The news media uses emotive language and quotation marks to take a side in a story, as opposed to reporting the news..
This is how they report action by animal activists to highlight animal welfare issues at a sea park in Australia.
“Distressed parents were forced to take their children from theme park shows after protesters refused to leave and labelled them “disgusting”.
Fun family days out across the weekend have turned ugly as “peaceful” protesters storm Gold Coast theme parks.
Demonstrators who targeted several amusement parks held their hands up in peace signs, despite the situation becoming quite violent.
Dozens of children were forced to watch distressing situations at Sea World on Saturday after the group, Justice for Captives, refused to get out of the water until its famous dolphin show was stopped.”
The vocabulary used sets the scene ….’distressed parents’ , ‘disgusting protesters’,
Speech marks are used to describe the protesters are peaceful to undermine that claim, reinforced by the used of verbs like ‘storm’, ‘forced’ and adjectives like ‘ugly and voilent’
The reporter should continue. Make it really clear whose side you take.
Just another example brought to you to prove the corporate media sucks.
In my younger days, I worked for several weeks on Hamilton Island, and one of the jobs there was at the Dolphin Restaurant. A restaurant near the sea, surrounded by a concrete pool that held three dolphins.
It was sad to see those animals in such a artificial, enclosed environment, even though their keepers treated them with affection that ‘seemed’ to be returned. While I was there, one of the females just became listless and died.
After I left – I heard the dolphins pool was closed down, but that memory of those huge mammals kept in such a confined area to provide a living, backdrop for the restaurant patrons has stayed with me.
The journalist who wrote this piece is one Stephanie Bedo, a senior journalist, who, apparently..
“..has won awards for her health reporting and admits to being a bit of a science nerd, particularly when it comes to animal stories that often only she is excited about.”
She is “good” at making a clear “distinction” between “animal abuse” (bad) and “animal abuse” in the name of “entertainment” (good).
She is also a “chronic” uses of “inverted” commas.
Bit like this twit, really:
“His views are backed up by some eyewitnesses to the parade. One parent told Newshub the Māori Santa left children stunned and in tears.
“All these kids were dumbstruck really, you could hear the ‘that’s not Santa’,” she told Newshub.
“Our six-year-old son burst into tears after the video finished. We had to explain to him that Santa was running late.”
Garner blamed some “PC wally” and “woolly woofter” for the “stupid decision by Nelson”.
“A conservation group is calling for a total fishing ban for crayfish in the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty as the population “collapses towards extinction”.
Forest & Bird is calling for the wider Hauraki Gulf to Bay of Plenty crayfishing area (known as CRA2) to be closed for three years to allow the species to start recovering.
“The wider Hauraki Gulf to Bay of Plenty crayfish population has undergone a significant decline,” Forest & Bird marine conservation advocate Katrina Goddard said.
“Without an urgent end to fishing pressure, crayfish could become functionally extinct throughout the entire area within a few years.” ….”
In our rebuttal to the original article, we point out that fish stocks are nowhere near as healthy as suggested. There is a lack of scientific data to correctly run the QMS. Three quarters of fish stocks have no formal or detailed assessment, and very few have independent research surveys.
we should probably be considering either an outright ban on all fishing for 20 years or at least a serious decrease on commercial fishing by only allowing fish caught in NZ controlled waters to be sold in NZ.
if we go down that path could we first have words with the like of Ngati Kahungunu who insist on allowing the D’Esposito Brothers fishing rights?? I’m not sure of the total charges the D’Esposito’s and their various companies have attracted over the years, but it’s well over the hundreds. Infact Ngati Kahungunu (and Waikato Tainui) only concern seems to be the possible loss of jobs.
Then again, who can blame them for not taking overfishing seriously. The D’Espositos simply turn up in court, year after year, facing the same charges, paying the fines with their ill gotten gains, and continue on their merry way.
Restricting to NZ fishing companies only makes sense if we create bigger penalties for repeat, flagrant, breaking of the law. Otherwise we are kidding ourselves.
Restricting to NZ fishing companies only makes sense if we create bigger penalties for repeat, flagrant, breaking of the law. Otherwise we are kidding ourselves.
Agreed. If a company breaks the law it should be nationalised and then sold. The previous owners should keep the debt that the company had built up as well as being fined in the millions of dollars. Limited liability should not exist.
That said, I didn’t actually say that the fishing be restricted to NZ companies. I said that the fish caught could only be sold in NZ. I suspect that foreign companies wouldn’t bother.
And, yes, I’m quite aware that many Iwi are standing in the way of what we need to do to protect the environment. Just have to look at their whinging about the Kermadec fish sanctuary to see that.
“And, yes, I’m quite aware that many Iwi are standing in the way of what we need to do to protect the environment. Just have to look at their whinging about the Kermadec fish sanctuary to see that.”
If the Iwi (or any other group) conflict with what we need to do to protect the environment than they need to change.
Hard for Kahungungu to complain when some of them were apparently travelling with the brothers to Greece during the court case. Family over there also wonder about who was benefitting from the back door sales over the years this was going on. Would have been much more interesting if the court case proceeded.
Still they did conveniently have a track to get upset about to take attention away.
“we should probably be considering either an outright ban on all fishing for 20 years ”
Do you mean just in NZ or worldwide? If you mean worldwide then you’ll run into problems because in some developing nations (and other western nations but it isn’t really a problem for Western Nations) fish make up a huge percentage of their protein. You’d need to introduce an alternative…Soylent Green?
That said, considering that fish stocks are collapsing worldwide I suspect that those nations, which does include Developed Nations, that are dependent upon fish to feed themselves are in for a world of hurt.
The report found that fishing fleets each year harvest more than 170 billion pounds (78 million metric tonnes) of wild fish and shellfish – from the oceans, and that this so-called “world catch” is essentially unfair and becoming increasingly difficult to sustain without risking a future global collapse in fishing stocks.
It’s not that far off either….I have a young daughter and I am saddened by the idea she might grow up in a world where there are no tigers or Rhinos or….everything
The website features an atlas showing some large sites and locations in countries around the world …. these locations are where exploitation, corruption, pollution and environmental destruction … and various other bad things are taking place.
A couple of examples missing from the New zealand would be the 80% non compliant swamp Kauri smash and grab industry … with Judith collins connections providing the gps google earth location.
There is still loads of ‘slash’ from forestry that was washed down the Motueka valley during Gita. They cleared the roads, but crikey there’s a heap of wood in the dry parts of the river bed.
Fustrating to see it still sitting there. So I loaded up some logs, took them home, whipped out the chainsaw and hello free firewood.
Not sure if it’s legal or not, pretty legal maybe? It’s been almost a year now, maybe they were waiting for the locals to pick it up for fire wood as it’s not on private property?
“I’m going to write up and submit The swamp kauri looting …. with a special mention for Judith Collins … who hates wetlands .”
Pucky!
Was Judith on your list of Blue-Green Environmental Champions?
You better fly to her defence!
Paul Goldsmith’s car crash interview on RNZ.
Just a tiny bit of preparation by Guyon had Goldsmith talking utter garbage.
Amazing how many politicians who can’t cope when they are forced off their mantra.
As one who travels to Whangarei quite a bit (work related), it is a tricky road. It has way more traffic than 10 years ago. It would be hugely safer if it was 4 lane. Same with Katikati to Tauranga.
But this govt hates the idea of 4 lanes, so we get band aid solutions.
Now obviously not all of dangerous roads have enough traffic to justify 4 lanning but the two I mentioned certainly do.
So yes, some parts of the Labour/Green plan are sensible, but their complete opposition to any new 4 lanes roads is foolish.
Personally I thought Paul did quite ok, though he did get sidetracked at one point.
Doubt it especially when I take into account that you’re talking anecdotes and are ideologically in favour of more cars despite the evidence showing that we can’t afford the ones that we have.
But this govt hates the idea of 4 lanes, so we get band aid solutions.
It’s not the government that hates it – it’s reality.
Now obviously not all of dangerous roads have enough traffic to justify 4 lanning but the two I mentioned certainly do.
Actually, rail would be better especially if it was electric. Increase freight and safety while being cheaper, faster and more ecologically sound.
So yes, some parts of the Labour/Green plan are sensible, but their complete opposition to any new 4 lanes roads is foolish.
No, it’s National’s desire to coat the entire country in roads that is foolish as it goes against all the evidence.
Draco,
You could not be more wrong even if you tried.
The 4 lane roads, especially the newer ones are by far the safest roads in the country. Not just anecdotal, actual fact.
As for 4 lanning well there is no doubt complete ideological opposition from the left, even for the blindingly obvious projects (Dome valley). Fortunately countered from the right. So at least when National is govt, they get built (though opened by Jacinda). Just as National will get to open the light rail-the northwest one is good, the Dominion Rd not so. Light rail should also go into the Southeast (Tamaki, Pakuranga, etc) and to North Shore.
So the next National govt will build the next set of motorways, to be opened by the Labour PM who follows Jacinda, who is possibly not yet in Parliament.
As for 4 lanning well there is no doubt complete ideological opposition from the left, even for the blindingly obvious projects (Dome valley).
It’s not ideology – it’s reality. The stuff that National ignores because it doesn’t conform with their beliefs. We really can’t afford cars and so we can’t afford four lane roads.
So the next National govt will build the next set of motorways
Of course they will as they’re fully opposed to reality.
Yes well any road is going to be safer with 2 lanes rather than one… Would the astronomical build cost meet any sort of sane business cost ratio like pretty much all of the Nats other Roads of National significance? I doubt it. Two laning doesn’t solve traffic jams either as they don’t eliminate choke points, in fact they’re likely to make them worse by bringing more traffic into them.
With fluctuating fuel prices and declining world oil reserves does it make any sense to build new roading infrastructure? Don’t think so. It is possible to make roads safer without having to double the road width. This is what the Government are actually doing right now.
For the next 100 years or more, (probably more like 200 years or more) roads will be the main transport system in NZ. Roads have been a key land transport system for literally thousands of years going back to Roman times. It will not remain with fossil fuel engines. Electric and hydrogen will be the main power source.
There is zero prospect that rail could ever be dense enough in NZ to replace the majority of land transport. Even if rail quadrupled in the next few years, it would still be moving way less freight than road.
It would take a fantastic new, energy dense system to replace roads (magnetic levitation or something similar). But that requires power at multiple levels of what we currently use.
When considering the maximum number of containers that can be transported by each transport mode (ie 550 for coastal shipping, 40 for rail, and 1 for road), the maritime mode is shown to be slightly more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions than the rail mode, and markedly better than the road mode. In fact, both maritime and rail modes are about twice as efficient as the road mode.
The only reason why trucking freight by road even exists in this country is because of those perverse incentives that I mentioned.
Flat bed rail carriages , drive on enjoy the trip, a meal the view, drive off. Rail to the airport, allow tourist easy access to rural tourist hubs and hire their campers and cars from there. Travellers, sales and business, use rail and hire ev’s. In 200 yrs the northern motor way is under 20 mtr of water, so it will be barges and ferry.
It’s a shame then @ Wayne that the short-sighted, vision-less of planners over the years have chosen to close down, or mothball the network we once had.
Just imagine the commuter rail and freight forwarding capability we might have had.
