Key takes the election result as a mandate for another term of it as the sheeple say so assisted by a labour party with past their use by dates MPs and strategists
I saw an MP had posted on facebook a photo of the Labour caucus class of 2015 on the steps of parliament yesterday. Plenty of 50 something’s shades of grey. It was depressing some of the same old faces still clipping the ticket. Others must have been thinking the same as there were few likes.
By the way where is Nicky Hager these days? Haven’t heard anything of him for a while!
Is he under house arrest?
Been gagged?
Prevented from speaking publicly?
Any news about the outcome of police removing his personal effects from his home to be investigated?
We need a journalist of Hager’s intelligence, calibre and integrity to investigate John Key’s involvement re the time frame of having been informed of the Mike Sabin affair!
Another point is it’s interesting that today, msm (Fairfax and NZH) is carrying the story about Andrew Little’s past “non payment” of an invoice, (after it was raised in Parliament yesterday by the loathsome Steven Joyce), focusing on the time frame of the actual payment (yesterday)!
So I ask, where is msm focus on slimy PM Key and his grubby ministers, digging deep about when they first became aware of the Sabin investigation?
Pity more media enthusiasm and attention isn’t focused on this issue, where it should be.
The media give corporate shills like Mary Beard a voice, not real journalists like Hager publicity.
Remember they want more for themselves and less for the rest of us.
So being on a salesperson for the TPP rather than an advocate for democracy, transparency and solidarity.
Labour Party PR is abysmal. How can any efficient system drop their leader into the mess that Andrew finds himself in? The Shearer “fish in Parliament” debacle, lack of penetrating secondary questions and dredging up petty and inconsequential points. Andrew needs a decent “minder” that would never have allowed the likes of Joyce to crucify him over an unpaid bill. It’s all over the media today and Key’s back off the ropes.
Pay some real money and buy a minder that’s got his/her finger on the pulse. Another with the political nous of Heather Simpson – – – there’ll be someone out there.
Not a single reference to it on Stuff’s front page in fact. I guess people who are impressed by ‘gotcha’ politics will clutch their pearls a bit. Meanwhile, Bill English’s toxic ACC rort is getting as least as much attention, and that will still be news tomorrow, as will National Party Sabinism and the Skysore.
Getting plenty of airtime on Morning Report. The complainant (who just happens to be an NBR freelancer) is suggesting there was no intention to pay. But you’re right this will be old news tomorrow. Labour just need to get their shit together and stop being their own worst enemy.
Given that Shearer’s fish debacle is brought up at every available opportunity (and in this column today!!) I reckon that Andrew Little’s unpaid bill (and no need to put it in inverted commas ‘cos it was exactly that, it appears) will continue to haunt him in just the same way. It was a damn silly oversight on Andrew’s part and his minders need to be much more on the ball.
Sure is a pretty dumb own-goal but given the debacle of last week and the ease with which Little has owned Key on SkyCity I guess some sort of retaliation was to be expected. No surprise then that the Nats have reverted to the tried-and-true methods that have served them well in the past. It will be interesting how Little and Labour respond. Probably best just to suck it up, take responsibility and try and push through. And, since we’re dealing the dark art of politics, some added fuel thrown on Winston’s claims of insider trading at SkyCity would be useful.
The timing of SkyCity announcement of wanting a taxpayer handout pushed their share price up which was smart Morrison. However the ‘no penalty’ for the convention centre size reduction looks dodgy as hell.
Key and his cronies tie up with that very sketchy outfit the NZX is fishy in my opinion. By the NZX moving into being a fund manager and recently increasing their holdings bears looking into.
Gosman the National Party shrill will come on here with his twisted opinion shortly.
I believe the fish idea was entirely Shearer’s, and no one else in caucus knew about it until he did it. He bought the fish from an Auckland supermarket and flew to Wellington with him in his carry-on…
“Mr Shearer’s fish, which he had brought down from Auckland in his carry-on luggage, were placed back in a bag and ushered out of the debating chamber by deputy leader Grant Robertson.”
“Show me will they? Hehehe, my and my little ‘friends’ here will sink the National government. Sink? That’s a good pun. Must work that in. Also something about sleeping with the fishes. Ho ho ho – that’s a good one”
And so forth.
Also, what the fuck did the guys screening his bag think?
That was a great example of the emperor has no clothes on. I remember thinking
oh dear god this mug has lost the plot. To think he didn’t fall on his sword and not seek re election sums up the problem with Labour. All the previous leaders bar DC should have not stood again.
I bet a few people would like to have a Super Minister discuss their unpaid bills in parliament, and then get the harpie Gower into it to. Perhaps they could get onto the tax evaders for the country while they are onto it
A caliphate established by radical Muslims that supports genocide and appears intent on precipitating World War 3 with an aim of engineering the Apocalypse – “that it considers itself a harbinger of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.”
Doing nothing to try and minimise this would seem to be unwise.
ISIS is a threat to a bunch of people over there who would do stuff about it.
Obviously the Shia blocs who are the current primary target of ISIS. So they are already stepping up in the alliance between Iran/Iraq and Syria. That would continue. They have their own agenda of forming a fairly solid shia ruled area. They’d probably achieve that.
Secondly, the Gulf states like Saudi A, UAE etc are threatened by ISIS to a small degree. Insofar that they are bad PR for the anti Shia movement that they care about, they will step up. They have problems in that if they step up too hard against IS then their own populations get a bit angsty, not because of direct IS support (which is small) but because of IS being an Anti-shia force. It’s a tricky spot for them, so they’d probably clamp down hard on ISIS when it raises it’s head in a Sunni state, (same as they do with AQ and the Bortherhood).
The Sunni states probably enjoy watching Iran bleed against ISIS so they may be tempted to quietly fund them to prolong it, and they will not be happy about the Shia states getting their solid bloc, but I doubt they could stop it, and fundamentally, they’d rather have someone who wasn;t as insane as ISIS to be their proxy.
So, I reckon if we butted out, the Shia would fuck ISIS over the next year or two, the Sunni states would say ‘that’s annoying’ and start funding some other wee group.
Pretty much the same as what will happen if we do interfere, with the difference being that we won’t be getting in the way.
lol
Uncharacteristically considerate of brownlee to have a hummer.
Some people might not immediately recognise him and therefore know he is a twat, but driving a hummer is like a huge neon sign labelling him as such.
A stated before PG… How about the “West” stop training, funding and arming ISIS before “we” worry about putting military personnel there – in ANY form?
No arms, no cash and no capability would tend to weaken them quite a bit don’t ya think?
Nobel Peace Laureates Slam Human Rights Watch’s
Refusal to Cut Ties to U.S. Government AlterNet, July 8, 2014
Human Rights Watch’s affiliation with ex-CIA and NATO officials generates perverse incentives and undermine its reputation for independence.
In a May 12 letter published on AlterNet, two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and over 100 scholars, journalists and human rights activists called on Human Rights Watch to close its revolving door to the U.S. government. On June 3, HRW published a response from executive director Kenneth Roth on its website, arguing that their “concern is misplaced.” In a June 11 debate on Democracy Now!, HRW Counsel and Spokesman Reed Brody similarly rejected their recommendations.
Now, Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel join fellow signatories Richard Falk (United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories from 2008-14) and Hans von Sponeck (UN Assistant Secretary General from 1998-2000) in demanding that their proposals be taken seriously, and additionally, that HRW remove former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana from its Board of Directors.
Dear Kenneth Roth,
While we welcome your stated commitment to Human Rights Watch’s independence and credibility, we are dismayed by your rejection of our common-sense suggestion for strengthening them: bar those who have crafted or executed U.S. foreign policy from serving as HRW staff, advisors or board members—or, at a bare minimum, mandate lengthy “cooling-off” periods before and after any associate moves between HRW and the foreign-policy divisions of the U.S. government.
Before addressing your letter’s objections to the three instances of HRW’s advocacy that suggest a conflict of interest, we would like to reiterate that they were “limited to only recent history,” and that other cases could have been raised as well. One obvious example of HRW’s failure to appropriately criticize U.S. crimes occurred after the 2004 coup d’état against the democratically elected government of Haiti. The U.S. government essentially kidnapped Haiti’s president; thousands of people were killed under the ensuing coup regime; and deposed officials of the constitutional government were jailed.
