I think that a short video series could be made about The Standard, under a different name of course such as Mattenklopper (carpet beater – but sounds funkier). It would be a mixture of Red Dwarf and the Time & Space approach seen in S&S. There are certainly plenty of characters to include, could even add aspects of Douglas Adams.
… those were the days before the arrival of the 'pc plus' (plus for exaggerated preciousness) brigade. Sure, there was a lot wrong with society that needed to be corrected but, by and large, people could be themselves without fear of being called out for some imagined slight towards a person/persons on what imo are often spurious grounds.
A good photo of Bob Hawke when young with Sir Peter Abeles, of trucking firm TNT in Australia, an advisor and experienced businessman.
Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Abeles …led the devastation left by World War II, and moved to Australia. After doing small business by selling books and clothing,[2] he quickly befriended George Rockey, a fellow Hungarian immigrant. The pair bought two trucks, which they named “Samson” and “Delilah,” and set up a transport company, “Alltrans.” In 1967, Alltrans merged with Thomas Nationwide Transport, and the combined companies became TNT Ltd…
In 1979 Abeles entered into an agreement with media mogul Rupert Murdoch to take over Ansett Transport Industries. He served as chief executive and joint managing director from 1982 until 1992. In September 1992 he left TNT to concentrate his efforts on the ailing Ansett, but just two months later he stepped down from the airline as well.
In addition to his work for TNT and Ansett, Abeles served on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and was chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
Abeles was friends with Bob Hawke and during Hawke’s time as Prime Minister, Abeles was Hawke’s witness to the Kiribilli Agreement of 1988 in which he agreed to hand over the Prime Ministership to Paul Keating if and after Hawke had won the 1990 election.
This "good bloke" came to New Zealand in 1980 and expressed amusement at and contempt for our Saturday trading laws, which had not yet been "liberalized" like Australia's. That was an inkling that he was, despite being the head of ACTU, anything but a friend and ally of working people.
His cowardly and craven behaviour five years later, as Australian Prime Minister, after the Rainbow Warrior bombing, showed he was no friend of human rights protestors either.
Compare the wages of Australian and New Zealand workers, then tell us which political leaders have been their friends and allies over the last few decades. Tripartite bargaining initiated by Hawke is a huge part of that. He contributed far more than any armchair warrior.
It seems that every western political leader gets the privilege of having their history whitewashed and their legacy's rehabilitated, just look at Reagan, or more recently McCain…
honestly Morrissey, you are the most pedantic [person] on the internet.
are you saying Saturday trading shouldn’t be allowed? When do students work? After they’ve finished their studies each night?
Bob hawke oversaw the greatest advancement of workers rights and wage growth since the 50’s for the average worker in Australia. And all you can do is sniff about the fact he laughed at our fortress New Zealand antiquarian weekend trading laws.
I haven’t voted labour in a while. And I never will if you have anything to do with what labour should look like.
[deleted] oxygen thief. [deleted] All sensation and no substance
I also "sniffed" about his cowardice and depravity, viz. his failure to support New Zealand after the French state attacked us in 1985, and his support for U.S., British, French and Israeli nuclear terror.
Neochristian option looks better. Remember christians are born unhappy. Flagellation. Hair shirts. Original sin. Join Alfred & co!
So the best way to compete in the political arena is to morph the holier than thou traditional elitist stance into unhappier than thou. Winner gets to be closest to God, and unhappiest…
One of the greatest 'gifts' my parents gave me was to state that "we just want you to be happy." If satisfaction, endurance and being useful bring you happiness, then go for it.
The Stoics differentiated between 'good', 'bad', and 'indifferent' things. The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence.
Edit : #8 Amor Fati – Love Everything that Happens
😀 That is very bold. It would require taking on everything and accepting it with some resignation as ‘that’s life, you win some you lose some’ sort of thing. Which would take some gumption. I think there might be a good market for gumption if someone finds out how to bottle it.
As I have said before I don't normally recommend books as we all have our different tastes but I found this book a bit of a fun thing to read. "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck" by Mark Manson
"Since last Friday, Honduras has been rocked by growing strikes and demonstrations by teachers, health care workers, high-school and university students and their supporters against legislation that facilitates budget cuts, mass firings and the privatization of public education and the healthcare system.
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
Since the 2009 coup, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Honduran military budget has tripled, to a proportion of the GDP not seen since 1990. This doesn’t include hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from the Pentagon, which uses its military bases in Honduras as a launching platform for interventions across the region.
María Dilia Paz, a teacher demonstrating in Tegucigalpa on Monday, described her conditions to TeleSur, “We do everything we can to make ends meet. You know how the electrical service is, and if you are late one day they cut you off. Our children at times go with little food. They don’t get snacks because we don’t have any.”
The 65,000 teachers in the country get paid hourly wages at poverty levels—between $2.70 and $3.80 per hour of classes.
The think-tank on external debt Fosdeh has calculated that debt servicing will exceed 45 billion lempiras (US$1.85 billion) this year. This would amount to nearly a third of the total government budget.
The Finance Secretariat, calculates that business tax exemptions will amount to 37 billion lempiras ($1.5 billion) this year. Meanwhile, the average salary for the 132,000 workers making clothes, auto parts and other products at maquiladoras is $40 per week.
In other words, in the most unequal country of the Americas, billions are transferred each year from the wealth created by the working class to the financial and corporate elites through debt payments and tax exemptions, while more than 60 percent of the population lives in poverty."
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
I'm sure we'll see repeated screenings of the riot police on the TV News tonight, like they do for anything involving Venezuela. /sarc
Exactly right, it is of little wonder that there is so little buy in most main stream media, especially in respect to their international news, their selective narrative often ends up turning into straight out lies.
Poor kids are often trouble-makers. In "the 2017 Honduran general election … Hernández was declared the winner by a narrow margin (0.5%), after a reelection campaign widely criticized as fraudulent".
"In late 2012, 1540 persons were interviewed by ERIC in collaboration with the Jesuit university, as reported by Associated Press. This survey found that 60.3% believed the police were involved in crime, 44.9% had "no confidence" in the Supreme Court, and 72% thought there was electoral fraud in the primary elections of November 2012. Also, 56% expected the presidential, legislative and municipal elections of 2013 to be fraudulent." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras
So Honduras & Venezuela seem similar in respect of cursory incorporation of democratic processes – failure to make them operate in an authentic efficient manner.
I think it was an Oliver Stone movie, El Salvador, back in the eighties that made it all super-vivid. Those American nuns being raped & murdered by regime thugs (happened some years earlier in real life). But I read the Wikipedia page on Honduran politics earlier today and discovered the country has been run by two establishment parties since the 19th century. They even have proportional representation!
After apparent failures with the Conservatives, the new conservatives, the new new conservatives, the blue-greenish (not really) party, National are having another go at creating a puppet party to pretend they have friends
So, another 0.1% polling ACT party with a gifted seat (assuming the good people of Botany show their sheep mentality and vote as their corporate masters ask them)
And looks like Ngaro will resign from the National Party, National won't invoke the Waka Jumping bill, Ngaro will create his new party and then stand in Botany next year at the election.
