Watched ‘The Death of Democracy’ on Channel 5 last night. A penetrating, and sobering, account of America’s pernicious influence in South and Central America.
I couldn’t help wondering if the scheduling of this programme was just co-incidental, or was the Maori channel trying to tell us, all of us, something about ‘people power?’
Victor Hugo was quoted by John Pilger: ‘There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” And Gareth Hughes made reference in his apt speech in parliament to the rise of people power.
I hope we are witnessing the rise of a truly democratic movement to sweep away Key and his brown-nosed and dildo-fancying sycophants for their utter contempt for our democracy.
@ Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster) (1)
I picked up on a subtle, although positive change on the anti TPPA march on Feb 4 Tony.
It seems the fires of revolt are beginning to stir and spark in the bellies of ordinary Kiwis now. Democracy is on the rise, through people power, the way it should be. The anti government sentiment demonstrated against FJK at his recent public appearances in less than a month, is more evidence of this point.
As an organized collective, we Kiwis can rid ourselves of the filthy rodents which have been contaminating this country for the past eight years. WE CAN and WE WILL DO IT 🙂
You can trust me along with many hundreds of thousands of other Kiwis, to be standing there beside you when the barricades go up 🙂
Mary and Tony – have you read this? Recommended reading for all, I believe, and really sums up the attitude and expression of the TPPA march the other week.
I wasn’t at any of the marches, but following online it looks promising to me too. I was impressed by the group that organised the blockades in Auckland and their follow up video. I really hope more of that happens. Having Māori out in front leading the way was a very good sign too. And just the momentum that tells us and them that this isn’t going to go away.
Unsurprisingly, some of us featured on the news couldn’t compellingly articulate the complexities of world trade in 15 seconds flat. However, watching clips of the people most gleefully torn apart by the likes of Duncan Garner and Heather, I heard motivations that made perfect sense. I recognise shared human experience and substance in their words. The exact opposite sensation I get when listening Key’s media comment on any given day.
This.
It’s vital that we allow that people can have gut reactions and non-intellectual reasons for opposing the TPPA. One doesn’t have to understand the intricasies of ISDSs or even what they are to know that what National are doing is wrong. There’s a bit of a culture on ts that says emotion is wrong or bad, but emotional responses to oppression are powerful and valid. Yes we still need rational analysis, but we also need to heed the people who act from their heart.
It’s not that emotional responses ate wrong per se but that they need to be backed up with facts. It’s the RWNJ act of responding with beliefs and gut feelings that makes their economics delusional.
Sure but not at the personal level. Any individual on the street (protesting the TPPA) doesn’t have to back their gut response up with facts.
And there are times when intuition and instinct are essential but can never be backed up by facts. Security trainer Gavin De Becker tells women that if they’re in a building late at night waiting at the elevator and the door opens and they see a man in there who they have a negative gut reaction to, then don’t get in the elevator. There’s no way to find out any facts in that situation (eg the man is dangerous), but the act of following one’s intuition sharpens it and in his expert opinion keeps women safer. We can rationalise this if we want (people are having gut reactions based on clues they pick up subconsciously), but that’s not necessary for the principle he suggests to be sound.
Any individual on the street (protesting the TPPA) doesn’t have to back their gut response up with facts.
But it would be better if they could because then they’d be able to articulate that gut response rather standing there looking like an idiot. Such learning would also help them in their lives as they’d be able to make more informed decisions.
Security trainer Gavin De Becker tells women that if they’re in a building late at night waiting at the elevator and the door opens and they see a man in there who they have a negative gut reaction to, then don’t get in the elevator.
An intuitive response to subtle body language that the person has observed. It is unfortunate that most people actually fight against what they’ve learned in reading body language. Looking at the overt signs rather than the covert. The overt signs are learned through business schools and self help courses/books on ‘success’ to help manipulate others and thus should be ignored.
Arguably, John Key is enjoying his third term, and possibly a fourth, because his persona generated a certain “gut reaction” with enough voters to get him over the line and he stills is very popular. If not that, there certainly was and still is a dire lack of “rational analysis”.
Emotions are too easily manipulated and hyped; spin doctors and PR wizards are skilled masters in this – a background in advertising, psychology or journalism is usually a pro.
Of course Incognito, but the solution to that isn’t to denigrate emotion and intuition and call people expressing opinion from those places stupid. The solution is to teach people better intuitive skills as well as teaching critical thinking, and how both complement each other.
“Emotions are too easily manipulated and hyped;”
And yet Jane Kelsey gives an empassioned speech at the protest, not a dispassionate one. Yes the knife cuts both ways (although I think Kelsey is speaking an ethical emotional language whereas spin is as you say manipulative).
People with good emotional intelligence are just as important as people with good intellect and sometimes they’re better depending on the situation if the good intellect goes with poor emotional intelligence.
Dairy prices fall for fourth time in a row at Global Dairy Trade auction
‘Analysts say depressed dairy prices are the result of mismatch between supply and demand on the world market and they do not expect to see a big improvement in prices over the next six months.
Fonterra last month cut its farmgate milk price forecast for the 2015/6 season to $4.15 a kg of milksolids, down from a previous forecast of $4.60 a kg, in response to weak international prices.
The latest auction results suggest a farmgate milk price of below $4 a kg, well below the estimated average break-even point of $5.40 a kg.
Farmers are now looking at the likelihood of two sub-$5 years together, which is expected to put added stress on farm balance sheets.’
Auckland’s housing crisis has helped to drive a net 38,000 people out of the city to other parts of New Zealand in the past six years, a new report says.
..it says Auckland’s housing “bubble” is worsening inequality, with the city’s house prices up 20 per cent and rents up 5.7 per cent in the past year compared with a 1.5 per cent rise in wages.’
“Are house prices and/or rent included in inflation figures? ”
Yes and no. The materials and construction costs of building a new house is included in the CPI but that doesn’t include the price of the land so it’s meaningless for most intents and purposes. There is no category in the CPI for used houses either.
Rent is included in the CPI but it is given an expenditure weighting of only 9.22 which means a 10% rise in rents would add a mere 0.922 to the CPI.
Auckland has a regional weighting of 36.62 for housing meaning its housing inflation makes up 36.62% of the CPI housing inflation. A 5.7% increase in Auckland rents would therefore add 0.19 to the CPI
Latest CPI figures say rents have increased 22.6% since 2006. I find that hard to believe.
Thanks. It seems wrong that for those renting and whose cost of housing is generally a high proportion of their income that significant rises in rent account for so little in the rate of inflation.
Would I be correct in saying that the CPI is not a good reflection of the actual cost of living?
It used to be.
I started my career in the Research Branch of the Dept of Statistics working on the CPI in 1967. We would get requests from parliament as to the effect of a 1p increase in the price of bread on the CPI. Then it actually meant something. Over the years the “basket of goods” that make up the CPI has changed somewhat as successive govts have added or removed items for obviously political advantage. Now some say the CPI measures “underlying inflation” whatever that means. For instance – if and when the Auckland housing bubble bursts the effect would be a massive reduction in the CPI if housing prices and rent were included. – but for those NZers living outside Auckland (Taranaki say) they would not be affected to such an extent. House prices in adjacent regions may fall slightly – but then they have only risen slightly for the most part anyway.
actually if you follow a bit the news you will find that the inhabitants of the posh burbs in AKL are now in a tizzy as the ‘urbanisation’ has come knocking on their doors.
Remuera, Kohimarara, Mt. Eden, Ponsonby, etc etc all have now received their little plan for the future and gasp it allows for infill and high rises, and the peeps are not happy, i tell you they are not happy.
As i was told yesterday, they were not consulted about the changes (ahahahahahhaha no on else ever gets consulted on anything) and it is ‘morally wrong’ to not consult the people living there. And while I agree with that person, i could not help myself to point out in how many instances the habitants of certain areas where not only not consulted, they were ridiculed, harassed, infuriated etc etc.
I did offer the option of moving out of Auckland, after all what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
You can not have unfettered growth and not expect something to give, and besides, have a look at the innercities of the places that AKL likes to be compared too, full of highrises, with no burbs that only are one story houses.
Oh well, i guess at some stage reality hits even those that up until now were happy counting the pennies that they have made only on paper. Never realising that they are sharing the same boat as the rest of us.
6 of 1_half a dozen of the other. I am not sure who are worse the local elite or the spoilt rich one child fuckers from China who carry on like they own the place.
Actually the spoilt rich one child fuckers from China do own the place. They’ve taken full advantage of being able to buy up as much NZ residential property as they would like.
However the current Government is not Labour is National, and anything done over the last years was done by National.
You are starting to be bore and you sound like a broken record. Do you have copy paste of “Labour did it too” and “Labour is evil” and Labour is the root cause of misery of everything in NZ since ages ago” or “Labour, yeah right tui”.
So take your fake outrage and shove it. Unless you live in my town, see what is happening to families that live here, i suggest you “Zip it sweety”, if us that have lived here for all of our lives, for generations even are worried what is happening to our “hood”.
And yes, fuck it the new Settlement for a few thousand people is predominantly chinese. How do I know this? I live there, I can differentiate a chinese from a korean, from a thai, a vietnamese, or a Laote. Because they a. don’t look the same, b. don’t speak the same language, and I happen to have an ex Mother in Law who is malay chinese, and a sister in law how still lives in China. It does not make me or anyone else a racists by pointing out the elephant that is standing in the room.
And the B&T Real Estate person is really happy that her “asian” investors are finally getting their IRD numbers and she hopes that the sales in Auckland will a. pick up again and b. they will bring prices up.
You are so full of pooo you have not got an idea what is coming. All you are looking for is cheap shots towards a party that did not elevate you to Saviour. Fuck mate, get a grip. There is misery out there, and you obviously don’t give a shit, because what, it’s just Aucklanders?
by 2005/2006 Auckland housing was already regarded as being “highly unaffordable” and that those house prices shot up and up during a Labour Govt who kept that market overheating, and kept all the MPs property portfolios climbing and climbing.
National have simply continued a trend inherited from Labour.