(For example, by now):
-Dunedin could have had an earport ta ciddy rail transit system, and even an alternative means to the burbs along the way and further north
-Christ’s Church could have had a commuter system from Lyttleton to points north, and from the outliers like Rolleston to the city
-Gisborne wouldn’t be worrying about its limitations – by now it’d have had a link between Matawai and Opotiki and onward to Tearonga, or that “choice’ to go southward
Living in Stratford or Eltham and working in the Plym might be viable.
Instead, that Auckland/Hamilton/Tauranga triangle is now seen as some sort of HUGE deal in terms of being able to furnish it with commuter and freight rail – let alone a fucking commuter & freight system to the Auckland REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL Earport
And then there’s the south…..the system came close to linking the Queens town with Dunners
You do realise (I sincerely hope) that current transport arrangements are not sustainable long term ( and I don’t mean just because there might be some pretty bloody suspect truck/trailer linkages on the road, or because we can’t attract enough slaves to drive them before driver-less trucks become viable – probably not in my loiftoim)
Oh, and btw, you did another of your spray and walkaway acts the other day
You are assuming all future land transport will use fossil fuel engines. It won’t.
Electric and hydrogen will become the norm. But the vehicles still have to go over something. They are roads, just as horses and carts had to also use roads.
Most people in NZ need roads because they lack the skills to survive without them, forgetting that our ancestors travelled mainly on foot. You won’t be the only one driving out of town on business. We could organise our communities so we didn’t need to, but there’s no incentive because road transport is affordable and people are hooked on driving. Why not walk to your workplace, work from home, teleconference if necessary ?
but there’s no incentive because road transport is affordable
Climate change tells us that individual road transport is no longer affordable as it is.
The problem is that our entire economy has become based upon that unaffordable mode of transport. It’s what happens when externalities aren’t taken into account and become a massive subsidy to the manufacturers.
So, considering that we can’t actually afford cars/trucks then we must consider that we’re paid too much, that costs aren’t properly attributed or a combination of both.
Well, public transport is CaaS too, it’s just inconvenient. I have to get to where the vehicle is, at the time when the vehicle is there.
My dream: the electric autonomous vehicle turns up when and where I need it because Big Data knows that’s when I need it. Maybe shared with other passengers for efficiency.
Well, public transport is CaaS too, it’s just inconvenient. I have to get to where the vehicle is, at the time when the vehicle is there.
Does have the benefit of being economical and workable.
My dream: the electric autonomous vehicle turns up when and where I need it because Big Data knows that’s when I need it. Maybe shared with other passengers for efficiency.
Which is a dream that is both uneconomic and unworkable.
“But this govt hates the idea of 4 lanes” Comments like this remove any credibility to the rest of your comment. Perhaps this Government is just looking at get more Bang for it’s Buck (or less Bangs as the case may be) rather than spend more on your two favoured stretches of road.
However the reality is that they do hate 4 lane roads, especially the Green MPs. They have said so many, many times.
Just about the very first action of this government was to cancel every single 4 lane road that had not actually beeen started. Ideology was the reason.
However the reality is that they do hate 4 lane roads, especially the Green MPs. They have said so many, many times.
[citation needed]
Just about the very first action of this government was to cancel every single 4 lane road that had not actually beeen started. Ideology was the reason.
The reason why they were cancelled was because they were uneconomical.
You’re saying this to someone who has to drive across a One Lane bridge on SH1 cancelled by Simon Bridges after promising double lanes. Your feeble attack on this Government holds no validity.
4 lane roads aren’t safer because they’re 4 lanes.
In modern cars most people die because they hit something solid like a tree, lamp-post, collide with oncoming traffic or T-Bone someone. Motorways are safer because oncoming traffic and trees etc are on the other side of barriers. Colliding with a vehicle travelling the same way as us is rarely fatal.
We don’t need 4 lanes just safe merging, passing lanes where easy done and barriers both sides and middle of a largely 2-lane road.
When so many are dying on our roads each year, I think the right thing to do is to make them safer and put off the luxury of 4 lane Interstate stylings for the time being. 4 lanes through the Aussie interior, no worries cobber, punching them through our mountainous, ravine ridden landscape, jolly expensive.
Wayne Wayne Wayne possum. This government doesn’t hate the idea of 4 lanes.
It just realises that there has been an under-investment over many years and it’s trying to deal with the basics (based on research) before it goes for the luxuries you think you’re entitled to.
Your gorgeous spokesman couldn’t have made that more clear this morning on Moaning Report, however in doing so, he came across as a complete egg roll and showed exactly where he places human life over convenience.
Oh, and btw, hopefully they’ll realise that there are other alternatives before we get to the 4 lane option becoming necessary.
Apparently you see no problem with placing emphasis on four lanes so that the world’s ‘best drivers’ – no doubt including yourself can text whilst driving, tailgate, merge like it is some sort of competition, put driving on auto, etc. with less risk
Just responding to a couple of articles about Grace Millane on open mike yesterday, one by Alison mau and one from Paul little. The Gus of these articles was that we care more about grace, because she was white, young and pretty. In Alison attempt to highlight this she quotes some studies (although no references given) which is useful information, then travels to south Auckland to a street where a woman was murdered, the day or so before. There is a blanket ban and name suppression around this case, but that didn’t stop Alison.
I found her article and indeed all comments about we only care about grace because she was pretty, in very poor taste at this time. I hope none of her extended family see them while they are grieving.
A crucial reason that people got so involved in grace tragic story, was initially a missing person. So we followed that story and hoped like hell she’d be found. And or course we experienced a roller coaster of emotion, right through to the bitter end. And it was a bit like the story of the Thai cave boys. Who would have clocked that story if the were missing foe a few hours then res used.
I am not denying what ms mau says about white pretty woman getting more publicity. That is not going to solve our problem though. I am going to pause now and will write about going to the vigil and my experience about that, and getting real about solving this problem ie what research tells us about these perpetrators and why slogans grandstanding isn’t going to change things
Hell week is this week for retail and service sector workers. Under appreciated and sometimes not understood, have a thought for the people who ensure you can get your Christmas shopping done. Not all do.
Wrightson’s has gone down hill since the majority owned overseas ownership with many delays to farmers getting their seeds this year and disorganisation. Any issues with being able to plant swiftly to the season (especially with climate change) from poor management from Wrightsons has the ability to bankrupt farmers relying on a decent service. There are not many major seed firms in NZ.
The Wrightson’s chairman sounds a dodgy as.
“In one of those egregious deals that are only too common in the regulatory sector, Lai has agreed to pay a US$400,000 ($583,000) penalty and be barred from acting as a director or officer of a public company for five years for manipulating prices in Agria’s NYSE-listed shares.
The settlement with the SEC followed claims that the agriculture investment firm hid losses from investors through fraudulent accounting and overstated the value of its New York-listed stock.”
Totally agree that seeds are a ‘strategic’ asset that need to be NZ owned and also WELL run for the benefits of NZ agriculture. Good call for it to be bought by a NZ consortium and made sure it is well run to the benefit of many small and medium business in NZ that rely on it. Food is strategic. It should be retained for NZ.
So crickets on the up and Kane Williamsons winning record is off the charts (at least for NZ cricket) so to add a bit of controversy to the day heres my all time NZ test team, since the advent of one day cricket (because I don’t want to add any names I haven’t seen play)
1. G Turner
2. M Richardson
3. K Williamson (C)
4. M Crowe
5. R Taylor
6. J Oram
7. BJ Watling (WK)
8. D Vettori
9. Sir R Hadlee
10. S Bond
11. T Boult
Unlucky mentions to J Wright, S Fleming and B McCullum
Number 6 was the most difficult position for me to choose as there were 3 candidates: Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram and J Coney
Cairns has a very good bowling average of under 30 but his batting is weaker than the other two (though certainly not bad) and of the three Coneys bowling is the weakest however I’m also looking at team players and how players would play under Williamsons captaincy
So Oram gets the nod because I’m banking on Hadlee, Bond and Boult to do the job
with the ball and Oram and Vettori to do the donkey work of tying up one end and building pressure plus Orams height adds to the variety of bowling
The bowling averages are quite similar though Vettori just shades Bracewell on all but Vettoris batting sees hims through however this selection is based on not knowing what the pitch will do…if its a spinning pitch then maybe Oram would get dropped for Bracewell (and then S Boock would get the apology 🙂 )
Bracewell bowed against far better players and was more of an attacking spin bowler.
You felt Bracewell could get wickets every time he bowled, while Vertori’s best hope was to just bore them out.
Yeah those are good arguments and not all my decisions are based on numbers but in Vettoris case over 360 test wickets and six centuries are pretty compelling
The thing with Cairns is there’s quite a bit of…shall we say baggage…so I wouldn’t be comfortable having him in the team when he could break down with injury, possibly play through the injury but choose not to, fake an injury and then that stuff with Indian cricket and Lou Vincent and I’m happy to go with Orams better batting
Which the means the bowling line up of Hadlee, Bond, Boult, Vettori and Oram all have their strengths and differences
I mean you survive Bonds right arm 145kph plus in swingers and then you have Hadlees line and length (and under rated bouncer) or Boults left arm in swingers you get to the other end and now you have to try to score of Vettoris accuracy or Orams natural pitch of a 2 meter frame
He kind of had that winning mentality which I think many New Zealand cricketers have lacked over the years. In the age of Warne, Waughs and McGrath, he was possibly the only Kiwi who may have got a start in a hypothetical combined Trans-Team. Certainly he was the only one the Channel Nine team gave any respect to.
I would probably put McCullum ahead of Turner as well, based solely on his late career form (even though he did not open in Tests). They are polar opposites in style. McCullum was a fire cracker where anything could happen at any stage. Turner was a methodical bore-fest of a player.
Bert Sutcliffe instead of Richardson (by a mile)
JR Reid ahead of Oram as the all-rounder (Reid’s offspin gives another slow bowler) – or alternatively Jeremy Coney, who could also be captain.
Jack Cowie ahead of Boult (much as I like Trent’s bowling)
Boult as 12th man or Bruce Taylor (terrific seamer and explosive hitter)
Vettori would have to be the young version before his first back injury – a wonderful bowler then with a more open-chested delivery and more spin, but he was pretty average after his back injuries..
They are fantastic players (especially JR Reid) but I figure the cut off point had to be around the time I first started watching otherwise its simply a matter of inputting stats in only, stats are a good place to start (or as tie breaker) but they don’t tell the full story
Agreed with Vettori but in my game plan hes there to tie an end down and build pressure, along with the natural bounce of Oram, to let Hadlee and Bond do their thing also 6 centuries batting down the order isn’t anything to sniff at
Boult gets in purely for variety reasons as a left arm pace bowler , I mean hes not bad but being left arm it’d be just something else for the batsmen to have to adjust to
1. G Turner
2. S Dempster
3. K Williamson (C)
4. M Crowe
5. B Sutcliffe
6. J Reid
7. B McCullum (WK)
8. Sir R Hadlee
9. S Bond
10. C Grimmet
11. T Boult
You have the wrong Cairns.
Lance was much more fun to watch, particularly in the one day game.
Against Australia in 1983 he got 50 runs in about 12 minutes, including 6 sixes in 10 balls.
Put Lance Cairns in somewhere, anywhere.
