Check out this 9 year old girl who Pauline Hanson wants to kick up the backside for refusing to stand for the Australian National Anthem.
Seriously I love this little girl!
When interviewed about her decision not to stand for the anthem, Harper said her objection lay with the line “Advance Australia fair”, which completely disregarded indigenous people. She also said the phrase “we are young” dissed indigenous Australians who pre-empted white Australians by 50,000 years.
Today on the AM show he certainly can’t cope with Labour’s rejection of not using him for the release of Jacinda’s reset speech yesterday as now on the AM show je is spitting sparks at labour.
Yes, Its like how Murdock purchased the UK,s left leaning working class tabloids like the Sun and Mail and slowly turned them and their readers right wing. Its happening here.
Really???
Since the demise of Holmes Polly’s have been getting away with literal murder
Question time at parliament is a joke
Where does both the govt and opposition get challenged in a format that is widely available to the public ?
They lie to us don’t front up, and are challenged and the media is so crap and finding them out. The public is left with an”reality” format to vote in our govts.
We have The Nation and Q&A that most don’t watch
How do we see who is and who is not competent ?
At least with Holmes Polly’s were expected to turn up and were placed under the blow torch, from
Memory Holmes was highly competent and had some highly skilled researchers. Now we have token celebs (self promoting themselves) asking the questions 🤪
I take some notice, many are not as involved in what’s going on as many who contribute to this and other political sites.
I disagree re Holmes
Where else do the public see where our leaders want to take nz to and are held to account ?
Both the last and the current govts have made undertakings which have been seen to be false or hollow ?
Key in his war on P,or the current govt on reducing net immigration by 20 to 50k ?
Why don’t we start a crowdfunding for something like; a program to restore the Waatea “fifth estate? live screen nightly political broadcast that Martyn Bradbury successfully produced, and use that to broadcast the coalition nightly polity’s in a talk back show with guests?
This would cost a minimal amount. Can’t we get the financial costs that program cost for the 2016 season before national canned it as being to ‘expose” for them?
There was a Korean newspaper that was funded in this fashion in response to the Park years. (the Hankyoreh) A former president who is presently under investigation for corruption (Lee Myung Bak) did his best to close it down.
It broke well researched long form stories, and one of its leading journalists (whose childhood friend was slain by police under Chun do Hwan) came up with a rather sophisticated democratic model for finding a location for nuclear waste storage – the government offered a regional development package as inducement, with the province that generated the highest level of public support for its proposal securing it. We would wait a long time to see NZ media generating comparably enlightened policy.
The Dalai Lama says ‘Europe belongs to Europeans’ and refugees should return to their native countries to rebuild them’
Dalai Lama was speaking at a conference in Sweden’s third-largest city of Malmö
He said Europe was ‘morally responsible’ for helping those fleeing their countries, but ultimately refugees should ‘develop their own country’
His words come after far-right populist party Sweden Democrats made gains in the country’s general election
I always liked the Dalai Lama, and I agree with the logic. I wish the NZ Green Party policy experts could understand this perspective too. The Greens have members who also work for the UN, and said to me, “refugees seek a new permanent home,..” Which may be true.
But, I said, “if we offered non-permanent refugee status, with the aim of sending refugees home again, and potentially be involved with NZ supported redevelopment projects… creating positive international relations… Wouldn’t that gain more broad spectrum political support, so we could increase support for refugees?”
But time and time again, I get the feeling the UN policy is based on “die with dignity” rather than “sovereign empowerment” for these troubled lands.
Who ultimately created these refugees in the first place, by arming and supporting factions in nations around the world for decades? Europe is just getting some karma. It is not up to refugees to fix bigger problems.
In Syria I think the blame can be put fair and square on Assad. Virtually all the millions of refugees from Syria were trying to escape him. Not the fault of the Europeans at all.
Syria is the only place where the Russians/Soviets have had a Mediterranean naval base for many decades. Virtually all Syrian armed forces equipment is Soviet bloc, and more recently, Russian. Planes, helicopters, tanks, artillery, light weapons are all Russian, and have been for at least five decades.
For instance in the Yom Kippur war, the Syrian Army’s soviet era T62 tanks were no match for Israel’s western tanks, especially the British Centurion. Basically the T62 could not depress its gun below horizontal which meant its base was exposed to Israeli tank counter fire. The Russian tanks had too low a profile, probably designed for flat open steppe country of eastern Europe and Ukraine.
So Syria has had Soviet/Russian era equipment for the last 50 years.
Well your assumption would be wrong.They are fleeing both.
As Max Abrahms reports in Foreign affairs.
Few observers even know what they’ve been advocating, given the pro-rebel bias among Western media outlets. Although they have assiduously broadcast the blood on Assad’s hands, these outlets have also tended to whitewash the rebels to sell the case for regime change. Take, for instance, the Syrian refugee crisis. The conventional wisdom holds that the refugees are pro-rebel, even though detailed survey research finds that the reality is far more nuanced. Most refugees say they fled Assad. But they also say they fled the armed opposition. By far, the most common explanation was that refugees fled both. Honest reporting about all sides of the conflict is imperative for governments and citizens around the world to understand the nature of the regime and the opposition alike.
‘A couple of reporters, one a native Arabic speaker, who wandered through train stations in Vienna found plenty of newcomers whose accents did not match their stories and whose stories did not make sense.’
We can remember the partition of India led to say 10 mill refugees
The UN dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and the resulting war let to 720,000 refugees , none of them jewish.
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan led to more than 5 mill refugees to niegbouring countries
He’s really only continuing the model established by his father unfortunately, and leadership in the region, Jordanian for example, has been nothing to boast of. Which was why the US was so hopeful about the various Arab spring movements, though they sent a pretty mixed message having invaded Iraq for perfectly unenlightened reasons, and making a lousy job of establishing a replacement for the Hussein government.
Well I spose I shouldn’t be surprised that you think Assad was the sole cause of one of the largest refugee crises in recent times.
One day he woke up and decided to force millions of his own citizens to leave. Seriously? It’s interesting that as soon as the west showed an interest in Syria things got a lot worse. Assad must go talk and the problem with IS becoming greater and greater. Terrorists and foreign fighters flooding and tearing apart the country. Let me guess you think they all came from Russia??
IS mostly weren’t fighting Assad, that was a broad brush he used on his enemies to dilute international condemnation. Al Nusra, who claimed to be Al Qaeda, but largely weren’t, also talked up their links with ISIS so as to associate with their success after the fall of Mosul.
Yes I know nothing.
I read the following authors as authorities and sources on the subject.
Robert Fisk.
Patrick Cockburn.
John PIlger
Jeremy Scahill
Joe Sacco
Christopher Hedges.
Glenn Greenwald.
George Galloway.
Stephen Kinzer
Eva Bartlett
Vanessa Beeley
Because you only consider writers as “authorities” if you already agree with them, or (just as likely) you can persuade yourself that they wrote something you agree with.
Ed, I was working just across the border when this shit went down.
My colleagues and I paid really close attention because it’s not unheard of for the knives to come out in these places, given sufficient provocation.
Yes, I’m afraid that your reading has not left you well informed on this issue. I suspect that is because you favour writers or podcasters who overdramatize over those who concentrate on the facts.
You’re also given to floating fatuous lies like “He wants war with Russia” – Nothing could be further from the truth – I want the bellicose Mr Putin to stay within his borders.
What about the bellicose Mr Trump?
He and his nation seem to be invading a hell of a lot more countries than Putin ever did.
I’m with Morrissey on this matter.
I don’t think you read widely at all on issues.
He showed you up yesterday on your lack of reading with reference to Chomsky.
“He showed you up yesterday on your lack of reading with reference to Chomsky.”
You must be referring to his lying through his teeth that England funded ISIS, a claim he cannot validate, which has obliged him to hide his head in shame ever since.
Not only have I read Chomsky for decades, I’ve got a piece of paper to prove it, so you’re barking up the wrong tree there.
Morrissey reads widely and is highly informed on such matters.
He is not a parrot for the corporate media or a lackey of the neoliberal establishment. He searches for independent sources and shares his findings with us.
He has contempt for most NZ media.
“What about the bellicose Mr Trump?
He and his nation seem to be invading a hell of a lot more countries than Putin ever did.”
I take it you are familiar with the term whataboutery? You might want to reflect on it.
Trump is a pretty bad fellow, it’s true. He has not however, launched a lot of invasions. He has talked about invading North Korea, and Venezuela, and supplied materiale to Saudi with which they bomb Yemen, but he hasn’t invaded a lot of countries – personal space is more his thing.
And of course, when one rewrites a constitution to make oneself president for life, that creates a much longer invasion biography than those of conventional limited term presidents.
We often get people talking about who funded ISIS, when the distinguishing characteristic of ISIS was that they were largely self funded, chiefly by seizing about half a billion in cash when they seized Mosul.
This made them independent of some of the conservative groups that funded other jihadist groups. And from the millenarian perspective of potential recruits it looked a bit like the mandate of heaven.
“Had it not been for Bush’s catastrophic decision to invade and occupy Iraq in 2003, in defiance of international law, the world’s most feared terrorist group would not exist today. ISIS is blowback.”
The Syrian refugees I talked to, said it was war for resources and geo-politics. They didn’t complain to me about the Syrian Govt. I got the impression they supported their govt. But I guess they weren’t the hand picked “UN-refugees”.
Well…I suppose what with Timber Sycamore being a covert CIA operation, you can get away with that to a degree Wayne. Hmm…until we factor in the logistical, financial and other support given to Jihadists by European governments. 😉
I spent some working life in Africa as a kiwi and can say that the tribes have been waging war against each other for many years before Europeans set foot in Africa and the same holds true in other countries and even in NZ as Maori tribes here fought each other for over a century before the British came here.
it is not a case of who caused the refugees it is the human condition that caused it of indifference.
Totally agree with Dalai Lama. Having massive movements of people – you simply can’t fit more and more people into certain countries without it effecting the cultures of both countries, while ignoring the issues that are leading to people leaving and thinking it is sustainable as a long term practise.
The world is diverse, people are diverse and either you believe in pluralism or you think every country should be the same, via globalism.
