Just been scared of the implications of a Bill rushed through Parliament yesterday regarding the Payment of Families caring for Severely Handicapped Act. (Paraphrased)
Andrew Geddis on Pundit explains it well:
You simply tell the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the courts that they are not allowed to look at the policy and decide whether or not it is unlawfully discriminatory. That’s just what the Government is seeking to get Parliament to do under section 70E(2):
[When this law kicks in], no complaint based in whole or in part on a specified allegation [that the policy unlawfully discriminates] may be made to the Human Rights Commission, and no proceedings based in whole or in part on a specified allegation [that the policy unlawfully discriminates] may be commenced or continued in any court or tribunal.
Yeah it’s crazy. It’s the same bullying, cartel-loving psychology, that Torys are so comfortable with,
which we keep seeing in this 2nd term over and over again. Same with the GCSB law changes. Same with the reaction to NZPower. Same with offshore mining protest laws, etc.
You ain’t seen nothing yet, they’ve got their media mates onside and their chosen leader out front of labour so they will go from strength the strength with every move emboldening them for the next one.
A hitch appears to be how unhinged Shonkey gets all too easily, he wouldn’t know what serious pressure was and buckles under the power puff efforts the nz MSM toss in his direction.
I see this as another foot on the neck of advocacy for better government support of people struggling with getting fair resources. The government wants to silence the ordinary people from asking for more, because it distracts them and diverts money away from ..dah dah ‘the job and wealth creators’.
This is a piece that David Farrar put up about advocacy groups being put out of the Charities Act. (Recently applied to SST I think, and probably similar to the cases in the USA where the IRS was scrutinising the loony Right too much for gaining unfair tax advantages.)
Greens support lobby groups being charities
November 18th, 2012 at 7:00 am by David Farrar
On the one hand the Greens rail against lobbyists, yet on the other hand they say they should be able to be tax free charities. I guess the difference is whether or not they agree with them.
Green MP Denise Roche blogs::
Community organisations already spend much of their time advocating. They shouldn’t be excluded from getting charitable status (and tax exemption) because of this. Organisations of long standing repute including the National Council of Women have been denied charitable status on the basis that advocacy is their primary purpose. Advocacy is not currently deemed a ‘charitable purpose’ under the Act, and therefore they are denied tax exemption for donations.
And this is how it should be. Lobby groups should not be escaping tax. The National Council of Women is one of the most prolific lobby groups in New Zealand. It puts in a submission on almost every single bill before Parliament. Now good on them for being politically active, but allowing them to be a registered charity would be allowing any organisation to be a charity. Would we accept Business NZ being a registered charity?
On the back of the government’s announcement I have drafted a simple Private Member’s Bill to write advocacy into the definition of charitable purpose in the Charities Act as an ancillary purpose. I’ve been holding off for ages because I kept hearing that there would be a review and this would be the main focus of it.
That will make it open slater for every political lobby group in New Zealand to gain charitable tax status.
So government cannot discriminate for those wanting consideration for the strugglers, but no doubt has it’s door wide open to the robber barons and the fatnecks.
The Act comes into force in October. The use of urgency is an absolute affront. And it is that bad that Finlayson actually certified it breached the NZBOR.
Where is Farrar and Slater? I thought they were concerned about unconstitutional behaviour. The issues they jumped up and down about were minor in comparison.
Kim Hill had some good interviews today, started with Jeremy Scahill, and a brave Russian journalist who has been living in Boston and was a mine of information.
Something you can’t get much of in Russia. If the powers that be don’t like your reportage of them they take over your television station or exile you. One such exile went to Britain was found hanged in March this year apparently. The guy who was given radioactive polonium was a failure of that assassination project. He didn’t die quickly enough and lived for a week, which gave the boffins time to check all known possibilities. They found out the cause on his last day. Poor bloke! Society in Russia has been broken down so much over so many years that it is hard for better human standards to come to the fore then prevail.
I guess that’s the modern way. In Britain Margaret Thatcher was announcing a goal as a present reality when she said that there is no such thing as society.
Something you can’t get much of in Russia. If the powers that be don’t like your reportage of them they take over your television station or exile you.
Indeed, in the USA the Justice Dept simply takes journalists’ phone records and tracks down media informants and sources.
btw opposition political party views, coverage of protests and criticisms of Putin’s govt is common on Russian media. As long as you don’t go too far 🙂
Already banned in St Petersburg. And Pussy Riot etc etc So it would appear “too far” isn’t very far at all. Nor am I aware of the US making a habit of assassinating exiled dissidents (if they even have such a thing) with Polonium 210.
interesting review of a biography of Putin on RNZ this morning; “he picks ‘brawls’, withdraws, then starts the fight again at a later time”, was the interesting characterization.
No, Obama uses drones for individuals he doesn’t like, or military coups for governments that try the wrong sort of democracy. In the case of Bradley Manning, I’m sure he’d love to be exiled.
Matt
The USA is a different country, but their methods are not too dissimilar to those of Russia, and have been deteriorating I think since Russia threw out its form of communism. Now the USA doesn’t have to have better standards than the communists – the slogan is Let’s go for maxing the money, who cares what we do. Same in Britain.
When Washington stars taking over TV stations and exiling dissidents, you might have a point, but nah. Certainly the US is nowhere as free as its propaganda would have the world believe, but it’s considerably less violent and oppressive of its citizens than Russia is.
It’s a moot point that USA is less violent than Russia. It just has a different way of doing things. They thought up extraordinary rendition themselves. Declaring war on others. Driving citizens into criminals with harsh drug laws. Accepting prison rape as regular behaviour, kidnapping girls, shooting too many people. I don’t know how the stats mount up compared to other advanced, civilised countries.
So for all those champions of the U-S-A. Keep chanting, if it makes you feel better
Appeared to work in Boston, while the city was being used to test the reaction of deliberate overkill, via the military complex take-over on the streets!
“Kim Hill had some good interviews today, started with Jeremy Scahill, and a brave Russian journalist who has been living in Boston and was a mine of information”
She did – then some vacuous silly bitch called Nancy popped up and tried (unsuccessfully) to derail her – asking Kim to provide her with the giblets she wanted to hear (from a nuZull spektiv).
(Kim persevered with the email – as listener-feedback. I’m afraid it was all about Nancy)
Nancy only wants to hear things that DIRECTLY affect her from a Nu Zull spektiv). Thankfully Natrad has apparently lost Nancy’s undivided attention – she’ll probably have to slum it on talk-back radio.
Natrad is Natrad – except between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
I’m picking Nancy will find solace with the utterly exceptional, EVERY person’s best friend: Jim MORA – and probably, of geatest interest: The Panel, or perhaps that lady with isss yoos – whatshername?…. dear old Keth – ladyskin of the Parliamentary 4th Estate Gallery, who we can trust to represent our best interests.
Not much left on the MSM aye! (Bee!). Thank Christ for weekends, and nights on Natrad.
.
Tim
Yeah Kim is a feisty thing. I love her even when there is something I don’t. A lot of people have never heard or thought about what a good interview is, and how they are done so they are all interesting and not just a list of questions with ten second replies – and which is your favourite whatever?
And it is funny and sad to hear the various moaning minnies and vicious vernons who want to cut her off at the knees. Nancy wasn’t my fancy. Silly woman was talking about wanting information of importance to NZs! Who make our money from selling goods – Overseas, so we can buy just about everything we use from- Overseas. I heard that when you travelled through international airports you had your shoes checked and you couldn’t carry liquids more than 100ml after the terrorist attacks by people from Overseas. Yes, Nancy there are all sorts of reasons to think that Overseas matters from non-fashionable countries are worth noting by us.
Tim don’t be too hard on 9to Noon, some good stuff there. And don’t forget Checkpoint after work. Just turn on at 10 to five and suffer the last of Jim Mora’s panel of beauts, and there may be a gem if you look hard enough, and then the lemonade goes away and the hard stuff gets served.
I attended a couple of Govt “consultation” meetings recentlyabout their proposed changes to the RMA – and these changes are BIG, prominent on economic growth and allowing business (, developers, mining ?) a much easier pathway through the resource consent process, and dismissive of environmental or social/community concerns. This is a hugely important issue for everyone who cares about the environment and what this Govt intends to do in the future to our lovely land.
Please pass on the details of these RMA information meetings being organised by the Green Party, and their Climate Change conference in Wellington, to anyone you know living in these areas.
Stand up for the Environment: RMA meetings
The Government’s proposed changes to the Resource Management Act undermine local democracy and environmental sustainability.
Join Green MP Eugenie Sage and guest speakers for a panel discussion on changes to the RMA and what they mean for local democracy in your community and New Zealand’s environment.
