Reminds me of the tip newsletters that recommended shares.
Price was pushed up by buying on the recommendation and then the those who tipped the shares they had bought before the recommendation.
Wanganui collegiate and others.
A spokesperson for the independent schools has made some reference to the treasury making a net gain from increased subsidy to these schools. Of course she did not factor in all the tax kick-backs that individual families receive through “charitable” status of these schools, declaring donation here, donation there…
What donation – what tax kickback ?
You do talk bullshit.
Any donation to a registered charity is tax recoverable – eg Salvation Army.
Wanganui Collegiate – crap.
The pricks have ethnically cleansed their name! It was still spelt with the H last time I looked, which was during the great debate over how to keep our maori history hidden, sorry, how to spell the city’s name. The school was used as an example of common, long time usage with an H in it.
The latter was stripped naked while in solitary confinement (in spite of low risk of suicide) and while on the subject of fair trials, anyone noticed, thanks to Naomi Wolf, the latest US Supreme Court five-four ruling that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offence (however minor) at any time?
“When the Police released their annual crime statistics earlier this month they also announced they will no longer collect statistics that specifically identified family violence-related offences.
Yeah, like that’s really to help. /sarc
To be able to do something about an ill you need to know about it.
The Freudian slip which was most revealing was when the police spokesperson on 3news (the deputy commissioner?) referred to a need to be able to compare stats across different precincts.
Only we are not talking about within NZ – he was referring to Australia and the US….
Sovereignty? What sovereignty? As far as the cops are concerned NZ is just a police precinct! One that must be aligned under the undeniable imperative of ‘best practice’ (/sarc)
There was a time when we made our own laws, ones that suited NZ – now thanks to operation UNITE our laws will be written for us in Canberra and Washington. We will never get to vote on these policies and yet we will be forced to live under them
I’m beginning to think that the police deserved to be heckled by Tiki Tane.
Had a nodding acquaintance with those or similar stats (I think the DV forms). Year on year comparisons were pointless because different regions adopted them at different rates between and within different districts, so the deniability for shite stats over several years was always “reporting factors”. Now they’re being ditched just as they might form a baseline of data? Quelle surprise.
Not publishing the Domstic Violence statistics – lots of flow on effects the Nacts will lurve…
If you don’t measure it you can deny it exists.
There are some 70,000 to 80,000 recorded instances a year and rising. There are some 20,000 protection order breaches.
Number of protection orders made these days – around 1,500 a year under a watered down law Nact put in place but now there will be no basis for suggesting a tougher law. [and where are all the law’noder dudes – oh that’s right not really a crime huh?]
No stats – no need to fund the Women’s Refuge and other like programmes.
No stats – can make Family Court reforms at will including fees.
No stats No protection orders – makes it harder to protect children inside the family court system. Much easier to paint her (and the children) as just being unco-operative, not frightened, and push court fees at these discussions around “access”. These discussions are costing c.$75m per annum.
No stats No protection orders – Number of males who don’t apply for custody around 92% but without the violence stats her custody/parenting can be seen as “Competed for and voluntary” not protective of the kids.
No stats No protection orders Her parenting – she “won” it she can pay for it so don’t need to firm up the rules so child support is paid. Removes any desire of the Courts to make adequate money orders as benefits tighten. Money thr’ the courts is currently a pathetic joke.
Lastly, this clears the way for the big Nact “bene bashing” which has strong overtones of the behaviour associated with DV. Make her do it all, make her pay for it all, and someone will be supervising just in case she doesn’t.
Can’t wait for the day when someone stands up in parliament and points out that a large junk of the DPB and WFF is a reward to males for their DV. Not all I know, but when we have DV stats we can hazard a guess.
The DPB lifestyle subsidy for males protects their assets and income from the needs of their children.
And in my experience this sort of stuff really lights up women right across the political spectrum
along the lines of “just what is he doing – anything at all?”
Perhaps the NZ police establishment are like the NZ military establishment.
I’ve just finished Hager’s ‘Other People’s Wars‘ and, frankly, the picture he paints (in a well-supported, scholarly manner) is of a military (and military/intelligence/MFAT bureaucracy) intent not on serving New Zealand’s interests as articulated by the government of the day but, principally, on being able to play with the ‘big boys’ (aka ‘traditional allies’).