Personally think that the world has gone too far into globalism and pluralism is suffering.
pluralism
noun
the existence in a society of groups having distinctive ethnic origin, cultural forms, religions, etc
a theory that views the power of employers as being balanced by the power of trade unions in industrial relations such that the interests of both sides can be catered for
philosophy
the metaphysical doctrine that reality consists of independent entities rather than one unchanging wholeCompare monism (def. 2), absolutism (def. 2b)
Just heard on the radio that Nick Smith increased the amount of land that 1080 was dumped on from 100,000 hectares to 800,000 hectares.
Shudder.
When does this practice stop?
I don’t mean that as an emotional rhetorical question, but as a genuine inquiry.
In the plan for using 1080, is there a measure for when it will stop being ‘applied’. Pest count? (If you can count them in the ‘inpenetrable’ forests, surely you can kill them).
Or do we have the the 1080 teat in our mouth and will struggle to take it out.
No doubt very little apart from spreading false information and dropping road kill on the steps of parliament.
The 1080 debate has all the attraction of other internet discussions on the likes of flouridation of water supplies and immunisation which tend to lead nowhere apart from monumentally long threads.
Exactly; every step forward that people make, while undeniable progress in itself (in this case the protection of native bird species and others) also uncovers a new problem (in this case 1080 is likely not a very nice or humane method).
If gsays wants to argue for more funding into better pest control methods then I’d 100% support that, but as you say, hand-wringing on the internet is probably not very helpful.
amongst other things: turning the threat into a resource.
a handsome bounty on opossums, mustelids, rats, cats. (cats i get may be dodgy..)
using mentors to train youngsters with traps, dogs, bait stations, firearms.
with a concerted effort going on in the bush these methods become more cost effective.
pet food, pelts, fur, this is a wonderful resource going to waste.
my nephew owned outright a newish ute from opposum fur and pelts before he was 20.
any chance you would care to answer the questions i raised?
not in solkta’s ‘weasly’ way.
That’s more or less what we did before we had 1080. Ground hunting is only useful in some limited contexts, or as a complement to other methods. From my participation on other forums (primarily the tramping and hunting communities who have a great deal of collective knowledge) this is a complex topic with many interesting facets.
Almost everyone agrees that 1080 is not ideal; but at present we don’t yet have a good alternative to the whole problem of pest control. The big picture path forward is likely to involve a spectrum of techniques. But bear in mind, nothing is perfect in this world, they will all likely involve some compromise.
Put a handsome bounty on rats possums etc then get ready for illegal opossum and rat farming to take off, ie the theory of unintended consequences, people will act in their self interest not in the interest of the original intent Vietnam tried it with rats and that’s exactly what happened
Agree with that, possibly the worst thing I find about 1080 is the waste of a natural resource. That applies to industrialization in general though I guess…
i am aware of the threats issue raised this am on rnz.
not something i condone.
also womens rights advanced because of those who choose to interrupt a horse race.
plowshare folk shouldn’t have deflated the dome waihopai.
i did find interesting the doc spokesperson couched the opposition to 1080 as fake news, then used exaggeration and hyperbole to make her point.
perhaps she should stick to giggling through her segment with jessie in the afternoons.
any chance you could answer the questions i raised?
No, I cannot answer your questions and I doubt anyone can. Nort have I come out on one side or the other except that threats, (possibly) false claims etc help no-one or the discussion and attempts to find a 80/20 solution.
This whole issue is far from a black and white one with straight objective, rational answers or definitive solutions. It is highly emotive and subjective on either side of the equation.
i listened to most of that stuff u linked to vv an came away thinking RNZ just a propaganda tool effectively for doc and forest and bird etc because in all those interviews they never once interviewed a single person holding an alternative viewpoint .RNZ is a state broadcaster and does not provide balanced coverage imo .
I think 1080 was regarded as ‘moderately’ inhumane in the Parliamentary Commissioners report. On the same level as live leg trapping possums for possum fur I think. I doubt that leg trapping will ever be banned. Interesting the overall silence on that issue by the outdoors community…
Indeed you could call it a cruel practice. But there are other crueler, widely used pest control poisons that rate a 7 or even close to 8 out of 8 that are never talked about. Why do you think that is? Could it be that farmers also use them, or that there aren’t as many affected people downstream of them so to speak.
edit: Possum trapping is on a similar level of humaneness, probably hunting in general would come close. If we’re going to be fair, we should outlaw all of them at once right?
Hang on Maui, you can not compare a respiratory death were the organism is dying at a cellular level, with being in a cage for 24 or so hours.
Maybe gin trap is getting close but they are illegal.
No one uses gun traps now . Usually they will have tims leg hold . Light weight easy to set moderately kinder than a gin . Put still smashes the od leg . Of course the standard method for dispatching a leg trapped possum is a hammer which is effective if not a tad brutal .
I’m referring to leg-hold traps, thanks bwaghorn above. They are basically a gin trap using flat steel on the jaws instead of jagged teeth. Widely used by individuals. Companies or contractors are probably using poisons that are more cruel than 1080, I am fairly certain on that. The exception being cyanide which is very quick, but I don’t know how widely it is used now, health and safety and all that.
“Based on the impacts on possums from Victor No. 1 padded and unpadded leg-hold traps and the duration of exposure to these impacts, the overall welfare score assigned was 5E based on a combination of moderate domain impacts over a duration of hours (Part A) and extreme negative welfare impacts over a duration of seconds (Part B).
I think 1080 was given a similar score of 5E when it was compared across pest control methods, but I am only going from memory on that sorry.
The problem with cyanide is it’s short life span in the open although the peanut incased version lasts awhile. It also doesn’t on kill very often iunlike 1080 which cleans up anything that eats poisoned carcasses I believe. Certainly a good way to get rid of stray dogs .
Which is why most pig hunters hate the stuff .
did you see the pics on fb recently gsays ? some reserve called mapara i think near te kawhiti {prob spelled that wrong }killed a half doz or so cows an calves usual story helicopter dropped baits well outside targeted area cows died horribly bleeding from their eyes etc .you prob wont see it on tv or here about on RNZ though .
Sorry, just to clear up a couple of things the 1080 report says 1080 is ‘moderately inhumane’.
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) did a report on the humaneness of pest control methods, which is where I got the comparison to leg trapping I think. Can’t find that report now…
Looks strange but tested it and it works. If not just google “National Animal Welfare Advisory Group”
Please note that I – and others eg Hans Kriek who I have known for decades – have never had that much confidence in NAWAC and its reports etc due to its TORs, membership etc over the years. Personally I have always considered them a ‘wet bus ticket’ group.
Stalking me the way you do is creepy.
Please desist.
I know you are trying to close down free speech and turn Open Mike into Closed Mike.
However, I shall not be silenced by your bully boy tactics.
Ed, all you have been asked is to explain something that you have said. That is not closing down free speech. The other side of the free speech coin is that others get to question what we have said. It seems to me that it is you who are working against free speech and are here just to be a troll.
Well the K75 is now an older bike now (20 years plus). Yes it is beautifully made, but is it a classic?
Maybe yes. An amazingly well designed engine, along with the larger K100.
Classic as in 30years old,1987.
Also classic in every other way.
I want to make a couple of minor mods to give a scrambler effect- dirt bike handle bar set up (motard riding style) and chop the seat back, but everyone is horrified by the idea. Or no faith in my engineering/mechanic skills.
Mine is a 1957 BMW R50 – which I have just finished restoring. It was originally sold in Pretoria, ridden up through Africa, around the continent, down through the middle east (as you could do in those days), though india, shipped to Perth and across the nullabor then to NZ where I bought it in 1969.
Your questions have been answered over and over again previously here and on Google. Sorry they aren’t ground breaking thoughts – many many people have thunk them before. No point going over 101 stuff again. Good luck with your journey.
This video is a drama, but it’s exceedingly close to real. Just two days ago I had a long conversation with a Professor of AI systems (a real one). These things frighten him; his students often bring up the topic. They present a real and terrible danger, made worse because they are so cheap and easy to make, it will be difficult to enforce any rules.
At the moment their range of autonomous operation is limited by battery technology; but there is massive research world-wide that will almost certainly remove that constraint within a decade, perhaps just a few years:
We-ell maybe.
But flying takes a lot of energy, so do avionics and facial recognition and the overall AI. And then the rules you give the AI determine its behaviour, so we’d be talking about the devil being in each developer’s proprietary AI ruleset.
Reminds me of the hand grenades from Space: Above and Beyond though.
I did giggle a bit at the “recognition” marking the presenter as “primary target”: that right there is a design flaw 🙂
Might be able to run a stirling engine off the heat from the cpu, though.
But I think the maing obstacle is getting a decent AI trained up. Even facial recognition is a problem: the US like to bomb people of colour. Guess what skin tones make many facial recognition systems less reliable…
“range of autonomous operation is limited by battery technology; but there is massive research world-wide that will almost certainly remove that constraint within a decade, perhaps just a few years:”
Clearly you know nothing about battery ‘chemistry’ – just saying technology doesnt mean physical constraints inside chemical reactions go away.
I’m definitely not a battery chemist, but I’ve had reason to research the topic recently. Besides my Professor mentioned above was the source of my comment on that point.
If you care to google around on the topic, you’ll quickly find there’s an astonishing amount of research being thrown at this.
Maybe she’s talking about the tracking device put on her friend’s car. Maybe it’s how her boyfriend turned out to be a paid police informant. Maybe that time a private investigator turned up at the community board meeting she was attending.
Or maybe it’s any of the many other times Rochelle Rees has been followed, photographed or spied upon over the past 15 years.
Whatever it is, she’s very laid back when asked how much she ever thinks about the fact she might be under surveillance: “With everything that’s happened,” she says, nonchalantly, “it’s very difficult not to think about that. I try not to let it affect the way I behave or what I do but it’s always in the back of my mind.”
If you bumped into Rochelle Rees, you would never pick her as a target for the attention of police and private investigators. She works in IT, speaks calmly and quietly, and drinks soy lattes.
“Warren Buffett Indicator Predicts Stock Market Crash in 2018
On October 31, Halloween, children and adults alike enjoy playing with the frightful themes of death surrounding the feast’s mixture of Christian All Saints’ Day and Celtic pagan origins. But, in 2017, if you are one of millions of people who have investments, here’s something all too real and scary to rob you of your sleep. This Warren Buffett Indicator predicts a stock market crash in 2018.
