In the 1970s and early 1980s the Muldoon govt, began the process of cutting back the School Dental Service. Two successive governments continued this process and in the 1990s they were phased out altogether.
The system that was put in its place was not as efficient nor did it cover the full spectrum of NZ children so many thousands missed out altogether. Add to that, the education school dental nurses regularly conducted in the classrooms disappeared which had been helpful for the kids and their parents.
The only positive of the last few decades is the fluoridation of the drinking water – something my generation never had – but it has to be backed up with education and regular checks.
Spot on Anne. The destruction if the school dental service was a travesty. Going back there would be an amazing move, but a mammoth, and probably insurmountable task.
My mum worked at the murder house too, from the early 50’s until pretty much the end
Your mum lasted much longer than me. I did my five years "moral obligation" after graduating then shot off to greener pastures and to see the world. When I returned joined the Meteorological Service.
Funny thing… once a SDN always a SDN. Bet you've got well cared for teeth. 😀
A media that doesn't regurgitate every distraction National have would be a start. The average punter probably doesn't give a F as to which suit sits at the top of the OECD club.
Collins shambolic performance, the 'fat' comments and the fact that she is still leading National is the story IMO and shows how owned the media are.
Look at the interview with Liddell with Jack Tame on Sunday morning. I didn't give him the time of day until I watched that. He may have been the only sane person in the room and held on because leaving would have left the White House in an even bigger mess as I think he thought he could modify the worst aspects of what could have happened.
The OECD head needs to be an organiser not a dreamer.
Many people would balk at [checks notes] kidnapping children with no way of returning them to their parents, and making toddlers defendants in court cases.
I do not condone that sort of behaviour. It would have taken more than Liddell to stop such a brutal policy. I would have a different opinion if it was a policy from Liddell.
The dude was in the room. He can leave that workplace at any time. He knew what was going on, and even if he spoke out against it he's still happy to work there.
He's not a cook. He's part of the shitgibbon's regime. You don't get to have the words "Deputy white house chief of staff for policy" in your title and claim innocence about what the white house does.
Edit: and I mean “claim innocence” even in the meaning that the people who were in any way involved in some of those policies, not to mention the negligent homicide of a quarter of a million people, should go to gaol. I doubt they will, but they bloody should.
If Liddell is found to have been lying this will not go unnoticed when it comes to selection for a top job. Liddell has to live with the choices he made.
The biggest swamp has been the White House under Trump and Biden has to drain it.
Does that actually show that Liddell is good at anything more than self-promotion and ducking anything inconvenient to his narrative? Y'know, the usual traits for a corporate ladder-climber?
The fact he did not walk when children were separated from their parents, that families have such limited access to loved ones separated because of the wall, that he congratulated himself on "not losing his soul" , his credibility… not so much imo.
To be fair, Patricia, he did say he disagreed with that policy and acted to put a stop to it. If you can do something to change bad stuff maybe it is more ethical to stay
He may claim he acted to stop the policy. That's certainly a convenient claim to make right now. But I'm not aware of any evidence for any slowdown in the policy due to his claimed actions.
To me, that interview with Tane was more like an interview for the top job at the OECD.
Yes, he's sane which is in his favour but I agree with Patricia Bremner. He aligned himself to a corrupt president and a corrupt regime yet he did not admit they were corrupt. Tells me he can't be trusted.
Edit: There was an article in the Herald today (can’t find it online) about how Trump and his team planned all along to attack the integrity of the election going back to 2016, and you can’t tell me Liddell didn’t know what was going on.
Lol I think it's been mentioned here once or twice.
But then that was 20 years ago, and who knows whether she knew they were lies (if Powell didn't, for example).
The dude is still working for the Orange Child-Stealer right now, and knew what was going on. And the best he can say is that if there had been a vote, he wouldn't have voted for it.
I seem to remember the basis of the accusations that blair is a war-criminal..' are ‘cos he knew bush jnr was peddling lies…and yet he played right along…w.m.d.'s..?..anyone..?
And even if true, I'm not sure it's alleged Ardern was at a meeting of eleven Downing St officials where the topic "let's start a war on Iraq even though we're pretty sure they don't have WMDs" and the best thing she can say in her defence is "but if they had asked for a show of hands, I don't think I would have voted in favour of it".
Trump has always surrounded himself with sycophants and loyalists and more so in recent times. What bothers me slightly about Liddell is that he still has his job with the Don. This suggests that he’s either an extremely smooth and skilled political operator, he’s a very convincing actor or he’s a true Trumpian loyalist.
Don't think so Chris. "what a tiny cog she would be – "we were in a unit of 80, and we were one of many units" – and that the connection to Blair was zilch.
She says it herself if you look at her own archived bio on Labours website.
[Please provide the link to “her own archived bio on Labours website” that Jacinda Ardern was “a senior policy advisor to him” or face the usual consequence for making up stuff, thanks – Incognito]
DO you have a link because I can't find anything that says anything of the sort
Ardern moved to London where she became a senior policy adviser in an 80-person policy unit of then-British prime minister Tony Blair. (She did not meet Blair in London, but later at an event in New Zealand in 2011 she questioned him about the invasion of Iraq." Ardern was also seconded to the Home Office to help with a review of policing in England and Wales.
"She then moved overseas to London, where she worked as a senior policy advisor for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK Cabinet Office. She was also seconded to the Home Office to assist with a review of policing in England and Wales."
Thank you for the links. You said she was an advisor to Blair, your links dont say that, specifically mentions "London" and "uk cabinet office" which if you had read the article I linked to, Jacinda said "she never met Blair in person at that time – " the Cabinet Office is massive" and as Rapunzel pointed out, her wiki page said she was part of an "80-person policy unit"
I'm very happy with that it clarifies it perfectly as the Labour one by Ardern herself makes no mention of Blair at all and the 2nd is a 3rd person account from Waikato uni. She is not responsible as to why it was termed like that by the person who compiled it. They are Not the Same at all Chris.
