“The leak shows our government demanding rules that would lead to preventable suffering and death in Pacific Rim countries, while eliminating opportunities to ease financial hardship on American families and our health programs at home,” said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Global Access to Medicines Program.
Prolonging suffering just so a few people can be richer.
I had a quick read Draco, I have to say, and I am a legal layman but it seemed there were clauses in their that allowed any country to protect it’s health and citizens concerning medications, as a get out clause to allow meds, IDNK but reading the pdf it looked like a load of complicated clauses that could employ some hard up legal beagles struggling to survive on a low income many years of high earnings in the name of clarifying a paragraph or ten.
Why do they make this crap so flaming unintelligible. I mean seriously heard of English?
Everything is copyrighted, unless it’s a life or death matter. Pretty simple stuff really.
They should get me to do it. I’d be freaking brilliant.
Remember, none of this is written up for the sake of clarity or ‘free markets.’ It is there to generate a lot of grey areas for corporations to move in, and to obscure any possibility of moral or ethical discussions under a tonne of technicalities.
Just take a look at the language: ‘Free trade’ or ‘Free Markets’
Trade is something that involves exchange and, in this day and age, involves money. i.e there is nothing ‘free’ about trade.
The use of the word ‘free’ is a contradictory term. It is contradictory to the nature of the subject, and this contradiction indicates propaganda is involved i.e. manipulation of people’s attitudes on the subject is present.
Plus, why would a free trade agreement require anything more than a few A4 sheets of paper? I agree that you can sell your stuff in my country and vice versa. What requires thousands of pages of documents?
Arranging a free-for-all for those who already have plenty, involves complexity due to having to work out how to by-pass any sound and principled protections built into a given country’s laws, is my guess. 🙂
That and making sure that the power elite in each country are treated fairly and equitably by the power elite in other countries. For ordinary people – sorry.
We won a seat at the UN, Is that good or bad? IDNK, however I expect we will create more deaths under John Key than ever before. What will our contribution be? To side with the USA as puppies of Obama or to stand tall and make the right calls independent of other countries interests time will tell I suppose.
But if Key starts chasing and killing for oil, Keys days will be numbered, I and the rest of the country will be kicking him to the kerb if we are grouped responsible for innocent deaths in the name of oil flow by a psychopathic liar.
Be aware Key, be very fucking aware.
PS…. 2017, if you don’t vote National we will lose the UN seat, wait for it folks wait for the media bias.
The bitter irony, NZ is being sold on what we used to be (fairness, egalitarianism, a fair go) before the same people now selling it off began destroying those very qualities. Similarly for our Independence.
What a load of rubbish. Vernon may very well be right. He has at least 25% chance of that. And Little is indeed a popular candidate.
But lets face it, this is just another example of lazy journalism. And we should pull the media up on these lazy stories, even if Little happens to be the candidate you are supporting. (Next time, there is as much chance that their lazy idle speculations will pick somebody you don’t support).
I want to see the evidence for Small’s assertions. It’s not written as an opinion: eg “I think Little has the greatest chance of winning” It’s stated that “Little noses ahead” Oh really? How exactly was this measured? By how many percentage points Vernon?
When you read Small’s article, I have a strong suspicion that Small has simply fished comments from the Standard. It’s a compliment to the Standard if that is true, but still not a process that I support, unless the source for what he says is specified.
Otherwise I could suggest, with the same level of accuracy: “Vernon Small produces worst political report for 17 October by 7.85%”
We have to remember that most journos don’t want to suicide their careers, and also that it is the editors and subs who come up with the actual headlines etc.
Yes, and this leads back to the issue over government policies that create joblessness. It makes people much more compliant when they know they will have difficulty replacing their job.
I really do view wealth disparity and joblessness as the biggest issues that need addressing – nothing else is able to change, or function heathily, until there is less concentration of power.
And this is the nub, isn’t it. Why would people who have the power and leverage today, allow that power to be distributed? They wouldn’t, of course. If anything, they want it further concentrated, into fewer and fewer hands: theirs.
This also speaks directly to issues of underemployment and low pay. Encouraging masses of working class and under class to be more engaged in society, and giving them adequate financial resources to do it with, goes right against the principle of concentrating power.
+1 I don’t suppose you saw that program on Prime about British Manor Houses last night?
It was rather a surprise because it didn’t solely focus on mansions, it went through a quick history of the state of Britain leading up to World War I, and, oh boy, were there very pointed comments about the effects of concentration of wealth.
I don’t even know if it is a series or not (tend to randomly switch on & watch stuff)- it was on after ‘Downton Abbey’
One thing I didn’t know was that the British Parliament, when trying to bring in policies to address the serious wealth disparity, kept being blocked by the House of Lords and that the King/Queen of the time ended up allowing them to be by-passed.
It is so interesting that those in privilege will actively block others’ from even semi-decent improvement in their conditions.
I view this is what is happening in NZ. There are many people that are comfortable and they are refusing to allow even small gains for those who are not comfortable.
I am so ashamed and disgusted by my fellow NZers at the moment.
One could even go so far as saying ‘I’m sorry for being a New Zealander’. 😉
I view this is what is happening in NZ. There are many people that are comfortable and they are refusing to allow even small gains for those who are not comfortable.
I am so ashamed and disgusted by my fellow NZers at the moment.
if many more people got to own houses, what will happen to my rental property portfolio! no!!! i worked hard and i take responsibility for my hard earned wealth. those other people should take responsibility for their miserable state.
At least Vernon signed it. Puts him streets ahead of the “anonymous editorial” crowd.
He includes this comment/ quote:
Parker said it would be a competitive race. ‘‘You can’t have a competition without competition, but that’s not to say that it has to be war without guns.’’
Conversely, the threat of capital flight gets strengthened in the face of any policy being proposed that does not privilege the speculators and super rich.
Note that in the US, investment banks and billion dollar hedge funds have already become slum lords, buying up masses of distressed and abandoned properties, turning themselves into a corporate landlord class.
Well Joseph Parkers boxing career has limitations .That is quite clear after his points decision against a short,old journeyman.Hate to see him against a real international pro.
We should definitely head into Iraq again with the USA, this time they’ve got the Iraq plan properly sorted out. Rly.
(Unfortunately I think we’re going to be on the Security Council pushing a purely US agenda…I see McCully is already pushing for “reform” of the security council)
I see McCully is already pushing for “reform” of the security council
When I see McCully saying “reform”, we know that his idea of reform would be directly in contrast to ours and that the interests he would further would be quite opposite to what we would consider.
Reform has been a real problem for the UN for years.
The reform issue is a compounded problem because resolution has been stymied for decades
The initial problem was that the UN was not reflecting the changing world; neither the increasing diversity (due to increased membership) nor the changing powers. i.e it was set up when Russia and the US were the main powers, China is on the main body now, but places like India, Brazil or Japan are not. (Also places like Africa & Muslim countries?
The reforms require a profoundly thoughtful, principled and wide perspective and also an ability for those that are currently on the Security Council to be inclusive i.e. release their grip and share their power with the new powers.
I am not holding my breath that the type of intelligence that is required for resolution, will be provided by NZ’s actors because our government continually display a lapdog type attitude toward the US and show a distinct tendency to be sellouts.
In short, they are acting like mindless lunatics in their own country, so why should they be any different on the world stage. All that will be achieved is they will disgrace NZ on the world stage even more than they have already done.
“Reform has been a real problem for the UN for years.”
The UN was the pet project of an American aristocrat president (Roosevelt) built on land donated by what was at the time the wealthiest family in the world (Rockefeller).
Its purpose was and always has been defensive: to protect and defend the interests of the wealthiest American imperialists. There will never be any “reforms” at the UN which do not serve their interests.
Did I correctly hear today that we are so lucky to get Security Council position as it will help us when we have Trade talks. Isn’t that slightly obscene using Security Council post to talk trade?
Not really connected to intensive dairy farming contamination of water supplies but????
“He said investigating the outbreak was complex – the yersinia pathogen could spread from animal waste into water supplies, then into a vegetable growing area.”
I wonder where the quarantined paddock is in relation to water source?
Flogging off our state housing stock, falling dollar making our houses and land even more of a bargain for overseas speculators, cynically gaming the OIA, etc etc, t’would be enough to make one quite worried were it not for the prospect of a BRIGHT SHINEY NEW FLAG!!!!
I’d say he’ll be gone sooner than later, if the right job emerges.
You get the feeling his heart really isn’t in it anymore, which isn’t really surprising.
“I’d say he’ll be gone sooner than later, if the right job emerges.
You get the feeling his heart really isn’t in it anymore, which isn’t really surprising.”
You get the feeling you just made shit up. There’s nothing in that article to support what you just said.
The odds of Parker leaving before DC would be far greater. I just heard Mike Williams labeling DP as his pick as the winner in the leadership contest. A certain kiss of death. Parker will be extremely lucky if he gets 3rd, even that looks remote from what I’m observing.
The only setting up done to Parker is self inflicted. He is setting himself up to fail miserably and is totally delusional calling for a referendum on the raising of the retirement age. This guy is going to self distruct something shocking at the end of the hustings I kid you not.
bm doesnt actually read the links he posts. it happened only last week when he posted something to do with hager and then asked a question answered in his link. i think he is one of the unpaid tr**olls
Asked about former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s comment that failed leaders should leave politics, Mr Cunliffe said if people were calling for that from him “perhaps they ought to do that in order of succession … there are two others ahead of me”.
Nice sharp retort. This is why Labour members are going to miss Cunliffe at the helm.
+1 listening to Robertson on Jackson’s show now. May call him to raise the deadwood issue. Skirting the issue and saying the new blood comes thru raising the party vote is true. However getting back to reality of today Grant ‘the party vote dropped.’ What we want to hear is there will be a clean out, no if no buts Grant.
My point is he won’t speak out because his support base within caucus is ‘mostly’ deadwood, therefore his campaign is not in the interest of the party but him self. If he believes running with Ardern is the answer it is not. She will roll him and the division continues pretty much spelling the demise of the party as being able to be relevant.
The Herald sure know how to spin stuff. The printed version has this headline on the front page:
“Cunliffe: I’ll never stand again”
Then the article contains this:
“While he intended to stay in Parliament this term, he was (sic) yet to decide whether to stand again in 2017.”
Yet to decide =/= never stand again.
So the headline is clearly wrong. It seems the MSM’s levels of comprehension leave a great deal to be desired.
There is nothing wrong with Cunliffe reviewing things. I would expect all MPs to review their position and decide if they are bringing something to politics and if not then they should consider alternative career options.
I don’t have access to the printed version but the on-line version referenced does quote him directly as saying “I am not intending to run for the leadership again.”
A headline really does have to be brief and the one you quote does seem to be accurate as far as the leadership goes, which is the primary news in the story.
To give a headline which tells the full story would mean one that was as long as the full story.
Would you really want a headline that said something like
“Cunliffe: At his point in time my intention is that I’ll never stand for the leadership of the Labour Party again, although I will remain in Parliament as an MP until at least 2017 when I may, or may not, stand as an MP again, depending on what I think of my prospects of being able to get a reasonably senior role in the shadow cabinet and whether any other options might be available”
That would be a reasonable summary of the story but a bit much to put in large type don’t you think?
Oh hell. It was meant to be “at THIS point”
Although I guess that “HIS point in time” makes a certain amount of warped sense doesn’t it? DCs view of things always seemed a bit askew from most peoples.
MS
In politics ‘never say never’. I suspect that David Cunliffe will be forced back again by popular demand probably after his successors make a mess of it and that he will eventually take over as Prime Minister from John Key.
Anything’s possible.
The Intercept reported today that for months before his house was raided, Hager had also been working with Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept, preparing to report stories based on the Snowden documents.
Hager doesn’t know if this contributed to the decision to raid his house, but the fact that the raid happened so shortly afterwards is disturbing to say the least. According to Hager, the New Zealand government has been nervous about the publication of New Zealand-related Snowden revelations and has made various moves, publicly and privately, to prepare for their eventual publication.
Great that those outside NZ can see the significance of the Hager raid. Even if the police find nothing about the “hacker”, the collateral damage to Nicky’s reputation and the loss of privacy over other research that he is doing, and the chilling effect on others who would wish to come forward in confidence, those are the worries.
Of course there will be no direct link from politicians to police but given the reluctance of the police to act on other complaints, you would wonder if Mr Key’s government would have any motive to “get” Nicky and send a warning to others.
Yes, and even if that’s not true, that it’s a coincidence, the fact remains that many people have now lost confidence in the government because of Dirty Politics and how they handled it (Key’s casualness esp).
edit, afaik the police don’t have the seized material. It got sealed and sent to the courts until the hearing to decide if the police can look at it. What I want to know now is if the police can use or share information not related to the warrant used to do the raid.
I think Nicky’s lawyer (Mr Price?) insisted that every item be sealed and labelled and receipted by the police. Good thinking pending the court challenge to the confiscation.
Of course losing all your tools and resources for the foreseeable future must be a curse.
So if that’s true, and the police didn’t look at anything during the search, then it makes the theory that the govt is fishing less likely. But it doesn’t lessen the probability that the govt knew of his connections with the Snowden team and were monkey wrenching.
From that FirstLook link: the ability of New Zealand police officers to cavalierly raid the home of a reporter who has criticized the government in power threatens to establish a dangerous precedent everywhere reporters operate.