Hamilton When: Monday, May 20, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:15pm Where: Richardson Room at Child Matters, 480 Anglesea Street Hamilton
Nelson When: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where:Trafalgar Park Pavillion, 30 Trafalgar Street Nelson
Invercargill When: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where:Central Library, 50 Dee Street (Northern side entrance) Invercargill
Palmerston North When: Thursday, May 30, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where: Globe Theatre, 312 Main St. Palmerston North
Whanganui When: Thursday, June 6, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm, Email Eugenie Sage at Parliament for address details
Climate change conference When: Friday, June 7, 2013 – 9:00am – 4.30pm
Where: Legislative Council Chamber, Parliament
Kennedy Graham hosts a one-day climate change conference in Parliament on 7th June, with the aim of fostering cross-party and public dialogue on climate change. The conference will feature leading scientists, policy analysts, civil society, and private sector representatives, and will finish with a cross-party political panel. The conference is open to all who wish to attend. Registration is now open via the following link: http://meetingthechallenge.eventbrite.co.nz/#
from the debate on the Crown Minerals Amendment Act, Amendment Bill, Committee Stage Pt,1;
Chris Hipkins- “Simon Bridges stuffed up”, then “the Labour Party does support exploration”.
(Jacinda appeared intoxicated, not, intoxicating).
Sue Moroney- “an applicant who does not have “expertise” will be granted.
Little- amendment “splits Health and Safety, Environmental, from the Prospecting application stage, with applicants only needing to demonstrate that they are “likely” to have technical and financial capability, onus on the applicant”;effectively permits foot-in-the-door, rig on the ground.
Street- 37,000 submissions, 32,000 on provided forms, 5000 unique submissions, ALL NOT CONSIDERED; “Bridges afraid of public opinion”.
Hughes-“no Select Committee Stage”.
Robertson- effectively “it is now up to the Minister to determine if Health and Safety, Environmental requirements are met by new (unknown) players.
Likely to be a bureaucratic oversight, but be assured that the Chinese are playing this for every advantage. After all, it would be a shame for Chinese authorities to have to order the dumping of $2M worth of NZ red meat outside the harbour due to bad paperwork?
Dv
I noted one of the fast changing government entities on the Budget Roundup the other night. The truth about this Chinese matter is no doubt the old saw that constant restructuring loses efficiency and effectiveness as senior positions go, and institutional methods disappear.
The entry for beehive.govt.nz of 1/6/2010 set out the situation for Wayne Mapp who was the Minister of the Department through its changing monikers. (He is now in Russia, up to what?)
The Minister of Science and Innovation on 1/6/2010 has become –
the Minister of Research, Science and Technology, and from 1 July 2012
this will be the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The government workers can’t provide quality of work and effectiveness when they are being downsized in numbers and re-arranged like pieces in a kaleidoscope.
The trouble is that the political approach has grown to regard the country as a toy, or a potent cocktail that is to be both shaken and stirred. Unfortunately that is dragging up toxic ingredients from the sludge at the bottom of the hourglass.
There was a sugestion one of the reports that the chinese were using the “stuff up” to protect their own markets.
That idea would seem to have some currency as why are the nacts so quiet, guy has not returned any calls, and if it was a ‘simple stuff up,why would it take month to sort?
Dv
Yes that what I thought. The day after they heard about it the gummint trouble shooter for exports to Asia should have had tickets and accommodation for two nights booked and do something to help us sell our things – what we have to do and do and do. F..ks sake thinking she’ll be right and why don’t they read the docs and I’ve explained it over the phone to Mr Li or whoever and he says he understands but then I get another call. It isn’t enough. Some extra effort needed. Go with urgency like the government is using in the House.
Zespri, far from being an innocent party as it has claimed, knew its system for invoicing kiwifruit shipments to China was likely illegal the Star-Times has discovered.
Documents show the Mt Maunganui-based company was worried New Zealand Customs would discover what it was doing and alert its China counterparts.
Sources have revealed that staff tried to warn management that the dual invoicing was a big risk, but were ignored.
Maybe the chinese are now very suspicious ofdocumentation from NZ and that is why the sorting out is slow.
I really wish politicians on the left would put paid to this endless bullshit about taxpayers. Brian Gaynor is another repeating the lies about the top taxpayers;
“The top end of the employment market is strong and this benefits the Crown’s tax take as individuals on $80,000 or more account for 49 per cent of total income tax even though they represent only 11 per cent of the total work force by number”
He likely would have gotten his info from this source;
Those ‘taxpayers’ look to be every individual with an IRD number. It clearly includes all welfare beneficiaries; OAPs, DPB, Dole, Invalids etc. Even a quick glance shows a further 260,000 people with zero income and rather obviously not paying any tax yet these people keep including them all in this so-called ‘workforce’ of 3.375 million.
The true workforce is only around 2million which would make those on $80,000+ around 18% of the workforce by number.
The inclusion of beneficiaries in tax statistics is seriously skewing the numbers because they’ll nearly all appear in the lower income groups and distort the real facts about who pays tax.
Fat Cop
all these Fast-Food workers coming forward confirming how Police accept free fast-food “backhanders” for free security, while the Policeman arrested on P work for the Head Hunters delivered drugs in uniform, in his police-car; his wife a DHB clinician, knowingly spending the proceeds. Bad Boys!
Schools employ Hollywood movies to assist kids to (passively) read. Imagine Dragons ; Radioactive
for example, avoiding paying your student loan can lead to your grades going from 40K to over 100K
(where the bloody hell are ya)
got them High Hopes?
Research finds residential sales, 8% to foreign buyers but “it will grow”.
In Auckland, to address housing, 1/2 of suburbs permitted to be in-filled with buildings of Three Stories (Mixed-Housing Zone) and buildings can exceed 4, 5 and 6 stories in Terraced and Apartment Zones; non-notified, restricted discretionary (regulatory) activity.
Liked this from David Shearer, (National), “full of big-noters, show-boaters and no-hopers”
From Russell Norman- (The Budget) “is a debt train-wreck”!!!
for The Al1en /s (“Cumberbitches”, now there is a generous man) Interestingly, ST, Into Darkness portrays a Shadowplay between the two main protagonists…
Swings and roundabouts; Key knows we’re heading for the bottom, and he’s riding us, yes he’s riding us; The Camptown ladies sing this song Do dah, Do dah. Screaming Trees, “calling me back to my skin”. Isn’t it funny how we dance along the edge of the Pro-lab Dune like Matchstick Men. Thanks for the Trim. Silence is Golden listening to the current On The Radio; Pictures of Lilly, lilly eli Lilly. the Cider House rules, for now Paint the whole world with a Rainbow, Satellite Above. Grease is the word is the word that you heard, it’s got meaning I was walking in the park just the other night Baby (it’s You) , whatta ya think I saw (I’ll leave the light on, easier to feel the fine tolerances), Here, have a banana.
(1)11 is a joke, ring the po-leece and get burgled, double-up, while they come to buy, flavouring the flow, there’s not a minute to spare. Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Swedish House Mafia will “Save The World”, “it’s time that you stop being so important”, We are Scientists, after all, Stylo, is this love electronic? No Problem /s to report on any of the major interchanges, a million miles away you signal in the distance to whom it may concern, learning to walk again, learning to talk again. Those Flaming Lips sing it, yeah, yeah, yeah, Check yo’self ‘fore you wreck yourself, cos shotgun bullets are bad for your health.
-just a little Logo nTherapy, now, Lets Talk About trevor. without Warning, The Wizard walks by, casting his shadow, weaving his spell, funny clothes, tinkling bell. Sleep Comes Down (the Devilskin, never see the light). These are the tells, of love, and loss, and love; love based on a true story, all I do is keep the beat and the Bad Company. Chelsea Princess, Repetition.
-“the world is not a miserable prison; a playground for a non-stop tournament between stupidity and imagination”.
-James Broughton
Show (them) How to Live.
Moby said “we are all made of stars”, and I agree.
ST – The way socialists should want the world to turn out like… After we finish saving it, that is.
Social justice and equality that bypasses nations for the common good.
Why does the future have to taste of dystopia?
cos’ it’s in the ‘scriptures’ and that is what is ingrained in the cultural-historically derived psyches of the collective; “be a good (capitalist, follower of the authorities, individualist, make the Right choices, work hard, gain the credentials, solve the angst of the childless couple with IVF, eat your weeties, fence off those ‘others’ etc) and you will, literally, go to heaven, or damn the lot of you. Nietzsche, the most influential Western philosopher read it before it all unfolded, Confucius and Lao Tzu prescribed what would be necessary, Ellul (amongst others, like Huxley) prophecied what would unfold, Philip K. Dick wrote the story, J.J Abrams directed the film, Jesus Christ offered to set us free (The Kingdom of heaven is within you) and John (alongside others, Greer et al;) watched.
well, the only MPs who appear to have the integrity to stand up to “big corporate” globalization are Green and on the back-burners of Labour; the Right are certainly putting the screws on though, unprecedented High Stakes; wait until the next “Act of God”, environmental disaster “act of man” occurs, then there will be some panic.