In the face of what were likely the worst human rights abuses of any country in the Western hemisphere at the time, HRW barely lifted a finger. HRW never hosted a press conference criticizing the coup or post-coup atrocities. In contrast to HRW’s appeals to the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Democratic Charter for Venezuela and Cuba, HRW never publicly invoked the Charter in the case of Haiti, even as Articles 20 and 21 afforded multilateral measures “in the event of an unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime.” HRW never placed an op-ed about the overthrow in a prominent newspaper. (In 2004 The New York Times alone published at least five HRW opinion pieces and four HRW letters on other subjects.) It is reasonable for outside observers to question whether this lack of response from HRW to such large-scale human rights violations had anything to do with U.S. foreign-policy priorities.
The very existence of such questions regarding HRW’s advocacy should be reason enough to impose sharp restrictions on HRW’s close ties to the U.S. government. ….
Yes but they are quality losers who know no other life, you wouldnt want to see them down the local cafe down to their last million wearing last years pradas would you.
“..I feel shameful walking past rough sleepers – how must the politicians responsible feel?..” (+ comment:..and how do our politicians feel when they see their handiwork in the flesh..?..do they shift at all uneasily in their (comfortable/well-padded/heated) seats..?..especially those labour politicians..eh..?..’cos of all of them..they should really know better..eh..?..but they don’t..)
“.. An evening walk down the Strand in London brings to painful life official figures –
– that show a sharp rise in rough sleeping..”
(cont..)
(ed:..i have asked myself that question..
..especially of labour mp’s/politicians..
..and our labour/green mayors of auckland..
..both of whom when first campaigning to be mayors..
..put their hands on their hearts..
..and vowed/promised to help the homeless..
..since then..yeah..nah..eh..?
..but especially those neo-liberal/rightwing labour mp’s..
..those who won the argument within the labour party pre-’14 election..
..that saw labour ’14 election-policy offering absolutely nothing for the poorest..
..cunnliffe said that benefit-levels wd increase ‘by the rate of inflation..
..which is what national does..
..and here’s the funny story..!
..those rightwing/neo-liberal labour people are still wondering why those poorest..(the missing million..)..
..why they didn’t rush to the polling booths..
..sobbing in/with gratitude on their way..
..to tick the box for labour..
..as i say in the headline..eh..?..’they should really know better’..eh..?..)
Analysts had expected prices to firm in response to lower supply brought on by drought conditions on the east coasts of both the North and South Islands.
See, droughts are good news.
The auction will give farmers some confidence that Fonterra will meet its $4.70 a kg milk price forecast for the current season after prices slumped by 50 per cent in 2014.
However, farm investment company MyFarm estimates the current forecast is well below its estimated average cost of production of $5.03 kg.
I’m not an expert, but that looks like a loss-making enterprise to me.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7
And if you read like that, I have good grounds to conclude you are incapable of writing anything other than erroneous pedantry. Concentrate on adam’s criticism; a brief summary of why we should click on the link would be helpful, because the number of readers who are going to just on your say so is minimal.
Something like: ‘Frankie Boyle skewers the false outrage of the media’ or ‘comedian rips into media hypocrisy’. It’s not hard.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
More reading difficulty, gormless? That fact that I was able to provide a couple of short summaries strongly suggests I did read Boyle’s piece. Try and avoid arguments based on pedantry in the future, you’re not much good at them.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
You’ll like this from Frankie Boyle, Ole – given that you’re such a good Tory…
On Mock the Week after Thatcher’s demise:
How much do you think the funeral is going to cost ?
Frankie Boyle: “3 million. For 3 million, they could give everyone in Scotland a shovel and we would dig a hole so deep that we could hand her over to Satan personally.”
Who suggested Andrew Little commission anything from David Cohen? He is a very right wing journalist and a great friend of Bill English. It was before Andrew Little was leader so hopefully he is getting better advice these days about who to talk to.
The fact that National have to reach further down into the barrel to ping him for a ubiquitous human error – forgetting to pay a bill – is an indication that they aren’t getting many hits in debate.
Not only that but the NBR has the story saying that the go-between (one Chris Matthews) was also slaggng off other Labour MPs to the journalist. Who is he and what position does he hold?
Since the working class was defeated, indeed pretty much smashed, under the fourth Labour government and the following National government, class consciousness in this country is at an all-time low. The left, defeated on the economic front, managed to win some victories on the cultural front. That was good, but we do need to get back to class: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/class-class-consciousness-and-left-political-practice/
Reading about the Euro debt-mongers problems with their unsustainable business model in Greece would be tragic and hilarious if it wasn’t so hilarious and tragic.
The entire western financial system is hilarious and tragic.
It is up to its use-by date and Greece is a canary in the mine.
More debt in the world than there is money to repay it ……………. thinking thinking thinking
This is quite similar to what Bill wrote here the other day. Indeed if the only option for war with ISIS, is war with ISIS – I think we should do the right thing and help the people at war with ISIS – rather than send our own troops over there.
Just another reason, why we should not send troops into the middle east. This is just stupid on the part of the commanders who ordered this to happen – stupid.
And if you think privatising health care is a winner – or if Obama care is any go. Think again. Insurance companies are in the business to make money – sick people don’t make money = hence the USA and it’s SNAFU approach to health care.
At Public Integrity – you should look up health – and see all the nasty, vicious, and down right evil things the health insurance industry does to make a buck.
…..”But for Arabs, there is a clear message in all these alliances. Washington has an American-trained general in charge of the Libyan air force, an American-trained former field marshal and president in charge of Egypt, an American-educated and British-trained king in Jordan and two wealthy emirates with huge US investments – one of them headquarters to the US fleet in the Gulf – in the battle. Only that well-known dictator who has been fighting Isis for longer than any of them – Bashar al-Assad of Syria – is left out. For now.”
( spot the ironies)
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 12
There is a Wisconsin version of FJK, Scott Walker. There are many similarities in their methods. Given the nature of the US and A, Walker may actually end up in legal trouble if things filter up to the federal level. Meanwhile, FJK’s smile and wave is increasingly being replaced by scowl and lie.
Winston is a lot more useful than Labour these days ( since Helen Clark) ….Labour is a liability…didnt Labour MPs …(the Labour Party boys)…accept SKYCITY hospitality along with the Nacts?…and what about that Auckland Labour Mayor’s role in helping along SkyCity ?…say no more….
….it was the Greens who have always had form on fighting the SkyCity deal …and Winston…and Mana ….this is the real Left Opposition in New Zealand
David Cameron is demanding that obese/overweight people *accept help* (For example the outdated dietary advice that includes eating wheat and a little sugar? That the obese or overweight should learn to hate the appearance of their bodies like the government apparently does? To be taught that human rights law is for “real” disabilities? Hmmm….) or lose benefits.
Cameron really knows how to bene bash huh? At least this reporter has the good sense to make this comment:
“But here is the alternative theory. What if the intention is not to make people slimmer, but to make the obese reconcile themselves with the fact that they are worthless human beings, and hence unworthy of receiving any financial support from anyone? If that is the case, then the initiative may work very well indeed.”
Ask them, if you know who they are. When the English Tories start on obese people as part of their attack on our brothers and sisters in England, I think it’s perfectly OK to suggest they start on Brownlee.
I don’t know what the forms are like currently in NZ, but back in the day when you applied for a benefit for medical reasons part of the form you signed said something like how you could be declined a benefit if you refused medical treatment for the condition. I’m surprised Bennett and co haven’t gone down that track already tbh.
Each foreign government’s request will be examined on a case-by-case basis, and they must agree to “proper use” principles created by Washington that stipulate the drones must obey international law.
Oh, would that be like US drones indiscriminately killing civilians?
I’d say that it’d be better for any country to build their own drones. That way they could guarantee that there wouldn’t be any back doors into the control systems.
Apparently Ports of Auckland have settled with Maritime Union & new Collective contract agreed.
Neither Herald nor Stuff have any details so its going to be interesting to see who ‘won’ after all.