Is there are NZ politician who mis-judges more than Simon Bridges??????? I don’t think so. What a completely inappropriate thing to say. I don’t want to know the leader of the opposition likes to watch sex on tv………………………more information than I need to know…..
“Expense controversy
On 10 June 2010 after the release of ministerial credit card records, Jones admitted to having used a Crown credit card for personal expenditure, but assured the public that he had reimbursed the Crown in full for the expenditure. Later that day Jones admitted that he had used the card to hire pornographic films at hotels while on ministerial business.[11] The credit card record showed that he chartered an executive jet for $1200, which he claimed was due to bad weather which forced a change in his schedule.[12]”
I think Shane watching porn was bloody awlful as well. Worse than Simon.
Jones didn’t win the Labour leadership battle, Cunliffe did and Robertson came second. A lot of feminist women in the Labour Party, and I don’t imagine many voting for Jonsie.
As for whether he’ll continue former leader John Key’s tradition of sending wine with his Christmas cards, Mr Bridges said he wasn’t “quite in that league”.
“You know, it’s lucky for some, isn’t it? Vineyards in the south.”
Now there’s the envy of the rich that National are always going on about.
I’d agree with “the envy of the rich that National are always going on about”. I don’t think it exists as much as those who are motivated by possessions would say.
Who really wants a vineyard in the south? Just as I didn’t detect envy in what Bridges said. I thought I heard instead a rather gentle jibe at John Key.
I did listen, rather than read the transcript. I certainly am not going out of my way to defend the captain of the NCC, but the video ref might find him not out with the benefit of the doubt on this one. 🙂
I’m rather struck by this Joe Hildebrand essay. As with any political opinion piece I understand not everyone will agree with everything being said here; but on my first read I bookmarked it and came back later for another pass at it.
It’s not long:
Now I am certainly no slave to Western ideology, if only because the whole point of Western liberal democracy is that it is not an ideology — it is merely a framework. A framework that allows people to choose their own governments, be judged fairly by their peers and have their individual freedoms respected and protected. A framework that allows nations to oscillate between capitalism and socialism if they so choose but only when they so choose. A framework that doesn’t just tolerate dissent but celebrates it. A framework that isn’t imposed from the top down but has evolved organically over centuries and millennia in republics and constitutional monarchies alike, from Sweden to Switzerland, from the United Kingdom to the United States.
A framework that allows people to choose their own governments
And there in lies the problem with Western liberal democracy.
How about, instead of electing people to govern us and to tell us what to do and why we can’t have what’s actually needed we stand up and govern ourselves?
Maybe then we’ll be able to stop the failings of dictators be they ever so democratically elected.
No dictated orthodoxy, just peoples across the world independently choosing the freedom to choose.
Representative democracy doesn’t allow us the choice. It empowers a few to have that choice and they’re the ones that are implementing policies that don’t work. Policies that are designed by the businesses and corporations for their own benefit.
Ironically it was these common democratic values and freedoms that led to the European Union in the first place
Yes it was.
Question: Did the people of Europe actually have a say in the creation of the EU or was it all driven from the top?
When its values are exported not walled up.
The only ‘Western’ values that have been exported are those of exploitation and theft so it really shouldn’t be surprising that the rest of the world views our stated values with scepticism.
And the West works best when ideas are debated, not denounced. When speech is free and frank, not criminalised and condemned.
A framework that allows people to choose their own governments, be judged fairly by their peers and have their individual freedoms respected and protected…
Yeah, and its a friggin disaster unless you have a well educated, scientifically literate middle class. That took centuries to happen in the West. And it was helped along by enormous amounts of wealth looted from the non-Western world, that enabled the elites to trickle some down to their own downtrodden to keep them just happy and educated enough to serve the cause of empire.
Nowhere in the developing world has so called ‘democracy’ worked well. It has only worked well in countries after they became wealthy, and not before.
Case in point is India vs China. What country has performed better on almost all indices of economic growth, literacy, human happiness, life expectancy, and social well being? Google it.
Of course the West loves to thrust ‘democracy’ prematurely on shit-holes around the world – in order that they remain feudal disorganized shit-holes ripe for exploitation. The West fears most those strong secular states that adopt modern science and technology, eschew backward feudal superstitions, and who can stand up to the West. That is why the West supports the Syrian opposition. That is why they hate China, and love India.
That is, the West fears most those who adopt the scientific method first developed in the West, in order to stand up to the West.
“Justice Winkelmann will replace retiring Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, who is leaving the role in March next year, having reached the compulsory retirement age of 70 for judges.”
What a pity USA didn’t retire their Supreme Court Judges at 70.
Thousands of enraged demonstrators, during the fourth night of angry protests over the past week, marched to the headquarters of Hungarian state television in Óbuda, in the hope that the taxpayer-funded Fidesz propaganda machine that pretends to be a public broadcaster would allow for the demands of the opposition to be read on air.
[…]
Remarkably, but not surprisingly, the taxpayer-funded television station refused to give air time to ten democratically elected Hungarian MP’s who wanted to read the following in a live broadcast:
Rescinding the so-called “slave law” (overtime law)
Decrease required overtime hours for police officers
The end of Fidesz-run separate courts
Hungary must join the European Prosecutor’s Office
A non-partisan, independent state broadcaster. The immediate firing of Dániel Papp from the leadership of the state broadcaster.
Meanwhile shortly before 23:00 Budapest time, MP’s still inside the public broadcasters headquarters called on all 66 opposition MP’s to come to the headquarters as well. At the same time, police used tear gas against the first line of demonstrators, while a growing number of protesters called for a push towards storming the building.
Maybe if government passed down the word to judges to start sending people who do violent acts to prison, if parole had to be earned rather than given, if multiple acts of crimes were added up then maybe we might be able to start having a talk but if government won’t even take violent seriously then is it any surprise men think they can get away with it, especially when society (in the form of government) allows them to
No, send them to prison then they arn’t out on the streets. Send them to prison and the message from the state is violence won’t be tolerated. Send them to prison and make parole dependent on rehab and training.
Making parole hard to get is silly. Parole allows for monitoring and conditions once the person has been released with the hope of better re-integration. If they complete their full sentence then the state has no strings on them whatsoever.
The principle of justice involved is that once you have served your sentence then you have paid your debt to society. Being a fanboy for Collins though i can see why you wouldn’t care about human rights.
Did you not see this part: “parole dependent on rehab and training.”
Its not out of sight out of mind but it is protecting society from these people and encouraging them to make something of their lives while incarcerated
I just can’t see how, on one hand, we want to stop violence towards women yet instead of keeping society safe, for a little while, we let them out
Someone attacks a cop and they get home detention, what message does that send
I find it disgusting that a tiny % of men commit violence against both women and men.
The vast majority of women is behind closed doors and curtains, by their partners, basically because they are scum and know full well it’s wrong, so it isn’t exactly on display
The fact that I am a male doesn’t make me somehow culpable or colluding in it.
And to say that it is somehow down to just men to fix it all, because they happen to be the same sex is dumb
Given the most likely people to know about this shit is the abused friends I would think it is extremely stupid to think that it is just men that should be highlighted to call it out.
I was at the vigil for grace and found the talk of toxic masculinity unhelpful, even though I am a feminist.
We have to understand who these violent offenders are so we have a better chance of doing something to change it.
Most men who are physically violent have come from abusive backgrounds and have personality disorders such as anti social, boarderline or narcissistic. They are often substance abusers.
On a completely personal level when I was a much younger woman I worked with some really sexist men. But I felt completely safe with them and they never crossed a boundary, although they may have held a door open for me.
I have also come across progressive men who support feminist causes who I felt emotionally abused by.
It is a psychological approach we need to apply to solve the problem. Not a social/cultural one
A big part of the problem is cultural. Culture is a system of shared meaning. We have some particularly toxic male culture in this country. The only way to change something shared is collectively.
“men thinking they can hurt, rape and murder”.
The men might not be thinking. “The failure of “top-down” control systems in the prefrontal cortex to modulate aggressive acts that are triggered by anger provoking stimuli appears to play an important role.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176893/
“Make part of release conditions monitoring, education, training, whatever for people who commit crimes of violence”. Is there good evidence this affects the top-down control systems ?
Good comment.
The development of humans in the animal behavours sense didn’t automatically become extinct due to the near instant developement of modern society.
Oxytocin and Vasopressin biology in regards to some DV and some sex crimes is very interesting, and an eye opener for people who have experienced how biology controls behavours, but never could explain things due to the social construct that everything we do is intentional.
Actually the evidence is pretty discouraging in terms of what works with treatment for violent offenders.
Solka I honestly do appreciate your contribution on the standard but I have to disagree with you about changing toxic male culture. Of course it is a good idea to do that but I don’t believe it addresses the problem of violent male offenders and the research that teaching these men to respect women more shows it to be a very weak intervention
And they blame the indigenous people for this – bloody kali yuga. The Amazon is under so many threats it is scary.
“Approximately 8,000 barrels of crude oil have spilled into the Amazon, and the Peru State oil company Petroperu says its because local indigenous people severed the pipeline. According to a company statement, members of the Mayuriaga community in the Loreto region first damaged the pipeline and then interfered with the technicians trying to repair it.”
WHO in the hell cranked Trotter up. To be fair I find it difficult to read his murmuring but the comments left me gob smacked. Someone advised Prime Minister Ardern to “open your eyes my love” Really!!.
I think your problem is that you can’t handle long-form journalism, ie more than 50 words!
This is interesting from a WMLB: That the organised criminals controlling the New Zealand drug trade – especially the scourge of methamphetamine – are, overwhelmingly, wealthy Pakeha, is a fact too frightening for their middle-class neighbours to acknowledge. https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-salvation-armys-latest-report.html
Could it be that this sort of finger-pointing comes uncomfortably close to such as you?
I think your problem is that you are an over-active vinegarish critic lacking sufficient humour to be effective. Having a lemon drink every day seems quite good for cleaning the tubes, but it is even better with a spot of honey.
Open Mike this morning? 18/12
I wonder if after this helpful New Zealander was helping in Australia with clearing a track, that politicians might remember how we have been a big part of their advancement and are no more prone to criminality than they are. After all Ned Kelly is one of their heroes. Please stop hating Kiwis and treating us as 4th class citizens – and let our people go and stay. You know what I mean!
There you go some of our Aotearoa sea food is like gold over seas MPI need to be vigilant and the public need to dob in people rading our fisheries and fishes
The Ministry for Primary Industries said it was at least the sixth occasion in the last five years that overseas crew from merchant ships had been caught breaking fishing rules during a stopover in Bluff.
This was despite the ministry providing crew members with the rules around the legal take and size limit of shellfish.
Ministry spokesman Garreth Jay said the most recent incident in November involved four crew members who were caught near Ocean Beach at Bluff with a total of 91 black foot pāua, 82 of which were undersized, and 42 yellow foot pāua, of which 26 were undersized. Link Below ka kite ano . P.S We do want the mokopunas to experince the joys of gathering sea food.
Eco Maori tau toko Vanuatu action to sue big carbon companys who are burning OUR future mokopunas right to a happy healthy future
Vanuatu threatens to sue biggest carbon energy producers The power of the courts
If Vanuatu sues it will add to a growing trend of climate change litigation.
