The Government’s housing accords legislation needs some intense scrutiny. Already Len Brown has come out and suggested very gently that the legislation does not comply with the accord.
The Herald reports:
Auckland Mayor Len Brown welcomed the introduction of the legislation to formalise last Friday’s housing accord aimed at tackling issues of land supply and housing affordability in the city.
But he said there were a number of clauses in the bill that appeared to be inconsistent with the Auckland Housing Accord, which sets a target of 39,000 new homes through a fast-track planning process.
Mr Brown said he would be seeking clarification on a number of inconsistencies that relate to people having a say on new developments, rules applying to new houses, who runs the process and the extent of appeals.
Interestingly the Accord states that publicity about it was to be agreed to by the Mayor and Nick Smith prior to its release. Looks like Len does not believe that this occurred.
The bill itself is a disaster. It will ensure greenfield urban sprawl over brownfield regeneration development because brownfield development will have a height limitation and will be too expensive. One way or the other this Government wanted urban sprawl to happen.
Under the accord the Council recommends and the Government approves. The Government cannot recommend itself. This continues until the accord is finished under clause 17 of the accord.
under section 16(4)(a)(ii) of the Bill the Minister can propose if he gives notice of the government’s intention to withdraw from the accord. This is 6 months before the accord finishes and contradicts the accord.
Ah, while the standard was offline I was doing a post on this. Penny Hulse was more blunt on RNZ this morning about the Bill breaching the agreement. Thanks for the other links, micky. I didn’t see you post before I added mine below, then the site went offline. I’ll add links to your comments on my post.
That was quite quite irritating. Third time for the same platform reasons. Finally found out why no-one ever acted on my problem tickets – they apparently went to the wrong place (grr – yeah right). It was only after I called their answering service that fixed whatever the problem was.
I’ll be warming up a new server tomorrow despite them refunding the costs for the month. I can’t afford the time and the uncertainty of their not monitoring their own systems is unacceptable…
From this budget one can only deduce the fact that this government supports the private provision of services rather than public provision. This is reflected most in the extension of HNZ rent subsidies to the community sector (but not councils), and its funding freeze for public tertiary providers.
And we all have every reason to worry about fixed term tenancies for state houses. At first I thought that this would benefit private landlords, because of the effect that dumping 4000 people into the private market would have on (already crippling) rent levels. But no. Those who benefit will be those who own boarding houses and motor camps, because you can bet your life on the fact that those 4000 tenants, who lose their secure home because of some arbitary tenancy review, will end up in a boarding house or in a motor camp, because a private landlord simply will not house them, or they cannot afford the rent, or both.
That is, from what I can make out, what National want as forcing people into poverty generally means that they will be willing to work for less which means that profits for the few go up. It is, quite simply, in everything that they do as government.
Sheesh. Did I just hear Penny Hulse say the government’s urgency Bill on the local council-government “housing accord” could mean the Auckland Council-government accord is dead in the water if the Bill is not changed?
More lies from bullshitting Bill, announcing in the budget that beneficiaries will be able to buy fridges and washing machines via a recoverable WINZ grant,
Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years, WINZ offices can even download photos of what is available (second hand) from their provider and delivery is arranged on the spot,
Clever Bill from Dipton announcing what was put in place by the previous Labour Government as some ‘new’ spending on welfare…
“Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years,”
Since the 1980’s as a matter of fact. It is a long standing process that reflected the ‘social need’ part of our Social Welfare system. Unfortunately like all generous aspects of the system, some have seen fit to abuse it and various checks and balances were introduced. Nowadays it is only available through a few approved vendors and these items are usually more expensive than some whiteware people might be able to source elsewhere, but the fraud component has certainly been curtailed.
On a plus side the expectation is these vendors have better service and repair guarantees so the overall benefit to the consumer no doubt makes up for the increased cost.
Aha, i am highlighting the system that WINZ has had in place for at least the last 6 years where the whole purchase of whiteware, (fridges, washing machines), is completed through the WINZ office via their approved providers,
As you point out, honest beneficiaries are paying a higher price for these second hand appliances than they might if the items were sourced through the likes of Trademe to curtail the small frauds of a few beneficiaries and the secondhand dealers who in the past have happily also indulged,
On the plus side for beneficiaries is the guarantee, unspecified at the time of purchase but inherent in the consumer guarantee Act, repayment to WINZ of as little as $5 a week on the purchase and the delivery costs included in the price of the items bought, it would seem a reasonable system for providing for beneficiary needs which curtails fraudulent misbehavior and my opinion is that this should be extended to include other ‘large ticket’ items and even small loans to beneficiaries,
Having said all that, it is total bullshit, outright lies from the Minister of Finance to stand in the Parliament of New Zealand and claim this scheme as a ‘new’ Government initiative from the present Government when it has been the common practice of WINZ for at least the last 6 years, to do this is not only to mislead the people of New Zealand, (who in most cases wouldn’t have a clue), it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…
” it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…”
I understand the emotive phrase that history is a foreign country
and there are times it certainly feels like it happened somewhere else
but what really grates, is apparently everyone was looking in the opposite direction.
Good on ya. Minor mistake but make no difference. The problem would seem to arise between us weka because I only heard the words, whereas you heard the words and all of this …
“it’s not an issue of not being allowed to raise the points. It’s how it is done. Also, it’s not about the ‘race’ of the person asking the questions, it’s about their mana and their politics”
We clearly see things differently.
I generally try to weed out those sorts of elementes whereas you want them to lead the way. vto
(nah, what you quote of me there is before I listened to the panel discussion, and was a general comment on discussing racism in NZ).
Leaving aside that it’s not a minor mistake, and that you obviously misled readers on what actually happened in the panel (albeit unintentionally), here is the question that you consider to be important outside of its context.
Given that polls tell us that 80% of New Zealanders are distressed at seeing their country being slowly surrendered to the part descendants of the minority of Maori who breached the Treaty by rebelling against the Crown in the 1860s, could we use a republican referendum process to entrench racial equality?
weka, I have answered the question around the identity of the questioner, twice. Not going to re-hash. You’ve set out your position I’ve set out mine and they are different for the reasons outlined. What you see as important and what I see as important are different. You look at things one way and I look at things another way and they are different.
As to that piece marty mars has pulled out if you read through the whole lot, including previous threads, you would realise the context and the highly selective quoting (selectiveness admitted to). As to the particular issue in that though, the extreme sensitivity that is shown by you and marty interestingly matches the divisiveness witnessed on the ground. It seems far from settled. You are as feverish about it as they.
As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.
As to a marty list, the issues have all been raised over time – governance without representation, privilege based on birthright and race, the place of indigeneity, ….. on it goes. They will continue to arise and no doubt be commented on. And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.
Yes vto i couldn’t fit all of your quotes in there. I’ll leave it up to weka to debate the finer points of your response. For me it is more of the same – mistruth, misrepresentation and misinformation from you to push your barrow which you can’t move from – your attitude is part of the problem and until that changes there is hardly any point engaging with you unless you come up with a list but oh no that’s too hard you’d rather snipe and hurt from a distance – so be it.
my list again
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
losing it again – you always do that when you are cornered. I never abused or insulted you, that is your imagination AGAIN
but if you want to go the insult way to distract from the series of posts about your misunderstandings we can do that – I’ll let those ones go and see if you can control yourself with your replies
That list has been posted a few times in the past few days. If you don’t like it, or disagree with it, then why not post another one that better matches your views? We are waiting to hear what you specifically think vto.
Despite what you might think I believe that Pakeha do need to have this conversation in order to move on.
hey be fair it was the first cut – point out the ones that are correct and I’ll amend it – seriously I thought they were mostly correct and not that bad really
That’s not really personal vto. It’s marty making observations about your behaviour. You may not like them, and you may disagree, but it’s not personal. Personal would be calling someone a racist fuckwit, something neither of us are doing (although I will happily call Ansell that). Or personal would be taking things known about your personal life and using them against you or to put you down.
I note that in marty’s analysis of your behaviour, he gives you a way out. Did you see that?
It is about the person and not the issue. You even admit it here “It’s marty making observations about your behaviour” That is personal. Your reference to “fucking racist” is nasty personal. Where is discussion about the issue?
I am a little astounded at the idea that I dont want to talk specifics. I posted on the issue of accusations of racism when speaking of race. That was what started the thread. That was specific. I have posted on it before. I posted on it again here, with reference to the radio show. There was an error in this piece of backup which we have now thrashed to death. The thread has since been made all personal and lost its way. I started the thread with a particular issue. Answered. You may notice another further downthread.
The call for specifics is specific to the convo from the last few days. Getting past the hooha about the RNZ reference, what is left? I don’t know and you won’t say. I guess that’s the end of the discussion for now.
“As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.”
Right, I’ve really misunderstood then, because I thought you were interested in the question itself.
Ok, fair enough, it’s not the question, it’s the interaction of the people and the refusal to answer. There is no way to look at that unless we put those things in their original context. As has been stated clearly, you misunderstood entirely what happened. The panelists didn’t want to answer teh questions because Ansell’s questions was (a) loaded and (b) an attempt to hijack the discussion (even the presenter noted that).
You want to draw the conclusion that they didn’t want to answer because of fear of talking about racism, but by your own admission you didn’t listen to the thing properly and missed the context and the person asking the question (and don’t pretend now that the identity of the person answering doesn’t matter). There were in fact some other references in the talk to Maori and the implications of constitutional change (not alot but they were there), which belies the idea that people were avoiding talking about race.
Sorry mate, you’ve dug a pretty big hole here. If you quit now we’ll give you hand up and out 🙂
“And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.”
“You are as feverish about it as they.”
“extremely sensitive”
That’s just nasty, and an attempt at marginalisation. It’s beneath you. Play the ball not the wo/man. If you don’t want robust debate, than say so, and ask for different terms. There is nothing wrong with me focussing on the things in your arguments that stand out to me. Your views on Kai Tahu and Southern Maori women are hugely offensive and simply add to the Pakeha distorted narrative that we know more about Maori than they do. That does immeasurable damage. I’m not feverish or extremely sensitive, I’m really fucking angry that someone like you would do that shit in a place like this.
Like marty, I am disappointed that you won’t engage on the actual issues at this point in time. But I can also see that it would be hard to defend your points of view.
Well weka, when it comes to that particualar issue that you are super-sensitive about don’t point the finger at me. I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here. It is feverish. Sorry if that offends you but that is what is seen.
As for not wanting to engage on the actual issues, sorry, not accepted. Always engage on the issue but when it turns to the personal, nup.
I think genuinely that you just need to ease up when someone says, for example, “the treaty is flawed” because at the moment when words like that are posted you can hear the sound of the soldiers turning to face the ‘threat’ instead of listening and thinking about what is being posted first. Marty rushes straight to arms hup two three four
vto, please, please say “the treaty is flawed”. Then we can talk.