If we learned anything from the M.o.T. it is surely that the NZ gov provides an entry-point for the Spymaster powers that be. Glenn’s work would likely be so securely encrypted as to evade the usual metadata mop-ups on the net, which would necessitate a hands on approach to securing it, by those international surveillance chiefs. And, they took discs, documents, camera and “dozens of other items”. (Why anyone would believe for a millisecond that they were merely after “the hacker” – evades me.)
It is similar to the KDC raid. Our overlords, the international spymasters, have long arms indeed. In a year of depressing news-events, this is one of the most sobering.
Today, Thursday 16 October 2014, WikiLeaks released a second updated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. The TPP is the world’s largest economic trade agreement that will, if it comes into force, encompass more than 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. The IP Chapter covers topics from pharmaceuticals, patent registrations and copyright issues to digital rights. Experts say it will affect freedom of information, civil liberties and access to medicines globally. The WikiLeaks release comes ahead of a Chief Negotiators’ meeting in Canberra on 19 October 2014, which is followed by what is meant to be a decisive Ministerial meeting in Sydney on 25–27 October.
I guess the last 6 years fronting the media every week defending Goff and then Shearer would have exhausted any sense of humour by the time Culiffe came and went. I can not see it returning being the butt of Robo’s jokes. With Mallard being mooted as assistant speaker of the house, perhaps he will get a few laughs when Mallard kicks Little out for dancing during readings.
And who needs State Housing?
“Finance Minister Bill English says the proceeds from selling state houses are unlikely to be spent on new state houses and may go into the Consolidated Account.
“I mean, if we want less stock, there’s not much point in rebuilding stock with it.”
Because Robertson knows his chances of winning the leadership contest on his own is about zero. So he’s rolling out Ardern to stand beside him in the hope her presence will attract more votes for him.
With Adern he should win, remember this is still the 2 groups within caucus fighting for the leadership and shadow cabinet positions. The result will be very tight, however Grant does fancy he has the edge. More caucus votes and a reasonable amount of second votes from the Afiliates. The membership vote he will benefit from the popularity of Ardern.
It effect the deadwood are sticking it to the membership by declaring their vote in advance. This makes a mockery of a leaders contest when one side is campaigning on 2 tickets. While Mahuta may want the deputy role, the DW can install Robertson, Parker, Adern or the likes of King, Goff, Shearer or who ever takes their fancy. Good for them the joke will be short lived. A licence for the membership to turn up with knives at conference.
Two things
1) Ardern is not particularly popular with the membership.
2) Grant demonstrated that he couldn’t count last year, and he still can’t count.
Their pretty much in death rattle mode. Myself and others are thinking of starting a party and would stand a better chance of getting over 5% than they do of winning in 2017.
Your correct with the name bang on actually however the old social credit party have that name covered. Social Democrats for Change I think they go by.
CPA-Communities Protecting Animals.
Designed to be a voice solely for animals. You can judge a society on how many pets are being mistreated, putdown etc. Trim up the Tory vote and sit on the cross benches. Something like that would be a go. Register the dog owner. Far too many Pitbull’s get the automatic death penalty if they end up at the SPCA, they won’t re house just put em down. There are enough humans that rightly don’t give a damn about politics but do about animals. So worth a crack. Of course any Bill that is going to impact on the welfare of poorer citizens pets gets rejected of course lol. There is a lawyers group that have formed to lobby and write legislation framework too. Hmm wonder is bent Bankie can be an advisor from jail?
Yes I think it is a go afterall if the God Botherers can pull 4% the chances are it would get across the line. The threshold should be lower but the elite will defend 5% tooth and nail. A animal welfare party has the advantage of willing cashed up donators, and the ability to have committees and candidates in probably every electorate in NZ canvassing the party vote.
Stand alone party and it would pull a cross section of votes but within out getting a polling survey done by some snake oil outfit like Hooton’s, I would say 60% of the centre upwards vote in reality. On the cross benches you have the ability to deal if it’s a tight margin. And of course cross party support on animal welfare is a populistic. Just look at the drug testing U turn that only Banks championed till the issue become main stream popular in an election year.
Grant Robertson is in Willie Jackson’s show on Radio Live.
He says there is no such thing as an ABC faction.
I turned off the radio in case he stated discussing the moon landing and Chem Trails.
Perhaps Labour need to get more litigious toward the media, (or at least make public statements about errors of fact), because as far as I know, there have been substantially more public complaints from Labour MPs about what is discussed here on The Standard than what Vance wrote in her article.
ianmac: the evidence of the ABC group is there for all to see, including Shearer’s recent orchestrated media campaign (5-6 separate media appearances/interviews) putting the knife between departing Leader David Cunliffe’s shoulder blades.
Shearer didn’t confidently step up and organise all this just on his lonesome, he was part of a group of MPs.
An active, outspoken and articulate left wing membership is a real threat to right wing corporate policies, and not a threat to left wing principles or sound democracy, at all – in fact the above qualities strengthen left wing principles & democracy – so I can only conclude that the MPs in Labour and others, that are criticising the left wing blogs, have an agenda that is incompatible with left wing and democratic principles.
blue leopard, I suspect that half the bullshit about Labour and the supposed ABC lot came from the Right and created and fueled by Whaleoil. Certain journalist kept on repeating it but without anything better than “Party Insiders tell me” stuff. Where-ever it was sourced it did a great job of creating a massive loss of confidence in the Party.
Wonder if a Labour Review would test the existence of the ABCs?
I hope Olwyn doesn’t mind, but I think her comment on yesterdays ‘Open Mike’ is appropriate for this discussion. I still don’t know how to link to a comment so here is a cut and paste:
16 October 2014 at 8:30 pm
Today on the bus, I think I suddenly grasped the perspective of Labour’s right wingers. I was thinking about Shearer’s recent claim that the LP had been hijacked. Then I remembered Puddleglum quoting Shane Jones as saying, ““I’ve never said this on the record, but I was deeply influenced in a positive way by the figures of the Lange Government. I didn’t do my due diligence to discover how much the Labour Party had changed.”
It seems to me that these people think that the neo-liberal, globalist faction wrested the LP off the old fashioned, unenlightened socialists and that it is now theirs: that the Clark years were merely a transition, allowing people a period of acclimatisation to the new system. Where I see a need to “get the party back” they see the threat of counter-revolution. If I am right then it is very unfortunate that they hold this view at a time when the people who think they are Labour’s constituency desperately need allies in the public sphere.
(my bold).
In my response I gave her a relatively recent personal example which I believe bears out the point she is making.
When certain members of the caucus claim there is no ABC club then they are officially correct. There was/is no club of people called the “ABC Club” in Labour. But in practical terms it exists as a group of people consisting of Labour parliamentarians – and a coterie of supporters outside of parliament – who think pretty much as Olwyn has described in the section which I have highlighted.
@ Anne
Linking to and placing comment address. Try this – you call up the actual comment, you go to the writer’s name and date in blue and click on that so it shows up in the address line at the top of the screen.
Point and right click on that address and choose select, then point and right click again and press copy, transfer to where you want to place link.
That’s the dummies way (mine) but works. You might select this and copy and put it in your notes for when you need it.
Yes, I just read the email through from Grant Robertson to labour members and it is similar. On the e-mail Robertson highlights that he will “listen to all New Zealanders”, well I suggest for starters he listen to New Zealanders talking about the out of control rabble who are the labour Party caucus. He along with the other contenders need to be clear how they are going to deal with the caucus issue…for him to deny there is an ABC faction: unbelievable.
Willie Jackson: “Were you the captain of the Anyone But Cunliffe Club?”
Grant Robertson: “There is no such club.”
Mmm, there is no such club just like there was no Cabinet Club.
Oh, towards the end of that clip – “massively talented guy” Kelvin Davis will be “given an appropriate role” if Grant is leader. Stuart Nash also will have important role to play.
Mr Ure: your lamentations and questions are in vain. Grant Robertson is a very strong candidate with a very good change of winning the leadership challenge.
Kelvin Kelvin Kelvin……find a ladder……climb it……pull it up……not so far that look like Bennet. Gonna be PM one day. Hopes. Fuck the people. All about Kelvin. No respect. Sorry.
Yes it probably isn’t (yet) – but psychologically if the Greens ever overtake Labour in an opinion poll then Labour really will be in trouble.
Once that barrier is breached people will begin to see the Greens not just as a “protest vote” (leaving aside the core Green vote which seems to be sitting at 10%) – it will then start to genuinely attract even more of the left. The next hammering blow would probably if the Unions start to de-affiliate (does such a word exist?). A killing blow would be if any Unions affiliate with the Greens.
Labour have got a long way before they hit bottom. A smart Green Party would presume to assume the mantle “leader of the Opposition”.
The NZ public will continue to punish Labour’s apparent disunity – neither the broader public, nor the media, nor the caucus have the maturity to deal with primary runoffs. And there will be more of them before 2020.
The post-leadership vote caucus will know that anyone who wins will struggle to displace those fault lines of loyalty displayed in the leadership vote. There is no real secrecy to the vote. The factions, I believe, are permanent. This unintended consequence of the constitutional reforms will keep Labour in the 20’s.
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The exploration lays bare the terrifying science, the shattered political process, the unrelenting industry special interests and the civic stasis that have brought us to this social, moral and ecological crossroads.The film also takes us behind-the-scenes of the efforts to organize the largest climate rally in the history of the planet during the UN world climate summit.
This is the story of our unique moment in history. We are living through an age of tipping points and rapid social and planetary change. We’re the first generation to feel the impacts of climate disruption, and the last generation that can do something about it. The film enlarges the issue beyond climate impacts and makes a compelling call for bold action that is strong enough to tip the balance to build a clean energy future.”
Andrew Little’s AMA on NBR. I’ve got mixed feelings about him. Like DC, he won’t talk about welfare, but leaves us to read between the lines. Unfortunately they could be read either way.
Wekarawshark 5.56
If welfare is a dirty word, what hope for those relying on the left to return to a
reciprocal, interactive community-type of society?
I won’t find out what he says because a subscription is required and the NBR – National Business Review minimum for an individual is $130 for 6 months.
@ wekawarshark
I’ve been hearing about these paywalls and hadn’t run into one just when I wanted to read about something. Ouch. It doesn’t do much for me, I wouldn’t get my moneysworth out of it and anyway I like to keep my money for the big bills I need to pay. NBR is a nice to have.
I find that there are so many requests for money from genuine organisations doing genuinely good things that I have to think twice about extra spending.
I’ll try and remember that they put the page up for free for a time (24hrs? Just that business day?). There’s a few here with NBR subs, but most won’t.
well no ones interested in boxing here then!Obviously this site is infected with pacifists,lesbians and wimps that have no time for the merits of manly pugilistic endeavour.They don’t know,dont care,-how far removed from the noble kiwi ideals of rugby,racing and beer has this pale imitation of kiwi heritage called the Labour Party travelled?;)
Revealed: The woman who triggered Shearer’s downfall
Friday Aug 23, 2013 by Claire Trevett, the New Zealand Herald’s deputy political editor
I’m putting this up given the recent statements/melt down by David Shearer in which he accused David Cunliffe of the GFC, the bombing of Hiroshima and the high price of coffee.
“But the Herald has learned MP Maryan Street was preparing a motion of no confidence in Mr Shearer for Tuesday’s meeting.
Plans were also being made to send a delegation to him before that to ask him to stand down rather than force the confidence vote.
The MPs involved were certain the motion would have succeeded if it had been required.
Ms Street would not comment yesterday, but it is understood she decided to front the motion because of growing concerns among MPs over Mr Shearer’s inability to fire as leader and his poor poll ratings.
A source said there had been discussions for months, but nobody was willing to force the issue until Ms Street stepped up.”
“The resignation will trigger Labour’s new leadership selection rules for the first time, giving votes to party members and affiliated unions, as well as MPs.
Gallery The most likely contenders are David Cunliffe and Grant Robertson; both have said they will decide over the next few days whether to run.
Mr Cunliffe said Mr Shearer’s decision had come as a surprise and he did not know what had prompted him to believe he had lost the confidence of his caucus. “We respect he has come to a decision he believes is in the best interests of the Labour Party.”
Mr Robertson said he had been a loyal deputy to Mr Shearer, and had supported him throughout his 20 months as leader. “Everybody in the caucus, as everybody in the wider Labour Party, would like to see us doing better in the polls and David has obviously reflected on that. He made his own decision.”
Andrew Little would not rule out seeking the leadership, but because he is a first-term MP he may be wary of making the run before he is ready. Shane Jones is also unlikely to contest it because he believes he would not get the support. David Parker and Phil Goff both ruled it out.
Labour MPs yesterday said they were saddened by Mr Shearer’s decision, and described him as a man of integrity who had done his best. But none said he had made the wrong decision.”
I really should not go read the herald. Big story about the number of women on the DPB(now called something else) dropping and somehow we should thank Nact? Reprinted press release by the look of it. Do they have to be so uncritical?
Could it perhaps have something to do with the demographics of an aging population meaning fewer people in that age group?
Or possibly women(who are much more likely to be on the DPB) no longer attempting to look after the kids because its nearly impossible at the current levels of harassment.
And more boasting about fewer teen parents on benefits- no mention of whether the birthrate for this category has fallen or whether they are simply not receiving any money- which should be a huge concern for everyone.
