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Open Mike 17/12/2018

Written By: - Date published: 5:49 am, December 17th, 2018 - 147 comments
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147 comments on “Open Mike 17/12/2018 ”

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  1. Ed 1
    17 December 2018 at 6:58 am

    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

    • veutoviper 1.1
      17 December 2018 at 7:54 am

      Is this dolphin under a lot of stress and duress ….???

      • reason 1.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 9:08 am

        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.

        • Molly 1.1.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 5:45 pm

          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.

    • Siobhan 1.2
      17 December 2018 at 12:16 pm

      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.

    • Tuppence Shrewsbury 1.3
      17 December 2018 at 1:06 pm

      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

    • JanM 1.4
      17 December 2018 at 4:55 pm

      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

  2. garibaldi 2
    17 December 2018 at 7:54 am

    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.

  3. A 3
    17 December 2018 at 8:30 am

    I worry about the crayfish 🙁

    • veutoviper 3.1
      17 December 2018 at 9:07 am

      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.” ….”

    • Ed 3.2
      17 December 2018 at 10:04 am

      Yes I share your concern about the collapse of ecosystems.

      • JohnSelway 3.2.1
        17 December 2018 at 5:33 pm

        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

  4. reason 4
    17 December 2018 at 8:47 am

    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.

    • Cinny 4.1
      17 December 2018 at 9:00 am

      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?

      • James Thrace 4.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 9:06 am

        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

    • Robert Guyton 4.2
      17 December 2018 at 3:10 pm

      “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!

  5. Ed 5
    17 December 2018 at 8:48 am

    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

    • ianmac 5.1
      17 December 2018 at 9:17 am

      Yes. Heard that. Should we take Goldsmith seriously or is he just a yapping Peke?

    • Kat 5.2
      17 December 2018 at 9:36 am

      Too many cars (and big trucks) and not enough road, somethings got to give.

      • Wayne 5.2.1
        17 December 2018 at 9:58 am

        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.

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 10:52 am

          It would be hugely safer if it was 4 lane.

          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.

          • Wayne 5.2.1.1.1
            17 December 2018 at 11:13 am

            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.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 11:56 am

              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.

        • mauī 5.2.1.2
          17 December 2018 at 11:06 am

          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.

          • Wayne 5.2.1.2.1
            17 December 2018 at 11:32 am

            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.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.2.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 12:27 pm

              For the next 100 years or more, (probably more like 200 years or more) roads will be the main transport system in NZ.

              Only if we allow the delusional idiots at National to control everything.

              There is zero prospect that rail could ever be dense enough in NZ to replace the majority of land transport.

              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/

              Freight overwhelmingly travels on the ground by two means: truck or train. Trains carry freight with nearly ten times the energy efficiency of trucks per ton/mile (XLS spreadsheet).

              And we have the perverse subsidies mentioned in that article as well. If trucks actually paid their way they’d be out of business.

              Even if rail quadrupled in the next few years, it would still be moving way less freight than road.

              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

              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.

              • Bruce …
                17 December 2018 at 2:52 pm

                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.

            • OnceWasTim 5.2.1.2.1.2
              17 December 2018 at 1:02 pm

              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

        • Ed 5.2.1.3
          17 December 2018 at 11:06 am

          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!!

          • Wayne 5.2.1.3.1
            17 December 2018 at 11:35 am

            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.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.3.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 12:29 pm

              Have you considered that we can’t afford the roads due to the environmental damage that the roads do/cause?

            • Grafton Gully 5.2.1.3.1.2
              17 December 2018 at 1:58 pm

              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 ?

              • Draco T Bastard …
                17 December 2018 at 2:37 pm

                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.

                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.

                • SHG …
                  17 December 2018 at 6:18 pm

                  why would everybody need a car? I can’t wait for CaaS.

                  • Draco T Bastard …
                    17 December 2018 at 6:21 pm

                    Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore?

                    • SHG …
                      17 December 2018 at 6:23 pm

                      Car as a Service.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      17 December 2018 at 6:42 pm

                      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.

                    • SHG …
                      17 December 2018 at 7:08 pm

                      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.

                    • Draco T Bastard …
                      17 December 2018 at 7:35 pm

                      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.

                  • James …
                    17 December 2018 at 7:38 pm

                    It’s here now.

                    It’s called Uber. Comes with a driver and everything.

                    It’s brilliant.

                    • Muttonbird …
                      17 December 2018 at 10:58 pm

                      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.

        • Red Blooded One 5.2.1.4
          17 December 2018 at 11:12 am

          “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.

