Speaking of which, Maybe Garth should invite Stuart Nash aboard.
Calling for prisoners to scalp a fellow inmate…bold statement from a member of the Labour Party, Spokesperson for Police, no less, not that Labour seem to mind. Certainly I would have thought that a call to gross violence would be a no-no. But then I’m not a member of the Labour Party.
“Nash went on to suggest that a fellow inmate should scalp Smith.
“Scalping is associated with American Indians but it was actually started by Europeans.
“Perhaps someone in jail who isn’t too fond of monsters who destroy little boys[sic] lives by stealing their innocence in the worst way possible could reintroduce Mr Smith to the practise[sic].””
That is on a par with another brutal and mindless comment that men tend to make and that is implying male rape when they talk about not dropping the soap in the shower apparently because you are vulnerable when you bend over to pick it up.
Gloating over some miscreant and wishing them bad experiences is descending to their level, and if Nash did that then he should be kicked out of Labour. I thought it was considered at one time, or was it a commenter who felt that Gnashonal was his true home.
If an unrepentant and unreconstructed pedophile like Phillip John Smith was to meet a sticky and untimely end behind bars I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. That fucker has no shame and no remorse. I’d be concerned that it indicated a wider failure of corrections to be able to control the prison system, but as for Smith, nah. To late mate. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
And that, dear Standardistas, is where Mr. Nash comes in. His job is to innoculate Labour from the law and order brigade and charges of being namby-pamby liberals soft on the crims. Over on pundit.co.nz Andrew Geddis is suggesting Smith should lay a complaint under the harmful digital communications act. I think Smith should lay a complaint, and Andrew Geddis ought to act as his lawyer. Because having a loathed pedophile and well known ivory tower academic ganing up on a politician who is hardline on law and order is, my gentle friends, electoral paydirt, a vote winning bonanza for Nash and Labour that has the added benefit of shutting down any sort of attack on Labour from National and ACT.
You do realise that there are all sorts of people in prison, for all sorts of crimes of varying consequence, even the very occasional white collar criminal, and that the majority of them will one day be walking the streets again.
You think that letting prisons become some sort of Apocalypse Now Gulag or slaughter house, where anything goes, is going to churn out the kind of people you want in society?? You think we can ‘select’ from the outside which prisoners should get brutalised??
Okey dokey, good luck with that. Taking Mexico, or Russia or Thailand or France or America as your prison model is not the path to a good nights sleep.
INZ are only targeting ‘low value’ (money-wise) people at the moment. As one lawyer put it recently: “flushing the pool” . Flushing the pool so the whole shady system can carry on fleecing a new batch of people.
It’s all very reminiscent of dawn raids after car assembly went into decline.
They have to keep all those Private Tertiary Institutions, immigration ‘consultants’ running on black money, and below minimum wage employers running after all.
Damn sight cheaper than properly resourcing the Labour Inspectorate and INZ.
Lie, bullshit and attract them here, fleece, then boot, rinse, start again
(/sarc)
Who wants environmental protection or health and social services when you can have a nice big army…
The $54bn boost for the military is the biggest since Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s………. financed by cutting the Environmental Protection Agency by 31% (with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs), the state department by 28% and health and human services by 17.9%. The budget would eliminate completely the National Endowment for the Arts, legal services for the poor, low-income heating assistance and the AmeriCorps national service program established by Bill Clinton.
Having work along side the yanks on operations and peacetime it show’s and they are the most poorly payed in western world. We aren’t allow to discuss our pay rates when we work along side them BTW that goes for the Kiwis as well. For example what my US counterpart makes in a year, I make in 6mths and that’s without deployment money.
I can’t stand Trump, but he seems to be at least in Europe telling N.A.T.O. allies to take more responsibility for their own defence. In that sense it is fair enough as the first priority of any nation is to protect their civilian population from attack by another country.
In saying that though, in some respects Trump is ratcheting UP the pressure on other nations, such as China, Iran and North Korea.
In the case of China, I think Trump has been winding up Beijing. Whilst billions of dollars in trade shall continue to flow between the countries, what if things got so bad that one or the other slapped an export ban on all but their largest exports? That would rock the markets.
Unless I have missed something Trump is not keen on the nuclear deal that got hammered out in 2015. And that should bother people massively, because in doing so, he is in effect sanctioning Bibi’s poisonous anti-Iran rhetoric and giving the Ayatollahs munitions in a propaganda war that they simply do not deserve.
A return to hard power with a $54 billion increase in defence spending, cuts to diplomacy and foreign aid, bombs, lots of bombs, and a ramping up of covert drone strikes is reasonable?.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has given the Central Intelligence Agency secret new authority to conduct drone strikes against suspected terrorists, U.S. officials said, changing the Obama administration’s policy of limiting the spy agency’s paramilitary role and reopening a turf war between the agency and the Pentagon.
[…]
The Obama administration put the military in charge of pulling the trigger to promote transparency and accountability. The CIA, which operates under covert authorities, wasn’t required to disclose the number of suspected terrorists or civilian bystanders it killed in drone strikes. The Pentagon, however, must publicly report most airstrikes.
The U.S. has been supplying the weapons, the logistics, giving all sorts of support to the Saudis, in a bombing campaign that has left over 10,000 Yemenis killed. But even more than that, it caused a catastrophe that according to the UN has left seven million Yemenis not knowing where their next meal will be coming from.
That’s before even Trump was in office. But I do agree Trump is getting the US more involved which is not good for anyone, and goes against what he said while campaigning.
Benjamin has also pointed out before that Obama increased the number of drone strikes by 8 times since George Bush. Making him out as “holier than thou” is very problematic.