This film presents a huge social problem called technological unemployment. Whilst doing so, the film also presents two potential solutions to this major social issue. The transitional path described in the film concerns a transition towards a job guarantee program of environmentally sustainable, socially and scientifically beneficial jobs through a public service program organised by the government, coupled with an eventual transition towards an Unconditional Basic Income.
Happens I’m sort of watching The Graham Norton Show right now. TV3. 9.10 pm Thursday. Hugh Grant and two other very appealing guests.
Does this resonate with anyone ? Paul Henry, world famous in New Zealand apparently, is a MUCH less entertaining, MUCH less bright, MUCH more viperish, Graham Norton rip-off.
Yeah. And Henry’s what we’ve gotta be satisfied with. Yeah ? Really ?
Oh this is fucked, pretensious, Auckland New Zealand then. Snotty wee narcissist Henry. The self proclaimed Prince of the Media. Jeez-uz !
PS – Graham Norton has a considerable and oft-paraded distaste for Hoorah Henry David Cameron. Which is excellent.
Speed learning on today’s economics with Mark Blyth – The Austerity Delusion – in an attractive Scottish brogue.
And it’s condensed so there is more economics and wall charts than from your average lecturer in only 22 minutes. You will be surprised and amazed and you will almost understand what Treasury is thinking, and you may be able to replace one of those useless theories of a human being who if they were truly competitive and efficient, would have tenders for their jobs and therefore cost us half the salary burden.
And you will love him if you are a leftie. He was brought up in Dundee, Scotland by his grandmother and went to school there when schools still worked, and there were opportunities for work also in those days. And so welfare made this guy, plus mothering skills, and now he is an Ivy-league professor in the USA. That’s how the system was supposed to work with social mobility, he says, but now it doesn’t – it’s broken.
Surprisingly enough, one could argue (as I often do) that the day inserted into a leap year is not that we label 29th February, but actually the 24th of February. Here I explain why, briefly. Almost everyone assumes that the day added into February in a leap year is the ...
If you haven’t watched Newsroom’s video showing Oranga Tamariki staff attempting to uplift a newborn baby yet you should do so. Although it's not the worst case as far as interventions go, it’s certainly not a good look for the Government. Because of this controversy there’s been a plethora of ...
Genesis Energy is planning to build the country's biggest PV solar farm:Power generator and retailer Genesis Energy says it is in advanced discussions to build New Zealand's biggest solar farm in northern Waikato. The company, which earlier reported a 15 per cent decline in operating earnings to $167.2 million, said ...
Transport is our second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Any credible effort to reduce emissions to net-zero has to target it. So what is the government doing? Subsidising some of the dirtiest, most inefficient vehicles on the roads:New Zealand's favourite cars - double cab utes - are largely exempt ...
You’ve really got to wonder what the NZ First Party was thinking and drinking last Friday? Not only did they hamstring the Greens by halting one of their main environmental policies, the electric vehicle fee-bate scheme, a policy that the public was led to believe was a done deal…but they ...
High Risk Call: Insensitive though it may seem to even pose the question: how will the electorate respond to what the Prime Minister’s opponents will undoubtedly characterise as an attack on New Zealanders’ freedom of speech? At more than twelve month’s remove from the terrible events of 15 March 2019, ...
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Climate change leads to more violence against women, girlsRape, domestic violence, forced marriages: A new ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 16, 2020 through Sat, Feb 22, 2020 Editor's Pick JP Morgan economists warn climate crisis is threat to human raceLeaked report for world’s major fossil fuel financier says ...
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article ‘The Dangerous Denial of Sex by two scientists Colin Wright and Emma Hilton. Write is an evolutionary biologist at Penn State and Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester. It is well worth reading the article in full. Here ...
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...
Winston Peters - Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the NZ First PartyWe all know that politics can be pretty messy at times. Just look at the Dirty Politics saga in New Zealand, the misgovernment of the Australian bushfires or the recent Trump impeachment debacle in the US. In a ...
Last Monday SpaceX launched another clutch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, bringing up to 300 the number of these units intended to bring 5G internet to the whole globe. In this post I present a movie showing how all 300 such satellites will be zipping around our planet over ...
The recent floods in Southland have highlighted the issue of Rio Tinto's illegal toxic waste dump in Mataura. But according to Newsroom, there's an even worse mess in Ruakaka near Whangarei:A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to ...
It’s amazing just how many attack ads $100,000 buys you these days. The National Party has really been going to town lately, with their latest Twitter campaign making a number of questionable and blatantly false assertions, one being that poverty has worsened under the Labour led Government.The National Party's claim ...
OMV's exploratory drilling in the Great South Basin has failed to find oil. Good. Firstly, because we can't afford to burn the oil and gas we've already found, so there's just no point looking for more. And secondly, because offshore, deep-water drilling poses a risk of an environmental catastrophe, which ...
The government has announced it will strengthen whistleblower protections. The major change is "allowing people to report serious wrongdoing direct to an external authority if they wish", which fixes one of the big flaws in the Act. At present, whistleblowers must generally make their disclosure direct to the body they ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Part 4 Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the fourth part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...
Another day, another IPCA report on criminal conduct by policy. This time they kicked a child in the head when he was handcuffed:Police chased him and yelled out for him to stop. When he turned to face the police, he threatened them with a hammer. That's when the officers tasered ...
The investigation of two of the five parties in Parliament for fraud around their election donations has pushed the issue of party funding back into the spotlight. And while there are obvious things we can do to tighten up the donations regime - a much lower declaration threshold, realtime disclosure ...
While the south of New Zealand has been struggling with too much rain in recent days, here in the north we are so very short of it (though Saturday’s forecast looks promising). Basically, we have had almost none since Christmas.As someone who relies on rain to wash the car, ...
Former National Party MP Jami-Lee RossIt comes as no surprise that Jami-Lee Ross has been named as one of the defendants in the X2 $100,000 National Party donations case currently before the courts. Click bait journalists who were chaffing at the bit to discredit the former senior whip had already ...
Stand Clear! Winston Peters is encouraging voters to think of RNZ as belonging to “The Media Party”. He wants them to see it as a politically partisan institution with its own, vicious attack-dogs in the electoral fight. If he succeeds, it will be, and probably should be, the end of ...
"You're going to need a longer runway" Gratton et al explore the ongoing effects of upward-creeping temperatures on aviation in Greece in the period since 1955 at a range of airports in that country. For longer runways impacts are measurable but with little impact on operations. For airports with shorter runways, ...
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...
Former National Party chief whip Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four people charged over National's multiple fraudulent donations. How unsurprising. Meanwhile, just days ago National leader Simon Bridges was trying to pretend the charges were nothing to do with his party. Yeah, right. When your chief whip effectively publicly ...
If you've been watching FYI for a while, you'll have noticed that the police have a bad habit of demanding ID from requesters. They have apparently been repeatedly told to stop doing this by the Ombudsman, but we all know what law enforcement thinks of the law, so thye keep ...
Collateral Damage: For the Green Phoenix to be reborn, the funeral pyre so patiently assembled by its identity politicians over the course of many fractious years – but with growing intensity over the past three – first has to be ignited. The terrible probability, of course, is that, in setting ...
If you follow politics in New Zealand you've likely noticed that the right wing have been going on and on about the Coalition Government failing to reduce poverty. In fact they’ve been incessantly claiming, in the absence of any conclusive data, that poverty has been getting worse.Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:Mike Hosking: ...
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...
Just days after talking about how people feel "squeezed" and promising tax and service cuts as a "solution", National is talking about cancelling a rise in the minimum wage if elected: National is considering scrapping the Government's planned minimum wage increase if it wins this year's election, the party's finance ...
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...
A Labour government desperate for the numbers crawls into bed with Winston Peters. Winston ignores the law and secretly takes money under the table from someone. When it is exposed just months out from an election, he is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. That's what happened back in 2008. ...
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...
Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanHousing policy is building up to be the key election issue again. In this blog I reflect on the importance of the role of the New Zealand Government in improving access to affordable housing. I look at what the Government has been doing to increase quality public housing ...
Writing on The Spinoff, Danyl Mclauchlan argues that we have a vacuum in our political system, in that there is no longer an anti-establishment party anymore:I think there’s a vacuum in our political system. There are obvious problems with the status quo but no real critics offering reform. It’s a ...
Stuff today has a piece about the government discovering it has been oversubsidising polluters for a decade under the Emissions Trading scheme:The Government is pledging to urgently fix an issue within the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), after it emerged some polluters are likely being over-compensated with taxpayer-funded carbon credits. [...] ...
The Marlborough District Council, tired of public scrutiny, wants to increase the amount it charges for LGOIMA requests:The cost of requesting official information from Marlborough's government agency could almost double after a jump in "fishing expeditions". Charges could be raised from $60 to $100 an hour for information supplied by ...
When Winston Peters was caught money laundering donations and stalking journalists, the Greens were conspicuous by their silence. It was another example of how getting along with their government partners was eroding their values and their own reputation. It was obviously unsustainable, and so now James Shaw has finally spoken ...
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...
With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 9, 2020 through Sat, Feb 15, 2020 Editor's Pick ANALYSIS-Climate change opens up 'frontier' farmland, but at what cost to the planet?Climate change could expand farmland globally by ...
After cross-examination Jones knew he would lose the defamation case he took against film maker Renae Maihi. That’s why he threw in the towel. The weight of evidence was clearly against the old tycoon with the defense presenting fifty articles to confirm Jones’ racist views.Being unable to harass somebody into ...
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre.(Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...
Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew MoorePublic health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures ...
The Helen Clark Foundation has released its report on the housing crisis, and found that house-hoarders are to blame for it:Property investors are to blame for New Zealand's high house prices, a new research paper published by the Helen Clark Foundation says. [...] McArthur said previous attempts to address housing ...
The Abortion Legislation Committee has reported back on the Abortion Legislation Bill and recommended that it be passed with some amendments. Unfortunately, the latter include even more hoops to jump through for those seeking abortions after 20 weeks, including a time-wasting requirement to consult a second doctor. No-one casually seeks ...
Brexit is likely to be a disaster for the UK (how sad, never mind). But now that they're out of the EU, the latter has finaly taken the opportunity to blacklist one of their key tax havens:The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU ...
I’m not quite sure of what to make of the new figures for COVID-19 (as we must now call the novel coronavirus – though I’m not sure the capitalisation is correct) from Hubei province:Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51495484The spike yesterday is a consequence of a using a different way of ...
Bob Jones has dropped his defamation case against Renae Maihi. Good. But at the same time, it perfectly exposes what the case was all about: not protecting Jones' reputation, but punishing someone who had dared to criticise him, and deterring others from doing the same. This rich pompous asshat dragged ...
As I've done for the past few years, I'm curating and presenting The Listening Lounge, the talk programme at Splore. On the morning of Saturday the 22nd at the Living Lounge stage, the korero goes like this.Yes, we're talking about drugs again, not just because I'm professionally interested in drug ...
What Were They Thinking? RNZ's CEO Paul Thompson (left) and Jim Mather, Chairman of the RNZ Board of Governors, attempt to justify the debacle arising out of their attempt to downgrade RNZ Concert to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee at Parliament on Thursday, 13 February 2020.WHAT IS ...
Dame Tariana Turia with former PM John KeyWhat is it about Tariana Turia’s grudge against the Labour Party? Not content with attacking the Government over Whānau Ora funding, which was increased by $80 million in 2019, she has now made it personal by saying that Jacinda Ardern is out of her ...
Back in 2017, right after being elected, Jacinda Ardern promised that there would be no new mines on conservation land. Since then, her government has done nothing to make that happen, and now the policy has been officially "parked" for the election:West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor says the "no new ...
So the guy who advocated for public burning and beheading feels offended because someone called him a racist!Perhaps Bob Jones hasn't heard of the very old saying; Live by the sword, die by the sword?I mean for someone who often writes opinionated nonsense about Maori; this is a ridiculous case ...
The government today announced a major support package aimed at reducing homelessness. A thousand new transitional housing places, more support for people to find homes (or not lose them in the first place), all good stuff. The one problem with it is that they're going to start charging people in ...
Courtroom Drama: There is no off-switch in a courtroom. Neither is it possible to turn the page in disgust. Ill-formed and ill-defended opinions will be exposed ruthlessly and unapologetically. As Shakespeare put it: “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” Sometimes the ...
As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t ...
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) (Brett Hudson)Its basicly more "tough on crime" nonsense (its already illegal for unlicensed people to own guns) designed to wedge NZ First against its arsehole base. ...
In 2015 the world agreed to the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. Each country would offer a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) "that it intends to achieve", and "pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving [it]". And every five years, they'd improve on it, ratcheting up ambition until ...
In theory, the emissions trading scheme should reduce emissions. Making polluters pay for permits to pollute lets them save money by reducing pollution, giving them a financial incentive to do the right thing. But right from the start the ETS was broken with a system of free allocation, so polluters ...
Irish voters went to the polls on Saturday in parliamentary elections, and perhaps delivered a political revolution. Since independence, Irish politics has been dominated by two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Basicly patronage networks with indistinguishable policies, their cleavage isn't ideology, but who killed whose father or grandfather in ...
Once again the Aotearoa Bike Challenge is on us, and once again I’m participating. In principle this is not hard because it does not represent a significant switch in behavior for me. I already bike nearly every day. The Bicycle The fascinating thing about cycling is the realisation that this ...
Lately there has been a great deal of misinformation regarding the origins and purpose of Skeptical Science. As John Cook wrote nearly a decade ago, Skeptical Science is primarily a website that debunks climate misinformation with peer-reviewed science. Despite the ever-worsening impacts from climate change, with record after record being broken in ...