They had Sir John Walker’s support on the council – he admitted he didn’t want a 3 storey building as a neighbour. The sections in these suburbs are full quarter acres, some are massive – I think it is Christine Fletcher who has a home in the vicinity, like our leader’s which is massive. So close to work which people want, its perfect for building multi homes in these areas – listen to the squeals!!
Sir John lives on a farm in the Bombays. He is quite happy to deny his fellow Aucklanders a chance for a more affordable home over something which will never affect him. Until perhaps he goes into a Retirement Village – the new ones are all multi-level.
Peter Lewis, why would you support a system which only works for the top 1% to 2% of the population, while forcing everyone else into severe compromise?
After all we are not talking about cars here; you can get a decently running car for $1500 if you know what you are looking for.
We are talking about a city where someone would have to save up more than 25 years of minimum wage to buy even a basic place.
Doesn’t all of this make you rather uncaring and short sighted?
It’s obviously working for you Peter – but for the large majority of NZers you might be surprised to find that the market, as it is now, is failing them badly. You need to get out a bit more and open your eyes and ears to what is actually going on around you. Like Stephen Byres found out
Government agencies ‘inventing numbers’ to meet targets, says report
‘Government agencies are “inventing” new numbers and changing the definitions of targets to make their performance seem better, a damning report says.
The Salvation Army says the organisations feel under pressure from the Government to come up with favourable results, creating an attitude where they “find any reason to celebrate success or progress”, regardless of their original goals.
The charitable organisation’s State of the Nation report attacks the ways in which government agencies appear to be using targets, and the numbers behind them, in a “less than straightforward and reliable manner”.
The report says agencies have been using a number of “subtle and ingenious approaches” to improve their performance against targets.
They include changing the definitions behind indicators to make results appear better, “inventing new numbers” that are difficult to verify, and changing the way figures are reported without improving the reliability of information provided.’
It’s what we’ve suspected for a long time. Government agencies are being forced more and more to deny political interference and the politicisation in the way they report to the public.
I do hope next year’s corruption index reflects this.
If you’re going to use an example at least use an accurate one.
Russian economic collapse in the 1990s was not due to any “five year plan” by the Communists it was due to western oriented capitalists, neoliberals and investment bankers asset stripping Russia to the core.
In the last ten years, Russian worker incomes, employment and life expectancy have bounced back from those bad days.
By the way, China is on it’s 13th Five Year Plan. Recent plans seem to have been working reasonably well for the Chinese, although some earlier ones were clearly disastrous…
think the point being made was around the manipulation of statistics associated with meeting targets….something that was rife within the Soviet Union due to the consequences of giving your masters bad news
As I just wrote to Sabine below, I had thought Sabine had meant Russia, not the Soviet Union, as they are two different countries in two separate centuries.
I would have argued that China and Russia are geographically in the same part of the world and have millions of citizens who live within 100 miles of each other, but sure no probs.
I mentioned the dreaded 5 year plan that let to shortages across the USSR, East Germany and the Eastern Block. Equally normal was the cooking of books to pretend the results desired where the results are achieved.
Other then that you could probably google some old images from the 80’s of people standing in line in front of fruit shops, bread shops, meat shops to receive their allocated rations of food. You will also see that most of the people waiting are elder ladies, they call babushka, grandmother, most important asset of every russian family at the time, as she could stand in line all day.
I think you have finally achieved troll status. Sad really, that that is all you can contribute.
Someone like yourself understands the difference between “Russia” (the country as it is today) and the “Soviet Union” (the country and its satellite states as it was before).
So when you wrote “Russia” I assumed that you had actually meant “Russia.”
Look I’m aware of some of the old Soviet jokes.
Soviet citizen talking to the attendant in a store:
“Excuse me, is this the fish counter?”
“No, this is the meat counter, it’s where you can’t get any meat. The fish counter is over there, it’s where you can’t get any fish.”
You do not need to CVsplain to me the differences between Russia the Mothers and the USSR.
However in Germany we don’t refer to Russia as the USSR, we refer to it as Russia.
But what evs. I still think you are a troll and will read your missives as such.
hmm, xenophobic, maybe. I took him to mean that just because something is understood in another country, this conversation is happening within NZ culture so it’s better to use terms people understand here. But of course he’s being a shit for some reason, so who knows?
All I’m seeing is someone who is pretty quickly picks up anti-immigrant sentiment in other people, clutching at straws instead instead of admitting to a vile comment and a weak argument for making it in the first place.
Weka, Sabine justified her use of the term “Russia” when she actually meant the Communist Soviet Union by saying the former was the normal languaging in Germany to refer to the latter.
TRP saw this as an opportunity to stick his paws in and try and frame me as racist because that Labour establishment loyalist gets his greasy pro-establishment brownie points that way.
Of course I was aggressive in my response to Sabine because her response and aggression toward me by calling me a troll was uncalled for.
All I’m seeing is someone who is pretty quickly picks up anti-immigrant sentiment in other people, clutching at straws instead instead of admitting to a vile comment and a weak argument for making it in the first place.
Someone explain to me how those rotten overseas Chinese deserve to be singled out for outbidding the top 5% for $800,000 Auckland houses.
Weka, Sabine justified her use of the term “Russia” when she actually meant the Communist Soviet Union by saying the former was the normal languaging in Germany to refer to the latter.
TRP saw this as an opportunity to stick his paws in and try and frame me as racist because that Labour establishment loyalist gets his greasy pro-establishment brownie points that way.
Of course I was aggressive in my response to Sabine because her response and aggression toward me by calling me a troll was uncalled for.
Sabine didn’t deserve that degree of aggression and if you can’t handle being called a troll when you’ve been spraying negativity all over this site for months then you’re probably in the wrong job.
You and trp need your heads banged together.
I grew up calling the USSR Russia. Irrespective of whether youdon’t give a shit about that, it’s not that hard to see that if you want to communicate effectively then it’s good to try and understand what other people mean. Which I assume was the underlying message in your being so rude to Sabine.
There are people here who aren’t well educated too. I don’t have a problem with you clarifying the differences between USSR and Russia, I’m talking about how you did it.
You can justify your behaviour in negativity spraying all you like but it just marks you as having low social intelligence. Or not giving a shit about other people. Or both.
as an aside to all that, I’m personally sick of the whole macho shithead part of the culture here, and the bullshit that goes on in debates where people won’t clarify what they mean, or have this expectation that everyone should be as clever as they are. More and more I see many of the main people commenting here as not really being interested in change or working in constructive ways if it comes at the expense of them behaving badly or not hearing the sound of their own inflated voices.
But in 1976 “Russia” hadn’t existed for 60-odd years.
It proves that calling the Soviet Union “Russia” is a perfectly understood substitution for New Zealanders.
But I’m sure Kyle Chapman would appreciate your stance that all immigrants should immediately conform to what you erroneously regard as “New Zealand” idiomatic and political norms.
Good god, I really don’t give a fuck how badly Kiwis from 1976 or Germans today incorrectly view or incorrectly perceive modern or olden Russia versus the former USSR/Soviet Union.
is fair to draw the distinction between the USSR and contemporary Russia…it is also pertinent to note Russia’s role in the construction of that empire…and also the role of Russia’s current leadership within that empire.
Well, many kiwis today still use “Russia” as a substitute for “Soviet Union”.
Basically, you saw “Russia” and, as is your reflex, you immediately went to defend Putin’s regime. Upon reading the rest of the comment, you could have gone “oh, did you mean the five year plans of the Soviet Union?”, but no.
You tied yourself up in knots to defend your initial interpretation. Because if you can’t see what a commenter here means, how could you possibly know what everyone in NZ or the US is going to vote for in the future? CV knows everything.
So you end up indirectly suggesting that China has banana shortages and putting forward a statement that some believe was racist while others merely think it was xenophobic.
All for the want of thinking before commenting.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 4.2.1.3
We’re fast becoming the Zimbabwe of the Pacific. Deep in debt, dropping down the anti corruption tables and pretending that driving desperate people off benefits is a victory.
It’s a brighter future if you need a passport out of China or India and can import your own migrant workers for your cheap dairy farm as above or get a passport for your residential property portfolio.
Then Lyn doesn’t sleep instead. She is from Invercargill and actually enjoys the heat. I’m from Auckland and have been getting increasingly irritated and sleep deprived from the years when we collect the our weather from Fiji.
I think that I will have to install aircond for those odd years where we get the muggy weather for weeks on end.
That would depend upon where it was made and the electricity source. If it was made in NZ using full renewable electricity the carbon footprint for it would be close to nil.
Of course you can’t but then I was using it as an example of how our leaders have let us down over the last few decades. We should be able to buy them but our leaders decided that we should just produce more shit to pollute our streams rather than develop our economy.
Don’t want a room full of mossies and creepycrawlies.
Just came off a course of antibiotics for infected mossie bites and suspected cellulitis – and we don’t usually have mossies in this area.
Is the climate changing? Did I miss something?
fill a warm water bottle with cold water and keep it in the fridge/freezer.
put the bottle at the end of your bed where your feet are.
It does help me sleep.
Thanks for the info Lynn. Was having trouble before, with the gitlab thing popping up and not being able to access posts.
+1 to bring on winter.
Even here in Wellington we’ve been having insano heat for over two weeks. The sleepless nights are exhausting. I haven’t had heat headaches since I lived in Auckland, never mind the discomfort of driving in 33 degree heat with out air con!
Rain forecast for later, so that will bring some relief at least.
More proof that Tories just don’t believe in the free-market:
Local councils, public bodies and even some university student unions are to be banned by law from boycotting “unethical” companies, as part of a controversial crackdown being announced by the Government.
Under the plan all publicly funded institutions will lose the freedom to refuse to buy goods and services from companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products or Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They have to force people to act unethically instead.
The Finance Minister also claimed the cost of social housing provision at a development in Tamaki was $900, per person, per week, or $46,800 a year, a hint of the scale of subsidy which could be on offer.
Work was underway to turn the social housing stock into “something that looks a bit more recognisable to managers of capital. That is, contractual cash flows, such as the existing rest home market,” English said.