Yes, let’s have some context – him and his mob plan to finance their hard power, and push defence beyond the current 20% of federal spending, by slashing funding for science, the environment, climate research, art, public broadcasting, national parks, healthcare, public health, education, meals on wheels, school lunches, low income housing, occupational health and safety, public transport, oversight of banking and finance, regional assistance, economic development, etc, etc,…
/
Fun Fact: Trump's Budget could save most of the programs and services for arts, poor and elderly if he and his family lived in the WH only.— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) March 16, 2017
During President Obama’s two terms in office, he approved 542 such targeted strikes in 2,920 days — one every 5.4 days. From his inauguration through today, President Trump had approved at least 36 drone strikes or raids in 45 days — one every 1.25 day
snip
Here’s the story as told by Foreign Policy online on March 9:
After a week of punishing airstrikes loosed on al Qaeda in Yemen that saw 40 targets go up in flames and smoke, American pilots took a breather the past two nights, watching the dust settle.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
Of course, you can’t say President Trump has broken all his promises. After all, during a campaign appearance in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, candidate Trump swore (literally) that he would “Bomb the shit out of” the Islamic State (AKA ISIS). “I’d blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left. We’ll get Exxon to come in there and in two months … I’ll take the oil,” Trump boasted at that same event in November 2015.
snip
About a month after the deadly raid resulted in the death of a SEAL Team member, U.S. forces were back in the area, continuing the killing. Here’s the report according to Digital Journal:
According to residents, U.S. forces carried out “indiscriminate shelling” of the area on March 2-3, killing numerous civilians, including Ahmed and Mohammed al-Khobze, two brothers, ages 10 and 12. Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said U.S. forces carried out more than 30 strikes in 36 hours, exceeding the 32 confirmed drone strikes in Yemen all of last year. Over the past two years, U.S.-backed Saudi Arabian aerial bombardment has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, with more than a third of Saudi attacks hitting civilian sites.
The CIA can now kill potential terror suspects with drone strikes after being granted new powers by President Donald Trump, according to a new report.
The new authority – said to have been granted shortly after Mr Trump’s inauguration – takes drone strikes out of the sole control of the military, sparking fears about accountability.
Under the drone policy of the Obama administration, the CIA could find a suspect, but the armed forces would carry out the actual strike.
but i am sure he is gonna follow up on his promise of beautiful healthcare for all, school choice for all, investment into infrastructure, job creation and the likes, o hang on, no he does not.
He gave to the military, he gave to the customs and immigration, and he is making sure that the US Americans are going to be paying for his beautiful wall. Yeah, right.
You know, at some stage one stops to listen to the blahblahbalh that comes out of Trumps bloated face, but one rather pays attention to what Trump and his enablers in Congress and Senate are actually doing.
And as always Digby says it the best http://digbysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/trumps-american-carnage-agenda.html
” That’s right, we’re spending millions to ferry that asshole back and forth to Florida every week-end and millions more to keep his super model wife at arms length in his golden tower in New York. But they’re going to starve old people and kids. Literally. ”
Cause meals on wheels and heating assistance to poor and low income people only created dependence and if they want a warm bed and three square meals they just join the Armed Forces and for sure they will never be used in an actually war.
Bless yer little cotton socks.
Yes context. Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen are wrecked countries with millions of lives affected and a Democrat president presided over a lot of the destruction. But hey let’s blame it all on the Donald.
We’re not blaming it all on The Donald – we’re blaming the upramp of bombing under his presidency on him and that’s all because that is his responsibility.
As for those countries – The US spent decades destroying them so that they could loot them.
The US has only one export really, death and destruction. and now its Trump turn. And that is what a lot of us have always said, and it is what he is doing now.
No more blaming this or that, time to own this shit.
And for what its worth, he was always quite vocal about what he was gonna do. He actually spoke about it, but i guess no one wanted to hear this, and besides, emails, and she devil who will start world war three, despite the fact that we have yet to finish world war 1.
if you have a spare 40 minutes, Fareed Zakaria’s documentary on Putin is well worth watching if you want a different picture than the one crafted by Kremlin controlled media
As Chinese reliance on foreign oil imports increases, news that the China Investment Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation is preparing to take a majority stake in Aramco:
But AIPAC has done more than just tolerate the U.S. tilt toward extreme and often xenophobic views. Newly released tax filings show that the country’s biggest pro-Israel group financially contributed to the Center for Security Policy, the think-tank that played a pivotal role in engineering the Trump administration’s efforts to impose a ban on Muslim immigration.
Looks like Teresa May just made a howler of a Freudian slip. In rejecting any talk about a second independence referendum for Scotland, she elevated the need for a focus on BREXIT talks with the EU, but said…
To be talking about an independence referendum would, I think, make it more difficult for us to get the right deal for Scotland and the right deal for the UK.
Hardly the words of a unionist to be separating one country out from the union, now, is it? Any unionist worth their salt would have quite naturally – effortlessly – said something like “the right deal for Scotland and the right deal for the rest of the UK”.
High value, high wage jobs. Oh yeah. Probably all in the computer industry.
Exactly what have you in mind to ensure that there are the hv-hw jobs Labour? Lovely talking point, but the reality is in the middle of the Pass the Parcel game. Every election and sometimes between we get to take another layer off, I wonder what will be in the centre at the finish, probably a defunct smartphone with dud batteries and none made currently that will fit. That’s what suckers like us in NZ get.
Went to hear Gareth Morgan last night. He isn’t planning any smart government intervention to aid employment. Just adjust the crazy setting of the market and she’ll be right.
Can’t get things right the first time with a new initiative, the second time – nah?, the third time – what was it that we were trying to achieve last time?
The fourth time – oh that’s old hat now things will be different in the future, more flexible, changing with new vistas opening up that we haven’t even thought of yet. But people are almost starving, sleeping in the streets! Well that is progress isn’t it, there is always a fall out and it takes time for the economy to adjust and to retrain new people, and let’s face it some of those on the streets can’t even write, so how can they expect to find employment, etc etc.