Tont Gibson won as the maritime union has less members and less money then it did before and with the rival port union on the scene they have less influence
Of course they could have accepted the arbitrators decision a couple of years ago and been in a stronger position but thems the breaks
Heres where I’d usually sling some stuff KLittles way over this except that hes doing the exact thing I’d advise him to do, keeping the Greens out of anything that matters is what most voters want since the Greens only got 10% of the vote which is pretty shoddy when you consider how many people didn’t vote
Little is taking Labour to the center which is what he needs to do and it looks like hes distancing Labour away from the Greens to set up a deal with Winston for the next election ala Labour back when they were last in power
Labour doesn’t need to offer the Greens anything because theres nowhere else for the Greens to go and if its a choice between Labour/Winston and the Greens or National/Act/MP then of course the Greens will be Labours doormap
So, unfortuantely (as I want another term for Key) , this is smart politics from Little
Never said anything about going to the right instead I applaud him for:
going to the center
learning from Helen Clark
and yes Little needs to do whatever he needs to so he can get into power then he can make the changes, the problem with Labour supporters in general is that they don’t quite seem to get it that you need to get the power first before you make the changes
Fortunately, for Labour supporters, Little realises that
As you say briefly and then people realised he was all mouth and no trousers, had he gone to the center he probably would have won
Which is why John Key is merely tinkering around the edges of what the right wing want ie
partial privitisation as opposed to full sell offs,
keeping union membership voluntary instead of abolishing unions,
90 day employment bill instead of firing any time any place,
increasing benefit payments instead of cutting back,
tinkering with the RMA instead of abolishing ot and writing a new one
all this because Keys knows (as did Clark) its the center that decides who governs
“Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel with Jim Mora and Noelle McCarthy. I don’t know who their two guests are today, but whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue….”
Paddy Gower has taken a $900 unpaid debt to new heights.
By making it his most important event today he has nailed Little. Announcing the honeymoon is over… Almost sounded like he was making a very pointed comment to Little directly.
As in most contests when one side is getting flogged the ref will attempt to even things up a bit by making a “no fuss no foul” trivial call.
Gower is out of his league and should be reporting the Mid-week news in a small community based provincial newspaper.
Cohen is well known to the likes of aunty Audrey & uncle Vernon when they were principled unionists with the journalists union.
From another Open Mike, but it didnt get answered:
I was wondering if an employer that pays minimum wage, after the minimum wage goes up, is required to negotiate in good faith, or can just say ‘im paying minimum wage, deal with it’
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Daphna Whitmore The Philippines is enduring one of the longest lockdowns in the world. For President Duterte the lockdown provides an opportunity to garner more powers and to push through a brazen assault on human rights. A new law called the Anti-Terror Bill has been passed under urgency and it ...
Hearing the Prime Minister castigate the Warehouse for laying off 1,000 workers after receiving $52 million in wage subsidies reminds me of the fabled frog who agreed to carry a scorpion across a river. The scorpion stings the frog halfway across, dooming both to drown. The frog cries “Why on ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael BakerCompared with other OECD countries NZ is a stand-out success story by ending community transmission of COVID-19. While there have been some well-publicised recent deficiencies (eg, quarantine organisation), there has still been no evidence of community transmission for many weeks. Nevertheless, ...
It’s June 30th, marked as Asteroid Day by many people of an astronomical bent around the globe. On this date in 1908, early in the morning in a remote part of central Siberia, the sky fell in. Well, not literally. What happened is a substantially-sized lump of cosmic detritus ...
There really is not much about Paula Bennett concerning her career trajectory, the policies she promoted, and most importantly, the socio-economic effect this had upon New Zealand (and particularly the most vulnerable in this, our oft-cited “egalitarian” society of this country) that can be said now that hasn’t already been ...
Don Franks Poverty, inequality – really – aren’t politicians paid to sort that stuff ? Why can’t they just get it together and come up with something fair and sensible? A cold rainy 2020 morning, a headline showed promise. “Green Party’s $8b plan would guarantee an income of $325 a ...
A guest repost by Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) staff attorney Augusta Wilson. Fundraising is not the objective of this article but readers may wish to know that CSLDF is currently conducting a summer fundraiser to support defense of research scientists and research integrity from anti-science interference by politicians and industrial interests. The COVID-19 pandemic ...
Helloy… My name is Todd Muller and I am the leader of the National Party of New Zealand. Many people come up to me on the street and ask me who I am. I’m often walking through Tauranga, or in a mall in suburban Auckland, or maybe even a farmers’ ...
The US state of Mississippi has finally voted to remove the Confederate emblem from its state flag. Good. Its appalling that it was put there in the first place, but even more appalling that it took so long to remove it. Its basicly as if a German Länder still had ...
No one could have predicted when David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill was passed by Parliament last November that the referendum required to bring the legislation into force would be held against the backdrop of a deadly global pandemic. Since then, the mounting tally of casualties around the world ...
Paul GoldsmithYou can often tell just how effective a progressive policy proposal will be by how much the right wing criticise it. The more socially beneficial, the more vitriolic and unhinged they seem to become.That was the case when the Green Party announced their Poverty Action Plan yesterday. The response ...
Back at the beginning of April, when we had much else on our minds, I wrote this post urging some caution in interpreting the results of the latest Horizon poll, conducted in February, on voting intentions in this year's cannabis referendum, which was paid for by Helius Therapeutics.I wrote that ...
Over the weekend the Greens made their first election policy announcement, and promised transformational change: a more progressive tax system, with new rates applying to incomes of $100,000 and $150,000; a new wealth tax on net wealth over $1 million; and a guaranteed minimum income to eliminate poverty. Its bold, ...
Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Global Warming Is Melting Our Sense of Time Satellite image of smoke from active fires burning near the ...
. . Plague town? There are two things right now in Aotearoa New Zealand that are guaranteed to piss people off. Firstly, it’s National playing silly-bugger politics with the covid-19 pandemic. This cost Simon Bridges his job as National’s Leader. Lately, Michael Woodhouse has been playing fast and loose with ...
Tertiary fees in New Zealand versus Australia: Fees Are Important, but not as Important as Financing In Australia, the Education Minister Dan Tehan has proposed an overhaul of the existing higher education funding system to offer 39,000 additional study places by 2023 and 100,000 by 2030. The proposal has been ...
The latest opinion poll forecasts a landslide win by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party, but when taken alongside other polling, it illustrates New Zealand politics remains volatile and the contest is still very open. According to the Colmar Brunton poll published by TVNZ last night, Labour would easily romp back ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 21 through Sat, June 27, 2020Editor's ChoiceFacebook creates fact-checking exemption for climate deniers Facebook is "aiding and abetting the spread of climate misinformation,” said Robert Brulle, an ...
The images and reports delivered to us by the world’s media leave us in no doubt that the rest of the world is still in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that shows no signs of slackening, but is actually uncontrolled and picking up pace in many countries; and even ...
Minister of Health - David ClarkIf you follow politics at all in New Zealand, David Clark is likely a name you’re a bit familiar with. The current Minister of Health is perhaps the most disliked Member of Parliament at the moment, which amongst very stiff competition is really saying something. ...
SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, 8.30pm). Judging by the tweets, which is probably a bad idea, over lockdown, all of New Zealand found itself in front of The Chase every night at 5pm. It is a brilliant fomat: hardly anyone wins any money ...
SATURDAY JUNE 27Banksy and the Rise of Outlaw Art (Sky Arts, Sky 017, 8.00pm). There was graffiti before Banksy, but perhaps his pungent political messages hit home a bit harder. Anyways, a doco about his influence on street art featuring a bunch of cool people.SUNDAY JUNE 28Beat the Chasers (TVNZ 1, ...
We have been assailed by Fox News-style headlines, lurid stories of “a breach!”. An almost nuclear level disaster on the horizon scream, “Fiasco!” here, “Hero to Zero!” there… Oh quick, panic everyone!This has fueled an unbelievably stupid environment of panic among some, and spurred useless, counterproductive political ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A massive dust storm formed over the Sahara Desert last week and invaded the Caribbean over the June 20-21 weekend, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution and low visibility to the islands. The dust is accompanied by a large amount ...
Will the Covid Crisis lead to a dramatic redirection for New Zealand and the World? A hinge in history occurs where the past and present are connected but they point in different directions. Big hinges are rare but crucial in the development of humankind. Not in Narrow Seas identifies six. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
New Zealand First MP Fletcher Tabuteau is pleased to be confirmed today as the party’s candidate for the Rotorua electorate. Speaking at the Rotorua AGM for New Zealand First, Mr Tabuteau said this is an election that is incredibly important for the people of Rotorua. “The founding principles of New ...
The Human Rights Commission’s PRISM report on the issues impacting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) provides an excellent programme of work for future governments to follow, say the Greens. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the trans-Tasman bubble had not been jeopardised after aborder botch-upresulted in New Zealand having two active cases of COVID-19. On Friday, Mr Peters told RNZ's Morning Report he had heard from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that borders for trans-Tasman travel would open by ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today he was pleased the army was now running the quarantine and isolation process - up until now it has been the Ministry of Health. Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that the army knew how to introduce and follow protocols and instil discipline. ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
The law to boost the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 by speeding up resource consenting on selected projects has passed its second and third readings in the House today. “Accelerating nationwide projects and activities by government, iwi and the private sector will help deliver faster economic recovery and ...