@The Chairman – Retirement villages are the biggest rip of for retiree’s around. You pay for your ‘unit’, can’t sell it yourself, and have to take whatever price the retirement village decides. Retirement villages are ‘darlings of sharemarket’ because they are consumer rips offs that is how they make money.
I guess now with corporate welfare we take state houses (which apparently return a profit) sell them cheap, then give the money for corporate welfare Saudi and Sky City deals, while getting the tax payer to guarantee returns to corporates for social housing.
Did someone drop English out of a Serco prison at birth?
I guess if you and your mates own the shares what a business opportunity to rob the people on NZ!
Quote: “Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said they were still negotiating with providers to decide which ones the money would go to.
“We’ve gone to the tender process, we’ve RFP’d, we’ve got them in. We’re currently in negotiations with an organisation in Auckland to look at how we get the new places.
“The $500,000 before that had already been distributed and helping those organisations; $2m was new money and, as I say, it’s still going through the process.”
Labour Party housing spokesperson Phil Twyford said that was not good enough.
“It is deeply upsetting that the government – they threw a measly $2m in a kind of a panicked public relations bid to try to make it look as if they’re doing something.
“And, four months later, they still haven’t made any progress on putting more emergency housing in place.”
Cabinet documents obtained by Labour show the government was told in September the situation in Auckland was acute, with virtually no urgent vacancies and insufficient funding.
As a result, the Ministry of Social Development has had to put people up in motels.
Mrs Bennett said she was well aware of how dire the situation was in Auckland – she wrote the Cabinet paper.
“But that’s part of emergency housing at the moment. We’ve got [it] fragmented across government, fragmented across the sector itself – a combination of no security of funding from government [and] some that don’t want it, that want to be actually going via charities and get donations other ways.” Quote End.
+1 – where have all the state houses in Auckland gone? Sold off, but the ‘replacements’ never came, surprise surprise….
Rezoned to special housing areas, very few houses built but a whole lot of millionaires from the land rezoning!! Motorways clogged especially North Western on route from Keys electorate. No public transport but plenty of road construction clogging up the system. Maybe getting stuck in traffic for hours getting into the city might make those people think more carefully who they vote for next time!
The current WINZ practice is to stick people in motel rooms. This saves the govt money as the beneficaries have to pay the money back out of their benefits, and is on the books as a loan.
Also, this means that National-voting motel owners get some income when business is slow.
@Millsy – disgusting. I mean who know this stuff – it is certainly not reported properly in MSM and looked at in a holistic way.
Also if you are unemployed you are forced to take out a student loan for a course you do not want to do, again getting the person off the WINZ books and becoming a student and saddling them with a loan they have to pay back (or the taxpayers do) and a course they do not want to do, with a provider with students who do not want to be there.
Excellent RNZ Insight programme on the scarcity of emergency housing in Auckland – it really is a crisis and now the govt put people on a waiting list FFS!
The olden days version of cellphone footage from a protest that debunks PR spin?
Sanders served as chapter president of the Congress for Racial Equality at the university. A Chicago Tribune press clipping from August of 1963 shows that during a protest, right there on the corner where the mobile homes were being placed, Bernie Sanders was charged with resisting arrest and taken to jail. This isn’t conjecture or revisionist history. Bernie Sanders was a student activist and was arrested during this protest.
Now, it appears obscure archival footage filmed on that very day by Temaner, one of the co-founders of Kartemquin Films, a legendary documentary film company in Chicago, shows the arrest of a young Bernie Sanders…
At a time where surrogates for Hillary Clinton seem to be questioning whether or not Sanders was active in the Civil Rights Movement or ever even cared about issues that matter to black folk, we continue to see more and more evidence that the very identity of Senator Sanders was forged in the fire of activism. Not one other presidential candidate can say such a thing.
Iraq’s version of Agent Orange (no, it’s not about depleted uranium munitions). Yet more of the nasty shit that war keeps giving long after the bullets and bombs stop.
“Lobbying for special tax treatment produced a spectacular return for Whirlpool Corp., courtesy of Congress and those who pay the bills, the American taxpayers.
By investing just $1.8 million over two years in payments for Washington lobbyists, Whirlpool secured the renewal of lucrative energy tax credits for making high-efficiency appliances that it estimates will be worth a combined $120 million for 2012 and 2013. Such breaks have helped the company keep its total tax expenses below zero in recent years.
The return on that lobbying investment: about 6,700 percent.
These are the sort of returns that have attracted growing swarms of corporate tax lobbyists to the Capitol over the last decade — the sorts of payoffs typically reserved for gamblers and gold miners. Even as Congress says it is digging for every penny of savings, lobbyists are anything but sequestered; they are ratcheting up their efforts to protect and even increase their clients’ tax breaks.”
Imagine the return on the TPPA for these lobbyists.
Great to see that companies can keep their tax expenses below zero for a mere 1.8 m of lobbying. sarc.
Welcome to the USA.
Meanwhile, on MSM, keeping it real in between poo pool stories, we will no doubt hear shortly about some beneficiary being overpaid $300 because their on again off again loser boyfriend keeps turning up and she is on the DPB – throw the book at her!! Keep the kids hungry. In fact lets spend $100.000 on prosecuting her, so she will struggle to find work even if there was a job available!
“The work previously done to quantify the cost of economic crime in New Zealand was based on a methodology developed overseas. In the course of the work, it became clear that the methodology was not directly applicable to the New Zealand context.
“As a result, the report was not finalised, and there are no plans to continue the work at this time.”
“Yeah, they stop even looking.”
A familiar theme from this government. Why look at ways to make tax fair for all, when there are so many deserving corporates like Sky City and Saudi Business men and conference facilities and holiday highways that should be built.
I think someone has a link above to emergency housing. 4 months later the government are still deciding how to spend their paltry $2 mill in Auckland but (read this fast so may be wrong) have already spent 1/4 of that on the process….
So far government has not been able to make decision.
So unlike all their emergency law changes without a moments thought for wars, food companies, ripping people off, TPPA etc ….
Still say that lobbying needs to be banned. It’ll out a few people out of work but considering how much that work costs us we’ll probably be much better off.
Somewhat surprised the agricultural aspects of Matariki haven’t been pushed more. About it being the beginning of the agricultural year.
As a national festival it’s got a lot more going for it than 1st Jan (Pagan mid winter booze up) or Easter (minority faith based ritual)
Fed Farmers, especially the Maori side (which is pretty big) should be pushing this hard. Even just to demonstrate that New Zealand is primarily an agricultural economy that’s all based around the natural seasons and cycles.
Make Chinese New Year a public holiday. Next week after Waitangi Day.
Hoover dem votes up!
Wouldn’t matter if Labour did this, handed out red packets filled with hundies, and dressed up to do the dragon dance themselves while lighting off bright red firecrackers, Labour ain’t never ever getting the Chinese vote back.
but you do tend to make sweeping grandiose statements purporting to know what great swathes of people think – you must admit that – and really you don’t know, you just think, or even think you know – but you DON’T know.
So they think they are going to get away with this? I wonder just who would be implicated by what if it is released. Just another anti female strike from the blokey Nact pack.
Still I seem to remember Amy Adams speaking very strongly on issues like this in parliament – will she get to her feet and ask questions on this – and why aren’t the media seeking comment from people like her.
Fletcher this month announced it had reorganised into five divisions and reported first-half results on that basis. It has been shedding unprofitable assets to focus on businesses where it has a dominant position, acquiring Higgins Group Holdings, New Zealand’s third-largest road construction and maintenance company, for $315 million. The Higgins deal settles at the end of June. Separately today it announced a joint venture with National Aluminium, or Nalco, folding its aluminium assets into the JV and closing its own manufacturing plant in Auckland within 18 months.”
…focus on businesses where it has a dominant position.. used to be called a monopoly and be illegal… now to buy up businesses to create monopolies… Of course with the Paula Restocks of the world being part of the commerce commission – who cares about ripping off Kiwis and the cost of building materials! sarc.
I worked in kiangaroa forest when fletchers owned it , mongrel heartless shit bag mother fucking degenerate soulless scabs that dwell on the devils sphincter they are.
Ohh that felt good .
Fletchers havent changed in decades, I recall many a tale from pacific steel in the 70’s. Shudder to think what its like after 7 years of nact policies.
Just discovered through the FB universe that Sue Bradford has been left off the shortlist for Children’s Commissioner. The god botherers and neo-liberals probably pulled rank.
We will probably get that establishment poodle, Lance O Sullivan, who gives lip service to child poverty, but is full on disciple of neo-liberalism, with his heavy support of user pays for health.
Just watching Checkpoint, John Campbell talking to the political commentator, & the commentator is going “National said this, National said that” & Campbell said back to him, “Yeah but the Govt is hardly going to tell you if something is wrong are they”. Was a real kick up this guys arse, Campbell asked if he knew which MPS did not go to the ‘Flag Crisis Meeting’ & the political commentator said “no”.
….”Student loans have become a hot-button issue in the Democratic presidential primaries. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have railed against what they call excessive student debt, vowing to lower student loan interest rates. However, Sanders goes a step further by supporting tuition-free public universities that are fully paid for with a tax on Wall Street.
Almost 71 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduate with a student loan, and those graduating in 2015 have an average debt from school of over $35,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.”
This was an item from the Economist’s daily newsletter.
Does anyone know whether the Green Party, which I understand is opposed to genetic modification, would have a problem with this?
Seems like a great idea to me
“The World Health Organisation recommended trials of genetically modified mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus, which is suspected to be linked to a rise in birth defects. Offspring of the mosquitoes, developed by Oxitec, a British company, die before reproducing. They have already been deployed in small-scale trials in the Cayman Islands and Brazil.”
It would be hilarious if the genetic engineering which causes the children mosquito to die before reproducing, end up affecting people in the same way.
“hilarious”…is not the term I would use….however it would solve the world’s over population problem and possibly also global warming and ensure the future of the planet.