But you didn’t say that. You referenced something on Natrad, and completely misrepresented it, and unfortunately for you the thing you referenced was presented by a racist fuckwit. You just made a mistake, and had it been another person making such a mistake on a different topic, someone here would have taken them to task for it. It’s about intellectual rigour or truthfullness.
“I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here.”
What do you mean by ‘witnessed on teh ground’? Can you please be specific about which part of this issue you are referring to as well?
weka I have said the treaty is flawed (for certain purposes) on countless other occasions and swapped posts with others on it. It will come up again there is no doubt.
on the ground generally refers to real-life encounters. And detailed specifics are not possible unfortunately due to our small population and possible ramifications.
Seems to me that a lot of the spin National had around the last Labour government, which keeps coming up all the time in comments on stuff etc by people who obviously believe it, is that Labour got us into a horrible economic situation and borrowed and wasted all that money, because of the ridiculous “decade of deficits” report by the Treasury that National jumped on a parroted wide and far.
Well, turn abouts fair play, I think. Now that the commentary around this budget is that a $75m surplus in 2014-2015 is margin of error and unimportant, it seems like Labour need to say something like this:
“National want a $75m rounding-error surplus in 2014-2015. When we were in government between 1999 and 2008, we ran a surplus of $$$$ every single year. We got our borrowing down to 8% of GDP while reducing unemployment down to record lows, National are promising we’ll be at 20% debt of GDP by 2020. National has squandered the good work done by the Labour party.”
If you can stomach it, watch Hoots once again missing his medication and doing Tory Bullshit Bingo. It’s actually quite hilarious: “liberal elite” “lunatic left” and so on and so on – and then he tries to say that the Tories are, um, kinda liberal, because Muldoon’s father had syphilis.
He must be expecting a huge paycheque for that. Under all that grease, there’s only slime.
Dunno Rhino. I always find it worthwhile to hear what the other side is thinking. Of course as Mathew says he is in the Reagan, Douglas, Richardson mould. OK so how does he view stuff? Of course he is anti left but often what he says is the repeat of what the right want us too hear and even hope we might believe. Ha! But the risk is that the discussion also exposes the weakness of that rightist position and therefore good stuff.
Matthew does get excited about his often shaky positions but so does Martyn. Well worth a watch. Thanks for the link.
Yes, I do agree that Hoots has one use, and that’s to let us know what the Tories want us to believe. If he gets pleasure out of winding people up, then that sad act of masturbation shows just what an empty shell he is.
Watched it this morning. Bomber was surprisingly polite in the circumstances. The bombastic Hoots did his usual…. wouldn’t let Keith Locke get a word in edge-wise.
I think Hooton’s over the top language is a deliberate ploy to rile us. He knows the majority of people who hit the Daily Blog are – to varying degrees- on the Left of the political spectrum. He gets perverse pleasure winding them up.
We should ignore him and then the enjoyment will go out of the game.
Just watching the committees today and I am left wondering: Why is it that the maori party have only 2 votes but 3 MP’s? Is Te Ururoa Flavell already crossed the floor to Mana?
“Who can vote?
Only members who have been sworn in can vote. Members can vote even if they are absent, by the use of proxies. A formula is used which determines how many votes each party can have when a number of its members are absent from the parliamentary precincts. Thus a party may not always be able to cast the same number of votes as the party has members in the House.”
Oh I see, there was my conspiracy forming mind that jumped to all sorts of conclusions. I do believe that Mr Flavell is made of better stuff than his co-leaders however. Pita Sharples is an embarrassment and I’m sorry for ever thinking he would be any different. Turia is poison too.
In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society.
Personal, denigrating mockery like the bully boy you are, again.
Irrelevant.
The issue (which you have demanded in a list like some dumb cock, then mocked me for not responding to your demand).
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
… if you imagine this has gone unnoticed in Christchurch then you are not just a bully boy but a fool too. It has been commented on a surprising number of times by people in significant positions in the city.
To date you have had no answer to this issue cunt.
a cock and two cunts now – your insults are degrading yourself and your people and showing you for the cluck cluck cluck you are – lucky adele isn’t here eh?
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
lol look at a silly wee man using swearwords – what a joke you are vto – hardmanfail. Try a different one – you know the one you really want to use but are too scared to
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
bit worked up this morning eh vto why is that I wonder – maybe your undies are too tight – have you checked recently I think they may be riding up a bit I’m certainly sensing skidmarks – time for a check – it’s okay I’ll wait.
the dumb cunt has no answer to the issue, just personal…
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
11 chicken and can’t answer a question without swearing like a fool
Got to go to work for an hour but I’ll come back soon to help you through your anger and abuse issues.
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
in through the nose out through the mouth breathe deep it’s okay I forgive your outrageous abuse but try and forgive yourself while I’m away it will make the session go better after lunch.
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?”
Of course what has gone in in the oldboy etc past that you mention had very similar flawed and unsustainable pratices and policies. That had certain results which were not good for maori or society as a whole. It is not that which is referred to however, although it is acknowledged. It should be similarly acknowledged that what was flawed in the past is flawed now and will be in the future.
There can be no governance without represention.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being a healthy check and balance is of course correct, but neither is that the point.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being accountable to their iwi members is also correct, but slides off the side of the issue. If Ngai Tahu wishes to exercise governance over others then they must be accountable in the same way to those others, no to just their iwi members.
This of course is a relatively minor development in the practical scheme of day to day things, but the principle is crucial. There must not be governance without representation. It applies to every socety. It is bad for Ngai Tahu – such a system gets no respect.
vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.
colonial viper – “vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.”
Consent decisions are now made by Ngai Tahu (and Council and cera). This is the problem.
Here are some facts, as explained by Mark Solomon on the Ngai Tahu website. Ngai Tahu is not just having input, or consultation etc, it is making the decisions. This is the governance…. “He says the tribal representative body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, along with its statutory partners, the Christchurch City Council and CERA, each appoint a member to panel hearings to consider resource consent applications ”
We have representation through Council, good. We have representation through cera, good. We have no representation through Ngai Tahu, bad. This is the point. The principle is crucial to a healthy society. I’m sure you understand the principle of no governance without representation. Well, these are the facts pointing the principle being ignored. That is the problem.
In addtion, the point you intimate re conflicts of interest has been front page here too. As mentioned way up thread somewhere I mentioned that this crops up in dicussion with people in various positions in the rebuild and the city generally. It has been noticed and is news. It needs to be dealt with – both the conflict of interest (chinese walls, yeah right), but much much much more importantly the governance without representation.
It is wrong and unsustainable. A couple of links (more concentrated on the lesser though still important issue of conflict of interest)…
your beef is with central or local government numbnuts not the iwi – sheesh talk about myopic.
on another point your excessive use of the word cunt – it reminds me that there are no demeaning terms for ‘woman’ in the Māori language, and that the first human was a woman – Hine-ahu-one, and that as all come from women at birth, at death the same occurs through Hine-nui-te-pō, and that Papa-tū-ā-nuku is our earth mother and sustainer of life and that women are mediators of tapu. Thanks for reminding me of these things vto even though you were trying to insult.
The superb investigative journalist Jeremy Scagill is being interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio tomorrow morning. His specialty is the American government being allowed to assassinate anyone it wants to, even Americans. It should be fascinating if you haven’t followed this before.
That’s a must-listen. Scahill is a brilliant and uncompromising speaker. I’ve seen him transform the Letterman and John Stewart shows from shallow laugh-fests into serious discussions, simply by the moral force of his message, backed up by his compelling personal style. That rarely happens on American television, and it’s even rarer on British television.
Laughingly reproaching the pizza-guzzling sybarites of Gaza The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 17 May 2013
Finlay Macdonald, Denise L’estrange-Corbet, Simon Pound
That brief resurgence in quality on this programme that I noted a couple of weeks ago is well and truly over and done with. The situation reached its nadir on Tuesday when Jim Mora’s guests were the brutal right wing “pundit” John Bishop and the right wing beer writer and self-styled “wit” Neil Miller, but today’s guests, while they are clearly more humane and decent individuals than Bishop and Miller, are not much better when it comes to discussing serious issues. Look at how they trivialize and scoff at the situation of the besieged residents of Gaza…..
FINLAY MACDONALD: That was David Bowie with “Lady Grinning Soul” from 1973. All right, it’s 3:45; time for Susan Baldacci with what the wooooooorld’s talking about!
SUSAN BALDACCI: News today of the kind of thing being smuggled through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza! Of course there are many of these tunnels.
FINLAY MACDONALD: These tunnels are from Sinai, aren’t they.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yes. They smuggle all SORTS of items through them, and you know what? You can order a pizza for thirty dollars!
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: When you think of what they are needing, and THAT is what they want!?!?!?!?!!!???
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
FINLAY MACDONALD: The pizza would be cold, by the time it got to them, wouldn’t it?
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET:[sniffily] I wouldn’t order a pizza if I was in Gaza.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, well, that’s what they want. When you think of what they SHOULD be ordering….
4:25 p.m. As I write this, I am listening to that mealy-mouthed twit Simon Pound trying to defend John Key’s latest offensive remarks. This time Key has described the situation of Christchurch people as “some hard-luck stories at a micro level.”
Pound is an intelligent and perceptive fellow, but he is quite clearly afraid to voice his real feelings.
Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”. A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone. Some might say there’s still little maturity in Mr North nearly 40 years on but I’d like to think I was capable even then of appreciating that when people are grindingly poor and deprived we should not reflexively clutch our pearls when a little succour is taken wherever it can be found. At least try to walk in the mocassins maybe.
Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
1.) Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”.
You are of course correct, my friend. In mitigation, I must say that I was driving and therefore could not scribble down any transcript in my usual manner, and so I was forced to rely on my (imperfect) recall.
2.) A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
You’ve got that exactly right. Last year Susan Baldacci sneered at Sean Penn for “cuddling up to the likes of Hugo Chávez”; twenty years ago I am sure she was condemning other celebrities for cuddling up to Nelson Mandela. Balducci is very similar to another American on Radio NZ, Marty Duda: superficially affable, but just below the surface there is a vat of completely unexamined prejudices bubbling away. Duda’s right wing rancour boiled over hilariously late last year when he launched into an ignorant and disconnected radio rant against my Lancastrian namesake (the singer).
3.) Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
I have a book with a picture of this glib scumbag in his PYM days, posing with a rifle. Campbell the revolutionary foot-soldier-cum-Guinness Peat director.
4.) As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone.