Hold all the balls in your mind at once and you can see the Dark Art at work.
I recall hearing a few snippets on the news a few weeks ago re Key suggesting that the government may be willing to finance or part finance a new conference centre in Queenstown. At the time, it seemed weird as there was also indications that the money to build the centre was already sorted. Sorry, don’t have time to find a link right now.
From this latest news item, it seems that “Sky City already owns another casino in Queenstown and is in a consortium which is the preferred group to build a convention centre there.”
So, is the Queenstown situation tied in with the Government’s deal for Auckland?
And they boast about having a bit of a casino monopoly
Entertainment is our core business. SKYCITY has a strong and enviable collection of assets, including some of the most significant urban monopoly casino licences in New Zealand and Australia.
tc
You are right about the eyesore in Christchurch. To get an attractive building in Auckland the citizens up there will have to be in control of the design or it might look like a prison, the one in Christchurch was sterile on the outside.
Nice one Russel Norman. Just referred to Gerry as ‘The Colossus of Roads”. It’s interesting about that petrol tax to be raised. The infrastructure that it should be spent on is public rail and Gisborne line. It’s important that good transport is available to all the regions.
It has been obvious that some people live in a different world than the rest of us.
One where Chicago school economics work! One where you save the village by blowing it up! One where global warming can be stopped, Canute-like, by legislation. One where dropping wages and giving everything to bloated financiers, makes us better off! One where removing money from an economy makes it work better. One where every country is going to get rich by out exporting every other country. One where enabling greater inequality than the dark ages, works!
The one with the trickle down fairy. “Give us the money and we will pee on you”.
The market fairy. “Leave it to the market and we will cut your wages,impoverish your children, and tell you it is a brighter future”.
The Austerity fairy. “We will become better off by becoming poorer”.
The catching-up-with-Australia fairy. “We will catch up with Australia by doing almost the opposite of everything they have done”.
The Democracy fairy. “We will let you vote, to change the names in Government, or on a few social issues which do not affect our making money off you, but not to make any meaningful changes to the way the country is run”.
The privatisation fairy. “We will ensure that the NZ current account is forever in deficit, by selling all the income earning assets”
The debt fairy. “We will cut debt by borrowing $300mill a week, to pay for unaffordable tax cuts, to pay for our Hawaii holidays”.
The Job fairy. ” We will increase the number of jobs by putting thousands out of work, and cutting the unemployment benefit”.
The “We support business” fairy. While ensuring New Zealanders have no money to buy from local businesses, and increasing small businesses costs.
The better future fairy. “We will give you a better future by paying you less, charging you more and cutting services”.
It is pretty obvious which side of the political spectrum is on another planet. Planet Key!
I watched last night, as the government forced through its outrageous anti-protest legislation, formally and preposterously entitled The Crown Minerals Act Amendment Bill 2013 Amendment Bill. Labour and the Greens put up a string of serious, well prepared speakers: Gareth Hughes, Andrew Little, Grant Robertson, Moana Mackey, Chris Hipkins and Maryan Street. After insultingly brief and inadequate speeches by two of its lesser lights, Sam Lotu-Liga and Mark Mitchell, National just sat it out; as well as having no arguments, they had nobody capable of mounting any coherent defence of this assault on our democracy.
The man responsible for this disastrous legislation, Simon Bridges, was in the house, and was asked by every speaker to get up and answer for himself; he was obviously just not up to it. A couple of times the cameras cut to him, furtively shuffling (but not reading) papers, with a perplexed and pained expression.
Mozza, I very much doubt Simon Bridges is responsible for anything, other than bending over on request, being a sock-puppet, a traitor and a coward, who is the servant to the masters…
The masters are not likely to be onshore in NZ, and I would doubt that the core protagonists in the house, see themselves as NZ’ers!
Yeah…….wee Simon’s a puppy who yaps and drools on demand. Not an ounce of balls in him. Former Crown prosecutor you see……it’s all about “winning” and putting people behind bars, deservedly or not, as a reflex. No broad morality. He just follows orders.
Heaps of regard to the perks and the travel and the handsome stipend and the pension however. Prick. Not a gram of principle in him. Lacking balls and principle. Interested only in being a “darling”.
I agree that Bridges is the stooge rather than the instigator; however he is the minister responsible for this, even if it is really Steven Joyce and Peter Goodfellow pulling his strings. If Bridges had an ounce of integrity, he would have resigned by now, but he has stayed on to front this terrible legislation. He will bear the full blame for it eventually, and he doesn’t deserve any sympathy.
And some comments, like “all I can see now are a pair of rubber tits”.
Words fail me. Looking at Roughan’s column, I asked myself, “What kind of animal writes this shit?” and then I read the comments to get the answer: the sort who… never mind, I don’t want to articulate my answer fully.
Roughan…….big fish little pond fuckwit. Intrusiveness is his right…….because he’s big fish little pond fuckwit Roughan with a platform alongside equally egocentric fools. New Zealand is so sick in that regard.
I took it to be largely tongue in cheek. You might remember Clare Curran was thrown out because she wore a football jersey (or some such garment) about a year ago. I thought there might have been a bit of tit for tat going on. Agree though… it was rather stupid.
Andrew Little’s point of order appeared to be quite serious. And for that, ridiculous. The guy needs to get a life. If he wanted to comment on dress, he should have congratulated Gareth Hughes from the Greens who looked particularly fetching (seriously) in his grey suit and black tie, and his speech was impressive too 🙂
Re Little.I was interested that TV3 (I think) picked up on that and costed out the amount that the time taken to deal with the jersey issue would have cost the taxpayer.Can’t remember what it came to, but I don’t understand why the same attention is never given to key when he nuts off on one of his kindy tantrums.Must be costing us a lot more money for the time he wastes.
I wonder why, if Little was gonna raise a point of order about dress at all, he didn’t have a go at Tony-Ryall-Neighbour-Of-Susan.
Note I’m not saying Tones wears a dress. I’m saying that recidivistly he daily commits fashion crime, what with his pinstripes up against checked tablecloth shirts. You gotta go for the real criminals Little.
Not Auchinvole or Sockinhole or whatever his name is. He seemed to love the attention anyway. Compared to Tones he was sartorial inoffensiveness defined.
Re why TV3 made a point of it ? Maybe Mr Bean’s Cuzzy Power (Trip) Gower is personally, darkly, “really angry” about the carry-on in the House and will next cost out the time consumed by ShonKey Python’s rhubarbs, can’t recalls, throat slitting gestures and risible expressions and non-expressions of confidence in Botox Banks.
Oh, Poor Paddy, it’s such a burden being part of the story with the weight of the nation upon him, Gilmore “lying to ME”, Steven Joyce calling HIM aside – “Look PADDY, it’s like this……..”, having to LICK ShonKey’s arse.
Lewis examines a number of hypotheses, from rising incomes to growing female literacy. Those are all moderately correlated with the decline in birthrates and could help explain the shift. But, curiously enough, nothing seems to match up with the trends as neatly as the growth in TV ownership and media exposure.
Television in developing countries is also correlated with:
– reduced acceptability of domestic violence
– reduced son preference
– increased female autonomy
The study thinks it might be more than rising incomes, but television is actually changing cultural norms. (Now there’s a debate that’s been a first world problem for awhile). I wonder if these developing countries have Snookie and ‘The Only Way is Essex’ 😉
Unlike Dave Dobbin, who doesn’t listen to other peoples songs when he’s writing, I will if it’s asked of me 😉
That’s a very spinal tap looking vid. Cut and blow dries for all 😆
The tv series the history of rock (was on prime ages ago at least twice) has an interview with one of the kinks, saying how he used to cut up his speaker cones to get them to distort.
I’d hate to guess what I’d have to slit to get a decent vocal sound.
Thank goodness for software.
“I’m not a number; Ooh, that’s why I’m easy, I’m easy like a Sunday morning.
I’ve paid my dues to make it
I’m not happy when I try to fake it, no
I wanna be free to know
The things I do are right”.
(been some investment)
“Haven’t changed, haven’t much to ‘say’
Plenty of unused thoughts to give away,
Hardly ever Blue, is a greeting from a friend.”
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For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...
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The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...
With an unfair voting system, uneven electorates and an un-elected upper house, the UK's "democracy" is barely worthy of the name. But now the government wants to make it worse:The government has been accused of suppressing voters’ rights with the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of people after plans ...
Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the building industry was building leaky homes which should never have been granted consent. Now it turns out they've been building dodgy office blocks as well:New imaging technology has revealed hundreds of major buildings nationwide have defective or missing concrete or reinforcing steel. ...