(smirk )…but McFlock and his vaccinators would soon be to the rescue and put a stop to that…because Big Pharma needs lots of people to vaccinate in order to make a Big profit.
“post the actual link”
As I said in my comment.
It is an item from the Economist daily newsletter I receive as an e-mail.
They are only a series of news items. What I reproduced was the whole item.
“Pretty sure the GP don’t develop policy for other countries”. I hope not. I don’t think it would be terribly effective. They would probably use rather rude words.
I was curious what the attitude would be if the virus got to New Zealand, or Ross River fever or whatever. I don’t know whether the particular strain of mosquito could live here but if they could, and the virus arrived would this be considered an acceptable means of fighting it?
The policy linked below appears to have a blanket ban on any GE organisms outside a secure lab.
However, I hope and believe that by the time New Zealand has to seriously consider a question like this, there will have been enough experience and evidence from the rest of the world for a more nuanced and evidence based position to develop.
alwyn, if this interests you, do some searching on Wolbachia. That’s coming at using modified host mosquitoes to control diseases from a slightly different angle.
You’re asking if the GP has an opinion about a hypothetical situation where the details aren’t known? I think you’ve misunderstood how the GP develop policy.
It’s common knowledge that the GP takes a precautionary approach to GE and supports a moratorium on it outside the lab. But that’s not what you were asking.
“Unfortunately I have discovered many of your comments have little connection to reality”
lol, assert all you like, but until you learn how to make actual points and back them up with something you’re just full of air and ad hominems.
TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
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 in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
Michael Reddell writes – I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
Open access notablesPublicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change:We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants:On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point. Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
“Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
Henry Ergas writes – When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision Michael Reddell writes – When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have used their State of the Planet speeches to challenge the Government to prioritise people and planet over profit as the delivery of the Budget approaches. ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events. “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
"On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “I raised my concerns after being ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
On May 18, the Taiwanese community in Christchurch came together for the "Health for All, Taiwan Can Help" march, urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to grant Taiwan participation. ...
The instability comes as the party tries to refresh its brand after six years of being part of a right-wing, pro-imperialist government with both the Labour Party and, from 2017-2020, the far-right NZ First Party. ...
Based on the latest Treasury forecasts, New Zealand Government debt will tick above $90,000 per household for the first time ever at 10pm today, Sunday 19 May 2024. The Taxpayers’ Union is calling it “$90k Debt Day”. Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ ...
Arawata Shane Arawata Shane had wandered long In the wild tangled hills of the West Coast. He came to a stop on the mighty range And looked down at the wide river flats. He breathed in the clean air, And he took in the shadows playing across The face of ...
SPECIAL REPORT:Islands Business in Suva Today is the 24th anniversary of renegade and failed businessman George Speight’s coup in 2000 Fiji. The elected coalition government headed by Mahendra Chaudhry, the first and only Indo-Fijian prime minister of Fiji, was held hostage at gunpoint for 56 days in the country’s ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist and Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific digital journalist Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the chaos in New Caledonia stretched into its sixth day. Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of ...
Asia Pacific ReportThe global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on France to not “misuse” a crackdown in the ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French Pacific territory of Kanaky New Caledonia in the wake of a controversial vote by the French Parliament to adopt a bill changing the territory’s ...
A major provider of school lunches fears the government's new $3 limit for most students will see them eating more pre-packaged and processed food. ...
The star of Dark City: The Cleaner takes us through his life in TV, including the VHS revolution and the John Campbell impression that started it all. Best known for his comedic roles, Cohen Holloway says he struggled at times to maintain the stone cold facade of serial killer on ...
David Hill remembers an old friend, who you’ve probably never heard of. My friend Doug never travelled; he had little interest in the world beyond his own tiny rural town. I’ve rarely known anyone who radiated such contentment. Doug (I’ll call him that) died in March. You won’t know him. ...
Some of the earliest photos of life in Aotearoa are on display at Auckland Museum right now – but the identities of some of the people in them are a mystery.What was it like to be one of the first people in New Zealand to have their photo taken? ...
Since its founding almost a decade ago, Featherston Booktown has grown into one of the country’s most interesting and idiosyncratic literary events. Erin Banks reports from the audience. “Come in, have you had lunch? I’m about to make a cheese toastie.” Mary Biggs, operations manager of Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival, ...
After 33 years abroad, Loveni Enari recently returned to Aotearoa and Samoa in what a friend joked was an “existential crisis”. He learnt and re-learnt so much about his family, friends and both countries. Almost as an afterthought, he got a Samoan tatau. This is his story. (Accompanying it are ...
Nearly 30 years ago, two people told me they’d killed a woman they knew. I thought the truth would come out, that others would tell it. In the end, I had to. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Fact: in 1995, Angela Blackmoore ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at the week and shines a light on some increasingly rare longform journalism. Mōrena and welcome to The Weekend where there will sadly be no aurora to see. After a busy week last week of short, sharp pieces, this week we swung the other way, ...
ANALYSIS:By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates. Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during ...
Forget thin is in, apparently now bigger is better … or is it? After over a decade of body positivity, girls, teens and women are even more confused about what body positivity actually is. The movement began with women confronting unrealistic expectations of how their bodies should look. But sub-strands ...
Grace always sat at the bar at the back of The Cambridge, where she could watch who came in. A huge mirror ran the length of the pub, so you could sometimes watch people without them knowing. The mirror made the place seem a lot bigger than it really was. ...
MONDAY Sheriff Mark Mitchell rose at dawn. He had a long day’s ride ahead of him. He was headed for Waikeria. Waikeria! Even the name itself stirred his blood, and set root in his imagination. There was nothing and no one in Waikeria. But he would bend it to his ...
The first phase of the inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones finished this week, turning up plenty of revelations and few answers. But through all the confusion, heartbreak and antipathy on display, the simple fact at the heart of this case remains: if little Lachie’s body had ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Benjamin, Professor in Art History, University of Sydney “She’s no oil painting”. Those were the unkind words of a colleague commenting on the subject of Vincent Namatjira’s acrylic painting, Gina. Every one of the prominent Australians and cultural heroes in Namatjira’s ...
Government plans to require local councils hold a referendum on whether to have Māori wards breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, a Waitangi Tribunal report has found. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney This year the National Rugby League (NRL) opened its season in Las Vegas. It was an audacious move by the league’s ambitious head honcho Peter V’Landys to showcase the game in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate Professor, Music Industry, RMIT University Leading music organisations have praised the federal budget for its investment in the live music sector. The budget includes A$8.6 million for a program called Revive Live: to provide essential support to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Queensland The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to ...
Air New Zealand has confirmed Nouméa’s Tontouta International airport in New Caledonia is closed until Tuesday. The airline earlier told RNZ it would update customers as soon as it could. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report government officials had been working on an “hourly basis” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Linley, PhD Candidate in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Grant Linley Australia’s unprecedented Black Summer bushfires in 2019–20 created ideal conditions for misinformation to spread, from the insidious to the absurd. It was within this context that a bizarre story ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcel Scharth, Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o.OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treasure McGuire, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), The University of Queensland Speedkingz/Shutterstock Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a ...
A new poem by Hannah Patterson. Xiāng There’s a pear tree in our backyard And Xiāng tells me She can’t eat them anymore Not after some things that have happened in her life. She tells me, in Mandarin The word for pear sounds the same as the word for disassociation ...
‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, supermarket giant Foodstuffs lost its attempt to block the construction of a cycle lane outside Thorndon New World in Wellington. The Spinoff’s Wellington editor ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (Penguin, $40)Taking out the top spot in Auckland this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to ...
"In future I should walk away," Green MP Julie Anne Genter says after complaints over an exchange in Parliament and from two members of the public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Graffam, PhD Candidate in Theatre, Monash University Gianna Rizzo/Malthouse Music pumps; lights pulsate; two sweaty bodies sway together, touching, breathing in each other’s scent. A male body framed by downlight restlessly shifts between stances and gestures. He undresses. The intensity ...
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Asia Pacific Report Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll. It is ...
Producer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders.My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk, and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order. The French ...
Multi-year appropriations - which give the government authority to spend money without reapplying annually - are loosening Parliament's control of the public purse, auditor-general says. ...
Dr. Eric Chuah who stood for a centrist NZ political party in the October 2023 NZ Elections for Maungakiekie Auckland will stand as a candidate for Tauranga City Council Ward of Matua-=Otumoetai and Mayor of Tauranga. ...
If you can’t get to the comedy fest, let us bring the comedy fest to you. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is in full swing at the moment, with a veritable smorgasboard of comedy treats ...
A new poll commissioned by Unions Wellington shows an overwhelming majority of Wellingtonians oppose the Council’s plan to sell the 34% public stake in Wellington Airport. ...
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Winston Peters has been on tour around the Pacific while two unrelated crises unfolded, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Two separate ...
This is the Mount Everest of artificial meatcraft.Ah, bacon. Pig’s gold. Toast’s consolation. Dawn’s savoury embrace. If meat was a currency, bacon would be the Benjamin Franklin. Or if you’re feeling patriotic, the Lord Rutherford. When it comes to fake bacon, the obvious question is: why bother? In the ...
From illegal milk to sprinkler bans and airplane ticket scams, Tyrone Barugh is on a one-man mission through New Zealand’s most obscure legal loopholes. I’m deep undercover, investigating Wellington’s criminal underworld. Inside this store, I’ve been told there is a million-dollar trade in illicit substances. A man dressed in black ...
Watched ‘The Death of Democracy’ on Channel 5 last night. A penetrating, and sobering, account of America’s pernicious influence in South and Central America.
I couldn’t help wondering if the scheduling of this programme was just co-incidental, or was the Maori channel trying to tell us, all of us, something about ‘people power?’
Victor Hugo was quoted by John Pilger: ‘There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” And Gareth Hughes made reference in his apt speech in parliament to the rise of people power.
I hope we are witnessing the rise of a truly democratic movement to sweep away Key and his brown-nosed and dildo-fancying sycophants for their utter contempt for our democracy.
I’ll be there when the barricades go up!