Bob McCoskrie supports the new party, with such glowing praise as:
…they may need to hold their noses and vote for a candidate who they normally wouldn't vote for.
You know you are onto a winner, when someone who should be a very enthusiastic supporter describes you as one would a turd…
Good analysis & I agree Vernon Tava's enterprise can be reasonably described as blue-green (not really) since perceptions prevail over reality nowadays.
"Family First's Bob McCoskrie has shared a podium with Ngaro on a number of occasions, as recently as this week. He says there's definitely a gap in the choice facing the voter wanting to cast their ballot for a morally conservative party."
I guess they'll be considering inviting Israel Folau to cross the ditch. John Key would be keen to support anyone called Israel, so it'd just be a question of which electorate to stand him in. Epsom?
I reckon the moral conservative vote is a goer – but would it pass the 4% mark set by the last such option? Ngaro taking Botany does of course negate the necessity to achieve the MMP threshold. McCoskrie ought to stand with him to demonstrate that he's willing to put his money where is mouth is. Fundies in parliament would be a source of inanities that could make the Nat leader look good by comparison.
Israel the name, Ngaro says he is a Zionist; young Israel is good looking, brown, sporting hero, appears to have integrity and appeals to the Real Man phalanx, would appeal to the diatribe (literally )of eager-beaver Brian T and his followers, appear to be a voice for the poor brown cuzzies not being offered much by Labour Coalition and feeling disillusioned, that's if they had previous illusions anyway – yes there are possibilities there.
Yeah, ticks all the boxes, eh? Someone ought to ask him if he wants to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond (Jesus called himself a fisher of men).
Good fishing theme there. He might have to watch that he doesn't get filleted by those Gnats. And we should beware that there isn't an evolution to piranha biting into our body politic.
If someone is trying to make a decent point in an utterly ridiculous manner, is it still a decent point?
Yes, satellites are extremely vulnerable. If conflict does break out in space, Kessler Syndrome is a very real possibility that could make many of the most important orbits unusable.
It would be easy to launch a satellite-killer rocket to create massive clouds of debris, or launch an EMP nuke. Hell, North Korea is just one of many states that probably have the capability for both right now, even Rocket Lab has the launch capability but not the nuke. The time between launch and the shit seriously happening is mere minutes. Then there's all the opportunities for cybermalice against satellites.
Protection from all of that cannot come from military countermeasures against a launched rocket. It's simply not physically possible. It can only come from international agreement and co-operation. That is the reality that makes the idea of a "Space Force" for protecting satellites utterly ridiculous.
The Point In Time Count, organised by the Housing First Collective one night last September, spanned from Wellsford in the north, across to Waiheke Island and south to Waiuku.
Its findings show of the 800 people estimated to have been living without shelter that night, nearly 43 percent of were Māori, with a similar number of Māori living in temporary accommodation. Māori make up just 11 percent of Auckland's population.
I remember the closing of an Auckland caravan park because there were too many low income people who were taking drugs and involved in minor crime. Authorities have for too long not taken steps to ensure that the 'strugglers' have a place they can go to at night and be safe. Even if it was extremely simple but was a place where they would be safe, and they need to have their own room. Otherwise they can be attacked by their fellows while under the influence of whatever. It is too late for some of them to be restored to normality, but should be given consideration and experienced social workers able to keep an eye out for their conditions and opportunities.
Truly, the moment of clarity is when one searches for oneself only to find nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
I've just been looking at Simone de Beauvoir talk about philosophy. She would probably find that very meaningful?
Actually she was talking about man's purpose in the world and ended up sounding just like Ayn Rand as she said that his purpose is to find his purpose and make his life. Or I think she said that.
Oz election tomorrow not looking good for ScoMo: "As for the polling, the Liberal/National coalition that governs Australia has been behind in pretty much every two-party poll against the Labor opposition throughout his tenure. You might recall, falling behind Labor in repeated polls was why the Liberals got rid of the last guy too. Among the minor parties, the Greens are looking at around a 10% share, and One Nation around 5%, under two variations of a single transferable vote system. That could get either the few seats needed to chip a coalition partner over the line." https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-05-2019/will-it-be-scomo-or-shorten-what-to-watch-for-in-tomorrows-aussie-election/
"The racism in this election campaign has been more muted. Sydney Uni professor Mary Crock told RNZ that it might actually be that the Christchurch attacks have led to the wildly xenophobic rhetoric being toned down."
"Strangely for Australia, climate change and the environment has emerged as a major issue for many voters. Of course, parts of the country are in the grip of the worst droughts in living memory, the boiling hot bits of the country are getting even hotter, there are crazy floods, wildfires, big cyclones, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, and all the rest of it. But still, it’s unusual for Australia to actually notice that the land is trying to kill them – they’re just so used to it."
"And another climate change denying former PM, Tony Abbott, is facing defeat in his previously safe seat of Waringah. He might lose to a former Olympic skier called Zali Steggall, who is running as an independent largely on environmental issues."
You were saying about forestry interests wiping out normal farming and the communities that exist rurally. I thought of you this morning when the interview was about that. Did you hear it?
Nz farmers can not compete against foreign buyers buying up our farm land so they can keep polluting. The irony is ove heard farmers are not allowed to plant their own trees on their own land to offset their emmisions.
Tell me more bw. What prevents them – is it Council rles, regional economic agency rules, is it no tax exemptions for land not profitable? I don't understand.
Good work these two. Great to see intelligent and socially minded farmers doing their bit and leading the way for their less caring and smart brethren.
Farmers need to avoid ego and arrogance if they want to keep their social licence to operate as they come under increased pressure to reduce their environmental impact.
Dealing with that impact was hurting the industry, award-winning farmer Adrian Ball told dairy farmers at Waikato Federated Farmers' dairy section annual meeting.
"It's us letting ourselves down. It's almost a little bit of a touch of arrogance – if we own the land, we have the right to do it – we don't."
Adrian and wife Pauline run Dennley Farms near Tīrau and were supreme winners of this year's Waikato Farm Environment Awards. He outlined how they had transformed their farm business from a highly intensive dairy operation to a dairy, beef and finishing farm over the past 16 years.
Yes good, from what you say mm widening out in the business they know about. Still with cows, but in a more sustainable manner. And they say they were highly intensive dairying so hope that is in the past for their dairying now. Come back to a system where the cows are cared for animals not just money on hooves.
Any excuse for USA to meddle in other country's affairs. Shades of having to invade because of the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction. What are they trying to protect though – their own country is going to rack and ruin. Way to go world!
And that saying about the old grey men being generals sending the young ones off to be injured and die to further the schemes for advantage of the old.
as many as they can sign up and if that does not work anymore they call the draft.
simple as that.
And chances are they have no issue going there. In saying that Senator Cotton of Arkansas – in my opinion someone who is very dangerous/smart/outwardly evangelic religious creep who might have a chance at the golden throne when the orange turd gets dispatched by the republican party (they will only keep him for as long as he serves their purpose) – said that it would need only two strikes, the first one and the last one.