Local body election results were released over the weekend, to joy or despair depending on where you live. In Auckland, Phil Goff trounced John Tamihere, who is muttering darkly about running for Parliament again (but which party would want him?) Wellington is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weta Workshop, except ...
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Overruled: The joint decision of Finance Minister, Grant Robertson (Labour) and his Associate Minister, David Parker (Labour) arguably the two most powerful ministers in Jacinda Ardern’s government, to grant OceanaGold the consents which Land Information Minister, Eugenie Sage (Greens) had earlier denied them, offers bitter proof of how hard fighting ...
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...
A Statement on Abortion Law Reform by the Council of Disobedient Women On the eve of bringing an end to antiquated, anti-women abortion laws Green MP Jan Logie intends to write women out of the Bill. With a stroke of the pen, the woke are aiming for total erasure ...
Musings continue apace about “the experienced businessman!” soon to be taking up a National Party MP position. Or to be more accurate, being parachuted into a seat to shut down their former MP Jamie-Lee Ross, who despite his own shortcomings shed at least some more light on the inner workings ...
The Ugandan government wants to murder gay people:Uganda has announced plans to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. The bill, colloquially known as “Kill the Gays” in Uganda, was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government said on Thursday it plans to resurrect it within weeks. The ...
Freedom Of Speech? The Säuberung (cleansing by fire) was the work of the German Student Union which, on 10 May 1933, under the watchful eye of the Nazi Reichminister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, consigned 25,000 books to the flames in a ritual exorcism of “un-German thought”. According to the logic of the ...
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...
New Zealand’s media is doing its part in Japan, reassuring those in the path of the storm that they won’t miss any rugby while away from their flooded homes. New Zealand sports reporters stationed in Japan for the Rugby World Cup have had the rare and heartwarming opportunity to inform ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is the only Cabinet member in favour of putting it all on green. As Finance Minister Grant Robertson finds himself with an enormous $7.5 billion surplus, the Government has begun intense, at times contentious conversations about whether to put the money on red or black at ...
by Susanne Kemp At the start of September close to 100,000 school teachers went on strike in Jordan. They demanded a 50% pay rise. A pay rise actually agreed to by the regime back in 2014. In early October, however, in the face of government repression and threats, the teachers’ ...
Back in 2011, journalist Nicky Hager published Other People's Wars, an expose on NZDF's activities over the previous decade of the "war on terror". NZDF didn't like this, and especially didn't like the fact that it was base don leaks from their own. So, they had the SIS investigate him ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is due back from select committee in two weeks, and will likely pass its final stages in November. So naturally, farmers are planning a hate-march against it. But they're not just demanding lower methane targets so they can keep on destroying the planet; they're also demanding ...
Last year, California burned. This year, to stop it happening again (or rather, to stop themselves from being found liable if it happens again), Pacific Gas and Electric is cutting power to half the state for a week:Schools are closed. Traffic lights down. Tunnels dark. Businesses unopened. Hospitals running on ...
The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
Among the great new bunch of political friends we have been making recently is the excellent Australian-based Marxist gender-critical site, Freer Lives. So we asked the comrade who set up that blog to write something for Redline on the blog, himself, his analysis of the rise of gender politics and ...
by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
by Phil Duncan In 2016 the National-led government suspended the Parent Visa Category, through which migrants were able to bring their parents into New Zealand. Since then over 5,700 people have been in immigration limbo, stuck on the visa wait list. Labour is now bringing back the scheme. Well, sort ...
The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
The government is currently consulting on plans to improve freshwater quality. So naturally, farmers oppose it:South Taranaki farmers are preparing to fight proposed national freshwater changes that some fear will bankrupt them. The Government's proposed National Environment Standard on Freshwater Management, released in September, rated the Waingongoro River as one ...
Yesterday was the last day for (reliably) posting your vote away in local body elections. Turnouts are mostly much lower than the equivalent time last year (Palmerston North is down 2.3%), and so naturally people are pushing their online-voting snake oil again. Because the online census worked so well, lets ...
This essay, on the political legacy of the eugenics movement, by Kenan Malik was originally published in the Observer on 6 October 2019, under the headline ‘The spirit of eugenics is still with us, as immigrants know to their cost’. Birth control. Intelligence tests. Town planning. Immigration controls. It’s striking how ...
Another year, and the government has announced another enormous government "surplus". And just like last year, its nothing of the sort. When we have people homeless and sick and hungry, when we have schools and hospitals still falling down, when we have underpaid public servants and infrastucture unmaintained or unbuilt, ...
James Forsyth at The Spectator (I know, I know) has tapped one of his contacts inside Number Ten for an insight into the Johnson administration's thinking and strategy.It is fascinating, unsettling and quite, quite mad. Some key points:Negotiations have stalled and the Johnson administration are keen to blame the EU: ...
Fatal Contact: With the arrival of captain James Cook in October 1769, the islands of what would become New Zealand ceased to be the preserve of Polynesian navigators and settlers and became a part of both the world’s map and the world’s history.THE MAORI NATIONALIST assault upon the historical meaning ...
Another round of tactical talks about forming a Government of National Unity have come to nothing with the Liberal Democrats still refusing countenance putting Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street:Opposition talks on Monday made little headway over when to try and vote down Boris Johnson's government and who might succeed him as ...
by Nick Rogers The debate around the meaning of sex and gender made an appearance at this year’s British Labour Party conference in Brighton. Women’s Place UK – an organisation that questions the demand that biological males who self-identify as woman should have access to women’s spaces, to all-women shortlists, ...
Yesterday I went down to Wellington to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest. Its part of the latest global wave of XR actions, with actions happening all over the world. Some of those protests are massively disruptive: in Canada, XR is blocking major bridges, stopping people from getting to work. ...
The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
Being and Being Bought (Spinifex Press, 2013) by Kajsa Ekis Ekman A synopsis and commentary of Chapters 1-2 by Daphna Whitmore Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book She opens the discussion with a definition of ...
I make no claims to having much legal knowledge, so I defer to those trained in this area.I am very much enjoying this twitter stream from m'learned friend in Edinburgh, deciphering the legal arguments around the Scottish court challenge to Boris Johnson, based on the charmingly obscure principle of Nobile ...
Ivory Folly? The University of Auckland’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, upheld the right of the radical nationalist group, Action Zealandia to exercise their freedom of speech – not matter how distasteful that speech might be. A wiser community of students and scholars would have nodded their agreement and moved on. ...
If you are not convinced terrorist Organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ is very, very dangerous – watch this video at one of their recent meetings. Not only is this obviously mentally ill Woman begging the other terrorists to promote killing and “eating” babies and children, if you watch carefully other members nod ...
The Ombudsman has been surveying people about their knowledge of the OIA and the right to information. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that widespread:The Chief Ombudsman says too many New Zealanders were in the dark over their right to access official information. Peter Boshier said an independent survey released yesterday on ...
In the wake of last Friday's climate strike, Peter McKenzie had an article in The Spinoff about protest strategies. The school strike movement is "polite" and cooperates with those in power because that's its kaupapa - its led by schoolkids who understandably don't want to risk arrest. But there's more ...
So, the latest ruminations on the gnews from Westminster (Again, sorry; I'll stop making that pun right now). This follows on from, and likely repeats bits of, my last post, on the suggestion that a Government of National Unity (GNU) should be set up and then oversee a referendum before ...
New Zealand likes to think of itself as not a racist country (despite being founded on the racist dispossession and subjugation of Maori). But for years, we've had a racist refugee policy, which basicly excludes refugees from Africa and the Middle East unless they already have relatives here. Now, the ...
Several people have asked me whether a particular repeat litigant could be declared a vexatious litigant, in light of their recent decision to appeal an adverse High Court ruling. My nascent tweet thread was getting ridiculously long, so it became this blog post instead.The short answer is: no. The particular ...
Appealing To The Past: Action Zealandia, like so many of the organisations springing up on the far-Right, across what they call the “Anglosphere”, is born out of the profound confusion over what a man is supposed to be in the twenty-first century and, more importantly, what he is supposed to do.THE STATUE OF ...
The attempts of anti-democratic transactivists to (often violently) disrupt women’s rights organising is largely ignored by those sections of the left most prone to misogyny and authoritarianism in New Zealand. In Britain, however, scores of trade union and left activists added their names to a letter in July, defending ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Criminal Cases Review Commission Bill. The Bill would establish an independent, quasi-judicial body to investigate and review potential miscarriages of justice, and refer them back to the Court of appeal if required. It would be a vital backstop to our judiciary, help ...
by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
How much will NeoLiberal irregulation of the building sector and subsequent leaky homes crisis cost us? $47 billion, according to a new book:The total cost to fix all of New Zealand's leaky homes would be $47 billion, probably. The estimate comes from a new book, Rottenomics written by journalist Peter ...