Under Attack: By sacking not only RNZ Concert’s presenters, but also its producers and librarians, and reducing the station to an automated purveyor of classical music in-between parliamentary broadcasts, RNZ’s CEO, Paul Thompson, wasn’t simply announcing an operational shake-up, he was declaring war on one of the most important guardians of ...
Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Australian smoke plume sets recordsThe recent wildfires in Australia sent one of ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Finance, Fletcher Tabuteau has welcomed Statistics New Zealand’s latest report as a timely reminder of the value that this Coalition Government brings to every day New Zealanders: “This Coalition Government has meant a ...
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order Newly released Police data shows once again the number of fleeing drivers have continued to skyrocket with a record 512 incidents occurring in December – almost tripling the number of incidents occurring just ten years ago, says New Zealand First Law and ...
While the Provincial Growth Fund has provided $2 million to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said he is greatly concerned that there are “issues” in implementing the projects. The Minister said the immediate solution was to pipe water from a bore ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland NZ First is calling on Rio Tinto to accept its responsibilities to the Southland community and enable the immediate removal of the toxic Aluminium Dross from the Mataura Paper Mill site. New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland, Mark Patterson ...
The Coalition Government has announced that a further $500,000 will be given to help residents in Southland and Otago to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. It follows prior government assistance of $200,000 earlier this month where the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund received $100,000 to support communities impacted by ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First spokesperson for Labour and Industrial Relations Unemployment and wage growth numbers released by Stats NZ today demonstrate a labour market in good shape with unemployment falling to 4.0%, the underutilisation rate falling to an 11 year low, and wage growth at a 10-year high ...
Hon. Ron Mark, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence Ron Mark, welcomes the official opening of Te Rau Aroha, a new museum at Waitangi Treaty Grounds as part of our Coalition Agreement. “It is a great honour to be part of an effective Government ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterGood morning,Let us start with important acknowledgements.First, this special day, in remembrance of the 28th Maori Battalion, is also to honour all those men and women who have risked their lives in the service of our country.Second, special guest Robert ...
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...
Strengthening New Zealand’s political and business ties with India will be the focus of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker’s visit to India this week. The Ministers are co-leading a high level business delegation to India to support increased people and economic engagement ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio continues to champion for greater Pacific participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers with the announcement of the Toloa Awards, with 8 recipients of the Toloa Community Fund and 13 Toloa Tertiary Scholarships. “The Toloa Programme encourages more Pacific peoples ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has extended the date for people to have their say on proposed changes to improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. Submissions were due to close on 2 March 2020 but will now remain open until 9am on Monday 16 March 2020. “I have ...
The endangered toroa/Antipodean albatross has new international protection for its 100,000km annual migration, thanks to collaborative efforts led by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Today, 130 countries agreed to strictly protect Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild ...
No sales to under-18-year-olds No advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes No vaping or smokeless tobacco in smokefree areas Regulates vaping product safety comprehensively, - including devices, flavours and ingredients Ensure vaping products are available for those who want to quit smoking Vaping regulation that balances ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ngā ...
Tougher penalties for gun crime are a step closer with the passage of firearms reform legislation through another stage in Parliament. The Arms Legislation Bill has tonight passed its Second Reading. “The changes have one objective - to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Introduction Mr Speaker We all know why we are here today. It has been a long journey. The journey did not actually begin on 15 March 2019. It began on 30 June 1997. Almost 23 years ago, Justice Sir Thomas Thorp told us what was wrong with our firearms legislation. ...
The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalise ...
Speeding up the return of Christchurch regeneration activities to local leadership is behind the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today by Minister Megan Woods. “As we approach nine years since the February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury, and with the transition to local leadership well underway, the time ...
Hundreds of New Zealanders and international visitors will be able to get back out into nature with the Milford Track partially reopening next week, after extensive assessments and repairs, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The popular Great Walk has been closed since 3 February after an extreme ...
Up to 110 new EV chargers nationwide in cities and regions 50 electric vehicles for ride-sharing The Government is helping deliver more infrastructure and options for low emissions transport through new projects, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. Tauranga, Nelson, Levin, New Plymouth and Oamaru are just some ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
A trial deployment of the Police Eagle helicopter in Christchurch will test whether the aircraft would make a significant difference to crime prevention and community safety. “The Bell 429 helicopter will be based in Christchurch for five weeks, from 17 February to 20 March,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The ...
The Government has kept up the pace of its work to promote New Zealand’s trade interests and diversify our export markets, with visits to Fiji and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker. Building momentum to bring the PACER Plus trade and development agreement ...
The Coalition Government’s investment in a strong border and disrupting transnational organised crime produced record results for stopping drugs in 2019, says Minister of Customs Jenny Salesa. The illegal drugs were seized at the New Zealand border by Customs, and overseas by Customs’ international border partners before the drugs could ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off construction of a separated cycleway alongside Tamaki Drive. A two-way separated cycleway will be built along the northern side of Tamaki Drive, between the Quay Street Cycleway extension and Ngapipi Road. There will be a separate walking path alongside. Phil Twyford said giving ...
Owner-occupiers of unit and apartments living in earthquake-prone buildings will have certainty about the financial support they’ll be eligible for with the release of criteria for an upcoming assistance scheme, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. The Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme will help unit owners facing ...
Temporary restrictions on travel from China will remain in place as a precautionary measure to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The restrictions which prevent foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China from entering New Zealand have been extended for a further 8 days. This position ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today that Tairāwhiti rangatahi will benefit from an investment made by the Government’s He Poutama Rangatahi (HPR) scheme. The funding will go to the Tautua Village, Kauneke programme and the Matapuna Supported Employment Programme which will fund 120 rangatahi over two years. “Both programmes work ...
By Vasinatta Yama in Mt Hagen Eight prisoners at the Baisu Correctional Service prison near the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mt Hagen are dead following a massive jail breakout. Western Highlands Acting Provincial Police Commander David Kongui confirmed that two prisoners have surrendered, while an unknown number of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A foreign intelligence service sent a “sleeper” agent to Australia, who provided logistical support for visiting spies, the head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, has revealed, in a speech pledging to intensify the fight against the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Apart from committing a crime, what do you have to do or say to be stripped of your order of Australia award? Where “a line” should be drawn is the question the Council for the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Stewart, Doctoral Candidate at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University In the wake of last week’s horrific murder of a woman and her three children in Brisbane at the hands of her estranged partner, Social Services Minister Anne Ruston ...
Politicians who have appeared on Dancing with the Stars over the past 15 years say the publicity could backfire for would-be politician Hannah Tamaki if she puts on her dancing shoes. ...
Marlin’s Dreaming have a new single out ahead of their next, ‘least accessible’ album. Frontman Semisi Maiai sat down to talk about how a bunch of jocks from Dunedin became indie darlings.Semisi Maiai embodies the duality of man. He’s a barista and a basketballer; he’s a jock and an indie ...
Pacific Media Watch A University of Waikato researcher says some of the current colonial representations of climate change in the Pacific are obscuring Pacific voices and failing to recognise the importance of Indigenous knowledge in the fight against the changing climate. Dr Jessica Pasisi’s thesis, Niue Women’s Perspective and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne Bernie Sanders has easily won the Nevada Democratic caucus, cementing his status as front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the US presidential election. With 88% of precincts reporting, Sanders won ...
An announcement that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will be based in Hamilton makes “perfect sense” given the city’s location and strong transport links says Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate. On Friday Justice Minister Andrew Little ...
Steel & Tube has recorded a large half-year loss, in line with forecasts, mostly because of a $37 million write-down in asset values. For the six months ended December the steel manufacturing company made a $36.9m loss. Chief executive Mark Malpass said the company expected an improved second half. "While ...
The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has slumped to a large loss because of volatile prices and power costs. Pacific Aluminium, controlled by Rio Tinto, made a loss of $313 million for the year ended December compared with the previous year's profit of $207m. However, the underlying loss fell to $46m ...
The Government has extended its ban on travel from China by another eight days until early March, but may provide an exemption for international students, while the Treasury is considering global recession scenarios. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced Cabinet decided on Monday afternoon to extend its ban on travel ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Australia’s catastrophic bushfire season has done immense damage to Australia’s tourist industry. Then, just as heavy rain began to bring the situation under control, came the coronavirus outbreak in China – now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hole, Senior Research Fellow, Mathematical Sciences Institute, Australian National University Recent reports from scientists pursuing a new kind of nuclear fusion technology are encouraging, but we are still some distance away from the “holy grail of clean energy”. The technology developed ...
First the broadcaster was caught up in an online swindle using Facebook – now it’s the other media giant.“Hosking’s Latest Investment”, went the headline on the Google-served advertisement, complete with a photograph of the award-winning broadcaster, placed on a New Zealand news site. “New Zealand’s citizens are already raking in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Steffen, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University Opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s announcement on Friday that a Labor government would adopt a target of net-zero emissions by 2050 was a big step in the right direction. But a bit of simple maths reveals ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Gurrieri, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, RMIT University Under Australia’s harsh sun, we’ve long slapped on sunscreen to protect ourselves from skin damage and cancer. Now the product, once known for protecting skin against harmful UV rays, is becoming part of beauty ...
Get data at the national level, by regional council area, territorial authority / Auckland local board area, statistical area 2 (SA2), and district health board area. Tables contain 2018, 2013, and 2006 Census data. Access data in NZ.Stat Use ...
Northland's biggest trucking operator has accused the Transport Agency of letting an employee wage a personal vendetta against him that's cost him millions of dollars. Stan Semenoff says the employee went after his scalp, but he's defeated the Agency and shown that it had no safety case to begin with. ...
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 contentPolitical donations scandals John Armstrong (TVNZ): Jacinda Ardern’s refusal to reprimand Winston Peters is nothing short of disgraceful Luke ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful partners with Waste Management New Zealand to send educational book to New Zealand schools New Zealand not-for-profit organisation, Keep New Zealand Beautiful, has teamed up with Waste Management to distribute an educational storybook ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paxton Loke, Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Some children grow out of their food allergies, but researchers don’t exactly know why. Here’s how to work with your allergy specialist if you suspect your child isn’t allergic any more. Read ...
The Māori Party candidate for Waiariki - Rawiri Waititi - believes the younger generation will be the key to the party getting back into Parliament this year. ...
The Sustainable New Zealand Party is struggling to demonstrate it has enough political sustainability to last until the election campaign heats up later this year. Within just a few months media attention has turned from its founding to its foundering. The New Zealand Herald seems not to have caught up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling You’ve heard of dark matter. You’ve probably heard there’s a fair bit of it out there in space, and that astronomers don’t know for sure what it is. But, strange as dark matter is, there’s an ...
When NZME reports its annual results on Tuesday, attention will focus on its mooted purchase of rival Stuff Ltd and the revenue its paywalled nzherald.co.nz site has brought in ...
After 43 years on the telly, Fair Go knows exactly how to stick up for Kiwi consumers. Tara Ward talks to Sophie Baird, the woman changing New Zealand, one consumer complaint at a time. For over four decades, Fair Go has been our saviour. They’ve defended us when we’ve been ripped ...
ANALYSIS:By Asmiati Malik in Jakarta The Indonesian government plans to evaluate the efficacy of special funds for the West Papua region. These funds have been disbursed to the easternmost region, comprising the two provinces of Papua and West Papua, for nearly two decades. The funds, paid since 2002 to ...
Last week Nick Loosley, founder of food waste and food poverty charity Everybody Eats, was named the 2020 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year. He talked to Alex Braae about how a more sustainable approach to our food system can help feed those in need. There’s a theme of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Skead, Professor, Dean of Law School, University of Western Australia In 2017, a business lecturer posted a photo on LinkedIn showing a completely empty university classroom, 15 minutes after the class had been scheduled to start. This is not an isolated ...
The coronavirus outbreak is set to cost Air New Zealand as much as $75 million, as it moved to cut more flights to lessen the impact. The airline has issued a revised forecast for its full year earnings, cutting its estimate of operating earnings by between $35m to $75m to ...
New Zealand's steps to shield itself from the Covid-19 coronavirus will not save the economy from feeling its effects. Hundreds of millions of dollars is likely to be shaved off the value of the economy for the first quarter, with estimates currently between 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points less than ...
By Evaristo Soares Martins in Dili Early elections cannot be allowed to “become the political culture” in Timor-Leste, says the leader of the opposition Fretilin party, Dr Marí Alkatiri. The former Prime Minister said he wants to see an end to the political impasse, prompted by the collapse of ...
By Sharlyne Eri in Lae A Papua New Guinean man who once resorted to crime to make a living is now running a bicycle repair business. Collin Kunan is a long-time resident of West Taraka, one of Lae’s urban settlements where petty crime is rife because of high unemployment. ...
Jamie’s away with the lads, Claire’s elbow deep in a dead man’s abdomen, and Roger wants to go back to the future. Tara Ward recaps episode two of season five of Outlander.Well, my thirstly little Outlander cherubs, that was something else, wasn’t it? It’s been many a moon since I watched ...