Five port-related projects in Whanganui will receive a $26.75 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to support local economic recovery and create new opportunities for growth, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This is a significant investment that will support the redevelopment of the Whanganui Port, a project governed ...
Whanganui’s Sarjeant Gallery will receive an investment of up to $12 million administered by the Provincial Growth Fund to support its redevelopment, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The project is included in a $3 billion infrastructure pipeline announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Shane Jones yesterday. ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $2.5 million into three Te Ara Mahi programmes to support Manawatū-Whanganui jobseekers and employees to quickly train and upskill, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Up to 154 local people will be supported into employment within the first year by these ...
This morning I have formally tendered my resignation as Minister of Health, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. Serving as Minister of Health has been an absolute privilege – particularly through these extraordinary last few months. It’s no secret that Health is a challenging portfolio. I have given ...
Scholarships for 57 early-career agricultural emissions scientists from 20 developing countries is another example of New Zealand’s international leadership in primary sector sustainability, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. Mr O’Connor, announcing the scholarships today, says hundreds of applications were received for this fourth round of the CLIFF-GRADS programme (Climate, Food ...
A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and ...
Moa bones and other sub-fossil remains of extinct species are set to have improved protection with proposals to prevent the trade in extinct species announced the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “We have lost too many of our native species, but these lost species, such as moa, remain an ...
The Government’s free and healthy school lunches programme moves south for the first time creating jobs for around 30 people in Otago and Southland. “Eighteen schools with 3000 students are joining the programme – 11 have already begun serving lunches, and seven are preparing to start during Term 3. This is ...
Thousands of Kiwi jobs and investment in New Zealand productions will be protected through a screen sector support package announced today by Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford and Minister for Broadcasting Kris Faafoi. The package also includes investment in broadcasting ...
The Government has established a new $10 million fund for the domestic events sector to help save jobs and protect incomes as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, Minister of Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. This funding from Budget 2020 follows talks with the event sector designed to ...
The Government has taken another step in its commitment to making sure New Zealanders get a fairer deal at the petrol pump with the introduction of legislation to improve competition in the retail fuel market, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. “The fuel market study that this Government ordered ...
New Zealand has joined a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today. The COVAX Facility was recently launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The Alliance includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank ...
From today new legislation takes effect to both restore the right to legal representation at the start of a Care of Children (CoCA) dispute in the Family Court, and allow parties to those proceedings to access legal aid where eligible. During a visit to the Family Court in Auckland today, ...
Home-based early childhood education (ECE) subsidised by the government will transition to a fully qualified workforce by 2025 to ensure better and more consistent quality, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “Quality early learning helps provide children with a strong foundation for their future,” Chris Hipkins said. From 1 January ...
The new Criminal Cases Review Commission | Te Kāhui Tātari Ture (CCRC) has started work and can now independently investigate claimed miscarriages of justice. “Even though we have appeal rights and safeguards against unsafe convictions, from time to time our justice system does get things wrong. The design of the ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou Ki a koutou Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei, tēnā koutou Ko Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki ngā take o te Ao (NZIIA), Ko te Rōpū Tohu Tono ...
The Government’s increase to paid parental leave kicks in today with another 4 weeks taking New Zealand up to a full 6 months (26 weeks, up from 22 weeks) leave for new parents, and the maximum weekly payment will increase by $20pw, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. ...
A new package of infrastructure investments will help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild by creating more than 20,000 jobs and unlocking more than $5 billion of projects up and down New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones today outlined how the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today expressed the New Zealand Government’s deep disappointment at the passage by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee of a national security law for Hong Kong. “New Zealand has consistently emphasised its serious concern about the imposition of this legislation on Hong Kong without inclusive ...
More jobs and more family time with newborns are the centrepiece of a suite of Government initiatives coming into effect today. July 1 is a milestone day for the Government as a host of key policies take effect, demonstrating the critical areas where progress has been made. “The Coalition Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary-Louise McLaws, Professor of Epidemiology Healthcare Infection and Infectious Diseases Control, UNSW From midnight Wednesday, all of Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will return to Stage 3 lockdown for six weeks. There are only four reasons for residents to leave their homes: ...
After the Spinoff recounted Leave.EU heads telling Britain’s Daily Telegraph they had ‘dispatched’ a team to Auckland to work with NZ First, the party leader issued a deeply curious statement.The day began with news that the “bad boys of Brexit” were back and they were coming to New Zealand.The Daily ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Vaz, Senior Lecturer, Department of Banking and Finance, Monash University The reimposition of stage 3 restrictions on metropolitan Melbourne is, as Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says, a matter of life or death. That’s also true for small businesses. A further six ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW After early success in suppressing COVID-19, we are facing a resurgence in Victoria, which is threatening disease control for the whole country. Outbreaks in northwestern ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 6 July 2020 Three Citizenships The concept of ‘citizenship’ has both general and specific meanings. Keith Rankin. The most specific and familiar I call passport citizenship. A passport citizen of a country is a person holding a passport for that country, or with unambiguous entitlement to ...
Minister of Health and State Services Chris Hipkins says he is disappointed the leak of Covid-19 patient details involved politicians, but he does not want to prejudice the investigation. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is rejecting accusations he influenced the outcome of a report saying Ports of Auckland should shift to Northland. ...
Wellington’s newspaper, The Dominion-Post, gave it to its readers straight: “I’m no saviour”—Ardern rejects saintly status”. But would the crowd of 500 attending Labour’s Congress have believed it? They had stamped and cheered when, in opening the event, Peter Samuel Jackson (no, not the film director) had said: “We have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Victorian government will lock down all metropolitan Melbourne for six weeks from Wednesday night, as a new wave of the coronavirus takes hold in the city. The lockdown will also cover the Mitchell Shire, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University As the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, one question that keeps coming up is whether COVID-19 can be transmitted through the air. In fact, 239 scientists in 32 countries have written an ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Victorian government will lock down all metropolitan Melbourne for six weeks from Wednesday night, as a new wave of the coronavirus takes hold in the city. The lockdown will also cover the Mitchell Shire, ...
Transport Minister and senior Labour MP Phil Twyford has joined forces with his former colleague and now Auckland Mayor Phil Goff against New Zealand First and the party's push to move the port north. ...
The admissions by Walker and veteran spin doctor Michelle Boag follow the government’s announcement yesterday of a sweeping inquiry to find the source of the leak.National MP Hamish Walker has disclosed that he engineered a privacy breach over the weekend when he purposefully released the personal details of Covid-19 patients ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Russo, Associate Professor, Director Cabrini Monash University Department of Nursing Research, Monash University Metropolitan Melbourne and the shire of Mitchell will returned to Stage 3 stay-at-home restrictions as of midnight Wednesday, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced, after 191 new cases were ...
A National MP has outed himself as the source of media reports about a confidential Covid-19 patient data breach National's Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker has confessed to sharing the private information of Covid-19 patients with media, after the Government launched a high-powered inquiry to determine the source of the data breach. ...
"I have spoken to National Party Leader Todd Muller and informed him that I passed to members of the media, by email, information containing Covid-19 patient details that was given to me by a source." ...
I have spoken to National Party Leader Todd Muller and informed him that I passed to members of the media, by email, information containing Covid-19 patient details that was given to me by a source. I did this to expose the Government’s shortcomings ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeff Borland, Professor of Economics, University of Melbourne When a recession hits, no group of workers is immune. But some are harder hit than others. The latest labour market figures are giving us a good idea of who is being hardest hit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Wilcox, Lecturer in Music and Sound Design, University of Technology Sydney Prolific composer Ennio Morricone has died in Rome at the age of 91. From his origins in Italian radio, Morricone became renowned internationally as a groundbreaking film composer. Composing over ...
One of the "bad boys of Brexit" who believes in political campaigns that are blunt and edgy has been hired to help with NZ First's election campaign, a UK newspaper is reporting. ...
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson Jo Holmes says: “Auckland Council has released a statement to media boasting that, based on submissions to the Emergency Budget, a majority of Aucklanders support its rates increase. What the Council fails ...
The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand said it repeatedly warned the government an attack like that on March 15 last year was possible. Today, it released the evidence.Within days of the March 15 mosque attacks, while the names of the dead were still being recorded, Anjum Rahman of the ...
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The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand will share parts 1 and 2 of the submission we presented to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Mosque Attacks. The aim is to ensure New Zealand is fully informed about the efforts IWCNZ took prior ...