@ Tony Veitch (not the partner-bashing 3rd rate broadcaster) (1)
I picked up on a subtle, although positive change on the anti TPPA march on Feb 4 Tony.
It seems the fires of revolt are beginning to stir and spark in the bellies of ordinary Kiwis now. Democracy is on the rise, through people power, the way it should be. The anti government sentiment demonstrated against FJK at his recent public appearances in less than a month, is more evidence of this point.
As an organized collective, we Kiwis can rid ourselves of the filthy rodents which have been contaminating this country for the past eight years. WE CAN and WE WILL DO IT 🙂
You can trust me along with many hundreds of thousands of other Kiwis, to be standing there beside you when the barricades go up 🙂
Mary and Tony – have you read this? Recommended reading for all, I believe, and really sums up the attitude and expression of the TPPA march the other week.
I wasn’t at any of the marches, but following online it looks promising to me too. I was impressed by the group that organised the blockades in Auckland and their follow up video. I really hope more of that happens. Having Māori out in front leading the way was a very good sign too. And just the momentum that tells us and them that this isn’t going to go away.
Unsurprisingly, some of us featured on the news couldn’t compellingly articulate the complexities of world trade in 15 seconds flat. However, watching clips of the people most gleefully torn apart by the likes of Duncan Garner and Heather, I heard motivations that made perfect sense. I recognise shared human experience and substance in their words. The exact opposite sensation I get when listening Key’s media comment on any given day.
This.
It’s vital that we allow that people can have gut reactions and non-intellectual reasons for opposing the TPPA. One doesn’t have to understand the intricasies of ISDSs or even what they are to know that what National are doing is wrong. There’s a bit of a culture on ts that says emotion is wrong or bad, but emotional responses to oppression are powerful and valid. Yes we still need rational analysis, but we also need to heed the people who act from their heart.
It’s not that emotional responses ate wrong per se but that they need to be backed up with facts. It’s the RWNJ act of responding with beliefs and gut feelings that makes their economics delusional.
Sure but not at the personal level. Any individual on the street (protesting the TPPA) doesn’t have to back their gut response up with facts.
And there are times when intuition and instinct are essential but can never be backed up by facts. Security trainer Gavin De Becker tells women that if they’re in a building late at night waiting at the elevator and the door opens and they see a man in there who they have a negative gut reaction to, then don’t get in the elevator. There’s no way to find out any facts in that situation (eg the man is dangerous), but the act of following one’s intuition sharpens it and in his expert opinion keeps women safer. We can rationalise this if we want (people are having gut reactions based on clues they pick up subconsciously), but that’s not necessary for the principle he suggests to be sound.
But it would be better if they could because then they’d be able to articulate that gut response rather standing there looking like an idiot. Such learning would also help them in their lives as they’d be able to make more informed decisions.
An intuitive response to subtle body language that the person has observed. It is unfortunate that most people actually fight against what they’ve learned in reading body language. Looking at the overt signs rather than the covert. The overt signs are learned through business schools and self help courses/books on ‘success’ to help manipulate others and thus should be ignored.
The knife cuts both ways …
Arguably, John Key is enjoying his third term, and possibly a fourth, because his persona generated a certain “gut reaction” with enough voters to get him over the line and he stills is very popular. If not that, there certainly was and still is a dire lack of “rational analysis”.
Emotions are too easily manipulated and hyped; spin doctors and PR wizards are skilled masters in this – a background in advertising, psychology or journalism is usually a pro.
+1
and if the spin and manipulation don’t work there’s always……
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2016/02/un-rights-experts-urge-western-australia-parliament-not-to-adopt-anti-protest-bill.php
Of course Incognito, but the solution to that isn’t to denigrate emotion and intuition and call people expressing opinion from those places stupid. The solution is to teach people better intuitive skills as well as teaching critical thinking, and how both complement each other.
“Emotions are too easily manipulated and hyped;”
And yet Jane Kelsey gives an empassioned speech at the protest, not a dispassionate one. Yes the knife cuts both ways (although I think Kelsey is speaking an ethical emotional language whereas spin is as you say manipulative).
People with good emotional intelligence are just as important as people with good intellect and sometimes they’re better depending on the situation if the good intellect goes with poor emotional intelligence.
Dairy prices fall for fourth time in a row at Global Dairy Trade auction
‘Analysts say depressed dairy prices are the result of mismatch between supply and demand on the world market and they do not expect to see a big improvement in prices over the next six months.
Fonterra last month cut its farmgate milk price forecast for the 2015/6 season to $4.15 a kg of milksolids, down from a previous forecast of $4.60 a kg, in response to weak international prices.
The latest auction results suggest a farmgate milk price of below $4 a kg, well below the estimated average break-even point of $5.40 a kg.
Farmers are now looking at the likelihood of two sub-$5 years together, which is expected to put added stress on farm balance sheets.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11590485
Auckland’s housing crisis has helped to drive a net 38,000 people out of the city to other parts of New Zealand in the past six years, a new report says.
..it says Auckland’s housing “bubble” is worsening inequality, with the city’s house prices up 20 per cent and rents up 5.7 per cent in the past year compared with a 1.5 per cent rise in wages.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11590689
Are house prices and/or rent included in inflation figures?
Sure doesn’t seem like it.
Fairfax pimping for Key’s flag.
Any angle to find anyone who supports the bankster will suffice.
Flag change referendum gets a nod from The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/76969185/flag-change-referendum-gets-a-nod-from-the-big-bang-theorys-sheldon-cooper
“Are house prices and/or rent included in inflation figures? ”
Yes and no. The materials and construction costs of building a new house is included in the CPI but that doesn’t include the price of the land so it’s meaningless for most intents and purposes. There is no category in the CPI for used houses either.
Rent is included in the CPI but it is given an expenditure weighting of only 9.22 which means a 10% rise in rents would add a mere 0.922 to the CPI.
Auckland has a regional weighting of 36.62 for housing meaning its housing inflation makes up 36.62% of the CPI housing inflation. A 5.7% increase in Auckland rents would therefore add 0.19 to the CPI
Latest CPI figures say rents have increased 22.6% since 2006. I find that hard to believe.
Thanks. It seems wrong that for those renting and whose cost of housing is generally a high proportion of their income that significant rises in rent account for so little in the rate of inflation.
Would I be correct in saying that the CPI is not a good reflection of the actual cost of living?
It used to be.
I started my career in the Research Branch of the Dept of Statistics working on the CPI in 1967. We would get requests from parliament as to the effect of a 1p increase in the price of bread on the CPI. Then it actually meant something. Over the years the “basket of goods” that make up the CPI has changed somewhat as successive govts have added or removed items for obviously political advantage. Now some say the CPI measures “underlying inflation” whatever that means. For instance – if and when the Auckland housing bubble bursts the effect would be a massive reduction in the CPI if housing prices and rent were included. – but for those NZers living outside Auckland (Taranaki say) they would not be affected to such an extent. House prices in adjacent regions may fall slightly – but then they have only risen slightly for the most part anyway.
That’s the market working.
If you can’t afford a Mercedes you buy a Toyota.
If you can’t afford to live in Auckland you live somewhere else.
It’s always been like that.
Move right along, no shock horror news there.
So the market in your terms means that auckland won’t have teachers, nurses etc because they can’t afford to live there
Sounds good!!!
actually if you follow a bit the news you will find that the inhabitants of the posh burbs in AKL are now in a tizzy as the ‘urbanisation’ has come knocking on their doors.
Remuera, Kohimarara, Mt. Eden, Ponsonby, etc etc all have now received their little plan for the future and gasp it allows for infill and high rises, and the peeps are not happy, i tell you they are not happy.
As i was told yesterday, they were not consulted about the changes (ahahahahahhaha no on else ever gets consulted on anything) and it is ‘morally wrong’ to not consult the people living there. And while I agree with that person, i could not help myself to point out in how many instances the habitants of certain areas where not only not consulted, they were ridiculed, harassed, infuriated etc etc.
I did offer the option of moving out of Auckland, after all what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
You can not have unfettered growth and not expect something to give, and besides, have a look at the innercities of the places that AKL likes to be compared too, full of highrises, with no burbs that only are one story houses.
Oh well, i guess at some stage reality hits even those that up until now were happy counting the pennies that they have made only on paper. Never realising that they are sharing the same boat as the rest of us.
This was why I was cynical about Labour’s timing around Chinese immigrants buying Auckland housing.
The NZ top 5% were finding that they (and their kids) were being consistently out-bid at auction for $850,000 houses by cashed up Chinese buyers.
And suddenly, it was a problem.
6 of 1_half a dozen of the other. I am not sure who are worse the local elite or the spoilt rich one child fuckers from China who carry on like they own the place.
Actually the spoilt rich one child fuckers from China do own the place. They’ve taken full advantage of being able to buy up as much NZ residential property as they would like.
However the current Government is not Labour is National, and anything done over the last years was done by National.
You are starting to be bore and you sound like a broken record. Do you have copy paste of “Labour did it too” and “Labour is evil” and Labour is the root cause of misery of everything in NZ since ages ago” or “Labour, yeah right tui”.
So take your fake outrage and shove it. Unless you live in my town, see what is happening to families that live here, i suggest you “Zip it sweety”, if us that have lived here for all of our lives, for generations even are worried what is happening to our “hood”.
And yes, fuck it the new Settlement for a few thousand people is predominantly chinese. How do I know this? I live there, I can differentiate a chinese from a korean, from a thai, a vietnamese, or a Laote. Because they a. don’t look the same, b. don’t speak the same language, and I happen to have an ex Mother in Law who is malay chinese, and a sister in law how still lives in China. It does not make me or anyone else a racists by pointing out the elephant that is standing in the room.
And the B&T Real Estate person is really happy that her “asian” investors are finally getting their IRD numbers and she hopes that the sales in Auckland will a. pick up again and b. they will bring prices up.
You are so full of pooo you have not got an idea what is coming. All you are looking for is cheap shots towards a party that did not elevate you to Saviour. Fuck mate, get a grip. There is misery out there, and you obviously don’t give a shit, because what, it’s just Aucklanders?
by 2005/2006 Auckland housing was already regarded as being “highly unaffordable” and that those house prices shot up and up during a Labour Govt who kept that market overheating, and kept all the MPs property portfolios climbing and climbing.