You might be wondering if we’ve endured one too many ghost apparitions. To suggest that no less than Warren Buffett, whose net worth is north of $80.0 billion, expects the market to reverse its bullish course seems not just scary, it seems silly. But Warren Buffett’s predictions for 2018 call for at least a market correction—if not an outright crash”
Just out of interest regarding trapping and hunting of introduced predators in remote areas, what would the human death and injury toll need to be before the the whole thing became too much of a stupid unsustainable idea ?.
I haven’t been able to find any exact data but I do vaguely remember that in the deer culling era, and that’s pre-helicopter, that such events were quite common.
There’s also that ground methods are just too damn hard. The resources required, and the effort required to get people into, and then supporting them, even the reasonably accessible fringes is mind boggling. You’ve then got to find thousands of people who are going to do it for years, and really lifetimes, to make an impact.
In the post-war culler phase there was a ready supply of young men who had the skills and were more than happy to be in the bush for months on end. But accidents happened, and this has been a feature of the occupation even up to modern times. They are a lot easier to find with the modern beacons, that’s if they are able to be used, but finding a missing culler is a real needle in haystack exercise without one.
All ideas are expensive but how do you think it would go if a bounty was put on possums but only for a limited time (I don’t know a season or two maybe) and then after that intensive 1080 drops were done, along with other methods to really take the numbers down
Would this take the population down enough that a newly formed possum board could then keep the possums under control? (I don’t think its feasible to try to wipe out every possum)
Ground control would only take the top off an already high population, and then make animals ground shy so poison would be less effective. Then over big, remote areas the resources required just get huge. Have you ever worked somewhere where it takes a couple of days walk just to get to the job? Even with helicopters it’s a massive logistical exercise and your productivity is nothing compared to when you can drive to the job.
That’s why 1080 is the tool of choice, it’s the best one available at present. There’s really no such thing as humane killing, it’s still killing a sentient being that doesn’t really want to die, whether it’s a trap and probably having to deal with a half dead mangled animal, cyanide, which isn’t that pleasant by the way, or 1080, none of them are that swift or painless for animal or hunter.
And with any bio-control we’ve got to keep it confined within New Zealand in case it wreaks havoc somewhere else. The trouble with Trichosurus vulpecula is that while a pest of biblical proportions on this side of the Tasman, on the other side it’s treasured native wildlife. Short of introducing a natural predator, like the Australian Powerful Owl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerful_owl there may not be a lot that can be done, but having a beast like that in circulation could have unintended consequences for other species and agriculture.
The death toll would be higher than the road toll if hoards of fortune seekers went trapping and hunting pests into the remote imo. And that would mainly be around the car parks before they even got into the hills.
Exactly what I thought. Its my opinion garnered from living in a rural S I area that most opposition comes from the hunting fraternity because they do not want their present quarry numbers diminished in any way and value self interest above preservation of native species.
That’s my take on the anti 1080 lobby as well Adrian, well the hunting based side of it. And it’s often as an excuse for their inability to stalk and shoot an animal.
It’s not like deer numbers are low at present, there’s a thriving population very close to, and all around Queenstown. I’m currently deer fencing a 150 ha block that has an awesome view over the Whakatipu, there won’t be a great difference in annual stocking rate once it’s stocked with breading hinds for fawning, and the locals are fenced in or out.
Na they can’t get kiwis to pick fruit , prune and plant pines etc there no way that hoards if in skilled people who don’t love the Bush are going to trudge off and die out their. Add to that no ph or internet and a big dose of your on company only and not many will be up to it .
yeah well you and I know that but the people saying go and trap them and build an industry catching rats lol don’t get it. Maybe a weeks pig hunting might teach them the actual ways of the bush not the TV way.
I think they can’t get Kiwis to pick fruit, because it used to be good money but now it costs so much to do it (travel there, accomodation, benefit stand down, lack of interest in employing Kiwis if they can just get a people trafficker in to supply a whole troop of migrants at great prices who co incidentally are probably already having to pay to get the job to the people trafficker) and the picking rates are still from 20 years ago… at least in the old days the slaves were not expected to pay the slavers, unlike modern times…
“It is the first time someone has been convicted of human trafficking in New Zealand.
During Ali’s trial, the court was told the workers came to New Zealand on the promise of good wages, accommodation and food.
They had to borrow hundreds of dollars from family and friends to pay Ali, and his accomplices, ‘administrative and filing fees’ for the chance to work on New Zealand orchards.
But when they arrived in New Zealand, they often had to sleep on the floor and were paid just a fraction of what was promised. At least one of the workers left New Zealand owing money.”
Don’t worry nobody is really going to catch them, our authorities like the idea for the cheap labour for employers and there seems to be deliberate underfunding to deport people out of the country.
“Investigators joke about having a ‘whip around’ or ‘raffles’ to pay for deporting target after budget blowout, according to Immigration NZ emails.
Immigration New Zealand was forced to stop deporting all but the riskiest illegal immigrants after a budget blowout earlier this year.
No one was to be deported unless they were named on a list created by Immigration management when the funding shortfall was discovered in January.”
When was it good money my recall (27 years ago)of my kiwi fruit picking season was not one of money flooding in but more one of driving MY vehicle all over the show at my cost and if the fruit was damp driving home again poorer than when I started .
“Simon Bridges says if National formed a coalition with New Zealand First, he wouldn’t let Winston Peters have a “presidential veto on everything”.” Bridges fails to explain how he’d confine Winston to a position of inferiority and the media hasn’t yet thought of asking him the obvious question. As far as I’m aware, Winston hasn’t yet been bound into a coalition on subservient terms..
Actually, thinking about it, I was wrong: when he accepted the deputy position he locked himself in. I ought to have framed it as parity between coalition parties on legislative decisions.
Nobody is missing the Natz, (partly because the Labour coalition on the surface is pretty similar to the Natz unless you realised that the Natz were going to go a lot further if they got in again)… I’ve been disappointed by a few things by the new government, TPPA signing, Kiwibuild having little state house rentals and selling off public land, watered down foreign buyers ban, gave away the water rights, but since Natz would have done all that anyway… you are still better off with the new government.. and they have done some good things in education – got rid of national standards for a start.
In short I would say more people than not, prefer the new government and whatever hysterical rant is going on daily in the MSM about Jacinda/ Labour is meaningless.
Yes, I’m looking forward to the next full poll results. I just scanned the fine print that Sacha linked us to & here’s the best bit from the coalition economic policy:
“We cannot continue to rely on an economy built on population growth, an overheated housing market and the export of raw commodities.” That differentiates the coalition sufficiently from the last govt but I wish they’d agree to adopt a financial transactions tax. Taxing capital flows is better than taxing labour.
Yep, the fairer way of taxing with unprecedented global travel and movement is defiantly a financial transaction tax. This is especially true in NZ when so many people have residency and citizenship but don’t live here all the time, but can call on any of the benefits that people who do live here have to provide through taxes such as free health, education, social services and super in most cases…
The government also need to make permanent residency and citizenship a lot longer 10 – 15 years or so, before you can vote and influence politics here and expect the Kiwi tax payer to pick up the tab for so many people’s free health, education, social services and super…
What caused the sudden escalation? Part of the answer can perhaps be traced back to October last year, when anti-1080 leaders held a think-tank near Nelson. There the lawyer Sue Grey gave a presentation on how to mainstream the movement.
Grey has been a leading spokesperson in the medicinal cannabis movement, which has gained political traction and overwhelming public support in recent months, and she drew on her experience with that cause to outline a new anti-1080 strategy.
Activists couldn’t rely on getting mainstream media coverage, she said. She proposed taking a different tack – co-opting stories about issues completely unrelated to 1080 to spread the anti-1080 message.
Amoral power hungry pricks have begun a concerted effort to discredit this woman.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Ford said that one summer in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend — both “stumbling drunk,” Ford alleges — corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teenagers at a house in Montgomery County.
While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford said she was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them, sending all three tumbling. She said she ran from the room, briefly locked herself in a bathroom and then fled the house
DId anyone else here in the media of calls to privatise Aurora Energy because it is a liability?
I think I heard it on RNZ, although as I write, I cannot find any reference to it.
Surely the problem is not that it is in public hands, but rather that it has shit management
NZ media standards and the crims that seems to be attracted to NZ..
“In May 1995, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the Southport District Court sentenced him to a four-year prison term for misappropriation of property, false pretences and attempted
false pretences, forgery, uttering a forgery, theft, and what is described as making a
“wilful false promise”.
He was then sentenced to cumulative terms of imprisonment in Australia during October 1995 and May 1996 for incurring a debt by false pretences, misappropriation of property and false pretences offences.
Upon his release from prison Goodburn moved to New Zealand.
He held business links to Australasian media and radio companies and was a group general manager at a New Zealand-based media enterprise.
Married with a son, Goodburn lived in a luxury apartment in Parnell but was declared bankrupt in 2012.”
Remember the “good Character” of the Directors who bailed out/resigned just a couple of days before they finally collapsed. Left the team high and dry. Run and hide Jenny.
(You would have thought it would be prudent of the other companies to stand her down until the court proceedings were over and after it emerged Mainzeal owed $115 million to unsecured creditors… during a construction boom… but nope still troughing on Genesis Energy, China Construction Bank (NZ), on the board of Oravida and the International Finance Forum in Beijing.
P.S. Quality was so low from Mainzeal that they on a commercial job of a mate I knew, they got the untantalised timber mixed up with the tantalised timber and put the untanalised timber on the exterior…. so it wasn’t just the money side that was a huge screw up from them. They say it all comes from the top.
Yep, maybe getting away with reckless trading, we will see… what a joke being on the international finance forum and another construction company, they must be going to the bottom of the pile.. maybe reckless trading doesn’t matter in China if you are “well connected”.
It’s a civil case. Essentially it’s against the directors insurance company.
If the insurance company loses they will drag it through the courts.
At best we will find how useless she was at her duties like the rest of them
With any luck it will put off other politicians and boards putting on political directors that don’t know what they are doing, or anything about the industry they are on the board of.