Opposition leader Simon Bridges says a National government will look at amending the law to allow Australians convicted of serious crimes in New Zealand to be deported. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carlo Perrotta, Senior lecturer, Monash University The spread of the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 is a public health emergency with economic and social ramifications in China and across the world. While the impacts on business are well documented, education is also ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, University of Western Australia The extradition hearing to decide whether to send Julian Assange to the United States to be tried for publishing classified military documents on Wikileaks is expected to finally begin today in London. Assange is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bernadette McSherry, Foundation Director, Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne In 2018, the Victorian Ombudsman, Deborah Glass, delivered a report about “the saddest case” she had ever seen. A 39-year-old woman with a developmental disorder had been locked in her prison ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick O’Connor, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide Among the vast number of native species damaged by the recent bushfire crisis, we must not forget native pollinators. These animals, mainly insects such as native bees, help sustain ecosystems by pollinating native plants. Native ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Skead, Professor, Dean of Law School, University of Western Australia In 2017, a business lecturer posted a photo on LinkedIn showing a completely empty university classroom, 15 minutes after the class had been scheduled to start. This is not an isolated ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil G Sipe, Adjunct Researcher in Transport and Planning, The University of Queensland Over the past decade almost US$200 billion has been invested globally in mobility technology that promises to improve our ability to get around. More than US$33 billion was invested ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne In a recent ruling the Australian Press Council has given a signal to gossip magazines it is OK to make up and publish rubbish about people, so long as the ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern anticipates cabinet ministers will decide to extend the ban on foreign travellers arriving from mainland China which is due to expire tonight. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The transformation of the national electricity market has “progressed at a remarkable pace and scale” over the last year as it moves towards renewables, but security is a critical issue, according to the Energy Security ...
The Labour Party has selected Kerrin Leoni as their candidate for the electorate of Waikato. In a confirmation meeting held in Ngaruawahia on 23rd February, Ms Leoni, 39, was nominated unopposed as the electorate candidate, with the electorate covering ...
RNZ Checkpoint last week reported that the rodeo industry has killed two animals during the current rodeo season. Information recently obtained by animal rights organisation SAFE reveals two bulls were killed at ‘Mad Bull’ rodeo events in November and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern anticipates cabinet ministers will decide to extend the ban on foreign travellers arriving from mainland China - which is due to expire tonight. ...
Climate change will be a hot topic in Jacinda Ardern's meeting with the Fijian PM this week, but an elephant in the room for her talk with the Australian PM. ...
In today’s edition: plant-based diets add a new item to the rural-urban tension menu, Genesis plans NZ’s biggest solar farm and a major regulatory push on vaping.The Sunday Star-Timesdevoted its whole cover to a dramatic image under the headline ‘Is meat for the chop?’, while inside a Colmar ...
What’s the economic impact of draining a wetland, or depleting soil health? An economist is looking at the value of some of the mostly unseen ecological services nature performs. A lot of what occupies economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s mind is invisible processes. While environmentalists fighting for wetland protection, or ...
Coronavirus has created new economic uncertainties in China and beyond. There is no doubt the short-term impact on New Zealand’s businesses will be severe, but how exactly is difficult to foresee. The outlook for global trade already looks grim compared to our expectations late last year. CNN reported that Maersk, ...
Belinda Muller has managed major Kiwi sports teams in three different codes – netball, rugby and, now, cricket. The only difference, she's found, is the size of their balls. It was supposed to last just three days. A bit of a paperwork at a netball centre, to help out a ...
The Children’s Commissioner responds to a UN committee's decision about the torture of children at Lake Alice. David Williams reports Pressure is building on a police review of their file into Lake Alice psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks. The review was prompted by a landmark decision by the United Nations Committee against ...
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Kiwi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: The creepy opening chapter.— Amy’s journal — Here are two things I learnt today: 1. ...
Back to university today? Beware the flashy voluntourism brochures promising a chance to save the world, writes AUT lecturer Daniel Crouch.It was my first day as a lecturer, February 2018, and I was feeling pretty nervous as students filed in. Just before the nine o’clock start, a young woman approached ...
The rise of litigation funding in New Zealand puts politicians and business leaders on notice – their actions will now be policed by a powerful new sheriff, writes Chris Lee.In business, as in life, there may be a range of thought processes that quell the temptation to cheat. One would ...
Aucklanders are breaking records for water usage - at the same time as the city breaks records for days without rain. How secure is the city's future water supply if these droughts continue? Auckland's water use has gone through the roof this summer, breaking records of 560 million litres per ...
News broke today that Hannah Tamaki has been cast for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars. Emily Writes explains why the religious leader and aspirant politician has no place on the show.In an exceptionally sad display of desperation, MediaWorks appears to have booked Hannah Tamaki, known for her ...
Political parties must, this election year, pledge to press forward with a massive build of “social” homes to tackle New Zealand’s human rights crisis in housing, a move that will also help reduce inequality, Peter Malcolm, spokesperson for the ...
Details of the Government's newly-announced vaping crackdown may keep New Zealanders smoking and paying exorbitant excise taxes, says the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union. Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "We welcome the decision not ...
News that the Government is set to regulate vaping is welcomed. However, heavily restricting where most vape flavours can be sold is a step too far and could lead to rising smoking rates, says the Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ). ...
Open mike 17/10/2014 
Open mike is your post.
Surprisingly enough, one could argue (as I often do) that the day inserted into a leap year is not that we label 29th February, but actually the 24th of February. Here I explain why, briefly. Almost everyone assumes that the day added into February in a leap year is the ...7 hours ago
If you haven’t watched Newsroom’s video showing Oranga Tamariki staff attempting to uplift a newborn baby yet you should do so. Although it's not the worst case as far as interventions go, it’s certainly not a good look for the Government. Because of this controversy there’s been a plethora of ...14 hours ago
Genesis Energy is planning to build the country's biggest PV solar farm:Power generator and retailer Genesis Energy says it is in advanced discussions to build New Zealand's biggest solar farm in northern Waikato. The company, which earlier reported a 15 per cent decline in operating earnings to $167.2 million, said ...16 hours ago
High Risk Call: Insensitive though it may seem to even pose the question: how will the electorate respond to what the Prime Minister’s opponents will undoubtedly characterise as an attack on New Zealanders’ freedom of speech? At more than twelve month’s remove from the terrible events of 15 March 2019, ...18 hours ago
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Climate change leads to more violence against women, girls Rape, domestic violence, forced marriages: A new ...20 hours ago
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article ‘The Dangerous Denial of Sex by two scientists Colin Wright and Emma Hilton. Write is an evolutionary biologist at Penn State and Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester. It is well worth reading the article in full. Here ...2 days ago
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...2 days ago
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...5 days ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...1 week ago
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Finance, Fletcher Tabuteau has welcomed Statistics New Zealand’s latest report as a timely reminder of the value that this Coalition Government brings to every day New Zealanders: “This Coalition Government has meant a ...16 hours ago
We're taking action on child poverty, getting Kiwis into the trades, and more ...2 days ago
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...12 hours ago
By Vasinatta Yama in Mt Hagen Eight prisoners at the Baisu Correctional Service prison near the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mt Hagen are dead following a massive jail breakout. Western Highlands Acting Provincial Police Commander David Kongui confirmed that two prisoners have surrendered, while an unknown number of ...2 hours ago
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is brushing off pressure from National to take a tougher stance on deporting Australian criminals. ...8 hours ago
What weakened the "West" and led to today's restless world? ...8 hours ago
The Government tells Wellington city council they should tread carefully before bucking a national trend on water ...9 hours ago
Marlin’s Dreaming have a new single out ahead of their next, ‘least accessible’ album. Frontman Semisi Maiai sat down to talk about how a bunch of jocks from Dunedin became indie darlings.Semisi Maiai embodies the duality of man. He’s a barista and a basketballer; he’s a jock and an indie ...10 hours ago
Without the feebate scheme - which was mildly ambitious at best - the Government has virtually no policy on cutting transport emissions. ...11 hours ago
An announcement that the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will be based in Hamilton makes “perfect sense” given the city’s location and strong transport links says Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate. On Friday Justice Minister Andrew Little ...11 hours ago
Steel & Tube has recorded a large half-year loss, in line with forecasts, mostly because of a $37 million write-down in asset values. For the six months ended December the steel manufacturing company made a $36.9m loss. Chief executive Mark Malpass said the company expected an improved second half. "While ...11 hours ago
The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has slumped to a large loss because of volatile prices and power costs. Pacific Aluminium, controlled by Rio Tinto, made a loss of $313 million for the year ended December compared with the previous year's profit of $207m. However, the underlying loss fell to $46m ...11 hours ago
The Government has extended its ban on travel from China by another eight days until early March, but may provide an exemption for international students, while the Treasury is considering global recession scenarios. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced Cabinet decided on Monday afternoon to extend its ban on travel ...11 hours ago
Immigration staff are stretched thin after the shutdown of their Beijing office and people on work visas could face major delays. ...13 hours ago
Two ministers are heading to India this week for a high-powered visit - but is it too little, too late? ...13 hours ago
Northland's biggest trucking operator has accused the Transport Agency of letting an employee wage a personal vendetta against him that's cost him millions of dollars. Stan Semenoff says the employee went after his scalp, but he's defeated the Agency and shown that it had no safety case to begin with. ...13 hours ago
The Sustainable New Zealand Party is struggling to demonstrate it has enough political sustainability to last until the election campaign heats up later this year. Within just a few months media attention has turned from its founding to its foundering. The New Zealand Herald seems not to have caught up ...15 hours ago
The coronavirus outbreak is set to cost Air New Zealand as much as $75 million, as it moved to cut more flights to lessen the impact. ...15 hours ago
When NZME reports its annual results on Tuesday, attention will focus on its mooted purchase of rival Stuff Ltd and the revenue its paywalled nzherald.co.nz site has brought in ...15 hours ago
The coronavirus outbreak is set to cost Air New Zealand as much as $75 million, as it moved to cut more flights to lessen the impact. The airline has issued a revised forecast for its full year earnings, cutting its estimate of operating earnings by between $35m to $75m to ...17 hours ago
New Zealand's steps to shield itself from the Covid-19 coronavirus will not save the economy from feeling its effects. Hundreds of millions of dollars is likely to be shaved off the value of the economy for the first quarter, with estimates currently between 0.3 and 0.6 percentage points less than ...18 hours ago
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern anticipates cabinet ministers will decide to extend the ban on foreign travellers arriving from mainland China which is due to expire tonight. ...19 hours ago
The public has sent a clear message to the Reserve Bank that people would not tolerate moves to make New Zealand a cashless society. ...19 hours ago
National won't scrap planned minimum wage hikes - Collins; and Auckland Council struggling to sell construction disruption as good news. ...19 hours ago
What’s the economic impact of draining a wetland, or depleting soil health? An economist is looking at the value of some of the mostly unseen ecological services nature performs. A lot of what occupies economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s mind is invisible processes. While environmentalists fighting for wetland protection, or ...22 hours ago
Coronavirus has created new economic uncertainties in China and beyond. There is no doubt the short-term impact on New Zealand’s businesses will be severe, but how exactly is difficult to foresee. The outlook for global trade already looks grim compared to our expectations late last year. CNN reported that Maersk, ...22 hours ago
Belinda Muller has managed major Kiwi sports teams in three different codes – netball, rugby and, now, cricket. The only difference, she's found, is the size of their balls. It was supposed to last just three days. A bit of a paperwork at a netball centre, to help out a ...22 hours ago
The Children’s Commissioner responds to a UN committee's decision about the torture of children at Lake Alice. David Williams reports Pressure is building on a police review of their file into Lake Alice psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks. The review was prompted by a landmark decision by the United Nations Committee against ...22 hours ago
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Kiwi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: The creepy opening chapter. — Amy’s journal — Here are two things I learnt today: 1. ...23 hours ago
Aucklanders are breaking records for water usage - at the same time as the city breaks records for days without rain. How secure is the city's future water supply if these droughts continue? Auckland's water use has gone through the roof this summer, breaking records of 560 million litres per ...23 hours ago
Nationwide councils have underspent on water infrastructure by billions, Wellington is one of the first to feel the fallout. ...1 day ago
WikiLeaks Publishes TPP Intellectual Property Chapter
Prolonging suffering just so a few people can be richer.
I had a quick read Draco, I have to say, and I am a legal layman but it seemed there were clauses in their that allowed any country to protect it’s health and citizens concerning medications, as a get out clause to allow meds, IDNK but reading the pdf it looked like a load of complicated clauses that could employ some hard up legal beagles struggling to survive on a low income many years of high earnings in the name of clarifying a paragraph or ten.
Why do they make this crap so flaming unintelligible. I mean seriously heard of English?
Everything is copyrighted, unless it’s a life or death matter. Pretty simple stuff really.
They should get me to do it. I’d be freaking brilliant.
Remember, none of this is written up for the sake of clarity or ‘free markets.’ It is there to generate a lot of grey areas for corporations to move in, and to obscure any possibility of moral or ethical discussions under a tonne of technicalities.
plus one…
Just take a look at the language: ‘Free trade’ or ‘Free Markets’
Trade is something that involves exchange and, in this day and age, involves money. i.e there is nothing ‘free’ about trade.
The use of the word ‘free’ is a contradictory term. It is contradictory to the nature of the subject, and this contradiction indicates propaganda is involved i.e. manipulation of people’s attitudes on the subject is present.
Plus, why would a free trade agreement require anything more than a few A4 sheets of paper? I agree that you can sell your stuff in my country and vice versa. What requires thousands of pages of documents?
Not even a pretence of true free trade, actually.