To my mind, that attitude skates very close to the wind of treason, if not legally then certainly morally.
the picture he paints is of a military (and military/intelligence/MFAT bureaucracy) intent not on serving New Zealand’s interests as articulated by the government of the day but, principally, on being able to play with the ‘big boys’ (aka ‘traditional allies’).
I havn’t read the book, but that is certainly what happened in the 1980s and early 1990s.
I was a civilian working on an Air Force base for five years between 1987 and 1992 – the years of the big standoff with the USA. I can tell you there were plenty of Air Force personnel on the ground who were pissed off with David Lange and co. for buggering up their cosy relationship with their American counterparts. So much so, I had to hide my anti-nuclear sympathies. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Someone got wind of it, and I came under a lot of suspicion. From personal experience I can attest to the paranoia that was rampant at that time.
“The Freudian slip which was most revealing was when the police spokesperson on 3news (the deputy commissioner?) referred to a need to be able to compare stats across different precincts”
– Was that the official announcement of the NZ police state?
Meet the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA)
ANZPAA is committed to conducting all business activities legally, with strict observance to the highest standards of integrity and propriety. Good corporate governance is a fundamental part of the culture and business practice of ANZPAA.
Why am I not reassured by the fact they feel the need to tell us that they are committed to acting legally?
And why does the mention of 'good corporate governance sent the bad kind of shivers down my spine?
Who is really calling the shots when it comes to law enforcement policy in NZ?
“ANZPAA is committed to conducting all business activities legally, with strict observance to the highest standards of integrity and propriety. Good corporate governance is a fundamental part of the culture and business practice of ANZPAA.”
– The propaganda rule book is short
1: Make people believe you are, what in fact you are not
2: Do whatever needs to be done to protect rule one
Formed under the last Labour Government by the looks of it….Argh, continuity of agenda!
The latter was stripped naked while in solitary confinement (in spite of low risk of suicide) and while on the subject of fair trials, anyone noticed, thanks to Naomi Wolf, the latest US Supreme Court five-four ruling that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offence (however minor) at any time?
Humanity continues on its Suicidal Fossil Fuel extraction course which is accelerating Climate Change. (Feel free to accuse me of scare mongering but this is what Lucy Lawless was protesting for on an oil rig set for the new Arctic Frontier enabled by the melting ice cap.)
“As Ice Cap Melts, Militaries Vie for Arctic Edge”
“I will say it again… When a few billion tons, (two or three), of methane gas escapes into our atmosphere from that melting ice and permafrost, there won’t be any more fighting… It will cause runaway, irreversible global warming and soon after when billions more tons release, it will kill every single person on the planet….. Any who argue it or deny it are either crazy or stupid.
It is absolutly “unbelieveable” that world governments are determined to get the oil and minerals and ignore the science that proves the Arctic methane is the most serious issue humanity has ever faced in human’s recorded history.
“Unbelieveable” is the wrong word,,, because it is happening. “
In this mornings Herald you can find the word “growth” repeated ad nauseum. The most nauseous is the Ruth Richardson column in which she thinks that “growth” is possible, but only if you gut the “public” sector and privatise the lot. Ideological metaphysics at its most pathetic. Just reading this bollocks is enough to give you instant brain fade.
In a round about way this relates to the “unbelievable”….we are constantly bombarded with ideas and terms that we are supposed to “believe”. You are not supposed to question or propose that all is not as presented. You can empirically demonstrate that the ice is melting, science backs you up, but we are still supposed to believe two diametrically opposed propositions… we can stop global warming AND we must carry on growing.
What we have fallen to is lazy thinking that prevents challenging orthodoxy (the preserve of those in power / in the money). We are encouraged to believe it is somebody elses problem (an SEP), and that a magic party called “they” will fix it. There are no “they”, there is only us individuals, and we need to get together and take up our pitchforks and poke those who would encourage us to believe in “they” as far as the metaphorical gallows.
Yeah good old Ms Richardson thinks that the ipad and iphone owning youth will fight the “control” of the Government. Of course, you have to weathly enough in the first place to buy the technology….