National have simply continued a trend inherited from Labour.
The thing that gets me is that we always knew that selling to offshore owners would be a problem. That’s why we previously prevented it.
And now that problem is looming large in everyone’s vision except for the idiots who think that they’re getting rich by doing nothing.
They had Sir John Walker’s support on the council – he admitted he didn’t want a 3 storey building as a neighbour. The sections in these suburbs are full quarter acres, some are massive – I think it is Christine Fletcher who has a home in the vicinity, like our leader’s which is massive. So close to work which people want, its perfect for building multi homes in these areas – listen to the squeals!!
Sir John lives on a farm in the Bombays. He is quite happy to deny his fellow Aucklanders a chance for a more affordable home over something which will never affect him. Until perhaps he goes into a Retirement Village – the new ones are all multi-level.
Peter Lewis, why would you support a system which only works for the top 1% to 2% of the population, while forcing everyone else into severe compromise?
After all we are not talking about cars here; you can get a decently running car for $1500 if you know what you are looking for.
We are talking about a city where someone would have to save up more than 25 years of minimum wage to buy even a basic place.
Doesn’t all of this make you rather uncaring and short sighted?
There is compromise and there is compromise.
Perhaps the wealthy should start doing a bit of comprimising instread of leaving it up to the rest of it.
Because I am sure people are getting over having to eat 2 min noodles every night so landlords are able to have caviar in retirement.
It’s obviously working for you Peter – but for the large majority of NZers you might be surprised to find that the market, as it is now, is failing them badly. You need to get out a bit more and open your eyes and ears to what is actually going on around you.
Like Stephen Byres found out
+1
Government agencies ‘inventing numbers’ to meet targets, says report
‘Government agencies are “inventing” new numbers and changing the definitions of targets to make their performance seem better, a damning report says.
The Salvation Army says the organisations feel under pressure from the Government to come up with favourable results, creating an attitude where they “find any reason to celebrate success or progress”, regardless of their original goals.
The charitable organisation’s State of the Nation report attacks the ways in which government agencies appear to be using targets, and the numbers behind them, in a “less than straightforward and reliable manner”.
The report says agencies have been using a number of “subtle and ingenious approaches” to improve their performance against targets.
They include changing the definitions behind indicators to make results appear better, “inventing new numbers” that are difficult to verify, and changing the way figures are reported without improving the reliability of information provided.’
More here….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76957685/government-agencies-inventing-numbers-to-meet-targets-says-report
It’s what we’ve suspected for a long time. Government agencies are being forced more and more to deny political interference and the politicisation in the way they report to the public.
I do hope next year’s corruption index reflects this.
It likely won’t.
The corruption perception index reflects the views of business people and some country experts.
These articles are useful for gaining a greater understanding of what the CPI actually is, and what it is not:
Transparency International: CPI in Detail
Guardian, Dec 2013: Is Transparency International’s measure of corruption still valid?
ForeignPolicy.com, July 2013 Corrupting Perceptions
Russia,
5 year plan
always achieved
people may wait hours in line for a banana and a steak
but the 5 year plan was achieved.
All hail, dear Leader!!
If you’re going to use an example at least use an accurate one.
Russian economic collapse in the 1990s was not due to any “five year plan” by the Communists it was due to western oriented capitalists, neoliberals and investment bankers asset stripping Russia to the core.
In the last ten years, Russian worker incomes, employment and life expectancy have bounced back from those bad days.
By the way, China is on it’s 13th Five Year Plan. Recent plans seem to have been working reasonably well for the Chinese, although some earlier ones were clearly disastrous…
think the point being made was around the manipulation of statistics associated with meeting targets….something that was rife within the Soviet Union due to the consequences of giving your masters bad news
Hi Pat,
As I just wrote to Sabine below, I had thought Sabine had meant Russia, not the Soviet Union, as they are two different countries in two separate centuries.
two separate entities agreed..however believe the 5 year plans disappeared with the break up of the Soviet Union…in that part off the world at least.
China has just started it’s 13th Five Year Plan.
was the reason for this……”in that part off the world at least.”
I would have argued that China and Russia are geographically in the same part of the world and have millions of citizens who live within 100 miles of each other, but sure no probs.
So does China have a reputation for large queues needed to purchase basic food items?
Well, it is the largest consumer market in the world.
lol
so that means banana shortages?
your reading comprehension is failing.
I did not say a thing about the USSR breaking up.
I mentioned the dreaded 5 year plan that let to shortages across the USSR, East Germany and the Eastern Block. Equally normal was the cooking of books to pretend the results desired where the results are achieved.
Other then that you could probably google some old images from the 80’s of people standing in line in front of fruit shops, bread shops, meat shops to receive their allocated rations of food. You will also see that most of the people waiting are elder ladies, they call babushka, grandmother, most important asset of every russian family at the time, as she could stand in line all day.
I think you have finally achieved troll status. Sad really, that that is all you can contribute.
Hi Sabine,
Someone like yourself understands the difference between “Russia” (the country as it is today) and the “Soviet Union” (the country and its satellite states as it was before).
So when you wrote “Russia” I assumed that you had actually meant “Russia.”
Look I’m aware of some of the old Soviet jokes.
Soviet citizen talking to the attendant in a store:
“Excuse me, is this the fish counter?”
“No, this is the meat counter, it’s where you can’t get any meat. The fish counter is over there, it’s where you can’t get any fish.”
I am German. I lived in Germany.
You do not need to CVsplain to me the differences between Russia the Mothers and the USSR.
However in Germany we don’t refer to Russia as the USSR, we refer to it as Russia.
But what evs. I still think you are a troll and will read your missives as such.
Sabine, I don’t particularly give a flying fuck about how you refer to things in Germany to other Germans in German, you’re in NZ now.
That’s not a million miles away from being racist, CV. Even for you, that’s low.
So you reckon Germans are a race now?
Yeah I guess you’re right, that was an idea floating around from the ’30s and 40s, thanks for repeating it here.
A time and regime you’d have been right at home in, I’d guess. And yes, there are Germanic peoples, you goose (stepper). Fuck, you really are an arse.
Germanic peoples? I do believe thats also a concept which was well used in the 1930s and 1940s. Thanks for sharing again.
Fuck off racist.
whatevs
How is that racist? It was rude and unnecessarily aggressive for sure.
Think it through, weka.
“You’re in NZ now”.
He’s just told someone that their culture and their language is not wanted here in NZ. There’s most definitely a word for that sort of bigotry.
come on TRP keep bringing up examples from 1930s Germany, Im enjoying your reaching and your straw man bullshit.
hmm, xenophobic, maybe. I took him to mean that just because something is understood in another country, this conversation is happening within NZ culture so it’s better to use terms people understand here. But of course he’s being a shit for some reason, so who knows?
“Strawman Bullshit?
All I’m seeing is someone who is pretty quickly picks up anti-immigrant sentiment in other people, clutching at straws instead instead of admitting to a vile comment and a weak argument for making it in the first place.
Weka, Sabine justified her use of the term “Russia” when she actually meant the Communist Soviet Union by saying the former was the normal languaging in Germany to refer to the latter.
TRP saw this as an opportunity to stick his paws in and try and frame me as racist because that Labour establishment loyalist gets his greasy pro-establishment brownie points that way.
Of course I was aggressive in my response to Sabine because her response and aggression toward me by calling me a troll was uncalled for.
Someone explain to me how those rotten overseas Chinese deserve to be singled out for outbidding the top 5% for $800,000 Auckland houses.
“Someone explain to me how those rotten overseas Chinese deserve to be singled out for outbidding the top 5% for $800,000 Auckland houses”
I wasn’t criticising you for spotting anti-immigrant sentiment.
miravox, I think it’s clearly getting too late for my own good.
A good evening to you.
No worries cv. Sleep well.
Weka, Sabine justified her use of the term “Russia” when she actually meant the Communist Soviet Union by saying the former was the normal languaging in Germany to refer to the latter.
TRP saw this as an opportunity to stick his paws in and try and frame me as racist because that Labour establishment loyalist gets his greasy pro-establishment brownie points that way.
Of course I was aggressive in my response to Sabine because her response and aggression toward me by calling me a troll was uncalled for.
Sabine didn’t deserve that degree of aggression and if you can’t handle being called a troll when you’ve been spraying negativity all over this site for months then you’re probably in the wrong job.
You and trp need your heads banged together.
I grew up calling the USSR Russia. Irrespective of whether youdon’t give a shit about that, it’s not that hard to see that if you want to communicate effectively then it’s good to try and understand what other people mean. Which I assume was the underlying message in your being so rude to Sabine.
It’s a political discussion site.
And Russia and the Soviet Union were two quite different entities at two quite different times in history.
My apologies for thinking that well educated people give a shit about a small details like that.
As for me “spraying negativity”
It just surprises me how often people will go running back to a political party which regularly goes back on their word and shits on their interests.
There are people here who aren’t well educated too. I don’t have a problem with you clarifying the differences between USSR and Russia, I’m talking about how you did it.
You can justify your behaviour in negativity spraying all you like but it just marks you as having low social intelligence. Or not giving a shit about other people. Or both.
as an aside to all that, I’m personally sick of the whole macho shithead part of the culture here, and the bullshit that goes on in debates where people won’t clarify what they mean, or have this expectation that everyone should be as clever as they are. More and more I see many of the main people commenting here as not really being interested in change or working in constructive ways if it comes at the expense of them behaving badly or not hearing the sound of their own inflated voices.
lol
Here’s archival footage from 1976 showing a New Zealand newsreader referring to the then-existing Soviet Union as “Russia” and the Prime Minister didn’t confuse it with China.
shit mate, you too? Can’t tell the difference between modern Russia and the former Soviet Union?
What does linking to the MSM ignorance of 1976 prove, you think?
That McFlock has a better grasp of how NZers understand what Russia means?
This is a very silly conversation.