Below is the start of another excellent article on the Freer Lives blog. Click onto the link at the end of this extract to read the full article. The punch-a-terf, kill-a-terf message pervades social media, always righteously delivered, chin held high. By contrast, the dehumanised “terfs” themselves, that is gender-critical ...
The Reserve Bank is currently planning tighter banking regulation, requiring banks to hold enough local capital to survive a 1-in-200 year financial crisis in order to protect consumers. The big Aussies banks, those foreign leeches who suck $5 billion in profit out of our economy every year, don't like that, ...
Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
Last Friday say the largest protest in a generation, as 170,000 people joined the school strike and marched to demand real action on climate change. The demands of the school strike were simple and clear: declare a climate emergency, set a climate target of net-zero by 2040, impose a total ...
Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
By Duncan Garner Before you jump down my throat, nobody cares about the environment more than me. I have a garden, and since my wife and I broke up, I’ve let it grow wildly out of control, so please don’t tell me I’m not doing enough for plants. They’re ten ...
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau was in attendance during the morning blessing of the Rotorua Lakefront development project. Around 60 people gathered on the shores of Lake Rotorua, including city mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy Dave Donaldson. The Lakefront development is a ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
The Salvation Army foodbank in Waitakere ran out of food last week; an indication of the strain many New Zealand whanau are under as they struggle to afford the cost of living. Wednesday, October 16 is World Food Day, and as demand for services offered ...
Phil Goff was re-elected by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term? Hayden Donnell asks the questions.Phil Goff is once again Auckland’s mayor. Preliminary local election results show him with a lead of nearly 100,000 votes over his nearest challenger, John Tamihere. ...
Catherine Bindon from Ban the Boom has created these colourful and positive posters for you to use to show you don't support the use of fireworks in your neighbourhood over the next few weeks distressing our animals and birds. ...
On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cat Pausé, Senior Lecturer in Human Development, Massey University The British Psychological Society is calling for changes for how we talk about fatness, suggesting we should no longer use the phrase “obese people”, but instead, “people with obesity” or “people living with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The federal government’s much-vaunted Snowy Hydro expansion is supposed to smooth out the bumps in electricity supply as Australia transitions to renewables. But not only is the project a bad deal for taxpayers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
Too many New Zealanders endure poor working conditions in jobs that don’t pay enough and offer few opportunities for career progression, and the union movement is calling for change. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...
The Wellington suburb’s successful opposition to a proposed Bottle-O shows how the system is biased towards communities with the organisation, capacity and resources to protest effectively, says Jenesa Jeram.For those unfamiliar with Wellington geography, Khandallah is a Very Nice place to live (Aucklanders: think Remuera). So when it was reported ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission conducted an inquiry into mortgage pricing as recently as last year. Now Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked it to do another, broader one, in order to ensure the banks’ ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe results of the local government elections appear to show that New Zealanders are generally supportive of a more diverse range of representatives, having voted in greater numbers for candidates from traditionally under-represented groups. The elections have therefore modernised our councils in a small but very significant ...
The Inquiry has today published Minute No 21. This Minute sets out how the Inquiry intends to proceed given that the Attorney-General the Hon David Parker has agreed to extend the Inquiry’s reporting date by three months to 31 March 2020. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
But he did play a crucial role in helping journeyman Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern.Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and ...
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Henry Cooke (Stuff): How to lose an election: Over-promise or under-deliver Simon Collins ...
By RNZ Pacific A Solomon Islands province has agreed to lease a large island to a Chinese developer to develop into a special economic zone, weeks after the country opened diplomatic ties with China. But already cracks abound; there has been no official announcement and the provincial premier says the ...
The New Zealand First MP and Minister Shane Jones is still backing the firearms ban, despite being pictured with what appears to be an AR-15 semi-automatic while holidaying in Asia. ...
Everyone needs to be concerned about the draft National Policy Statement on Urban Development that the Ministry for the Environment has released. It is incompatible with the spirit of transparency and inclusiveness. ...
Open mike 18/05/2013 
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...3 hours ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...4 hours ago
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...5 hours ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...10 hours ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...4 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...5 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...5 days ago
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...6 days ago
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...2 weeks ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...5 hours ago
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Information spread by the Coalition of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) and picked up by ACT’s David Seymour is incorrect. ...4 hours ago
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The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...5 hours ago
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Just been scared of the implications of a Bill rushed through Parliament yesterday regarding the Payment of Families caring for Severely Handicapped Act. (Paraphrased)
Andrew Geddis on Pundit explains it well:
You simply tell the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the courts that they are not allowed to look at the policy and decide whether or not it is unlawfully discriminatory. That’s just what the Government is seeking to get Parliament to do under section 70E(2):
[When this law kicks in], no complaint based in whole or in part on a specified allegation [that the policy unlawfully discriminates] may be made to the Human Rights Commission, and no proceedings based in whole or in part on a specified allegation [that the policy unlawfully discriminates] may be commenced or continued in any court or tribunal.
What! No HRC or Court can examine the legality of this!(Same power as given Brownlie?)
Aren’t you a little bit frightened at this???
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/i-think-national-just-broke-our-constitution#comment-35209
Yeah it’s crazy. It’s the same bullying, cartel-loving psychology, that Torys are so comfortable with,
which we keep seeing in this 2nd term over and over again. Same with the GCSB law changes. Same with the reaction to NZPower. Same with offshore mining protest laws, etc.
You ain’t seen nothing yet, they’ve got their media mates onside and their chosen leader out front of labour so they will go from strength the strength with every move emboldening them for the next one.
A hitch appears to be how unhinged Shonkey gets all too easily, he wouldn’t know what serious pressure was and buckles under the power puff efforts the nz MSM toss in his direction.
I see this as another foot on the neck of advocacy for better government support of people struggling with getting fair resources. The government wants to silence the ordinary people from asking for more, because it distracts them and diverts money away from ..dah dah ‘the job and wealth creators’.
This is a piece that David Farrar put up about advocacy groups being put out of the Charities Act. (Recently applied to SST I think, and probably similar to the cases in the USA where the IRS was scrutinising the loony Right too much for gaining unfair tax advantages.)
Greens support lobby groups being charities
November 18th, 2012 at 7:00 am by David Farrar
On the one hand the Greens rail against lobbyists, yet on the other hand they say they should be able to be tax free charities. I guess the difference is whether or not they agree with them.
Green MP Denise Roche blogs::
Community organisations already spend much of their time advocating. They shouldn’t be excluded from getting charitable status (and tax exemption) because of this. Organisations of long standing repute including the National Council of Women have been denied charitable status on the basis that advocacy is their primary purpose. Advocacy is not currently deemed a ‘charitable purpose’ under the Act, and therefore they are denied tax exemption for donations.
And this is how it should be. Lobby groups should not be escaping tax. The National Council of Women is one of the most prolific lobby groups in New Zealand. It puts in a submission on almost every single bill before Parliament. Now good on them for being politically active, but allowing them to be a registered charity would be allowing any organisation to be a charity. Would we accept Business NZ being a registered charity?
On the back of the government’s announcement I have drafted a simple Private Member’s Bill to write advocacy into the definition of charitable purpose in the Charities Act as an ancillary purpose. I’ve been holding off for ages because I kept hearing that there would be a review and this would be the main focus of it.
That will make it open slater for every political lobby group in New Zealand to gain charitable tax status.
So government cannot discriminate for those wanting consideration for the strugglers, but no doubt has it’s door wide open to the robber barons and the fatnecks.
The Act comes into force in October. The use of urgency is an absolute affront. And it is that bad that Finlayson actually certified it breached the NZBOR.
Where is Farrar and Slater? I thought they were concerned about unconstitutional behaviour. The issues they jumped up and down about were minor in comparison.
Base server out at 0745 right while I was moving to a new server (damnit) that doesn’t crap out so often. Back (finally) at 1155.
Resuming the move. There will be a period later in the afternoon or evening when the server goes off for a short period to effect the change over.
Thanks lprent Hope all goes smoothly.
Kim Hill had some good interviews today, started with Jeremy Scahill, and a brave Russian journalist who has been living in Boston and was a mine of information.
Something you can’t get much of in Russia. If the powers that be don’t like your reportage of them they take over your television station or exile you. One such exile went to Britain was found hanged in March this year apparently. The guy who was given radioactive polonium was a failure of that assassination project. He didn’t die quickly enough and lived for a week, which gave the boffins time to check all known possibilities. They found out the cause on his last day. Poor bloke! Society in Russia has been broken down so much over so many years that it is hard for better human standards to come to the fore then prevail.
I guess that’s the modern way. In Britain Margaret Thatcher was announcing a goal as a present reality when she said that there is no such thing as society.