The risk area is a methyl hydrates in cool shallow seas around the Arctic and Antarctic where rapid temperature changes in those regions could potentially cause shifting ocean currents. The problem is that the methane is “locked” by a temperature/pressure gradient with some quite sharp phase changes. In the polar regions shallow seas the lock is less on the pressure and more on the temperature.
A rapid shift in the temperature of the surrounding water across a wide enough area in a shallow sea like the Ross sea or the like could cause some extensive rapid releases.
The problem as usual is the lack of knowledge because the required information has never been systematically collected. We don’t know how sensitive current movements are to climate shifts. We don’t have good estimates of the amount of methane in those areas. We don’t know how much would reabsorbed into seawater because we don’t fully understand the observed processes.
It is a risk factor that more work needs to be done on…
Excellent article A very apt summary of the situation.
Poverty was a growing problem that was exacerbated by the way it was dealt with, she said.
“If you privatise the support for people in poverty, or for people on welfare, or for people in need of assistance, then you are growing the industry. You are creating an industry and growing it.”
One good thing about poverty in this day and age, it is catching. And lets face it if we don’t want fracking, or ‘drilling’ for methane hydrates, then we have to all get a lot poorer.
We all have to accept we are pasted the age of growth, and that most defiantly includes population.
That is one good thing about peak oil, eventually it will level out the irregularities in this system, as we all join the same class, the hungry one)
Can anyone shine a light on why John Key would be out of the country when a high profile Chinese delegation is visiting NZ? Couldn’t he have rescheduled? Is he trying to avoid them or was it a mistake?
We have a similar ‘think tank’ in NZ, it is of the same ilk as Richardson’s and of course the Business Round Table- they are out and out neoliberal parasites and troughers.
The main difference between Lotto and SkyCity’s pokie machines is the return they provide to communities. While SkyCity only gives 2.5% to a charitable trust, NZ Lotteries distributes 20% of the profits from Lotto to communities throughout New Zealand…
Agreed, the constant ‘Lotto’ stories annoy the shit out of me. Often multiple lead stories. We’ll have maybe a big overseas one, one about a local recent winner, and a follow up story on the last local winner.
They breathlessly report on a lotto story like it is a great human interest story or something. To me it is absolutely no different to a story about someone winning a big texas hold’em game at skycity, or about some nice old lady that popped into SC to put her last $2 in a slot machine and won a $50k jackpot. What’s the difference it’s all gambling. One thing that burned in my memory was watching a jaded world weary looking woman efficiently checking ticket after ticket at one of those self checking machines, literally dozens of them, chucking them all in the bin one after the other, then walking up to the counter and asking how many more lotto tickets she could get for 80 bucks. What’s the difference between that and pokies seriously.
It’s all a bit hypocritical that they play concerned personality about Skycity expanding, yet treat a lotto winners like nobel prize winners of our times. A bit of consistancy at the very least would be nice and less tiring.
What’s the difference you ask… well if you’d bothered to read the article you’d know that around 80% of problem gamblers use pokies as their primary mode of gambling. Don’t get me wrong; I think Lotto is a crock as well. But the social issues created by problem gambling from addictive pokies are far worse.
Good points. I’m just trying to make the point that Lotto is gambling too. And that it’s a shame we treat the winners as heros. There are much more important reasons to celebrate our fellow folks than them getting lucky in some mainstream money competition whatever it’s form.
But that’s madness! Think of the inefficiencies! Think of all the lost profits! Think of all the money that will now be going to the government and not offshore! Madness!
Couldn’t help but notice he dropped his lady friend of many years within 24hrs of Paula Bennett walking back into his life. Well he would woudn’t he. She’s a cabinet minister (no less) on a hefty salary?
The mainstream financial press have been keen to quote Alesina and Perotti (1995) and related publications in the 1990s which purported to show how nations that engaged in fiscal contraction at a time when economic growth was faltering were able to recover. These article are used to justify the fiscal austerity now being imposed at massive cost in many nations.
However the same commentators have not seen fit to quote or refer to Perotti’s 2011 research which demonstrates that the conditions that might have allowed some nations (in isolation) to successfully grow during a period of fiscal consolidation are not present now in Europe or elsewhere and so fiscal austerity will only cause damage.
Why are the conservatives so selective in their citations? No need to answer – we all know it.