We need to have a 5 year stand down of ex politicians being allowed to go on to cushy jobs on boards in the private sector post being a PM or MP. It’s too much a conflict of interest.
Very insightful. I wander if JA has had time to map out her future at the UN? Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme? If she can hold NZ to another 6.66 years or more of austerity, she should qualify for the job.
Gerry Brownlee thought Jenny Shipley was worth double the normal govt consultants fee when he appointed her to Cera.
Look at how that turned out.
Their should be an enquiry into her appointment as well.
$75 million the mainzeal Directors are being sued for.
Personal responsibility.
Kia ora The Am Show with the tax we have seen shonky walk away making a cool $1 million per year or more in capital gains on the house he sold he could afford to pay more tax .
Yes It’s cool that most kiwis want there money invested in ethical industrys no carbon no human rights issues or animal abuse or manufacturing of ARMS if everyone on Papatuanuku made the call thing’s would change for the better for all of us.
Eco Maori says boycott the ANZ bank till shonky resins from the board.
The survey they did in Aucland will let everyone know exactly how many people there are under the bridge and take the data to the to Parliament and get all MP to support some good policy’s that will get %75 support and they won’t be easly scrapped if things change. Do you see the direct link heaps of home less tangata netx minute the old pm and his m8 just cashed in there capital gains that’s cause and effect right there and they still think there——–don’t stink.
I agree speed cameras are a tool to prevent a accident it there are no sign’s showing were they are and one get’s a ticket its not done its job of preventing accident IE because they were still speeding and could have crashed conclusion UN MARKED speed cameras are just revenue gatherers .
I say our armed forces should be training people in war torn parts of the Papatuanuku to rebuild there houses water rebuild there lives .
Eco know what the birds are like in Karori Wellington they are awesome and it would be great to have birds like that in many places in Aotearoa.
Ka kite ano
These neo liberal capitalist pro carbon muppets are getting quite sly in there pro carbon burning big business backing promotion .
They start the story off as if they care about the environment and the people well-being
than at the end they start calling for big central gas projects for our poor thirdworld countrys cousins .
They have the opportunity to jump right over the top of our carbon based society in to a sustainable energy model from the start cut out big business who only want to fleece the people. In this modle the people will have the power and not big business .
link below ka kite ano.
Aotearoa does not have to follow the rest of the Papatuanuku into a society were people have more wealthy than they could possabley spend in a life time and mean while people are dieing of starvation around the Papatunuku .
There is enough food and wealth to keep everyone healthy & happy it just has to be shared equal link below the story is 9 months old Ka kite ano.
The sandflys are not looking for the truth they are looking to try and prove there lying
contracted informant’s who will spit out what they are payed to spit out .
How else can one explane there behavior it is total bullshit
The good thing is everyone with a brain can see this ana to kai P.S they can fool a few people but not all
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub the space flights on Elon Muss rocket company by a Chinese man show that we are advancing at a incredible rate .
Wow that’s a lot of lambs lost they are lucky that Farmers are getting the best prices for lamb & sheep meat for at least 20 years.
There you go with Fiji Bula being trade marked by a American preying on other culturers treasures.
Indigenous cultures. treasures should be banned from being trade marked.
There you go shoddy insurance sales we had some shoddy insurance sales people here in the nineties selling crap life saving deals I seen people pay thousands and only getting %20 back.
Birds are very intelligent Kea are tool makers and users the most intelligent birds it will be cool when there are more native birds flying around our neighborhood like in Karori Wellington Ka kite ano. .
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Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. 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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],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, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, 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. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
“Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference.”
~ Mignon McLaughlin
“like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” ~ MacDonald Carey
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/education/107039307/clothes-beds-rent-money-what-teachers-give-their-students
We used to live in a country where people could afford basic costs.
Check out this 9 year old girl who Pauline Hanson wants to kick up the backside for refusing to stand for the Australian National Anthem.
Seriously I love this little girl!
When interviewed about her decision not to stand for the anthem, Harper said her objection lay with the line “Advance Australia fair”, which completely disregarded indigenous people. She also said the phrase “we are young” dissed indigenous Australians who pre-empted white Australians by 50,000 years.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/107094023/jane-bowron-we-should-stand-up-for-the-right-to-sit-down
Poor Duncan Garner!!
Today on the AM show he certainly can’t cope with Labour’s rejection of not using him for the release of Jacinda’s reset speech yesterday as now on the AM show je is spitting sparks at labour.
Poor Duncan. – Get over it Duncan.
It would be good if the government bypassed the media totally to avoid the filter their owners want to add.
Yes, Its like how Murdock purchased the UK,s left leaning working class tabloids like the Sun and Mail and slowly turned them and their readers right wing. Its happening here.
Mail isnt part of the Murdoch group.
Yeah psych nurse it’s owned by this Tory supporting inbreed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere
Not the neo-Tory scum bag Murdock
Really???
Since the demise of Holmes Polly’s have been getting away with literal murder
Question time at parliament is a joke
Where does both the govt and opposition get challenged in a format that is widely available to the public ?
They lie to us don’t front up, and are challenged and the media is so crap and finding them out. The public is left with an”reality” format to vote in our govts.
Are you living under a rock? This government is easily more accessible compared to the last, where all you got was the ponytail puller.
We have The Nation and Q&A that most don’t watch
How do we see who is and who is not competent ?
At least with Holmes Polly’s were expected to turn up and were placed under the blow torch, from
Memory Holmes was highly competent and had some highly skilled researchers. Now we have token celebs (self promoting themselves) asking the questions 🤪
So you don’t go to meetings, nor use the internet then.
Which seems to be what your saying.
As for Holmes, I think your over egging that one.
I take some notice, many are not as involved in what’s going on as many who contribute to this and other political sites.
I disagree re Holmes
Where else do the public see where our leaders want to take nz to and are held to account ?
Both the last and the current govts have made undertakings which have been seen to be false or hollow ?
Key in his war on P,or the current govt on reducing net immigration by 20 to 50k ?
100% I support your views there Ed.
Why don’t we start a crowdfunding for something like; a program to restore the Waatea “fifth estate? live screen nightly political broadcast that Martyn Bradbury successfully produced, and use that to broadcast the coalition nightly polity’s in a talk back show with guests?
This would cost a minimal amount. Can’t we get the financial costs that program cost for the 2016 season before national canned it as being to ‘expose” for them?
There was a Korean newspaper that was funded in this fashion in response to the Park years. (the Hankyoreh) A former president who is presently under investigation for corruption (Lee Myung Bak) did his best to close it down.
It broke well researched long form stories, and one of its leading journalists (whose childhood friend was slain by police under Chun do Hwan) came up with a rather sophisticated democratic model for finding a location for nuclear waste storage – the government offered a regional development package as inducement, with the province that generated the highest level of public support for its proposal securing it. We would wait a long time to see NZ media generating comparably enlightened policy.
Until Garner can learn to behave himself he’s not going to get that inside info he used to through Key.
The Dalai Lama says ‘Europe belongs to Europeans’ and refugees should return to their native countries to rebuild them’
Dalai Lama was speaking at a conference in Sweden’s third-largest city of Malmö
He said Europe was ‘morally responsible’ for helping those fleeing their countries, but ultimately refugees should ‘develop their own country’
His words come after far-right populist party Sweden Democrats made gains in the country’s general election
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6159933/Dalai-Lama-says-Europe-belongs-Europeans.html
I always liked the Dalai Lama, and I agree with the logic. I wish the NZ Green Party policy experts could understand this perspective too. The Greens have members who also work for the UN, and said to me, “refugees seek a new permanent home,..” Which may be true.
But, I said, “if we offered non-permanent refugee status, with the aim of sending refugees home again, and potentially be involved with NZ supported redevelopment projects… creating positive international relations… Wouldn’t that gain more broad spectrum political support, so we could increase support for refugees?”
But time and time again, I get the feeling the UN policy is based on “die with dignity” rather than “sovereign empowerment” for these troubled lands.
Who ultimately created these refugees in the first place, by arming and supporting factions in nations around the world for decades? Europe is just getting some karma. It is not up to refugees to fix bigger problems.
In Syria I think the blame can be put fair and square on Assad. Virtually all the millions of refugees from Syria were trying to escape him. Not the fault of the Europeans at all.
And who armed and politically protected Assad? Europe not the only player in every nation, sure.
Sacha,
Mostly Russia.
Syria is the only place where the Russians/Soviets have had a Mediterranean naval base for many decades. Virtually all Syrian armed forces equipment is Soviet bloc, and more recently, Russian. Planes, helicopters, tanks, artillery, light weapons are all Russian, and have been for at least five decades.
For instance in the Yom Kippur war, the Syrian Army’s soviet era T62 tanks were no match for Israel’s western tanks, especially the British Centurion. Basically the T62 could not depress its gun below horizontal which meant its base was exposed to Israeli tank counter fire. The Russian tanks had too low a profile, probably designed for flat open steppe country of eastern Europe and Ukraine.
So Syria has had Soviet/Russian era equipment for the last 50 years.
Well your assumption would be wrong.They are fleeing both.
As Max Abrahms reports in Foreign affairs.
Few observers even know what they’ve been advocating, given the pro-rebel bias among Western media outlets. Although they have assiduously broadcast the blood on Assad’s hands, these outlets have also tended to whitewash the rebels to sell the case for regime change. Take, for instance, the Syrian refugee crisis. The conventional wisdom holds that the refugees are pro-rebel, even though detailed survey research finds that the reality is far more nuanced. Most refugees say they fled Assad. But they also say they fled the armed opposition. By far, the most common explanation was that refugees fled both. Honest reporting about all sides of the conflict is imperative for governments and citizens around the world to understand the nature of the regime and the opposition alike.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2017-10-30/syrias-extremist-opposition
Only something like 1/3 of the refugees to Europe were really Syrians -the rest came from the Middle east and Afghanistan, even India and pakistan
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/migrants-are-disguising-themselves-as-syrians-to-gain-entry-to-europe/2015/09/22/827c6026-5bd8-11e5-8475-781cc9851652_story.html
‘A couple of reporters, one a native Arabic speaker, who wandered through train stations in Vienna found plenty of newcomers whose accents did not match their stories and whose stories did not make sense.’