Nukes, overwhelming air power, and every time someone says peep drop some more bombs.
no soldiers needed. none what so ever cause the bombs can be directed with a joy stick from anywhere.
He served in Iraq, he is a senator. He is not smoking, and he is deadly serious.
this is the thing with the current administration, everyone only focuses on teh orange shitshow, they do not focus on the men the orange fuckwit has surround himself with, the members of the senate that will sign any thing so as long as it serves them and 'owns' the libs and they have wanted to go to war with iran since Ayatolla Khomeni overthrew Mohammad Reza Sha Pahlavi and send him packing into exile. I watched that stuff go down life on TV, it was riveting.
And honestly they will drop a few bombs, and may i remind you that the only country to ever have used nukes is the US, and the orange turd asked why the US does not use them darn nukes. Also oil. Also elections. Also the tiny mushroom shaped penis needs something to feel big.
Yes i know who this muppet is, he is dreaming if airpower alone can win a land warfare and it can't no matter what you throw at it including a few cans of instant sunshrine then no one really wins unless you are into grow in the dark glass.
When I was still in the RAAF i did 3 papers at the RAAF Airpower Centre and where i upset a few silver spoons/Kunckle Heads/ knob jockeys who think like this clown that Land Base Airpower alone can win a war at Sea or on the Land and it can't as you still need boots on the ground or ships on the sea to exploit the opening that either Land or Sea based Airpower has achive. In other words Airpower is enabler which allows both Land and Sea power the room for freedom of maneuver to get on with the job.
Yes the Yanks have been waiting a long time to have a crack at Iran after what old mate did to their mate and especially the storming of the embassy and, what happen during their cock up with Op Eagle Claw.
I think "shit show" is going to an under statement by a country mile. No sure if you have seen my comments on this?
If you want a betting tip? start buying Oil Futures and Gold etc as i think the return is going to a awful lot better than the Stockmarket and also watch the rate of inflation go up with the price of oil (remember the two oil shocks). Remember what Winnie said during the last election about a possible down turn in the global economy next's term of government? Well looks like he was on the money.
they could not win korea, vietnam, iraq and they will not win iran.
but they can wreak havoc, poison this planet, upset 1.5 billion muslims and fling all shit all over the planet and mike live misery for a few billion here and there. .
I am not the betting kind, and i am not an investor. I am lucky to have few wants, not many needs and had a good life so won't be missing much when the shitshow starts.
Peer to Peer they will shitted it in, but if the side hits the US weak points aka body bag count etc and goes to ground then we well see a rerun of Nam, Iraq and the Gan because they can't fight a COIN type of warfare and they really still haven't fully understood it either from top down. As they only know how to fight a Peer to Peer war and the way that dump takes advice they won't have a hope in hell. I think Phase 1 and possibly Phase 2 of the conflict would go according to plan, but after they have kick the door in then would get rather interesting to see if they have learnt anything IRT COIN warfare from Iraq and the Gan.
As Von Moltke the elder once said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" or in lay mans terms "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" and this less known one "Strategy is a system of expedients"
If they can't clear the house, but only clear a few rooms or only a few floors then they are screwed and god only knows what that means for the rest of us long term?
I'm sorry for throwing my betting tips (my black humor coming out hence why i'm back in PTSD ward again here in Sydney) in for a giggle when the RWNJ types start complaining about inflation and the cost of fuel etc.
I just hope the team can get the troops out of the MER including the UN members quickly if the shit hits the fan and say the training team mandate ends on the 30th of June. The sooner the better the Aus and NZ troops are out of that shit hole the better.
Yes, we are now living in interesting times and you are right about the muslims, they are going to go off like runaway .50cal HMG or like chain reaction in a nuclear weapon system going off aka the gift that keeps on giving as we called it on the CBRND Recon cse which i did about 10yrs ago.
Whatever he's been smoking has gone to his head or destroyed a few more brain cells that's if he any from the start with.
Anyway someone needs to tell this muppet (he actually reminds me of one the muppets) he is dreaming if all thinks that he just needs 120k troops to knock off Iran! He's going to need about 5x that number as kicking in the door is one thing, but holding on to the house is another thing.
Remember the Iraq war folks when the Yankie coalition invaded Iraq with too few troops during the invasion and during post invasion?
If this attack/ invasion into Iran does go ahead, its going to make Iraq and the Gan like a walk in the park. Remember the last time some joker decided to invade Iran and look what happen to him or poor old Jimmy after Op Eagle Claw.
This is a stunning turnaround, with an increase of almost 2000 on the last census, and we believe our method of calculation is one that could be spread out right across the country.
We have based our calculations on scientific analysis of volumetric data obtained via our sewerage plants, and extrapolated our pile of information to come up with an incredibly accurate and definitive population assumption.
Although the methodology described would actually be workable, if one could factor in changing gastroenteritis levels or increased fibre in the average diet.
"In a stern statement, the bank's board, headed by former prime minister Sir John Key, comes under fire for attesting to something which was not correct. "
ANZ called the issue a "mistake", and expressed disappointment.
"Once the mistake was discovered, ANZ New Zealand promptly escalated the matter to its board and reported the issue to the Reserve Bank," ANZ said in a written statement.
Financial regulators are as much part of the industry as the financial institutions themselves…
Auditors and consultancies who operate in a compliance function are also part of the industry. They are paid by the banks to perform compliance functions…
Was that the interview I heard which was a normal interview until the interviewer asked some questions to which Sepuloni said that that wasn't what she had come on to be interviewed about or had not agreed to be interviewed about?
The interviewer persisted and persisted while Sepuloni peripherally answered some bits and repeated saying it wasn't what she was there to answer questions on.
Sepuloni didn't come across as arrogant and evasive. She came across as naive. She should have repeatedly said she wasn't answering any question at all about the matter.
The interviewer was rude and arrogant. Ministers must be accountable but having protocols and working out what's reasonable and what's just smart-arse opportunism is obviously beyond you.
When the interviewer repeatedly asked what said she said she wouldn't talk to, Sepuloni should have either hung up or told the interviewer to fuck off. Then you would have been on here bitching about her being arrogant and evasive and calling for her to be sacked.
I agree with your opinion of Lisa Owen, the interviewer. I have scant respect for her. However, substandard journalists are a fact of life, and a competent politician has to be able to interact with them without making herself look incompetent—or, as you rightly put it in this case, naive.
I thought her refusal to answer the questions of the importuning Owen did make Sepuloni look both arrogant and evasive; she lacked the panache to put Owen in her place with authority.
Thinking about the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Young People, Teenagers and their Families -Oranga Tamariki. Why does it have a Maori name? Is it supposed to seem friendly and culturally understanding to Maori? Why isn't it just a Ministry for Children as all are vulnerable when young? Is it meant to convey that parents and children do not receive any support unless they are classified as vulnerable? And why is that they are behaving in such a frightening way to Maori? If government want to provide a wrap-around service to help those who need it, then if they do their job properly, there would be no taking of babies away from mothers.