[Thank you for providing the links. However, your first link doesn’t state what you claimed @ 3.3.1.2 and 3.3.1.2.2.1:
“My time working abroad as a Senior Policy Advisor in London and as President of an International Youth organisation, has shown me how much we’ve achieved relative to other countries.”
In other words, your assertion was made up. If you want to avoid being moderated for these seemingly trivial offences then at least you should include a link and quote literally rather than paraphrasing and ‘massaging’ the words and meanings to suit your narrative – Incognito]
No Chris T, she was nearer the bottom of the hierarchy – more like a junior assistant to a senior policy adviser. I recall her saying that she didn't even work in the same building and never actually met Blair.
Ardern isn't particularly keen to support him to head the OECD, but then again, based on her pre-PM CV I wouldn't hire her for more than a policy advisor.
Agreed. Spotlight on him and he plays nice. Look who he's in bed with. I knew a mobster once who always came across as a 'good guy', till his gang told him to do heinous things and he obeyed.
Thinking about Russian fishermen and industry relations between them and NZ. Which reminded me of the 1986 sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov (named after a Russian poet, so they had some feeling for this ship.) This from wikipedia:
The Picton pilot, Don Jamison (who was also a Picton harbourmaster), piloted the ship out of Picton. His presence, and his knowledge of the area, should have assured the safety of MS Mikhail Lermontov.
The resulting legal actions seemed comparatively low-key considering the magnitude of the damage and the wilful negligence of a supposed senior experienced mariner.
Passengers brought cases against the parties and in Wikipedia there is an explanation of the legal aspects of one which would thrill the socks off of legal beagles I should expect. This is one part: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Mikhail_Lermontov#Court_case
The now-abolished forms of action cast a long shadow: a claim for money had and received evolved from the writ of indebitatus assumpsit, a legal fiction that the parties had an implied agreement that upon discharge for breach or frustration that the subject matter of the original agreement would be returned.
Interestingly, though he was asked to give up his pilot's licence, and did, within two years he had an executive position in the company that took over from the harbour board. Not bad for a pom bringing a wrecking ball skill to us. He became harbourmaster and general manager of Port Marlborough Ltd in October 1988, when the company took over the commercial operation of the port from the previous harbour board. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/lermontov-pilot-retires/IBMQZZQLLOYER6TVZG27E7VKUI/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/4664013/25-years-on-ship-pilot-still-silent
The Ministry of Transport held a preliminary inquiry immediately after the sinking, led by Captain Steve Ponsford. The Express reported on March 7, 1986, that the inquiry found Mr Jamison was responsible, but Mr Ponsford would not say what explanation Mr Jamison gave him for trying to take the ship through the passage.,,,
The Marlborough Harbour Board and the ship's owners came to an out-of-court settlement for damages…
Mr Prebble said on the 20th anniversary of the sinking that he had written to the Russians to offer an inquiry, but was told it was not necessary.
(The ministry also wrote to Mr Jamison and suggested "very strongly" that he surrender his pilot's licence, which he did.)
Mr Jamison was not charged because New Zealand-registered pilots working on foreign ships could not be prosecuted. The law has since been changed.
Mr Ponsford recommended that no formal investigation be held, which was backed by then transport minister Richard Prebble.
Mr Prebble said on the 20th anniversary of the sinking that he had written to the Russians to offer an inquiry, but was told it was not necessary…
Mr Jamison later applied for and was re-issued his pilot's licence. He worked for Strait Shipping for a decade before retiring in 2001.
The Mikhail Lermontov's captain, Vladislav Vorobyov, who was not on the bridge when the ship hit the rocks, was given a suspended four-year jail sentence after an inquiry in the former Soviet Union.
We would never have heard the end of it if it was an Australian, UK or USA ship. It was such a stupendous boob that a conspiracy with the USA to confound Russia by organising this mishap seems wild but not improbable. Alternatively Jamison had some medication in him that upset his equilibrium.
This item shows how government can't hive off everything to bloody private business who treat us like casualties to cast aside when the business charity goes under for some reason or many.
The barbarians responsible for this shit should get the triple-whammy, courts martial, criminal prosecution and then off to The Hague with the pricks.
When Dr Crompvoets warned Lieutenant General Campbell in early 2016 that special forces insiders were disclosing to her abhorrent war crimes allegations, he urged her to keep digging and “write it all down”.
“We're not talking about a couple of fog of war events that were, you know, perhaps confusing to understand," Dr Crompvoets recalls. "This is deliberate repeated patterns of behaviour.”
It could have gone another way. Two generals, Lieutenant General Campbell and Jeff Sengelman, had in 2015 commissioned Dr Crompvoets to examine cultural failings in the special forces, especially the poor relations between the nation’s two elite fighting arms, the SAS and the Commandos.
[…]
Dr Crompvoets' April 2016 report to generals Campbell and Sengelman described conduct that the military insiders she spoke to likened to the Abu Ghraib affair, the Iraq prisoner torture scandal that enveloped the US military in 2004. The crimes disclosed in her interviews with Australian special forces included alleged "competition killing and blood lust" and "the inhumane and unnecessary treatment of prisoners".
In her interview with The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes, she says some allegedly unlawful behaviour, such as summary executions, were “celebrated and normalised, and almost a rite of passage for some people”.
Some of the men she spoke to, such as a soldier who described two unarmed teens having their throats allegedly slit and their bodies disposed of in a river, were in mental anguish. Others were emotionless as they explained how the mistreatment of prisoners became routine as small groups of special forces began writing their own rules of war.
Yeah – though that might reinforce the self-protective mechanism of mythologising it as exceptional, 'bad apples', etc. When in fact it was completely predictable from the day the planes hit the towers on 9/11, and culturally-speaking, as Australian as barbecued prawns.