Surprise, surprise, conservatives and associated libertarians are cheery picking their sources to prove their theory when reality proves them wrong.
From the graph we can see in past recessions that oil prices crashed which enabled countries to ramp up energy consumption and everything else that comes with that. This time is different because after an initial price crash oil prices have steadily been climbing since 2009. The age of cheap energy is over and with it the age of growth is also over.
What a joke Russell Norman is, a green party leader to be rabbiting on about the high value of the NZ$ WTF?
What would the Green Party be happy with? A NZ dollar @ 45 cents US would do what?
It would make raping the New Zealand environment so mush easer for everyone the government is selling NZ to ….. how green is that?
But it would more than likely drive petrol through the $3.00 mark, forcing ‘greenies’ to walk more, maybe a hidden agenda?
What a dick
But Norman was going on about how good for the economy a low dollar would be?
The ‘economy’ is what is killing what Norman is meant to be standing for??? Isn’t that what the greeds are all about? …. ‘Giving’ the children a brighter future …. or was that National?
A high NZ$ is not an effective barrier. – True ‘they’ can print any amount of money to buy NZ regardless.
And lets face it there are only 2 places worth investing in globally at the moment, funeral homes and new Zealand.
Unfortunately for the environment to support seven billion + people, we will all have to have a foot print the size of a Portuguese peasant, so as distasteful as it is, the above link is a good thing.
And just when we were all getting use to the 48 inch+ wide screen.
Only while resource extraction from the environment allows it to. When that extraction goes into permanent decline then the world will no longer be able to support 7b.
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
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Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many 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. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
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 ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
String these three articles together: This morning in the Herald: Sky city boss wants more cashless pokies, and says lotto does more harm: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10799411
Why the Dept of Internal affairs has banned the cashless pokie machines Skt City is asking the government to legislate to let them have more of: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10799166
Yesterday afternoon in the Herald: Parents of kids found screaming their heads of in a van outside sky city go to court:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10799336
There are lots of kinds of evil: but I think this one is right up there.
So Mum and Dad can now seek to profit at the expense of their fellow kiwis…what a propaganda campaign this is!
Will be interesting to see how many shares Mr and Mrs Aldgate manage to secure.
Pump and Dump
Reminds me of the tip newsletters that recommended shares.
Price was pushed up by buying on the recommendation and then the those who tipped the shares they had bought before the recommendation.
How the US prints out of thin air the money that we hand our real assets over for
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/implications-failed-monetary-system
Check out the video.
The new blankets and beads.
Wanganui collegiate and others.
A spokesperson for the independent schools has made some reference to the treasury making a net gain from increased subsidy to these schools. Of course she did not factor in all the tax kick-backs that individual families receive through “charitable” status of these schools, declaring donation here, donation there…
What donation – what tax kickback ?
You do talk bullshit.
Any donation to a registered charity is tax recoverable – eg Salvation Army.
Wanganui Collegiate – crap.
Whanganui Collegiate, guys.
Tena koe TRP.
Seems the school doesn’t see it that way just yet
http://www.collegiate.school.nz/
And seems others might consider changing accountants.
The pricks have ethnically cleansed their name! It was still spelt with the H last time I looked, which was during the great debate over how to keep our maori history hidden, sorry, how to spell the city’s name. The school was used as an example of common, long time usage with an H in it.
For example, this item from days gone by.
Bloody ringies, think they own everything. Even history.
Why is RNZ National playing the BBC instead of Nine-to-Noon right now?
Had an extended fire alarm in Wellington Studios.
For some light relief: the DimPost has an excellent post on the home-rennovation adventures of Bill English. Link in blogroll.
9.30 to Noon is back on now 😉
(fire alarm apparently)
Thanks.
Contrasts.
A civilised country. Someone gets a fair trial, despite being accused of a terrible atrocity.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/video.cfm?c_id=2&gal_objectid=10799457&gallery_id=125113
An un-civilised country. Someone is imprisoned without trial for blowing the whistle on atrocities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning
Attacks on whistleblowers can take many forms…in NZ we also like to shoot messengers, but not the same way they get it done in the military
The latter was stripped naked while in solitary confinement (in spite of low risk of suicide) and while on the subject of fair trials, anyone noticed, thanks to Naomi Wolf, the latest US Supreme Court five-four ruling that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offence (however minor) at any time?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/05/us-sexual-humiliation-political-control
Sorry, but allowing Breivik the freedom to make fascist salutes and a media platform from which to express his views is ridiculous.