Arranging a free-for-all for those who already have plenty, involves complexity due to having to work out how to by-pass any sound and principled protections built into a given country’s laws, is my guess. 🙂
That and making sure that the power elite in each country are treated fairly and equitably by the power elite in other countries. For ordinary people – sorry.
just like the word “aspiration” being manipulated by RWNJs
+1 Yes, surely what they really should be saying is ‘exasperation’ 🙂
Go on, say “big pharma”. You know you want to. You antivaxxers can’t resist it.
is that another of those ‘labels’..that isn’t really true..?
..what wd u prefer in its’ place..?
..how about ‘blood-sucking-vampires’..?
We won a seat at the UN, Is that good or bad? IDNK, however I expect we will create more deaths under John Key than ever before. What will our contribution be? To side with the USA as puppies of Obama or to stand tall and make the right calls independent of other countries interests time will tell I suppose.
But if Key starts chasing and killing for oil, Keys days will be numbered, I and the rest of the country will be kicking him to the kerb if we are grouped responsible for innocent deaths in the name of oil flow by a psychopathic liar.
Be aware Key, be very fucking aware.
PS…. 2017, if you don’t vote National we will lose the UN seat, wait for it folks wait for the media bias.
It’s a two year term
Yay we won but colour me cynical.
A good reason to check out The Herald every now and then … Dita De Boni on NZ’s independence.
Dita is right on the mark, on all points.
The bitter irony, NZ is being sold on what we used to be (fairness, egalitarianism, a fair go) before the same people now selling it off began destroying those very qualities. Similarly for our Independence.
Dita de Boni
A rare independent voice
.
Stuff: Little noses ahead (by Vernon Small)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10627075/Little-noses-ahead-in-Labour-race
What a load of rubbish. Vernon may very well be right. He has at least 25% chance of that. And Little is indeed a popular candidate.
But lets face it, this is just another example of lazy journalism. And we should pull the media up on these lazy stories, even if Little happens to be the candidate you are supporting. (Next time, there is as much chance that their lazy idle speculations will pick somebody you don’t support).
I want to see the evidence for Small’s assertions. It’s not written as an opinion: eg “I think Little has the greatest chance of winning” It’s stated that “Little noses ahead” Oh really? How exactly was this measured? By how many percentage points Vernon?
When you read Small’s article, I have a strong suspicion that Small has simply fished comments from the Standard. It’s a compliment to the Standard if that is true, but still not a process that I support, unless the source for what he says is specified.
Otherwise I could suggest, with the same level of accuracy: “Vernon Small produces worst political report for 17 October by 7.85%”
Journalism is dead in the MSM in this country.
Some journos are getting it right.
We have to remember that most journos don’t want to suicide their careers, and also that it is the editors and subs who come up with the actual headlines etc.
Yes, and this leads back to the issue over government policies that create joblessness. It makes people much more compliant when they know they will have difficulty replacing their job.
I really do view wealth disparity and joblessness as the biggest issues that need addressing – nothing else is able to change, or function heathily, until there is less concentration of power.
And this is the nub, isn’t it. Why would people who have the power and leverage today, allow that power to be distributed? They wouldn’t, of course. If anything, they want it further concentrated, into fewer and fewer hands: theirs.
This also speaks directly to issues of underemployment and low pay. Encouraging masses of working class and under class to be more engaged in society, and giving them adequate financial resources to do it with, goes right against the principle of concentrating power.
+1 I don’t suppose you saw that program on Prime about British Manor Houses last night?
It was rather a surprise because it didn’t solely focus on mansions, it went through a quick history of the state of Britain leading up to World War I, and, oh boy, were there very pointed comments about the effects of concentration of wealth.
Was a very good program. Well worth the watch.
Ahhh missed that one will have to keep an eye out for it.
I don’t even know if it is a series or not (tend to randomly switch on & watch stuff)- it was on after ‘Downton Abbey’
One thing I didn’t know was that the British Parliament, when trying to bring in policies to address the serious wealth disparity, kept being blocked by the House of Lords and that the King/Queen of the time ended up allowing them to be by-passed.
It is so interesting that those in privilege will actively block others’ from even semi-decent improvement in their conditions.
I view this is what is happening in NZ. There are many people that are comfortable and they are refusing to allow even small gains for those who are not comfortable.
I am so ashamed and disgusted by my fellow NZers at the moment.
One could even go so far as saying ‘I’m sorry for being a New Zealander’. 😉
Haha you so crack me up 😀
🙂
I view this is what is happening in NZ. There are many people that are comfortable and they are refusing to allow even small gains for those who are not comfortable.
I am so ashamed and disgusted by my fellow NZers at the moment.
if many more people got to own houses, what will happen to my rental property portfolio! no!!! i worked hard and i take responsibility for my hard earned wealth. those other people should take responsibility for their miserable state.
+1 Kiwiri Exactly [& yuck!]
@ melancholy large-cat..
i thought it was a ripper of a doco..
..one of those ones where you walk away with a more nuanced/complete view..the mark of a good doco..
..it told you more than multi-boxed sets of that soap that preceeded it ever could..
..and wasn’t that soap so fucken boring..?
..i reached the stage where i welcomed the fire..
..hoping it wd burn the whole turgid mess to the ground..
..alas..no..
lol!
Secrets of the Manor House
This one?
Yes, that looks like it! Wow it is on youtube – I recommend watching it!
At least Vernon signed it. Puts him streets ahead of the “anonymous editorial” crowd.
He includes this comment/ quote:
Parker said it would be a competitive race. ‘‘You can’t have a competition without competition, but that’s not to say that it has to be war without guns.’’
no one can possibly know who is ahead, except if they have polled caucus, and then they can ONLY claim to know how caucus will go.
exactly
New Zealand.
For sale.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11343693
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11343791
Oh great, NZers to become even worse off as international money flows even faster into NZ.
Conversely, the threat of capital flight gets strengthened in the face of any policy being proposed that does not privilege the speculators and super rich.
Kiwiri Raided 11.42
Good point. Easy in , easy out. GIGO.
Also open season on state housing
Probably not as bad as this lot …no?
“We can sell to anybody,” Mr English said
It’s what they do best.
Not “Working for NZ”. Rather, “Selling Out NZ” !
Are State houses not classified as assets?
Prior to the election Key categorically stated that there would be ‘no more asset sales’ in his third term.
Just another untruth ?
@ wyndham…
..yes..
..you can put that one on the shelf next to his pre-election promises not to take us into yet another long-war in the middle east..
Or his promise not to raise GST.
if we do last term..we will have to call in blip…
Note that in the US, investment banks and billion dollar hedge funds have already become slum lords, buying up masses of distressed and abandoned properties, turning themselves into a corporate landlord class.
Well Joseph Parkers boxing career has limitations .That is quite clear after his points decision against a short,old journeyman.Hate to see him against a real international pro.
And the scaremongering begins….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11343734
Now did NZ get the seat for being good a good little puppy, By just sitting there and getting it’s head patted by it’s master?
Oh, FFS, now ISIS has chemical weapons left over from Iraq that the US conveniently forgot to remove after not finding any?
+1 DTB The lunatics have well and truly taken over the asylum.
We should definitely head into Iraq again with the USA, this time they’ve got the Iraq plan properly sorted out. Rly.
(Unfortunately I think we’re going to be on the Security Council pushing a purely US agenda…I see McCully is already pushing for “reform” of the security council)
I see McCully is already pushing for “reform” of the security council
When I see McCully saying “reform”, we know that his idea of reform would be directly in contrast to ours and that the interests he would further would be quite opposite to what we would consider.
Reform has been a real problem for the UN for years.
The reform issue is a compounded problem because resolution has been stymied for decades
The initial problem was that the UN was not reflecting the changing world; neither the increasing diversity (due to increased membership) nor the changing powers. i.e it was set up when Russia and the US were the main powers, China is on the main body now, but places like India, Brazil or Japan are not. (Also places like Africa & Muslim countries?
The reforms require a profoundly thoughtful, principled and wide perspective and also an ability for those that are currently on the Security Council to be inclusive i.e. release their grip and share their power with the new powers.
I am not holding my breath that the type of intelligence that is required for resolution, will be provided by NZ’s actors because our government continually display a lapdog type attitude toward the US and show a distinct tendency to be sellouts.
In short, they are acting like mindless lunatics in their own country, so why should they be any different on the world stage. All that will be achieved is they will disgrace NZ on the world stage even more than they have already done.
I sincerely hope I am incorrect over this.
@ blue leopard
“Reform has been a real problem for the UN for years.”
The UN was the pet project of an American aristocrat president (Roosevelt) built on land donated by what was at the time the wealthiest family in the world (Rockefeller).
Its purpose was and always has been defensive: to protect and defend the interests of the wealthiest American imperialists. There will never be any “reforms” at the UN which do not serve their interests.
Did I correctly hear today that we are so lucky to get Security Council position as it will help us when we have Trade talks. Isn’t that slightly obscene using Security Council post to talk trade?
DTB
Duh??
Well Grant Robertson says this is a great thing, and we all know Grant Robertson wouldn’t lie.
Wow! My opinion of Grant has just skyrocketed . . . not.
Not really connected to intensive dairy farming contamination of water supplies but????
“He said investigating the outbreak was complex – the yersinia pathogen could spread from animal waste into water supplies, then into a vegetable growing area.”
I wonder where the quarantined paddock is in relation to water source?
Flogging off our state housing stock, falling dollar making our houses and land even more of a bargain for overseas speculators, cynically gaming the OIA, etc etc, t’would be enough to make one quite worried were it not for the prospect of a BRIGHT SHINEY NEW FLAG!!!!
and we get to have two flag referendums..(!)
..aren’t we spoilt for diversions..?
Looks like Cunnliffe’s calling it a day.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11343759
I’d say he’ll be gone sooner than later, if the right job emerges.
You get the feeling his heart really isn’t in it anymore, which isn’t really surprising.
“I’d say he’ll be gone sooner than later, if the right job emerges.
You get the feeling his heart really isn’t in it anymore, which isn’t really surprising.”
You get the feeling you just made shit up. There’s nothing in that article to support what you just said.
The odds of Parker leaving before DC would be far greater. I just heard Mike Williams labeling DP as his pick as the winner in the leadership contest. A certain kiss of death. Parker will be extremely lucky if he gets 3rd, even that looks remote from what I’m observing.
Well, this time, if someone like Parker ends up getting set up like Shearer, let’s hope Cunliffe doesn’t get scapegoated again.
The only setting up done to Parker is self inflicted. He is setting himself up to fail miserably and is totally delusional calling for a referendum on the raising of the retirement age. This guy is going to self distruct something shocking at the end of the hustings I kid you not.
bm doesnt actually read the links he posts. it happened only last week when he posted something to do with hager and then asked a question answered in his link. i think he is one of the unpaid tr**olls
or lowly paid 😉 (hence his sloppiness).
Nice sharp retort. This is why Labour members are going to miss Cunliffe at the helm.
clever…. needed more of that during the debates…
that is a keyesque retort, after 24 hours of practice
+1 listening to Robertson on Jackson’s show now. May call him to raise the deadwood issue. Skirting the issue and saying the new blood comes thru raising the party vote is true. However getting back to reality of today Grant ‘the party vote dropped.’ What we want to hear is there will be a clean out, no if no buts Grant.
Going by the poor attempt in his electorate and his party vote, the new blood coming through is more likely green.
My point is he won’t speak out because his support base within caucus is ‘mostly’ deadwood, therefore his campaign is not in the interest of the party but him self. If he believes running with Ardern is the answer it is not. She will roll him and the division continues pretty much spelling the demise of the party as being able to be relevant.
Not true in terms of clearing out the deadwood though, esp if the deadwood holds on to the higher list positions or hold on to safe electorate seats.
The Herald sure know how to spin stuff. The printed version has this headline on the front page:
“Cunliffe: I’ll never stand again”
Then the article contains this:
“While he intended to stay in Parliament this term, he was (sic) yet to decide whether to stand again in 2017.”
Yet to decide =/= never stand again.
So the headline is clearly wrong. It seems the MSM’s levels of comprehension leave a great deal to be desired.
There is nothing wrong with Cunliffe reviewing things. I would expect all MPs to review their position and decide if they are bringing something to politics and if not then they should consider alternative career options.
I don’t have access to the printed version but the on-line version referenced does quote him directly as saying “I am not intending to run for the leadership again.”
A headline really does have to be brief and the one you quote does seem to be accurate as far as the leadership goes, which is the primary news in the story.
To give a headline which tells the full story would mean one that was as long as the full story.
Would you really want a headline that said something like
“Cunliffe: At his point in time my intention is that I’ll never stand for the leadership of the Labour Party again, although I will remain in Parliament as an MP until at least 2017 when I may, or may not, stand as an MP again, depending on what I think of my prospects of being able to get a reasonably senior role in the shadow cabinet and whether any other options might be available”
That would be a reasonable summary of the story but a bit much to put in large type don’t you think?
“at this point in time”, lol
Oh hell. It was meant to be “at THIS point”
Although I guess that “HIS point in time” makes a certain amount of warped sense doesn’t it? DCs view of things always seemed a bit askew from most peoples.
That front page of today’s Herald is a shocker! Not the look of a newspaper to be taken seriously.
I thought it was quite clearly talking about Cunliffe’s intention to never stand for leader again.
They have the quote in the article that he’ll never stand again for leader, the headline is “I’ll never stand again”.
