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.
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This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Te Pāti Māori have launched a petition to stop the repeal of Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act. This announcement comes prior to the first reading of the Section 7AA repeal bill in Parliament today. “Section 7AA forces the Government to adhere to Te Tiriti o Waitangi with respect ...
The Government has yet again failed to do the one thing that needs to happen to ensure houses can be built – commit to ongoing funding, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Treasury officials have outlined many ways in which the Fast Track Approvals Bill is deeply flawed, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking says. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick used this year's State of the Planet to call on the Government to prioritise people and planet as the delivery of the Budget approaches. A full transcript of their speeches can be found below. ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
The Coalition Government’s Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which will improve tenancy laws and help increase the supply of rental properties, has passed its first reading in Parliament says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The Bill proposes much-needed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will remove barriers to increasing private ...
Standing here in Cassino War Cemetery, among the graves looking up at the beautiful Abbey of Montecassino, it is hard to imagine the utter devastation left behind by the battles which ended here in May 1944. Hundreds of thousands of shells and bombs of every description left nothing but piled ...
I present a legislative statement on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill Mr. Speaker, I move that the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the Bill. Thank you, Mr. ...
The Bill to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has had its first reading in Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the care and safety of children in care, says Minister for Children Karen Chhour. “When I became the Minister for Children, I made ...
Kia ora koutou, good morning, and zao shang hao. Thank you Fran for the opportunity to speak at the 2024 China Business Summit – it’s great to be here today. I’d also like to acknowledge: Simon Bridges - CEO of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. His Excellency Ambassador - Wang ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a New Zealand Government plane will head to New Caledonia in the next hour in the first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing them ...
The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao. Good morning everyone. Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Snow, Research Scientist, CSIRO CSIRO How often do you check your local weather forecast? How about your local climate projections for 2050? For many farmers, the answer to the first question is all the time. But the answer to the ...
Pacific Media Watch A Māori supporter of Pacific independence movements claims the French government has “constructed the crisis” in New Caledonia by pushing the indigenous Kanak population to the edge, reports Atereano Mateariki of Waatea News. A NZ Defence Force Hercules is today evacuating about 50 New Zealanders stranded in ...
COMMENTARY:By Gordon Campbell The split opening up in Israel’s “War Cabinet” is not just between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his long-term rival Benny Gantz. It is actually a three-way split, set in motion by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. It was Gallant’s open criticism of Netanyahu that finally flushed ...
Reacting to today’s Budget Speech from Labour’s Finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “It is encouraging to see that one of Labour’s stated priorities is to focus on creating ‘a level ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Turner, System Lead, Sustainable Economies, Climateworks Centre atk work/Shutterstock In the budget last week, the government was keen to talk about its efforts to turn Australia into a renewable superpower under the umbrella of the Future Made in Australia policies. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Opposition Leader Peter Dutton might have done us a favour. As part of his budget reply speech on Thursday night he promised to stop foreigners buying existing Australian homes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle The request by Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders is a significant step in the effort to ...
RNZ Pacific A New Zealand author, journalist and media educator who has covered the Asia-Pacific region since the 1970s says liberation “must come” for Kanaky/New Caledonia. Professor David Robie sailed on board Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior until it was bombed by French secret agents in New Zealand in July 1985 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Renwick, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand Fonterra caught the business world by surprise last week with plans to sell off its consumer brands and businesses – including supermarket mainstays such as Anchor, Fresh’n Fruity and Mainland. The move ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Small, Senior lecturer, Above the Bar School of Educational Studies and Leadership, University of Canterbury With an air force plane on its way to rescue New Zealanders stranded by the violent uprising in New Caledonia, many familiar with the island’s history ...
A New Zealand government plane is heading to New Caledonia to assist with bringing New Zealanders home. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today confirmed it was the first in a series of proposed flights. Peters said the flight would carry around 50 passengers with the most pressing needs from Nouméa ...
Regional councils must focus on building meaningful and enduring relationships with iwi and hapū to support better freshwater management, says the Auditor-General in a new report. ...