The Chief Executive, Grainne Moss is Irish-born, UK, New Zealand. She was a champion swimmer. Fits my bias against sports people in areas where an understanding is required of the needs of large numbers of people who will be affected by executive decisions.
Mrs Moss will become the acting Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki from 5 September 2016, initially part-time then full-time from 10 October 2016. She will then become Chief Executive for a five year term once the Ministry is formally established on 1 April 2017.
Mrs Moss doesn't seem to have trained or worked with children and is not from our culture. She has had a father who was a prison Governor. She has had the generic business background to manage a large department. But there is a need to actually have an interest and knowledge of social work and how to work with young people from impoverished backgrounds.
I hope her Catholic upbringing in Ireland will not lead to seeking the efficiency that was found suitable for those not proving acceptable to society who worked at the Magdalena laundries system which operated in the Irish social system right up till 1996.
An authoritarian background, on the austere side perhaps. 3. What did your parents teach you?
A very strong work ethic. Mum was head of a Catholic nursing home where I worked from age 16. She worked me pretty hard and showed no favouritism.
My father was governor of a prison with lots of IRA prisoners. As a Catholic working for the government, he had high security. At one point he had a bomb-alarmed car and bulletproof vest. But he had a reputation for very fair adjudicating. It didn't matter if you were a Catholic or a Protestant prisoner, you'd get exactly the same treatment for the same behaviour. I grew up in Ireland very conscious of people's religion. What's fascinating in New Zealand is I don't have that thought.
NZs would rather employ someone from overseas with generic qualifications than a trained NZr.? 4. How did you wind up working in forestry in Tokoroa?
New Zealanders are much more interested in your transferable skills than in the UK. I'd put my CV out and a bank offered me a job. I'd never worked in a bank but they said: "You've managed teams, budgets, significant projects and you've got a track record of delivery. That's 90 per cent of the job, the other 10 per cent you'll pick up." My eyes were completely opened. I'd always worked in health and never realised working in a different sector was possible. I wanted to develop my commercial skills so I went to Carter Holt Harvey.
Smart and firm, and good with systems and people management and logs.
6. By the age of 32 you were head of forestry operations for the central North Island. What was your toughest challenge?
The relationship between the Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill and forestry had been completely toxic for years, with both parties trying to get one over the other. So for about six months they were absolutely horrible to me. They sent me nasty emails and called me names. I was a monkey and they wanted to talk to the organ grinder. I'd go to meetings and there would be 15 of them and one of me but I just kept turning up and being nice. It's hard to fight someone who doesn't want to fight back, so eventually they had to change their behaviour.
Interesting. How the people with money work hard, and get their creds.
7. You then went to Switzerland to do an MBA with honours. Was it worthwhile?
It cost me $100,000 but it was worth every penny. It helped my confidence to be benchmarked with the best in the world. It's disappointing that I needed that, but I think subconsciously I did. Interestingly, there weren't many women on the course but they never put less than three women in a group. Research shows that if you have one woman in a group she becomes the princess, two women will collaborate or compete with each other, whereas three will result in normal group dynamics.
The mother of four runs Bupa (aged care homes till 2015) the country's largest aged-care home provider….
Sort of a rhetorical question. The government likes to think of Maori as being the big problem in NZ and pakeha and others being occasional problems. Of course they are bigger than their proportion of the popn.
Acc is not the same organisation it used to be it no longer put the people need first it puts it ballance.
The Australian elections was lost by Labour they were looking like winning for months and all ready counted his chicken not good.
The $320 million to combat domestic violence is a great start to fixing all the tamariki lives fixed. Poverty of THESE people is the driver behind domestic violence that's it but this is another ambulance at the bottom of the hill.???????? scenario.
Shane just because you are winning in this system what about the 80 %, of your whanau struggling is this system providing a good life for them its OKs you can put on your big hakari.
I watched all the Game of Thrones series its a Awsome movie series.
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Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Good morning all. Apologies for the delayed OM. Something went technically wrong, it appears.
From the looks of the URL, I'd guess some sort of rupture in the space-time continuum.
Did you ever watch Sapphire and Steel Andre?
I think that a short video series could be made about The Standard, under a different name of course such as Mattenklopper (carpet beater – but sounds funkier). It would be a mixture of Red Dwarf and the Time & Space approach seen in S&S. There are certainly plenty of characters to include, could even add aspects of Douglas Adams.
Just some scar tissue …
RIP Bob Hawke …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5mBShX9fdU
Best Labor and labour leader in Australasia.
A true country-transforming giant.
And also looked like he had a great time doing it.
we just don’t see politicians of his calibre any more. A true legend deserving of respect, whether you would of voted for him or not
… those were the days before the arrival of the 'pc plus' (plus for exaggerated preciousness) brigade. Sure, there was a lot wrong with society that needed to be corrected but, by and large, people could be themselves without fear of being called out for some imagined slight towards a person/persons on what imo are often spurious grounds.
https://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/news-photo/bob-hawke-president-of-the-actu-left-with-sir-peter-abels-news-photo/539999813
(AUSTRALIA OUT) Bob Hawke, President of the ACTU, left, with Sir Peter Abels, of Thomas National Transport, 26 August 1972.
A good photo of Bob Hawke when young with Sir Peter Abeles, of trucking firm TNT in Australia, an advisor and experienced businessman.
Edit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Abeles
…led the devastation left by World War II, and moved to Australia. After doing small business by selling books and clothing,[2] he quickly befriended George Rockey, a fellow Hungarian immigrant. The pair bought two trucks, which they named “Samson” and “Delilah,” and set up a transport company, “Alltrans.” In 1967, Alltrans merged with Thomas Nationwide Transport, and the combined companies became TNT Ltd…
In 1979 Abeles entered into an agreement with media mogul Rupert Murdoch to take over Ansett Transport Industries. He served as chief executive and joint managing director from 1982 until 1992. In September 1992 he left TNT to concentrate his efforts on the ailing Ansett, but just two months later he stepped down from the airline as well.
In addition to his work for TNT and Ansett, Abeles served on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and was chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
Abeles was friends with Bob Hawke and during Hawke’s time as Prime Minister, Abeles was Hawke’s witness to the Kiribilli Agreement of 1988 in which he agreed to hand over the Prime Ministership to Paul Keating if and after Hawke had won the 1990 election.
This "good bloke" came to New Zealand in 1980 and expressed amusement at and contempt for our Saturday trading laws, which had not yet been "liberalized" like Australia's. That was an inkling that he was, despite being the head of ACTU, anything but a friend and ally of working people.
His cowardly and craven behaviour five years later, as Australian Prime Minister, after the Rainbow Warrior bombing, showed he was no friend of human rights protestors either.
Compare the wages of Australian and New Zealand workers, then tell us which political leaders have been their friends and allies over the last few decades. Tripartite bargaining initiated by Hawke is a huge part of that. He contributed far more than any armchair warrior.
What did you think of his support for U.S., French, Israeli and British nuclear weapons?