Elsea was not an Ajin employee. She was employed through a staffing agency, Alliance Total Solutions. About 250 of the almost 800 workers at the Ajin’s plant were temps.
These companies pushed their inexperienced workers to the end. In her last weeks, Elsea worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, hoping to qualify for a full-time position and an hourly wage of about $12, according to the Financial Times.
The Tourist industry is thriving, so there should be room for better wages.
Labour’s intention to promote collective bargaining and guarantee unions a voice would be worth a try don’t you think ?
Yeah, we’re “thriving” if you just look at the metric of visitor numbers. But these are generally low yield visitors and / or markets that externalise their costs to the resident population. Often the profitability, and ability to pay any wages, let alone decent wages, is just not there.
A change in focus from greater numbers towards greater profitability would do a lot for the sustainability of our tourist industry. But that doesn’t seem to be the Nat way, just more and more of everything at decreasing returns until the whole thing goes tits up…..
Bunnings car parks are welcoming (or at least don’t stop it) to people living in cars staying over night. It seems quite a big thing, with many homeless workers with vehicles using the carparks at night.
In the US it’s normal for people to overnight in vehicles in carparks of big stores and malls. There are facilities too in places, like showers and wifi, plus obviously being able to buy food etc in the morning. That’s not all homeless people, much of it is travellers.
Well hats up for Bunnings. In a crisis it’s doing something worthwhile, thank the Aussies for having flexible ideas on accommodation, houses, island paradise camps etc. Bunnings will be flavour of the month (years!) for their staff.
If only Bunnings were more respectful of their staff needs as well!
In Aussie the shop in Rockingham WA is enormous. It is almost completely “off grid” with solar panels, wind turbines, and massive rain water tanks. No plastic bags!
So some green washing there I guess – but better than nothing.
Good that they are showing some social responsibility as well – but frankly there shouldn’t be any need in a country of plenty.
At the other side of the pond (USA) the number of homeless is set to skyrocket (around 750,000) as the chump vindictively cuts funding. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/16/trump-budget-cut-eliminate-homelessness-agency
This has not yet been said today but Happy St Patrick’s Day to yez all from Mac1.
I have been thinking about Patrick’s life. What generosity of spirit and of forgiveness to go back after being enslaved and convert the irish people to Christianity.
“This unprecedented foray into electoral politics is reckless on at least two counts. First, the King’s disparaging reference to Mahuta’s current status betrays an inadequate grasp of the intricacies of Pakeha politics. Second, it assumes a willingness to be directed on the part of the voters of Hauraki-Waikato which may not, in practice, extend anything like as far as the polling booth.”
seems like both his points are completely subjective to me – chris wouldn’t know, let alone understand any long term goal the King may have – why would he – he just gets access to the little tiny wee dribble that goes public.
“Clearly, Morgan is convinced that the outcome of this second attempt to establish dual sovereignties within a single, unitary state will turn out very differently from the first. Moreover, he has been successful in persuading the Maori King to test his hypothesis.”
no there is no clearly at all – just the chris lens of interpretation which sadly for him has no discerning ability when confronted with Māori politics. So anything which moves us (imo or someones I respect) towards tino rangatiratanga is GOOD – will it work – not if the powers that be are against it which they are – does that mean we give up – nope that is NEVER going to happen.
“The Labour Leader, Andrew Little, and Labour’s Maori caucus, are betting that Maori voters on both the Maori and General electoral rolls are nowhere near ready to indulge the Maori Party President’s political fantasies to this extent. They are convinced that if the choice presented to Maori voters is between restarting the Land Wars of the Nineteenth Century, and winning improved access to employment, housing, education and health services in the Twenty-First, then they will opt, overwhelmingly, for the latter.”
and this is why chris has no mana when it comes to this type of analysis – it is restart the land wars or improved access to stuff. Yeah nah chris your crayon style of understanding just serves you and those like you and this is known.
Today is St Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland, but countries and social movements can have their own patron saints, founders and heroes.
The Marginal Mennonite Society page on Facebook has a series of religious and social activists who may well be admired for their being in that pantheon of saints and heroes. The MMS posts regularly and most welcomely on my Facebook.
The latest post which inspired me to mention this on The Standard is the life of Bayard Rustin, a black, gay, pacifist, socialist, civil rights activist who died in 1987 aged 75.
His life resonates at so many levels for me when you read about him and his life and times.
Wikipedia has a fine article on Bayard Rustin who was born today in 1912. Inspiring stuff!
A former GSCB employee responsible for drone strikes is now overseeing MSD’s big data focus on beneficiaries and rape victims.
Anyone see a problem with this?
State targets, state scapegoats.
[lprent: No link. No reference to what you are talking about.
Hectoring tone. Acting like a astroturfing troll pushing some kind of vindictive line.
I have a problem with that. I will let this through as a topic. But you will have to do a lot better than that before I will let you off comment probation. ]
by The Council of Disobedient Women In a press release today Massey University announced it has decided to rebrand and reorientate after struggling to be a University for grown-ups. For some time the University has wanted to be a safe play space for wee-woke-misogynists who have been really badly triggered ...
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThere is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Last month, NZDF's shoddy coverup of what it knew about civilian casualties in Operation Burnham began to fall apart, with the revelation that a report on the matter, which NZDF claimed not to have, had been sitting in an NZDF safe for the past nine years. Yesterday, the man responsible ...
While many imagine that countries like the USA and Europe dominate space activities, in fact India is now a major player on this stage. It launches satellites for its own purposes and also commercially, and has constellations orbiting our planet and returning data of vital importance to that nation in ...
