I thought that this was an interesting post made by Washington’s blog.
It pays to remember that John Key had millions of dollars worth of shares in Merrill Lynch when he left the banking sector and that these shares have been converted to Bank of America shares making him probably the most compromised PM with the biggest conflict of interest ever to run this country so when this government speaks of privatising our national assets it is very likely that he will gain hugely while doing so.
For example it was Merrill Lynch (which after it’s demise became part of the Bank of America) which was the first to mention how the privatisation of ACC would be a veritable Bonanza.
According to a PDF downloaded from the government website Hon John KEY (National, Helensville) has interests (such as shares and bonds) in companies and business entities:
Little Nell – property investment, Aspen, Colorado
Bank of America – banking (Formerly Merrill Lynch)
Cauldron (sold 16 February 2010) – mining
So when he is talking about privatising assets this is what really happens: American, Greece, Spain, Ireland and whether you believe it or not New Zealand are being raped by the international bankers and John Key is helping them do it here.
Wasn’t the question of Key shares in the Bank of America raised by Penny Bright in her face to face question at a public meeting? I think Mr Key deflated at that point.
She did indeed. She wanted to know if John Key would gain monetarily from the foreign debt and it is very likely that he will. She never got a reply on that written request for information on the matter.
Here is the link to the video of that occasion for those who haven’t seen the interaction.
(Iprent, the editor is a bitch for entering paragraphs)
It freally hit me this week how completely and utterly scripted key is. The Monday press conference was ENTIRELY read word fro word. The guy is unable t speak off the cuff for a moment. Even his ‘Christchurch we will stand by you” stuff is all scripted.
Yeah, he’s terrible. He has no real public speaking ability at all, certainly far below the level required by a PM.
We were watching it on TV, and quite confused when he started talking about a trade mission to India right on the back of talking about Christchurch. Took us about 10 seconds to realise that they were completely unrelated topics. He should have had a good 2-3 second pause and introduced a bridge like “Now turning to scheduled government business…”.
This news is very disturbing – Blubber Boy’s claiming that the Labour Party has the email addresses of the people who signed NZEIs postcards against Early Childhood Education changes.
Reading between the lines, I get an ominous feeling that the government’s ultimate liability is going to spike much higher than $5b, and after the election (when this is announced) we’re going to be hit with a ratings downgrade.
Lanthanide: Talking to Christchurch people in the building trade I get the impression it will be 3 times that, so the Nact’s will either be saving this as an excuse for asset sales or a hospital pass for the next government.
The government should have just got in there and put things to rights and then sent the bill to the insurance companies. And who gives a fuck about credit rating downgrades?
Hah! Haha!
The question is – what will he do next with the two things in his hands?
..
Perhaps, like a good karate kid doing a public demo, he might smash them into his head?
…
….
There won’t be much to break.
No great loss.
Some startling stuff on Radionz interview this morning Kim Hill with author – 11:05 Amitav Ghosh: language and opium. Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke are first two books in a trilogy. He has written one of those powerful stories that is based on real history I think they call it faction. In the process he learned an obscure old language based on medieval arab or something and this was used as a lingua franca for sailing ships with mixed Asian Lascar crewmen. I think I’ve got that right. E&OE
Anyway he found a document advising the British government that the British Raj in India could not survive without dealing and growing opium. Then in China, the British fought them for the right to free trade. Yeah right. It was the right for them to control opium growing there as a monopoly. I knew that Britain’s past is not the bright shiny thing which is presented, but really the Brits are shabby, and we have to watch that we don’t allow ourselves to fall into such ethical pits covered by a fog of deliberate amnesia. We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness. Let’s work hard and be alert so we keep it that way.
China had products the West wanted, like the Middle East has oil the World wants. If Saudi Arabia says that it doesn’t want to sell oil anymore….
So its hypocritical to suggest Britain then is any different than us now, or even China now.
What is the modern drugs company, but selling the solution without any interest in prevention
rather the reverse.
If China had brought British goods and services, trains, then would China have been so gone backwards for so long?
I do think it was wrong, but we don’t have the high ground.
…an obscure old language based on medieval arab or something…
The language he learned was Judaeo-Arabic, a variant of colloquial Arabic written in the Hebrew script.
I knew that Britain’s past is not the bright shiny thing which is presented, but really the Brits are shabby,
After China’s unsuccessful attempt to curb Britain’s depredations, there were blood-soaked revolts against British oppression in (to name just a few) India, Burma, South Africa, Malaya, Kenya, and Ireland.
One of the punishments meted out to China after the Opium Wars was forcing it to cede Hong Kong to Great Britain until 1997. In the years leading up to the 1997 hand-over, the English governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, regularly delivered stern lectures about the need for China to “respect democracy” and “observe human rights”. The Chinese diplomats treated this hypocritical cant with withering contempt.
and we have to watch that we don’t allow ourselves to fall into such ethical pits covered by a fog of deliberate amnesia.