Scud would have some interesting anecdotes and points about that. The people carrying out brutality are also attacking their own sense of values, their own worth. When they surface and look at themselves they will not believe they could do that, or they just wear their actions like an armour and play the hard man for the rest of their lives. 'Mental anguish' or 'emotionless', their bodies have survived but has their unique mind? They are just fodder for the generals. But it might be the only job they can get in the future
Yep, they're now ruined individuals. Those perpetuating the culture of callousness and murder should most definitely be on trial. Destroying lives is not a matter of duty.
They include strengthening Brand New Zealand, prioritising sustainability, and more partnership between government and industry.
Nash said too often ratepayers and taxpayers have picked up the bill of the impact of tourism on infrastructure and the environment.
He said the full cost of tourism needs to be priced into the visitor experience.
…
"We must attract high value and high spending visitors who buy into our own vision of sustainability. We must therefore deliver high quality visitor experiences and exceed our visitors expectations," he said.
Big talk from a pollie. He is describing something that is similar to what citizens hope they’ll get from government. Better pollies who exceed the citizens expectations. I think their remuneration is adequate though – now just perform you luvvies.
Poor areas may not be able to attract the higher-paying tourists. The government may have to step in with infrastructure not just take taxes from the takings and make them the pot of gold that the locals go to for needed amenities.
Pretty blunt language from Nash, and the day after industry darling Jucy went tits up.
Jucy being the anthesis of everything Nash was talking about. But Nash was also describing a very large part if the industry at all levels that try to provide good quality, socially responsible tourism experiences.
We’re not sorry to see Jucy go, and hope the rest of that end of the industry follows them, and very pleased to see the minister spelling it out.
I think you are wrong because the influx of young people, generally just out of Uni is a huge benefit to our and their understanding of our culture and we theirs.
They are also the future return visitors when they have more money and will spend more, as they almost without exception fall in love with NZ and NZers.
If we are to discourage and make it difficult for them to do their OE then the reverse applies, young Kiwis not being able to affordably travel. To say you can only come here if you pay the outlandish fucking prices resorts and hotels charge then we have fallen into the elitist realm, which is not the Kiwi way.
I think Nash was also referring to the side of the industry where about the only spending in NZ$ is the diesel that goes into the bus and the rates and electricity on the hotel. Everything else goes directly to, or through, the overseas owned inbound operator.
It may turn out to be a self limiting situation any way, who is going to want to be crammed into a low-cost airliner, tour coach or cruise ship once this is all over. Doubtful this end of tourism has a business any more. It's going to be a long time before anything like the low cost travel we've enjoyed in the last 10 years, if ever. Insurance availability and price will slow international travel for a long time too, even with a vaccine.
So the international visitors we see will be paying a lot more to get here, hence will tend to be wealthier and will probably prefer to stay in a flasher hotel or lodge than a packpacker van. Same will apply to outbound NZ tourism, it will be harder and more expensive, so there will be less.
The minister was as much spelling out reality to the industry as stating policy.
Were Jucy adding any value to NZ or cannibalising the industry and country. They've gone under, other more responsible operators are still going and in some cases quite well, Wayfare (Real Journeys / Fiordland Travel), Tourism Holdings, Skyline, Trojan.
Bottom line, everyone in the industry should have known it was going to stop soon for whatever reason, pandemic, good old recession or whatever. Some had the business planning to adapt and keep going, others were caught with their pants down.
And what about ordinary Kiwis who just want to go on an average holiday, but can't afford it any more because they can't compete with overblown tourist prices and events?
…what about ordinary Kiwis …. Indeed. Made an overnight trip to Whangarei, so we required a reasonably wheelchair accessible motel unit.
Tentatively booked one by phone and promised to call in before noon to pay….just as well as the unit was pokey and the parking completely unsuitable. Office person argued with me and proceeded to tell me that she could have let that room three times and 'we a late cancellation fee policy'…despite it being barely noon when we arrived.
We left…figuring this is a Monday night how busy can they be?…and became increasingly alarmed as every motel sported a No Vacancy sign. Apart from Casa Grot…for which we forked out 145 bucks for the night.
Any sympathy I may have had for motel accommodation providers has evaporated. They are doing so well they don't even have to try and maintain standards.
The new coronavirus resurged again and again in the body of an infected man, eventually killing him while showing evidence of fast-paced evolution.
Manuela Cernadas and Jonathan Li at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and their colleagues followed the course of COVID-19 in a 45-year-old man with a long-standing autoimmune disorder, who was on a medication regimen that included powerful immunosuppressants (B. Choi et al. N. Engl. J. Med. https://doi.org/fhv8; 2020). Roughly 40 days after the man first tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, follow-up tests indicated that the virus was dwindling — but it surged back, despite antiviral treatment.
The man’s infection subsided and then returned twice more before he died, five months after his first COVID-19 diagnosis. Genomic analysis showed that the man had not been infected multiple times. Instead, the virus had lingered and quickly mutated in his body.
Labours motto looks set to become "let's do this but not till after we leave office"
Ardern was defending Rogernomics today while ruling out any intervention in house prices or the reserve bank calling both muldoonist is just…. I wanna smash my keyboard.
I criticize her a lot but I've been defending her lately hoping beyond hope that a majority labour govt would surprise us all but at this point the list of things she's ruling out is getting so long Peter Jacksons probably going to turn it into a 9 part film series. I'm starting to think Labour was the handbreak on NZF and The Greens (in a way those two parties have more in common with each other than they do with labour ie building up the state, abolishing neoliberalism)
This is going to be long term bad for labour and the left, like Obama she excited an entire generation and promised transformation but unlike obama she told us capitalism had failed. We've seen what happens when you get peoples hopes up and then give them the finger once in power they get angry or stay home.