Before 2014, only 12 countries had climate law suits — by March 2017, nearly 900 such cases had been filed in 24 countries, according to the UN Environment Programme.
“There’s just a tremendous urgency to take action now, so environmental groups, citizens, states and cities are taking to the courts to try and force action,” says Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
The majority of climate change lawsuits have been filed in the US.
“Governments are almost always the defendants in climate change cases,” according to a 2017 UN Environment global review of climate change litigation.
In 2015, activist group Our Children’s Trust filed a law suit in the state of Oregon against the federal government. “I am suing the US government for taking direct action that puts my generation disproportionately at risk from climate change, and violating my constitutional rights to life, liberty and property,” Vic Barrett, a 19-year-old American university student and member of Our Children’s Trust, told CNN at the COP24 climate talks.
That year, attorneys for the federal government filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Among the defense’s arguments were that the law suit “presents a generalized attack on government action and inaction regarding climate change, rather than a challenge to specifically identifiable violations of law that can be concretely rectified by a favorable decision.” Links below ka kite ano
Aftre shonky and his money men m8 joyce have inplanted the culture of Tangata /People are just some thing to siphon profts off who cares if there actions cause great stress and harm even death. 1 Winz 2 ACC 3 Housing Corp 4 Justice System 5 Health system 6 Education System 7 Maori wealth has dived under 9 years of his corporate way of running Aotearoa. All of these have put millions of people in hardship and stress I know Eco Maori is still being treated like DIRT NOW my UTU will be REKA.
ACC spying: ‘It’s nothing less than warfare’
At some point somebody with intelligence needs to stand back and say this is crazy. This is insane, we’re spending all this money and the guy is mad as hell – what do we need to do to fix this?”
As for Stryder, his war with ACC continues. To date, he has had 16 reviews of ACC decisions and applied to appeal three review decisions in the district court. He has been barred from communications with ACC case managers and trespassed from dispute resolution service Fairway Resolution Limited premises That kind of figure is made up … it’s not a hard figure, it’s speculative.”
Sara said ACC needed to learn how to better deal with people like Stryder.
“Like a number of people who have had unhappy dealings with ACC, they get mad as hell and that can lead to … nothing less than warfare.”
ACC defended the figure, saying the value of its integrity unit “intervention” was calculated based on claim history modelling.
In the financial year to June, ACC made 802,099 payments totalling $131m for medical assessments.
ACC used lawyers for about 10 per cent of review hearings due to “legal complexity, the precedence value of the issue, indications the client intends to progress the matter to court, and the workload of our people”.
Sara said hiring lawyers for reviews only inflamed the situation and put claimants in an unfair position.
“Once you’ve got a lawyer involved, every case has to have a lawyer.The financial stress, severe back pain, insomnia and challenging of ACC caused his marriage to break down and he suffered from anxiety and depression, he said.
“I hate it when ACC don’t believe you. I’m going to have to keep battling with them; I believe it’s totally criminal behaviour.”
ACC BY THE NUMBERS*:
1.98 million new claims received
79,648 new weekly compensation claims received
$69m – spending on injury prevention
$1.7m – spending on treatment and emergency travel
$740m – spending on care and support
$1.48m – spending on financial compensation and vocational rehabilitation
$740m – spending on operating costs
$40 billion – size of ACC’s investment portfolio to cover future claims
$3.5m – amount ACC earned in interest on its investment
99,500 – number of claims declined annually (disputed by some lawyers and advocates who say the figure could be as high as 300,000)
7616 – number of applications for reviews of ACC claim decisions*
$12.2m – spending on review services to FairWay Resolution**
(Source: ACC Annual Report 2018 and ACC Media Adviser)
* For the financial year to June 2018
** For the financial year to June 2017. links below ka kite ano
Eco Maori could see that wahine and maori have been getting a underarm bowl as of late. I tau toko Cliff Curtis word’s as I have seen maori diserpear off Aotearoa screen quite quickly in the last decade I have voiced my concerns on this Phenomenon.
Its is also Very good that Nga puhi iwi are calling for more wahine to be involved in there treaty settlement process I will not com anymore on there settlement as Eco Maori does not know the facts and my Iwi is were I should & will put my nose in
Cliff Curtis calls for women, Māori leadership in NZ film industry
He said he formed Whenua Films with directors, Taika Waititi and Ainsley Gardiner, because the Māori film industry was going through a pretty rough time.
“Māori content could not get through the funding agencies, could not get through the broadcasters, could not get through the distributors unless we had somebody above us, and literally speaking we looked above us [and] there weren’t any Māori. We were it.
“If you have Māori content that you are exploring, and you are exploiting … whether it be a character or whether it be an aspect of your content, then partner with Māori.
Ka kite ano links below
Kia ora Newshub Paddy many thanks for the story of tompson and clark for spying on kiwis and IWI to what a big mess I wont say it Paddy. The imagration process is getting some checks and balances to stop employers ripping employes off the problem I have is money was good Dairyfarming and there were quite a few maori in dairy farming a few years back as we love working on the whenua .Now the money is crap and maori have been pushed out of dairyfarming show me how many maori dairy farmers made it into share milking not many if any because shonky flooded the dairyfarm workers market with Immigrints.
That development in Coromandale will lift the prospects of the locals E hoa one has to rembmer to be tact full so as not to put some peoples nose out of joint Eco want’s to our maori leaders in power a long time ka pai.
Yes Mike and Samatha Eco Maori is very pleased that national is not in power we would have never been able to roll them out if they had another term with the tec they would have had at the finger tip’s to con people into beleving them/vote for them
Lloyd Megen is a strong kind wahaine who see the big picture all the best to Harry and Megen. I did see the story on Nigella Lawson letting the TV networks know that air brushing her pictures is not on as it put a fulse image of her out there and puts a lot of pressure on some wahine to starve them selves to look slim .
I would like to try a cut of that wagyu Japanese beef cow they have to be treated like a pet lamp to get the best out of them they get the best treatment in Japan.
Ka kite ano
The worms will live in every hostIt's hard to pick which one they eat the mostThe horrible people, the horrible peopleIt's as anatomic as the size of your steepleCapitalism has made it this wayOld-fashioned fascism will take it awaySongwriter: Twiggy Ramirez Read more ...
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are we heading ...
So the Solstice has arrived – Summer in this part of the world, Winter for the Northern Hemisphere. And with it, the publication my new Norse dark-fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens at Eternal Haunted Summer: https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2024/as-our-power-lessens/ As previously noted, this one is very ‘wyrd’, and Northern Theory of Courage. ...
The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
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Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
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AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Kiwis planning a swim or heading out on a boat this summer should remember to stop and think about water safety, Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop and ACC and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers are some of the most beautiful in the ...
The Government is urging Kiwis to drive safely this summer and reminding motorists that Police will be out in force to enforce the road rules, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This time of year can be stressful and result in poor decision-making on our roads. Whether you are travelling to see ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
By Emma Andrews, Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Intern at RNZ News The New Zealand fuel company Z Energy is swapping out street names for “correct” kupu on service stops around the country, with the help of local hapū. When Z took over 226 fuel sites from Shell in 2010, ...
Summer reissue: Was it a false measurement, a full-blown conspiracy or just some mild incompetence? Mad Chapman uncovers the truth of Maddi Wesche’s final throw. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Dmitry Chulov, Shutterstock At this time of year, images of reindeer are everywhere. I’ve had a soft spot for reindeer ever since I was a little girl. Doesn’t everyone? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grozdana Manalo, Career Services Manager (Education), University of Sydney hedgehog94/Shutterstock Getting casual work over summer, or a part-time job that you might continue once your tertiary course starts, can be a great way to get workplace experience and earn some extra ...
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The NZ Media Council upheld the complaint under principle four: comment and fact On 5 September 2024, The Spinoff published a brief article titled Made in Palestine, found in 1970s Hastings, which highlighted an upcoming art exhibition featuring photographs of vintage cosmetic products labelled “Made in Palestine.” The piece, described ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University We are well and truly in cricket season. The Australian men’s cricket team is taking centre stage against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series while the Big Bash League is underway, as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Woods, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University FTiare/Shutterstock Summer is here and for many that means going to the beach. You grab your swimmers, beach towel and sunscreen then maybe check the weather forecast. Did you think to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia Dean Clarke/Shutterstock The holiday season can be a time of joy, celebration, and indulgence in delicious foods and meals. However, for many, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Late Night With The Devil. Maslow Entertainment Marketing is critical to the success of commercial films, and companies will often spend half as much again on top of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Jose Testa, Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Mineralogy, Petrology & Geochemistry), University of Tasmania The Conversation As a kid, it was tough for me to grasp the massive time scale of Earth’s history. Now, with nearly two decades of experience as ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
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The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
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The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
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The news media uses emotive language and quotation marks to take a side in a story, as opposed to reporting the news..
This is how they report action by animal activists to highlight animal welfare issues at a sea park in Australia.
“Distressed parents were forced to take their children from theme park shows after protesters refused to leave and labelled them “disgusting”.
Fun family days out across the weekend have turned ugly as “peaceful” protesters storm Gold Coast theme parks.
Demonstrators who targeted several amusement parks held their hands up in peace signs, despite the situation becoming quite violent.
Dozens of children were forced to watch distressing situations at Sea World on Saturday after the group, Justice for Captives, refused to get out of the water until its famous dolphin show was stopped.”
The vocabulary used sets the scene ….’distressed parents’ , ‘disgusting protesters’,
Speech marks are used to describe the protesters are peaceful to undermine that claim, reinforced by the used of verbs like ‘storm’, ‘forced’ and adjectives like ‘ugly and voilent’
The reporter should continue. Make it really clear whose side you take.
Just another example brought to you to prove the corporate media sucks.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12177949
Is this dolphin under a lot of stress and duress ….???
Would that Dolphin prefer to live in the Ocean … or little concrete pens ?.
The test would be to allow the Dolphins access to the sea …
If they’d stay to do tricks for Sardines …. that would show them to be content and happy … But we all know they’d leave if not held captive.
In reality they are providing a high octane monkeys tea party…. an aquatic zoo where the animals do tricks for us.
In my younger days, I worked for several weeks on Hamilton Island, and one of the jobs there was at the Dolphin Restaurant. A restaurant near the sea, surrounded by a concrete pool that held three dolphins.
It was sad to see those animals in such a artificial, enclosed environment, even though their keepers treated them with affection that ‘seemed’ to be returned. While I was there, one of the females just became listless and died.
After I left – I heard the dolphins pool was closed down, but that memory of those huge mammals kept in such a confined area to provide a living, backdrop for the restaurant patrons has stayed with me.
The journalist who wrote this piece is one Stephanie Bedo, a senior journalist, who, apparently..
“..has won awards for her health reporting and admits to being a bit of a science nerd, particularly when it comes to animal stories that often only she is excited about.”
She is “good” at making a clear “distinction” between “animal abuse” (bad) and “animal abuse” in the name of “entertainment” (good).
She is also a “chronic” uses of “inverted” commas.
Ignore her and she might just go away.
And then they deliver quality, intellectually rigorous gems like this
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/109405675/if-national-is-dog-whistling-on-migration-others-have-too
Bit like this twit, really:
“His views are backed up by some eyewitnesses to the parade. One parent told Newshub the Māori Santa left children stunned and in tears.