But in 1976 “Russia” hadn’t existed for 60-odd years.
It proves that calling the Soviet Union “Russia” is a perfectly understood substitution for New Zealanders.
But I’m sure Kyle Chapman would appreciate your stance that all immigrants should immediately conform to what you erroneously regard as “New Zealand” idiomatic and political norms.
Good god, I really don’t give a fuck how badly Kiwis from 1976 or Germans today incorrectly view or incorrectly perceive modern or olden Russia versus the former USSR/Soviet Union.
is fair to draw the distinction between the USSR and contemporary Russia…it is also pertinent to note Russia’s role in the construction of that empire…and also the role of Russia’s current leadership within that empire.
The impacts of history never cease.
Well, many kiwis today still use “Russia” as a substitute for “Soviet Union”.
Basically, you saw “Russia” and, as is your reflex, you immediately went to defend Putin’s regime. Upon reading the rest of the comment, you could have gone “oh, did you mean the five year plans of the Soviet Union?”, but no.
You tied yourself up in knots to defend your initial interpretation. Because if you can’t see what a commenter here means, how could you possibly know what everyone in NZ or the US is going to vote for in the future? CV knows everything.
So you end up indirectly suggesting that China has banana shortages and putting forward a statement that some believe was racist while others merely think it was xenophobic.
All for the want of thinking before commenting.
No. The five year plan caused mass starvation in the 1930s, not economic collapse in the 1990s.
We’re fast becoming the Zimbabwe of the Pacific. Deep in debt, dropping down the anti corruption tables and pretending that driving desperate people off benefits is a victory.
Where’s our brighter future gone?
Its a brighter future if you’re a foreign investor who wants a cheap dairy farm.
It’s a brighter future if you need a passport out of China or India and can import your own migrant workers for your cheap dairy farm as above or get a passport for your residential property portfolio.
AIG ask?
The All Blacks go along.
Rugby: All Blacks-Ireland clash in Chicago confirmed
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11590794
And their support for the people of Christchurch?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/8053446/Taking-on-the-insurance-titans
Overheat and the backup server didn’t trigger. Somehow we wound up on my gitlab server…
fancontrol now stopped
Back to work.
Muggy, hot, and overcast weather today. Bring on winter
Bring on winter?
The most depressing 3 months of the year.
No way.
I am getting short of sleep in the Auckland muginess. At least in winter I get to sleep at night.
Get yourself a pedestal fan and put it at the end of the bed.
It’s the only way I can get any sleep.
Fan tip from eco-advisor: http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/76937902/Can-t-sleep-because-of-the-heat-Try-this-clever-fan-trick
Then Lyn doesn’t sleep instead. She is from Invercargill and actually enjoys the heat. I’m from Auckland and have been getting increasingly irritated and sleep deprived from the years when we collect the our weather from Fiji.
I think that I will have to install aircond for those odd years where we get the muggy weather for weeks on end.
Whats the carbon footprint on that?
That would depend upon where it was made and the electricity source. If it was made in NZ using full renewable electricity the carbon footprint for it would be close to nil.
where can I get one of those?
Of course you can’t but then I was using it as an example of how our leaders have let us down over the last few decades. We should be able to buy them but our leaders decided that we should just produce more shit to pollute our streams rather than develop our economy.
agreed
I have to have a fan turned on me when I sleep. And the window open.
I just go au natural, window open and sleep above the covers
I’ll go with just the fan, thanks.
Don’t want a room full of mossies and creepycrawlies.
Just came off a course of antibiotics for infected mossie bites and suspected cellulitis – and we don’t usually have mossies in this area.
Is the climate changing? Did I miss something?
fill a warm water bottle with cold water and keep it in the fridge/freezer.
put the bottle at the end of your bed where your feet are.
It does help me sleep.
Great tip Sabine
Thanks for the info Lynn. Was having trouble before, with the gitlab thing popping up and not being able to access posts.
+1 to bring on winter.
Even here in Wellington we’ve been having insano heat for over two weeks. The sleepless nights are exhausting. I haven’t had heat headaches since I lived in Auckland, never mind the discomfort of driving in 33 degree heat with out air con!
Rain forecast for later, so that will bring some relief at least.
More proof that Tories just don’t believe in the free-market:
They have to force people to act unethically instead.
I find this the most despicable ban ever envisaged! How they think that they will get away with this I have no idea!
The Finance Minister also claimed the cost of social housing provision at a development in Tamaki was $900, per person, per week, or $46,800 a year, a hint of the scale of subsidy which could be on offer.
Work was underway to turn the social housing stock into “something that looks a bit more recognisable to managers of capital. That is, contractual cash flows, such as the existing rest home market,” English said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/76936550/retirement-villagetype-companies-will-enter-social-housing-in-5-years-english
Thoughts?
not sure if this has come up already,
but here is another petition to sign.
This time it is to adequately fund mental health care in Canterbury.
https://www.change.org/p/cantabrians-reinstate-and-increase-mental-health-funding-for-the-canterbury-dhb/share?after_sign_exp=default&just_signed=true
Canterbury health services cut…
NZ’s new cut-price mental health services…
@The Chairman – Retirement villages are the biggest rip of for retiree’s around. You pay for your ‘unit’, can’t sell it yourself, and have to take whatever price the retirement village decides. Retirement villages are ‘darlings of sharemarket’ because they are consumer rips offs that is how they make money.
I guess now with corporate welfare we take state houses (which apparently return a profit) sell them cheap, then give the money for corporate welfare Saudi and Sky City deals, while getting the tax payer to guarantee returns to corporates for social housing.
Did someone drop English out of a Serco prison at birth?
I guess if you and your mates own the shares what a business opportunity to rob the people on NZ!
Not for profit serviced retirement villages would be very easy for the Left to set up as an alternative to the corporate model.
@CV
I don’t know why people don’t investigate the retirement village rip off!
But then ripping off Kiwis is big business these days…
Yes, any left alternatives should be looked at for retirements and social housing.
Even substantially subsidized ones.
Or ones that the state partnered with Metropolitan or somesuch. (Maybe not Serco!)
Anyone remember the Tourist Hotel Corporation?
I do, and I remember when they got sold too. It was one of the culture shifting memes – ‘governments shouldn’t be involved in such things’.
Phil Twyford asking a good question.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/296710/where's-the-$2m-for-emergency-housing
Quote: “Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said they were still negotiating with providers to decide which ones the money would go to.
“We’ve gone to the tender process, we’ve RFP’d, we’ve got them in. We’re currently in negotiations with an organisation in Auckland to look at how we get the new places.
“The $500,000 before that had already been distributed and helping those organisations; $2m was new money and, as I say, it’s still going through the process.”
Labour Party housing spokesperson Phil Twyford said that was not good enough.
“It is deeply upsetting that the government – they threw a measly $2m in a kind of a panicked public relations bid to try to make it look as if they’re doing something.
“And, four months later, they still haven’t made any progress on putting more emergency housing in place.”
Cabinet documents obtained by Labour show the government was told in September the situation in Auckland was acute, with virtually no urgent vacancies and insufficient funding.
As a result, the Ministry of Social Development has had to put people up in motels.
Mrs Bennett said she was well aware of how dire the situation was in Auckland – she wrote the Cabinet paper.
“But that’s part of emergency housing at the moment. We’ve got [it] fragmented across government, fragmented across the sector itself – a combination of no security of funding from government [and] some that don’t want it, that want to be actually going via charities and get donations other ways.” Quote End.
National, not giving a shit since ages ago.
+1 – where have all the state houses in Auckland gone? Sold off, but the ‘replacements’ never came, surprise surprise….
Rezoned to special housing areas, very few houses built but a whole lot of millionaires from the land rezoning!! Motorways clogged especially North Western on route from Keys electorate. No public transport but plenty of road construction clogging up the system. Maybe getting stuck in traffic for hours getting into the city might make those people think more carefully who they vote for next time!
The current WINZ practice is to stick people in motel rooms. This saves the govt money as the beneficaries have to pay the money back out of their benefits, and is on the books as a loan.
Also, this means that National-voting motel owners get some income when business is slow.
@Millsy – disgusting. I mean who know this stuff – it is certainly not reported properly in MSM and looked at in a holistic way.
Also if you are unemployed you are forced to take out a student loan for a course you do not want to do, again getting the person off the WINZ books and becoming a student and saddling them with a loan they have to pay back (or the taxpayers do) and a course they do not want to do, with a provider with students who do not want to be there.
Excellent RNZ Insight programme on the scarcity of emergency housing in Auckland – it really is a crisis and now the govt put people on a waiting list FFS!
The olden days version of cellphone footage from a protest that debunks PR spin?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-old-video-shows-bernie-sanders-arrest-article-1.2533704
Also, a shortened TV version of the Erica Garner “It’s Not Over”, video. I prefer the longer four minute one, but this is well edited:
Iraq’s version of Agent Orange (no, it’s not about depleted uranium munitions). Yet more of the nasty shit that war keeps giving long after the bullets and bombs stop.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/16/us-military-burn-pits-chemical-weapons-cancer-illness-iraq-afghanistan-veterans
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/16/burn_pits/
“Lobbying for special tax treatment produced a spectacular return for Whirlpool Corp., courtesy of Congress and those who pay the bills, the American taxpayers.
By investing just $1.8 million over two years in payments for Washington lobbyists, Whirlpool secured the renewal of lucrative energy tax credits for making high-efficiency appliances that it estimates will be worth a combined $120 million for 2012 and 2013. Such breaks have helped the company keep its total tax expenses below zero in recent years.
The return on that lobbying investment: about 6,700 percent.
These are the sort of returns that have attracted growing swarms of corporate tax lobbyists to the Capitol over the last decade — the sorts of payoffs typically reserved for gamblers and gold miners. Even as Congress says it is digging for every penny of savings, lobbyists are anything but sequestered; they are ratcheting up their efforts to protect and even increase their clients’ tax breaks.”
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate-welfare-tax-breaks-subsidies/
Imagine the return on the TPPA for these lobbyists.