I hear those sentiments every time I listen to squawk radio, which I haven’t done for a long time now. The withdrawal programme is working. (I’m pretending, for the sake of argument, that Radio NZ’s Panel is qualitatively different to the commercial chat. Really, though, there’s little to separate them.)
5.) Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
I’m sure she’d still find something whimsical, like KFC deliveries via tunnels, to distract her audience in the usual manner.
True. The “superiority” of RNZ is marked only by the absence of fulsomely excited, breathless exhortations to make our lives fabulous by “popping on down to wherever to get whatever – open 7 days…….”. And discordant jingles.
The saving grace to that carry-on, infuriating as it is, is that at least it doesn’t make light of appalling inhumanity, as is Gaza.
nobody here or anywhere else in nz will bother, and will not know for a start, as today, starting 11 am outside vector arena in auckland city, off quay st, there was a massive and vocal protest by aaap, by various unions (unite, first union, sfu and so), same as some community groups, to protest against the budget by the nat government not delivering much or anything to the poor and unemployed. there was a lot of media presence, all leading tv stations had sent cameras, there was a lot of upheaval, with some protestors trying to push their way into a convention or meeting hearing pm john key, to speak to the hundreds of attending cross tasman and pacific business people. most business people turned up in taxis, expensive vehicles and with suits and ties, and they faced a barrage of challenging chants and so forth. one person got arrested for dubious reasons, and was later released from the watchhouse at auckland central police station at 2 pm, with no charge laid. supporters were there to welcome him. there was no mention at all in the media, be this radio nz’s checkpoint, the leading tv stations or so about this. it seems the business lobby run and control the media in nz solidly. it is clear that they frown on protestors and dissenters, and the arrogance and demeanour of those that went to this meeting at vector arena spoke volumes. so we have a society here in nz, that is oligopolist, monopolits in some areas, and where an elite run and rule, they even determine government by financial and other support. they have control over the media, so they refrain from reporting what people do and say, and protest about. this is practically a dictatorship here in nz, but most are ignorant and complacent, relying on a fool’s belief that they still have some say in what they want.
so that is it, the truth, but i am only a stupid migrant, always have been treated wit h some contempt by locals, so why should i care a shit about a shit country like nz.
Sorry, Murray, I get my bad moments, and I have not had an easy lot, still trying to get some major issues addressed by “Commissioners” of sorts, holding office, most appointed by Nat governments.
Apart from that I thank you for your tolerance towards my “rant”.
I am working on a number of issues, personal and not so personal. So I am at times also joining forces at the frontline, and the Vector Arena protest or pickets was one good experience. Sad to see and hear the MSM have little time for the ordinary folk here, born and bred Kiwis or migrants.
We will keep up the struggle, as that is a moral mission kind of. I would hate to be on the side of the mercenaries and foot soldiers of this system, rewarding a few, that frown on the rest, no matter where it happens in the world.
Listening to Annette King give attempting to give the government a dressing down over the way its dealing with the issue of paying parents who care for their disabled adult children was truly sickening. The initial claim was made when Labour were the government and they rejected it outright. And now Annette King thinks she can take the moral high ground on the issue. Well, Annette, you need to just shut the fuck up on this matter. You and your mates have no right to call foul on this whatsoever. Ryall simply continued with the dirty work that you began, and now you think you can bag him for that? Total hypocrisy. Just sickening. Apologise for what you did, or keep your mouth shut.
See and learn about the true history and course of events in the Chilean dictatorship, overthrowing Salvador Allende, if anybody in rather indifferent nz bothers to care. oh, sorry the first letter of chilean was misspelled in caps again. sorry lprent, i am working on it:
The Standard may well be losing the credit it deserves, to be independent and strong on that on the left, but I fear (sorry the caps) it is becoming another mainstream media turnout. I wish it won’t but we will have to see.
Food for thought for the supporters of the Green/Labour plans for electricity prices.
I especially like this bit ‘But socialist President Nicolás Maduro (who was hand-picked by Chavez to succeed him) blamed the toilet paper shortage on “anti-government forces,”’
He’s right. If they imprisoned all the traitors, RWNJs, and media barons, there’d be far less shit floating about. We must learn from them that kindness to your enemy might win points in heaven, but if you want a clean bum, get rid of the right wingers. Of course, if Key decided to take a trip to Venezuela, he could always take you and Slater along and he’d never even notice the shortage.
In 1994, I was the editor for an issue of Planet magazine focused on cannabis, its culture and the prospects for the end of its prohibition. Part of that issue was an interview with 'Ringo', an experienced cannabis dealer.I recently posted my essay from that issue, and I figured it ...
Dr Helen Waite, sports sociologist and former elite athlete, on the invasion of women’s sport by men and the anti-scientific and misogynist ideology used to rationalise it. ...
As Brexit comes to a grisly conclusion (perhaps) people on all sides are saying intemperate and uwise things. Some, like the Daly Mail, have been doing it for years.People as normally level headed as Jon Lansman are calling for automatic deselection of MPs who vote against a (likely) Labour three ...
I've got one source saying more Labour MPs than expected are mulling whether to vote for the deal - including names who were not on the letter to Juncker and Tusk— Emilio Casalicchio (@e_casalicchio) 17 October 2019 I've compiled a list of possible reasons why Labour ...
On Wednesday, the government was loudly telling us that it needed to legislate to allow it to impose "control orders" - effectively a parole regime, but imposed without charge, prosecution, conviction or real evidence - on suspected terrorists because they couldn't be prosecuted for their supposed crimes. Today, it turns ...
On Monday, the Hit and Run inquiry heard from NZDF's former director of special operations, who claimed that the defence Minister knew everything about the Operation Burnham raid. Today, the inquiry heard from that (former) Minister - and it turns out that he didn't know nearly as much as NZDF ...
Yoga gurus and cult leaders – I’ve seen a few. Two weeks ago, I unknowingly joined an alleged new-age cult at the Kāpiti coast, together with a giant kraken and some neatly dressed pensioners who would make any book club proud.They were among the two hundred people of all ages ...
The last decade has seen a trend of increasing weapons availability to police. Assault rifles. Tasers on every hip. Guns in cars. And following the march 15 massacre, pistols on every hip, all over the country. At the same time, its also seen an increase in the abuse of force: ...
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy preparing for our summer paper on Science Communication. Looking for something amusing about ‘risk’ in science, I came across this neat xkcd.com cartoon about why so many people come knocking on my door (or phoning me, or emailing me) desperately wanting ...
by John Edmundson The International Socialist Organisation (ISO) have recently reposted a February article, by Romany Tasker-Poland, explaining ISO’s position in the “trans rights” debate. It is available on their website and on their Facebook Page. The article sets out to explain why “socialists support trans rights”. It reads more ...
"Auckland City Mission: 10% of Kiwis experiencing food insecurity", RNZ, 16 October 2019:About half a million people are experiencing food insecurity, according to new research from the Auckland City Mission. Food insecurity, or food poverty, is defined as not having enough appropriate food. The City Mission said over the last ...
Media Statement for Immediate Release 16th October 2019 “Fake News” from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th–there is very little evidence ...
Would You Buy A Used Propaganda Video From This Man? Bridges and the National Party’s strategists have discovered that the ideas and attitudes considered acceptable by today’s editors and journalists are no longer enforceable. The rise and rise of the Internet and the social media platforms it spawned means that ...
There is plenty of evidence of the way the business mentality has permeated every level of society since the recrudescence of market liberalism 35 years ago. You only need to think of how citizens in need of help from their government, their state, their country, are now routinely described as ...
John MacCormickOver the last 40 years, New Zealanders – and people in other countries – have experienced big changes in the jobs they do and where they live and work. These changes include: a decline in manufacturing jobs an increase in jobs in ‘information-intensive’ industries (which are better paid ...
Nick Wilson, Leah Grout, Mereana Wilson, Anja Mizdrak, Phil Shoemack, Michael BakerProtecting waterways has the benefits of: (1) protecting water from hazardous microbes; (2) minimising cancer risk and other problems from nitrates in water; (3) avoiding algal blooms that are hazardous to health; (4) protecting mahinga kai uses (cultural ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women In a press release today Massey University announced it has decided to rebrand and reorientate after struggling to be a University for grown-ups. For some time the University has wanted to be a safe play space for wee-woke-misogynists who have been really badly triggered ...
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...
So, Judith Collins has done a Facebook rant about climate change, peddling the same shit National has been shovelling for the past twenty years: the impacts are overstated, there's no need to do anything about it, and its too hard anyway (oh, and its so unfair that people who peddle ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzThere is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Last month, NZDF's shoddy coverup of what it knew about civilian casualties in Operation Burnham began to fall apart, with the revelation that a report on the matter, which NZDF claimed not to have, had been sitting in an NZDF safe for the past nine years. Yesterday, the man responsible ...
While many imagine that countries like the USA and Europe dominate space activities, in fact India is now a major player on this stage. It launches satellites for its own purposes and also commercially, and has constellations orbiting our planet and returning data of vital importance to that nation in ...
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
An essay by Judith Collins MP reported on Carbon News yesterday seems to show an alarming shift in attitude within the National Party. Collins argues against the Zero Carbon Bill, the Paris Agreement, and downplays the magnitude of climate impacts. The Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015 and ratified ...
When they were running for election, Labour promised to overhaul the Employment Relations Act and introduce fair pay agreements to set basic pay and conditions on an industry level, preventing bad employers from undercutting good ones. They followed this up by establishing a working group, which reported back in January ...
A list of indicators of bad science – many of these are found in articles promoted by anti-fluoride activists. Anti-fluoride activists have been pouring money into a scaremongering campaign warning pregnant women not to drink fluoridated water. They claim fluoride will lower the IQ of their future child. Fluoride ...
Nothing Left To Say: Labour's pollster, Stephen Mills, remains swaddled-up in the comforting myths of the 1980s. As if the experience of Roger Douglas’s genuinely radical post-Muldoon policy agenda was literally a once-in-a-lifetime thing – as much as the party could possibly absorb for at least the next 50 years.MEMO ...
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
How could government evolve over the next decades? Reports of democracy’s imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. However, satisfaction with political systems in many countries is low, so there is much to do for governments of all political stripes to improve relevance and trust. Digital technologies are seen as one ...
Two years have now gone by since the Friday afternoon when my university-student son and I headed out of our Barcelona flat to a nearby primary school, designated as a polling station for the vote that was to be held the following Sunday: the referendum on Catalonia’s independence from Spain ...
Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Hassan Vally, La Trobe UniversityWho doesn’t want to know if drinking that second or third cup of coffee a day will improve your memory, or if sleeping too much increases your risk of a heart attack? We’re invested in staying healthy and many of us are interested in reading ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand has prided itself for decades with regard to its lack of pollution, and all will be aware that the ‘100% Pure New Zealand‘ meme is under threat through land, water and air pollution of various causes. There is another type of contamination that the country also faces: light ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy do people still think climate change isn’t real?David ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...