Ardern and Labour/ National are really giving the next generation of voters the middle finger atm and I think long term both parties are going to suffer the consequences for it unless they start acting, which I hope if enough pressure is applied that they will see the sense and get the political will to do so especially on housing and poverty but it's increasingly unlikely. We're not asking for much just basic center left tweaks to benefit rates and restrictions and reforms in the housing market.
Labours the party of reform , people flock to labour when the system needs correcting not because they want them to keep everything the same.
How on Earth can the Government interfere in house prices? By freezing them ? That turned out really well under Muldoon with prices and wages, eh.
What you are asking for is a command economy and they are disasterous, particulary for the less well off.
Doing what they are doing, by building a lot more public housing and assisting the young into their own homes is about all that can be done to achieve the goals we want. Maybe you want Labour to forcibly buy rentals off landlords and sell them at half price to those needing housing. Instead of critisising come up with some solutions that aren't pie in the sky and ridiculously unworkable.
Regulating one product is not the same as an across the board regulation of all wages and prices.
Building more public housing is indeed what they should be doing. But price controls on houses would make ghost houses less attractive as an investment. Once those go back on the rental market, should help the housing crisis.
Tune in 25th Nov, you will get the summary of intent in the speech from the throne delivered by the Governor General on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Then Jacinda and her family will shortly after have a Christmas break. I hope she is not begrudged that after such a turbulent year.
The Pandemic is not over, in fact it is surging out of control in many areas of the world, and we are fortunate to have dodged that.
There will be side affects caused by the Pandemic and the monetary policy, as Jacinda Ardern said, "This did not come with a manual, and we must be ready to pivot and to listen to the science."
Frustration at the pace of change is real, but so is a battle for stability in an unstable world.
Dude on The Panel just now suggested that stamp duty on second properties, introduced at a week's notice, would help the housing crisis. Can someone please explain how?
Apparently you have to pay Stamp Duty when you buy the house but at 2% money it's not much of a handbrake. Oh God ,2% money, thats what my parents had in 1948 with State advances, when my wife and I bought 35 years later it only took months to rocket to over 20%. FFS stop complaining about cheap money, remember 20% is all the deposit needed to buy a first home now, not a years mortgage every bloody year.
That seems to show the bigger picture, it isn't just the price of the houses, our shamefully low wage, non-unionised, casualised work force is part of the picture.
A couple of other ideas I have seen on TS, property investors should be limited to new builds and/or 30 or 40% deposit for folk who are not going to reside in the dwelling.
can you please explain this argument? The PM and Ministers are making policy decisions every day and announcing them. Why should we not critique those?
Can somebody please tell the PM and her freshly anointed Ministers that they are no longer the Caretaker Government and that it’s ok to get moving with the mandate? Thank you so much.
Yep just more fuel on the fire, this govt is already showing it is at best status quo and likely to preside over one of the largest jumps in house prices and private debt bubbles in NZ history.
Its a long way from the first Lab govt and Jacinda aint no Mickey Savage or Norm Kirk.
Instead of pouring cheap credit into the banks (inevitability to be lent on property) im sure the aforementioned Labour leaders would have been announcing additional payments to beneficiaries and the working poor.
Technically the Gov hasnt poured cheap credit into the banks. thats monetary policy and independent but they havnt done anything to offset the impact to their shame…and yes they could increase benefits especially in light of the increased minimum wage
We're are the authorities when you need them people trying to run me off the road every day O that's right it the spy's and under cover cops trying to run me off the roads and pulling a lot of other BULLSHIT against me and my Whanau.
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Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
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2. Are parents to busy to be able to take children to a dental appointment if the the dental service does not go to a school?
3. Does the dental model need to change with access to treatment?
4. Is oral hygiene not being learned in the home, the importance of brushing teeth and not over doing the sugar?
I can give you the short answer but if you want the long answer:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5534465/
It will take you most of the day to read it.
In the 1970s and early 1980s the Muldoon govt, began the process of cutting back the School Dental Service. Two successive governments continued this process and in the 1990s they were phased out altogether.
The system that was put in its place was not as efficient nor did it cover the full spectrum of NZ children so many thousands missed out altogether. Add to that, the education school dental nurses regularly conducted in the classrooms disappeared which had been helpful for the kids and their parents.
The only positive of the last few decades is the fluoridation of the drinking water – something my generation never had – but it has to be backed up with education and regular checks.
Yes, I was a School Dental Nurse in the 1960s.
I will read the link.
I can see why you would have an interest in the delivery of dental care.
Spot on Anne. The destruction if the school dental service was a travesty. Going back there would be an amazing move, but a mammoth, and probably insurmountable task.
My mum worked at the murder house too, from the early 50’s until pretty much the end
Your mum lasted much longer than me. I did my five years "moral obligation" after graduating then shot off to greener pastures and to see the world. When I returned joined the Meteorological Service.
Funny thing… once a SDN always a SDN. Bet you've got well cared for teeth. 😀
Collins saying the govt should be supporting Chris Liddell to chair the OECD.
Collins would though a Trump yes man fuelled by the Coal and Oil industries a Conservative.
We need new ideas not old lacķy's who will no doubt promote a Conservative agenda.
Not sure what your issue with Liddell is.
Jealousy?
Liddell seems like a good bloke. Maybe guilt by association – what was he thinking?
A media that doesn't regurgitate every distraction National have would be a start. The average punter probably doesn't give a F as to which suit sits at the top of the OECD club.
Collins shambolic performance, the 'fat' comments and the fact that she is still leading National is the story IMO and shows how owned the media are.
Look at the interview with Liddell with Jack Tame on Sunday morning. I didn't give him the time of day until I watched that. He may have been the only sane person in the room and held on because leaving would have left the White House in an even bigger mess as I think he thought he could modify the worst aspects of what could have happened.
The OECD head needs to be an organiser not a dreamer.
Yeah, saw that. Comes across as just a decent, intelligent, sane bloke.
Massive environmentalist as well apparently.