          • Wayne 5.2.1.4.1
            17 December 2018 at 11:22 am

            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.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.4.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 12:31 pm

              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.

            • Red Blooded One 5.2.1.4.1.2
              17 December 2018 at 1:25 pm

              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.

            • David Mac 5.2.1.4.1.3
              17 December 2018 at 4:55 pm

              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.

        • OnceWasTim 5.2.1.5
          17 December 2018 at 1:36 pm

          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

  6. Ankerrawshark 6
    17 December 2018 at 8:57 am

    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

    • SHG 6.1
      17 December 2018 at 6:19 pm

      That is not going to solve our problem though

      Just so we’re all clear, what problem is that?

      • Ankerrawshark 6.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 9:27 pm

        Our problem is the significant levels of domestic violence and the homicides that occur, even though the rate is dropping.

  7. Robert Glennie 7
    17 December 2018 at 9:01 am

    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.

    • Bewilderd 7.1
      17 December 2018 at 10:33 am

      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,

      • Grant 7.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 1:50 pm

        Just mind over matter eh Wildebeest? You don’t mind and no one else matters.

        • I Feel Love 7.1.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 4:57 pm

          Indeed, good manners, courtesy, Larry Davids golden rule “do unto others…”, retail = underpaid!

      • Robert Glennie 7.1.2
        17 December 2018 at 4:50 pm

        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.

  8. SaveNZ 8
    17 December 2018 at 9:20 am

    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.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      17 December 2018 at 11:02 am

      Good article about seeds being a strategic asset for NZ and should be held by a NZ owned consortium.

      We could call it the Ministry for the Primary Sector.

  9. Puckish Rogue 9
    17 December 2018 at 11:22 am

    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…

    • BM 9.1
      17 December 2018 at 11:29 am

      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.

      • Puckish Rogue 9.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 11:37 am

        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 🙂 )

        • BM 9.1.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 11:43 am

          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.

          • Puckish Rogue 9.1.1.1.1
            17 December 2018 at 12:02 pm

            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

          • joe90 9.1.1.1.2
            17 December 2018 at 12:05 pm

            Always rated the likes of Bracewell and C Cairns for their gimme the fucking ball, I’ll get him out attitude.

      • halfcrown 9.1.2
        17 December 2018 at 12:52 pm

        “I’d have John Bracewell any day over Vettori.”

        +100%

    • Enough is Enough 9.2
      17 December 2018 at 1:29 pm

      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.

    • Chris 9.3
      17 December 2018 at 1:42 pm

      Need Henry, Hosking and Key in there to keep Richardson company.

    • AB 9.4
      17 December 2018 at 1:43 pm

      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..

      • Puckish Rogue 9.4.1
        17 December 2018 at 3:06 pm

        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

    • Stunned Mullet 9.5
      17 December 2018 at 3:25 pm

      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

  10. Puckish Rogue 10
    17 December 2018 at 12:34 pm

    Some comments are being removed, I’m not sure whats happened or if I’ve inadvertently broken some sort of rule?

    • te reo putake 10.1
      17 December 2018 at 1:05 pm

      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.

      • Puckish Rogue 10.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 2:56 pm

        I thought maybe there were some hard core Chris Cairns fans not liking what I’m posting 🙂

        • alwyn 10.1.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 6:37 pm

          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.

          • Puckish Rogue 10.1.1.1.1
            17 December 2018 at 6:49 pm

            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)

  11. ankerawshark 11
    17 December 2018 at 1:13 pm

    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

    • indiana 11.1
      17 December 2018 at 1:28 pm

      “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….

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 1:32 pm

        Read what he said again.

      • ankerawshark 11.1.2
        17 December 2018 at 3:09 pm

        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.

    • Draco T Bastard 11.2
      17 December 2018 at 1:30 pm

      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.

      • mac1 11.2.1
        17 December 2018 at 3:55 pm

        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. 🙂

  12. RedLogix 12
    17 December 2018 at 1:55 pm

    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.

    http://europechronicler.com/joe-hildebrand-the-west-is-falling-and-its-all-our-fault/

    • Draco T Bastard 12.1
      17 December 2018 at 4:46 pm

      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.

      That works wonderfully – when nobody’s lying.

    • Mark 12.2
      17 December 2018 at 10:01 pm

      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.

  13. ianmac 13
    17 December 2018 at 4:33 pm

    “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.