Speaking at the Council of Trade Unions' (CTU) biennial conference, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told unionists that any future attacks on the Government won't work. "Now, we are being attacked by the union movement in this country. You can have your views but I'm here to say standing ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s ...
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension Legislation Amendment Bill. “Every New Zealander has a stake in New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran’s Pension,” says Carmel Sepuloni. “They are our most common form of social assistance – nearly 800,000 New ...
Babies in Auckland aged six months and over can receive a free vaccination and children will all have access to vaccines, Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter announced today at Papatoetoe High School. The move comes as part of Government efforts to step up the fight against measles. ...
***Check against delivery*** Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here, and to have the honour of opening this important conference on behalf of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. Let us take the opportunity to acknowledge all the people who have helped make today possible, including our special ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash says the safety of frontline officers and members of the public will be the focus of a new trial of specialist Police response teams in three of our largest urban centres. Police have this morning released details of an initiative to be trialled in Counties Manukau, ...
The Minister of Fisheries is calling for entries for a new public award to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector. “I have established the Seafood Sustainability Awards to recognise and celebrate those throughout industry, tangata whenua and communities who demonstrate outstanding dedication and innovation towards the sustainability of New Zealand’s ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter welcomes leaders in the private sector taking action on closing their gender pay gaps to ensure a fairer workplace for all New Zealanders. Ms Genter today launched a new report, Addressing the gender pay gap and driving women’s representation in senior leadership, from the Champions for ...
Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. The release underlines the importance of government proposals to combat climate pollution, ensure clean freshwater, protect biodiversity, make land use more sustainable, and reduce waste and plastic. Environment ...
The Government has approved funding for a new acute mental health facility for Waikato which will provide better care and support to people with mental health and addiction issues. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Dr David Clark announced the $100 million project to replace the aging Henry Rongomau ...
The Government is making progress on its goal to integrate te reo Māori into education by 2025, with over 500 teachers and support staff already graduating from Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Kelvin Davis made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Waikanae today, for ...
Statistics Minister James Shaw has welcomed the first release of 2018 Census data. The first release of data today, 23 September, includes key data on population, regional growth, the number of homes and the size of different ethnic groups in New Zealand. Data from the 2018 Census will support the ...
Minister for Statistics James Shaw today announced a public consultation on a proposed algorithm charter for government agencies. The charter has been developed by the Government Chief Data Steward in response to growing calls for more transparency in government use of data. Computer algorithms – procedures or formulas for solving ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte co-hosted a business roundtable in Auckland this morning focused on working together to address climate change. “The Netherlands is an important partner for New Zealand. We share a strong agricultural history. Sustainable agribusiness and ...
The Government is taking action to build an inclusive economy where more of us receive our fair share at work and businesses can compete on great products and services, not undercutting wages and conditions, Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. Two consultations launched today seek feedback ...
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Feedback sought– Lyttelton commercial zone parking The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to remove on-site car parking requirements for new developments in the Lyttelton commercial zone. The proposal, by Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section 71 of the Greater ...
Hon Minister Poto Williams Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration MEDIA STATEMENT Tuesday 15 October 2019 Feedback sought – Hagley Oval The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal about Hagley Oval. The proposal was developed by Regenerate Christchurch ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
“Proposals to curb environmental damage help our coasts and the oceans Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. We at CEAC also ...
David Robie, concluding his three-part series about Iran, profiles an extraordinary pair of Tehran brothers who have been pioneering global research adventurers. They have been dubbed the “Persian Indiana Joneses”. Their adventures are fabled and hair-raising, as shown by a Jivaro shrunken human head and relics from curious rituals ...
Four months ago Caroline Shaw bought an e-bike. She explains why they’re the answer to our lethal car culture.Four months ago we took what felt like a huge leap of faith and bought an e-cargo bike. The combination of three things tipped us over the edge: feeling the need to ...
The online magazine that boasted a bigger Instagram following than most New Zealand media has abruptly come to an end. So what was Auckland Mag? Why did it exist? And who was it mysterious founder Dan Rolph? David Farrier investigates. The reply from Dan Rolph at Auckland Magazine came quickly. It came ...
In the wake of the shocking revelations about Three, Duncan Greive assesses the health of New Zealand’s six big media companies.Winston Peters has studied the cold, pitiless heart of a certain strand of New Zealander for four decades now, and has become our foremost expert on both expressing its feelings ...
US justice reform activists Deborah Small and asha bandele say white supremacy and colonialism are at the heart of punitive drug laws. They spoke to Teuila Fuatai about how drug reform can reverse their effects on minority communities. Deborah Small sees Donald Trump as the US Dorian Gray. “He’s the physical ...
Madeleine Chapman spent a day learning about Christchurch through its most famous dishes.What is there do with with a day in Christchurch? Thanks to the inexplicably early check-out times at hotels all over the world and a 7pm flight back to Auckland, I had a full day to wander the ...
Winston Peters says his party is a handbrake on bad ideas and a "supercharged turbo" for good ones - but will it be in the driver's seat come 2020? ...
Our former prime minister secured a meeting with Chinese premier Xi Jinping outside all normal diplomatic channels. Interest’s Jenée Tibshraeny asks what it means for New Zealand’s evolving relationship with the superpower.Former prime minister John Key secured a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week without the involvement of ...
David Robiecontinues his three-part series about travelling in Iran. I stumbled on the scene by chance. Our host family in Iran’s second city Mashhad, a modern and beautiful metropolis that would comfortably fit in New Zealand’s entire population, was taking us on a drive to the outskirts to ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has lashed out at the media, in particular, MediaWorks, just a day after the company announced it was selling off its television arm. ...
About a hundred disgruntled licensed gun owners have descended on the New Zealand First conference to tell the party leader Winston Peters that they feel like victims. ...
New Zealand First members will vote on a policy today that would allow businesses of all sizes to enforce 90-day trials when they employ people straight out of prison. ...
"Each time she held her lighter underneath the pipe and sucked the smoke into the back of her throat, the promise was there": a New Zealand tragedy by Alice Tawhai. ...
With the future of Mediaworks’ TV business hanging in the balance, Al Jazeera news presenter Kamahl Santamaria reflects on what the imperilled channel meant, and continues to mean, to him.I always liked the logo. The fresh bright colours, the nod to a koru in its shape, and just the fact ...
There are still many barriers preventing people from voting in local elections. Laura O’Connell Rapira proposes some social solutions.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.To vote in the local elections, I cast ...
What’s really stood out for me being back in Tokyo is the unique qualities of Japan’s spectators, writes Richard Light, professor of sport coaching at the University of Canterbury.The Rugby World Cup has thrown a global spotlight on Japan over recent weeks. Not just the rugby: the distinctive culture and ...
As the New Zealand First Party gathers for its annual conference, the question swirling in the year is how it can carve out a path to avoid electoral defeat in 2020, writes Jo Moir for RNZ. It’s not you, it’s me. It’s a familiar break up excuse that’s used ...
To the early intervention therapists, to the teachers, to the speech therapists, the occupational therapists, music therapists, diabetes nurses and all: you change the world.When I was married almost a decade ago we had the following reading at our wedding:You are holding up a ceilingwith both arms. It is very ...
The faces said it all. The smiles of the European leaders crowded round Boris after the Brexit deal was struck. The deal his opponents – no, pretty much everyone – said was impossible.So what’s in it? The detail is still opaque, but subject to gremlins in the fine print, ...
Iran attracts an onslaught of negative media in New Zealand and Western media. But is it fair or deserved? David Robie has spent several weeks travelling in the country on sabbatical and finds the media negativity far from the reality of the “most friendly” country he has ever visited ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Leigh Sullivan discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan. They talk about Alan Jones accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of failing the immediate needs of drought-striken farmers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Senior Research Fellow in Geometallurgy/Applied Geochemistry, The University of Queensland Last month, scientists uncovered a mineral called Edscottite. Minerals are solid, naturally occurring substances that are not living, such as quartz or haematite. This new mineral was discovered after an ...
The Auckland-based collective talk origins, ambitions and making the rave accessible to everybody.Friendly Potential is an outfit that defies easy summary. They’re among the country’s most ambitious and prolific club promoters. In their almost five-years of operation, they’ve been responsible for the local debuts of electronic music icons including Detroit ...
Analysis: Two polls show support for Labour sliding, the government is accused of breaking another promise and the Greens's refusal to back a bill forces Labour to rely on National to get it through. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kiera Lindsey, University of Technology Sydney One spring morning in 1850, over 8,000 Sydneysiders marched through town to protest the resumption of transportation – the act of sending British criminals to Australia. It was the largest protest in Australia thus far, an ...
Two shareholders of failed insurance firm company CBL are leading a class action against the firm's former directors seeking compensation for financial losses. ...
Sam Brooks recaps the third episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and wonders why some of these queens don’t know how to sew.This episode asks, and sort of answers the main question that millions of people across the world: why would you come on Drag Race and not know how to sew?!There ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John M Clarke, Team Leader, Regional Projections, CSIRO Last month we lost Dr Penny Whetton – one of the world’s most respected climate scientists and a brilliant mentor to the next generation of researchers. Penny will also be remembered as a passionate ...
Ten moose were upended into the Dusky Sounds in 1910. Now, their descendants are getting their day in the sun.The climate crisis is affecting wildlife all over the country: rockhopper penguin populations are in drastic decline, tuatara eggs aren’t hatching females, and the ice walls keeping predators away from kea ...
Security footage of NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell being thrown out of a Tauranga bar looks unlikely to ever be aired - despite his leader Winston Peters promising a screening. ...
Amnesty International is concerned that Justice Minister Andrew Little's Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill could have the potential to undermine human rights in New Zealand. The Bill would give the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to ...
Expect the old campaigner Winston Peters to be at his belligerent best as he gears up for another election. He’s kept his party alive for 27 years and he shows no sign of quitting. The omens may be bleak—polls this week showed his party below the 5% threshold– but Peters ...
The National Party has agreed to take down any videos breaching the current rules around the use of parliamentary TV footage, as all parties try to reach consensus. ...
Recently the Health Promotion Agency released a report into hazardous drinking in New Zealand. The report shows that Māori who drink alcohol and live in deprived circumstances are less likely to have a harmful relationship with alcohol if they ...
Turkey-US joint-statement on military ops within Syria’s territory.The Turkish Embassy in New Zealand issued Evening Report this unabridged United States of America-Republic of Turkey joint-statement detailing what both sides agreed to regarding Turkey’s military operations within the so-called security zone within Syrian territory near Turkey’s southern border. It is ...