We’re in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. Our troops have been browbeaten into handing over captive Afghanis to torture and summary execution. We have a government that is devoted to fostering a fog of amnesia.
We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness.
Are you familiar with the history of Taranaki and Waikato? With the dispossession of the Ngai Tahu? With the campaigns against the Tuhoe people? With New Zealand soldiers rounding up and killing, with clubs and bayonets, more than 100 boys and old men in the Palestinian village of Surafend in 1918? With the catastrophic, murderous mis-administration of Samoa in the 1920s and 30s?
In fact, prism, we have committed more than our share of disgraceful viciousness. Although much of it is, as you suggest, unmentioned.
For goodness sake Morrissey if you are going to comment on points I make, don’t criticise those ones that you agree with in a spirit both pedantic and irritable. What’s the point of that? You chose for comment my statement – We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness.
I said, you notice, that ‘[we} haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness‘. I didn’t say we hadn’t committed any. My hope is that we don’t commit any more. So stop bashing me round the head from your high vantage point. I assess NZ as making efforts to behave fairly and reasonably to Maori as in the Waitangi Tribunal. Before you point out all the ways we are failing, I note the Tuhoe invasion by the police etc. There is room for improvement for sure.
Golly, prism! Sorry to upset you. I didn’t intend to upbraid you. I wasn’t even feeling irritable. I think your posts are considered and well written; I wasn’t trying to attack you.
I agree with you that New Zealand has done many good things. Mind you, so have Great Britain and the United States.
Morissey – I’m really a bear of little brain like Winnie the Pooh. I don’t carry sets of facts in my head, but I try to know about what I am commenting on. There is an awful lot to know or even to try and grasp an idea of and if I’m off the mark I am happy to be put right on your specialist information or topic. But deconstructing my comments is a bit much when they may be just ideas I’m flying.
As for Gt Britain and USA, the problem about them is not that they fail to behave rightly all the time but that they largely seem to do what they like, while portraying themselves as noble and superior, and then when questioned about faulty behaviour deny wrongdoing. When it is shown that they have erred, then they say that’s past history, let’s move on. Thus little is learned from the past, and the self-interest of the powerful rules. We need better probity and thinking from our leaders than that.
John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis
– A comedy routine. It may seemed hilarious but this is actually what’s happening. Without all the financial jargon, any layman can understand what is happening to the current economy crisis.
How can broke economies lend money to other broke economies who haven’t got any money because they can’t pay back the money the broke economy lent to the other broke economy and shouldn’t have lent it to them in the first place because the broke economy can’t pay back?”
_______________________________________________________________________________
Again, its many a word spoken in jest. Brutally funny/true. It does seem a bit harsh that countries like Greece are forced to make those brutal cuts because another entity tells them to. Actually Japan also owns a great deal of the USA.
Meanwhile back in NZ our Government is making such cuts not because we have to, but because they have an ideological belief. The end result is probably the same.
This is Max Keiser talking (from Athens) to Alex Jones about the crisis in Greece and how and why it is happening. He also talks with two lawyers who want to take some of the banksters responsible for the scam that is causing Greece to have to borrow to court. This is not over by a long shot.
so the government is going into urgency next week to remove the kiwi share in telecom?
how nice for all those mums dads and orphans who already own it and now have had to pay for it twice over efore its stolen completely.
Deny someone access to social insurance and then demand they take unsuitable work or suffer, is called slavery.
Now, demand people take unsuitable work and deny them access to social insurance, this is called the Future Focus policy change.
If a sick or disabled citizen has few choices, then how can the Future Focus policy deny them social insurance. If all the jobs require you to walk up stairs, then the threat that a wheel bound person to find such work would be psychological torture.
A nation of civil rights talks about the individuals and their rights to expand and grow.
Prisoners in NZ prison have such rights, also to adequate food, health and housing while incarcerated. But disabled and sick people under the new Future Focus
policy do not, if they don’t do as they are told, they will loose access to the social integration. They at any time can be called to undertake unsuitable work.
The shameful part of the policy is that it uses the needs of the state to fulfil its duty to Human Rights to integrate people in the community through work as an argument for the policy.
Without any recognition of the dignity and respect to the sick or disabled, also contradicting the mutual responsibilities on WINZ.
Strange that, WINZ never active explains honestly why they have to provide social insurance.
Strange since they expect open honesty from citizens.
Strange that, WINZ never active explains honestly why they have to provide social insurance.
Do they actually know? I’m betting that they don’t, like most people, understand that the economic theory that the global economy works under requires unemployment (around 6%).