Chris Glaudel, Deputy Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa, sees the announcement as a step towards addressing New Zealand’s high and rising levels of homelessness by improving our approach and system to delivering affordable homes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research fellow, Middle East studies, Deakin University The death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash this week occurred during one of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s most challenging periods. Raisi, a prominent figure in the political elite, ...
The end of universal flu shot funding for under-12s is a step backwards for New Zealand child health, say experts from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago. New Zealand’s decision to no longer offer free influenza vaccines for all children under 12 will likely wipe out recent ...
The PSA is taking action to force the Ministry of Education to comply with its legal obligations to do everything it can to find other roles for staff it is laying off because of the Government’s spending cuts. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Waling, Senior Lecturer & Research Fellow, Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University Netflix There has been much excitement in the lead up to the first four episodes of Bridgerton’s season three, featuring leading couple Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa De Bortoli, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Council for Educational Research Taylor Flowe/Unsplash, CC BY Australian teenagers have more disruptive maths classrooms and experience bullying at greater levels than the OECD average, a new report shows. But in better news, Australian ...
Poet, editor and former bookseller Jane Arthur’s debut children’s novel Brown Bird is the story of a shy, self-conscious 11-year-old – partly based on her childhood self – venturing out of her quiet comfort zone. Children’s books are close to my heart because mostly I believe that adults are rings ...
Peter Jackson is bringing Lord of the Rings back to Wellington, producing two new Gollum films in Wellington. Madeleine Chapman (Gollum) argues with Madeleine Chapman (Smeagol) about it. First of all, I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. Of course it’s great news!I don’t know, it gives me ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a part-time media librarian and superannuitant explains how he spends and saves. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Male Age: 65 Ethnicity: EuropeanRole: Media librarian ...
The Government’s Environmental Select Committee is refusing to engage meaningfully when it matters the most over new fast tracking environmental legislation, says Ngāti Ruanui. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Marsh, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Christoph Soeder/dpa New Zealand’s decision to no longer offer free influenza vaccines for all children under 12 will likely wipe out recent gains in uptake. And it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexis Anja Kallio, Deputy Director (Research), Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University Many young people in contact with the justice system come from backgrounds of extreme poverty, parental abuse or neglect, parental incarceration and disrupted education. These complex traumas often manifest as addictions ...
The agency was found to be underperforming and ‘not financially viable’, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A damning report A government-ordered ...
Asia Pacific Report For more than 76 years, Palestinians have resisted occupation, dispossession and ethnic cleansing, culminating in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Yet in the midst of this catastrophic seven months of “hell on earth”, it is a paradox that there exists an extraordinary oasis of peace and nature. ...
You’ll never set foot in one. But its emissions still effect you. Shanti Mathias reports on a campaign to make private jet owners pay for their emissions in some way. The private jet passengers saunter down the red carpet, wearing sunglasses and heels; paparazzi cameras flash. The sky is blue, ...
Quality teachers back on the front line can only be a good thing. One of the difficult things we teach in senior English classes at secondary school is the development of an idea. This involves deepening your argument, without instead “going sideways” and merely adding examples while repeating the same ...
Opinion: People with certain types of health conditions are more likely than others to have their symptoms dismissed, minimised or disbelieved. These conditions are diagnosed based on the patient self-report of symptoms, where there is no definitive diagnostic test that can prove the existence of disease or demonstrate structural or ...
The intensity of it, ironically, can feel like bullying. Social media activism is reaching something of a peak with the war in Gaza, using the hashtag Blockout2024. It started at this year’s MetGala when influencer and model Haley Kalil was caught on video muttering ‘let them eat cake’ – suddenly ...
It’s 2011 and I am 43 years old. My partner, Christine, and I got together when I was 36. We had been friends for about 10 years before that. One of the first things I asked Christine was whether she wanted to have kids. I had just come out of ...
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Opinion: As an indication of the eye-watering sums involved for the mega-prison plans announced two weeks ago by Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, consider that $932 million has already been spent on a separate facility due to open at Waikeria next year – that’s about $1.5 million for each of the ...
New Caledonia’s Tontouta International Airport remains closed, and Air New Zealand’s next scheduled flight is on Saturday — although it is not ruling out adding extra services. Air NZ’s Captain David Morgan said on Monday evening flights would only resume when they were assured of the security of the airport ...
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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.