the differences between ancient and modern contexts aka presentism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis)). You misrepresent the Greek notion of the polis as a unitary and homogeneous entity, i.e., like ‘a ship’, but in reality the polis was composed of multiple groups and factions with conflicting interests and values. You seem to idealise the role of the philosopher king as a benevolent and wise ruler who knows the common good. However, in reality such a ruler could be corrupt, biased or mistaken, as indeed plenty of historical examples have shown. You dismiss the value of popular sovereignty, self-government, and having a say in policy-making & decision-making as essential elements of democracy.
You're totally correct of course. That's why I provided Weka with a brief summary to focus on the key points…
What or rather whose key points? They are your points of view, nothing else.
I countered your reckons and all you have to offer is this pathetic reply!?
You also did not provide a link for the text you quoted and you may want to rectify this, at least.
It feels to me that weka and I are wasting our precious time on this
It was the polis page on Wikipedia, sorry. I would have thought the binary divide between govt & opposition was sufficiently well-known as a structural component of democracy to make the point all by itself.
Therefore I didn't mention it. However, if you want it spelt out: democracy divides, by design. Thus the eternal charade of left competing with right…
The hint was that you’d provide the link
Anyway, here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polis
For constructive debate you’d need to clearly lay out your assumptions, which you omitted.
And you just keep repeating your initial claim without offering any insights.
I see no point in continuing with this charade of yours, but maybe weka has the stomach for it …
Yet another UFO exposé: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2023/06/newshub-nation-investigative-journalist-ross-coulthart-details-his-interview-with-ufo-whistleblower-david-grusch-whose-claims-are-prompting-congressional-hearing.html
Usually official whistleblowers struggle to make the headlines when competing with stuff like China’s Xi greets ‘old friend’ Bill Gates but
So now its Congress vs the Deep State. More interesting than Trump vs the Deep State? We'll have to wait & see. Declaration of non-conflict of interest: it's true that I tried to give a class talk on UFOs exactly 60 years ago (part-way in, I fainted due to nervousness) but I've never seen a UFO.
More to the point – if Grush is so off-beam when it comes to alien spacecraft – what was the quality of advice he was presenting to Biden? I suspect this is the, entirely political, reason for the Congressional enquiry…
While I would love for alien spacecraft to be true – I find myself entirely unable to believe that the US establishment would have been able to keep this secret for more than 60 years. Other countries, possibly yes – but the US with its …. diversity … of opinion, all of whom have a direct line to media… I don't think so.
Such scepticism is sensible. However, as one who has sporadically examined UFO books for 60 years, I can report that some authors have impressed me. When you get inclusions of eyewitness testimony, legally certified as documentation, it's a level above hearsay. Congress may seek such evidence from officials. Nevertheless, Deep State operatives aren't likely to comply…
Perhaps less agnostic about the possible existence of UFOs – but the existence of US research facilities with actual alien spacecraft….no.
Back in the '90s folks were camping out on the Area 51 fence-line, using telephoto lenses, to try & spot nefarious goings-on. I never did hear of them publicising anything notable.
The meanies running the base kept their saucers deep within, I guess. There was a trend claiming that stealth fighters derived from alien tech re-engineering. However I haven't heard of them being capable of the sharp 90 degree turns that the saucers used to irritate the US fighter pilots pursuing them.
Those were cited by the radar operators doing liaison with the fighter pilots as their eyewitness experiences. So you had two different groups in the armed forces validating each other. Understandable that the guys in the hierarchy would take it seriously.
As a physics grad, I know that such evidence of a lack of momentum defies the laws of physics. Rather than believe others though, I choose the pragmatic option of not believing in something I haven't seen personally.
If the Maggas can believe in Trump they can believe anything. Keep an eye on your neighbours for they be aliens.
My neighbour on one side & I get on real well. He's a staunch Labour man from way back but we've had political conversations with no discord since I moved back here (NP) 6.5 years ago. However those on the other side are definitely peculiar…
I'm with this guy.
Well…uninsurable…is coming. And that Council knowing…(since 1977?) IMO pretty much par for Councils throughout NZ. They know stuff..but..for whatever reasons…sit on or otherwise bury/ignore.
All the mass developments….concrete over waterways, drain wetlands, etc; etc; are now coming home.
Although….History, aye ! And those who ignore….
IMO…a solution to some of it
We can always take the National Party preferred option of simply gobbling up more prime agricultural land and turning it into yuppie housing estates and not worry about unimportant things like transport and storm water.
Hi. Yep everyone..will have to pay for the shortsighted me ! me ! mindset. Even those Nact voters. We really must prevent them getting control of NZ again. Any of the positive movements (admit some slow…) ..will be trashed.