That they had no effect on workers' wages.
It seems that every western political leader gets the privilege of having their history whitewashed and their legacy's rehabilitated, just look at Reagan, or more recently McCain…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPf3ekPAwgU
I also believe that the start of Sunday trading was the single worst loss of workers rights in NZ IMO.
honestly Morrissey, you are the most pedantic [person] on the internet.
are you saying Saturday trading shouldn’t be allowed? When do students work? After they’ve finished their studies each night?
Bob hawke oversaw the greatest advancement of workers rights and wage growth since the 50’s for the average worker in Australia. And all you can do is sniff about the fact he laughed at our fortress New Zealand antiquarian weekend trading laws.
I haven’t voted labour in a while. And I never will if you have anything to do with what labour should look like.
[deleted] oxygen thief. [deleted] All sensation and no substance
I also "sniffed" about his cowardice and depravity, viz. his failure to support New Zealand after the French state attacked us in 1985, and his support for U.S., British, French and Israeli nuclear terror.
"Sometimes I use a heuristic rule for some of the research that the material standard of living is only about 10 percent of what makes us happy."
https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/what-do-we-mean-by-wellbeing
That's because happiness is totally overrated.
?
For the life of me, I can't understand what you mean, Ad.
I rate happiness highly. Am I overrating it?
its a societal construct that you need to free yourself from Robert.
Strive for unhappiness?
How might one do such a thing, Tuppence?
Perhaps I need to join the National Party?
Or if that's not enough, sign on to ACT?
Neochristian option looks better. Remember christians are born unhappy. Flagellation. Hair shirts. Original sin. Join Alfred & co!
So the best way to compete in the political arena is to morph the holier than thou traditional elitist stance into unhappier than thou. Winner gets to be closest to God, and unhappiest…
linking happiness to a political party? If that’s happiness just don’t vote
You are.
Endurance and satisfaction are far more useful in life.
Neither necessarily entail happiness.
One of the greatest 'gifts' my parents gave me was to state that "we just want you to be happy." If satisfaction, endurance and being useful bring you happiness, then go for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on2H8Qt5fgA
Perhaps stoicism will take us into the future.
The Stoics differentiated between 'good', 'bad', and 'indifferent' things. The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline. The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence.
I like the ten principles. Ayn Rand can go suck.
https://www.njlifehacks.com/what-is-stoicism-overview-definition-10-stoic-principles/
Edit : #8 Amor Fati – Love Everything that Happens
😀 That is very bold. It would require taking on everything and accepting it with some resignation as ‘that’s life, you win some you lose some’ sort of thing. Which would take some gumption. I think there might be a good market for gumption if someone finds out how to bottle it.
Being happy – wouldn't it be nice if everyone could be happy. But happiness is a daft wish. As Ad says being satisfied is so much more satisfying.
Doris Day has just died. She sang this beautifully.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ifejRMVvg
Agreed, it would indeed be very nice if everyone could be happy.
Knowing that my daft parents wished me happiness was pretty magical – mind you, they might just have been saying that!
"That's because happiness is totally overrated."
As I have said before I don't normally recommend books as we all have our different tastes but I found this book a bit of a fun thing to read. "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck" by Mark Manson
"Since last Friday, Honduras has been rocked by growing strikes and demonstrations by teachers, health care workers, high-school and university students and their supporters against legislation that facilitates budget cuts, mass firings and the privatization of public education and the healthcare system.
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
Since the 2009 coup, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Honduran military budget has tripled, to a proportion of the GDP not seen since 1990. This doesn’t include hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from the Pentagon, which uses its military bases in Honduras as a launching platform for interventions across the region.
María Dilia Paz, a teacher demonstrating in Tegucigalpa on Monday, described her conditions to TeleSur, “We do everything we can to make ends meet. You know how the electrical service is, and if you are late one day they cut you off. Our children at times go with little food. They don’t get snacks because we don’t have any.”
The 65,000 teachers in the country get paid hourly wages at poverty levels—between $2.70 and $3.80 per hour of classes.
The think-tank on external debt Fosdeh has calculated that debt servicing will exceed 45 billion lempiras (US$1.85 billion) this year. This would amount to nearly a third of the total government budget.
The Finance Secretariat, calculates that business tax exemptions will amount to 37 billion lempiras ($1.5 billion) this year. Meanwhile, the average salary for the 132,000 workers making clothes, auto parts and other products at maquiladoras is $40 per week.
In other words, in the most unequal country of the Americas, billions are transferred each year from the wealth created by the working class to the financial and corporate elites through debt payments and tax exemptions, while more than 60 percent of the population lives in poverty."
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/02/hond-m02.html?fbclid=IwAR2zCKf2VDIJcR09lrNVc3du5In0CEpfdQjg4bX6XdbWQT3nXEn_omDYV-0
The government of Juan Orlando Hernández (known as JOH) —a continuation of the regime installed by a US-backed coup in 2009— mobilized riot police to repress protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and beatings.
I'm sure we'll see repeated screenings of the riot police on the TV News tonight, like they do for anything involving Venezuela. /sarc
Exactly right, it is of little wonder that there is so little buy in most main stream media, especially in respect to their international news, their selective narrative often ends up turning into straight out lies.
The president was born "the fifteenth of seventeen children". "He gained notoriety in Honduras when Liberal leader Rafael Pineda Ponce described him as a "cipote malcriado" (poorly raised kid)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Orlando_Hern%C3%A1ndez
Poor kids are often trouble-makers. In "the 2017 Honduran general election … Hernández was declared the winner by a narrow margin (0.5%), after a reelection campaign widely criticized as fraudulent".
"In late 2012, 1540 persons were interviewed by ERIC in collaboration with the Jesuit university, as reported by Associated Press. This survey found that 60.3% believed the police were involved in crime, 44.9% had "no confidence" in the Supreme Court, and 72% thought there was electoral fraud in the primary elections of November 2012. Also, 56% expected the presidential, legislative and municipal elections of 2013 to be fraudulent." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras
So Honduras & Venezuela seem similar in respect of cursory incorporation of democratic processes – failure to make them operate in an authentic efficient manner.
Wondered how long it would take for the "Oh. But Venezuela! " to rear it's head.
Many right wing States around there, which are true totalitarian Dictatorships, and failing, but the media ignores them.
I think it was an Oliver Stone movie, El Salvador, back in the eighties that made it all super-vivid. Those American nuns being raped & murdered by regime thugs (happened some years earlier in real life). But I read the Wikipedia page on Honduran politics earlier today and discovered the country has been run by two establishment parties since the 19th century. They even have proportional representation!
After apparent failures with the Conservatives, the new conservatives, the new new conservatives, the blue-greenish (not really) party, National are having another go at creating a puppet party to pretend they have friends
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12231733
So, another 0.1% polling ACT party with a gifted seat (assuming the good people of Botany show their sheep mentality and vote as their corporate masters ask them)
And looks like Ngaro will resign from the National Party, National won't invoke the Waka Jumping bill, Ngaro will create his new party and then stand in Botany next year at the election.