Liddell survived 4 years of Trump, the man has guts this is why I would give Liddell a go at being chair of the OECD.
guts but no principles.
Not many people with principles anywhere now days.
Many people would balk at [checks notes] kidnapping children with no way of returning them to their parents, and making toddlers defendants in court cases.
I do not condone that sort of behaviour. It would have taken more than Liddell to stop such a brutal policy. I would have a different opinion if it was a policy from Liddell.
The dude was in the room. He can leave that workplace at any time. He knew what was going on, and even if he spoke out against it he's still happy to work there.
He's not a cook. He's part of the shitgibbon's regime. You don't get to have the words "Deputy white house chief of staff for policy" in your title and claim innocence about what the white house does.
Edit: and I mean “claim innocence” even in the meaning that the people who were in any way involved in some of those policies, not to mention the negligent homicide of a quarter of a million people, should go to gaol. I doubt they will, but they bloody should.
If Liddell is found to have been lying this will not go unnoticed when it comes to selection for a top job. Liddell has to live with the choices he made.
The biggest swamp has been the White House under Trump and Biden has to drain it.
All of which counts against Liddell as deserving any public role, especially one involving multilateralism, ever again.
Does that actually show that Liddell is good at anything more than self-promotion and ducking anything inconvenient to his narrative? Y'know, the usual traits for a corporate ladder-climber?
The fact he did not walk when children were separated from their parents, that families have such limited access to loved ones separated because of the wall, that he congratulated himself on "not losing his soul" , his credibility… not so much imo.
To be fair, Patricia, he did say he disagreed with that policy and acted to put a stop to it. If you can do something to change bad stuff maybe it is more ethical to stay
He may claim he acted to stop the policy. That's certainly a convenient claim to make right now. But I'm not aware of any evidence for any slowdown in the policy due to his claimed actions.
To me, that interview with Tane was more like an interview for the top job at the OECD.
Yes, he's sane which is in his favour but I agree with Patricia Bremner. He aligned himself to a corrupt president and a corrupt regime yet he did not admit they were corrupt. Tells me he can't be trusted.
Edit: There was an article in the Herald today (can’t find it online) about how Trump and his team planned all along to attack the integrity of the election going back to 2016, and you can’t tell me Liddell didn’t know what was going on.
Yea….not too sure about this guy. He was certainly quite ok with Trump…did he tell himself everything was cool? Or just go with the "flow"…
Reminds me of "others" in the past..who were only following orders…and apparently didnt "know"
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/will-nz-back-chris-liddell-for-oecds-top-job
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-cabinet-officials-voted-2018-white-house-meeting-separate-migrant-n1237416
@ Jan m..I think that defence was tried at nuremberg..it didn't work then either..
Ardern worked as a senior policy advisor to Blair after his invasion of Iraq which was based on lies.
I take it you are just as critical of her?
Lol I think it's been mentioned here once or twice.
But then that was 20 years ago, and who knows whether she knew they were lies (if Powell didn't, for example).
The dude is still working for the Orange Child-Stealer right now, and knew what was going on. And the best he can say is that if there had been a vote, he wouldn't have voted for it.
I seem to remember the basis of the accusations that blair is a war-criminal..' are ‘cos he knew bush jnr was peddling lies…and yet he played right along…w.m.d.'s..?..anyone..?
And even if true, I'm not sure it's alleged Ardern was at a meeting of eleven Downing St officials where the topic "let's start a war on Iraq even though we're pretty sure they don't have WMDs" and the best thing she can say in her defence is "but if they had asked for a show of hands, I don't think I would have voted in favour of it".
Trump has always surrounded himself with sycophants and loyalists and more so in recent times. What bothers me slightly about Liddell is that he still has his job with the Don. This suggests that he’s either an extremely smooth and skilled political operator, he’s a very convincing actor or he’s a true Trumpian loyalist.
Don't think so Chris. "what a tiny cog she would be – "we were in a unit of 80, and we were one of many units" – and that the connection to Blair was zilch.
"I was working alongside small businesses"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96123508/jacinda-ardern-i-didnt-want-to-work-for-tony-blair
She was one of his senior policy advisors.
She says it herself if you look at her own archived bio on Labours website.
[Please provide the link to “her own archived bio on Labours website” that Jacinda Ardern was “a senior policy advisor to him” or face the usual consequence for making up stuff, thanks – Incognito]
You are wrong Chris. btw these are Jacinda's words that I quoted.
See my Moderation note @ 10:37 PM.
DO you have a link because I can't find anything that says anything of the sort
Ardern moved to London where she became a senior policy adviser in an 80-person policy unit of then-British prime minister Tony Blair. (She did not meet Blair in London, but later at an event in New Zealand in 2011 she questioned him about the invasion of Iraq." Ardern was also seconded to the Home Office to help with a review of policing in England and Wales.
1) Her own bio
https://web.archive.org/web/20081223024509/http://labourparty.org.nz/people/
2) Her uni
"She then moved overseas to London, where she worked as a senior policy advisor for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK Cabinet Office. She was also seconded to the Home Office to assist with a review of policing in England and Wales."
https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/success-stories/jacinda-ardern
Do you want more?
Thank you for the links. You said she was an advisor to Blair, your links dont say that, specifically mentions "London" and "uk cabinet office" which if you had read the article I linked to, Jacinda said "she never met Blair in person at that time – " the Cabinet Office is massive" and as Rapunzel pointed out, her wiki page said she was part of an "80-person policy unit"
I'm very happy with that it clarifies it perfectly as the Labour one by Ardern herself makes no mention of Blair at all and the 2nd is a 3rd person account from Waikato uni. She is not responsible as to why it was termed like that by the person who compiled it. They are Not the Same at all Chris.
I have done. Please see below.
[Thank you for providing the links. However, your first link doesn’t state what you claimed @ 3.3.1.2 and 3.3.1.2.2.1:
“My time working abroad as a Senior Policy Advisor in London and as President of an International Youth organisation, has shown me how much we’ve achieved relative to other countries.”