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash didn’t mention what winners will receive, when he proudly called for entries for a new public award “to celebrate innovation in our seafood sector”. Nor did he mention the cost to taxpayers of this initiative. Point of Order’s checks with the website where more details have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fiona R Martin, Senior Lecturer in Convergent and Online Media, University of Sydney One of the basic tenets of the ABC Act is independence from government. Yet once again, in contravention to that principle, the federal government is trying to push through ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Lily Holloway.modernity to globalisationwhen I get there as still life and landscape and also portraitureseeking the cacti in small pots who dot the globeslices of pie offer up the vision after the sermonexpressing emotions without coherent narrative supportbecause no artist responded to this callemploying ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi to rule out any taxpayer-funded purchase or bailout for Mediaworks’s channel Three. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “For the last few months Mediaworks ...
The Police Commissioner's announcement that squadcars of officers with automatic rifles will patrol New Zealand's streets is dangerous and unnecessary, according to the criminal justice community organisation People Against Prisons Aotearoa. The ...
News broke this morning that Mediaworks is seeking to sell off, and even contemplating closing, its TV division. What might that mean for journalism?For journalism in New Zealand, the loss of Three’s TV division is a devastating blow. It is not yet known whether any of the news properties will ...
In our defence of our coalition Government policy on climate change, we fully support Government plan to use rail funding for rail infrastructure upgrades to promote use rail infrastructure for freight around NZ. ...
The billions of tonnes of plastic in our oceans isn’t going away any time soon, but innovative companies here and abroad are working together to find silver linings to this daunting problem.Fishing boats head out to sea and set their nets. They go back to shore. They head back out, ...
An EveningReport.nz investigation by Kevin ListKiwibank services. Image by Kevin List.Evening Report looks into the separation of Kiwibank from New Zealand Post, and considers the impact on the public’s access to banking services in their communities.Kiwibank. What’s going on? Kiwibank and New Zealand Post are in the ...
Local Government New Zealand today confirmed what many local election commentators have observed; that more of the voting public cast their ballots in favour of women candidates than ever before. ...
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 (this week we totted up the data a day early, on Wednesday, to let our books ed. ...
New Zealand's mineral manufacturing sector is expected to face some testing times, with softer prices, tighter margins and sluggish export markets. ...
Portugal has been painted by pro-cannabis legalisation groups as a model to follow. Yet just last month, the mayor of Porto contradicted his previous pro-harm reduction position and endorsed reintroducing criminal penalties for drug use in public spaces. ...
Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short announced today the inclusion of six Cook Island First World War soldiers in the New Zealand and Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s official rolls of honour. ...
The latest statistics released by the Health Promotion Agency showing a dramatic fall in the numbers of cigarettes being sold in supermarkets, service stations, and liquor stores are being welcomed by the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ). ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.NZ First Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Where to from here? How NZ First will win in ...
Aotearoa Climate Emergency (ACE), a climate change network, will host a conference in Wellington on 11 November (Armistice Day) to promote holding a Citizens Assembly in 2020, as a way of breaking the current political deadlock on treating climate ...
MediaWorks’ owners have called time after years of losses from its TV division. Sources say the company will announce it is for sale – if no buyers emerge, it will close within months.Three is facing the biggest crisis in its three decade history today, as its ownership will soon announce ...
Sam Brooks reviews Amazon Prime’s Modern Love, an anthology series based on the New York Times column dedicated to ‘love in all its forms’. A first date that ends up in the emergency room. A flagging marriage that finds new energy through tennis. The founder of a dating app who doesn’t ...
If we want to grow support for New Zealand’s aid, we need to get better at partnering with the ‘unlike-minded’ as well as the ‘like-minded’, and much better at telling people what we do with the money they give, says Josie Pagani, Executive ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Orsola De Marco, Astrophysicist , Macquarie University If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.How are stars made? –Zali, age 8, Karkoo, South Australia. How are stars made? Well, stars are not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gita Mishra, Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland All women know to expect the time in life when their periods finish and they reach menopause. Many might even look forward to it. What many women don’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul McGreevy, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney Since ancient times, horse behaviour, and the bond between horses and humans, has been a source of intrigue and fascination. The horse-lore that has accumulated over the centuries is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Wallis, Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland A move to the country is often presented in popular culture as an idyllic life, a place where you can escape the pressures of the city. It’s in television shows such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW The just-announced inquiry into Australia’s retirement income system ought to be anything but run-of-the-mill. Taking place 25 years after the introduction of compulsory superannuation, it provides an opportunity to either fix a broken system, or discard ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan McCay, Law Lecturer, University of Sydney The rise of artificial intelligence has led to widespread concern about the role of humans in the workplaces of the future. Indeed, Israeli historian, futurist and publishing sensation Yuval Noah Harari warns in his most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Saunders, Phd candidate, University of Wollongong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people. You leave Sydney and head for holidays on the South Coast. You plan to catch a quick surf, ...
Open mike 17/05/2013 
In 1994, I was the editor for an issue of Planet magazine focused on cannabis, its culture and the prospects for the end of its prohibition. Part of that issue was an interview with 'Ringo', an experienced cannabis dealer.I recently posted my essay from that issue, and I figured it ...1 day ago
As Brexit comes to a grisly conclusion (perhaps) people on all sides are saying intemperate and uwise things. Some, like the Daly Mail, have been doing it for years.People as normally level headed as Jon Lansman are calling for automatic deselection of MPs who vote against a (likely) Labour three ...1 day ago
On Wednesday, the government was loudly telling us that it needed to legislate to allow it to impose "control orders" - effectively a parole regime, but imposed without charge, prosecution, conviction or real evidence - on suspected terrorists because they couldn't be prosecuted for their supposed crimes. Today, it turns ...2 days ago
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy preparing for our summer paper on Science Communication. Looking for something amusing about ‘risk’ in science, I came across this neat xkcd.com cartoon about why so many people come knocking on my door (or phoning me, or emailing me) desperately wanting ...2 days ago
Media Statement for Immediate Release 16th October 2019 “Fake News” from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th–there is very little evidence ...3 days ago
Would You Buy A Used Propaganda Video From This Man? Bridges and the National Party’s strategists have discovered that the ideas and attitudes considered acceptable by today’s editors and journalists are no longer enforceable. The rise and rise of the Internet and the social media platforms it spawned means that ...3 days ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...4 days ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...5 days ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...5 days ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...1 week ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...1 week ago
We're rebuilding our hospitals, protecting our oceans, and taking mental health seriously. ...2 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...4 days ago
The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s ...2 days ago
There was no big policy announcement from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today despite promising there would be. ...2 hours ago
“Proposals to curb environmental damage help our coasts and the oceans Government Ministers today welcomed the release of a marine environment report highlighting the four key issues affecting our oceans, estuaries and coastlines. We at CEAC also ...2 hours ago
David Robie, concluding his three-part series about Iran, profiles an extraordinary pair of Tehran brothers who have been pioneering global research adventurers. They have been dubbed the “Persian Indiana Joneses”. Their adventures are fabled and hair-raising, as shown by a Jivaro shrunken human head and relics from curious rituals ...3 hours ago
Patience was a key virtue as the All Blacks dismantled Ireland ...5 hours ago
Four months ago Caroline Shaw bought an e-bike. She explains why they’re the answer to our lethal car culture.Four months ago we took what felt like a huge leap of faith and bought an e-cargo bike. The combination of three things tipped us over the edge: feeling the need to ...7 hours ago
Winston Peters says his party is a handbrake on bad ideas and a "supercharged turbo" for good ones - but will it be in the driver's seat come 2020? ...23 hours ago
"Each time she held her lighter underneath the pipe and sucked the smoke into the back of her throat, the promise was there": a New Zealand tragedy by Alice Tawhai. ...1 day ago
A new law targeting potential returning terrorists like Mark Taylor raises questions about human rights and whether the bill is being rushed. ...2 days ago
Two shareholders of failed insurance firm company CBL are leading a class action against the firm's former directors seeking compensation for financial losses. ...2 days ago
Politicians come crawling back after the holidays to repair some 'bad optics'. James Elliott pulls no punches in his news of the week. ...2 days ago
New Zealand's mineral manufacturing sector is expected to face some testing times, with softer prices, tighter margins and sluggish export markets. ...2 days ago
Environmental groups are urging the government to crack down on commercial industries whose activities are harming the marine environment. ...2 days ago
Struggling media company MediaWorks is putting its TV business Three on the sale block, after axing and scaling back shows. ...2 days ago
A simple but informative reflection on the Budgets implications for Education.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/education-vote-private-sector-win.html
more dec. lines; this government won’t “catch up”; just continue to drag the line down.
The Government’s housing accords legislation needs some intense scrutiny. Already Len Brown has come out and suggested very gently that the legislation does not comply with the accord.
The Herald reports:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10884202
Interestingly the Accord states that publicity about it was to be agreed to by the Mayor and Nick Smith prior to its release. Looks like Len does not believe that this occurred.
The bill itself is a disaster. It will ensure greenfield urban sprawl over brownfield regeneration development because brownfield development will have a height limitation and will be too expensive. One way or the other this Government wanted urban sprawl to happen.
Sorry for replying to myself …
Under the accord the Council recommends and the Government approves. The Government cannot recommend itself. This continues until the accord is finished under clause 17 of the accord.
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/planspoliciespublications/aucklandhousingaccord.pdf
BUT
under section 16(4)(a)(ii) of the Bill the Minister can propose if he gives notice of the government’s intention to withdraw from the accord. This is 6 months before the accord finishes and contradicts the accord.
http://legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2013/0117/latest/whole.html#DLM5204771
It is a big stick the Government has handed itself and it smacks of bad faith bargaining.
Are you really surprised by that from this government?
Ah, while the standard was offline I was doing a post on this. Penny Hulse was more blunt on RNZ this morning about the Bill breaching the agreement. Thanks for the other links, micky. I didn’t see you post before I added mine below, then the site went offline. I’ll add links to your comments on my post.
That was quite quite irritating. Third time for the same platform reasons. Finally found out why no-one ever acted on my problem tickets – they apparently went to the wrong place (grr – yeah right). It was only after I called their answering service that fixed whatever the problem was.
I’ll be warming up a new server tomorrow despite them refunding the costs for the month. I can’t afford the time and the uncertainty of their not monitoring their own systems is unacceptable…
And if the Nats force this thru then “Lenny it Will Be a disaster of biblical proportions”
From this budget one can only deduce the fact that this government supports the private provision of services rather than public provision. This is reflected most in the extension of HNZ rent subsidies to the community sector (but not councils), and its funding freeze for public tertiary providers.