We can remember the partition of India led to say 10 mill refugees
The UN dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and the resulting war let to 720,000 refugees , none of them jewish.
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan led to more than 5 mill refugees to niegbouring countries
He’s really only continuing the model established by his father unfortunately, and leadership in the region, Jordanian for example, has been nothing to boast of. Which was why the US was so hopeful about the various Arab spring movements, though they sent a pretty mixed message having invaded Iraq for perfectly unenlightened reasons, and making a lousy job of establishing a replacement for the Hussein government.
Well I spose I shouldn’t be surprised that you think Assad was the sole cause of one of the largest refugee crises in recent times.
One day he woke up and decided to force millions of his own citizens to leave. Seriously? It’s interesting that as soon as the west showed an interest in Syria things got a lot worse. Assad must go talk and the problem with IS becoming greater and greater. Terrorists and foreign fighters flooding and tearing apart the country. Let me guess you think they all came from Russia??
Actually IS peaked a long while back.
IS mostly weren’t fighting Assad, that was a broad brush he used on his enemies to dilute international condemnation. Al Nusra, who claimed to be Al Qaeda, but largely weren’t, also talked up their links with ISIS so as to associate with their success after the fall of Mosul.
So all those maps that the media pumped out of ISIS controlled areas in Iraq and Syria over the last few years were in fact just Assad propaganda?
Maui, Stuart is an entrenched neocon warrior.
He wants war with Russia.
Ed, you know less than nothing about this issue.
Better not to open your stupid trap.
Yes I know nothing.
I read the following authors as authorities and sources on the subject.
Robert Fisk.
Patrick Cockburn.
John PIlger
Jeremy Scahill
Joe Sacco
Christopher Hedges.
Glenn Greenwald.
George Galloway.
Stephen Kinzer
Eva Bartlett
Vanessa Beeley
I know nothing.
yes.
Because you only consider writers as “authorities” if you already agree with them, or (just as likely) you can persuade yourself that they wrote something you agree with.
ed – you know LESS than nothing. Try reading what people write please.
Ed, I was working just across the border when this shit went down.
My colleagues and I paid really close attention because it’s not unheard of for the knives to come out in these places, given sufficient provocation.
Yes, I’m afraid that your reading has not left you well informed on this issue. I suspect that is because you favour writers or podcasters who overdramatize over those who concentrate on the facts.
You’re also given to floating fatuous lies like “He wants war with Russia” – Nothing could be further from the truth – I want the bellicose Mr Putin to stay within his borders.
So you think these authors are not reputable,independent and experienced?
Who do you listen to?
CNN?
What about the bellicose Mr Trump?
He and his nation seem to be invading a hell of a lot more countries than Putin ever did.
I’m with Morrissey on this matter.
I don’t think you read widely at all on issues.
He showed you up yesterday on your lack of reading with reference to Chomsky.
And Marty the stalker arrives….
To join his gang of neocon bully boys..
“Who do you listen to? CNN?”
Reuters is more consistent in identifying their sources, and, having a class of Arab gentlemen at the time, we checked our interpretations with them.
The consequences of getting it wrong seemed worth avoiding.
“He showed you up yesterday on your lack of reading with reference to Chomsky.”
You must be referring to his lying through his teeth that England funded ISIS, a claim he cannot validate, which has obliged him to hide his head in shame ever since.
Not only have I read Chomsky for decades, I’ve got a piece of paper to prove it, so you’re barking up the wrong tree there.
Morrissey reads widely and is highly informed on such matters.
He is not a parrot for the corporate media or a lackey of the neoliberal establishment. He searches for independent sources and shares his findings with us.
He has contempt for most NZ media.
“What about the bellicose Mr Trump?
He and his nation seem to be invading a hell of a lot more countries than Putin ever did.”
I take it you are familiar with the term whataboutery? You might want to reflect on it.
Trump is a pretty bad fellow, it’s true. He has not however, launched a lot of invasions. He has talked about invading North Korea, and Venezuela, and supplied materiale to Saudi with which they bomb Yemen, but he hasn’t invaded a lot of countries – personal space is more his thing.
And of course, when one rewrites a constitution to make oneself president for life, that creates a much longer invasion biography than those of conventional limited term presidents.
Stuart, are you aware what this list represents?
China 1945-46
Korea 1950-53
China 1950-53
Guatemala 1954
Indonesia 1958
Cuba 1959-60
Guatemala 1960
Belgian Congo 1964
Guatemala 1964
Dominican Republic 1965-66
Peru 1965
Laos 1964-73
Vietnam 1961-73
Cambodia 1969-70
Guatemala 1967-69
Lebanon 1982-84
Grenada 1983-84
Libya 1986
El Salvador 1981-92
Nicaragua 1981-90
Iran 1987-88
Libya 1989
Panama 1989-90
Iraq 1991
Kuwait 1991
Somalia 1992-94
Bosnia 1995
Iran 1998
Sudan 1998
Afghanistan 1998
Yugoslavia – Serbia 1999
Afghanistan 2001
Libya 2011
It is the list of countries the USA has bombed since World War 2.
And I assume you’ve seen this before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw
Yes – it’s not a defense Ed.
First you want to talk about Trump, and then most of the last century, oh and now it’s bombing, not invasion.
Russia’s list would be of similar length.
These actions are wrong. Russia is wrong when it does them too.
But, being their intellectual captive, you can never admit it.
Nah. They just peaked in area some time in 2015, and some of the cartographers might have been a bit careless in distinguishing between rebel groups.
More likely the media were simply lazy.
We often get people talking about who funded ISIS, when the distinguishing characteristic of ISIS was that they were largely self funded, chiefly by seizing about half a billion in cash when they seized Mosul.
Not the best link, but contains the facts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/12/isis-just-stole-425-million-and-became-the-worlds-richest-terrorist-group/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.06e27297e4eb
This made them independent of some of the conservative groups that funded other jihadist groups. And from the millenarian perspective of potential recruits it looked a bit like the mandate of heaven.
“Had it not been for Bush’s catastrophic decision to invade and occupy Iraq in 2003, in defiance of international law, the world’s most feared terrorist group would not exist today. ISIS is blowback.”
again, not the best link, but the facts are there: https://theintercept.com/2018/01/29/isis-iraq-war-islamic-state-blowback/
ISIS, being a response to the Iraq invasion, wasn’t by any means primarily concerned with Assad.
The Syrian refugees I talked to, said it was war for resources and geo-politics. They didn’t complain to me about the Syrian Govt. I got the impression they supported their govt. But I guess they weren’t the hand picked “UN-refugees”.
@ Wayne
Not the fault of the Europeans at all.
Well…I suppose what with Timber Sycamore being a covert CIA operation, you can get away with that to a degree Wayne. Hmm…until we factor in the logistical, financial and other support given to Jihadists by European governments. 😉
People fleeing Syria were….fleeing Syria.
Hey sacha;
I spent some working life in Africa as a kiwi and can say that the tribes have been waging war against each other for many years before Europeans set foot in Africa and the same holds true in other countries and even in NZ as Maori tribes here fought each other for over a century before the British came here.
it is not a case of who caused the refugees it is the human condition that caused it of indifference.
But aiming to send them home, means aiming to restore peace. Peace needs to be focus, not integration.
Totally agree with Dalai Lama. Having massive movements of people – you simply can’t fit more and more people into certain countries without it effecting the cultures of both countries, while ignoring the issues that are leading to people leaving and thinking it is sustainable as a long term practise.
The world is diverse, people are diverse and either you believe in pluralism or you think every country should be the same, via globalism.
Personally think that the world has gone too far into globalism and pluralism is suffering.
pluralism
noun
the existence in a society of groups having distinctive ethnic origin, cultural forms, religions, etc
a theory that views the power of employers as being balanced by the power of trade unions in industrial relations such that the interests of both sides can be catered for
philosophy
the metaphysical doctrine that reality consists of independent entities rather than one unchanging wholeCompare monism (def. 2), absolutism (def. 2b)
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pluralisglobalism
Globalism
The operation or planning of economic and foreign policy on a global basis.
‘millions have lost jobs to the new globalism’
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/globalism
It has gone quiet on 1080 round here lately so…
Just heard on the radio that Nick Smith increased the amount of land that 1080 was dumped on from 100,000 hectares to 800,000 hectares.
Shudder.
When does this practice stop?
I don’t mean that as an emotional rhetorical question, but as a genuine inquiry.
In the plan for using 1080, is there a measure for when it will stop being ‘applied’. Pest count? (If you can count them in the ‘inpenetrable’ forests, surely you can kill them).
Or do we have the the 1080 teat in our mouth and will struggle to take it out.
Good news, 1080 is the most well researched and effective method for reducing pests in NZ forest.
ok, so nothing new to add to the discussion.
just a highly subjective comment.
“just a highly subjective comment.”
Um no – 1080 is the most well researched and effective method for reducing pests in NZ forest.
http://www.1080facts.co.nz/
err, yes, a highly subjective opinion.
the ‘facts’ you link to is a joint effort from federated farmers and forest and bird.
both, like you apparently, are in the TINA camp.
Edit: one of the facts acknowledged is the cruelty of the death 1080 inflicts- 6 out of 8 on the ‘humane scale’, 1 being the most humane
Yes that’s right, Forest and Bird are far more concerned about being right than saving birds and forests.
when do you think the practice will be able to stop solkta?
how will you know we have reached that point?
When we get a better method.
how do we get one without trying/trialing them?
OK and your effective alternative to 1080 is?
No doubt very little apart from spreading false information and dropping road kill on the steps of parliament.
The 1080 debate has all the attraction of other internet discussions on the likes of flouridation of water supplies and immunisation which tend to lead nowhere apart from monumentally long threads.
Exactly; every step forward that people make, while undeniable progress in itself (in this case the protection of native bird species and others) also uncovers a new problem (in this case 1080 is likely not a very nice or humane method).