“All these kids were dumbstruck really, you could hear the ‘that’s not Santa’,” she told Newshub.
“Our six-year-old son burst into tears after the video finished. We had to explain to him that Santa was running late.”
Garner blamed some “PC wally” and “woolly woofter” for the “stupid decision by Nelson”.
I have a feeling he could be the one left feeling like a “wally” though – lol
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109291323/mori-santa-from-nelson-parade-coming-to-wellington
Right on Ed. Not only are the majority of humans ignorant they are also plain dumb!
The dumbing down of the masses is working as intended.
I worry about the crayfish 🙁
Is your worry in relation to this article?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12177804
“A conservation group is calling for a total fishing ban for crayfish in the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty as the population “collapses towards extinction”.
Forest & Bird is calling for the wider Hauraki Gulf to Bay of Plenty crayfishing area (known as CRA2) to be closed for three years to allow the species to start recovering.
“The wider Hauraki Gulf to Bay of Plenty crayfish population has undergone a significant decline,” Forest & Bird marine conservation advocate Katrina Goddard said.
“Without an urgent end to fishing pressure, crayfish could become functionally extinct throughout the entire area within a few years.” ….”
Considering the state of our QMS and thus the unknown state of our fisheries
we should probably be considering either an outright ban on all fishing for 20 years or at least a serious decrease on commercial fishing by only allowing fish caught in NZ controlled waters to be sold in NZ.
if we go down that path could we first have words with the like of Ngati Kahungunu who insist on allowing the D’Esposito Brothers fishing rights?? I’m not sure of the total charges the D’Esposito’s and their various companies have attracted over the years, but it’s well over the hundreds. Infact Ngati Kahungunu (and Waikato Tainui) only concern seems to be the possible loss of jobs.
Then again, who can blame them for not taking overfishing seriously. The D’Espositos simply turn up in court, year after year, facing the same charges, paying the fines with their ill gotten gains, and continue on their merry way.
Restricting to NZ fishing companies only makes sense if we create bigger penalties for repeat, flagrant, breaking of the law. Otherwise we are kidding ourselves.
Just a random sample..
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/08/inside-mpi-s-2-5m-fishing-investigation.html
https://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/ngati-kahungunu-chair-concerned-jobs-after-fisheries-raid
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/72827811/null
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/100241472/fisheries-trial-ends-abruptly-after-seven-months-with-guilty-pleas-entered-to-122-charges
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/104888202/hawkes-bay-fishing-company-and-directors-back-before-court-to-be-convicted
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business-around-new-zealand/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503701&objectid=11333980
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11627567
Agreed. If a company breaks the law it should be nationalised and then sold. The previous owners should keep the debt that the company had built up as well as being fined in the millions of dollars. Limited liability should not exist.
That said, I didn’t actually say that the fishing be restricted to NZ companies. I said that the fish caught could only be sold in NZ. I suspect that foreign companies wouldn’t bother.
And, yes, I’m quite aware that many Iwi are standing in the way of what we need to do to protect the environment. Just have to look at their whinging about the Kermadec fish sanctuary to see that.
“And, yes, I’m quite aware that many Iwi are standing in the way of what we need to do to protect the environment. Just have to look at their whinging about the Kermadec fish sanctuary to see that.”
If the Iwi (or any other group) conflict with what we need to do to protect the environment than they need to change.
They don’t seem willing to as doing so gets in the way of their profits.
Hard for Kahungungu to complain when some of them were apparently travelling with the brothers to Greece during the court case. Family over there also wonder about who was benefitting from the back door sales over the years this was going on. Would have been much more interesting if the court case proceeded.
Still they did conveniently have a track to get upset about to take attention away.
“we should probably be considering either an outright ban on all fishing for 20 years ”
Do you mean just in NZ or worldwide? If you mean worldwide then you’ll run into problems because in some developing nations (and other western nations but it isn’t really a problem for Western Nations) fish make up a huge percentage of their protein. You’d need to introduce an alternative…Soylent Green?
The thread was about NZ fisheries.
That said, considering that fish stocks are collapsing worldwide I suspect that those nations, which does include Developed Nations, that are dependent upon fish to feed themselves are in for a world of hurt.
Yes I share your concern about the collapse of ecosystems.
It’s not that far off either….I have a young daughter and I am saddened by the idea she might grow up in a world where there are no tigers or Rhinos or….everything
I think it was a Standard poster who provided a link and put me onto this morbidly fascinating website
https://ejatlas.org/
The website features an atlas showing some large sites and locations in countries around the world …. these locations are where exploitation, corruption, pollution and environmental destruction … and various other bad things are taking place.
New Zealand is lightly ….. and under-represented
https://ejatlas.org/country/new-zealand
A couple of examples missing from the New zealand would be the 80% non compliant swamp Kauri smash and grab industry … with Judith collins connections providing the gps google earth location.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B052'06.7%22S+174%C2%B027'55.2%22E/@-35.868539,174.4647718,119m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x6d0c84ab7cf51103:0x500ef6143a30170!2sRuakaka!3b1!8m2!3d-35.9063963!4d174.4471293!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d-35.8685388!4d174.4653194
Another example of greed and destruction could be the forestry operators behind our recent Lumber Lahars ….that rooted Tolaga bay https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/04-07-2018/satellite-images-tell-the-story-of-tolaga-bays-forestry-disaster/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/109025916/prosecutions-over-floodtriggered-logging-debris-on-east-coast
“The Malaysian owner of a forestry company blamed for tonnes of debris washing up in Tolaga Bay has been fined twice for illegal logging overseas, but it took the Overseas Investment Office nine years to realise.” https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/366868/tolaga-bay-forestry-company-s-illegal-logging-history-revealed
And I’m sure there are many more sites around NZ where destruction, pollution, poisoning and exploitation of our Land and resources has taken place.
We could probably include most of Canterbury …. with dairying destroying freshwater resources.
The old Dow site in Taranaki … which is still poisoning its surrounds
The Waihi open pit mine
etc etc
I’m going to write up and submit The swamp kauri looting …. with a special mention for Judith Collins … who hates wetlands.
There is still loads of ‘slash’ from forestry that was washed down the Motueka valley during Gita. They cleared the roads, but crikey there’s a heap of wood in the dry parts of the river bed.
Fustrating to see it still sitting there. So I loaded up some logs, took them home, whipped out the chainsaw and hello free firewood.
Not sure if it’s legal or not, pretty legal maybe? It’s been almost a year now, maybe they were waiting for the locals to pick it up for fire wood as it’s not on private property?
It’ll be legal. If it’s been a year and nothing has been done about it, chances are it’s been abandoned and therefore free for the taking.
Unless the council has passed a resolution of some kind taking ownership or otherwise
“I’m going to write up and submit The swamp kauri looting …. with a special mention for Judith Collins … who hates wetlands .”
Pucky!
Was Judith on your list of Blue-Green Environmental Champions?
You better fly to her defence!
Paul Goldsmith’s car crash interview on RNZ.
Just a tiny bit of preparation by Guyon had Goldsmith talking utter garbage.
Amazing how many politicians who can’t cope when they are forced off their mantra.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018675894/the-government-is-focusing-solely-on-safety-national
Yes. Heard that. Should we take Goldsmith seriously or is he just a yapping Peke?
Too many cars (and big trucks) and not enough road, somethings got to give.
As one who travels to Whangarei quite a bit (work related), it is a tricky road. It has way more traffic than 10 years ago. It would be hugely safer if it was 4 lane. Same with Katikati to Tauranga.
But this govt hates the idea of 4 lanes, so we get band aid solutions.
Now obviously not all of dangerous roads have enough traffic to justify 4 lanning but the two I mentioned certainly do.
So yes, some parts of the Labour/Green plan are sensible, but their complete opposition to any new 4 lanes roads is foolish.
Personally I thought Paul did quite ok, though he did get sidetracked at one point.
Doubt it especially when I take into account that you’re talking anecdotes and are ideologically in favour of more cars despite the evidence showing that we can’t afford the ones that we have.
It’s not the government that hates it – it’s reality.
Actually, rail would be better especially if it was electric. Increase freight and safety while being cheaper, faster and more ecologically sound.
No, it’s National’s desire to coat the entire country in roads that is foolish as it goes against all the evidence.
Draco,
You could not be more wrong even if you tried.
The 4 lane roads, especially the newer ones are by far the safest roads in the country. Not just anecdotal, actual fact.
As for 4 lanning well there is no doubt complete ideological opposition from the left, even for the blindingly obvious projects (Dome valley). Fortunately countered from the right. So at least when National is govt, they get built (though opened by Jacinda). Just as National will get to open the light rail-the northwest one is good, the Dominion Rd not so. Light rail should also go into the Southeast (Tamaki, Pakuranga, etc) and to North Shore.
So the next National govt will build the next set of motorways, to be opened by the Labour PM who follows Jacinda, who is possibly not yet in Parliament.
It’s not ideology – it’s reality. The stuff that National ignores because it doesn’t conform with their beliefs. We really can’t afford cars and so we can’t afford four lane roads.
Of course they will as they’re fully opposed to reality.
Yes well any road is going to be safer with 2 lanes rather than one… Would the astronomical build cost meet any sort of sane business cost ratio like pretty much all of the Nats other Roads of National significance? I doubt it. Two laning doesn’t solve traffic jams either as they don’t eliminate choke points, in fact they’re likely to make them worse by bringing more traffic into them.
With fluctuating fuel prices and declining world oil reserves does it make any sense to build new roading infrastructure? Don’t think so. It is possible to make roads safer without having to double the road width. This is what the Government are actually doing right now.
For the next 100 years or more, (probably more like 200 years or more) roads will be the main transport system in NZ. Roads have been a key land transport system for literally thousands of years going back to Roman times. It will not remain with fossil fuel engines. Electric and hydrogen will be the main power source.
There is zero prospect that rail could ever be dense enough in NZ to replace the majority of land transport. Even if rail quadrupled in the next few years, it would still be moving way less freight than road.
It would take a fantastic new, energy dense system to replace roads (magnetic levitation or something similar). But that requires power at multiple levels of what we currently use.
Only if we allow the delusional idiots at National to control everything.
Have you ever considered why rail is still in use today?
It’s because its far more economic than cars and trucks.
https://grist.org/article/freight-trains-19th-century-technology-due-for-a-21st-century-revival/
And we have the perverse subsidies mentioned in that article as well. If trucks actually paid their way they’d be out of business.
In NZ we have one other form of transport available that’s also more efficient than roads – ships.
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/497/docs/497.pdf
The only reason why trucking freight by road even exists in this country is because of those perverse incentives that I mentioned.
Flat bed rail carriages , drive on enjoy the trip, a meal the view, drive off. Rail to the airport, allow tourist easy access to rural tourist hubs and hire their campers and cars from there. Travellers, sales and business, use rail and hire ev’s. In 200 yrs the northern motor way is under 20 mtr of water, so it will be barges and ferry.
It’s a shame then @ Wayne that the short-sighted, vision-less of planners over the years have chosen to close down, or mothball the network we once had.
Just imagine the commuter rail and freight forwarding capability we might have had.