In other words, your assertion was made up. If you want to avoid being moderated for these seemingly trivial offences then at least you should include a link and quote literally rather than paraphrasing and ‘massaging’ the words and meanings to suit your narrative – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 12:08 AM.
No Chris T, she was nearer the bottom of the hierarchy – more like a junior assistant to a senior policy adviser. I recall her saying that she didn't even work in the same building and never actually met Blair.
She was a senior policy advisor to him.
No she wasn't Chris.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-11-2020/#comment-1766923
That's not what Liddel's CV says and you know it.
Ardern isn't particularly keen to support him to head the OECD, but then again, based on her pre-PM CV I wouldn't hire her for more than a policy advisor.
You're right, it's not what his CV says.
It's what glib self-serving interview answers about the cheeto-tinged skidmark smeared down his CV tells us about him.
Agreed. Spotlight on him and he plays nice. Look who he's in bed with. I knew a mobster once who always came across as a 'good guy', till his gang told him to do heinous things and he obeyed.
A dirtbag is a dirtbag. Lidell is culpable.
Two self-absorbed psychopaths scrap it out. Fantastic stuff. Keep going!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300160252/jamilee-and-billys-divorce-who-gets-the-money
The original story on Newsroom even has a photo of JLRs new beard, very entertaining read indeed!
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/jami-lee-and-billys-nasty-divorce?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=97d029e67e-Daily+Briefing+17.11.2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-97d029e67e-95522233
Thinking about Russian fishermen and industry relations between them and NZ. Which reminded me of the 1986 sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov (named after a Russian poet, so they had some feeling for this ship.) This from wikipedia:
The Picton pilot, Don Jamison (who was also a Picton harbourmaster), piloted the ship out of Picton. His presence, and his knowledge of the area, should have assured the safety of MS Mikhail Lermontov.
The resulting legal actions seemed comparatively low-key considering the magnitude of the damage and the wilful negligence of a supposed senior experienced mariner.
Passengers brought cases against the parties and in Wikipedia there is an explanation of the legal aspects of one which would thrill the socks off of legal beagles I should expect. This is one part: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Mikhail_Lermontov#Court_case
The now-abolished forms of action cast a long shadow: a claim for money had and received evolved from the writ of indebitatus assumpsit, a legal fiction that the parties had an implied agreement that upon discharge for breach or frustration that the subject matter of the original agreement would be returned.
Interestingly, though he was asked to give up his pilot's licence, and did, within two years he had an executive position in the company that took over from the harbour board. Not bad for a pom bringing a wrecking ball skill to us. He became harbourmaster and general manager of Port Marlborough Ltd in October 1988, when the company took over the commercial operation of the port from the previous harbour board. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/lermontov-pilot-retires/IBMQZZQLLOYER6TVZG27E7VKUI/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/4664013/25-years-on-ship-pilot-still-silent
The Ministry of Transport held a preliminary inquiry immediately after the sinking, led by Captain Steve Ponsford. The Express reported on March 7, 1986, that the inquiry found Mr Jamison was responsible, but Mr Ponsford would not say what explanation Mr Jamison gave him for trying to take the ship through the passage.,,,
The Marlborough Harbour Board and the ship's owners came to an out-of-court settlement for damages…
Mr Prebble said on the 20th anniversary of the sinking that he had written to the Russians to offer an inquiry, but was told it was not necessary.
(The ministry also wrote to Mr Jamison and suggested "very strongly" that he surrender his pilot's licence, which he did.)
Mr Jamison was not charged because New Zealand-registered pilots working on foreign ships could not be prosecuted. The law has since been changed.
Mr Ponsford recommended that no formal investigation be held, which was backed by then transport minister Richard Prebble.
Mr Prebble said on the 20th anniversary of the sinking that he had written to the Russians to offer an inquiry, but was told it was not necessary…
Mr Jamison later applied for and was re-issued his pilot's licence. He worked for Strait Shipping for a decade before retiring in 2001.
The Mikhail Lermontov's captain, Vladislav Vorobyov, who was not on the bridge when the ship hit the rocks, was given a suspended four-year jail sentence after an inquiry in the former Soviet Union.
We would never have heard the end of it if it was an Australian, UK or USA ship. It was such a stupendous boob that a conspiracy with the USA to confound Russia by organising this mishap seems wild but not improbable. Alternatively Jamison had some medication in him that upset his equilibrium.
Chant – 'War, war what's it good for?'
This item shows how government can't hive off everything to bloody private business who treat us like casualties to cast aside when the business charity goes under for some reason or many.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/430774/laura-fergusson-trust-accused-of-bias-in-membership-applicationsIt is widely speculated that the Laura Fergusson Trust will sell its Greenlane site to recoup losses.Those trying to save the site say membership applications are being rejected for suspect reasons.
Before its closure in August, Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation in Greenlane cared for thousands of Aucklanders with disabilities.
The barbarians responsible for this shit should get the triple-whammy, courts martial, criminal prosecution and then off to The Hague with the pricks.
When Dr Crompvoets warned Lieutenant General Campbell in early 2016 that special forces insiders were disclosing to her abhorrent war crimes allegations, he urged her to keep digging and “write it all down”.
“We're not talking about a couple of fog of war events that were, you know, perhaps confusing to understand," Dr Crompvoets recalls. "This is deliberate repeated patterns of behaviour.”
It could have gone another way. Two generals, Lieutenant General Campbell and Jeff Sengelman, had in 2015 commissioned Dr Crompvoets to examine cultural failings in the special forces, especially the poor relations between the nation’s two elite fighting arms, the SAS and the Commandos.