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
An essay by Judith Collins MP reported on Carbon News yesterday seems to show an alarming shift in attitude within the National Party. Collins argues against the Zero Carbon Bill, the Paris Agreement, and downplays the magnitude of climate impacts. The Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015 and ratified ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
How could government evolve over the next decades? Reports of democracy’s imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. However, satisfaction with political systems in many countries is low, so there is much to do for governments of all political stripes to improve relevance and trust. Digital technologies are seen as one ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand has prided itself for decades with regard to its lack of pollution, and all will be aware that the ‘100% Pure New Zealand‘ meme is under threat through land, water and air pollution of various causes. There is another type of contamination that the country also faces: light ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
What is language? We generally assume that it a facility unique to humans, allowing us to share what’s in and on our minds. We can tell of our plans, our past exploits, our knowledge. It also allows us to lie. And yet there are vast numbers of people we can’t ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
Alex Casey talks to Henessey Griffiths, a 22 year-old Dunedin student who just finished her dissertation about one of Youtube’s most controversial stars. Content warning: this article contains mention of suicide, please take careYesterday afternoon in Dunedin, honours student Henessey Griffiths sent a tweet that was a year (or rather, five ...
The Transport Minister has released almost all of the letters he's received from Green MPs, but still refuses to release the letter from Julie Anne Genter that is now at the centre of an Ombudsman complaint. ...
Court documents have confirmed Winston Peters was sent a letter by officials four years into his seven-year overpayment of national superannuation asking him to check details he had supplied, including that he was 'single'. ...
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. ...
The New Zealand Police have been used as a political pawn which is stretching their resources and seriously affecting their ability to address the real causes of crime, such as gang related supply of illicit drugs. ...
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience.When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out ...
Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th--there is very little evidence that says high pay and bonuses improve the performance of a company. Most ...
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, Australian National University It has been more than two years since “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces, the Tatmadaw, forced more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. During this time, the UN Security Council has ...
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea police have issued a warrant for the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. According to EMTV News, the Waigana district court issued the warrant which was based on evidence previously compiled by police investigators. Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said he ...
Patient Voice Aotearoa welcomes the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on ‘The Project’ on Friday last week. Peters stated “Right now…we know we are not spending nearly enough on pharmaceuticals and first world drugs…the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
Barely a month after the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s Central Province has signed an agreement with the Beijing-based Sam Group to develop Tulagi Island, across Ironbottom Sound from the capital Honiara. Tulagi was the pre-war base of the British ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack.Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Arif Hasan, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
There’s an innovation renaissance brewing in post-earthquake Christchurch as multicultural entrepreneurship replaces the old boys’ network. This required a new name, writes Steven Moe.An unusual name that evokes images from Harry Potter is fine by the Ministry of Awesome, because it immediately sets it apart. Founded in the aftermath of ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Ngā Tāngata Microfinance endorse the Salvation Army’s call for tougher regulations on debt collectors and mechanisms to provide forgiveness or waivers for debts to private lenders and Government that are "effectively ...
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ...
Today the Wellington Howard League releases the results of its fourth annual Wellington Howard League prison survey. The survey suggests a variation in the conditions experienced across prisons in New Zealand and an overall decline in most aspects surveyed. This ...
Some people go for a run to let off steam after work, while others try their hand at ballroom dancing or hit up a pub quiz. And some, as Greta Yeoman discovers, throw sharp objects at walls. She gives it a go.An uncoordinated, anxious journalist with terrible aim is probably ...
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...
A staffing survey carried out by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has found a gaping shortfall of hospital specialists at the Northland DHB. ...
Iain Lees-Galloway has defended granting residency to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions saying the person had been in the country for 20 years and had kept out of trouble for a long time. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Industrial relations Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters holds the keys to new union laws. Will ...
Not the impeachment investigation. Nor Ukraine. Syrian Kurds.Last week, Turkey invaded the bit of Syria controlled by America’s Kurdish hitherto-allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he only wants to occupy a border strip to resettle Syrian refugees and create a buffer zone between ...
Yes we fully support Minister of transport plan to use special speed cameras finally catching all speeding trucks, and other vehicles on our narrow single lane roads that are not fit to use as a speedway by any vehicle. ...
This afternoon Fish & Game posted a public statement responding to my email to supporters this morning – specifically rejecting our claim that steel shot is now deemed "enhanced penetration ammunition" and therefore possession of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”. Research shows high levels of exam stress can interfere with attention and reduce working memory, leading ...
The National Party's outrage that the Immigration Minister granted residency to a protected person and recidivist drink driver, entitling them to the same benefits as New Zealanders, has backfired. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Melbourne Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Lycett, Senior Research Officer, Deakin University; Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Three simple factors can predict whether a child is likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence: the child’s body mass ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University It’s unlikely Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, realised he’d be sparking an international diplomatic incident when, on October 4, he tweeted the following Stand with Hong ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination.Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ ...
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show canceled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive.A trio of shows which have been amongst Three’s most important local productions are either being canceled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising ...