(For example, by now):
-Dunedin could have had an earport ta ciddy rail transit system, and even an alternative means to the burbs along the way and further north
-Christ’s Church could have had a commuter system from Lyttleton to points north, and from the outliers like Rolleston to the city
-Gisborne wouldn’t be worrying about its limitations – by now it’d have had a link between Matawai and Opotiki and onward to Tearonga, or that “choice’ to go southward
Living in Stratford or Eltham and working in the Plym might be viable.
Instead, that Auckland/Hamilton/Tauranga triangle is now seen as some sort of HUGE deal in terms of being able to furnish it with commuter and freight rail – let alone a fucking commuter & freight system to the Auckland REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL Earport
And then there’s the south…..the system came close to linking the Queens town with Dunners
You do realise (I sincerely hope) that current transport arrangements are not sustainable long term ( and I don’t mean just because there might be some pretty bloody suspect truck/trailer linkages on the road, or because we can’t attract enough slaves to drive them before driver-less trucks become viable – probably not in my loiftoim)
Oh, and btw, you did another of your spray and walkaway acts the other day
Wayne have you heard of climate change?
Did you listen to Greta’s speech at COP?
Building more roads as we head to climate catastrophe- that’s a plan!!
You are assuming all future land transport will use fossil fuel engines. It won’t.
Electric and hydrogen will become the norm. But the vehicles still have to go over something. They are roads, just as horses and carts had to also use roads.
Have you considered that we can’t afford the roads due to the environmental damage that the roads do/cause?
He hasn’t , I sense.
Most people in NZ need roads because they lack the skills to survive without them, forgetting that our ancestors travelled mainly on foot. You won’t be the only one driving out of town on business. We could organise our communities so we didn’t need to, but there’s no incentive because road transport is affordable and people are hooked on driving. Why not walk to your workplace, work from home, teleconference if necessary ?
Climate change tells us that individual road transport is no longer affordable as it is.
The problem is that our entire economy has become based upon that unaffordable mode of transport. It’s what happens when externalities aren’t taken into account and become a massive subsidy to the manufacturers.
Even if/when cars/trucks go electric they mat still not be affordable because of the environmental damage caused by roads and the lack of resources needed to get everybody a car.
So, considering that we can’t actually afford cars/trucks then we must consider that we’re paid too much, that costs aren’t properly attributed or a combination of both.
why would everybody need a car? I can’t wait for CaaS.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore?
Car as a Service.
Won’t work as you expect.
Either there won’t be enough at peak times or we’ll still have congestion.
It’ll work outside of peak times when a reliable average can be determined.
For peak times there’s going to have to be public transport and as soon as there’s reliable public transport then CaaS doesn’t work again.
BTW, taxis are CaaS.
Well, public transport is CaaS too, it’s just inconvenient. I have to get to where the vehicle is, at the time when the vehicle is there.
My dream: the electric autonomous vehicle turns up when and where I need it because Big Data knows that’s when I need it. Maybe shared with other passengers for efficiency.
Does have the benefit of being economical and workable.
Which is a dream that is both uneconomic and unworkable.
It’s here now.
It’s called Uber. Comes with a driver and everything.
It’s brilliant.
I protested Uber on Saturday night. The wife and boy used it but I and the girl walked the 2km home instead. Everyone was happy.
“But this govt hates the idea of 4 lanes” Comments like this remove any credibility to the rest of your comment. Perhaps this Government is just looking at get more Bang for it’s Buck (or less Bangs as the case may be) rather than spend more on your two favoured stretches of road.
However the reality is that they do hate 4 lane roads, especially the Green MPs. They have said so many, many times.
Just about the very first action of this government was to cancel every single 4 lane road that had not actually beeen started. Ideology was the reason.
[citation needed]
The reason why they were cancelled was because they were uneconomical.
You’re saying this to someone who has to drive across a One Lane bridge on SH1 cancelled by Simon Bridges after promising double lanes. Your feeble attack on this Government holds no validity.
4 lane roads aren’t safer because they’re 4 lanes.
In modern cars most people die because they hit something solid like a tree, lamp-post, collide with oncoming traffic or T-Bone someone. Motorways are safer because oncoming traffic and trees etc are on the other side of barriers. Colliding with a vehicle travelling the same way as us is rarely fatal.
We don’t need 4 lanes just safe merging, passing lanes where easy done and barriers both sides and middle of a largely 2-lane road.
When so many are dying on our roads each year, I think the right thing to do is to make them safer and put off the luxury of 4 lane Interstate stylings for the time being. 4 lanes through the Aussie interior, no worries cobber, punching them through our mountainous, ravine ridden landscape, jolly expensive.
Wayne Wayne Wayne possum. This government doesn’t hate the idea of 4 lanes.
It just realises that there has been an under-investment over many years and it’s trying to deal with the basics (based on research) before it goes for the luxuries you think you’re entitled to.
Your gorgeous spokesman couldn’t have made that more clear this morning on Moaning Report, however in doing so, he came across as a complete egg roll and showed exactly where he places human life over convenience.
Oh, and btw, hopefully they’ll realise that there are other alternatives before we get to the 4 lane option becoming necessary.
Apparently you see no problem with placing emphasis on four lanes so that the world’s ‘best drivers’ – no doubt including yourself can text whilst driving, tailgate, merge like it is some sort of competition, put driving on auto, etc. with less risk
Train.
Just responding to a couple of articles about Grace Millane on open mike yesterday, one by Alison mau and one from Paul little. The Gus of these articles was that we care more about grace, because she was white, young and pretty. In Alison attempt to highlight this she quotes some studies (although no references given) which is useful information, then travels to south Auckland to a street where a woman was murdered, the day or so before. There is a blanket ban and name suppression around this case, but that didn’t stop Alison.
I found her article and indeed all comments about we only care about grace because she was pretty, in very poor taste at this time. I hope none of her extended family see them while they are grieving.
A crucial reason that people got so involved in grace tragic story, was initially a missing person. So we followed that story and hoped like hell she’d be found. And or course we experienced a roller coaster of emotion, right through to the bitter end. And it was a bit like the story of the Thai cave boys. Who would have clocked that story if the were missing foe a few hours then res used.
I am not denying what ms mau says about white pretty woman getting more publicity. That is not going to solve our problem though. I am going to pause now and will write about going to the vigil and my experience about that, and getting real about solving this problem ie what research tells us about these perpetrators and why slogans grandstanding isn’t going to change things
That is not going to solve our problem though
Just so we’re all clear, what problem is that?
Our problem is the significant levels of domestic violence and the homicides that occur, even though the rate is dropping.
Hell week is this week for retail and service sector workers. Under appreciated and sometimes not understood, have a thought for the people who ensure you can get your Christmas shopping done. Not all do.
What a load of rubbish, It’s only a hell week if you tell yourself it’s a hell week, your just busy and it’s work,
Just mind over matter eh Wildebeest? You don’t mind and no one else matters.
Indeed, good manners, courtesy, Larry Davids golden rule “do unto others…”, retail = underpaid!
Have you worked in the retail or service sectors?
I currently work in the service sector and did 7.5 years (6 years part time; 1.5 full)from 2001-2008 in a supermarket.
I could tell you a few stories. Think you know? Try working in the sector first.
Good article about seeds being a strategic asset for NZ and should be held by a NZ owned consortium.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12177017
Wrightson’s has gone down hill since the majority owned overseas ownership with many delays to farmers getting their seeds this year and disorganisation. Any issues with being able to plant swiftly to the season (especially with climate change) from poor management from Wrightsons has the ability to bankrupt farmers relying on a decent service. There are not many major seed firms in NZ.
The Wrightson’s chairman sounds a dodgy as.
“In one of those egregious deals that are only too common in the regulatory sector, Lai has agreed to pay a US$400,000 ($583,000) penalty and be barred from acting as a director or officer of a public company for five years for manipulating prices in Agria’s NYSE-listed shares.
The settlement with the SEC followed claims that the agriculture investment firm hid losses from investors through fraudulent accounting and overstated the value of its New York-listed stock.”
Totally agree that seeds are a ‘strategic’ asset that need to be NZ owned and also WELL run for the benefits of NZ agriculture. Good call for it to be bought by a NZ consortium and made sure it is well run to the benefit of many small and medium business in NZ that rely on it. Food is strategic. It should be retained for NZ.
We could call it the Ministry for the Primary Sector.
So crickets on the up and Kane Williamsons winning record is off the charts (at least for NZ cricket) so to add a bit of controversy to the day heres my all time NZ test team, since the advent of one day cricket (because I don’t want to add any names I haven’t seen play)
1. G Turner
2. M Richardson
3. K Williamson (C)
4. M Crowe
5. R Taylor
6. J Oram
7. BJ Watling (WK)
8. D Vettori
9. Sir R Hadlee
10. S Bond
11. T Boult
Unlucky mentions to J Wright, S Fleming and B McCullum
Number 6 was the most difficult position for me to choose as there were 3 candidates: Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram and J Coney
Cairns has a very good bowling average of under 30 but his batting is weaker than the other two (though certainly not bad) and of the three Coneys bowling is the weakest however I’m also looking at team players and how players would play under Williamsons captaincy
So Oram gets the nod because I’m banking on Hadlee, Bond and Boult to do the job
with the ball and Oram and Vettori to do the donkey work of tying up one end and building pressure plus Orams height adds to the variety of bowling
Bowlers win matches but batter save matches 🙂
and of course…
Never rated Vettori, thought he was a very average spin bowling, for a start the guy could hardly even spin the ball.
He got his wickets just through the sheer volume of overs he’d bowl, his strike rate and average was rather poor.
I’d have John Bracewell any day over Vettori.
Also when the guy was batting you’d swear he had wet noodles for wrists.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/content/player/36306.html
http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/content/player/38710.html
The bowling averages are quite similar though Vettori just shades Bracewell on all but Vettoris batting sees hims through however this selection is based on not knowing what the pitch will do…if its a spinning pitch then maybe Oram would get dropped for Bracewell (and then S Boock would get the apology 🙂 )
Bracewell bowed against far better players and was more of an attacking spin bowler.
You felt Bracewell could get wickets every time he bowled, while Vertori’s best hope was to just bore them out.
I had C Cairns over Oram as well.
Yeah those are good arguments and not all my decisions are based on numbers but in Vettoris case over 360 test wickets and six centuries are pretty compelling
The thing with Cairns is there’s quite a bit of…shall we say baggage…so I wouldn’t be comfortable having him in the team when he could break down with injury, possibly play through the injury but choose not to, fake an injury and then that stuff with Indian cricket and Lou Vincent and I’m happy to go with Orams better batting
Which the means the bowling line up of Hadlee, Bond, Boult, Vettori and Oram all have their strengths and differences
I mean you survive Bonds right arm 145kph plus in swingers and then you have Hadlees line and length (and under rated bouncer) or Boults left arm in swingers you get to the other end and now you have to try to score of Vettoris accuracy or Orams natural pitch of a 2 meter frame
Shes not a bad team
Always rated the likes of Bracewell and C Cairns for their gimme the fucking ball, I’ll get him out attitude.
I think I have that covered with Hadlee and Bolt 🙂
“I’d have John Bracewell any day over Vettori.”
+100%
360 wickets and six centuries are pretty compelling reasons for me
I couldn’t leave Cairns out.