And we all have every reason to worry about fixed term tenancies for state houses. At first I thought that this would benefit private landlords, because of the effect that dumping 4000 people into the private market would have on (already crippling) rent levels. But no. Those who benefit will be those who own boarding houses and motor camps, because you can bet your life on the fact that those 4000 tenants, who lose their secure home because of some arbitary tenancy review, will end up in a boarding house or in a motor camp, because a private landlord simply will not house them, or they cannot afford the rent, or both.
This is going to be ugly. You can count on it.
That is, from what I can make out, what National want as forcing people into poverty generally means that they will be willing to work for less which means that profits for the few go up. It is, quite simply, in everything that they do as government.
good thoughts millsy; welcome to sub-prime US of A
Sheesh. Did I just hear Penny Hulse say the government’s urgency Bill on the local council-government “housing accord” could mean the Auckland Council-government accord is dead in the water if the Bill is not changed?
More lies from bullshitting Bill, announcing in the budget that beneficiaries will be able to buy fridges and washing machines via a recoverable WINZ grant,
Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years, WINZ offices can even download photos of what is available (second hand) from their provider and delivery is arranged on the spot,
Clever Bill from Dipton announcing what was put in place by the previous Labour Government as some ‘new’ spending on welfare…
“Beneficiaries have been able to purchase these items of whiteware by this means for quite a few years,”
Since the 1980’s as a matter of fact. It is a long standing process that reflected the ‘social need’ part of our Social Welfare system. Unfortunately like all generous aspects of the system, some have seen fit to abuse it and various checks and balances were introduced. Nowadays it is only available through a few approved vendors and these items are usually more expensive than some whiteware people might be able to source elsewhere, but the fraud component has certainly been curtailed.
On a plus side the expectation is these vendors have better service and repair guarantees so the overall benefit to the consumer no doubt makes up for the increased cost.
Aha, i am highlighting the system that WINZ has had in place for at least the last 6 years where the whole purchase of whiteware, (fridges, washing machines), is completed through the WINZ office via their approved providers,
As you point out, honest beneficiaries are paying a higher price for these second hand appliances than they might if the items were sourced through the likes of Trademe to curtail the small frauds of a few beneficiaries and the secondhand dealers who in the past have happily also indulged,
On the plus side for beneficiaries is the guarantee, unspecified at the time of purchase but inherent in the consumer guarantee Act, repayment to WINZ of as little as $5 a week on the purchase and the delivery costs included in the price of the items bought, it would seem a reasonable system for providing for beneficiary needs which curtails fraudulent misbehavior and my opinion is that this should be extended to include other ‘large ticket’ items and even small loans to beneficiaries,
Having said all that, it is total bullshit, outright lies from the Minister of Finance to stand in the Parliament of New Zealand and claim this scheme as a ‘new’ Government initiative from the present Government when it has been the common practice of WINZ for at least the last 6 years, to do this is not only to mislead the people of New Zealand, (who in most cases wouldn’t have a clue), it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…
” it is also misleading the Parliament with an outright lie with which the opposition party’s should flay the Minister…”
I understand the emotive phrase that history is a foreign country
and there are times it certainly feels like it happened somewhere else
but what really grates, is apparently everyone was looking in the opposite direction.
Continuing from the other day. Background is here and here –
Good on ya. Minor mistake but make no difference. The problem would seem to arise between us weka because I only heard the words, whereas you heard the words and all of this …
“it’s not an issue of not being allowed to raise the points. It’s how it is done. Also, it’s not about the ‘race’ of the person asking the questions, it’s about their mana and their politics”
We clearly see things differently.
I generally try to weed out those sorts of elementes whereas you want them to lead the way. vto
(nah, what you quote of me there is before I listened to the panel discussion, and was a general comment on discussing racism in NZ).
Leaving aside that it’s not a minor mistake, and that you obviously misled readers on what actually happened in the panel (albeit unintentionally), here is the question that you consider to be important outside of its context.
Given that polls tell us that 80% of New Zealanders are distressed at seeing their country being slowly surrendered to the part descendants of the minority of Maori who breached the Treaty by rebelling against the Crown in the 1860s, could we use a republican referendum process to entrench racial equality?
How about we discuss that as it stands?
It’s a bit like trying to pick up that last sliver of wet soap 🙂
But it is good to see that question – bloody hell only 80% I thought it was at least 140% by now.
Lol.
weka, I have answered the question around the identity of the questioner, twice. Not going to re-hash. You’ve set out your position I’ve set out mine and they are different for the reasons outlined. What you see as important and what I see as important are different. You look at things one way and I look at things another way and they are different.
As to that piece marty mars has pulled out if you read through the whole lot, including previous threads, you would realise the context and the highly selective quoting (selectiveness admitted to). As to the particular issue in that though, the extreme sensitivity that is shown by you and marty interestingly matches the divisiveness witnessed on the ground. It seems far from settled. You are as feverish about it as they.
As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.
As to a marty list, the issues have all been raised over time – governance without representation, privilege based on birthright and race, the place of indigeneity, ….. on it goes. They will continue to arise and no doubt be commented on. And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.
Yes vto i couldn’t fit all of your quotes in there. I’ll leave it up to weka to debate the finer points of your response. For me it is more of the same – mistruth, misrepresentation and misinformation from you to push your barrow which you can’t move from – your attitude is part of the problem and until that changes there is hardly any point engaging with you unless you come up with a list but oh no that’s too hard you’d rather snipe and hurt from a distance – so be it.
my list again
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
bugger missed the cutoff
my list about what you think around these issues vto
Making it personal again i see. And plain stupid. You can’t help yourself can you.
Don’t bother engaging arsehole. Go stick your head back in the sand.
losing it again – you always do that when you are cornered. I never abused or insulted you, that is your imagination AGAIN
but if you want to go the insult way to distract from the series of posts about your misunderstandings we can do that – I’ll let those ones go and see if you can control yourself with your replies
imagination? look at your fucked list
That list has been posted a few times in the past few days. If you don’t like it, or disagree with it, then why not post another one that better matches your views? We are waiting to hear what you specifically think vto.
Despite what you might think I believe that Pakeha do need to have this conversation in order to move on.
hey be fair it was the first cut – point out the ones that are correct and I’ll amend it – seriously I thought they were mostly correct and not that bad really
That’s not really personal vto. It’s marty making observations about your behaviour. You may not like them, and you may disagree, but it’s not personal. Personal would be calling someone a racist fuckwit, something neither of us are doing (although I will happily call Ansell that). Or personal would be taking things known about your personal life and using them against you or to put you down.
I note that in marty’s analysis of your behaviour, he gives you a way out. Did you see that?
It is about the person and not the issue. You even admit it here “It’s marty making observations about your behaviour” That is personal. Your reference to “fucking racist” is nasty personal. Where is discussion about the issue?
We’re waiting for you to be specific about what you want to talk about. Honestly, I’d like to know.
All I can say is that I don’t think of you as a racist fuckwit at all. Ansell on the other hand… Do you see the difference?
Noted ta. Of course there is a difference.
I am a little astounded at the idea that I dont want to talk specifics. I posted on the issue of accusations of racism when speaking of race. That was what started the thread. That was specific. I have posted on it before. I posted on it again here, with reference to the radio show. There was an error in this piece of backup which we have now thrashed to death. The thread has since been made all personal and lost its way. I started the thread with a particular issue. Answered. You may notice another further downthread.
The call for specifics is specific to the convo from the last few days. Getting past the hooha about the RNZ reference, what is left? I don’t know and you won’t say. I guess that’s the end of the discussion for now.
weka, you haven’t commented on the post at 10 below.
1, 3 (minus could be and irrelevant), 5 (first bit of sentence), 6 (including the word often) seem about right.
And 8 is probably rubbish, but we’re here now and lovely
“As to the 80% question above, what do you think? I was not so much interested in the actual question, more in the interaction of peoples and the allowing of the question followed by the refusal to answer and the wider implications surrounding that.”
Right, I’ve really misunderstood then, because I thought you were interested in the question itself.
Ok, fair enough, it’s not the question, it’s the interaction of the people and the refusal to answer. There is no way to look at that unless we put those things in their original context. As has been stated clearly, you misunderstood entirely what happened. The panelists didn’t want to answer teh questions because Ansell’s questions was (a) loaded and (b) an attempt to hijack the discussion (even the presenter noted that).
You want to draw the conclusion that they didn’t want to answer because of fear of talking about racism, but by your own admission you didn’t listen to the thing properly and missed the context and the person asking the question (and don’t pretend now that the identity of the person answering doesn’t matter). There were in fact some other references in the talk to Maori and the implications of constitutional change (not alot but they were there), which belies the idea that people were avoiding talking about race.
Sorry mate, you’ve dug a pretty big hole here. If you quit now we’ll give you hand up and out 🙂
“And I expect you will be right there to pounce if you can.”
“You are as feverish about it as they.”
“extremely sensitive”
That’s just nasty, and an attempt at marginalisation. It’s beneath you. Play the ball not the wo/man. If you don’t want robust debate, than say so, and ask for different terms. There is nothing wrong with me focussing on the things in your arguments that stand out to me. Your views on Kai Tahu and Southern Maori women are hugely offensive and simply add to the Pakeha distorted narrative that we know more about Maori than they do. That does immeasurable damage. I’m not feverish or extremely sensitive, I’m really fucking angry that someone like you would do that shit in a place like this.
Like marty, I am disappointed that you won’t engage on the actual issues at this point in time. But I can also see that it would be hard to defend your points of view.
Well weka, when it comes to that particualar issue that you are super-sensitive about don’t point the finger at me. I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here. It is feverish. Sorry if that offends you but that is what is seen.
As for not wanting to engage on the actual issues, sorry, not accepted. Always engage on the issue but when it turns to the personal, nup.
I think genuinely that you just need to ease up when someone says, for example, “the treaty is flawed” because at the moment when words like that are posted you can hear the sound of the soldiers turning to face the ‘threat’ instead of listening and thinking about what is being posted first. Marty rushes straight to arms hup two three four
vto, please, please say “the treaty is flawed”. Then we can talk.
But you didn’t say that. You referenced something on Natrad, and completely misrepresented it, and unfortunately for you the thing you referenced was presented by a racist fuckwit. You just made a mistake, and had it been another person making such a mistake on a different topic, someone here would have taken them to task for it. It’s about intellectual rigour or truthfullness.
“I merely describe what I have witnessed on the ground and seen on here.”
What do you mean by ‘witnessed on teh ground’? Can you please be specific about which part of this issue you are referring to as well?
weka I have said the treaty is flawed (for certain purposes) on countless other occasions and swapped posts with others on it. It will come up again there is no doubt.
on the ground generally refers to real-life encounters. And detailed specifics are not possible unfortunately due to our small population and possible ramifications.
imo, you do let yourself down on this topic vto; sorry to say, when you display such comprehension of other natural areas of discussion.
well that is telling isn’t it……. if you think about it………. where does the lack of comprehension therefore really lie?
worldviews; as The Al1en “suggested”; the future’s shaded brown.