Back to the 90's. .
I remember talking years ago with a GNS researcher: they had mapped potential slip sites in Wgtn and Hutt, and said slips were a big potential hazard in many places.
GNS do have this NZ landslide database map resource.
Here something I remembered…anyone know where it ended up?
Well..feeding people rather than stock. Thats good. Importing from Australia cheaper !? Why…cant we transport it on Rail? The Rail that has been marginalised…by the old neolib "labour" and national govts.
IMO defies belief that we cant do this in NZ. NZ needs Rail.
There is this….
Combine harvest : ) with RegenAg…NZ can surely do better than planting pine trees to offset climate polluters ? IMO.
Shipping, not rail. The grain is shipped from Australia.
You'd need to look at coastal shipping from Canterbury to Auckland to be comparable. Rail is not a great solution – especially with the Cook Strait in the way…..
Yes..of course it is shipped from Australia. I did link after all…
NZ needs much less Auckland-centric..and more whole NZ.
IE NZ Regional.
For years..(some on the Standard : ) I have advocated for a Combined Transport approach in NZ. With…many links : )
Of course Coastal ship. Good you see that ! And Rail. Needed in NZ.
I dunno about shipping instead of rail. Shipping (on fuel) is less efficient, due to water being horribly friction-less compared to hard metal rails. Buses too, incidentally.
Wind shipping though? Let's do it.
I'm not sure where you're getting the figures about sea freight being more expensive than rail.
This is an Australian perspective (with some cost savings due to shipping patterns) – but there's nothing about rail being inherently cheaper.
https://freightcontroller.com.au/coastal-container-shipping-how-does-it-compare-to-rail-and-road/
The main disadvantage with sea freight is time – it's just slower. But for bulk goods in a regular pipeline – that's not necessarily a disadvantage.
And here's a general article comparing the various kinds of freight moving from an emissions, as well as a cost perspective
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/future-freight-more-shipping-less-emissions
Sorry not cheaper, but efficient in terms of using less fuel take the cargo.
Do you have a source for this statement?
It doesn't seem to match up with any of the sources I've seen. Sea/water freight is cheaper and lower carbon emission than any other mode of transport.
The reasons not to use it are timeliness (it takes longer) and size of shipments. [As well, obviously, only being suitable for shipping to ports]
But for bulk cargo it's the transit method of choice.
This doc is somewhat dated (2012) – but seems to show that it's the same in NZ as for the rest of the world
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/497/docs/497.pdf
It also makes it clear that you have to use around 14 trains to equal one cargo ship (the ratio is a lot higher for the big super-size cargo ships).
We would need to substantially increase production and we would also carry the risk of sourcing our supply from (largely) one region…perhaps somewhat risky in an environment of increasing climate extremes.
https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/technology/canterbury-plains-could-lead-the-way-in-wheat-production/#:~:text=But%20surprisingly%2C%20even%20though%20we,Arable%20Research%20(FAR)%20said.
Hi. I didnt intend it to be an "eggs in one basket" ..case ? (and those eggs are a whole other problem ! ) Thats why i also include RegenAg. Because of Climate Change…which Nact would deny…and set that denial in place forever..if they get back.
There are enough people incl so many Experts ..that are telling us all.. we need to change. More dairy, and Pine-plot Climate pollution offset.. is no way forward.
The comment was to demonstrate that transport is not the only issue….we were self sufficient in milling flour decades ago when the population was half what it is now….and the suitable land area hasnt increased.
Ah, ok thanks for clarification of your thought. And of course..times, process and the Climate ! have all changed hugely. Why we should be seriously (the writing is on.. the everywhere) looking at Alternatives. RegenAg, Other Crops, et al…Because the way we are going..aint going to end well.
Nact would embed NZ in Climate denial.
PLA,with their mantra of "Let the market decide" they will allow eggs of all types again imo.
It will be "We have to keep things affordable" even as they push the costs onto the future generations, in terms of poor product and health.
"Roads of National Importance" a signal to International Oil, "We are still buying" imo
They are quite aggressive with Act at their back.
Hi Patricia.at # 6. With some humour ( sometimes the only way ! ) you could look at "eggs of all types" and include head egg (egg head?) Luxon : ) .
Anyway..back to it. Yes Nact would put a stop to nearly, if not all , of Labour and Green positive movement for NZ.
Nact.Tax cuts for the rich. And Climate denial. Well that about covers them.
I am impressed with the Greens new way Forward
For sure, I hope it gets some of those….who Never Vote…to get off their arse and actually do something .