If gsays wants to argue for more funding into better pest control methods then I’d 100% support that, but as you say, hand-wringing on the internet is probably not very helpful.
amongst other things: turning the threat into a resource.
a handsome bounty on opossums, mustelids, rats, cats. (cats i get may be dodgy..)
using mentors to train youngsters with traps, dogs, bait stations, firearms.
with a concerted effort going on in the bush these methods become more cost effective.
pet food, pelts, fur, this is a wonderful resource going to waste.
my nephew owned outright a newish ute from opposum fur and pelts before he was 20.
any chance you would care to answer the questions i raised?
not in solkta’s ‘weasly’ way.
That’s more or less what we did before we had 1080. Ground hunting is only useful in some limited contexts, or as a complement to other methods. From my participation on other forums (primarily the tramping and hunting communities who have a great deal of collective knowledge) this is a complex topic with many interesting facets.
Almost everyone agrees that 1080 is not ideal; but at present we don’t yet have a good alternative to the whole problem of pest control. The big picture path forward is likely to involve a spectrum of techniques. But bear in mind, nothing is perfect in this world, they will all likely involve some compromise.
Put a handsome bounty on rats possums etc then get ready for illegal opossum and rat farming to take off, ie the theory of unintended consequences, people will act in their self interest not in the interest of the original intent Vietnam tried it with rats and that’s exactly what happened
Agree with that, possibly the worst thing I find about 1080 is the waste of a natural resource. That applies to industrialization in general though I guess…
1080 gone quiet? Don’t think so, by any means.
But why would anyone give any credibility to those against the use of 1080 when this type of thing is happening?
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018662820/1080-protesters-escalate-abuse-threats-against-doc-staff
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018662813/doc-staff-face-torrent-of-online-threats-abuse-over-1080
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/366476/trevor-mallard-threatened-with-legal-action-over-dead-native-birds
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/366409/it-was-an-act-of-theatre-1080-activist-on-dead-birds-at-parliament
And there is more here in just the last few days – and this is RNZ alone.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/search/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=1080&commit=Search
hi vv, i meant here on TS.
i am aware of the threats issue raised this am on rnz.
not something i condone.
also womens rights advanced because of those who choose to interrupt a horse race.
plowshare folk shouldn’t have deflated the dome waihopai.
i did find interesting the doc spokesperson couched the opposition to 1080 as fake news, then used exaggeration and hyperbole to make her point.
perhaps she should stick to giggling through her segment with jessie in the afternoons.
any chance you could answer the questions i raised?
No, I cannot answer your questions and I doubt anyone can. Nort have I come out on one side or the other except that threats, (possibly) false claims etc help no-one or the discussion and attempts to find a 80/20 solution.
This whole issue is far from a black and white one with straight objective, rational answers or definitive solutions. It is highly emotive and subjective on either side of the equation.
Redlogix puts it well at https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-09-2018/#comment-1525772
i listened to most of that stuff u linked to vv an came away thinking RNZ just a propaganda tool effectively for doc and forest and bird etc because in all those interviews they never once interviewed a single person holding an alternative viewpoint .RNZ is a state broadcaster and does not provide balanced coverage imo .
I think 1080 was regarded as ‘moderately’ inhumane in the Parliamentary Commissioners report. On the same level as live leg trapping possums for possum fur I think. I doubt that leg trapping will ever be banned. Interesting the overall silence on that issue by the outdoors community…
forest and bird say 6 out of 8 in a humane scale in terms of suffering.
what would they have to do to make it crueler?
that is from stunned mullet’s link above.
Indeed you could call it a cruel practice. But there are other crueler, widely used pest control poisons that rate a 7 or even close to 8 out of 8 that are never talked about. Why do you think that is? Could it be that farmers also use them, or that there aren’t as many affected people downstream of them so to speak.
edit: Possum trapping is on a similar level of humaneness, probably hunting in general would come close. If we’re going to be fair, we should outlaw all of them at once right?
Hang on Maui, you can not compare a respiratory death were the organism is dying at a cellular level, with being in a cage for 24 or so hours.
Maybe gin trap is getting close but they are illegal.
What are the cruel methods you elude to?
No one uses gun traps now . Usually they will have tims leg hold . Light weight easy to set moderately kinder than a gin . Put still smashes the od leg . Of course the standard method for dispatching a leg trapped possum is a hammer which is effective if not a tad brutal .
I’m referring to leg-hold traps, thanks bwaghorn above. They are basically a gin trap using flat steel on the jaws instead of jagged teeth. Widely used by individuals. Companies or contractors are probably using poisons that are more cruel than 1080, I am fairly certain on that. The exception being cyanide which is very quick, but I don’t know how widely it is used now, health and safety and all that.
You can make a comparison in terms of welfare, the experts seem to be able to. Check out the pdf, https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/4009-how-humane-are-our-pest-control-tools
Pg, 131, Table 3.4, gives you some idea of humaneness of leg trapping.
On pg 143 they sum up by saying:
“Based on the impacts on possums from Victor No. 1 padded and unpadded leg-hold traps and the duration of exposure to these impacts, the overall welfare score assigned was 5E based on a combination of moderate domain impacts over a duration of hours (Part A) and extreme negative welfare impacts over a duration of seconds (Part B).
I think 1080 was given a similar score of 5E when it was compared across pest control methods, but I am only going from memory on that sorry.
The problem with cyanide is it’s short life span in the open although the peanut incased version lasts awhile. It also doesn’t on kill very often iunlike 1080 which cleans up anything that eats poisoned carcasses I believe. Certainly a good way to get rid of stray dogs .
Which is why most pig hunters hate the stuff .
did you see the pics on fb recently gsays ? some reserve called mapara i think near te kawhiti {prob spelled that wrong }killed a half doz or so cows an calves usual story helicopter dropped baits well outside targeted area cows died horribly bleeding from their eyes etc .you prob wont see it on tv or here about on RNZ though .
Didn’t FB pics of a bunch of “1080-killed” deer turn out to be deer shot overseas or something?
Don’t believe anything on FB. Google it if you’re interested, but never take an FB post at face value.
Don’t do FB, Weston.
Just remember if it doesn’t suit the narrative, it’s probably fake../sarc.
It is a horrible death, that is essence of my opposition.
Sorry, just to clear up a couple of things the 1080 report says 1080 is ‘moderately
inhumane’.The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) did a report on the humaneness of pest control methods, which is where I got the comparison to leg trapping I think. Can’t find that report now…
Don’t have time to do much more, but here are a couple of links that may help find the report you referred to.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/protection-and-response/animal-welfare/national-animal-welfare-advisory-committee/
Wider Google search
https://www.google.co.nz/search?rlz=1C1LDJZ_enNZ499&ei=DdaeW-zqD4OA8gWz-ZyQAw&q=National+Animal+Welfare+Advisory+Committee+%28NAWAC%29&oq=National+Animal+Welfare+Advisory+Committee+%28NAWAC%29&gs_l=psy-ab.12..0i71k1l8.0.0.0.52974.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0….0…1..64.psy-ab..0.0.0….0.IxPcRAj3W8M
Looks strange but tested it and it works. If not just google “National Animal Welfare Advisory Group”
Please note that I – and others eg Hans Kriek who I have known for decades – have never had that much confidence in NAWAC and its reports etc due to its TORs, membership etc over the years. Personally I have always considered them a ‘wet bus ticket’ group.
TINA
The argument made by neoliberals about everything since 1979.
What the fuck has 1080 got to do with neo-liberalism?
You work it out.
All i can work out is that you like to use your special words whenever you think you have a chance.
Because the first trials in New Zealand were carried out in 1954, and by 1957 sodium fluoroacetate was in use?
/
whoops – seems like you know LESS than nothing about this subject too ed.
Stalking me the way you do is creepy.
Please desist.
I know you are trying to close down free speech and turn Open Mike into Closed Mike.
However, I shall not be silenced by your bully boy tactics.
chillax buddy – you seem a bit stressed
Ed, all you have been asked is to explain something that you have said. That is not closing down free speech. The other side of the free speech coin is that others get to question what we have said. It seems to me that it is you who are working against free speech and are here just to be a troll.
It makes the justification for using 1080 easier to do by looking at it from a purely fiscal lens, bang for buck etc.
Since the neo liberal reforms I have heard over and over there is no alternative in respect to the political ideology.
Possum numbers in decline are they stunted munter?
anyhow, as it is a beautiful day here in the manawatu, i am going for a ride on my now classic motorbike (bmw k75).
hopefully someone can inform us when 1080 will stop by the time i get back…
Well the K75 is now an older bike now (20 years plus). Yes it is beautifully made, but is it a classic?
Maybe yes. An amazingly well designed engine, along with the larger K100.
Been busy, pokes head in to see whats being discussed…
https://tenor.com/view/nope-gorilla-run-nah-nevermind-gif-4935855
lols. With you on this one.
Classic as in 30years old,1987.
Also classic in every other way.
I want to make a couple of minor mods to give a scrambler effect- dirt bike handle bar set up (motard riding style) and chop the seat back, but everyone is horrified by the idea. Or no faith in my engineering/mechanic skills.
Classic wayney.
Mine is a 1957 BMW R50 – which I have just finished restoring. It was originally sold in Pretoria, ridden up through Africa, around the continent, down through the middle east (as you could do in those days), though india, shipped to Perth and across the nullabor then to NZ where I bought it in 1969.
So far, stunned mullet, solkta, Maui, VV, red logix, have engaged but none have gone near the questions raised in meaningful (non weasly) way.
Your questions have been answered over and over again previously here and on Google. Sorry they aren’t ground breaking thoughts – many many people have thunk them before. No point going over 101 stuff again. Good luck with your journey.
This very recent article might help: https://sciblogs.co.nz/guestwork/2018/09/05/genetic-solutions-to-pest-control/
Government for The Public Good
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/09/opinion-the-surprising-evidence-about-how-well-government-works.html
This needs to be given widespread attention.
This video is a drama, but it’s exceedingly close to real. Just two days ago I had a long conversation with a Professor of AI systems (a real one). These things frighten him; his students often bring up the topic. They present a real and terrible danger, made worse because they are so cheap and easy to make, it will be difficult to enforce any rules.
At the moment their range of autonomous operation is limited by battery technology; but there is massive research world-wide that will almost certainly remove that constraint within a decade, perhaps just a few years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yhtnVJSc9M
scary stuff.
We-ell maybe.