Free download
http://www.f3music.com/1285
The race down – Free dl
http://www.f3music.com/1285
Seems to me that a lot of the spin National had around the last Labour government, which keeps coming up all the time in comments on stuff etc by people who obviously believe it, is that Labour got us into a horrible economic situation and borrowed and wasted all that money, because of the ridiculous “decade of deficits” report by the Treasury that National jumped on a parroted wide and far.
Well, turn abouts fair play, I think. Now that the commentary around this budget is that a $75m surplus in 2014-2015 is margin of error and unimportant, it seems like Labour need to say something like this:
“National want a $75m rounding-error surplus in 2014-2015. When we were in government between 1999 and 2008, we ran a surplus of $$$$ every single year. We got our borrowing down to 8% of GDP while reducing unemployment down to record lows, National are promising we’ll be at 20% debt of GDP by 2020. National has squandered the good work done by the Labour party.”
etc etc.
Check out Citizen A
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/16/citizen-a-with-martyn-bradbury-keith-locke-matthew-hooton-on-budget-keys-deal-gilmore-wrap/
If you can stomach it, watch Hoots once again missing his medication and doing Tory Bullshit Bingo. It’s actually quite hilarious: “liberal elite” “lunatic left” and so on and so on – and then he tries to say that the Tories are, um, kinda liberal, because Muldoon’s father had syphilis.
He must be expecting a huge paycheque for that. Under all that grease, there’s only slime.
Dunno Rhino. I always find it worthwhile to hear what the other side is thinking. Of course as Mathew says he is in the Reagan, Douglas, Richardson mould. OK so how does he view stuff? Of course he is anti left but often what he says is the repeat of what the right want us too hear and even hope we might believe. Ha! But the risk is that the discussion also exposes the weakness of that rightist position and therefore good stuff.
Matthew does get excited about his often shaky positions but so does Martyn. Well worth a watch. Thanks for the link.
Yes, I do agree that Hoots has one use, and that’s to let us know what the Tories want us to believe. If he gets pleasure out of winding people up, then that sad act of masturbation shows just what an empty shell he is.
Watched it this morning. Bomber was surprisingly polite in the circumstances. The bombastic Hoots did his usual…. wouldn’t let Keith Locke get a word in edge-wise.
I think Hooton’s over the top language is a deliberate ploy to rile us. He knows the majority of people who hit the Daily Blog are – to varying degrees- on the Left of the political spectrum. He gets perverse pleasure winding them up.
We should ignore him and then the enjoyment will go out of the game.
I’m all for not replying to anything he posts. All he is is a freshly showered and perfumed WhaleSpew.
Just watching the committees today and I am left wondering: Why is it that the maori party have only 2 votes but 3 MP’s? Is Te Ururoa Flavell already crossed the floor to Mana?
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/Features/b/0/0/00NZPHomeNews061120091-Voting-in-the-House-of-Representatives.htm
“Who can vote?
Only members who have been sworn in can vote. Members can vote even if they are absent, by the use of proxies. A formula is used which determines how many votes each party can have when a number of its members are absent from the parliamentary precincts. Thus a party may not always be able to cast the same number of votes as the party has members in the House.”
Oh I see, there was my conspiracy forming mind that jumped to all sorts of conclusions. I do believe that Mr Flavell is made of better stuff than his co-leaders however. Pita Sharples is an embarrassment and I’m sorry for ever thinking he would be any different. Turia is poison too.
In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society.
add that to the list lol
Democracy under attack!
Adding mockery to your quiver now too. It does you and your people only ill.
lol You love putting the boot in and when asked for a list of what you want to moan about you run for cover – keep hiding mate it suits you.
Go fuck yourself
You ask for specifics, I give you one, you simply mock and get personal and avoid the issue. As you always do.
Answer the issue cunt.
tell me noddy what came first – were you a chicken or an egg?
Personal, denigrating mockery like the bully boy you are, again.
Irrelevant.
The issue (which you have demanded in a list like some dumb cock, then mocked me for not responding to your demand).
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
… if you imagine this has gone unnoticed in Christchurch then you are not just a bully boy but a fool too. It has been commented on a surprising number of times by people in significant positions in the city.
To date you have had no answer to this issue cunt.
a cock and two cunts now – your insults are degrading yourself and your people and showing you for the cluck cluck cluck you are – lucky adele isn’t here eh?
Still no answer. Just personal.
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
Cunt.
lol look at a silly wee man using swearwords – what a joke you are vto – hardmanfail. Try a different one – you know the one you really want to use but are too scared to
answer the issue cunt
you demanded it so now answer it
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
bit worked up this morning eh vto why is that I wonder – maybe your undies are too tight – have you checked recently I think they may be riding up a bit I’m certainly sensing skidmarks – time for a check – it’s okay I’ll wait.
the dumb cunt has no answer to the issue, just personal…
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed in the extreme and unsustainable in every society”
You demanded an issue, answer it.
I’ll make a list
there we go – what vto thinks
1 the Treaty is historical and a new one needs to be drafted to take into consideration the multicultural aspect of NZ society.
2 too much emphasis (money) is on tangata whenua and that they have received enough emphasis (money)
3 Māori were the first here and that could be called indigenous but it is irrelevant in today’s world
4 Māori are inherently violent and warlike
5 No one represents the ‘white man’ who gets abuse and derision when they say something that others perceive as racist
6 Non-Māori who talk about race get accused of being racist
7 Māori are racist to ‘white people’
8 Celts were here before Māori and taught them everything of what they know until Māori killed them all
9 The chinese bought slave-wives here to breed with Māori
10 Barry Brailsford doesn’t talk shit
11 chicken and can’t answer a question without swearing like a fool
Got to go to work for an hour but I’ll come back soon to help you through your anger and abuse issues.
Answer the fucking issue cunt
“In Christchurch Ngai Tahu is now exercising a form of governance over all the residents by way of decision-making in the RMA process in the central city rebuild. However, all of the residents do not get representation in Ngai Tahu, that is the preserve of those of Ngai Tahu descent.
Governance without representation.
Flawed and unsustainable in every society”
in through the nose out through the mouth breathe deep it’s okay I forgive your outrageous abuse but try and forgive yourself while I’m away it will make the session go better after lunch.
Whats good for the goose is…
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?
answer the fucking issue that you demanded fuckwit
answer it
Excellent, thanks pw, some sanity at last..
“Whats good for the goose is…
Ngai Tahu may make a healthy check and balance to the ChCh oldboys who have long made decisions of governance with no accountability at all, to anyone.
At least Ngai Tahu are accountable to their iwi members for the money they intend to spend in the rebuild.
That gives them certain “rights” to effect decisions…does it not ?”
Of course what has gone in in the oldboy etc past that you mention had very similar flawed and unsustainable pratices and policies. That had certain results which were not good for maori or society as a whole. It is not that which is referred to however, although it is acknowledged. It should be similarly acknowledged that what was flawed in the past is flawed now and will be in the future.
There can be no governance without represention.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being a healthy check and balance is of course correct, but neither is that the point.
Your point about Ngai Tahu being accountable to their iwi members is also correct, but slides off the side of the issue. If Ngai Tahu wishes to exercise governance over others then they must be accountable in the same way to those others, no to just their iwi members.
This of course is a relatively minor development in the practical scheme of day to day things, but the principle is crucial. There must not be governance without representation. It applies to every socety. It is bad for Ngai Tahu – such a system gets no respect.
vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.
colonial viper – “vto – it’s up to the City of Christchurch to take into account all views in the RMA process. I’m not sure why you are focussing on Ngai Tahu when they haven’t been delegated consenting powers by the City Council (unless I missed something?).
Consent decisions are still made by the City Council and not by Ngai Tahu. You want representation? Go to the Council that’s what they are there for.”
Consent decisions are now made by Ngai Tahu (and Council and cera). This is the problem.
Here are some facts, as explained by Mark Solomon on the Ngai Tahu website. Ngai Tahu is not just having input, or consultation etc, it is making the decisions. This is the governance…. “He says the tribal representative body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, along with its statutory partners, the Christchurch City Council and CERA, each appoint a member to panel hearings to consider resource consent applications ”
We have representation through Council, good. We have representation through cera, good. We have no representation through Ngai Tahu, bad. This is the point. The principle is crucial to a healthy society. I’m sure you understand the principle of no governance without representation. Well, these are the facts pointing the principle being ignored. That is the problem.
Do you see it?
OK, I see that arrangement as being problematic. Is it Ngai Tahu’s corporate arm which is represented or their tribal arm?
Yes it is problematic.
In addtion, the point you intimate re conflicts of interest has been front page here too. As mentioned way up thread somewhere I mentioned that this crops up in dicussion with people in various positions in the rebuild and the city generally. It has been noticed and is news. It needs to be dealt with – both the conflict of interest (chinese walls, yeah right), but much much much more importantly the governance without representation.
It is wrong and unsustainable. A couple of links (more concentrated on the lesser though still important issue of conflict of interest)…
http://www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz/News/Media/Media-Releases/2013/Leadership-Recovery-and-Rebuild.php
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/8588335/Ngai-Tahu-to-meet-CBD-property-owners
your beef is with central or local government numbnuts not the iwi – sheesh talk about myopic.
on another point your excessive use of the word cunt – it reminds me that there are no demeaning terms for ‘woman’ in the Māori language, and that the first human was a woman – Hine-ahu-one, and that as all come from women at birth, at death the same occurs through Hine-nui-te-pō, and that Papa-tū-ā-nuku is our earth mother and sustainer of life and that women are mediators of tapu. Thanks for reminding me of these things vto even though you were trying to insult.
Is that it? Is that your answer? That my beef is with Council and Government? You haven’t even addressed the issue.
As I said way to you back at the very start – go stick your head back in the sand dumbfuck.
lol
umm it answers your question doesn’t it? That is what you wanted isn’t it?
Maybe you could go on another rant like this one to get your point across
lol, issue number 1 dealt with.
next issue coming soon to a standard screen near you (perhaps the fundamental flaws in the treaty?)….
but that’s it for now, I’m off to better spend my energy. See ya rude prick.
lol bye bye ‘sob’ ‘sob’
another one for my list I think
For those who wish to understand a little context around vto and his insults
http://mars2earth.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/i-dont-tolerate-race-baiters.html
“aged care, dementia, diabetes and heart disease”; the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades. http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/news/budgets-focus-on-key-issues-pleases-dhb/1871837/
The superb investigative journalist Jeremy Scagill is being interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio tomorrow morning. His specialty is the American government being allowed to assassinate anyone it wants to, even Americans. It should be fascinating if you haven’t followed this before.