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated.Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Open Mike 17/03/2017 
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...3 hours ago
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...6 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...9 hours ago
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...9 hours ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...1 day ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...1 day ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...1 day ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...5 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...6 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...6 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...4 hours ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...1 day ago
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...6 hours ago
Alex Casey talks to Henessey Griffiths, a 22 year-old Dunedin student who just finished her dissertation about one of Youtube’s most controversial stars. Content warning: this article contains mention of suicide, please take careYesterday afternoon in Dunedin, honours student Henessey Griffiths sent a tweet that was a year (or rather, five ...1 hour ago
The Transport Minister has released almost all of the letters he's received from Green MPs, but still refuses to release the letter from Julie Anne Genter that is now at the centre of an Ombudsman complaint. ...1 hour ago
Court documents have confirmed Winston Peters was sent a letter by officials four years into his seven-year overpayment of national superannuation asking him to check details he had supplied, including that he was 'single'. ...3 hours ago
An ambitious target for new officers seems to have turned into a cynical redefinition - how will police take the news? ...3 hours ago
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...3 hours ago
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...4 hours ago
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...6 hours ago
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...7 hours ago
Higher household costs helped to push consumer prices higher in the past three months, beating expectations. ...7 hours ago
Just talking about how good things will be if given the chance no longer cuts the electoral mustard. ...7 hours ago
In the 1980s, 78 percent of New Zealanders owned the home they lived in. Fast forward to today, and that's dropped to just 55 percent. ...7 hours ago
Principals nervously wait for the final outcomes of the biggest education system review in 30 years. ...8 hours ago
Dairy prices rose slightly in the latest global auction overnight. ...11 hours ago
New Zealand's light is still glowing bright on the international investment stage despite a pause of caution from investors this year. ...11 hours ago
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...11 hours ago
Zhang Jun looks at how China can move beyond imitating its more developed counterparts to leading the world in innovation. ...16 hours ago
After two bad polls, Jacinda Ardern was greeted by a friendly crowd of unionists - but one eager for faster and greater progress. ...16 hours ago
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...16 hours ago
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...16 hours ago
Is the Government going soft on its so-called Electric Vehicles pledge? The University of Auckland's Basil Sharp doesn't think so. ...16 hours ago
A preview of the public lecture to be given at the National Library in Wellington this week by distinguished playwright Dean Parker. ...16 hours ago
Volunteer drug testers must tip-toe around a legal grey area to be able to spell out the risks of drug-taking to festival-goers. ...16 hours ago
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...1 day ago
The proceeds from the sale of Trump-style "Make Ardern Go Away" hats are being used to promote far right Facebook pages. ...1 day ago
Support has risen for the general arming of police officers in the wake of March 15, but the police minister is opposed. ...1 day ago
If Boa Esporte get rid of this bloke, the ACT Party and/or Garth McVicar’s S.S. Trust would no doubt snap him up as a spokesman….
https://www.balls.ie/football/brazilian-goalkeeper-murderer-361142
You have that exactly wrong. Those are anti-crime, not pro-crime, groups.
A.
Speaking of which, Maybe Garth should invite Stuart Nash aboard.
Calling for prisoners to scalp a fellow inmate…bold statement from a member of the Labour Party, Spokesperson for Police, no less, not that Labour seem to mind. Certainly I would have thought that a call to gross violence would be a no-no. But then I’m not a member of the Labour Party.
“Nash went on to suggest that a fellow inmate should scalp Smith.
“Scalping is associated with American Indians but it was actually started by Europeans.
“Perhaps someone in jail who isn’t too fond of monsters who destroy little boys[sic] lives by stealing their innocence in the worst way possible could reintroduce Mr Smith to the practise[sic].””
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11820250
When is Nash going to realise that acting like a huge dick won’t give him one?
That is on a par with another brutal and mindless comment that men tend to make and that is implying male rape when they talk about not dropping the soap in the shower apparently because you are vulnerable when you bend over to pick it up.
Gloating over some miscreant and wishing them bad experiences is descending to their level, and if Nash did that then he should be kicked out of Labour. I thought it was considered at one time, or was it a commenter who felt that Gnashonal was his true home.
If an unrepentant and unreconstructed pedophile like Phillip John Smith was to meet a sticky and untimely end behind bars I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. That fucker has no shame and no remorse. I’d be concerned that it indicated a wider failure of corrections to be able to control the prison system, but as for Smith, nah. To late mate. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
And that, dear Standardistas, is where Mr. Nash comes in. His job is to innoculate Labour from the law and order brigade and charges of being namby-pamby liberals soft on the crims. Over on pundit.co.nz Andrew Geddis is suggesting Smith should lay a complaint under the harmful digital communications act. I think Smith should lay a complaint, and Andrew Geddis ought to act as his lawyer. Because having a loathed pedophile and well known ivory tower academic ganing up on a politician who is hardline on law and order is, my gentle friends, electoral paydirt, a vote winning bonanza for Nash and Labour that has the added benefit of shutting down any sort of attack on Labour from National and ACT.
You do realise that there are all sorts of people in prison, for all sorts of crimes of varying consequence, even the very occasional white collar criminal, and that the majority of them will one day be walking the streets again.
You think that letting prisons become some sort of Apocalypse Now Gulag or slaughter house, where anything goes, is going to churn out the kind of people you want in society?? You think we can ‘select’ from the outside which prisoners should get brutalised??
Okey dokey, good luck with that. Taking Mexico, or Russia or Thailand or France or America as your prison model is not the path to a good nights sleep.
I guess the NZ immigration dept loves internet
pirates and surveillanceentrepreneurs.Sounds like a career criminal to me who should have had his residence dropped years ago.
INZ are only targeting ‘low value’ (money-wise) people at the moment. As one lawyer put it recently: “flushing the pool” . Flushing the pool so the whole shady system can carry on fleecing a new batch of people.
It’s all very reminiscent of dawn raids after car assembly went into decline.
They have to keep all those Private Tertiary Institutions, immigration ‘consultants’ running on black money, and below minimum wage employers running after all.
Damn sight cheaper than properly resourcing the Labour Inspectorate and INZ.
Lie, bullshit and attract them here, fleece, then boot, rinse, start again
(/sarc)
Who wants environmental protection or health and social services when you can have a nice big army…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/16/donald-trump-immigration-budget-healthcare-plans-congress?CMP
Poverty is one way to encourage people to join the armed forces. It’s been used for centuries to do so.
Having work along side the yanks on operations and peacetime it show’s and they are the most poorly payed in western world. We aren’t allow to discuss our pay rates when we work along side them BTW that goes for the Kiwis as well. For example what my US counterpart makes in a year, I make in 6mths and that’s without deployment money.