MS
In politics ‘never say never’. I suspect that David Cunliffe will be forced back again by popular demand probably after his successors make a mess of it and that he will eventually take over as Prime Minister from John Key.
Anything’s possible.
International fundraiser for Hager at $6,000 after a day.
https://freedom.press/bundle/nicky-hager-legal-defense
https://freedom.press/blog/2014/10/help-support-new-zealand-investigative-reporter-nicky-hagers-legal-defense-fund
Then there is this (from second link),
The Intercept reported today that for months before his house was raided, Hager had also been working with Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept, preparing to report stories based on the Snowden documents.
Hager doesn’t know if this contributed to the decision to raid his house, but the fact that the raid happened so shortly afterwards is disturbing to say the least. According to Hager, the New Zealand government has been nervous about the publication of New Zealand-related Snowden revelations and has made various moves, publicly and privately, to prepare for their eventual publication.
More on the raid, and Hager’s relationship with the Snowden crew – https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/16/nicky-hager-raid/
Great that those outside NZ can see the significance of the Hager raid. Even if the police find nothing about the “hacker”, the collateral damage to Nicky’s reputation and the loss of privacy over other research that he is doing, and the chilling effect on others who would wish to come forward in confidence, those are the worries.
Of course there will be no direct link from politicians to police but given the reluctance of the police to act on other complaints, you would wonder if Mr Key’s government would have any motive to “get” Nicky and send a warning to others.
There’s a worrying angle that the police (under whose orders?) were also scooping up info about Hager’s work on the Snowden documents.
Yes, and even if that’s not true, that it’s a coincidence, the fact remains that many people have now lost confidence in the government because of Dirty Politics and how they handled it (Key’s casualness esp).
edit, afaik the police don’t have the seized material. It got sealed and sent to the courts until the hearing to decide if the police can look at it. What I want to know now is if the police can use or share information not related to the warrant used to do the raid.
I think Nicky’s lawyer (Mr Price?) insisted that every item be sealed and labelled and receipted by the police. Good thinking pending the court challenge to the confiscation.
Of course losing all your tools and resources for the foreseeable future must be a curse.
So if that’s true, and the police didn’t look at anything during the search, then it makes the theory that the govt is fishing less likely. But it doesn’t lessen the probability that the govt knew of his connections with the Snowden team and were monkey wrenching.
Gov monkey wrenching, yes.
From that FirstLook link:
the ability of New Zealand police officers to cavalierly raid the home of a reporter who has criticized the government in power threatens to establish a dangerous precedent everywhere reporters operate.
(under whose orders?)
If we learned anything from the M.o.T. it is surely that the NZ gov provides an entry-point for the Spymaster powers that be. Glenn’s work would likely be so securely encrypted as to evade the usual metadata mop-ups on the net, which would necessitate a hands on approach to securing it, by those international surveillance chiefs. And, they took discs, documents, camera and “dozens of other items”. (Why anyone would believe for a millisecond that they were merely after “the hacker” – evades me.)
no direct link from politicians to police
It is similar to the KDC raid. Our overlords, the international spymasters, have long arms indeed. In a year of depressing news-events, this is one of the most sobering.
thanks for this weka
fbi is trying to stop new smartphones being encrypted
Today, Thursday 16 October 2014, WikiLeaks released a second updated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. The TPP is the world’s largest economic trade agreement that will, if it comes into force, encompass more than 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. The IP Chapter covers topics from pharmaceuticals, patent registrations and copyright issues to digital rights. Experts say it will affect freedom of information, civil liberties and access to medicines globally. The WikiLeaks release comes ahead of a Chief Negotiators’ meeting in Canberra on 19 October 2014, which is followed by what is meant to be a decisive Ministerial meeting in Sydney on 25–27 October.
https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip2/pressrelease/
“..Afroman’s Positive ‘Because I Got High’ Remix Should Be The New Stoner Anthem..
..Rapper Afroman has joined the fight to legalize marijuana –
– with a new iteration of the 2000 stoner anthem –
– ‘Because I Got High’..”
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/16/afroman-positive-because-i-got-high-remix_n_5995992.html
Phil was Mike Williams with you prior to going on the panel with Plunket this morning? I suspect he has been on the Bob Hope.
i think williams is too much of a miserablist to be a pothead…
..he does not seem to be one – who has ever had much of a grip on fun…
..(he puts the ‘lug’ in ‘lugubrious..)
..and he picked parker..?
..hilarious..!
..i have an (obvious) suggestion for his campaign-song..?
..some ditty about something being handed over in a heavy manner..?
..and/but on a serious note..
..labour need to get its’ head around shit like this..eh..?
“..Labour must redefine what it means to be modern – check Facebook for clues..
…All game-changing governments have presented a new vision of modernity.
The left should be ready..”
(cont..)
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/16/labour-modern-facebook-governments
now..i dunno how strong parker is on ‘visions of modernity’..eh..?
..but i don’t have a lot of faith..
I guess the last 6 years fronting the media every week defending Goff and then Shearer would have exhausted any sense of humour by the time Culiffe came and went. I can not see it returning being the butt of Robo’s jokes. With Mallard being mooted as assistant speaker of the house, perhaps he will get a few laughs when Mallard kicks Little out for dancing during readings.
williams always looks like he is waiting for something really really bad to happen..
..and it’s going to be soon..
rents will be going up soon in many parts of Auckland…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/10629716/New-CVs-for-Auckland-property
as john key indicated, it is an economy increasingly more attractive for rock stars
And who needs State Housing?
“Finance Minister Bill English says the proceeds from selling state houses are unlikely to be spent on new state houses and may go into the Consolidated Account.
“I mean, if we want less stock, there’s not much point in rebuilding stock with it.”
Asset sales by any other name?”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11344052
I don’t get this. Can someone explain to me the convoluted game involved?
It was damning and utterly, completely and totally bad that, once upon a long time ago, Cunliffe had picked a deputy.
But this weekend at his launch, Grant will have a “running mate”:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/can-jacinda-ardern-become-labour-s-youngest-ever-deputy-leader-6109910
?
Because Robertson knows his chances of winning the leadership contest on his own is about zero. So he’s rolling out Ardern to stand beside him in the hope her presence will attract more votes for him.
With Adern he should win, remember this is still the 2 groups within caucus fighting for the leadership and shadow cabinet positions. The result will be very tight, however Grant does fancy he has the edge. More caucus votes and a reasonable amount of second votes from the Afiliates. The membership vote he will benefit from the popularity of Ardern.
It effect the deadwood are sticking it to the membership by declaring their vote in advance. This makes a mockery of a leaders contest when one side is campaigning on 2 tickets. While Mahuta may want the deputy role, the DW can install Robertson, Parker, Adern or the likes of King, Goff, Shearer or who ever takes their fancy. Good for them the joke will be short lived. A licence for the membership to turn up with knives at conference.
Two things
1) Ardern is not particularly popular with the membership.
2) Grant demonstrated that he couldn’t count last year, and he still can’t count.
Interesting the media label Nanaia as a Cunliffe stand-in but never mention Robertson (and Jacinda) as part of the ABC gang, which they clearly are.
According to Grant Robertson (speaking to Willy Jackson on Radio Live) there is no such thing as the ABC Club. Srsly.
if the ‘deadwood’ win this one…
..they will set a new benchmark in winning-battle/losing-war..
..labour will slump to the high teens..(they are nearly there anyway..)
..and labour cd well enter the next election about equal with the greens..
..it is like watching a car-crash in slow-motion…
..the possible sidelining of a once great political party..
.i repeat..just more of the same-old/same-old from labour..
..will guarantee not only defeat in 2017..
..but also the possible death-throes of labour itself..
..how neo-liberalism ate labour…
also..i had a look back at the 2011 results for wellington central..
..the result was pretty much the same as this time..
..and my takeaway from that wd be how robertson must have put a lot of time/energy into fixing that obvious/glaring-problem between ’11 and ’14..
..and how well it worked…how successful he was at that task..eh..?
Their pretty much in death rattle mode. Myself and others are thinking of starting a party and would stand a better chance of getting over 5% than they do of winning in 2017.
can i suggest social democrats as a name..
..then you have the definitions of social democracy in other countries..
..that will be easy to reference/inform the public what you are about..
.it will be a branding shortcut..
Your correct with the name bang on actually however the old social credit party have that name covered. Social Democrats for Change I think they go by.
CPA-Communities Protecting Animals.
Designed to be a voice solely for animals. You can judge a society on how many pets are being mistreated, putdown etc. Trim up the Tory vote and sit on the cross benches. Something like that would be a go. Register the dog owner. Far too many Pitbull’s get the automatic death penalty if they end up at the SPCA, they won’t re house just put em down. There are enough humans that rightly don’t give a damn about politics but do about animals. So worth a crack. Of course any Bill that is going to impact on the welfare of poorer citizens pets gets rejected of course lol. There is a lawyers group that have formed to lobby and write legislation framework too. Hmm wonder is bent Bankie can be an advisor from jail?
If the leadership race goes the wrong way why don’t the true left labour people defect to the greens. . just a thought
many already have…and many will … for some it was Cunliffe as Leader or leave Labour and vote Green next time!..
…could explain the latest polls
I was meaning standing members up and jump wakas in to a existing party rather than start agian
i was thinking about flying the idea of an animal welfare party..
..(if the threshold dropped to 3%..but that ain’t gonna happen..)
..and i was trying to keep it non-ideological in other ways..
..but that cd be complicated..(as eventually questions like ‘who wd u support?’ come up..)
..but i was thinking that campaigning/exposing the horrors out there as the main focus wd work most of the time..
..and you still come back to that ‘who wd u support?’-question..
..and no..i couldn’t see a way thru that..
..other possible areas of dissension are the likes of me..vegan..
..and fighting for those reasons..
..and those who will care for some animals..
..yet/but happily eat others…
..it’s complicated..
..and yeah..you have to give banks his dues for his work/support of animal welfare issues..
..and of course all the dog-parks in ak are down to him..
..which is more of a heritage than many pollies can claim..
Yes I think it is a go afterall if the God Botherers can pull 4% the chances are it would get across the line. The threshold should be lower but the elite will defend 5% tooth and nail. A animal welfare party has the advantage of willing cashed up donators, and the ability to have committees and candidates in probably every electorate in NZ canvassing the party vote.
There buy splitting the left vote further . Key will love it
no waghorn..
..you just run a party vote..
..and of course the actions of the vivisectors are just screaming out to be exposed/publicised…
..(you wd probably get unanimity on that one..
..a quarter of a million animals a year..tortured and killed..
..it is a vile self-perpetuating industry of death..)
Would the greens not all ready be anti vivisection. There is already enough wasted vote
nah..!..the greens have animal-welfare up on that same dusty shelf in the corner as cannabis legalisation..
..so far down their list of priorities..
..to be not there at all..
Stand alone party and it would pull a cross section of votes but within out getting a polling survey done by some snake oil outfit like Hooton’s, I would say 60% of the centre upwards vote in reality. On the cross benches you have the ability to deal if it’s a tight margin. And of course cross party support on animal welfare is a populistic. Just look at the drug testing U turn that only Banks championed till the issue become main stream popular in an election year.
i agree about the potency of the messages..
..and as not using dogs to test legal highs show..
..the capacity for wide revulsion at what is done in our name..
..is there to be tapped..
..(especially what the fucken vivisectors do..)
and i agree..swearing to stay on the cross-benches..and to vote issue by issue..
…wd be the best way to go..
..were that to come about..
Grant Robertson is in Willie Jackson’s show on Radio Live.
He says there is no such thing as an ABC faction.
I turned off the radio in case he stated discussing the moon landing and Chem Trails.
lol. Ok, there’s not such thing as neoliberalism either. Or Deadwood. Or Rogernomes. It’s bad to call people names based on their actions.
(am I the only one whose mind keeps flicking to Swearengen, Bullock and co? Not that the Labour caucus is in that league)
Every time I ask for evidence of this ABC group I have yet to receive a credible answer. It may just be a figment of Whaleoil mischief making.
I was wondering about that, too, Ianmac, until I discovered this article which, among other things, contained the following:
Perhaps Labour need to get more litigious toward the media, (or at least make public statements about errors of fact), because as far as I know, there have been substantially more public complaints from Labour MPs about what is discussed here on The Standard than what Vance wrote in her article.
ianmac: the evidence of the ABC group is there for all to see, including Shearer’s recent orchestrated media campaign (5-6 separate media appearances/interviews) putting the knife between departing Leader David Cunliffe’s shoulder blades.
Shearer didn’t confidently step up and organise all this just on his lonesome, he was part of a group of MPs.
The interim leader calls these left blogs venomous with their nasty attacks. I assume she is referring to us lol.
When lies are preferred and truth considered poison, we know that the body politic must be cleaned out and renewed.
The Labour MPs have had more criticism of The Standard/Left wing blogs than they have of the volumes of bullshit the msm spun all year about Labour.
There is something very wrong with this equation.
Remember, they know that National supporters are not the real threat. But an active, outspoken and articulate left wing membership is.
An active, outspoken and articulate left wing membership is a real threat to right wing corporate policies, and not a threat to left wing principles or sound democracy, at all – in fact the above qualities strengthen left wing principles & democracy – so I can only conclude that the MPs in Labour and others, that are criticising the left wing blogs, have an agenda that is incompatible with left wing and democratic principles.