Indeed, in the USA the Justice Dept simply takes journalists’ phone records and tracks down media informants and sources.
btw opposition political party views, coverage of protests and criticisms of Putin’s govt is common on Russian media. As long as you don’t go too far 🙂
they are about to ban “gay propaganda”.
Already banned in St Petersburg. And Pussy Riot etc etc So it would appear “too far” isn’t very far at all. Nor am I aware of the US making a habit of assassinating exiled dissidents (if they even have such a thing) with Polonium 210.
interesting review of a biography of Putin on RNZ this morning; “he picks ‘brawls’, withdraws, then starts the fight again at a later time”, was the interesting characterization.
Sort of like the musical chairs he plays with Prime Minister rand President.
Meh, Pussy Riot tried to garner western media and popular support, and that alone went down very poorly with the Russian public.
So the fuck what? What kind of fucking populist Nazi argument is that?
An unforced self Godwin. Hilarious.
Poppy, stand up, take a bow son!
Whatever, you’re still a disgusting hypocrite pissing on human rights in Russia
No, Obama uses drones for individuals he doesn’t like, or military coups for governments that try the wrong sort of democracy. In the case of Bradley Manning, I’m sure he’d love to be exiled.
Well I’m sure he could have defected while he was comitting treason
He hasn’t been charged with treason, let alone convicted of it.
“Indeed, in the USA the Justice Dept simply takes journalists’ phone records and tracks down media informants and sources.”
And then takes over your TV station or exiles or assassinates you! Oh.
Matt
The USA is a different country, but their methods are not too dissimilar to those of Russia, and have been deteriorating I think since Russia threw out its form of communism. Now the USA doesn’t have to have better standards than the communists – the slogan is Let’s go for maxing the money, who cares what we do. Same in Britain.
When Washington stars taking over TV stations and exiling dissidents, you might have a point, but nah. Certainly the US is nowhere as free as its propaganda would have the world believe, but it’s considerably less violent and oppressive of its citizens than Russia is.
US government doesn’t need to use violence to intimidate its citizens. Its citizens are too busy intimidating each other.
It’s a moot point that USA is less violent than Russia. It just has a different way of doing things. They thought up extraordinary rendition themselves. Declaring war on others. Driving citizens into criminals with harsh drug laws. Accepting prison rape as regular behaviour, kidnapping girls, shooting too many people. I don’t know how the stats mount up compared to other advanced, civilised countries.
Yes exactly. Please accept my slight edit. When you count how many foreign persons the USA kills weekly, the picture is quite different.
Also, I believe that USA prison and prison labour camps contain far more citizens than Russian ones.
So for all those champions of the U-S-A. Keep chanting, if it makes you feel better.
Appeared to work in Boston, while the city was being used to test the reaction of deliberate overkill, via the military complex take-over on the streets!
USA-USA-USA
That’s kind of ironic coming from someone who claims to be a nationalist
“Kim Hill had some good interviews today, started with Jeremy Scahill, and a brave Russian journalist who has been living in Boston and was a mine of information”
She did – then some vacuous silly bitch called Nancy popped up and tried (unsuccessfully) to derail her – asking Kim to provide her with the giblets she wanted to hear (from a nuZull spektiv).
(Kim persevered with the email – as listener-feedback. I’m afraid it was all about Nancy)
Nancy only wants to hear things that DIRECTLY affect her from a Nu Zull spektiv). Thankfully Natrad has apparently lost Nancy’s undivided attention – she’ll probably have to slum it on talk-back radio.
Natrad is Natrad – except between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
I’m picking Nancy will find solace with the utterly exceptional, EVERY person’s best friend: Jim MORA – and probably, of geatest interest: The Panel, or perhaps that lady with isss yoos – whatshername?…. dear old Keth – ladyskin of the Parliamentary 4th Estate Gallery, who we can trust to represent our best interests.
Not much left on the MSM aye! (Bee!). Thank Christ for weekends, and nights on Natrad.
.
Tim
Yeah Kim is a feisty thing. I love her even when there is something I don’t. A lot of people have never heard or thought about what a good interview is, and how they are done so they are all interesting and not just a list of questions with ten second replies – and which is your favourite whatever?
And it is funny and sad to hear the various moaning minnies and vicious vernons who want to cut her off at the knees. Nancy wasn’t my fancy. Silly woman was talking about wanting information of importance to NZs! Who make our money from selling goods – Overseas, so we can buy just about everything we use from- Overseas. I heard that when you travelled through international airports you had your shoes checked and you couldn’t carry liquids more than 100ml after the terrorist attacks by people from Overseas. Yes, Nancy there are all sorts of reasons to think that Overseas matters from non-fashionable countries are worth noting by us.
Tim don’t be too hard on 9to Noon, some good stuff there. And don’t forget Checkpoint after work. Just turn on at 10 to five and suffer the last of Jim Mora’s panel of beauts, and there may be a gem if you look hard enough, and then the lemonade goes away and the hard stuff gets served.
Is my ban over yet?
[lprent: 12th of June according to the ban notes. ]
I attended a couple of Govt “consultation” meetings recentlyabout their proposed changes to the RMA – and these changes are BIG, prominent on economic growth and allowing business (, developers, mining ?) a much easier pathway through the resource consent process, and dismissive of environmental or social/community concerns. This is a hugely important issue for everyone who cares about the environment and what this Govt intends to do in the future to our lovely land.
Please pass on the details of these RMA information meetings being organised by the Green Party, and their Climate Change conference in Wellington, to anyone you know living in these areas.
Stand up for the Environment: RMA meetings
The Government’s proposed changes to the Resource Management Act undermine local democracy and environmental sustainability.
Join Green MP Eugenie Sage and guest speakers for a panel discussion on changes to the RMA and what they mean for local democracy in your community and New Zealand’s environment.
Hamilton When: Monday, May 20, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:15pm Where: Richardson Room at Child Matters, 480 Anglesea Street Hamilton
Nelson When: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where:Trafalgar Park Pavillion, 30 Trafalgar Street Nelson
Invercargill When: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where:Central Library, 50 Dee Street (Northern side entrance) Invercargill
Palmerston North When: Thursday, May 30, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm Where: Globe Theatre, 312 Main St. Palmerston North
Whanganui When: Thursday, June 6, 2013 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm, Email Eugenie Sage at Parliament for address details
Climate change conference When: Friday, June 7, 2013 – 9:00am – 4.30pm
Where: Legislative Council Chamber, Parliament
Kennedy Graham hosts a one-day climate change conference in Parliament on 7th June, with the aim of fostering cross-party and public dialogue on climate change. The conference will feature leading scientists, policy analysts, civil society, and private sector representatives, and will finish with a cross-party political panel. The conference is open to all who wish to attend. Registration is now open via the following link: http://meetingthechallenge.eventbrite.co.nz/#
from the debate on the Crown Minerals Amendment Act, Amendment Bill, Committee Stage Pt,1;
Chris Hipkins- “Simon Bridges stuffed up”, then “the Labour Party does support exploration”.
(Jacinda appeared intoxicated, not, intoxicating).
Sue Moroney- “an applicant who does not have “expertise” will be granted.
Little- amendment “splits Health and Safety, Environmental, from the Prospecting application stage, with applicants only needing to demonstrate that they are “likely” to have technical and financial capability, onus on the applicant”;effectively permits foot-in-the-door, rig on the ground.
Street- 37,000 submissions, 32,000 on provided forms, 5000 unique submissions, ALL NOT CONSIDERED; “Bridges afraid of public opinion”.
Hughes-“no Select Committee Stage”.
Robertson- effectively “it is now up to the Minister to determine if Health and Safety, Environmental requirements are met by new (unknown) players.
3 News had an interesting item last where lamb shipments are being held at the chinese boarder.
Also on dompost, but not on line.
Apparently it is because the paperwork is not correct after the import certification was changed when the Ministry of Primary Industries was formed.
The Nats have known about it for a month, but have been very quiet.
Is there more to this?, or is it just an ‘oversight’?
Likely to be a bureaucratic oversight, but be assured that the Chinese are playing this for every advantage. After all, it would be a shame for Chinese authorities to have to order the dumping of $2M worth of NZ red meat outside the harbour due to bad paperwork?
Dv
I noted one of the fast changing government entities on the Budget Roundup the other night. The truth about this Chinese matter is no doubt the old saw that constant restructuring loses efficiency and effectiveness as senior positions go, and institutional methods disappear.
The entry for beehive.govt.nz of 1/6/2010 set out the situation for Wayne Mapp who was the Minister of the Department through its changing monikers. (He is now in Russia, up to what?)
The Minister of Science and Innovation on 1/6/2010 has become –
the Minister of Research, Science and Technology, and from 1 July 2012
this will be the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The government workers can’t provide quality of work and effectiveness when they are being downsized in numbers and re-arranged like pieces in a kaleidoscope.