Well, so much for Trump’s promises to not go to war all the time.
And it seems that his agenda is very much to reduce the size of of then US government to pre civil war levels.
He seems to be doing a reasonable job on his campaign promises, one of which was reducing involvement in wars.
I can’t stand Trump, but he seems to be at least in Europe telling N.A.T.O. allies to take more responsibility for their own defence. In that sense it is fair enough as the first priority of any nation is to protect their civilian population from attack by another country.
In saying that though, in some respects Trump is ratcheting UP the pressure on other nations, such as China, Iran and North Korea.
In the case of China, I think Trump has been winding up Beijing. Whilst billions of dollars in trade shall continue to flow between the countries, what if things got so bad that one or the other slapped an export ban on all but their largest exports? That would rock the markets.
Unless I have missed something Trump is not keen on the nuclear deal that got hammered out in 2015. And that should bother people massively, because in doing so, he is in effect sanctioning Bibi’s poisonous anti-Iran rhetoric and giving the Ayatollahs munitions in a propaganda war that they simply do not deserve.
,
.
A return to hard power with a $54 billion increase in defence spending, cuts to diplomacy and foreign aid, bombs, lots of bombs, and a ramping up of covert drone strikes is reasonable?.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
google cache
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has given the Central Intelligence Agency secret new authority to conduct drone strikes against suspected terrorists, U.S. officials said, changing the Obama administration’s policy of limiting the spy agency’s paramilitary role and reopening a turf war between the agency and the Pentagon.
[…]
The Obama administration put the military in charge of pulling the trigger to promote transparency and accountability. The CIA, which operates under covert authorities, wasn’t required to disclose the number of suspected terrorists or civilian bystanders it killed in drone strikes. The Pentagon, however, must publicly report most airstrikes.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-gives-cia-new-authority-to-direct-drone-strikes-on-terrorists-2017-03-13
Let’s have some context on Yemen before we blame it all on Trump.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:18582:Trump-Admin.-Moves-from-Direct-Support-to-Direct-Bombing-in-Yemen
That’s before even Trump was in office. But I do agree Trump is getting the US more involved which is not good for anyone, and goes against what he said while campaigning.
Benjamin has also pointed out before that Obama increased the number of drone strikes by 8 times since George Bush. Making him out as “holier than thou” is very problematic.
Yes, let’s have some context – him and his mob plan to finance their hard power, and push defence beyond the current 20% of federal spending, by slashing funding for science, the environment, climate research, art, public broadcasting, national parks, healthcare, public health, education, meals on wheels, school lunches, low income housing, occupational health and safety, public transport, oversight of banking and finance, regional assistance, economic development, etc, etc,…
/
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/141394/meet-mick-mulvaney-trump-goon-wants-poor-kids-go-hungry
https://qz.com/933398/in-donald-trumps-america-first-budget-the-american-military-comes-first/
Oh, and more context…
edit: more context
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7EEq9iWoAAl20y.jpg
Yep he is going to make sure the military are beholden – that’ll sway some of them on the day of reckoning – the day that they chose who they are.
according to this your Peace bringing Tumps is doing that
https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/foreign-policy/item/25604-drone-strikes-up-432-percent-under-donald-trump
Quote:
As reported by Micah Zenko:
During President Obama’s two terms in office, he approved 542 such targeted strikes in 2,920 days — one every 5.4 days. From his inauguration through today, President Trump had approved at least 36 drone strikes or raids in 45 days — one every 1.25 day
snip
Here’s the story as told by Foreign Policy online on March 9:
After a week of punishing airstrikes loosed on al Qaeda in Yemen that saw 40 targets go up in flames and smoke, American pilots took a breather the past two nights, watching the dust settle.
The weeklong blitz in Yemen eclipsed the annual bombing total for any year during Obama’s presidency. Under the previous administration, approval for strikes came only after slow-moving policy discussions, with senior officials required to sign off on any action. The Trump administration has proven much quicker at green-lighting attacks.
Of course, you can’t say President Trump has broken all his promises. After all, during a campaign appearance in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, candidate Trump swore (literally) that he would “Bomb the shit out of” the Islamic State (AKA ISIS). “I’d blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left. We’ll get Exxon to come in there and in two months … I’ll take the oil,” Trump boasted at that same event in November 2015.
snip
About a month after the deadly raid resulted in the death of a SEAL Team member, U.S. forces were back in the area, continuing the killing. Here’s the report according to Digital Journal:
According to residents, U.S. forces carried out “indiscriminate shelling” of the area on March 2-3, killing numerous civilians, including Ahmed and Mohammed al-Khobze, two brothers, ages 10 and 12. Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said U.S. forces carried out more than 30 strikes in 36 hours, exceeding the 32 confirmed drone strikes in Yemen all of last year. Over the past two years, U.S.-backed Saudi Arabian aerial bombardment has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, with more than a third of Saudi attacks hitting civilian sites.
then there is this
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-cia-power-drone-strikes-military-a7628561.html
The CIA can now kill potential terror suspects with drone strikes after being granted new powers by President Donald Trump, according to a new report.
The new authority – said to have been granted shortly after Mr Trump’s inauguration – takes drone strikes out of the sole control of the military, sparking fears about accountability.
Under the drone policy of the Obama administration, the CIA could find a suspect, but the armed forces would carry out the actual strike.
http://www.salon.com/2017/03/09/more-troops-in-syria-trump-orders/
boots on the ground in syria
http://peoplesvoice.ca/2017/03/16/us-puts-boots-on-the-ground/
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445801/donald-trump-syria-troop-deployments-regional-leverage
http://observer.com/2017/03/dennis-kucinich-donald-trump-adds-troops-war-syria/
but i am sure he is gonna follow up on his promise of beautiful healthcare for all, school choice for all, investment into infrastructure, job creation and the likes, o hang on, no he does not.