But flying takes a lot of energy, so do avionics and facial recognition and the overall AI. And then the rules you give the AI determine its behaviour, so we’d be talking about the devil being in each developer’s proprietary AI ruleset.
Reminds me of the hand grenades from Space: Above and Beyond though.
I did giggle a bit at the “recognition” marking the presenter as “primary target”: that right there is a design flaw 🙂
The lighter the object the less energy that’s required.
ISTR an efficiency compromise as size decreases.
Might be able to run a stirling engine off the heat from the cpu, though.
But I think the maing obstacle is getting a decent AI trained up. Even facial recognition is a problem: the US like to bomb people of colour. Guess what skin tones make many facial recognition systems less reliable…
On the ‘upside’ they seem less concerned about misidentification when bombing brown people.
the thought crossed my mind…
“range of autonomous operation is limited by battery technology; but there is massive research world-wide that will almost certainly remove that constraint within a decade, perhaps just a few years:”
Clearly you know nothing about battery ‘chemistry’ – just saying technology doesnt mean physical constraints inside chemical reactions go away.
I’m definitely not a battery chemist, but I’ve had reason to research the topic recently. Besides my Professor mentioned above was the source of my comment on that point.
If you care to google around on the topic, you’ll quickly find there’s an astonishing amount of research being thrown at this.
yes the amount of power stored in batterys is likely to increase. 20% would be a huge jump. nothing like your claim of ‘remove that constraint’
We should use them to kill all the pests.
Not allowed, to kill National party MP’s.
More than 100 Perdix micro-drones dropped from a pair of F-18s. More anti-radar chaff than anything else, but not for long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFKUKHfuM0&feature=youtu.be
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdix_(drone)
This Stuff documentary features Rochelle Rees – she’s Lynn’s neice is she not?
The investigative doco is about undercover surveillance. I have only read the print version so far, but it begins:
‘speaks calmly and quietly, and drinks soy lattes.’
Its emerging as a clear and present danger:
The kombucha klatsch
Nice. Fascinating story that connects to The Standard in quite a few ways. Kia kaha to all hurt by infiltrators and undercoverers.
The state, the state, the state.
When it’s not paranoid,
the public are doing it wrong.
https://www.lombardiletter.com/warren-buffett-indicator-signals-upcoming-stock-market-crash/20559/
Buffet should know when we have another GFC?
Winston warned this in last years announcement he would have NZ First go with labour remember?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/happened-jacinda-ardern-says-honour-and-privilege-form-next-government-winston-peters-goes-left
“Warren Buffett Indicator Predicts Stock Market Crash in 2018
On October 31, Halloween, children and adults alike enjoy playing with the frightful themes of death surrounding the feast’s mixture of Christian All Saints’ Day and Celtic pagan origins. But, in 2017, if you are one of millions of people who have investments, here’s something all too real and scary to rob you of your sleep. This Warren Buffett Indicator predicts a stock market crash in 2018.
You might be wondering if we’ve endured one too many ghost apparitions. To suggest that no less than Warren Buffett, whose net worth is north of $80.0 billion, expects the market to reverse its bullish course seems not just scary, it seems silly. But Warren Buffett’s predictions for 2018 call for at least a market correction—if not an outright crash”
The Herald?: Hosking: A commentator defined by sheer hopelessness.
This could get interesting
Trump is testing his emergency text system that lets the Prez’ send a text to every mobile in America Thursday
Wonder how long before it stops being just for emergencies?
And there is no way to opt out
Obama might end up regretting signing off this one off
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/09/trump-to-test-system-that-lets-him-send-messages-to-every-us-cellphone.html
Thanks Chris 10%
Good information thanks for that.
Happy new year.
https://www.wired.com/2011/01/sms-suicide-bomber/
I read another report on that episode that implied that the text, and result, wasn’t inadvertent.
Just out of interest regarding trapping and hunting of introduced predators in remote areas, what would the human death and injury toll need to be before the the whole thing became too much of a stupid unsustainable idea ?.
I haven’t been able to find any exact data but I do vaguely remember that in the deer culling era, and that’s pre-helicopter, that such events were quite common.
There’s also that ground methods are just too damn hard. The resources required, and the effort required to get people into, and then supporting them, even the reasonably accessible fringes is mind boggling. You’ve then got to find thousands of people who are going to do it for years, and really lifetimes, to make an impact.
In the post-war culler phase there was a ready supply of young men who had the skills and were more than happy to be in the bush for months on end. But accidents happened, and this has been a feature of the occupation even up to modern times. They are a lot easier to find with the modern beacons, that’s if they are able to be used, but finding a missing culler is a real needle in haystack exercise without one.
All ideas are expensive but how do you think it would go if a bounty was put on possums but only for a limited time (I don’t know a season or two maybe) and then after that intensive 1080 drops were done, along with other methods to really take the numbers down
Would this take the population down enough that a newly formed possum board could then keep the possums under control? (I don’t think its feasible to try to wipe out every possum)
Ground control would only take the top off an already high population, and then make animals ground shy so poison would be less effective. Then over big, remote areas the resources required just get huge. Have you ever worked somewhere where it takes a couple of days walk just to get to the job? Even with helicopters it’s a massive logistical exercise and your productivity is nothing compared to when you can drive to the job.
So what do you think would be a better way to control possums, I personally don’t like the use of 1080 but I don’t know if theres a better way
At least a way that won’t cost mega bucks
That’s why 1080 is the tool of choice, it’s the best one available at present. There’s really no such thing as humane killing, it’s still killing a sentient being that doesn’t really want to die, whether it’s a trap and probably having to deal with a half dead mangled animal, cyanide, which isn’t that pleasant by the way, or 1080, none of them are that swift or painless for animal or hunter.
And with any bio-control we’ve got to keep it confined within New Zealand in case it wreaks havoc somewhere else. The trouble with Trichosurus vulpecula is that while a pest of biblical proportions on this side of the Tasman, on the other side it’s treasured native wildlife. Short of introducing a natural predator, like the Australian Powerful Owl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerful_owl there may not be a lot that can be done, but having a beast like that in circulation could have unintended consequences for other species and agriculture.
Compared with the normal annual hunting death/injury toll?
The death toll would be higher than the road toll if hoards of fortune seekers went trapping and hunting pests into the remote imo. And that would mainly be around the car parks before they even got into the hills.
Exactly what I thought. Its my opinion garnered from living in a rural S I area that most opposition comes from the hunting fraternity because they do not want their present quarry numbers diminished in any way and value self interest above preservation of native species.
That’s my take on the anti 1080 lobby as well Adrian, well the hunting based side of it. And it’s often as an excuse for their inability to stalk and shoot an animal.
It’s not like deer numbers are low at present, there’s a thriving population very close to, and all around Queenstown. I’m currently deer fencing a 150 ha block that has an awesome view over the Whakatipu, there won’t be a great difference in annual stocking rate once it’s stocked with breading hinds for fawning, and the locals are fenced in or out.
Na they can’t get kiwis to pick fruit , prune and plant pines etc there no way that hoards if in skilled people who don’t love the Bush are going to trudge off and die out their. Add to that no ph or internet and a big dose of your on company only and not many will be up to it .
yeah well you and I know that but the people saying go and trap them and build an industry catching rats lol don’t get it. Maybe a weeks pig hunting might teach them the actual ways of the bush not the TV way.
I think they can’t get Kiwis to pick fruit, because it used to be good money but now it costs so much to do it (travel there, accomodation, benefit stand down, lack of interest in employing Kiwis if they can just get a people trafficker in to supply a whole troop of migrants at great prices who co incidentally are probably already having to pay to get the job to the people trafficker) and the picking rates are still from 20 years ago… at least in the old days the slaves were not expected to pay the slavers, unlike modern times…
They aren’t bloody people traffickers – get real.
Actually some of them are.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/335932/human-trafficking-definitely-a-problem-in-nz
“It is the first time someone has been convicted of human trafficking in New Zealand.
During Ali’s trial, the court was told the workers came to New Zealand on the promise of good wages, accommodation and food.
They had to borrow hundreds of dollars from family and friends to pay Ali, and his accomplices, ‘administrative and filing fees’ for the chance to work on New Zealand orchards.
But when they arrived in New Zealand, they often had to sleep on the floor and were paid just a fraction of what was promised. At least one of the workers left New Zealand owing money.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/313420/nz%27s-first-people-trafficking-conviction
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/human-trafficking-in-nz-likely-thanks-to-chinese-immigrants-expert.html
Don’t worry nobody is really going to catch them, our authorities like the idea for the cheap labour for employers and there seems to be deliberate underfunding to deport people out of the country.
“Investigators joke about having a ‘whip around’ or ‘raffles’ to pay for deporting target after budget blowout, according to Immigration NZ emails.
Immigration New Zealand was forced to stop deporting all but the riskiest illegal immigrants after a budget blowout earlier this year.
No one was to be deported unless they were named on a list created by Immigration management when the funding shortfall was discovered in January.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12111595
Yes some are.
When was it good money my recall (27 years ago)of my kiwi fruit picking season was not one of money flooding in but more one of driving MY vehicle all over the show at my cost and if the fruit was damp driving home again poorer than when I started .
“Last week, polling firm Ipsos said “the current Labour-led government is perceived to be doing a better job at present than the National Government was” a year ago, by a score of 5.4 out of 10 to National’s 4.9.” https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/09/simon-bridges-wouldn-t-let-winston-peters-have-presidential-veto.html
“Simon Bridges says if National formed a coalition with New Zealand First, he wouldn’t let Winston Peters have a “presidential veto on everything”.” Bridges fails to explain how he’d confine Winston to a position of inferiority and the media hasn’t yet thought of asking him the obvious question. As far as I’m aware, Winston hasn’t yet been bound into a coalition on subservient terms..
Actually, thinking about it, I was wrong: when he accepted the deputy position he locked himself in. I ought to have framed it as parity between coalition parties on legislative decisions.
Nobody is missing the Natz, (partly because the Labour coalition on the surface is pretty similar to the Natz unless you realised that the Natz were going to go a lot further if they got in again)… I’ve been disappointed by a few things by the new government, TPPA signing, Kiwibuild having little state house rentals and selling off public land, watered down foreign buyers ban, gave away the water rights, but since Natz would have done all that anyway… you are still better off with the new government.. and they have done some good things in education – got rid of national standards for a start.