The trouble is that the political approach has grown to regard the country as a toy, or a potent cocktail that is to be both shaken and stirred. Unfortunately that is dragging up toxic ingredients from the sludge at the bottom of the hourglass.
Cv and prism
There was a sugestion one of the reports that the chinese were using the “stuff up” to protect their own markets.
That idea would seem to have some currency as why are the nacts so quiet, guy has not returned any calls, and if it was a ‘simple stuff up,why would it take month to sort?
Dv
Yes that what I thought. The day after they heard about it the gummint trouble shooter for exports to Asia should have had tickets and accommodation for two nights booked and do something to help us sell our things – what we have to do and do and do. F..ks sake thinking she’ll be right and why don’t they read the docs and I’ve explained it over the phone to Mr Li or whoever and he says he understands but then I get another call. It isn’t enough. Some extra effort needed. Go with urgency like the government is using in the House.
The delay may be related to the kiwifruit/zespri scam
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/8690353/Suitcases-of-cash-in-kiwifruit-scandal
Zespri, far from being an innocent party as it has claimed, knew its system for invoicing kiwifruit shipments to China was likely illegal the Star-Times has discovered.
Documents show the Mt Maunganui-based company was worried New Zealand Customs would discover what it was doing and alert its China counterparts.
Sources have revealed that staff tried to warn management that the dual invoicing was a big risk, but were ignored.
Maybe the chinese are now very suspicious ofdocumentation from NZ and that is why the sorting out is slow.
RNZ National has covered this in most news over the last 24 hours. This is their latest
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/135469/farmers-confident-about-stranded-meat
I really wish politicians on the left would put paid to this endless bullshit about taxpayers. Brian Gaynor is another repeating the lies about the top taxpayers;
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10884402
To quote;
“The top end of the employment market is strong and this benefits the Crown’s tax take as individuals on $80,000 or more account for 49 per cent of total income tax even though they represent only 11 per cent of the total work force by number”
He likely would have gotten his info from this source;
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2013/taxpayers/b13-taxpayers.pdf
Those ‘taxpayers’ look to be every individual with an IRD number. It clearly includes all welfare beneficiaries; OAPs, DPB, Dole, Invalids etc. Even a quick glance shows a further 260,000 people with zero income and rather obviously not paying any tax yet these people keep including them all in this so-called ‘workforce’ of 3.375 million.
The true workforce is only around 2million which would make those on $80,000+ around 18% of the workforce by number.
The inclusion of beneficiaries in tax statistics is seriously skewing the numbers because they’ll nearly all appear in the lower income groups and distort the real facts about who pays tax.
Fat Cop
all these Fast-Food workers coming forward confirming how Police accept free fast-food “backhanders” for free security, while the Policeman arrested on P work for the Head Hunters delivered drugs in uniform, in his police-car; his wife a DHB clinician, knowingly spending the proceeds.
Bad Boys!
Schools employ Hollywood movies to assist kids to (passively) read.
Imagine Dragons ; Radioactive
for example, avoiding paying your student loan can lead to your grades going from 40K to over 100K
(where the bloody hell are ya)
got them High Hopes?
Research finds residential sales, 8% to foreign buyers but “it will grow”.
In Auckland, to address housing, 1/2 of suburbs permitted to be in-filled with buildings of Three Stories (Mixed-Housing Zone) and buildings can exceed 4, 5 and 6 stories in Terraced and Apartment Zones; non-notified, restricted discretionary (regulatory) activity.
Liked this from David Shearer, (National), “full of big-noters, show-boaters and no-hopers”
From Russell Norman- (The Budget) “is a debt train-wreck”!!!
Jack , free from 21 😀
Institutions, not only the police, are heavily involved in NZ narcotics *market*, along with some very high profile *professionals*!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8689407/Police-officer-accused-of-working-with-gang
an award winning one at that!
Is anyone else on here NOT surprised?
Tip of the iceberg!
Another low level operator, takes the wrap, as if operating in silo, without any *support*!
Muldoon, was *friendly* with the gangs, this goes back a very long way, and it goes to the top!
for The Al1en /s (“Cumberbitches”, now there is a generous man) Interestingly, ST, Into Darkness portrays a Shadowplay between the two main protagonists…
Swings and roundabouts; Key knows we’re heading for the bottom, and he’s riding us, yes he’s riding us; The Camptown ladies sing this song Do dah, Do dah. Screaming Trees, “calling me back to my skin”. Isn’t it funny how we dance along the edge of the Pro-lab Dune like Matchstick Men. Thanks for the Trim. Silence is Golden listening to the current On The Radio; Pictures of Lilly, lilly eli Lilly. the Cider House rules, for now Paint the whole world with a Rainbow, Satellite Above. Grease is the word is the word that you heard, it’s got meaning I was walking in the park just the other night Baby (it’s You) , whatta ya think I saw (I’ll leave the light on, easier to feel the fine tolerances), Here, have a banana.
(1)11 is a joke, ring the po-leece and get burgled, double-up, while they come to buy, flavouring the flow, there’s not a minute to spare. Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Swedish House Mafia will “Save The World”, “it’s time that you stop being so important”, We are Scientists, after all, Stylo, is this love electronic? No Problem /s to report on any of the major interchanges, a million miles away you signal in the distance to whom it may concern, learning to walk again, learning to talk again. Those Flaming Lips sing it, yeah, yeah, yeah, Check yo’self ‘fore you wreck yourself, cos shotgun bullets are bad for your health.
-just a little Logo nTherapy, now, Lets Talk About trevor. without Warning, The Wizard walks by, casting his shadow, weaving his spell, funny clothes, tinkling bell. Sleep Comes Down (the Devilskin, never see the light). These are the tells, of love, and loss, and love; love based on a true story, all I do is keep the beat and the Bad Company. Chelsea Princess, Repetition.
-“the world is not a miserable prison; a playground for a non-stop tournament between stupidity and imagination”.
-James Broughton
Show (them) How to Live.
“for The Al1en /s”
Moby said “we are all made of stars”, and I agree.
ST – The way socialists should want the world to turn out like… After we finish saving it, that is.
Social justice and equality that bypasses nations for the common good.
Why does the future have to taste of dystopia?
cos’ it’s in the ‘scriptures’ and that is what is ingrained in the cultural-historically derived psyches of the collective; “be a good (capitalist, follower of the authorities, individualist, make the Right choices, work hard, gain the credentials, solve the angst of the childless couple with IVF, eat your weeties, fence off those ‘others’ etc) and you will, literally, go to heaven, or damn the lot of you. Nietzsche, the most influential Western philosopher read it before it all unfolded, Confucius and Lao Tzu prescribed what would be necessary, Ellul (amongst others, like Huxley) prophecied what would unfold, Philip K. Dick wrote the story, J.J Abrams directed the film, Jesus Christ offered to set us free (The Kingdom of heaven is within you) and John (alongside others, Greer et al;) watched.
There’s no point in having two ends to a candle if you’re not going to burn them, we just got to work harder and smarter to make sure we win.
Old red green eyes is back in town.
well, the only MPs who appear to have the integrity to stand up to “big corporate” globalization are Green and on the back-burners of Labour; the Right are certainly putting the screws on though, unprecedented High Stakes; wait until the next “Act of God”, environmental disaster “act of man” occurs, then there will be some panic.
Hold all the balls in your mind at once and you can see the Dark Art at work.
Whitechapel to follow.
Control the cue ball and you control the game.
In amerika, they call spin English, don’t you know?
distortion ist wunderbar; Ramm it home Bass.
Just found this on the RNZ website
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/135436/casino-in-queenstown-bought-by-sky-city
I recall hearing a few snippets on the news a few weeks ago re Key suggesting that the government may be willing to finance or part finance a new conference centre in Queenstown. At the time, it seemed weird as there was also indications that the money to build the centre was already sorted. Sorry, don’t have time to find a link right now.
From this latest news item, it seems that “Sky City already owns another casino in Queenstown and is in a consortium which is the preferred group to build a convention centre there.”
So, is the Queenstown situation tied in with the Government’s deal for Auckland?
So with this, hamilton, the eyesore in akl and chch do they now have a monopoly or is chch owned by another.
Also Adelaide and Darwin.
And they boast about having a bit of a casino monopoly
It’s all a board game really!
Government granted licence to print money at the expense of the poor and struggling.
tc
You are right about the eyesore in Christchurch. To get an attractive building in Auckland the citizens up there will have to be in control of the design or it might look like a prison, the one in Christchurch was sterile on the outside.
Nice one Russel Norman. Just referred to Gerry as ‘The Colossus of Roads”. It’s interesting about that petrol tax to be raised. The infrastructure that it should be spent on is public rail and Gisborne line. It’s important that good transport is available to all the regions.