He gave to the military, he gave to the customs and immigration, and he is making sure that the US Americans are going to be paying for his beautiful wall. Yeah, right.
You know, at some stage one stops to listen to the blahblahbalh that comes out of Trumps bloated face, but one rather pays attention to what Trump and his enablers in Congress and Senate are actually doing.
And as always Digby says it the best
http://digbysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/trumps-american-carnage-agenda.html
” That’s right, we’re spending millions to ferry that asshole back and forth to Florida every week-end and millions more to keep his super model wife at arms length in his golden tower in New York. But they’re going to starve old people and kids. Literally. ”
Cause meals on wheels and heating assistance to poor and low income people only created dependence and if they want a warm bed and three square meals they just join the Armed Forces and for sure they will never be used in an actually war.
Bless yer little cotton socks.
Context.
/
Yes context. Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen are wrecked countries with millions of lives affected and a Democrat president presided over a lot of the destruction. But hey let’s blame it all on the Donald.
We’re not blaming it all on The Donald – we’re blaming the upramp of bombing under his presidency on him and that’s all because that is his responsibility.
As for those countries – The US spent decades destroying them so that they could loot them.
The US has only one export really, death and destruction. and now its Trump turn. And that is what a lot of us have always said, and it is what he is doing now.
No more blaming this or that, time to own this shit.
And for what its worth, he was always quite vocal about what he was gonna do. He actually spoke about it, but i guess no one wanted to hear this, and besides, emails, and she devil who will start world war three, despite the fact that we have yet to finish world war 1.
if you have a spare 40 minutes, Fareed Zakaria’s documentary on Putin is well worth watching if you want a different picture than the one crafted by Kremlin controlled media
As Chinese reliance on foreign oil imports increases, news that the China Investment Corporation and China National Petroleum Corporation is preparing to take a majority stake in Aramco:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-16/china-saudis-said-to-discuss-cic-cnpc-investment-in-aramco-ipo-j0bynknm
Did I just feel the world tilt a fraction?
AIPAC, Israel’s national strategic asset, financed the hate machine.
But AIPAC has done more than just tolerate the U.S. tilt toward extreme and often xenophobic views. Newly released tax filings show that the country’s biggest pro-Israel group financially contributed to the Center for Security Policy, the think-tank that played a pivotal role in engineering the Trump administration’s efforts to impose a ban on Muslim immigration.
http://lobelog.com/aipac-gave-60k-to-architect-of-trumps-muslim-ban/
Looks like Teresa May just made a howler of a Freudian slip. In rejecting any talk about a second independence referendum for Scotland, she elevated the need for a focus on BREXIT talks with the EU, but said…
Hardly the words of a unionist to be separating one country out from the union, now, is it? Any unionist worth their salt would have quite naturally – effortlessly – said something like “the right deal for Scotland and the right deal for the rest of the UK”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/16/may-sets-up-battle-with-sturgeon-as-she-rejects-referendum-demand
One pollie tells another how it is with renewable energy. Normally I’m just meh watching pollies grandstanding, but this is just gorgeous.
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/03/south-australias-premier-just-ripped-the-federal-government-a-new-one-on-renewable-energy/
High tourist numbers are outpacing the necessary infrastructure according to this article.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-16/americans-sleep-in-maori-hall-as-tourists-overwhelm-new-zealand
Business and other personal travel was the second top export after dairy products to June last year.
https://www.nzte.govt.nz/en/invest/statistics/
Tourist arrivals increased each year under this National government, with Key as minister. National is still promoting an industry full of low value low wage jobs. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/tourist-arrivals
Another reason to change the government. Labour for example is committed to a productive and innovative economy with high value high wage jobs.
https://www.labourparty.org.nz/sites/default/files/New%20Zealand%20%20Labour%20Party%20Policy%20Platform.pdf
High value, high wage jobs. Oh yeah. Probably all in the computer industry.
Exactly what have you in mind to ensure that there are the hv-hw jobs Labour? Lovely talking point, but the reality is in the middle of the Pass the Parcel game. Every election and sometimes between we get to take another layer off, I wonder what will be in the centre at the finish, probably a defunct smartphone with dud batteries and none made currently that will fit. That’s what suckers like us in NZ get.
Went to hear Gareth Morgan last night. He isn’t planning any smart government intervention to aid employment. Just adjust the crazy setting of the market and she’ll be right.
Can’t get things right the first time with a new initiative, the second time – nah?, the third time – what was it that we were trying to achieve last time?
The fourth time – oh that’s old hat now things will be different in the future, more flexible, changing with new vistas opening up that we haven’t even thought of yet. But people are almost starving, sleeping in the streets! Well that is progress isn’t it, there is always a fall out and it takes time for the economy to adjust and to retrain new people, and let’s face it some of those on the streets can’t even write, so how can they expect to find employment, etc etc.
Looked at Redline item on employment USA style.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/trumps-america-death-in-an-alabama-factory-for-us8-50-an-hour/
Elsea was not an Ajin employee. She was employed through a staffing agency, Alliance Total Solutions. About 250 of the almost 800 workers at the Ajin’s plant were temps.
These companies pushed their inexperienced workers to the end. In her last weeks, Elsea worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, hoping to qualify for a full-time position and an hourly wage of about $12, according to the Financial Times.
The Tourist industry is thriving, so there should be room for better wages.
Labour’s intention to promote collective bargaining and guarantee unions a voice would be worth a try don’t you think ?
Yeah, we’re “thriving” if you just look at the metric of visitor numbers. But these are generally low yield visitors and / or markets that externalise their costs to the resident population. Often the profitability, and ability to pay any wages, let alone decent wages, is just not there.