Not OK to hide domestic abuse figures
Yeah, like that’s really to help. /sarc
To be able to do something about an ill you need to know about it.
Now we see how the list of 10 things the govt was going to “sort out” will be handled
“Women’s Refuge CEO Heather Henare has been told it’s so police can align themselves with Australian authorities”
– Why on earth would this be relevant!
What an absolute crock!
The Freudian slip which was most revealing was when the police spokesperson on 3news (the deputy commissioner?) referred to a need to be able to compare stats across different precincts.
Only we are not talking about within NZ – he was referring to Australia and the US….
Sovereignty? What sovereignty? As far as the cops are concerned NZ is just a police precinct! One that must be aligned under the undeniable imperative of ‘best practice’ (/sarc)
There was a time when we made our own laws, ones that suited NZ – now thanks to operation UNITE our laws will be written for us in Canberra and Washington. We will never get to vote on these policies and yet we will be forced to live under them
I’m beginning to think that the police deserved to be heckled by Tiki Tane.
Had a nodding acquaintance with those or similar stats (I think the DV forms). Year on year comparisons were pointless because different regions adopted them at different rates between and within different districts, so the deniability for shite stats over several years was always “reporting factors”. Now they’re being ditched just as they might form a baseline of data? Quelle surprise.
Humphrey Appleby would be proud.
Not publishing the Domstic Violence statistics – lots of flow on effects the Nacts will lurve…
If you don’t measure it you can deny it exists.
There are some 70,000 to 80,000 recorded instances a year and rising. There are some 20,000 protection order breaches.
Number of protection orders made these days – around 1,500 a year under a watered down law Nact put in place but now there will be no basis for suggesting a tougher law. [and where are all the law’noder dudes – oh that’s right not really a crime huh?]
No stats – no need to fund the Women’s Refuge and other like programmes.
No stats – can make Family Court reforms at will including fees.
No stats No protection orders – makes it harder to protect children inside the family court system. Much easier to paint her (and the children) as just being unco-operative, not frightened, and push court fees at these discussions around “access”. These discussions are costing c.$75m per annum.
No stats No protection orders – Number of males who don’t apply for custody around 92% but without the violence stats her custody/parenting can be seen as “Competed for and voluntary” not protective of the kids.
No stats No protection orders Her parenting – she “won” it she can pay for it so don’t need to firm up the rules so child support is paid. Removes any desire of the Courts to make adequate money orders as benefits tighten. Money thr’ the courts is currently a pathetic joke.
Lastly, this clears the way for the big Nact “bene bashing” which has strong overtones of the behaviour associated with DV. Make her do it all, make her pay for it all, and someone will be supervising just in case she doesn’t.
Can’t wait for the day when someone stands up in parliament and points out that a large junk of the DPB and WFF is a reward to males for their DV. Not all I know, but when we have DV stats we can hazard a guess.
The DPB lifestyle subsidy for males protects their assets and income from the needs of their children.
And in my experience this sort of stuff really lights up women right across the political spectrum
along the lines of “just what is he doing – anything at all?”
Perhaps the NZ police establishment are like the NZ military establishment.
I’ve just finished Hager’s ‘Other People’s Wars‘ and, frankly, the picture he paints (in a well-supported, scholarly manner) is of a military (and military/intelligence/MFAT bureaucracy) intent not on serving New Zealand’s interests as articulated by the government of the day but, principally, on being able to play with the ‘big boys’ (aka ‘traditional allies’).
To my mind, that attitude skates very close to the wind of treason, if not legally then certainly morally.
the picture he paints is of a military (and military/intelligence/MFAT bureaucracy) intent not on serving New Zealand’s interests as articulated by the government of the day but, principally, on being able to play with the ‘big boys’ (aka ‘traditional allies’).
I havn’t read the book, but that is certainly what happened in the 1980s and early 1990s.