The magical world of New Zealand’s Neo-Liberal right wing
by KJT
http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/
It has been obvious that some people live in a different world than the rest of us.
One where Chicago school economics work! One where you save the village by blowing it up! One where global warming can be stopped, Canute-like, by legislation. One where dropping wages and giving everything to bloated financiers, makes us better off! One where removing money from an economy makes it work better. One where every country is going to get rich by out exporting every other country. One where enabling greater inequality than the dark ages, works!
The one with the trickle down fairy. “Give us the money and we will pee on you”.
The market fairy. “Leave it to the market and we will cut your wages,impoverish your children, and tell you it is a brighter future”.
The Austerity fairy. “We will become better off by becoming poorer”.
The catching-up-with-Australia fairy. “We will catch up with Australia by doing almost the opposite of everything they have done”.
The Democracy fairy. “We will let you vote, to change the names in Government, or on a few social issues which do not affect our making money off you, but not to make any meaningful changes to the way the country is run”.
The privatisation fairy. “We will ensure that the NZ current account is forever in deficit, by selling all the income earning assets”
The debt fairy. “We will cut debt by borrowing $300mill a week, to pay for unaffordable tax cuts, to pay for our Hawaii holidays”.
The Job fairy. ” We will increase the number of jobs by putting thousands out of work, and cutting the unemployment benefit”.
The “We support business” fairy. While ensuring New Zealanders have no money to buy from local businesses, and increasing small businesses costs.
The better future fairy. “We will give you a better future by paying you less, charging you more and cutting services”.
It is pretty obvious which side of the political spectrum is on another planet. Planet Key!
http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/
Excellent.
“The DoC will run better fairy, by cutting it’s budgets and sacking all it’s experienced and specialist staff'”
Hi Morrissey
100% bang on right mate. If our current leaders had another brain and heart both would be lonely the soulless ideological scumbags!
Thank you john, but all the credit goes to KJT. I simply reprinted that from his excellent blog.
Pretty good filibuster in the house this avo. Anyone else been following?
Starting up again at 7.
What’s the bill?
Petrol tax blah blah amendment something?
OK Thanks.
I watched last night, as the government forced through its outrageous anti-protest legislation, formally and preposterously entitled The Crown Minerals Act Amendment Bill 2013 Amendment Bill. Labour and the Greens put up a string of serious, well prepared speakers: Gareth Hughes, Andrew Little, Grant Robertson, Moana Mackey, Chris Hipkins and Maryan Street. After insultingly brief and inadequate speeches by two of its lesser lights, Sam Lotu-Liga and Mark Mitchell, National just sat it out; as well as having no arguments, they had nobody capable of mounting any coherent defence of this assault on our democracy.
The man responsible for this disastrous legislation, Simon Bridges, was in the house, and was asked by every speaker to get up and answer for himself; he was obviously just not up to it. A couple of times the cameras cut to him, furtively shuffling (but not reading) papers, with a perplexed and pained expression.
This bill is proceeding under the cover of post-budget urgency???!!!
Mozza, I very much doubt Simon Bridges is responsible for anything, other than bending over on request, being a sock-puppet, a traitor and a coward, who is the servant to the masters…
The masters are not likely to be onshore in NZ, and I would doubt that the core protagonists in the house, see themselves as NZ’ers!
Yeah…….wee Simon’s a puppy who yaps and drools on demand. Not an ounce of balls in him. Former Crown prosecutor you see……it’s all about “winning” and putting people behind bars, deservedly or not, as a reflex. No broad morality. He just follows orders.
Heaps of regard to the perks and the travel and the handsome stipend and the pension however. Prick. Not a gram of principle in him. Lacking balls and principle. Interested only in being a “darling”.
I agree that Bridges is the stooge rather than the instigator; however he is the minister responsible for this, even if it is really Steven Joyce and Peter Goodfellow pulling his strings. If Bridges had an ounce of integrity, he would have resigned by now, but he has stayed on to front this terrible legislation. He will bear the full blame for it eventually, and he doesn’t deserve any sympathy.
Agree with that Moz – Was not looking to relieve the coward of responsibility, in any way.
No sympathy, here, for any of them!
There you go, some thing that unites us all.
Who’d have thought it would be simon bridges, minister for himself.
Keep fighting M and M 😉
Lotu-Liga…….another up-himself shithead little lawyer. Helping Shonkey Python to shit on his own people. Great guy……
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10884359
Ew. That’s just disgusting.
And some comments, like “all I can see now are a pair of rubber tits”.
Words fail me. Looking at Roughan’s column, I asked myself, “What kind of animal writes this shit?” and then I read the comments to get the answer: the sort who… never mind, I don’t want to articulate my answer fully.
Roughan…….big fish little pond fuckwit. Intrusiveness is his right…….because he’s big fish little pond fuckwit Roughan with a platform alongside equally egocentric fools. New Zealand is so sick in that regard.
Get your nose out of others’ business, dog !
Can someone explain why Andrew Little made a stupid complaint about clothing in Parliament?
If one ever had any doubts about whether Little is a dick, they were laid to rest today.
He appears to have his hang-ups.
I took it to be largely tongue in cheek. You might remember Clare Curran was thrown out because she wore a football jersey (or some such garment) about a year ago. I thought there might have been a bit of tit for tat going on. Agree though… it was rather stupid.
Andrew Little’s point of order appeared to be quite serious. And for that, ridiculous. The guy needs to get a life. If he wanted to comment on dress, he should have congratulated Gareth Hughes from the Greens who looked particularly fetching (seriously) in his grey suit and black tie, and his speech was impressive too 🙂
More interested why TV3 made such a fuss about it… Like we didn’t know.
More likely, Andrew Little is looking for any way to get himself some publicity. Looks like he succeeded.
Re Little.I was interested that TV3 (I think) picked up on that and costed out the amount that the time taken to deal with the jersey issue would have cost the taxpayer.Can’t remember what it came to, but I don’t understand why the same attention is never given to key when he nuts off on one of his kindy tantrums.Must be costing us a lot more money for the time he wastes.
I wonder why, if Little was gonna raise a point of order about dress at all, he didn’t have a go at Tony-Ryall-Neighbour-Of-Susan.
Note I’m not saying Tones wears a dress. I’m saying that recidivistly he daily commits fashion crime, what with his pinstripes up against checked tablecloth shirts. You gotta go for the real criminals Little.
Not Auchinvole or Sockinhole or whatever his name is. He seemed to love the attention anyway. Compared to Tones he was sartorial inoffensiveness defined.
Re why TV3 made a point of it ? Maybe Mr Bean’s Cuzzy Power (Trip) Gower is personally, darkly, “really angry” about the carry-on in the House and will next cost out the time consumed by ShonKey Python’s rhubarbs, can’t recalls, throat slitting gestures and risible expressions and non-expressions of confidence in Botox Banks.
Oh, Poor Paddy, it’s such a burden being part of the story with the weight of the nation upon him, Gilmore “lying to ME”, Steven Joyce calling HIM aside – “Look PADDY, it’s like this……..”, having to LICK ShonKey’s arse.
A bit of a freako-demographics moment?
Why are birthrates falling around the world? Blame television
Television in developing countries is also correlated with:
– reduced acceptability of domestic violence
– reduced son preference
– increased female autonomy
The study thinks it might be more than rising incomes, but television is actually changing cultural norms. (Now there’s a debate that’s been a first world problem for awhile). I wonder if these developing countries have Snookie and ‘The Only Way is Essex’ 😉
I’ve been there, trust me, the only Essex you’ll ever want is David, and only then when he wants to make you a star.
Hah! I had a picture of him on my wall way back when I was about 12 – him and Marc Bolan who doesn’t want to fool the kids.
Yeah its tv’s fault /sarc!
I call those Waterloo sunset moments
I am in paradise 🙂
Eruption; “I’m ya Ice-cream man, stop me when I’m passing by”. 😉
Unlike Dave Dobbin, who doesn’t listen to other peoples songs when he’s writing, I will if it’s asked of me 😉
That’s a very spinal tap looking vid. Cut and blow dries for all 😆
The tv series the history of rock (was on prime ages ago at least twice) has an interview with one of the kinks, saying how he used to cut up his speaker cones to get them to distort.
I’d hate to guess what I’d have to slit to get a decent vocal sound.
Thank goodness for software.
I like the second-to-bottom line.
One out of seven, that’s nearly more popular than Labour 😆
+1 nice 🙂
“I’m not a number; Ooh, that’s why I’m easy, I’m easy like a Sunday morning.
I’ve paid my dues to make it
I’m not happy when I try to fake it, no
I wanna be free to know
The things I do are right”.
(been some investment)
“Haven’t changed, haven’t much to ‘say’
Plenty of unused thoughts to give away,
Hardly ever Blue, is a greeting from a friend.”
Ah ! A Kinks fan 🙂