Irrigation New Zealand is greatly encouraged by the fact that the Government has today recognised the “transformational opportunity” water storage provides for New Zealand as part of our post-Covid economic recovery. Water storage was acknowledged ...
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The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand are sharing parts 1 and 2 of the submission we presented to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Mosque Attacks. The aim is to ensure New Zealand is fully informed about the efforts IWCNZ took prior ...
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Members of New Zealand’s Indian community rallied in Auckland on Sunday to raise awareness about threats to their homeland’s democracy from the rise of right-wing Hindu nationalism. As the world’s second-most populous nation grapples with a burgeoning pandemic and deepening political and social division, about 25 protesters gathered in Auckland’s Aotea ...
CEAC applauds professor Mike Joy as NZ’s leading environmental ecologists tireless efforts to enlighten ‘successive Governments’ over the pollution of our waterways and promoting best practice paths of cleaning up of our waterways over successive ...
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Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Problems looming for temporary visa holders, state house waiting list balloons again, and US ban could hit NZ seafood exports.There are some real problems looming for temporary visa holders and their employers, with thousands set to expire all once, reports Nona ...
Publisher Stuff is turning its back on Facebook. Anna Rawhiti-Connell explains why, and how that might affect readers In a bold move, one of our biggest media companies announced on Monday it will cease all activity on Facebook and Instagram for an unspecified time. Stuff’s action follows in the wake ...
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Cat MacLennan argues there's scanty evidence for a decision to rule footage of a sharemilker beating cows with a metal pole inadmissible on the grounds it would encourage more undercover filming The judge in the cow cruelty case of Ministry for Primary Industries v Luke ruled that hidden camera film footage ...
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Open mike 18/02/2015 
Open mike is your post. 
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Better late than never, isn’t it?
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/labour-leader-outed-over-unpaid-bill/ar-BBhEQBy?ocid=mailsignoutmd
Despite Hager’s book, Dirty Politics alive and kicking under Key’s sleazy government.
TPP?
Sky City?
Sabin?
Key takes the election result as a mandate for another term of it as the sheeple say so assisted by a labour party with past their use by dates MPs and strategists
I saw an MP had posted on facebook a photo of the Labour caucus class of 2015 on the steps of parliament yesterday. Plenty of 50 something’s shades of grey. It was depressing some of the same old faces still clipping the ticket. Others must have been thinking the same as there were few likes.
is there a down-tick option..?
Yes democracy rapidly becoming a sham in the land of the great white sheeple.
@ Paul. Agree.
By the way where is Nicky Hager these days? Haven’t heard anything of him for a while!
Is he under house arrest?
Been gagged?
Prevented from speaking publicly?
Any news about the outcome of police removing his personal effects from his home to be investigated?
We need a journalist of Hager’s intelligence, calibre and integrity to investigate John Key’s involvement re the time frame of having been informed of the Mike Sabin affair!
Another point is it’s interesting that today, msm (Fairfax and NZH) is carrying the story about Andrew Little’s past “non payment” of an invoice, (after it was raised in Parliament yesterday by the loathsome Steven Joyce), focusing on the time frame of the actual payment (yesterday)!
So I ask, where is msm focus on slimy PM Key and his grubby ministers, digging deep about when they first became aware of the Sabin investigation?
Pity more media enthusiasm and attention isn’t focused on this issue, where it should be.
A good rejoinder to Joyce would be to ask how many Teachers have not been paid correctly this year.
@ dv – BINGO!
The media give corporate shills like Mary Beard a voice, not real journalists like Hager publicity.
Remember they want more for themselves and less for the rest of us.
So being on a salesperson for the TPP rather than an advocate for democracy, transparency and solidarity.
Labour Party PR is abysmal. How can any efficient system drop their leader into the mess that Andrew finds himself in? The Shearer “fish in Parliament” debacle, lack of penetrating secondary questions and dredging up petty and inconsequential points. Andrew needs a decent “minder” that would never have allowed the likes of Joyce to crucify him over an unpaid bill. It’s all over the media today and Key’s back off the ropes.
Pay some real money and buy a minder that’s got his/her finger on the pulse. Another with the political nous of Heather Simpson – – – there’ll be someone out there.
“It’s all over the media”.
Not a single reference to it on Stuff’s front page in fact. I guess people who are impressed by ‘gotcha’ politics will clutch their pearls a bit. Meanwhile, Bill English’s toxic ACC rort is getting as least as much attention, and that will still be news tomorrow, as will National Party Sabinism and the Skysore.
Wot’s this then ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66310310/andrew-little-coughs-up-months-overdue-bill
On the front page? English comprehension 101. Reading is a skill.
Why do you have to be so offensive ? You brought up the ‘front page’ issue, not I.
I repeat “it is all over the media”.
I think you’re exaggerating the significance of a story that will be gone by tomorrow.
i don’t..it’s an impression that will stick..
Getting plenty of airtime on Morning Report. The complainant (who just happens to be an NBR freelancer) is suggesting there was no intention to pay. But you’re right this will be old news tomorrow. Labour just need to get their shit together and stop being their own worst enemy.
Is John Armstrong frothing at the mouth screaming “resign!” again? After all, a late payment is at least as serious as an eleven-year-old form letter.
I’m sure Armstrong is whipping up an online column as we speak…
Along the lines of “When will National pay its $100 billion bill, Bill?”
Stop trying to resurrect that dead horse.
That isn’t a very nice thing to say about Mr. Armstrong.
Little will be taking the blame for some staff cock-up either in his office or Labour HQ.
Given that Shearer’s fish debacle is brought up at every available opportunity (and in this column today!!) I reckon that Andrew Little’s unpaid bill (and no need to put it in inverted commas ‘cos it was exactly that, it appears) will continue to haunt him in just the same way. It was a damn silly oversight on Andrew’s part and his minders need to be much more on the ball.
Your concern is touching. Truly.
No, wait, this just in: fuck off.
Silly but minor. It will be forgotten within a week.
Sure is a pretty dumb own-goal but given the debacle of last week and the ease with which Little has owned Key on SkyCity I guess some sort of retaliation was to be expected. No surprise then that the Nats have reverted to the tried-and-true methods that have served them well in the past. It will be interesting how Little and Labour respond. Probably best just to suck it up, take responsibility and try and push through. And, since we’re dealing the dark art of politics, some added fuel thrown on Winston’s claims of insider trading at SkyCity would be useful.
The timing of SkyCity announcement of wanting a taxpayer handout pushed their share price up which was smart Morrison. However the ‘no penalty’ for the convention centre size reduction looks dodgy as hell.
Key and his cronies tie up with that very sketchy outfit the NZX is fishy in my opinion. By the NZX moving into being a fund manager and recently increasing their holdings bears looking into.
Gosman the National Party shrill will come on here with his twisted opinion shortly.
“..The Shearer “fish in Parliament” debacle..”
wasn’t that stuart nash shearers’ chief-adviser then..?
..was the fish his idea..?
..or did shearer brain-fart that one out all on his own..?..
I believe the fish idea was entirely Shearer’s, and no one else in caucus knew about it until he did it. He bought the fish from an Auckland supermarket and flew to Wellington with him in his carry-on…
“He bought the fish from an Auckland supermarket and flew to Wellington with him in his carry-on…”
Wow, really? That’s a special kind of retarded.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11111726
“Mr Shearer’s fish, which he had brought down from Auckland in his carry-on luggage, were placed back in a bag and ushered out of the debating chamber by deputy leader Grant Robertson.”
Wow…
And just imagine him on the plane with his secret cargo, all pleased with himself, smug little smirk on his fishy little face.
Underestimate my scaly powers, will they?
Wow indeed.
Heh, indeed. I can see the inner dialogue
“Show me will they? Hehehe, my and my little ‘friends’ here will sink the National government. Sink? That’s a good pun. Must work that in. Also something about sleeping with the fishes. Ho ho ho – that’s a good one”
And so forth.
Also, what the fuck did the guys screening his bag think?
Maybe he still keeps a diplomatic bag…
It’s probably a catch bag
Maybe he pulled the old bait and switch
He might have said “It’s my lunch” and airport security would have bought it hook, line and sinker
That was a great example of the emperor has no clothes on. I remember thinking
oh dear god this mug has lost the plot. To think he didn’t fall on his sword and not seek re election sums up the problem with Labour. All the previous leaders bar DC should have not stood again.
“..All the previous leaders bar DC should have not stood again..”
+ 1..
funny story..!
..shearer now feels he is qualified to work in ‘intelligence’..
..(just keep him away from the fish..!..)