I was a civilian working on an Air Force base for five years between 1987 and 1992 – the years of the big standoff with the USA. I can tell you there were plenty of Air Force personnel on the ground who were pissed off with David Lange and co. for buggering up their cosy relationship with their American counterparts. So much so, I had to hide my anti-nuclear sympathies. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Someone got wind of it, and I came under a lot of suspicion. From personal experience I can attest to the paranoia that was rampant at that time.
“The Freudian slip which was most revealing was when the police spokesperson on 3news (the deputy commissioner?) referred to a need to be able to compare stats across different precincts”
– Was that the official announcement of the NZ police state?
Meet the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA)
Why am I not reassured by the fact they feel the need to tell us that they are committed to acting legally?
And why does the mention of 'good corporate governance sent the bad kind of shivers down my spine?
Who is really calling the shots when it comes to law enforcement policy in NZ?
“ANZPAA is committed to conducting all business activities legally, with strict observance to the highest standards of integrity and propriety. Good corporate governance is a fundamental part of the culture and business practice of ANZPAA.”
– The propaganda rule book is short
1: Make people believe you are, what in fact you are not
2: Do whatever needs to be done to protect rule one
Formed under the last Labour Government by the looks of it….Argh, continuity of agenda!
The latter was stripped naked while in solitary confinement (in spite of low risk of suicide) and while on the subject of fair trials, anyone noticed, thanks to Naomi Wolf, the latest US Supreme Court five-four ruling that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offence (however minor) at any time?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/05/us-sexual-humiliation-political-control
Humanity continues on its Suicidal Fossil Fuel extraction course which is accelerating Climate Change. (Feel free to accuse me of scare mongering but this is what Lucy Lawless was protesting for on an oil rig set for the new Arctic Frontier enabled by the melting ice cap.)
“As Ice Cap Melts, Militaries Vie for Arctic Edge”
Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/16-1
“I will say it again… When a few billion tons, (two or three), of methane gas escapes into our atmosphere from that melting ice and permafrost, there won’t be any more fighting… It will cause runaway, irreversible global warming and soon after when billions more tons release, it will kill every single person on the planet….. Any who argue it or deny it are either crazy or stupid.
It is absolutly “unbelieveable” that world governments are determined to get the oil and minerals and ignore the science that proves the Arctic methane is the most serious issue humanity has ever faced in human’s recorded history.
“Unbelieveable” is the wrong word,,, because it is happening. “
In this mornings Herald you can find the word “growth” repeated ad nauseum. The most nauseous is the Ruth Richardson column in which she thinks that “growth” is possible, but only if you gut the “public” sector and privatise the lot. Ideological metaphysics at its most pathetic. Just reading this bollocks is enough to give you instant brain fade.
In a round about way this relates to the “unbelievable”….we are constantly bombarded with ideas and terms that we are supposed to “believe”. You are not supposed to question or propose that all is not as presented. You can empirically demonstrate that the ice is melting, science backs you up, but we are still supposed to believe two diametrically opposed propositions… we can stop global warming AND we must carry on growing.
What we have fallen to is lazy thinking that prevents challenging orthodoxy (the preserve of those in power / in the money). We are encouraged to believe it is somebody elses problem (an SEP), and that a magic party called “they” will fix it. There are no “they”, there is only us individuals, and we need to get together and take up our pitchforks and poke those who would encourage us to believe in “they” as far as the metaphorical gallows.
Thanks bored very insightful! 1+
Disease will grow like cancers…doesn’t make it good for you.
Yeah good old Ms Richardson thinks that the ipad and iphone owning youth will fight the “control” of the Government. Of course, you have to weathly enough in the first place to buy the technology….
Great post Bored!
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/arctic-methane-is-catastrophe-imminent/
Found this interesting ,at least in regards to underwater deposits there are varied opinions. Kinda hope they’re right.
It is pretty accurate from what I know.
The risk area is a methyl hydrates in cool shallow seas around the Arctic and Antarctic where rapid temperature changes in those regions could potentially cause shifting ocean currents. The problem is that the methane is “locked” by a temperature/pressure gradient with some quite sharp phase changes. In the polar regions shallow seas the lock is less on the pressure and more on the temperature.
A rapid shift in the temperature of the surrounding water across a wide enough area in a shallow sea like the Ross sea or the like could cause some extensive rapid releases.