He kind of had that winning mentality which I think many New Zealand cricketers have lacked over the years. In the age of Warne, Waughs and McGrath, he was possibly the only Kiwi who may have got a start in a hypothetical combined Trans-Team. Certainly he was the only one the Channel Nine team gave any respect to.
I would probably put McCullum ahead of Turner as well, based solely on his late career form (even though he did not open in Tests). They are polar opposites in style. McCullum was a fire cracker where anything could happen at any stage. Turner was a methodical bore-fest of a player.
Need Henry, Hosking and Key in there to keep Richardson company.
Bert Sutcliffe instead of Richardson (by a mile)
JR Reid ahead of Oram as the all-rounder (Reid’s offspin gives another slow bowler) – or alternatively Jeremy Coney, who could also be captain.
Jack Cowie ahead of Boult (much as I like Trent’s bowling)
Boult as 12th man or Bruce Taylor (terrific seamer and explosive hitter)
Vettori would have to be the young version before his first back injury – a wonderful bowler then with a more open-chested delivery and more spin, but he was pretty average after his back injuries..
They are fantastic players (especially JR Reid) but I figure the cut off point had to be around the time I first started watching otherwise its simply a matter of inputting stats in only, stats are a good place to start (or as tie breaker) but they don’t tell the full story
Agreed with Vettori but in my game plan hes there to tie an end down and build pressure, along with the natural bounce of Oram, to let Hadlee and Bond do their thing also 6 centuries batting down the order isn’t anything to sniff at
Boult gets in purely for variety reasons as a left arm pace bowler , I mean hes not bad but being left arm it’d be just something else for the batsmen to have to adjust to
Best all time test team
1. G Turner
2. S Dempster
3. K Williamson (C)
4. M Crowe
5. B Sutcliffe
6. J Reid
7. B McCullum (WK)
8. Sir R Hadlee
9. S Bond
10. C Grimmet
11. T Boult
Not sure we can count number 10 🙂 but otherwise a more than handy team
Some comments are being removed, I’m not sure whats happened or if I’ve inadvertently broken some sort of rule?
Just released a few comments, PR. Not sure what happened. New IP address, maybe? That or misspelling a name or email are the usual triggers.
I thought maybe there were some hard core Chris Cairns fans not liking what I’m posting 🙂
You have the wrong Cairns.
Lance was much more fun to watch, particularly in the one day game.
Against Australia in 1983 he got 50 runs in about 12 minutes, including 6 sixes in 10 balls.
Put Lance Cairns in somewhere, anywhere.
Sorry but his numbers nowhere near make him eligible for a position on my team
Also hes a major creepy sleaze (according to my wife)
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/12/blood-and-guts-and-sex-that-s-the-way-to-go-simon-bridges.html
Is there are NZ politician who mis-judges more than Simon Bridges??????? I don’t think so. What a completely inappropriate thing to say. I don’t want to know the leader of the opposition likes to watch sex on tv………………………more information than I need to know…..
# keep Simon
“Expense controversy
On 10 June 2010 after the release of ministerial credit card records, Jones admitted to having used a Crown credit card for personal expenditure, but assured the public that he had reimbursed the Crown in full for the expenditure. Later that day Jones admitted that he had used the card to hire pornographic films at hotels while on ministerial business.[11] The credit card record showed that he chartered an executive jet for $1200, which he claimed was due to bad weather which forced a change in his schedule.[12]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Jones
Watching sex on TV never did this guy any harm….
Read what he said again.
I think Shane watching porn was bloody awlful as well. Worse than Simon.
Jones didn’t win the Labour leadership battle, Cunliffe did and Robertson came second. A lot of feminist women in the Labour Party, and I don’t imagine many voting for Jonsie.
Now there’s the envy of the rich that National are always going on about.
I’d agree with “the envy of the rich that National are always going on about”. I don’t think it exists as much as those who are motivated by possessions would say.
Who really wants a vineyard in the south? Just as I didn’t detect envy in what Bridges said. I thought I heard instead a rather gentle jibe at John Key.
I did listen, rather than read the transcript. I certainly am not going out of my way to defend the captain of the NCC, but the video ref might find him not out with the benefit of the doubt on this one. 🙂
I’m rather struck by this Joe Hildebrand essay. As with any political opinion piece I understand not everyone will agree with everything being said here; but on my first read I bookmarked it and came back later for another pass at it.
It’s not long:
http://europechronicler.com/joe-hildebrand-the-west-is-falling-and-its-all-our-fault/
And there in lies the problem with Western liberal democracy.
How about, instead of electing people to govern us and to tell us what to do and why we can’t have what’s actually needed we stand up and govern ourselves?
Maybe then we’ll be able to stop the failings of dictators be they ever so democratically elected.
Representative democracy doesn’t allow us the choice. It empowers a few to have that choice and they’re the ones that are implementing policies that don’t work. Policies that are designed by the businesses and corporations for their own benefit.
Yes it was.
Question: Did the people of Europe actually have a say in the creation of the EU or was it all driven from the top?
The only ‘Western’ values that have been exported are those of exploitation and theft so it really shouldn’t be surprising that the rest of the world views our stated values with scepticism.
That works wonderfully – when nobody’s lying.
A framework that allows people to choose their own governments, be judged fairly by their peers and have their individual freedoms respected and protected…
Yeah, and its a friggin disaster unless you have a well educated, scientifically literate middle class. That took centuries to happen in the West. And it was helped along by enormous amounts of wealth looted from the non-Western world, that enabled the elites to trickle some down to their own downtrodden to keep them just happy and educated enough to serve the cause of empire.
Nowhere in the developing world has so called ‘democracy’ worked well. It has only worked well in countries after they became wealthy, and not before.
Case in point is India vs China. What country has performed better on almost all indices of economic growth, literacy, human happiness, life expectancy, and social well being? Google it.
Of course the West loves to thrust ‘democracy’ prematurely on shit-holes around the world – in order that they remain feudal disorganized shit-holes ripe for exploitation. The West fears most those strong secular states that adopt modern science and technology, eschew backward feudal superstitions, and who can stand up to the West. That is why the West supports the Syrian opposition. That is why they hate China, and love India.
That is, the West fears most those who adopt the scientific method first developed in the West, in order to stand up to the West.
“Justice Winkelmann will replace retiring Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, who is leaving the role in March next year, having reached the compulsory retirement age of 70 for judges.”
What a pity USA didn’t retire their Supreme Court Judges at 70.
Hungarians are over Orban and his autocracy, but Soros…
Thousands of enraged demonstrators, during the fourth night of angry protests over the past week, marched to the headquarters of Hungarian state television in Óbuda, in the hope that the taxpayer-funded Fidesz propaganda machine that pretends to be a public broadcaster would allow for the demands of the opposition to be read on air.
[…]
Remarkably, but not surprisingly, the taxpayer-funded television station refused to give air time to ten democratically elected Hungarian MP’s who wanted to read the following in a live broadcast:
Meanwhile shortly before 23:00 Budapest time, MP’s still inside the public broadcasters headquarters called on all 66 opposition MP’s to come to the headquarters as well. At the same time, police used tear gas against the first line of demonstrators, while a growing number of protesters called for a push towards storming the building.
http://hungarianfreepress.com/2018/12/16/chaos-erupts-at-hungarian-state-media-headquarters-as-demonstrators-demand-air-time/
Our Minister of Finance released this yesterday to explain the headline budget categories leading into 2019:
All this talk recently about what we can about men thinking they can hurt, rape and murder with impunity well heres part of the problem
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/109399536/man-who-used-martial-arts-to-flip-waikato-cop-injuring-him-sentenced-to-home-detention
Attacks cop, sentenced to home detention
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/108969105/man-who-injured-auckland-judge-sentenced-to-community-work
Breaks judges wrist, community work
Maybe if government passed down the word to judges to start sending people who do violent acts to prison, if parole had to be earned rather than given, if multiple acts of crimes were added up then maybe we might be able to start having a talk but if government won’t even take violent seriously then is it any surprise men think they can get away with it, especially when society (in the form of government) allows them to
Yarp send them to prison and the problem goes away. Not the brightest idea there.
No, send them to prison then they arn’t out on the streets. Send them to prison and the message from the state is violence won’t be tolerated. Send them to prison and make parole dependent on rehab and training.
Making parole hard to get is silly. Parole allows for monitoring and conditions once the person has been released with the hope of better re-integration. If they complete their full sentence then the state has no strings on them whatsoever.
” If they complete their full sentence then the state has no strings on them whatsoever.”
Ask Stewart Wilson if thats the case, the state can put restrictions on anyone if they choose to
Only in such extreme cases.
So who decides whats extreme or not.
Make part of release conditions monitoring, education, training, whatever for people who commit crimes of violence
The principle of justice involved is that once you have served your sentence then you have paid your debt to society. Being a fanboy for Collins though i can see why you wouldn’t care about human rights.
The problem is some of these people aren’t receiving sentences proportionate to their crimes and the victims aren’t receiving justice
If that is what you think then argue for more severe sentences.
Our problem is the significant levels of domestic violence and the homicides that occur, even though the rate is dropping.
So it’s out of sight out of mind – a bit like sending plastic to Thailand – maybe the crims can go pick up plastic while outside on the inside.
Did you not see this part: “parole dependent on rehab and training.”
Its not out of sight out of mind but it is protecting society from these people and encouraging them to make something of their lives while incarcerated
I just can’t see how, on one hand, we want to stop violence towards women yet instead of keeping society safe, for a little while, we let them out
Someone attacks a cop and they get home detention, what message does that send
“…but it is protecting society from these people…”
Mate these people are you and your mates from work, from school, neighbors and relatives. There is no them and us unless you don’t identify as a male.
I can quite honestly tell you that they are not my mates, they may be the people you identify with but I don’t.
Of course, how unsurprising.
What utter kak
Yes there is an atrocious amount of male violence in NZ, but to try and guilt trip an entire sex over it is incredibly silly
Your sentence says it all – there is no guilt tripping because it is the truth as uncomfortable as you may find it.
The point is I don’t find it uncomfortable.
I find it disgusting that a tiny % of men commit violence against both women and men.
The vast majority of women is behind closed doors and curtains, by their partners, basically because they are scum and know full well it’s wrong, so it isn’t exactly on display
The fact that I am a male doesn’t make me somehow culpable or colluding in it.
And to say that it is somehow down to just men to fix it all, because they happen to be the same sex is dumb
Given the most likely people to know about this shit is the abused friends I would think it is extremely stupid to think that it is just men that should be highlighted to call it out.
It is everyone, what ever sex they are
Everyone includes the subset ‘men’. So what exactly is the problem again?
. Actually Chris I agree with you.
I was at the vigil for grace and found the talk of toxic masculinity unhelpful, even though I am a feminist.
We have to understand who these violent offenders are so we have a better chance of doing something to change it.
Most men who are physically violent have come from abusive backgrounds and have personality disorders such as anti social, boarderline or narcissistic. They are often substance abusers.
On a completely personal level when I was a much younger woman I worked with some really sexist men. But I felt completely safe with them and they never crossed a boundary, although they may have held a door open for me.
I have also come across progressive men who support feminist causes who I felt emotionally abused by.
It is a psychological approach we need to apply to solve the problem. Not a social/cultural one
Why are some men so full of hatred and want to hurt women?