Bob McCoskrie supports the new party, with such glowing praise as:
You know you are onto a winner, when someone who should be a very enthusiastic supporter describes you as one would a turd…
Good analysis & I agree Vernon Tava's enterprise can be reasonably described as blue-green (not really) since perceptions prevail over reality nowadays.
"Family First's Bob McCoskrie has shared a podium with Ngaro on a number of occasions, as recently as this week. He says there's definitely a gap in the choice facing the voter wanting to cast their ballot for a morally conservative party."
I guess they'll be considering inviting Israel Folau to cross the ditch. John Key would be keen to support anyone called Israel, so it'd just be a question of which electorate to stand him in. Epsom?
I reckon the moral conservative vote is a goer – but would it pass the 4% mark set by the last such option? Ngaro taking Botany does of course negate the necessity to achieve the MMP threshold. McCoskrie ought to stand with him to demonstrate that he's willing to put his money where is mouth is. Fundies in parliament would be a source of inanities that could make the Nat leader look good by comparison.
Israel the name, Ngaro says he is a Zionist; young Israel is good looking, brown, sporting hero, appears to have integrity and appeals to the Real Man phalanx, would appeal to the diatribe (literally )of eager-beaver Brian T and his followers, appear to be a voice for the poor brown cuzzies not being offered much by Labour Coalition and feeling disillusioned, that's if they had previous illusions anyway – yes there are possibilities there.
Yeah, ticks all the boxes, eh? Someone ought to ask him if he wants to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond (Jesus called himself a fisher of men).
Good fishing theme there. He might have to watch that he doesn't get filleted by those Gnats. And we should beware that there isn't an evolution to piranha biting into our body politic.
Space pirates!
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-space-pirates_n_5cdcfddfe4b0b4728ba30c72
Yes, this guy really was the GOP's runner-up in 2016.
Cruz was actually trying to make a decent point. Conflict in space is a real possibility, especially considering how vulnerable satellites are.
If someone is trying to make a decent point in an utterly ridiculous manner, is it still a decent point?
Yes, satellites are extremely vulnerable. If conflict does break out in space, Kessler Syndrome is a very real possibility that could make many of the most important orbits unusable.
It would be easy to launch a satellite-killer rocket to create massive clouds of debris, or launch an EMP nuke. Hell, North Korea is just one of many states that probably have the capability for both right now, even Rocket Lab has the launch capability but not the nuke. The time between launch and the shit seriously happening is mere minutes. Then there's all the opportunities for cybermalice against satellites.
Protection from all of that cannot come from military countermeasures against a launched rocket. It's simply not physically possible. It can only come from international agreement and co-operation. That is the reality that makes the idea of a "Space Force" for protecting satellites utterly ridiculous.
Here's a piece that gets into the topic in some detail. (big pdf)
https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jan/16/2002080386/-1/-1/1/190115-F-NV711-0002.PDF
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/389336/maori-make-up-more-than-over-40-percent-of-auckland-homeless-report
The Point In Time Count, organised by the Housing First Collective one night last September, spanned from Wellsford in the north, across to Waiheke Island and south to Waiuku.
Its findings show of the 800 people estimated to have been living without shelter that night, nearly 43 percent of were Māori, with a similar number of Māori living in temporary accommodation. Māori make up just 11 percent of Auckland's population.
I remember the closing of an Auckland caravan park because there were too many low income people who were taking drugs and involved in minor crime. Authorities have for too long not taken steps to ensure that the 'strugglers' have a place they can go to at night and be safe. Even if it was extremely simple but was a place where they would be safe, and they need to have their own room. Otherwise they can be attacked by their fellows while under the influence of whatever. It is too late for some of them to be restored to normality, but should be given consideration and experienced social workers able to keep an eye out for their conditions and opportunities.
Why Many Venezuelans Are Still Chavistas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-fk1N7LnRY
lprent Did the search function get implemented again? It wasn't working this morning as I tried to search under greywarshark.
Truly, the moment of clarity is when one searches for oneself only to find nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
🙂
I've just been looking at Simone de Beauvoir talk about philosophy. She would probably find that very meaningful?
Actually she was talking about man's purpose in the world and ended up sounding just like Ayn Rand as she said that his purpose is to find his purpose and make his life. Or I think she said that.
“Clarity is bliss, but bias is what we are.”
https://gapingsilence.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/on-bbc-partisanship/
So Zen …
Oz election tomorrow not looking good for ScoMo: "As for the polling, the Liberal/National coalition that governs Australia has been behind in pretty much every two-party poll against the Labor opposition throughout his tenure. You might recall, falling behind Labor in repeated polls was why the Liberals got rid of the last guy too. Among the minor parties, the Greens are looking at around a 10% share, and One Nation around 5%, under two variations of a single transferable vote system. That could get either the few seats needed to chip a coalition partner over the line." https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-05-2019/will-it-be-scomo-or-shorten-what-to-watch-for-in-tomorrows-aussie-election/
"The racism in this election campaign has been more muted. Sydney Uni professor Mary Crock told RNZ that it might actually be that the Christchurch attacks have led to the wildly xenophobic rhetoric being toned down."
"Strangely for Australia, climate change and the environment has emerged as a major issue for many voters. Of course, parts of the country are in the grip of the worst droughts in living memory, the boiling hot bits of the country are getting even hotter, there are crazy floods, wildfires, big cyclones, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, and all the rest of it. But still, it’s unusual for Australia to actually notice that the land is trying to kill them – they’re just so used to it."
"And another climate change denying former PM, Tony Abbott, is facing defeat in his previously safe seat of Waringah. He might lose to a former Olympic skier called Zali Steggall, who is running as an independent largely on environmental issues."
bwaghorn
You were saying about forestry interests wiping out normal farming and the communities that exist rurally. I thought of you this morning when the interview was about that. Did you hear it?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/389401/fears-of-catastrophic-impact-of-prime-farmland-being-sold-for-forestry (detailed print report)
Audio: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018695488/forestry-gold-rush-underway-in-wairoa
Nz farmers can not compete against foreign buyers buying up our farm land so they can keep polluting. The irony is ove heard farmers are not allowed to plant their own trees on their own land to offset their emmisions.
Tell me more bw. What prevents them – is it Council rles, regional economic agency rules, is it no tax exemptions for land not profitable? I don't understand.
Good work these two. Great to see intelligent and socially minded farmers doing their bit and leading the way for their less caring and smart brethren.
Yes good, from what you say mm widening out in the business they know about. Still with cows, but in a more sustainable manner. And they say they were highly intensive dairying so hope that is in the past for their dairying now. Come back to a system where the cows are cared for animals not just money on hooves.
He also rejected talk of of the 'urban rural divide' as a media myth, labeling it "a crock of s…."
could not agree more with the guy. it is a media myth driven by some politican and 'stake holders' as it feeds their narrative.
How many young working class men and women are going to die for these crazy idiots in charge in the USA?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUC-ZnMdsfQ&ab_channel=SecularTalk
Any excuse for USA to meddle in other country's affairs. Shades of having to invade because of the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction. What are they trying to protect though – their own country is going to rack and ruin. Way to go world!