#JustThortI’dSpellitOut
Less ability to backscratch with leaks?
I’m beginning to be of the opinion that half of the bullshit the media spouted about Labour came from inside Labour.
Please, someone, give me some information that helps me rid myself of that awful opinion! 🙁
blue leopard, I suspect that half the bullshit about Labour and the supposed ABC lot came from the Right and created and fueled by Whaleoil. Certain journalist kept on repeating it but without anything better than “Party Insiders tell me” stuff. Where-ever it was sourced it did a great job of creating a massive loss of confidence in the Party.
Wonder if a Labour Review would test the existence of the ABCs?
You’re still looking for objective, empirical evidence when there is none. Your gut instinct will give you the answer required.
I hope Olwyn doesn’t mind, but I think her comment on yesterdays ‘Open Mike’ is appropriate for this discussion. I still don’t know how to link to a comment so here is a cut and paste:
(my bold).
In my response I gave her a relatively recent personal example which I believe bears out the point she is making.
When certain members of the caucus claim there is no ABC club then they are officially correct. There was/is no club of people called the “ABC Club” in Labour. But in practical terms it exists as a group of people consisting of Labour parliamentarians – and a coterie of supporters outside of parliament – who think pretty much as Olwyn has described in the section which I have highlighted.
@ Anne
Linking to and placing comment address. Try this – you call up the actual comment, you go to the writer’s name and date in blue and click on that so it shows up in the address line at the top of the screen.
Point and right click on that address and choose select, then point and right click again and press copy, transfer to where you want to place link.
That’s the dummies way (mine) but works. You might select this and copy and put it in your notes for when you need it.
Got it. I was clicking on to name and address and then trying to copy and paste. 🙁
Thanks greywarshark.
Yes, I just read the email through from Grant Robertson to labour members and it is similar. On the e-mail Robertson highlights that he will “listen to all New Zealanders”, well I suggest for starters he listen to New Zealanders talking about the out of control rabble who are the labour Party caucus. He along with the other contenders need to be clear how they are going to deal with the caucus issue…for him to deny there is an ABC faction: unbelievable.
BD, what was his actual wording, if you can remember?
Have a listen:
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Grant-Robertson-Im-never-going-to-apologise-for-being-who-I-am/tabid/506/articleID/57436/Default.aspx
It is 11 mins and 59 secs though.
Thank you muchly
I had to get up and grab a coffee, twice, to hear through to the end of the piece. All the best.
worth listening to to see/hear what a reactionary dickwad jackson is…
..(..’you people..’…f.f.s..!..)
..hard for robertson not to look good up against that..
..(and i only lasted ’till 3 min-something..)
From 10:00
Willie Jackson: “Were you the captain of the Anyone But Cunliffe Club?”
Grant Robertson: “There is no such club.”
Mmm, there is no such club just like there was no Cabinet Club.
Oh, towards the end of that clip – “massively talented guy” Kelvin Davis will be “given an appropriate role” if Grant is leader. Stuart Nash also will have important role to play.
‘nash’..?..f.f.s..!
..doesn’t that tell you all you need to know about neo-lib-grant..?
Mr Ure: your lamentations and questions are in vain. Grant Robertson is a very strong candidate with a very good change of winning the leadership challenge.
as i said below..i don’t really fucken care who wins this race to the bottom…
Well said PU. After a lifetime I can’t actually say I’m Labour anymore. Those boys and girls don’t give a fuck for anything but their ‘Careers’.
The first rule of ABC Club: there is no ABC Club
Second rule of ……
Kelvin Kelvin Kelvin……find a ladder……climb it……pull it up……not so far that look like Bennet. Gonna be PM one day. Hopes. Fuck the people. All about Kelvin. No respect. Sorry.
(need a laff..?..)
“..Guy Meets Bird – Bird Drops F-Bomb..
..This guy was sitting on a bench when a bird –
– described as a black crow –
– apparently decided to stop by and say –
– “hey” ‘fuck you’..”
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/16/bird-says-fuck-you_n_5998446.html
The latest Roy Morgan puts the Greens and Labour only 5 points apart:
September 29-October 12, 2014 Nat43.5 Lab22.5 Green17.5 NZF7 Maori2 Act0.5 UNF0.5 Con5 Mana1 Int^ Other0.5
Im surprised: That Labour actually got over 20%.
I doubt the GP is really that high.
Yes it probably isn’t (yet) – but psychologically if the Greens ever overtake Labour in an opinion poll then Labour really will be in trouble.
Once that barrier is breached people will begin to see the Greens not just as a “protest vote” (leaving aside the core Green vote which seems to be sitting at 10%) – it will then start to genuinely attract even more of the left. The next hammering blow would probably if the Unions start to de-affiliate (does such a word exist?). A killing blow would be if any Unions affiliate with the Greens.
It may take some time – but the risk is there.
Very good points.
But Lab+Green= 40% Almost a Govt but the Conservative nutters have a rather healthy looking 5%.
Labour have got a long way before they hit bottom. A smart Green Party would presume to assume the mantle “leader of the Opposition”.
The NZ public will continue to punish Labour’s apparent disunity – neither the broader public, nor the media, nor the caucus have the maturity to deal with primary runoffs. And there will be more of them before 2020.
The post-leadership vote caucus will know that anyone who wins will struggle to displace those fault lines of loyalty displayed in the leadership vote. There is no real secrecy to the vote. The factions, I believe, are permanent. This unintended consequence of the constitutional reforms will keep Labour in the 20’s.
It’s the trajectory of the NZ Liberal Party. The Labour Party risks ongoing decline and eventual split up.
on the money..no one will take any notice..unfortunately.
Appears the leader wasn’t the problem with the slight drop.
Exactly. If DC was the problem then the support would have risen.
Naomi Klein says climate activists need to get comfortable attacking capitalism
Disruption: A Call To Act On Climate Change
“When it comes to climate change, why do we do so little when we know so much?’
Through a relentless investigation to find the answer, Disruption takes an unflinching look at the devastating consequences of our inaction.
The exploration lays bare the terrifying science, the shattered political process, the unrelenting industry special interests and the civic stasis that have brought us to this social, moral and ecological crossroads.The film also takes us behind-the-scenes of the efforts to organize the largest climate rally in the history of the planet during the UN world climate summit.
This is the story of our unique moment in history. We are living through an age of tipping points and rapid social and planetary change. We’re the first generation to feel the impacts of climate disruption, and the last generation that can do something about it. The film enlarges the issue beyond climate impacts and makes a compelling call for bold action that is strong enough to tip the balance to build a clean energy future.”
Andrew Little’s AMA on NBR. I’ve got mixed feelings about him. Like DC, he won’t talk about welfare, but leaves us to read between the lines. Unfortunately they could be read either way.
some good questions asked.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/ask-andrew-little#comment-673014
that is because he has absolutely no plans to do anything at all for the poorest..
..that is why he/they won’t talk about it..
..and of course cunliffe confirmed this..with his refusal to answer poverty-questions..
..and then coming out with a policy to raise benefits by inflation-rates..(!)..(that’d be parker..again..eh..?..)
..and that was it..
..and that was why he wd not answer those poverty-questions..
..it is not much of a leap to surmise the same about little..
..about all of them really..
..(except mahuta..maybe..but she has no show..)
..labour 2017 will be offering what labour 2014 did..(probably less..)
..and that means for the poorest..s.f.a…
..it is just incrementalist shades of difference in neo-lib labour..
..some not quite as bad as others..
..but no real fucken difference..in real terms..
..which is why i have no skin in the game..
..i couldn’t really give a fuck who wins..
..because whoever wins..nothing will change…
Wekarawshark 5.56
If welfare is a dirty word, what hope for those relying on the left to return to a
reciprocal, interactive community-type of society?
I won’t find out what he says because a subscription is required and the NBR – National Business Review minimum for an individual is $130 for 6 months.
Damn, didn’t realise that they would paywall that, should have taken a cut and paste 🙁
@ wekawarshark
I’ve been hearing about these paywalls and hadn’t run into one just when I wanted to read about something. Ouch. It doesn’t do much for me, I wouldn’t get my moneysworth out of it and anyway I like to keep my money for the big bills I need to pay. NBR is a nice to have.
I find that there are so many requests for money from genuine organisations doing genuinely good things that I have to think twice about extra spending.
I’ll try and remember that they put the page up for free for a time (24hrs? Just that business day?). There’s a few here with NBR subs, but most won’t.
Crazy price.
People here keen to go to Robertson’s campaign launch – if they are in Auckland?
i might go and ask some awkward questions..
Politicians? Don’t encourage them..
No.
well no ones interested in boxing here then!Obviously this site is infected with pacifists,lesbians and wimps that have no time for the merits of manly pugilistic endeavour.They don’t know,dont care,-how far removed from the noble kiwi ideals of rugby,racing and beer has this pale imitation of kiwi heritage called the Labour Party travelled?;)
Boxing? UFC and MMA mate 😛
Parker looks a bit scrawny, good hand speed though.
how wd u know..?
Just basing my onions on my observations of current and previous heavyweights.
Parker needs a bit more muscle.
oh..i thought you were talking about his ‘hand-speed’…
He’s pretty fast with his punches, but I don’t think there’s enough behind them to make him champ.
you and bob jones shd get together..
..both being boxing-fans..as you are..
Oh such a fucked old expert on everything there BM. I bow. To your big mouth.
Revealed: The woman who triggered Shearer’s downfall
Friday Aug 23, 2013 by Claire Trevett, the New Zealand Herald’s deputy political editor
I’m putting this up given the recent statements/melt down by David Shearer in which he accused David Cunliffe of the GFC, the bombing of Hiroshima and the high price of coffee.
“But the Herald has learned MP Maryan Street was preparing a motion of no confidence in Mr Shearer for Tuesday’s meeting.
Plans were also being made to send a delegation to him before that to ask him to stand down rather than force the confidence vote.
The MPs involved were certain the motion would have succeeded if it had been required.
Ms Street would not comment yesterday, but it is understood she decided to front the motion because of growing concerns among MPs over Mr Shearer’s inability to fire as leader and his poor poll ratings.
A source said there had been discussions for months, but nobody was willing to force the issue until Ms Street stepped up.”
Read the whole story here.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11112967
“The resignation will trigger Labour’s new leadership selection rules for the first time, giving votes to party members and affiliated unions, as well as MPs.
Gallery The most likely contenders are David Cunliffe and Grant Robertson; both have said they will decide over the next few days whether to run.
Mr Cunliffe said Mr Shearer’s decision had come as a surprise and he did not know what had prompted him to believe he had lost the confidence of his caucus. “We respect he has come to a decision he believes is in the best interests of the Labour Party.”
Mr Robertson said he had been a loyal deputy to Mr Shearer, and had supported him throughout his 20 months as leader. “Everybody in the caucus, as everybody in the wider Labour Party, would like to see us doing better in the polls and David has obviously reflected on that. He made his own decision.”
Andrew Little would not rule out seeking the leadership, but because he is a first-term MP he may be wary of making the run before he is ready. Shane Jones is also unlikely to contest it because he believes he would not get the support. David Parker and Phil Goff both ruled it out.
Labour MPs yesterday said they were saddened by Mr Shearer’s decision, and described him as a man of integrity who had done his best. But none said he had made the wrong decision.”
I really should not go read the herald. Big story about the number of women on the DPB(now called something else) dropping and somehow we should thank Nact? Reprinted press release by the look of it. Do they have to be so uncritical?
Could it perhaps have something to do with the demographics of an aging population meaning fewer people in that age group?
Or possibly women(who are much more likely to be on the DPB) no longer attempting to look after the kids because its nearly impossible at the current levels of harassment.
And more boasting about fewer teen parents on benefits- no mention of whether the birthrate for this category has fallen or whether they are simply not receiving any money- which should be a huge concern for everyone.
TRANSITIONS FOR SOCIETY: JOB GUARANTEE AND BASIC INCOME
Happens I’m sort of watching The Graham Norton Show right now. TV3. 9.10 pm Thursday. Hugh Grant and two other very appealing guests.
Does this resonate with anyone ? Paul Henry, world famous in New Zealand apparently, is a MUCH less entertaining, MUCH less bright, MUCH more viperish, Graham Norton rip-off.
Yeah. And Henry’s what we’ve gotta be satisfied with. Yeah ? Really ?
Oh this is fucked, pretensious, Auckland New Zealand then. Snotty wee narcissist Henry. The self proclaimed Prince of the Media. Jeez-uz !
PS – Graham Norton has a considerable and oft-paraded distaste for Hoorah Henry David Cameron. Which is excellent.
Speed learning on today’s economics with Mark Blyth – The Austerity Delusion – in an attractive Scottish brogue.
And it’s condensed so there is more economics and wall charts than from your average lecturer in only 22 minutes. You will be surprised and amazed and you will almost understand what Treasury is thinking, and you may be able to replace one of those useless theories of a human being who if they were truly competitive and efficient, would have tenders for their jobs and therefore cost us half the salary burden.
And you will love him if you are a leftie. He was brought up in Dundee, Scotland by his grandmother and went to school there when schools still worked, and there were opportunities for work also in those days. And so welfare made this guy, plus mothering skills, and now he is an Ivy-league professor in the USA. That’s how the system was supposed to work with social mobility, he says, but now it doesn’t – it’s broken.
Do listen.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-16/no-time-find-cure-ebola-could-be-contained-faster-quicker-test