New temporary boss of GCSB was the ex lawyer for the ministry of Fisheries Maybe take some loaves and he is in!
there ya go..!..
q.e.d..
there is a definite pattern there..
..i feel a venn-diagram coming on..
..let the overlaps fall where they may..!
I bet a few people would like to have a Super Minister discuss their unpaid bills in parliament, and then get the harpie Gower into it to. Perhaps they could get onto the tax evaders for the country while they are onto it
A caliphate established by radical Muslims that supports genocide and appears intent on precipitating World War 3 with an aim of engineering the Apocalypse – “that it considers itself a harbinger of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.”
Doing nothing to try and minimise this would seem to be unwise.
ISIS – apostles of the Apocalypse
Long version (Graeme Wood at The Atlantic): What ISIS Really Wants
Invading Iraq in 2003 really worked, didn’t it?
Guess you advocated for NZ’s involvement then as well.
No, you shouldn’t make baseless assumptions. I opposed the invasion of Iraq.
This is now very different situation. ISIS is not a State. Iraq has asked us to assist them in opposing ISIS.
Have you read The Atlantic article? Or have you leapt straight to diversion?
Nah, this is about you telling lies again. Citation needed for people who suggest we do nothing. Put up or shut up, racist.
That’s more garbled than usual from you OAB.
Of course I’m a much more dangerous enemy than ISIS. ‘Must defeat enemy’. You should wake up properly first though.
Who are the people who say we should do nothing? Put up or shut up, racist.
Me. I say we should do nothing. It would work if we did nothing – why don’t people actually think through these things?
No humanitarian aid then. No help for the Kurds. No restriction on arms dealers?
Nothing military.
For a large number of reasons, all of which have been thrashed around here plenty.
What do you think would happen if we did nothing militarily?
Just making sure that Racist George hasn’t found his citation – “nothing military” ≠ “nothing”.
little said that the iraqi politician who visited asked for humanitarian-aid..
..why the fuck don’t we just do that..?
..instead of being mercenaries/spear-carriers for the fucken americans..
..with our soldiers having to be given diplomatic passports..
..so they can kill at will..?
..’cos the iraqi govt won’t give them the legal rights to kill their people..
..the australian soldiers are already killing using diplomatic passports..’cos they were also refused that right by the iraqi govt..
..how the fuck does all of this mesh with the bullshit being spun by key..?
..that we aren’t just mercenaries/spear-carriers for the americans..
..we are going to war ‘to help’ the iraqis..
..that they ‘want us there’..
..as little was told..what they want is humanitarian aid..
..not just more fucken soldiers throwing lead around..
No prob oab.
But – what would happen over there if we did nothing militarily?
Anyone?
We’d have to stop helping spy on them first – unless that doesn’t count as “something military”.
Ok then, if the spying and any other military activity stops.
What would happen if we did nothing militarily over there?
Anyone?
(why do I get the feeling the question is being avoided…
I think the result would be much the same, because the plan is rubbish and we lack sufficient influence to change it.
I’ll have a crack VTO.
ISIS is a threat to a bunch of people over there who would do stuff about it.
Obviously the Shia blocs who are the current primary target of ISIS. So they are already stepping up in the alliance between Iran/Iraq and Syria. That would continue. They have their own agenda of forming a fairly solid shia ruled area. They’d probably achieve that.
Secondly, the Gulf states like Saudi A, UAE etc are threatened by ISIS to a small degree. Insofar that they are bad PR for the anti Shia movement that they care about, they will step up. They have problems in that if they step up too hard against IS then their own populations get a bit angsty, not because of direct IS support (which is small) but because of IS being an Anti-shia force. It’s a tricky spot for them, so they’d probably clamp down hard on ISIS when it raises it’s head in a Sunni state, (same as they do with AQ and the Bortherhood).
The Sunni states probably enjoy watching Iran bleed against ISIS so they may be tempted to quietly fund them to prolong it, and they will not be happy about the Shia states getting their solid bloc, but I doubt they could stop it, and fundamentally, they’d rather have someone who wasn;t as insane as ISIS to be their proxy.
So, I reckon if we butted out, the Shia would fuck ISIS over the next year or two, the Sunni states would say ‘that’s annoying’ and start funding some other wee group.
Pretty much the same as what will happen if we do interfere, with the difference being that we won’t be getting in the way.
interesting and correct although I meant “we” being “NZ”. In other words the US and its dirty cronies like Australia carry on without us.
Same result – no difference…
Sounds like an endorsement for war with shoot to kill being approved by the PM and the troops becoming honorary diplomat’s.
Expecting something else from captain beige ? content generation is best done with such inferences.
I hear Feild Marshal Brownlee has been kitted out with a dapper taylor made safari outfit.
our very own colonel blimp..
brownlee clearly need a swagger-stick..
..so he can stand there and whack his thighs with it..
..to emphasise his points..
..(and for a touch of self-inflicted bdsm..?..
..gerry’s been a naughty boy..?..)
He has been seen roaring around the streets of Christchurch in a Hummer. Must be some special powers Key has invoked since we are at war.
is it a camo-hummer..?
has it got one of those disabled-access lift things..?
..to get him in and out..?
..are there emergency-procedures set up for when he gets stuck..?
lol
Uncharacteristically considerate of brownlee to have a hummer.
Some people might not immediately recognise him and therefore know he is a twat, but driving a hummer is like a huge neon sign labelling him as such.
How many tents did it take?
just one marquee…
Sounds like you haven’t tried to read it.
I’m a strong supporter of peace and non-violence generally.
But when you already have a war with major intent then doing nothing doesn’t reduce or stop the violence, it allows it to grow.
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent – Edmund Burke
Citation needed for people who suggest we do nothing, Racist George.
A stated before PG… How about the “West” stop training, funding and arming ISIS before “we” worry about putting military personnel there – in ANY form?
No arms, no cash and no capability would tend to weaken them quite a bit don’t ya think?
Stop sipping the kool-aid.
Handwringing pearl clutching racist has nothing of value to offer. Again.
Well that will just fit in perfectly with those Christians who also want to bring on the Apocalypse.
http://www.christianity.com/theology/end-times/
Pity we cant limit the war to Apocalypse believers only on some unoccupied area of wasteland and leave them to it.
They’re not the only ones.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Age#Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Age#Islam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Mahdi#Reappearance
readership down a bit, that you need to clickbait?
Nobel Peace Laureates Slam Human Rights Watch’s
Refusal to Cut Ties to U.S. Government
AlterNet, July 8, 2014
Human Rights Watch’s affiliation with ex-CIA and NATO officials generates perverse incentives and undermine its reputation for independence.
In a May 12 letter published on AlterNet, two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and over 100 scholars, journalists and human rights activists called on Human Rights Watch to close its revolving door to the U.S. government. On June 3, HRW published a response from executive director Kenneth Roth on its website, arguing that their “concern is misplaced.” In a June 11 debate on Democracy Now!, HRW Counsel and Spokesman Reed Brody similarly rejected their recommendations.
Now, Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel join fellow signatories Richard Falk (United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories from 2008-14) and Hans von Sponeck (UN Assistant Secretary General from 1998-2000) in demanding that their proposals be taken seriously, and additionally, that HRW remove former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana from its Board of Directors.
Dear Kenneth Roth,
While we welcome your stated commitment to Human Rights Watch’s independence and credibility, we are dismayed by your rejection of our common-sense suggestion for strengthening them: bar those who have crafted or executed U.S. foreign policy from serving as HRW staff, advisors or board members—or, at a bare minimum, mandate lengthy “cooling-off” periods before and after any associate moves between HRW and the foreign-policy divisions of the U.S. government.
Before addressing your letter’s objections to the three instances of HRW’s advocacy that suggest a conflict of interest, we would like to reiterate that they were “limited to only recent history,” and that other cases could have been raised as well. One obvious example of HRW’s failure to appropriately criticize U.S. crimes occurred after the 2004 coup d’état against the democratically elected government of Haiti. The U.S. government essentially kidnapped Haiti’s president; thousands of people were killed under the ensuing coup regime; and deposed officials of the constitutional government were jailed.
In the face of what were likely the worst human rights abuses of any country in the Western hemisphere at the time, HRW barely lifted a finger. HRW never hosted a press conference criticizing the coup or post-coup atrocities. In contrast to HRW’s appeals to the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Democratic Charter for Venezuela and Cuba, HRW never publicly invoked the Charter in the case of Haiti, even as Articles 20 and 21 afforded multilateral measures “in the event of an unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime.” HRW never placed an op-ed about the overthrow in a prominent newspaper. (In 2004 The New York Times alone published at least five HRW opinion pieces and four HRW letters on other subjects.) It is reasonable for outside observers to question whether this lack of response from HRW to such large-scale human rights violations had anything to do with U.S. foreign-policy priorities.