And that saying about the old grey men being generals sending the young ones off to be injured and die to further the schemes for advantage of the old.
I wouldn't mind so much it it were generals doing the sending. At least they lived it, even if they forget.
Bolton was another Vietnam evader, just like dolt45. One of the biggest US hawks for years – but only with other people's blood.
Unless you’ve done the service yourself you should have fuck all to do with starting wars.
The US has been gunning for Iran since the 70’s
Some generals are hawks (LeMay wanted to start WW3), but I have no time for Rambos like Bolton gaggin' for it.
Surprising how many chickenhawk hall of famers are still around.
http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110604160503/http://www.nhgazette.com/chickenhawks/
as many as they can sign up and if that does not work anymore they call the draft.
simple as that.
And chances are they have no issue going there. In saying that Senator Cotton of Arkansas – in my opinion someone who is very dangerous/smart/outwardly evangelic religious creep who might have a chance at the golden throne when the orange turd gets dispatched by the republican party (they will only keep him for as long as he serves their purpose) – said that it would need only two strikes, the first one and the last one.
Nukes, overwhelming air power, and every time someone says peep drop some more bombs.
no soldiers needed. none what so ever cause the bombs can be directed with a joy stick from anywhere.
https://twitter.com/FiringLineShow/status/1128393270458048512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1128407117487050757&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2019%2F5%2F14%2F1857682%2F–Sen-Tom-Cotton-suggests-war-with-Iran-would-be-a-cakewalk
Tell him, he is dreaming and get off the dope as well or whatever he's been smoking.
look him up.
He served in Iraq, he is a senator. He is not smoking, and he is deadly serious.
this is the thing with the current administration, everyone only focuses on teh orange shitshow, they do not focus on the men the orange fuckwit has surround himself with, the members of the senate that will sign any thing so as long as it serves them and 'owns' the libs and they have wanted to go to war with iran since Ayatolla Khomeni overthrew Mohammad Reza Sha Pahlavi and send him packing into exile. I watched that stuff go down life on TV, it was riveting.
And honestly they will drop a few bombs, and may i remind you that the only country to ever have used nukes is the US, and the orange turd asked why the US does not use them darn nukes. Also oil. Also elections. Also the tiny mushroom shaped penis needs something to feel big.
Prepare for a shitshow.
Yes i know who this muppet is, he is dreaming if airpower alone can win a land warfare and it can't no matter what you throw at it including a few cans of instant sunshrine then no one really wins unless you are into grow in the dark glass.
When I was still in the RAAF i did 3 papers at the RAAF Airpower Centre and where i upset a few silver spoons/Kunckle Heads/ knob jockeys who think like this clown that Land Base Airpower alone can win a war at Sea or on the Land and it can't as you still need boots on the ground or ships on the sea to exploit the opening that either Land or Sea based Airpower has achive. In other words Airpower is enabler which allows both Land and Sea power the room for freedom of maneuver to get on with the job.
Yes the Yanks have been waiting a long time to have a crack at Iran after what old mate did to their mate and especially the storming of the embassy and, what happen during their cock up with Op Eagle Claw.
I think "shit show" is going to an under statement by a country mile. No sure if you have seen my comments on this?
If you want a betting tip? start buying Oil Futures and Gold etc as i think the return is going to a awful lot better than the Stockmarket and also watch the rate of inflation go up with the price of oil (remember the two oil shocks). Remember what Winnie said during the last election about a possible down turn in the global economy next's term of government? Well looks like he was on the money.
oh i don't say they can win.
they could not win korea, vietnam, iraq and they will not win iran.
but they can wreak havoc, poison this planet, upset 1.5 billion muslims and fling all shit all over the planet and mike live misery for a few billion here and there. .
I am not the betting kind, and i am not an investor. I am lucky to have few wants, not many needs and had a good life so won't be missing much when the shitshow starts.
We are living in interesting times.
Peer to Peer they will shitted it in, but if the side hits the US weak points aka body bag count etc and goes to ground then we well see a rerun of Nam, Iraq and the Gan because they can't fight a COIN type of warfare and they really still haven't fully understood it either from top down. As they only know how to fight a Peer to Peer war and the way that dump takes advice they won't have a hope in hell. I think Phase 1 and possibly Phase 2 of the conflict would go according to plan, but after they have kick the door in then would get rather interesting to see if they have learnt anything IRT COIN warfare from Iraq and the Gan.
As Von Moltke the elder once said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" or in lay mans terms "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" and this less known one "Strategy is a system of expedients"
If they can't clear the house, but only clear a few rooms or only a few floors then they are screwed and god only knows what that means for the rest of us long term?
I'm sorry for throwing my betting tips (my black humor coming out hence why i'm back in PTSD ward again here in Sydney) in for a giggle when the RWNJ types start complaining about inflation and the cost of fuel etc.
I just hope the team can get the troops out of the MER including the UN members quickly if the shit hits the fan and say the training team mandate ends on the 30th of June. The sooner the better the Aus and NZ troops are out of that shit hole the better.
Yes, we are now living in interesting times and you are right about the muslims, they are going to go off like runaway .50cal HMG or like chain reaction in a nuclear weapon system going off aka the gift that keeps on giving as we called it on the CBRND Recon cse which i did about 10yrs ago.
Whatever he's been smoking has gone to his head or destroyed a few more brain cells that's if he any from the start with.
Anyway someone needs to tell this muppet (he actually reminds me of one the muppets) he is dreaming if all thinks that he just needs 120k troops to knock off Iran! He's going to need about 5x that number as kicking in the door is one thing, but holding on to the house is another thing.
Remember the Iraq war folks when the Yankie coalition invaded Iraq with too few troops during the invasion and during post invasion?
If this attack/ invasion into Iran does go ahead, its going to make Iraq and the Gan like a walk in the park. Remember the last time some joker decided to invade Iran and look what happen to him or poor old Jimmy after Op Eagle Claw.
David Seymour gets nasty and personal with Golriz, and Judith Collins calls him out:
https://twitter.com/JudithCollinsMP/status/1129150240718696453
numerology and methods of mass contractions.
This is a stunning turnaround, with an increase of almost 2000 on the last census, and we believe our method of calculation is one that could be spread out right across the country.
We have based our calculations on scientific analysis of volumetric data obtained via our sewerage plants, and extrapolated our pile of information to come up with an incredibly accurate and definitive population assumption.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/southland-top-stories/112795610/we-prefer-our-own-pile-of—-information
Sounds like just another farming smartarse from a small area with a large level of medium competence.
Although the methodology described would actually be workable, if one could factor in changing gastroenteritis levels or increased fibre in the average diet.
… or figs
"In a stern statement, the bank's board, headed by former prime minister Sir John Key, comes under fire for attesting to something which was not correct. "
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/112033446/reserve-bank-censures-anz
the audacity…5 fucking years!
'
ANZ called the issue a "mistake", and expressed disappointment.