The problem as usual is the lack of knowledge because the required information has never been systematically collected. We don’t know how sensitive current movements are to climate shifts. We don’t have good estimates of the amount of methane in those areas. We don’t know how much would reabsorbed into seawater because we don’t fully understand the observed processes.
It is a risk factor that more work needs to be done on…
All about frozen stuff.
http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/frozenground/methane.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/vast-methane-plumes-seen-in-arctic-ocean-as-sea-ice-retreats-6276278.html
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/04/fracking-methane/
Biggest growth “industry” in NZ?
So, three decades of neo-liberalism has made most NZers worse off. Yes, most:-
A few people have benefited though.
Excellent article A very apt summary of the situation.
Poverty was a growing problem that was exacerbated by the way it was dealt with, she said.
“If you privatise the support for people in poverty, or for people on welfare, or for people in need of assistance, then you are growing the industry. You are creating an industry and growing it.”
Profiteering out of poverty!
One good thing about poverty in this day and age, it is catching. And lets face it if we don’t want fracking, or ‘drilling’ for methane hydrates, then we have to all get a lot poorer.
We all have to accept we are pasted the age of growth, and that most defiantly includes population.
That is one good thing about peak oil, eventually it will level out the irregularities in this system, as we all join the same class, the hungry one)
Can anyone shine a light on why John Key would be out of the country when a high profile Chinese delegation is visiting NZ? Couldn’t he have rescheduled? Is he trying to avoid them or was it a mistake?
I don’t think Key is our Acting PM anymore tbh.
Maybe Murray forgot to tell him.
Reading this article made me feel like I needed to take a shower! Many many things to be weary of in this!
based on that polemic platitude to profit,
it looks like ol’ Ruthie has officially decided to stop thinking.
“Ruth Richardson is a former Finance Minister. This article is an edited extract from The Next 10 Years, published by London-based think tank Reform”
– Bruce Richardson has sold/souled out in every sense of the word!
We have a similar ‘think tank’ in NZ, it is of the same ilk as Richardson’s and of course the Business Round Table- they are out and out neoliberal parasites and troughers.
Lotto worse than pokies?
The main difference between Lotto and SkyCity’s pokie machines is the return they provide to communities. While SkyCity only gives 2.5% to a charitable trust, NZ Lotteries distributes 20% of the profits from Lotto to communities throughout New Zealand…
Lotto is still rubbish for NZ communities.
Agreed, the constant ‘Lotto’ stories annoy the shit out of me. Often multiple lead stories. We’ll have maybe a big overseas one, one about a local recent winner, and a follow up story on the last local winner.
They breathlessly report on a lotto story like it is a great human interest story or something. To me it is absolutely no different to a story about someone winning a big texas hold’em game at skycity, or about some nice old lady that popped into SC to put her last $2 in a slot machine and won a $50k jackpot. What’s the difference it’s all gambling. One thing that burned in my memory was watching a jaded world weary looking woman efficiently checking ticket after ticket at one of those self checking machines, literally dozens of them, chucking them all in the bin one after the other, then walking up to the counter and asking how many more lotto tickets she could get for 80 bucks. What’s the difference between that and pokies seriously.
It’s all a bit hypocritical that they play concerned personality about Skycity expanding, yet treat a lotto winners like nobel prize winners of our times. A bit of consistancy at the very least would be nice and less tiring.
Bread and circusses shite the lot of it.
What’s the difference you ask… well if you’d bothered to read the article you’d know that around 80% of problem gamblers use pokies as their primary mode of gambling. Don’t get me wrong; I think Lotto is a crock as well. But the social issues created by problem gambling from addictive pokies are far worse.
Good points. I’m just trying to make the point that Lotto is gambling too. And that it’s a shame we treat the winners as heros. There are much more important reasons to celebrate our fellow folks than them getting lucky in some mainstream money competition whatever it’s form.
courtesy of FB
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/416828_379740562037721_240086252669820_1501737_143006544_n.jpg
Saw this one today, reminded me of some of the duty trolls around here: http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/545595_207594646020585_112775652169152_6253207_171889876_n.jpg
+1 Excellent.
Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell University and a former top official at the International Monetary Fund, said Kim’s medical background gave him vital experience in solving problems facing developing nations.