Great to see that companies can keep their tax expenses below zero for a mere 1.8 m of lobbying. sarc.
Welcome to the USA.
Meanwhile, on MSM, keeping it real in between poo pool stories, we will no doubt hear shortly about some beneficiary being overpaid $300 because their on again off again loser boyfriend keeps turning up and she is on the DPB – throw the book at her!! Keep the kids hungry. In fact lets spend $100.000 on prosecuting her, so she will struggle to find work even if there was a job available!
Yep but what happens to the real economic criminals?
Yeah, they stop even looking.
@Draco
“Yeah, they stop even looking.”
A familiar theme from this government. Why look at ways to make tax fair for all, when there are so many deserving corporates like Sky City and Saudi Business men and conference facilities and holiday highways that should be built.
I think someone has a link above to emergency housing. 4 months later the government are still deciding how to spend their paltry $2 mill in Auckland but (read this fast so may be wrong) have already spent 1/4 of that on the process….
So far government has not been able to make decision.
So unlike all their emergency law changes without a moments thought for wars, food companies, ripping people off, TPPA etc ….
Still say that lobbying needs to be banned. It’ll out a few people out of work but considering how much that work costs us we’ll probably be much better off.
I love John Oliver.
This should be on high rotation
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11590035&ref=NZH_FBpage
“It was ferocious, it was brutal, it was hardly unexpected”: Eugene Bingham on the end of 3D
http://thespinoff.co.nz/17-02-2016/it-was-ferocious-it-was-brutal-it-was-hardly-unexpected-eugene-bingham-on-the-end-of-3d/
I’ve got a sure-fire election winner for someone:
Make Chinese New Year a public holiday. Next week after Waitangi Day.
Hoover dem votes up!
I’d prefer to make Matariki a holiday. Great boost to our own culture and we don’t pretend to be someone else.
Agree.
something in June/July would be nice, too.
Pepper a few more throughout the year, with a couple of restricted trading/zero advertising holidays too.
Ah fuck it. Let’s just go for a four day week.
And that’s exactly what I’m pushing for.
You’re too busy undermining the Left to push anything.
Holidays break up the year.
A 40, 30 or 20 hour work week is another matter 🙂
Somewhat surprised the agricultural aspects of Matariki haven’t been pushed more. About it being the beginning of the agricultural year.
As a national festival it’s got a lot more going for it than 1st Jan (Pagan mid winter booze up) or Easter (minority faith based ritual)
Fed Farmers, especially the Maori side (which is pretty big) should be pushing this hard. Even just to demonstrate that New Zealand is primarily an agricultural economy that’s all based around the natural seasons and cycles.
+ 1 Good thoughts
Wouldn’t matter if Labour did this, handed out red packets filled with hundies, and dressed up to do the dragon dance themselves while lighting off bright red firecrackers, Labour ain’t never ever getting the Chinese vote back.
Yes, because you speak for the “Chinese vote”* as well as citizens of the USA 🙄
*let’s not unpack the racism implicit in that little package, because you’d bore me with your petit crap.
LOL dude, you really are cute with your nerdrage.
but you do tend to make sweeping grandiose statements purporting to know what great swathes of people think – you must admit that – and really you don’t know, you just think, or even think you know – but you DON’T know.
Report into police handling of Roast Busters case to stay secret
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11591155
Just another white wash by the IPCA. I wonder if they even did a report. It would be hard to release if they haven’t done one.
No surprises there, it is nationals police force after all.
So they think they are going to get away with this? I wonder just who would be implicated by what if it is released. Just another anti female strike from the blokey Nact pack.
Still I seem to remember Amy Adams speaking very strongly on issues like this in parliament – will she get to her feet and ask questions on this – and why aren’t the media seeking comment from people like her.
“Fletcher profits soar 51 per cent
Fletcher this month announced it had reorganised into five divisions and reported first-half results on that basis. It has been shedding unprofitable assets to focus on businesses where it has a dominant position, acquiring Higgins Group Holdings, New Zealand’s third-largest road construction and maintenance company, for $315 million. The Higgins deal settles at the end of June. Separately today it announced a joint venture with National Aluminium, or Nalco, folding its aluminium assets into the JV and closing its own manufacturing plant in Auckland within 18 months.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11590843
…focus on businesses where it has a dominant position.. used to be called a monopoly and be illegal… now to buy up businesses to create monopolies… Of course with the Paula Restocks of the world being part of the commerce commission – who cares about ripping off Kiwis and the cost of building materials! sarc.
and more unemployed for everyone.
I worked in kiangaroa forest when fletchers owned it , mongrel heartless shit bag mother fucking degenerate soulless scabs that dwell on the devils sphincter they are.
Ohh that felt good .
Fletchers havent changed in decades, I recall many a tale from pacific steel in the 70’s. Shudder to think what its like after 7 years of nact policies.
not a bad rant that there b
Just discovered through the FB universe that Sue Bradford has been left off the shortlist for Children’s Commissioner. The god botherers and neo-liberals probably pulled rank.
We will probably get that establishment poodle, Lance O Sullivan, who gives lip service to child poverty, but is full on disciple of neo-liberalism, with his heavy support of user pays for health.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/leaked-nationals-flag-change-crisis-meeting-2016021714#axzz40Aq2C737
OOPs! Paddy is reporting a meeting of Nat MPs today where 50% are opposed to Key’s flag change. Leaked emails from Caucus a first. Watch out K ey!
Beginning of the end…
But is the process 18 months long or sometime in 2020?
I wonder how often this thug’s evidence has been pivotal to someone getting wrongly convicted.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11588882
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/76992209/NIWA-figures-show-hotter-than-usual-summer-that-looks-set-to-continue
“”There’s no special explanation behind the scorching days and stuffy nights – all blame goes to the set of high-pressure systems rolling across the country””
No little frogs the element isn’t on under the pot!
Just watching Checkpoint, John Campbell talking to the political commentator, & the commentator is going “National said this, National said that” & Campbell said back to him, “Yeah but the Govt is hardly going to tell you if something is wrong are they”. Was a real kick up this guys arse, Campbell asked if he knew which MPS did not go to the ‘Flag Crisis Meeting’ & the political commentator said “no”.
I heard that too, it was good.
Am I the only one wondering if there weren’t many people at the meeting because Maggie Barry called it? 😉
According to the Herald today the poor are better off in NZ these days?
Right wing economists…persecution of the young ( these neolib economists should be thrown in jail…not young students)
‘US Marshals make arrests over non-payment of student loans’
https://www.rt.com/usa/332657-marshals-arrest-student-loans/
….”Student loans have become a hot-button issue in the Democratic presidential primaries. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have railed against what they call excessive student debt, vowing to lower student loan interest rates. However, Sanders goes a step further by supporting tuition-free public universities that are fully paid for with a tax on Wall Street.
Almost 71 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduate with a student loan, and those graduating in 2015 have an average debt from school of over $35,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.”
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/02/13/defending-free-tertiary-education-chris-trotter-responds-to-dr-oliver-hartwichs-defence-to-the-user-pays-university/
This was an item from the Economist’s daily newsletter.
Does anyone know whether the Green Party, which I understand is opposed to genetic modification, would have a problem with this?
Seems like a great idea to me
“The World Health Organisation recommended trials of genetically modified mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus, which is suspected to be linked to a rise in birth defects. Offspring of the mosquitoes, developed by Oxitec, a British company, die before reproducing. They have already been deployed in small-scale trials in the Cayman Islands and Brazil.”
It would be hilarious if the genetic engineering which causes the children mosquito to die before reproducing, end up affecting people in the same way.
“hilarious”…is not the term I would use….however it would solve the world’s over population problem and possibly also global warming and ensure the future of the planet.
(smirk )…but McFlock and his vaccinators would soon be to the rescue and put a stop to that…because Big Pharma needs lots of people to vaccinate in order to make a Big profit.
Pretty sure the GP don’t develop policy for other countries.
It’s better if you post the actual link, so we can see teh context.
“post the actual link”
As I said in my comment.
It is an item from the Economist daily newsletter I receive as an e-mail.
They are only a series of news items. What I reproduced was the whole item.
“Pretty sure the GP don’t develop policy for other countries”. I hope not. I don’t think it would be terribly effective. They would probably use rather rude words.
I was curious what the attitude would be if the virus got to New Zealand, or Ross River fever or whatever. I don’t know whether the particular strain of mosquito could live here but if they could, and the virus arrived would this be considered an acceptable means of fighting it?
Here is a link from The Guardian to the same material
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/who-paves-way-for-use-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-combat-zika
The policy linked below appears to have a blanket ban on any GE organisms outside a secure lab.
However, I hope and believe that by the time New Zealand has to seriously consider a question like this, there will have been enough experience and evidence from the rest of the world for a more nuanced and evidence based position to develop.
https://home.greens.org.nz/policysummary/agriculture-and-rural-affairs-policy-summary
alwyn, if this interests you, do some searching on Wolbachia. That’s coming at using modified host mosquitoes to control diseases from a slightly different angle.
So far I have had a look at this report
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-tiny-bacterium-called-wolbachia-could-defeat-dengue/
Makes it sound so easy, doesn’t it. I suppose even the Green policy would accept this. I shall have a further look later.
Thanks for the suggestion.
You’re asking if the GP has an opinion about a hypothetical situation where the details aren’t known? I think you’ve misunderstood how the GP develop policy.
Andre doesn’t seem to agree with you weka.
Unfortunately I have discovered many of your comments have little connection to reality
It’s common knowledge that the GP takes a precautionary approach to GE and supports a moratorium on it outside the lab. But that’s not what you were asking.
“Unfortunately I have discovered many of your comments have little connection to reality”
lol, assert all you like, but until you learn how to make actual points and back them up with something you’re just full of air and ad hominems.
Might be a bit late now but I thought that this was one of the better discussions. Monday 15th.
“Matthew Hooton and Stephen Mills discuss current political affairs including the flag debate and the trivialisation of New Zealand politics.”
Stephen holds things into a better balance.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201789280/politics-with-matthew-hooton-and-stephen-mills