[…]
Dr Crompvoets' April 2016 report to generals Campbell and Sengelman described conduct that the military insiders she spoke to likened to the Abu Ghraib affair, the Iraq prisoner torture scandal that enveloped the US military in 2004. The crimes disclosed in her interviews with Australian special forces included alleged "competition killing and blood lust" and "the inhumane and unnecessary treatment of prisoners".
In her interview with The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes, she says some allegedly unlawful behaviour, such as summary executions, were “celebrated and normalised, and almost a rite of passage for some people”.
Some of the men she spoke to, such as a soldier who described two unarmed teens having their throats allegedly slit and their bodies disposed of in a river, were in mental anguish. Others were emotionless as they explained how the mistreatment of prisoners became routine as small groups of special forces began writing their own rules of war.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/killings-of-afghans-happened-all-the-time-20201115-p56erx.html?
"…off to The Hague with the pricks"
Yeah – though that might reinforce the self-protective mechanism of mythologising it as exceptional, 'bad apples', etc. When in fact it was completely predictable from the day the planes hit the towers on 9/11, and culturally-speaking, as Australian as barbecued prawns.
Scud would have some interesting anecdotes and points about that. The people carrying out brutality are also attacking their own sense of values, their own worth. When they surface and look at themselves they will not believe they could do that, or they just wear their actions like an armour and play the hard man for the rest of their lives. 'Mental anguish' or 'emotionless', their bodies have survived but has their unique mind? They are just fodder for the generals. But it might be the only job they can get in the future
Yep, they're now ruined individuals. Those perpetuating the culture of callousness and murder should most definitely be on trial. Destroying lives is not a matter of duty.
#16
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-13-11-2020/#comment-1766168
An interesting speech from Stuart Nash on the future of tourism:
Big talk from a pollie. He is describing something that is similar to what citizens hope they’ll get from government. Better pollies who exceed the citizens expectations. I think their remuneration is adequate though – now just perform you luvvies.
Poor areas may not be able to attract the higher-paying tourists. The government may have to step in with infrastructure not just take taxes from the takings and make them the pot of gold that the locals go to for needed amenities.
Pretty blunt language from Nash, and the day after industry darling Jucy went tits up.
Jucy being the anthesis of everything Nash was talking about. But Nash was also describing a very large part if the industry at all levels that try to provide good quality, socially responsible tourism experiences.
We’re not sorry to see Jucy go, and hope the rest of that end of the industry follows them, and very pleased to see the minister spelling it out.
I think you are wrong because the influx of young people, generally just out of Uni is a huge benefit to our and their understanding of our culture and we theirs.
They are also the future return visitors when they have more money and will spend more, as they almost without exception fall in love with NZ and NZers.
If we are to discourage and make it difficult for them to do their OE then the reverse applies, young Kiwis not being able to affordably travel. To say you can only come here if you pay the outlandish fucking prices resorts and hotels charge then we have fallen into the elitist realm, which is not the Kiwi way.
I think Nash was also referring to the side of the industry where about the only spending in NZ$ is the diesel that goes into the bus and the rates and electricity on the hotel. Everything else goes directly to, or through, the overseas owned inbound operator.
It may turn out to be a self limiting situation any way, who is going to want to be crammed into a low-cost airliner, tour coach or cruise ship once this is all over. Doubtful this end of tourism has a business any more. It's going to be a long time before anything like the low cost travel we've enjoyed in the last 10 years, if ever. Insurance availability and price will slow international travel for a long time too, even with a vaccine.
So the international visitors we see will be paying a lot more to get here, hence will tend to be wealthier and will probably prefer to stay in a flasher hotel or lodge than a packpacker van. Same will apply to outbound NZ tourism, it will be harder and more expensive, so there will be less.
The minister was as much spelling out reality to the industry as stating policy.
Were local companies other than Jucy innovating with capsule hotels etc?
Were Jucy adding any value to NZ or cannibalising the industry and country. They've gone under, other more responsible operators are still going and in some cases quite well, Wayfare (Real Journeys / Fiordland Travel), Tourism Holdings, Skyline, Trojan.
Bottom line, everyone in the industry should have known it was going to stop soon for whatever reason, pandemic, good old recession or whatever. Some had the business planning to adapt and keep going, others were caught with their pants down.
And what about ordinary Kiwis who just want to go on an average holiday, but can't afford it any more because they can't compete with overblown tourist prices and events?
…what about ordinary Kiwis …. Indeed. Made an overnight trip to Whangarei, so we required a reasonably wheelchair accessible motel unit.
Tentatively booked one by phone and promised to call in before noon to pay….just as well as the unit was pokey and the parking completely unsuitable. Office person argued with me and proceeded to tell me that she could have let that room three times and 'we a late cancellation fee policy'…despite it being barely noon when we arrived.
We left…figuring this is a Monday night how busy can they be?…and became increasingly alarmed as every motel sported a No Vacancy sign. Apart from Casa Grot…for which we forked out 145 bucks for the night.
Any sympathy I may have had for motel accommodation providers has evaporated. They are doing so well they don't even have to try and maintain standards.
Good luck to them attracting those big spenders…
Fine talk but what leverage is the Crown putting onto AirNZ.
And further from local governments to ports taking cruises.
And further on Immigration.
Thats the source of cheap bulk tours.
Not another year of failure to execute thanks Nash.
Not too flash for the millions afflicted with autoimmune disorders, though.
https://twitter.com/BillHanage/status/1328437557953241089
The new coronavirus resurged again and again in the body of an infected man, eventually killing him while showing evidence of fast-paced evolution.
Manuela Cernadas and Jonathan Li at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and their colleagues followed the course of COVID-19 in a 45-year-old man with a long-standing autoimmune disorder, who was on a medication regimen that included powerful immunosuppressants (B. Choi et al. N. Engl. J. Med. https://doi.org/fhv8; 2020). Roughly 40 days after the man first tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, follow-up tests indicated that the virus was dwindling — but it surged back, despite antiviral treatment.