"Once the mistake was discovered, ANZ New Zealand promptly escalated the matter to its board and reported the issue to the Reserve Bank," ANZ said in a written statement.
Financial regulators are as much part of the industry as the financial institutions themselves…
Auditors and consultancies who operate in a compliance function are also part of the industry. They are paid by the banks to perform compliance functions…
God-DAMN it, who made this fool a Cabinet minister?
RNZ National, Friday 17 May 2019, 5:54 p.m.
Just heard a disastrous interview with Carmel Sepuloni on RNZ National. She came across as arrogant and evasive.
Was that the interview I heard which was a normal interview until the interviewer asked some questions to which Sepuloni said that that wasn't what she had come on to be interviewed about or had not agreed to be interviewed about?
The interviewer persisted and persisted while Sepuloni peripherally answered some bits and repeated saying it wasn't what she was there to answer questions on.
Sepuloni didn't come across as arrogant and evasive. She came across as naive. She should have repeatedly said she wasn't answering any question at all about the matter.
The interviewer was rude and arrogant. Ministers must be accountable but having protocols and working out what's reasonable and what's just smart-arse opportunism is obviously beyond you.
When the interviewer repeatedly asked what said she said she wouldn't talk to, Sepuloni should have either hung up or told the interviewer to fuck off. Then you would have been on here bitching about her being arrogant and evasive and calling for her to be sacked.
I agree with your opinion of Lisa Owen, the interviewer. I have scant respect for her. However, substandard journalists are a fact of life, and a competent politician has to be able to interact with them without making herself look incompetent—or, as you rightly put it in this case, naive.
I thought her refusal to answer the questions of the importuning Owen did make Sepuloni look both arrogant and evasive; she lacked the panache to put Owen in her place with authority.
Thinking about the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and Young People, Teenagers and their Families -Oranga Tamariki. Why does it have a Maori name? Is it supposed to seem friendly and culturally understanding to Maori? Why isn't it just a Ministry for Children as all are vulnerable when young? Is it meant to convey that parents and children do not receive any support unless they are classified as vulnerable? And why is that they are behaving in such a frightening way to Maori? If government want to provide a wrap-around service to help those who need it, then if they do their job properly, there would be no taking of babies away from mothers.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/389285/not-enough-mental-health-support-for-families-whose-children-are-taken-by-the-state
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/389007/mother-s-day-hui-to-discuss-oranga-tamariki-s-removal-of-newborn-babies
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018694569/children-s-commissioner-whole-of-nz-infected-with-racism
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/386072/oranga-tamariki-will-need-extra-resources-to-care-for-kids-longer
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018688988/oranga-tamariki-two-years-on-what-s-changed
The Chief Executive, Grainne Moss is Irish-born, UK, New Zealand. She was a champion swimmer. Fits my bias against sports people in areas where an understanding is required of the needs of large numbers of people who will be affected by executive decisions.
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/media-release-ministry-vulnerable-children-oranga-tamariki-chief-executive-appointed
Mrs Moss will become the acting Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki from 5 September 2016, initially part-time then full-time from 10 October 2016. She will then become Chief Executive for a five year term once the Ministry is formally established on 1 April 2017.
Mrs Moss doesn't seem to have trained or worked with children and is not from our culture. She has had a father who was a prison Governor. She has had the generic business background to manage a large department. But there is a need to actually have an interest and knowledge of social work and how to work with young people from impoverished backgrounds.
I hope her Catholic upbringing in Ireland will not lead to seeking the efficiency that was found suitable for those not proving acceptable to society who worked at the Magdalena laundries system which operated in the Irish social system right up till 1996.
An authoritarian background, on the austere side perhaps. 3. What did your parents teach you?
A very strong work ethic. Mum was head of a Catholic nursing home where I worked from age 16. She worked me pretty hard and showed no favouritism.
My father was governor of a prison with lots of IRA prisoners. As a Catholic working for the government, he had high security. At one point he had a bomb-alarmed car and bulletproof vest. But he had a reputation for very fair adjudicating. It didn't matter if you were a Catholic or a Protestant prisoner, you'd get exactly the same treatment for the same behaviour. I grew up in Ireland very conscious of people's religion. What's fascinating in New Zealand is I don't have that thought.
NZs would rather employ someone from overseas with generic qualifications than a trained NZr.? 4. How did you wind up working in forestry in Tokoroa?
New Zealanders are much more interested in your transferable skills than in the UK. I'd put my CV out and a bank offered me a job. I'd never worked in a bank but they said: "You've managed teams, budgets, significant projects and you've got a track record of delivery. That's 90 per cent of the job, the other 10 per cent you'll pick up." My eyes were completely opened. I'd always worked in health and never realised working in a different sector was possible. I wanted to develop my commercial skills so I went to Carter Holt Harvey.
Smart and firm, and good with systems and people management and logs.
6. By the age of 32 you were head of forestry operations for the central North Island. What was your toughest challenge?
The relationship between the Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill and forestry had been completely toxic for years, with both parties trying to get one over the other. So for about six months they were absolutely horrible to me. They sent me nasty emails and called me names. I was a monkey and they wanted to talk to the organ grinder. I'd go to meetings and there would be 15 of them and one of me but I just kept turning up and being nice. It's hard to fight someone who doesn't want to fight back, so eventually they had to change their behaviour.
Interesting. How the people with money work hard, and get their creds.
7. You then went to Switzerland to do an MBA with honours. Was it worthwhile?
It cost me $100,000 but it was worth every penny. It helped my confidence to be benchmarked with the best in the world. It's disappointing that I needed that, but I think subconsciously I did. Interestingly, there weren't many women on the course but they never put less than three women in a group. Research shows that if you have one woman in a group she becomes the princess, two women will collaborate or compete with each other, whereas three will result in normal group dynamics.
The mother of four runs Bupa (aged care homes till 2015) the country's largest aged-care home provider….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11492534
Why shouldn't it? Other ministries do.
Sort of a rhetorical question. The government likes to think of Maori as being the big problem in NZ and pakeha and others being occasional problems. Of course they are bigger than their proportion of the popn.
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/94dBVPpymac
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia ora Newshub.
Looks like a carbon pro government elected in Australia.
If you ignore a problem it goes away even though it is still unsolved Paddy.
Wow huge tornado in Missouri Nebraska and Kanzas that's global warming.
Rail is the most efficient way to to transport most goods less carbon and cost.
That's a cool exabishion of Scots base in Antarctica I'm taking a big interest in history now cool.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
Acc is not the same organisation it used to be it no longer put the people need first it puts it ballance.
The Australian elections was lost by Labour they were looking like winning for months and all ready counted his chicken not good.
The $320 million to combat domestic violence is a great start to fixing all the tamariki lives fixed. Poverty of THESE people is the driver behind domestic violence that's it but this is another ambulance at the bottom of the hill.???????? scenario.
Shane just because you are winning in this system what about the 80 %, of your whanau struggling is this system providing a good life for them its OKs you can put on your big hakari.
I watched all the Game of Thrones series its a Awsome movie series.
Ka kite ano