“He will need to dispel any notion that he is there to serve the interests of the US rather than the interests of developing countries,” Prasad said
But they put a “black man” in chage who won a peace prize, so you can’t call him racist or a neo-con warmonger…..wait a minute…
Argh, now I see what these “appointments” are for!
Argentina has nationalised YPF, the former and once again state oil company, as a matter of public interest.
http://www.eleconomista.es/flash/noticias/3898343/04/12/Argentina-nacionaliza-YPF.html
Google translation
But that’s madness! Think of the inefficiencies! Think of all the lost profits! Think of all the money that will now be going to the government and not offshore! Madness!
Just a bit of fluff to end the day with.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/6754244/Minister-weds-her-old-flame
Couldn’t help but notice how Paula’s new husband looks very much like Murray McCully!!
Couldn’t help but notice he dropped his lady friend of many years within 24hrs of Paula Bennett walking back into his life. Well he would woudn’t he. She’s a cabinet minister (no less) on a hefty salary?
Yeah cynical I know but….
There’s something odd about that photo too. He doesn’t really look like he’s present.
I’m worried about what’s going to happen to the dog 🙁
Deny the facts when they contradict the theory
Surprise, surprise, conservatives and associated libertarians are cheery picking their sources to prove their theory when reality proves them wrong.
Thanks for this Mr Bastard.
Austerity works when economic growth is guaranteed, as it has been for most of the last thirty years. The IMF defines a global recession as a period where GDP growth is less than 3%. The last time average GDP growth in first world countries was close to that was in 2007. We have essentially been in a recession since 2007 with little chance of increasing growth by anything close to the required levels due to the high price of oil. This graph here shows it all: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Cjs5tNgpAI/T4fVFKUjH3I/AAAAAAAAADo/4xWusSBm68g/s1600/Crude+oil+prices,+advanced+economies+GDP+growth+and+recessions,+1970-2012.jpg
From the graph we can see in past recessions that oil prices crashed which enabled countries to ramp up energy consumption and everything else that comes with that. This time is different because after an initial price crash oil prices have steadily been climbing since 2009. The age of cheap energy is over and with it the age of growth is also over.
http://www.southernlimitsnz.com/2012/04/prediction-is-messy-business-and-has.html
Gas fracking is fine, even if it does cause earthquakes.
After all, the market for gas and oil has now ‘decided’ that the risks are worth it.
Fracking? What fracking? Carry on. It’s business as usual.
What a joke Russell Norman is, a green party leader to be rabbiting on about the high value of the NZ$ WTF?
What would the Green Party be happy with? A NZ dollar @ 45 cents US would do what?
It would make raping the New Zealand environment so mush easer for everyone the government is selling NZ to ….. how green is that?
But it would more than likely drive petrol through the $3.00 mark, forcing ‘greenies’ to walk more, maybe a hidden agenda?
What a dick
Robert a low NZ$ would make petrol and diesel much more expensive yes.
That is actually a good thing, in terms of encouraging transition and encouraging people to listen to the likes of yourself.
A high NZ$ is not an effective barrier.
But Norman was going on about how good for the economy a low dollar would be?
The ‘economy’ is what is killing what Norman is meant to be standing for??? Isn’t that what the greeds are all about? …. ‘Giving’ the children a brighter future …. or was that National?
A high NZ$ is not an effective barrier. – True ‘they’ can print any amount of money to buy NZ regardless.
And lets face it there are only 2 places worth investing in globally at the moment, funeral homes and new Zealand.
“Settlers” Hate Tour in Hebron 20-08-2011
Life under the iron heel of the Israeli jackboot….
JohnKey’s Brighter Future…
Nice DtB, I like it .
Unfortunately for the environment to support seven billion + people, we will all have to have a foot print the size of a Portuguese peasant, so as distasteful as it is, the above link is a good thing.
And just when we were all getting use to the 48 inch+ wide screen.
The environment supports 7B+ people now mate, and I don’t know about you, my eco-footprint is quite a bit bigger than a Portuguese peasants.
Only while resource extraction from the environment allows it to. When that extraction goes into permanent decline then the world will no longer be able to support 7b.
Yep, I know. We’re in overshoot as it is right now.