The very existence of such questions regarding HRW’s advocacy should be reason enough to impose sharp restrictions on HRW’s close ties to the U.S. government. ….
Read more….
http://www.alternet.org/world/nobel-peace-laureates-slam-human-rights-watchs-refusal-cut-ties-us-government
I knew something sneaky was hiding behind the SkyCity funding kerfuffle. The Govt has been softening us for (at least) $6M funding of a bunch of wealthy losers: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11403588
Government of the rich, for the rich, by the rich.
Yes but they are quality losers who know no other life, you wouldnt want to see them down the local cafe down to their last million wearing last years pradas would you.
$millions$ given to rich yachties (and they are very rich)
$hundredsthousands$ taken from school children libraries.
………
$millions$ for casinos
$homes$ sold from under the poor
-and a measely $30 thousand couldn’t be found to fund Christchurch’s only Rape Crisis Support Line
“..I feel shameful walking past rough sleepers – how must the politicians responsible feel?..” (+ comment:..and how do our politicians feel when they see their handiwork in the flesh..?..do they shift at all uneasily in their (comfortable/well-padded/heated) seats..?..especially those labour politicians..eh..?..’cos of all of them..they should really know better..eh..?..but they don’t..)
“.. An evening walk down the Strand in London brings to painful life official figures –
– that show a sharp rise in rough sleeping..”
(cont..)
(ed:..i have asked myself that question..
..especially of labour mp’s/politicians..
..and our labour/green mayors of auckland..
..both of whom when first campaigning to be mayors..
..put their hands on their hearts..
..and vowed/promised to help the homeless..
..since then..yeah..nah..eh..?
..but especially those neo-liberal/rightwing labour mp’s..
..those who won the argument within the labour party pre-’14 election..
..that saw labour ’14 election-policy offering absolutely nothing for the poorest..
..cunnliffe said that benefit-levels wd increase ‘by the rate of inflation..
..which is what national does..
..and here’s the funny story..!
..those rightwing/neo-liberal labour people are still wondering why those poorest..(the missing million..)..
..why they didn’t rush to the polling booths..
..sobbing in/with gratitude on their way..
..to tick the box for labour..
..as i say in the headline..eh..?..’they should really know better’..eh..?..)
(cont..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/i-feel-shameful-walking-past-rough-sleepers-%E2%80%93-how-must-the-politicians-responsible-feel-comment-and-how-do-our-politicians-feel-when-they-see-their-handiwork-in-the-flesh-do/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11403351
Not so much down and gloom on dairy prices anymore
When it gets back up to the average price in 2011, be sure to let us know.
See, droughts are good news.
I’m not an expert, but that looks like a loss-making enterprise to me.
This:
http://www.frankieboyle.com/frankie/free-speech.html
I’m not going to follow the link gormless – as your to bloody lazy to write a description.
Are you just click baiting?
It’s “you’re”. It is a contraction of “you are”. Maybe reading is not your thing.
adam was writing, not reading, gormless. Pot, kettle, etc.
If he writes like that, I have good grounds to conclude he is incapable of reading.
And if you read like that, I have good grounds to conclude you are incapable of writing anything other than erroneous pedantry. Concentrate on adam’s criticism; a brief summary of why we should click on the link would be helpful, because the number of readers who are going to just on your say so is minimal.
Something like: ‘Frankie Boyle skewers the false outrage of the media’ or ‘comedian rips into media hypocrisy’. It’s not hard.
You could have read it by now. Or not. Suit yourself. I will try to struggle on regardless.
More reading difficulty, gormless? That fact that I was able to provide a couple of short summaries strongly suggests I did read Boyle’s piece. Try and avoid arguments based on pedantry in the future, you’re not much good at them.
Noted.
You’ll like this from Frankie Boyle, Ole – given that you’re such a good Tory…
On Mock the Week after Thatcher’s demise:
How much do you think the funeral is going to cost ?
Frankie Boyle: “3 million. For 3 million, they could give everyone in Scotland a shovel and we would dig a hole so deep that we could hand her over to Satan personally.”
Who suggested Andrew Little commission anything from David Cohen? He is a very right wing journalist and a great friend of Bill English. It was before Andrew Little was leader so hopefully he is getting better advice these days about who to talk to.
Yeah, for goodness sakes don’t make any effort to find out how the Right will spin the things you say 🙄
he was hired to coalesce/define/translate..
..the thoughts of chairman little..
..i wonder how all of that worked out..?
..if it was value for money..?
Knowing what your adversary will say about you before they say it can be an advantage, if the information is used wisely.
I think Little’s doing ok on the presentation front.
“..Knowing what your adversary will say about you before they say it can be an advantage, if the information is used wisely. .”
to a point..i s’pose..
..and cohen was the only one who cd make those calls..?
..who cd lay out those hypothetical-scenarios..?
..and so now we have a rightwinger..who has looked inside littles’ head..
..any hypothetical bad-scenarios you can see around that..?
..and little was ‘doing ok’..
..not so much lately..
Other than you, who says Cohen was the only one?
The fact that National have to reach further down into the barrel to ping him for a ubiquitous human error – forgetting to pay a bill – is an indication that they aren’t getting many hits in debate.
What happened to ‘angry Andy’? 😆
nobbled by neo-liberalism..?
(and..)
“..Other than you, who says Cohen was the only one?..”
..was there a whole team on it..?
..the ‘little-brain team’..?..
..’here come the l.b.t.’s..!’..
..did they have a uniform..?..
..or at the very least..an insignia..?
..a motto..?
“..– is an indication that they aren’t getting many hits in debate..”
going on the commentary i did on q-time yesterday..
..little was the one not ‘getting many hits’..
..and i mean..there is hardly a lack of ammunition to hand..?
..is there..?
Not only that but the NBR has the story saying that the go-between (one Chris Matthews) was also slaggng off other Labour MPs to the journalist. Who is he and what position does he hold?
Since the working class was defeated, indeed pretty much smashed, under the fourth Labour government and the following National government, class consciousness in this country is at an all-time low. The left, defeated on the economic front, managed to win some victories on the cultural front. That was good, but we do need to get back to class: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/class-class-consciousness-and-left-political-practice/
Yet another excellent article, Philip. Redline is a great read.
Reading about the Euro debt-mongers problems with their unsustainable business model in Greece would be tragic and hilarious if it wasn’t so hilarious and tragic.
The entire western financial system is hilarious and tragic.
It is up to its use-by date and Greece is a canary in the mine.
More debt in the world than there is money to repay it ……………. thinking thinking thinking
Hilarious
Tragic
This is quite similar to what Bill wrote here the other day. Indeed if the only option for war with ISIS, is war with ISIS – I think we should do the right thing and help the people at war with ISIS – rather than send our own troops over there.
http://libcom.org/news/kurdistan-gilles-dauv%C3%A9-17022015
Sorry about the long links in advance.
Just another reason, why we should not send troops into the middle east. This is just stupid on the part of the commanders who ordered this to happen – stupid.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/02/12/16751/us-troops-burned-waste-hazardous-open-pits-while-safer-incinerators-sat-idle?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-3b6faff816-100020097&mc_cid=3b6faff816&mc_eid=c346e018f7
And if you think privatising health care is a winner – or if Obama care is any go. Think again. Insurance companies are in the business to make money – sick people don’t make money = hence the USA and it’s SNAFU approach to health care.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/02/16/16766/elimination-public-option-threw-consumers-insurance-wolves?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-3b6faff816-100020097&mc_cid=3b6faff816&mc_eid=c346e018f7
At Public Integrity – you should look up health – and see all the nasty, vicious, and down right evil things the health insurance industry does to make a buck.
Robert Fisk’s latest on ISIS
‘Isis has provoked an Arab alliance to bomb the West’s enemies’
http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/robert-fisk
…..”But for Arabs, there is a clear message in all these alliances. Washington has an American-trained general in charge of the Libyan air force, an American-trained former field marshal and president in charge of Egypt, an American-educated and British-trained king in Jordan and two wealthy emirates with huge US investments – one of them headquarters to the US fleet in the Gulf – in the battle. Only that well-known dictator who has been fighting Isis for longer than any of them – Bashar al-Assad of Syria – is left out. For now.”