That’s a must-listen. Scahill is a brilliant and uncompromising speaker. I’ve seen him transform the Letterman and John Stewart shows from shallow laugh-fests into serious discussions, simply by the moral force of his message, backed up by his compelling personal style. That rarely happens on American television, and it’s even rarer on British television.
Laughingly reproaching the pizza-guzzling sybarites of Gaza
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 17 May 2013
Finlay Macdonald, Denise L’estrange-Corbet, Simon Pound
That brief resurgence in quality on this programme that I noted a couple of weeks ago is well and truly over and done with. The situation reached its nadir on Tuesday when Jim Mora’s guests were the brutal right wing “pundit” John Bishop and the right wing beer writer and self-styled “wit” Neil Miller, but today’s guests, while they are clearly more humane and decent individuals than Bishop and Miller, are not much better when it comes to discussing serious issues. Look at how they trivialize and scoff at the situation of the besieged residents of Gaza…..
FINLAY MACDONALD: That was David Bowie with “Lady Grinning Soul” from 1973. All right, it’s 3:45; time for Susan Baldacci with what the wooooooorld’s talking about!
SUSAN BALDACCI: News today of the kind of thing being smuggled through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza! Of course there are many of these tunnels.
FINLAY MACDONALD: These tunnels are from Sinai, aren’t they.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yes. They smuggle all SORTS of items through them, and you know what? You can order a pizza for thirty dollars!
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: When you think of what they are needing, and THAT is what they want!?!?!?!?!!!???
SIMON POUND: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
FINLAY MACDONALD: The pizza would be cold, by the time it got to them, wouldn’t it?
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: [sniffily] I wouldn’t order a pizza if I was in Gaza.
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, well, that’s what they want. When you think of what they SHOULD be ordering….
4:25 p.m. As I write this, I am listening to that mealy-mouthed twit Simon Pound trying to defend John Key’s latest offensive remarks. This time Key has described the situation of Christchurch people as “some hard-luck stories at a micro level.”
Pound is an intelligent and perceptive fellow, but he is quite clearly afraid to voice his real feelings.
Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”. A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone. Some might say there’s still little maturity in Mr North nearly 40 years on but I’d like to think I was capable even then of appreciating that when people are grindingly poor and deprived we should not reflexively clutch our pearls when a little succour is taken wherever it can be found. At least try to walk in the mocassins maybe.
Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
1.) Thought of your rage Morrissey as I listened to this but could swear I heard not “pizza” but “Kentucky Fried”.
You are of course correct, my friend. In mitigation, I must say that I was driving and therefore could not scribble down any transcript in my usual manner, and so I was forced to rely on my (imperfect) recall.
2.) A bucket of the same delivered via the tunnels in 4 hours – $US30. Anyway, the tone I detected was a little mockingly amused, especially from Baldacci as I recall. I exclude Macdonald from that.
You’ve got that exactly right. Last year Susan Baldacci sneered at Sean Penn for “cuddling up to the likes of Hugo Chávez”; twenty years ago I am sure she was condemning other celebrities for cuddling up to Nelson Mandela. Balducci is very similar to another American on Radio NZ, Marty Duda: superficially affable, but just below the surface there is a vat of completely unexamined prejudices bubbling away. Duda’s right wing rancour boiled over hilariously late last year when he launched into an ignorant and disconnected radio rant against my Lancastrian namesake (the singer).
3.) Put me in mind of transiting in Manila in 1977, a National Youth Council group of 20 “Young Workers” bound for China. I guess few of them have maintained their then much vaunted “leftiness”. But then there are a number of horrid examples of that – Rob Campbell (Ports of Auckland) for example.
This prick?…
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/lunch-boardroom-rob-campbell-gb-123023
I have a book with a picture of this glib scumbag in his PYM days, posing with a rifle. Campbell the revolutionary foot-soldier-cum-Guinness Peat director.
4.) As the aircraft taxied to the terminal we observed the meanest shacks dotted in the banana palms not 100 metres from the runway – TV aerials poking up into the air.
Several of my fellows expressed judgment thus – “Look at that, they’re as poor as hell and they’ve got televisions !” (“Tut Tut Tut !” sort of thing). No walking in the mocassins there.
Sadly, I was not terribly well supported when I aggressively expressed my disgust with that tone.
I hear those sentiments every time I listen to squawk radio, which I haven’t done for a long time now. The withdrawal programme is working. (I’m pretending, for the sake of argument, that Radio NZ’s Panel is qualitatively different to the commercial chat. Really, though, there’s little to separate them.)
5.) Perhaps clever wee laughies radio-girl Baldaccci would benefit from a spell in Gaza when the Zionists fly over dropping death on children.
I’m sure she’d still find something whimsical, like KFC deliveries via tunnels, to distract her audience in the usual manner.
True. The “superiority” of RNZ is marked only by the absence of fulsomely excited, breathless exhortations to make our lives fabulous by “popping on down to wherever to get whatever – open 7 days…….”. And discordant jingles.
The saving grace to that carry-on, infuriating as it is, is that at least it doesn’t make light of appalling inhumanity, as is Gaza.
Your Lancastrian namesake deserves any amount of crap that’s thrown at him.
Reports of UFO activity over Hamilton last night.
Wasn’t me, I don’t fly any more.
Sorry, my bad. Didn’t think anyone would notice in the rain.
nobody here or anywhere else in nz will bother, and will not know for a start, as today, starting 11 am outside vector arena in auckland city, off quay st, there was a massive and vocal protest by aaap, by various unions (unite, first union, sfu and so), same as some community groups, to protest against the budget by the nat government not delivering much or anything to the poor and unemployed. there was a lot of media presence, all leading tv stations had sent cameras, there was a lot of upheaval, with some protestors trying to push their way into a convention or meeting hearing pm john key, to speak to the hundreds of attending cross tasman and pacific business people. most business people turned up in taxis, expensive vehicles and with suits and ties, and they faced a barrage of challenging chants and so forth. one person got arrested for dubious reasons, and was later released from the watchhouse at auckland central police station at 2 pm, with no charge laid. supporters were there to welcome him. there was no mention at all in the media, be this radio nz’s checkpoint, the leading tv stations or so about this. it seems the business lobby run and control the media in nz solidly. it is clear that they frown on protestors and dissenters, and the arrogance and demeanour of those that went to this meeting at vector arena spoke volumes. so we have a society here in nz, that is oligopolist, monopolits in some areas, and where an elite run and rule, they even determine government by financial and other support. they have control over the media, so they refrain from reporting what people do and say, and protest about. this is practically a dictatorship here in nz, but most are ignorant and complacent, relying on a fool’s belief that they still have some say in what they want.
so that is it, the truth, but i am only a stupid migrant, always have been treated wit h some contempt by locals, so why should i care a shit about a shit country like nz.
Some of my best friends are stupid migrants. I’d probably treat you OK.
Sorry, Murray, I get my bad moments, and I have not had an easy lot, still trying to get some major issues addressed by “Commissioners” of sorts, holding office, most appointed by Nat governments.
Apart from that I thank you for your tolerance towards my “rant”.
I am working on a number of issues, personal and not so personal. So I am at times also joining forces at the frontline, and the Vector Arena protest or pickets was one good experience. Sad to see and hear the MSM have little time for the ordinary folk here, born and bred Kiwis or migrants.
We will keep up the struggle, as that is a moral mission kind of. I would hate to be on the side of the mercenaries and foot soldiers of this system, rewarding a few, that frown on the rest, no matter where it happens in the world.
No apologies required. We would be less than human if we didn’t feel a bit down now and then.
Listening to Annette King give attempting to give the government a dressing down over the way its dealing with the issue of paying parents who care for their disabled adult children was truly sickening. The initial claim was made when Labour were the government and they rejected it outright. And now Annette King thinks she can take the moral high ground on the issue. Well, Annette, you need to just shut the fuck up on this matter. You and your mates have no right to call foul on this whatsoever. Ryall simply continued with the dirty work that you began, and now you think you can bag him for that? Total hypocrisy. Just sickening. Apologise for what you did, or keep your mouth shut.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2555505/government-accused-of-shonky-process-over-family-carers-bill.asx
“Was Aaron Gilmore an inside job.”
Check out the Daily Blog.
If this is true it is pretty nasty stuff and a disaster for Democracy.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/17/was-aaron-gilmore-an-inside-political-hit-job/
Yes. I saw that. The first question in my mind was, why did Hooton drop that information into the public arena?
Now that’s thinking.
I suspect the answer is that he’s with (being paid by) a different faction than the one which set up Gilmore.
Because he’s a Steven Joyce supporter? Now if CV has it right, then that really makes it interesting doesn’t it.
Perhaps rub this under your Kiwi noses also, maybe not quite mainstream as you like:
Many a movements not necessarily recognised.
a dead body taken apart, that is of a revolutionary, and they would do the same in cowardly nz, rest assured:
Well well well.
So the Keyster’s “tentacles” comment is forgotten, and the TPPA is not anti-China – despite what Obama explicitly stated.
And yet.
Kiwi mutton rotting on Chinese wharves.
Thanks tories.
Our self-appointed master-class strikes again.
The rule of Hone Nice-but-Dim, in the forgotten land of Shonkey Python.
See and learn about the true history and course of events in the Chilean dictatorship, overthrowing Salvador Allende, if anybody in rather indifferent nz bothers to care. oh, sorry the first letter of chilean was misspelled in caps again. sorry lprent, i am working on it:
Viva, el pueblo, not in stupid cowardly and brainwashed NZ, a crap country with too many cowards living here!!!
Por el pueblo en latin america y international, fuerca …
international workers songs, perhaps de chile:
history lesson, must learn material, especially for NZ workers and engaged!
Vina del mar de chile another great concert, only dreamt about for such events in nz:
The Standard may well be losing the credit it deserves, to be independent and strong on that on the left, but I fear (sorry the caps) it is becoming another mainstream media turnout. I wish it won’t but we will have to see.
enjoy or not
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/17/bathroom-blues-venezuelas-toilet-paper-crisis/
Food for thought for the supporters of the Green/Labour plans for electricity prices.
I especially like this bit ‘But socialist President Nicolás Maduro (who was hand-picked by Chavez to succeed him) blamed the toilet paper shortage on “anti-government forces,”’
He’s right. If they imprisoned all the traitors, RWNJs, and media barons, there’d be far less shit floating about. We must learn from them that kindness to your enemy might win points in heaven, but if you want a clean bum, get rid of the right wingers. Of course, if Key decided to take a trip to Venezuela, he could always take you and Slater along and he’d never even notice the shortage.
That would be telling, Murray. 😀