In short I would say more people than not, prefer the new government and whatever hysterical rant is going on daily in the MSM about Jacinda/ Labour is meaningless.
Yes, I’m looking forward to the next full poll results. I just scanned the fine print that Sacha linked us to & here’s the best bit from the coalition economic policy:
“We cannot continue to rely on an economy built on population growth, an overheated housing market and the export of raw commodities.” That differentiates the coalition sufficiently from the last govt but I wish they’d agree to adopt a financial transactions tax. Taxing capital flows is better than taxing labour.
Yep, the fairer way of taxing with unprecedented global travel and movement is defiantly a financial transaction tax. This is especially true in NZ when so many people have residency and citizenship but don’t live here all the time, but can call on any of the benefits that people who do live here have to provide through taxes such as free health, education, social services and super in most cases…
The government also need to make permanent residency and citizenship a lot longer 10 – 15 years or so, before you can vote and influence politics here and expect the Kiwi tax payer to pick up the tab for so many people’s free health, education, social services and super…
Thy’ll have done something about foreign trusts though, surely.
Slick’s right of course franky, because he wouldn’t be the leader.
‘When anti-1080 activism grew noisy, and got ugly’ by Hayden Donnell: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-09-2018/when-anti-1080-activism-grew-noisy-and-got-ugly/
Thing is, they over-egged it.
People actually needing medical marijuana are genuine, as well as being more presentable than the usual deranged hippies advocating for dope.
Roadkill protected species just make the 1080 crowd a mockery.
Jenny Shipley in court.
Not for killing poor people by her policies – reckless trading as a director.
You can leave as many poor people as you want to die, but don’t fuck with the owners of capital.
Not for killing poor people by her policies – reckless trading as a director.
There’s a difference ?
Yep. Capitalists care about money.
Great comment McFlock.
“You can leave as many poor people as you want to die, but don’t fuck with the owners of capital.”
Trading while insolvent is more of a technical breach of a directors responsibilities.
While condemning hundreds of thousands of children to poverty, blights the lives of all of them for decades.
Reminds me of the US gangsters who got jailed for tax violations, not killing people.
NZ electricity system seems to show its fragility due to snow in SI.
NI thermals firing up and HVDC sending south.
Renewable gone down to 65%
https://www.transpower.co.nz/power-system-live-data
your numbers dont add up.
gas/coal 114MW
GAS 656 MW
Thats 770MW OUT OF 5065 MW
WHICH IS 15%
One of the renewable stations went of line for a small time.the price spikes at
remote nodes dobson and stoke show clearly.
Dobson is now down to $868 from $9500 (previously at $102)
https://www1.electricityinfo.co.nz/
Tiwai Point supply needs to become part of the grid.
Amoral power hungry pricks have begun a concerted effort to discredit this woman.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Ford said that one summer in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend — both “stumbling drunk,” Ford alleges — corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teenagers at a house in Montgomery County.
While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford said she was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them, sending all three tumbling. She said she ran from the room, briefly locked herself in a bathroom and then fled the house
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/california-professor-writer-of-confidential-brett-kavanaugh-letter-speaks-out-about-her-allegation-of-sexual-assault/2018/09/16/46982194-b846-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?utm_term=.29eb517322b5
DId anyone else here in the media of calls to privatise Aurora Energy because it is a liability?
I think I heard it on RNZ, although as I write, I cannot find any reference to it.
Surely the problem is not that it is in public hands, but rather that it has shit management
They reported that a councillor wants it sold for that reason: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/366597/aurora-energy-facing-court-action
NZ media standards and the crims that seems to be attracted to NZ..
“In May 1995, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the Southport District Court sentenced him to a four-year prison term for misappropriation of property, false pretences and attempted
false pretences, forgery, uttering a forgery, theft, and what is described as making a
“wilful false promise”.
He was then sentenced to cumulative terms of imprisonment in Australia during October 1995 and May 1996 for incurring a debt by false pretences, misappropriation of property and false pretences offences.
Upon his release from prison Goodburn moved to New Zealand.
He held business links to Australasian media and radio companies and was a group general manager at a New Zealand-based media enterprise.
Married with a son, Goodburn lived in a luxury apartment in Parnell but was declared bankrupt in 2012.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12126694
How sad to see Jenny Shipley having to front up in Court?
Another white collar criminal, caught.
Grounds for celebration in my book.
Not caught yet, but hopefully there is still independent justice in NZ… here’s hoping.
Even if found guilty, her “public service” and “previous good character” will be taken into account. Makes you spit, eh.
Remember the “good Character” of the Directors who bailed out/resigned just a couple of days before they finally collapsed. Left the team high and dry. Run and hide Jenny.
As if we don’t have enough crims here.
Former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley accused of reckless trading as Mainzeal director
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12126609
(You would have thought it would be prudent of the other companies to stand her down until the court proceedings were over and after it emerged Mainzeal owed $115 million to unsecured creditors… during a construction boom… but nope still troughing on Genesis Energy, China Construction Bank (NZ), on the board of Oravida and the International Finance Forum in Beijing.
P.S. Quality was so low from Mainzeal that they on a commercial job of a mate I knew, they got the untantalised timber mixed up with the tantalised timber and put the untanalised timber on the exterior…. so it wasn’t just the money side that was a huge screw up from them. They say it all comes from the top.
Ah – but Dame Jenny is in such demand due to her ‘business acumen’ (possibly the most repellent cliché of our times)
Repeat after me. National MP’s getting jobs after Parliament, in the corporations they looked after while in Parliament. IS NOT CORRUPTION!!!
Yep, maybe getting away with reckless trading, we will see… what a joke being on the international finance forum and another construction company, they must be going to the bottom of the pile.. maybe reckless trading doesn’t matter in China if you are “well connected”.
They went under while working on major project for a school I was involved with – if found culpable she should have the book thrown at her.
It’s a civil case. Essentially it’s against the directors insurance company.
If the insurance company loses they will drag it through the courts.
At best we will find how useless she was at her duties like the rest of them
It’s those shoulder-padded power suits in upholstery fabric. She’s still wearing them. The 80s called and want their horrible fashion disasters back.
With any luck it will put off other politicians and boards putting on political directors that don’t know what they are doing, or anything about the industry they are on the board of.
We need to have a 5 year stand down of ex politicians being allowed to go on to cushy jobs on boards in the private sector post being a PM or MP. It’s too much a conflict of interest.
John Key, Jonathan Coleman, etc etc
“Our politicians don’t take bribes”.
Before, they leave Parliament.
Very insightful. I wander if JA has had time to map out her future at the UN? Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme? If she can hold NZ to another 6.66 years or more of austerity, she should qualify for the job.
Michael Cullen, Steve Maharey……..it is endemic in NZ politics.
Gerry Brownlee thought Jenny Shipley was worth double the normal govt consultants fee when he appointed her to Cera.
Look at how that turned out.
Their should be an enquiry into her appointment as well.
$75 million the mainzeal Directors are being sued for.
Personal responsibility.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/09/17/malcolm-evans-jacindas-pep-talk/
All fired up with nowhere to go.
Very funny. 😆
Brrrrmmmm brrrrmmmmm beep, very good.
Kia ora The Am Show with the tax we have seen shonky walk away making a cool $1 million per year or more in capital gains on the house he sold he could afford to pay more tax .
Yes It’s cool that most kiwis want there money invested in ethical industrys no carbon no human rights issues or animal abuse or manufacturing of ARMS if everyone on Papatuanuku made the call thing’s would change for the better for all of us.
Eco Maori says boycott the ANZ bank till shonky resins from the board.
The survey they did in Aucland will let everyone know exactly how many people there are under the bridge and take the data to the to Parliament and get all MP to support some good policy’s that will get %75 support and they won’t be easly scrapped if things change. Do you see the direct link heaps of home less tangata netx minute the old pm and his m8 just cashed in there capital gains that’s cause and effect right there and they still think there——–don’t stink.
I agree speed cameras are a tool to prevent a accident it there are no sign’s showing were they are and one get’s a ticket its not done its job of preventing accident IE because they were still speeding and could have crashed conclusion UN MARKED speed cameras are just revenue gatherers .
I say our armed forces should be training people in war torn parts of the Papatuanuku to rebuild there houses water rebuild there lives .
Eco know what the birds are like in Karori Wellington they are awesome and it would be great to have birds like that in many places in Aotearoa.
Ka kite ano
These neo liberal capitalist pro carbon muppets are getting quite sly in there pro carbon burning big business backing promotion .
They start the story off as if they care about the environment and the people well-being
than at the end they start calling for big central gas projects for our poor thirdworld countrys cousins .
They have the opportunity to jump right over the top of our carbon based society in to a sustainable energy model from the start cut out big business who only want to fleece the people. In this modle the people will have the power and not big business .
link below ka kite ano.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/to-end-poverty-increase-access-to-energy/
Aotearoa does not have to follow the rest of the Papatuanuku into a society were people have more wealthy than they could possabley spend in a life time and mean while people are dieing of starvation around the Papatunuku .
There is enough food and wealth to keep everyone healthy & happy it just has to be shared equal link below the story is 9 months old Ka kite ano.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/14/worlds-richest-wealth-credit-suisse
The sandflys are not looking for the truth they are looking to try and prove there lying
contracted informant’s who will spit out what they are payed to spit out .
How else can one explane there behavior it is total bullshit
The good thing is everyone with a brain can see this ana to kai P.S they can fool a few people but not all
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub the space flights on Elon Muss rocket company by a Chinese man show that we are advancing at a incredible rate .
Wow that’s a lot of lambs lost they are lucky that Farmers are getting the best prices for lamb & sheep meat for at least 20 years.
There you go with Fiji Bula being trade marked by a American preying on other culturers treasures.
Indigenous cultures. treasures should be banned from being trade marked.
There you go shoddy insurance sales we had some shoddy insurance sales people here in the nineties selling crap life saving deals I seen people pay thousands and only getting %20 back.
Birds are very intelligent Kea are tool makers and users the most intelligent birds it will be cool when there are more native birds flying around our neighborhood like in Karori Wellington Ka kite ano. .
is Elon related to Jake ?