And, keep up the good fight Patricia ! : )
100%
Well said Foxy:
Talbot Mills Poll out:
Lbour 36%
National 35%
Act 14%
Greens 12%
TPM 3%
Luxon earned his lowest personal polling this week. Can't find the figures.
That totals 100%. So NZF &TOP didn't register?? Seems weird. What about all the other minor parties? Perhaps the pollsters used an arbitrary cut-off?
Rounded off percentages? Suggests their share came to less than 1%.
Well if NZF polling has dropped below 1% that would be big political news. I smell a rat somewhere in this report!
I agree. The rough polling of the minnow parties in the last few polls has been: NZF 2-4%; Top 1-2%; NCP 1%
I wonder if this poll only offered the 4 main parties and TPM as options?
It does annoy me when clients of polling companies release the data without the accompanying info about what the questions were, and any limitations on polling. It makes a significant difference in some cases.
It seems obvious to me. Any party that was not going to get seats either through not getting 5% or through not winning an electorate seat has been left out.
Left 51%
Right 49%
Trebles all round!
Previous TM polls seem to have been covered by media about a week after the end of the polling period. There is no current media coverage of the poll Ian refers to, not a whisper, so it will be interesting to see if he comes back with a source. TM do Labours internal polling, so he may have access via the LP?
Not hard to find.
Google "Talbot Mills". Include a setting like "last 24 hours" or most recent. Several results there.
The media coverage you describe as "not a whisper" is mentioned too.
e.g.
https://twitter.com/FoxyLustyGrover/status/1669863013636272128
Making it clear that it's been leaked, rather than released to the media.
Thanks Observer. I’ve tried the search criteria you suggested, and don’t get the Twitter thread. I do get the Herald link, but it’s behind a paywall, so not much use unless you’re a subscriber.
Where did you get this from? I can't find anything when I google it.
AFICS Talbot Mills don't 'release' their actual polling. It's privately commissioned, and the 'corporate' which commissioned it, may release the data.
Here's the news report on the last one which was released to media
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/labour-drops-in-latest-talbot-mills-poll-left-and-right-neck-and-neck/FYBHPOCAVRFPNPAS5FP7DYCGUY/
Made my day ianmac. Especially the overall gain by Labour and the Greens.
Belladonna that was April May.
Yes, that's why I said "Here's the news report on the last one which was released to media"
Setting aside the oddity of other minor parties not being counted – this poll might explain the latest pronouncements of Matthew Hooton. My guess is that Hooton thinks Luxon is such an empty suit, that mid-30's in percentage terms in his limit. Hooton therefore aims to persuade centrist, mildly leftish liberals from Labour over to ACT as the best way of ensuring a right-wing government. That's a move that many of them in my experience do not find so hard after all. They are the sort of people who have convinced themselves that they are not really ideological at all, but are simply interested in 'solutions'. Hooton may be malevolent, but he's not dumb.
“That's a move that many of them in my experience do not find so hard after all. “
I agree.
“.,.people who have convinced themselves that they are not really ideological at all, but are simply interested in 'solutions'. “
They may also be tired of the old binary of national v labour. And/or they want to express some level of reactionary vote, but no longer find appeal in NZF?
Andrea Vance has a different take on what appears to be the Talbot Mills poll figures:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/132345297/want-to-know-who-is-going-to-win-the-election-watch-these-seats
Of course, that's not 'official' either.
Really, brings point to the fact that leaked polls aren't worth the paper they're written on (or the electrons required to bring them to the screen).
If the 'corporate' who commissioned the polls is going to regularly leak them (or versions of them), then they should have the courage of their convictions and just publish the result.
Maybe not corporate leaking by intent. Maybe employees or contractors doing their own thing. Gossip online. I agree re the anecdotal nature of the twittering.
The current policy of not sending people to prison certainly seems to be having an effect.
I'm not sure that repeated rape offenses is only worth home detention though when the justification is that the offender, at least according to his lawyer, might not like prison.
"Stephen Hembrow asked the judge not to send his client to prison as he would find it “extraordinarily difficult”, stating any sentence imposed will be “crushing” for him."
https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-christchurch/man-who-raped-young-girl-given-home-detention
It could have gotten even worse:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/06/hundreds-of-criminals-could-have-avoided-jail-under-justice-and-corrections-proposal.html
They hinted that the offender had serious mental issues and may be intellectually handicapped. If so prison would be very unsuitable but his crimes are serious so one would hope that he would be helped in other ways.
This piece of shit sexually abused a young girl for years, and he gets to go home with an ankle bracelet. I hope the victim gets the help to deal with not only his offending, but this piss poor excuse for a sentence.
Are you out there Robert. You are missed.