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. ]
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Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
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A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
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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:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSSW6b21Ndk&list=PLBuv7Xw_AmZSU1pXFKDdTDqqzMK1U4VJh
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. ]