The man’s infection subsided and then returned twice more before he died, five months after his first COVID-19 diagnosis. Genomic analysis showed that the man had not been infected multiple times. Instead, the virus had lingered and quickly mutated in his body.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00502-w
I would like to know the outcome if a person did not take immunosuppressant medication.
As for the mutation what actually caused it I would like to know and whether it just affected a particular autoimmune condition.
One of New Zealands covid deaths was a woman (50's?) on immunosuppressants for Lupus.
Labours motto looks set to become "let's do this but not till after we leave office"
Ardern was defending Rogernomics today while ruling out any intervention in house prices or the reserve bank calling both muldoonist is just…. I wanna smash my keyboard.
I criticize her a lot but I've been defending her lately hoping beyond hope that a majority labour govt would surprise us all but at this point the list of things she's ruling out is getting so long Peter Jacksons probably going to turn it into a 9 part film series. I'm starting to think Labour was the handbreak on NZF and The Greens (in a way those two parties have more in common with each other than they do with labour ie building up the state, abolishing neoliberalism)
This is going to be long term bad for labour and the left, like Obama she excited an entire generation and promised transformation but unlike obama she told us capitalism had failed. We've seen what happens when you get peoples hopes up and then give them the finger once in power they get angry or stay home.
Ardern and Labour/ National are really giving the next generation of voters the middle finger atm and I think long term both parties are going to suffer the consequences for it unless they start acting, which I hope if enough pressure is applied that they will see the sense and get the political will to do so especially on housing and poverty but it's increasingly unlikely. We're not asking for much just basic center left tweaks to benefit rates and restrictions and reforms in the housing market.
Labours the party of reform , people flock to labour when the system needs correcting not because they want them to keep everything the same.
How on Earth can the Government interfere in house prices? By freezing them ? That turned out really well under Muldoon with prices and wages, eh.
What you are asking for is a command economy and they are disasterous, particulary for the less well off.
Doing what they are doing, by building a lot more public housing and assisting the young into their own homes is about all that can be done to achieve the goals we want. Maybe you want Labour to forcibly buy rentals off landlords and sell them at half price to those needing housing. Instead of critisising come up with some solutions that aren't pie in the sky and ridiculously unworkable.
Regulating one product is not the same as an across the board regulation of all wages and prices.
Building more public housing is indeed what they should be doing. But price controls on houses would make ghost houses less attractive as an investment. Once those go back on the rental market, should help the housing crisis.
Tune in 25th Nov, you will get the summary of intent in the speech from the throne delivered by the Governor General on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Then Jacinda and her family will shortly after have a Christmas break. I hope she is not begrudged that after such a turbulent year.
The Pandemic is not over, in fact it is surging out of control in many areas of the world, and we are fortunate to have dodged that.
There will be side affects caused by the Pandemic and the monetary policy, as Jacinda Ardern said, "This did not come with a manual, and we must be ready to pivot and to listen to the science."
Frustration at the pace of change is real, but so is a battle for stability in an unstable world.
Can't have stability with an out of control housing crisis, or widening gap between ok and not ok in terms of standard of living.
Well said Patricia
ditto
Dude on The Panel just now suggested that stamp duty on second properties, introduced at a week's notice, would help the housing crisis. Can someone please explain how?
Apparently you have to pay Stamp Duty when you buy the house but at 2% money it's not much of a handbrake. Oh God ,2% money, thats what my parents had in 1948 with State advances, when my wife and I bought 35 years later it only took months to rocket to over 20%. FFS stop complaining about cheap money, remember 20% is all the deposit needed to buy a first home now, not a years mortgage every bloody year.
Some people would complain etc….
In the 90s, a 20% deposit was all that was needed and you could buy a house for $100,000 and beneficiaries could afford the mortgage.
That seems to show the bigger picture, it isn't just the price of the houses, our shamefully low wage, non-unionised, casualised work force is part of the picture.
A couple of other ideas I have seen on TS, property investors should be limited to new builds and/or 30 or 40% deposit for folk who are not going to reside in the dwelling.
This Labour govt seems to be looking more like the Fourth Labour govt than the First with every passing week…
The House isn't sitting yet!!
Sure, but given the tone so far tell me im wrong…
can you please explain this argument? The PM and Ministers are making policy decisions every day and announcing them. Why should we not critique those?
It's not the House you need to worry about.
It's a functioning Cabinet that's actually showing it's achieving stuff.
The trade deal they announced this week was began under National and driven by MFAT, and for which Labour in government played passenger.
Currently looks like this government won't actually get underway until February. That's a third of a year wasted since getting elected.
And even when they start, the legislative programme is negligible.
Ardern it's time to actually show you can execute real policy. Not just fold like origami every time there's something hard to do.
why won't they get underway until Feb?
Can somebody please tell the PM and her freshly anointed Ministers that they are no longer the Caretaker Government and that it’s ok to get moving with the mandate? Thank you so much.
Re j.ardern talking about house deposits.
I think we should steel ourselves for some more middle-class welfare..
quite possibly…sadly any gov assistance for deposit provision is likely to fuel property inflation even more
Yep just more fuel on the fire, this govt is already showing it is at best status quo and likely to preside over one of the largest jumps in house prices and private debt bubbles in NZ history.
Its a long way from the first Lab govt and Jacinda aint no Mickey Savage or Norm Kirk.
Instead of pouring cheap credit into the banks (inevitability to be lent on property) im sure the aforementioned Labour leaders would have been announcing additional payments to beneficiaries and the working poor.
Technically the Gov hasnt poured cheap credit into the banks. thats monetary policy and independent but they havnt done anything to offset the impact to their shame…and yes they could increase benefits especially in light of the increased minimum wage
We're are the authorities when you need them people trying to run me off the road every day O that's right it the spy's and under cover cops trying to run me off the roads and pulling a lot of other BULLSHIT against me and my Whanau.
Ka kite Ano