( spot the ironies)
And this:
https://dimpost.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/same-as-it-ever-was/
There is a Wisconsin version of FJK, Scott Walker. There are many similarities in their methods. Given the nature of the US and A, Walker may actually end up in legal trouble if things filter up to the federal level. Meanwhile, FJK’s smile and wave is increasingly being replaced by scowl and lie.
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/4-things-you-should-know-about-presidential-candidate-scott-walker-its-too-late
Daily Telegraph political commentator quits in protest at deteriorating journalistic standards
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-17/honesty-shocker-telegraphs-political-commentator-quits-over-hsbc-coverage-accuses-pa
Go Winston .. let’s see if the FMA have either teeth or guts ….
Winston Peters: ‘Huge volume’ of SkyCity shares trading must be investigated:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11403839
I’m glad Winnie has raised that. He’s still useful on some issues.
Winston is a lot more useful than Labour these days ( since Helen Clark) ….Labour is a liability…didnt Labour MPs …(the Labour Party boys)…accept SKYCITY hospitality along with the Nacts?…and what about that Auckland Labour Mayor’s role in helping along SkyCity ?…say no more….
….it was the Greens who have always had form on fighting the SkyCity deal …and Winston…and Mana ….this is the real Left Opposition in New Zealand
The book Dirty Politics gains a win for the port workers with the Maritime Union members ratifying a collective agreement this morning.
Well done comrades and excellent job brother Gary Parsloe. My you enjoy many years of retirement!
David Cameron is demanding that obese/overweight people *accept help* (For example the outdated dietary advice that includes eating wheat and a little sugar? That the obese or overweight should learn to hate the appearance of their bodies like the government apparently does? To be taught that human rights law is for “real” disabilities? Hmmm….) or lose benefits.
Cameron really knows how to bene bash huh? At least this reporter has the good sense to make this comment:
“But here is the alternative theory. What if the intention is not to make people slimmer, but to make the obese reconcile themselves with the fact that they are worthless human beings, and hence unworthy of receiving any financial support from anyone? If that is the case, then the initiative may work very well indeed.”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/16/david-cameron-obese-big-society-benefits
The plan should be trialled on Gerry Brownlee. He certainly doesn’t deserve any financial support from anyone.
hi murray, where are the obesist police?
i would have expected you to be taken to task for that comment.
perhaps double standards much?
i think i detect a touch of afflunentist (?) in yr comment too. 😉
Ask them, if you know who they are. When the English Tories start on obese people as part of their attack on our brothers and sisters in England, I think it’s perfectly OK to suggest they start on Brownlee.
I don’t know what the forms are like currently in NZ, but back in the day when you applied for a benefit for medical reasons part of the form you signed said something like how you could be declined a benefit if you refused medical treatment for the condition. I’m surprised Bennett and co haven’t gone down that track already tbh.
What could possibly go wrong ?
US lets allies buy killer drones … oh yes, this should end well.
07-866 6851www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/02/17/u-s-to-let-allies-buy-killer-drones.html?via=newsletter&source=CSPMedition
MORONS.
With the US having them, it’s already ended badly. This is just a continuation.
Hi Murray .. hope your trip to Tai Tokerau tomorrow bears some fruit if you are in the right place at the right time .. travel well …
Quoting article:
Oh, would that be like US drones indiscriminately killing civilians?
I’d say that it’d be better for any country to build their own drones. That way they could guarantee that there wouldn’t be any back doors into the control systems.
Apparently Ports of Auckland have settled with Maritime Union & new Collective contract agreed.
Neither Herald nor Stuff have any details so its going to be interesting to see who ‘won’ after all.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/years-long-ports-auckland-union-dispute-tipped-end-morning-sources-ng-168805?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NBR%2520Heads%2520Up
Tont Gibson won as the maritime union has less members and less money then it did before and with the rival port union on the scene they have less influence
Of course they could have accepted the arbitrators decision a couple of years ago and been in a stronger position but thems the breaks
andrew little under-impressed..again..
..and kennedy ‘death-stare’ graham got performer-of-the-day..
..but all in all..it was a bit of a drag..
(but key did tell us that he ‘has a vision’..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2015/new-zealand-parliament-list-of-questions-for-oral-answer-wednesday-18-february-2015/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/66323975/editorial-andrew-little-plays-into-pms-hands-on-spying
Heres where I’d usually sling some stuff KLittles way over this except that hes doing the exact thing I’d advise him to do, keeping the Greens out of anything that matters is what most voters want since the Greens only got 10% of the vote which is pretty shoddy when you consider how many people didn’t vote
Little is taking Labour to the center which is what he needs to do and it looks like hes distancing Labour away from the Greens to set up a deal with Winston for the next election ala Labour back when they were last in power
Labour doesn’t need to offer the Greens anything because theres nowhere else for the Greens to go and if its a choice between Labour/Winston and the Greens or National/Act/MP then of course the Greens will be Labours doormap
So, unfortuantely (as I want another term for Key) , this is smart politics from Little
good advice there pucky..!
..move more to the right you reckon..?
..even when that didn’t work that well last time..eh..?
..that missing-million couldn’t be stirred to vote for the promise of s.f.a. for them..
..silly poor..!..eh..?..they should be grateful for crumbs..!..even for no crumbs..!.
..yep..!..that worked out really well..
..little-labour should try really hard to be more like key-national..eh..?
..well..they have made a good start..eh..?..on the spooking-front..
..taking five minutes to agree to extending the powers of the spooks..
..and freezing turei/the greens out of the spooks-‘club’..eh..?
Never said anything about going to the right instead I applaud him for:
going to the center
learning from Helen Clark
and yes Little needs to do whatever he needs to so he can get into power then he can make the changes, the problem with Labour supporters in general is that they don’t quite seem to get it that you need to get the power first before you make the changes
Fortunately, for Labour supporters, Little realises that
and labour polled their highest when exactly…?
..wasn’t it when cunnliffe had his (however brief) ‘workers’ flag is deepest red’ moment..?
..what wd u take from that..?
As you say briefly and then people realised he was all mouth and no trousers, had he gone to the center he probably would have won
Which is why John Key is merely tinkering around the edges of what the right wing want ie
partial privitisation as opposed to full sell offs,
keeping union membership voluntary instead of abolishing unions,
90 day employment bill instead of firing any time any place,
increasing benefit payments instead of cutting back,
tinkering with the RMA instead of abolishing ot and writing a new one
all this because Keys knows (as did Clark) its the center that decides who governs
Thanks Chris for owning up to what the right really intend to do to our society.
Do you really think they should abolish the unions PR? You’re saying the government should legislate away the right to free association?
Of course he wants workers’ rights dismantled.
They get in the way of his masters’ profits.
” Never said anything about going to the right”
FFS chris73. In which direction do you move to get from the left to the centre?
LOL
Liars of Our Time
No. 47: SIMON MERCEP
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel with Jim Mora and Noelle McCarthy. I don’t know who their two guests are today, but whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue….”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—SIMON MERCEP, Radio NZ National, 3:35 p.m., Wednesday 18 February 2015
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….”
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.”
More liars HERE….
A liar.
Or a deluded fool?
I think there was a bit of tongue in his cheek as he said it, actually.
Hipkins managed to get this out of the Min of Ed Secretary today:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/66349800/novopay-botchups-cost-45m-to-fix
That’s an extra 45 million on top of the countless sums already spent.
But Scott, Little didnt pay a $900 debt, you must know THAT is more worthy of being shared with TV3’s news audience tonight?
Paddy Gower has taken a $900 unpaid debt to new heights.
By making it his most important event today he has nailed Little. Announcing the honeymoon is over… Almost sounded like he was making a very pointed comment to Little directly.
I think Gower’s piece tonight smacked of overreach actually. For all that though hopefully Andrew Little is practicing the media shut-down right now.
It was Gower’s version of
na-na-na-na-na
I think it reflected more on he than little in the end
Paddy was so thrilled to be able to “nail” Andrew. “It seems that -(pause) the Honeymoon is over!” Poor deficient Paddy.
You get the feeling that Gower (and probably TV3) had hoped to lead with this story (exclusive emails etc) but events have rather overtaken them.
As in most contests when one side is getting flogged the ref will attempt to even things up a bit by making a “no fuss no foul” trivial call.
Gower is out of his league and should be reporting the Mid-week news in a small community based provincial newspaper.
Cohen is well known to the likes of aunty Audrey & uncle Vernon when they were principled unionists with the journalists union.
From another Open Mike, but it didnt get answered:
I was wondering if an employer that pays minimum wage, after the minimum wage goes up, is required to negotiate in good faith, or can just say ‘im paying minimum wage, deal with it’