A change in focus from greater numbers towards greater profitability would do a lot for the sustainability of our tourist industry. But that doesn’t seem to be the Nat way, just more and more of everything at decreasing returns until the whole thing goes tits up…..
Eye-opener. Special investigation by Ruby Joy, on The Daily Blog.
Bunnings car parks are welcoming (or at least don’t stop it) to people living in cars staying over night. It seems quite a big thing, with many homeless workers with vehicles using the carparks at night.
Of course they do. It means their staff don’t have an excuse to be late.
The other plus for Bunnings is that they can promote all kinds of their DIY material for people living in vehicles.
In the US it’s normal for people to overnight in vehicles in carparks of big stores and malls. There are facilities too in places, like showers and wifi, plus obviously being able to buy food etc in the morning. That’s not all homeless people, much of it is travellers.
We’re on our way.
http://wgntv.com/2017/03/10/utah-school-installs-showers-laundry-facilities-for-homeless-students/
Well hats up for Bunnings. In a crisis it’s doing something worthwhile, thank the Aussies for having flexible ideas on accommodation, houses, island paradise camps etc. Bunnings will be flavour of the month (years!) for their staff.
If only Bunnings were more respectful of their staff needs as well!
In Aussie the shop in Rockingham WA is enormous. It is almost completely “off grid” with solar panels, wind turbines, and massive rain water tanks. No plastic bags!
So some green washing there I guess – but better than nothing.
Good that they are showing some social responsibility as well – but frankly there shouldn’t be any need in a country of plenty.
At the other side of the pond (USA) the number of homeless is set to skyrocket (around 750,000) as the chump vindictively cuts funding.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/16/trump-budget-cut-eliminate-homelessness-agency
This has not yet been said today but Happy St Patrick’s Day to yez all from Mac1.
I have been thinking about Patrick’s life. What generosity of spirit and of forgiveness to go back after being enslaved and convert the irish people to Christianity.
Or was it his revenge?
@ mac 1 (11) … 🙂
marty mars
Interesting piece by Chris Trotter on the Maori King and political moves.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/the-maori-kings-over-mighty-subject.html
Thanks grey
“This unprecedented foray into electoral politics is reckless on at least two counts. First, the King’s disparaging reference to Mahuta’s current status betrays an inadequate grasp of the intricacies of Pakeha politics. Second, it assumes a willingness to be directed on the part of the voters of Hauraki-Waikato which may not, in practice, extend anything like as far as the polling booth.”
seems like both his points are completely subjective to me – chris wouldn’t know, let alone understand any long term goal the King may have – why would he – he just gets access to the little tiny wee dribble that goes public.
“Clearly, Morgan is convinced that the outcome of this second attempt to establish dual sovereignties within a single, unitary state will turn out very differently from the first. Moreover, he has been successful in persuading the Maori King to test his hypothesis.”
no there is no clearly at all – just the chris lens of interpretation which sadly for him has no discerning ability when confronted with Māori politics. So anything which moves us (imo or someones I respect) towards tino rangatiratanga is GOOD – will it work – not if the powers that be are against it which they are – does that mean we give up – nope that is NEVER going to happen.
“The Labour Leader, Andrew Little, and Labour’s Maori caucus, are betting that Maori voters on both the Maori and General electoral rolls are nowhere near ready to indulge the Maori Party President’s political fantasies to this extent. They are convinced that if the choice presented to Maori voters is between restarting the Land Wars of the Nineteenth Century, and winning improved access to employment, housing, education and health services in the Twenty-First, then they will opt, overwhelmingly, for the latter.”
and this is why chris has no mana when it comes to this type of analysis – it is restart the land wars or improved access to stuff. Yeah nah chris your crayon style of understanding just serves you and those like you and this is known.
Marty m
Thought you would have an opinion! But Chris makes some valid points. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.
yep there is still plenty to go on this one 🙂
YesWeCareNZ is campaigning for better health services in NZ, with a focus on this year’s election. They have various unions on board.
They are doing a road show through NZ throughout March to collect people’s stories about how our health service is working.
There’s about 10 videos of these stories on Youtube so far:
A five minute read. Well written and basically on point. (Boil the jug and sit yourself down)
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/03/new-zealand-neoliberalism-inequality-welfare-state-tax-haven/
It appears that Oravida would like to thank Nick Smith for the free water with a $50k donation to the National Party.
See that ORAVITA ARE paying for the water.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11820377
50k donation to the Nats
Snap Cinny
Today is St Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland, but countries and social movements can have their own patron saints, founders and heroes.
The Marginal Mennonite Society page on Facebook has a series of religious and social activists who may well be admired for their being in that pantheon of saints and heroes. The MMS posts regularly and most welcomely on my Facebook.
The latest post which inspired me to mention this on The Standard is the life of Bayard Rustin, a black, gay, pacifist, socialist, civil rights activist who died in 1987 aged 75.
His life resonates at so many levels for me when you read about him and his life and times.
Wikipedia has a fine article on Bayard Rustin who was born today in 1912. Inspiring stuff!
WTF is going on at Fletcher Building?
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/fletcher-building-trading-halt-pending-review-construction-unit-b-200806
There appears to be more under lock & key at NBR if anyone’s got a sub.
So because I am a person who is not persuaded completely you get to label me as lazy? Really? Very professional.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Nah, I think you’re lazy because you demand to be spoonfed that which is freely available, and then you reject anyone with a spoon.
A former GSCB employee responsible for drone strikes is now overseeing MSD’s big data focus on beneficiaries and rape victims.
Anyone see a problem with this?
State targets, state scapegoats.
[lprent: No link. No reference to what you are talking about.
Hectoring tone. Acting like a astroturfing troll pushing some kind of vindictive line.
I have a problem with that. I will let this through as a topic. But you will have to do a lot better than that before I will let you off comment probation. ]