Maybe we need to look at the Mothers and why/how they raise these violent Men?
The insinuations it is an issue for all men do to deal with, and the onus is on them to stop it.
A big part of the problem is cultural. Culture is a system of shared meaning. We have some particularly toxic male culture in this country. The only way to change something shared is collectively.
Yes all men. You said no! Its everyone. Everyone includes all men.
No shit
That is because I mean everyone including men. I haven’t said otherwise, so not sure what you are trying to imply.
But the insinuations that it is JUST A MEN’S issue they have to deal with, and it is down to men to fix it borders on the irresponsible.
Again. It should be a message to EVERYONE who learns about it, to speak up. Not targeted at men only.
No matter what sex they are, no matter how rich (because it is just as likely), how poor, how much of a shitty upbringing the subjects had.
Edit: Actually just as likely should probably be “does happen”. As the financial side of things seems to exacerbate the problem
You must have hung out with a lot of arseholes Marty?
Ever join in on the “action”? are you feeling a bit guilty in your old age?
Feel the need to do penance?
“men thinking they can hurt, rape and murder”.
The men might not be thinking. “The failure of “top-down” control systems in the prefrontal cortex to modulate aggressive acts that are triggered by anger provoking stimuli appears to play an important role.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176893/
“Make part of release conditions monitoring, education, training, whatever for people who commit crimes of violence”. Is there good evidence this affects the top-down control systems ?
Good comment.
The development of humans in the animal behavours sense didn’t automatically become extinct due to the near instant developement of modern society.
Oxytocin and Vasopressin biology in regards to some DV and some sex crimes is very interesting, and an eye opener for people who have experienced how biology controls behavours, but never could explain things due to the social construct that everything we do is intentional.
Actually the evidence is pretty discouraging in terms of what works with treatment for violent offenders.
Solka I honestly do appreciate your contribution on the standard but I have to disagree with you about changing toxic male culture. Of course it is a good idea to do that but I don’t believe it addresses the problem of violent male offenders and the research that teaching these men to respect women more shows it to be a very weak intervention
Thank you so much Grafton gully. Finally someone is looking to and posting stuff on the science of aggression. Very interesting article
And they blame the indigenous people for this – bloody kali yuga. The Amazon is under so many threats it is scary.
“Approximately 8,000 barrels of crude oil have spilled into the Amazon, and the Peru State oil company Petroperu says its because local indigenous people severed the pipeline. According to a company statement, members of the Mayuriaga community in the Loreto region first damaged the pipeline and then interfered with the technicians trying to repair it.”
https://inhabitat.com/oil-spill-in-the-peruvian-amazon/
WHO in the hell cranked Trotter up. To be fair I find it difficult to read his murmuring but the comments left me gob smacked. Someone advised Prime Minister Ardern to “open your eyes my love” Really!!.
Where was this report?
Ed. Chris Trotter article at http://www.interest.co.nz. Some of the comments singularly unenlightened from the knuckle draggers.
Sometimes Trotter is a caricature of White Male Leftie Boomer.
I think your problem is that you can’t handle long-form journalism, ie more than 50 words!
This is interesting from a WMLB:
That the organised criminals controlling the New Zealand drug trade – especially the scourge of methamphetamine – are, overwhelmingly, wealthy Pakeha, is a fact too frightening for their middle-class neighbours to acknowledge.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-salvation-armys-latest-report.html
Could it be that this sort of finger-pointing comes uncomfortably close to such as you?
I think your problem is that you use the term “journalism” far too loosely.
I think your problem is that you are an over-active vinegarish critic lacking sufficient humour to be effective. Having a lemon drink every day seems quite good for cleaning the tubes, but it is even better with a spot of honey.
Sometimes?
Open Mike this morning? 18/12
I wonder if after this helpful New Zealander was helping in Australia with clearing a track, that politicians might remember how we have been a big part of their advancement and are no more prone to criminality than they are. After all Ned Kelly is one of their heroes. Please stop hating Kiwis and treating us as 4th class citizens – and let our people go and stay. You know what I mean!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/378502/great-grandmother-sees-funny-side-in-getting-lost-in-australian-bush
There you go some of our Aotearoa sea food is like gold over seas MPI need to be vigilant and the public need to dob in people rading our fisheries and fishes
The Ministry for Primary Industries said it was at least the sixth occasion in the last five years that overseas crew from merchant ships had been caught breaking fishing rules during a stopover in Bluff.
This was despite the ministry providing crew members with the rules around the legal take and size limit of shellfish.
Ministry spokesman Garreth Jay said the most recent incident in November involved four crew members who were caught near Ocean Beach at Bluff with a total of 91 black foot pāua, 82 of which were undersized, and 42 yellow foot pāua, of which 26 were undersized. Link Below ka kite ano . P.S We do want the mokopunas to experince the joys of gathering sea food.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109418722/merchant-ship-crew-fined-for-plundering-paua-stocks-in-bluff
Eco Maori tau toko Vanuatu action to sue big carbon companys who are burning OUR future mokopunas right to a happy healthy future
Vanuatu threatens to sue biggest carbon energy producers The power of the courts
If Vanuatu sues it will add to a growing trend of climate change litigation.
Before 2014, only 12 countries had climate law suits — by March 2017, nearly 900 such cases had been filed in 24 countries, according to the UN Environment Programme.
“There’s just a tremendous urgency to take action now, so environmental groups, citizens, states and cities are taking to the courts to try and force action,” says Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
The majority of climate change lawsuits have been filed in the US.
“Governments are almost always the defendants in climate change cases,” according to a 2017 UN Environment global review of climate change litigation.
In 2015, activist group Our Children’s Trust filed a law suit in the state of Oregon against the federal government. “I am suing the US government for taking direct action that puts my generation disproportionately at risk from climate change, and violating my constitutional rights to life, liberty and property,” Vic Barrett, a 19-year-old American university student and member of Our Children’s Trust, told CNN at the COP24 climate talks.
That year, attorneys for the federal government filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Among the defense’s arguments were that the law suit “presents a generalized attack on government action and inaction regarding climate change, rather than a challenge to specifically identifiable violations of law that can be concretely rectified by a favorable decision.” Links below ka kite ano
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/17/world/vanuatu-cop-climate-change-intl/index.html
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Aftre shonky and his money men m8 joyce have inplanted the culture of Tangata /People are just some thing to siphon profts off who cares if there actions cause great stress and harm even death. 1 Winz 2 ACC 3 Housing Corp 4 Justice System 5 Health system 6 Education System 7 Maori wealth has dived under 9 years of his corporate way of running Aotearoa. All of these have put millions of people in hardship and stress I know Eco Maori is still being treated like DIRT NOW my UTU will be REKA.
ACC spying: ‘It’s nothing less than warfare’
At some point somebody with intelligence needs to stand back and say this is crazy. This is insane, we’re spending all this money and the guy is mad as hell – what do we need to do to fix this?”
As for Stryder, his war with ACC continues. To date, he has had 16 reviews of ACC decisions and applied to appeal three review decisions in the district court. He has been barred from communications with ACC case managers and trespassed from dispute resolution service Fairway Resolution Limited premises That kind of figure is made up … it’s not a hard figure, it’s speculative.”
Sara said ACC needed to learn how to better deal with people like Stryder.
“Like a number of people who have had unhappy dealings with ACC, they get mad as hell and that can lead to … nothing less than warfare.”
ACC defended the figure, saying the value of its integrity unit “intervention” was calculated based on claim history modelling.
In the financial year to June, ACC made 802,099 payments totalling $131m for medical assessments.
ACC used lawyers for about 10 per cent of review hearings due to “legal complexity, the precedence value of the issue, indications the client intends to progress the matter to court, and the workload of our people”.
Sara said hiring lawyers for reviews only inflamed the situation and put claimants in an unfair position.
“Once you’ve got a lawyer involved, every case has to have a lawyer.The financial stress, severe back pain, insomnia and challenging of ACC caused his marriage to break down and he suffered from anxiety and depression, he said.
“I hate it when ACC don’t believe you. I’m going to have to keep battling with them; I believe it’s totally criminal behaviour.”
ACC BY THE NUMBERS*:
1.98 million new claims received
79,648 new weekly compensation claims received
$69m – spending on injury prevention
$1.7m – spending on treatment and emergency travel
$740m – spending on care and support
$1.48m – spending on financial compensation and vocational rehabilitation
$740m – spending on operating costs
$40 billion – size of ACC’s investment portfolio to cover future claims
$3.5m – amount ACC earned in interest on its investment
99,500 – number of claims declined annually (disputed by some lawyers and advocates who say the figure could be as high as 300,000)
7616 – number of applications for reviews of ACC claim decisions*
$12.2m – spending on review services to FairWay Resolution**
(Source: ACC Annual Report 2018 and ACC Media Adviser)
* For the financial year to June 2018
** For the financial year to June 2017. links below ka kite ano
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/108759109/acc-spying-its-nothing-less-than-warfare
Read the comments to .
Eco Maori could see that wahine and maori have been getting a underarm bowl as of late. I tau toko Cliff Curtis word’s as I have seen maori diserpear off Aotearoa screen quite quickly in the last decade I have voiced my concerns on this Phenomenon.
Its is also Very good that Nga puhi iwi are calling for more wahine to be involved in there treaty settlement process I will not com anymore on there settlement as Eco Maori does not know the facts and my Iwi is were I should & will put my nose in
Cliff Curtis calls for women, Māori leadership in NZ film industry
He said he formed Whenua Films with directors, Taika Waititi and Ainsley Gardiner, because the Māori film industry was going through a pretty rough time.
“Māori content could not get through the funding agencies, could not get through the broadcasters, could not get through the distributors unless we had somebody above us, and literally speaking we looked above us [and] there weren’t any Māori. We were it.
“If you have Māori content that you are exploring, and you are exploiting … whether it be a character or whether it be an aspect of your content, then partner with Māori.
Ka kite ano links below
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/376017/cliff-curtis-calls-for-women-maori-leadership-in-nz-film-industry
Kia ora Newshub Paddy many thanks for the story of tompson and clark for spying on kiwis and IWI to what a big mess I wont say it Paddy. The imagration process is getting some checks and balances to stop employers ripping employes off the problem I have is money was good Dairyfarming and there were quite a few maori in dairy farming a few years back as we love working on the whenua .Now the money is crap and maori have been pushed out of dairyfarming show me how many maori dairy farmers made it into share milking not many if any because shonky flooded the dairyfarm workers market with Immigrints.
That development in Coromandale will lift the prospects of the locals E hoa one has to rembmer to be tact full so as not to put some peoples nose out of joint Eco want’s to our maori leaders in power a long time ka pai.
Yes Mike and Samatha Eco Maori is very pleased that national is not in power we would have never been able to roll them out if they had another term with the tec they would have had at the finger tip’s to con people into beleving them/vote for them
Lloyd Megen is a strong kind wahaine who see the big picture all the best to Harry and Megen. I did see the story on Nigella Lawson letting the TV networks know that air brushing her pictures is not on as it put a fulse image of her out there and puts a lot of pressure on some wahine to starve them selves to look slim .
I would like to try a cut of that wagyu Japanese beef cow they have to be treated like a pet lamp to get the best out of them they get the best treatment in Japan.
Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.