  14. joe90 14
    17 December 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Hungarians are over Orban and his autocracy, but Soros…

    "The TV is lying"#Budapest #Hungary pic.twitter.com/24bC6ouUTX— Balazs Csekö (@balazscseko) December 16, 2018

    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.

    http://hungarianfreepress.com/2018/12/16/chaos-erupts-at-hungarian-state-media-headquarters-as-demonstrators-demand-air-time/

  15. Ad 15
    17 December 2018 at 5:05 pm

    Our Minister of Finance released this yesterday to explain the headline budget categories leading into 2019:

  16. Puckish Rogue 16
    17 December 2018 at 5:08 pm

    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

    • marty mars 16.1
      17 December 2018 at 5:44 pm

      Yarp send them to prison and the problem goes away. Not the brightest idea there.

      • Puckish Rogue 16.1.1
        17 December 2018 at 6:01 pm

        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.

        • solkta 16.1.1.1
          17 December 2018 at 6:04 pm

          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.

          • Puckish Rogue 16.1.1.1.1
            17 December 2018 at 6:16 pm

            ” 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

            • solkta 16.1.1.1.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 6:18 pm

              Only in such extreme cases.

              • Puckish Rogue …
                17 December 2018 at 6:25 pm

                So who decides whats extreme or not.

                Make part of release conditions monitoring, education, training, whatever for people who commit crimes of violence

                • solkta …
                  17 December 2018 at 6:32 pm

                  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.

                  • Puckish Rogue …
                    17 December 2018 at 6:35 pm

                    The problem is some of these people aren’t receiving sentences proportionate to their crimes and the victims aren’t receiving justice

                • Ankerrawshark …
                  17 December 2018 at 9:33 pm

                  Our problem is the significant levels of domestic violence and the homicides that occur, even though the rate is dropping.

        • marty mars 16.1.1.2
          17 December 2018 at 6:06 pm

          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.

          • Puckish Rogue 16.1.1.2.1
            17 December 2018 at 6:22 pm

            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

            • marty mars 16.1.1.2.1.1
              17 December 2018 at 6:43 pm

              “…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.

              • Puckish Rogue …
                17 December 2018 at 6:53 pm

                I can quite honestly tell you that they are not my mates, they may be the people you identify with but I don’t.

              • Chris T …
                17 December 2018 at 7:00 pm

                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

                • marty mars …
                  17 December 2018 at 8:30 pm

                  Your sentence says it all – there is no guilt tripping because it is the truth as uncomfortable as you may find it.

                  • Chris T …
                    17 December 2018 at 9:00 pm

                    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

                    • marty mars …
                      17 December 2018 at 9:18 pm

                      Everyone includes the subset ‘men’. So what exactly is the problem again?

                    • Ankerrawshark …
                      17 December 2018 at 9:42 pm

                      . 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

                    • BM …
                      17 December 2018 at 10:03 pm

                      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?

                  • Chris T …
                    17 December 2018 at 9:24 pm

                    The insinuations it is an issue for all men do to deal with, and the onus is on them to stop it.

                    • solkta …
                      17 December 2018 at 9:30 pm

                      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.

                    • marty mars …
                      17 December 2018 at 9:39 pm

                      Yes all men. You said no! Its everyone. Everyone includes all men.

                  • Chris T …
                    17 December 2018 at 9:47 pm

                    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

              • BM …
                17 December 2018 at 8:33 pm

                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?

    • Grafton Gully 16.2
      17 December 2018 at 7:51 pm

      “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 ?

      • DJ Ward 16.2.1
        17 December 2018 at 8:36 pm

        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.

      • Ankerrawshark 16.2.2
        17 December 2018 at 9:48 pm

        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

      • Ankerrawshark 16.2.3
        17 December 2018 at 9:56 pm

        Thank you so much Grafton gully. Finally someone is looking to and posting stuff on the science of aggression. Very interesting article

  17. marty mars 17
    17 December 2018 at 6:04 pm

    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/

  18. Ffloyd 18
    17 December 2018 at 6:58 pm

    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!!.

  19. greywarshark 19
    18 December 2018 at 9:28 am

    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

  20. eco maori 20
    18 December 2018 at 9:44 am

    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

  21. eco maori 21
    18 December 2018 at 11:20 am

    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

  22. eco maori 22
    18 December 2018 at 11:25 am

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

  23. eco maori 23
    18 December 2018 at 3:43 pm

    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 .

  24. eco maori 24
    18 December 2018 at 4:31 pm

    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

  25. eco maori 25
    18 December 2018 at 6:46 pm

    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

  26. eco maori 26
    18 December 2018 at 7:22 pm

    Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.

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