I read something on Gotcha that I thought was rather amusing, Cameron Slater’s 13 rules of politics. Number six states; “Don’t mess with The Whale or Cactus Kate.” Really! Why is that I wonder? This is the usual drivel we’ve all come to expect from the blogger known as Whaleoil. I was amused because his arrogance is obviously in excess of his capabilities, and I’m not just talking about his physical and mental limitations here…
His rules are pretty lame, contradictory (7,2,5) and mostly not his. They also seem to be rules for politicians to follow, until they stop being that and become rules for ciizens/activists (11,12).
Were I to do a continuum on how I see the government in relation to the plight of those in Christchurch this is how my continuum would look.
expedient insurance refugee
with SCF——————————–reinsurance——————————–
The government were certainly expedient when it came to posting out checks with interest to those who had shares in SCF.
Insurance and reinsurance is the main obstacle. I was horrified to hear this morning on newstalkzb that if the EQC had not got around to assessing a person for the September earthquake a person was not covered for the February earthquake. Apparently in the fine print. This analogy was used, a car accident on 4 September and the repair had not been assessed, then a car accident on 22 February, no claim allowed for 22 February. Yet each earthquake is a separate claim and this is also the case with June 13.
A refugee is often a person who does not have a home due to displacement in their country. Tempoary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) is available for home owners whose homes are uninhabitable and their insurance cover for tempoary accommodation has or is about to runout. This is not means tested. I have come to the conclusion that people are living in uninhabitable homes because the land is uninhabitable and a basic amenity like a toliet is unusable, yet they do not qualify for TAA.
It’s what we grow best and is a cornerstone of the clean and green image that underpins New Zealand’s dairy and meat exports.
Whether those exports would find as much consumer favour if raised on genetically modified pasture is the alarm sounded by the Sustainability Council after it investigated Government funding for GM pasture research.
The Sustainability Council has used the Official Information Act to obtain consultants’ estimates of the net benefits if some or all of the GM grass strains being investigated were to succeed.
Its analysis, released exclusively to the Weekend Herald, challenges the estimated gains and argues that the risks of an international consumer backlash make taxpayer investment in high-tech – but non-GM – plant breeding methods a far better bet.
Yes. It’s quite likely that more grass of any kind is not going to be much of a solution.
Dairy and meat are extraordinarily energy and water intensive industries. We are pushing past the carrying capacity of our land and it is being damaged for the long term.
One of the kindest things you can do for the earth is not to eat beef according to the flick ‘How to Boil a Frog’ as cows suck up one third of the earth’s land surface along with fertilser for pasture or feed from grain in addition to inputs and emissions of processing said cows; and next to us and cars are the greatest emitters of carbon as they number 1.5 billion. The waterways that are destroyed through their effluent and fertilser run-off and effluent soaked land surely cannot be borne for much longer.
Cows also take in massive amounts of water during their lives and acid rain comes from cow urine.
Having only one child and reducing, recycling and reusing and avoiding Exxon Mobil oil were also promoted.
VINCE SIEMER ‘BLOWS THE WHISTLE’ ON THE DELAYED ‘OPERATION 8 SHOW TRIAL!
In my considered opinion, fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ Vince Siemer is New Zealand’s leading ‘Whistleblower’ exposing corruption, and the lack of accountability and transparency in the NZ judiciary and ‘justice’ system.
(Are you aware that New Zealand Judges have no enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’?
In NZ does ‘judicial independence’ actually mean judicial unaccountability?
Did you know that there is currently no statutory requirement for a ‘Register of Pecuniary Interests’ for NZ Judges?
Did you know that NZ Court proceedings are regularly not recorded?
How can ‘justice be done or be seen to be done’ – when there is no record in court of WHAT was done? How can a ‘court of record’ – not ‘keep a record’? )
_____________________________________________
The persecution Vince Siemer has been subjected to, (that I have personally witnessed), from the highest levels, simply defies belief………..
VINCE SIEMER ‘BLOWS THE WHISTLE’ ON THE DELAYED ‘OPERATION 8 SHOW TRIAL!
“After almost 4 years and over $10 million in taxpayer funds thrown at the prosecution, few Kiwis are aware of the evidence and court proceedings in the criminal prosecution of 18 New Zealand citizens intially labelled as terrorists, but whom the U.S. Embassy in Wellington was advised in 2007 by NZ Police would likely face only fines of up to $4,000.
The High Court has tried to shroud the proceedings in secrecy.
But you can FIND OUT THE INSIDE STORY AND FACTS at
WEINER: You can see a difference in the development in the West Bank with 11 percent year over year growth, with no Israeli occupation there either, with increasing access to checkpoints — COHEN: What about area C, D, WEINER: Hold on, maybe this would be helpful COHEN: No occupation in the West Bank? I’m sorry, did I hear you right? WEINER: Yes. COHEN: Have you been to the West Bank lately? WEINER: Yes. COHEN: You didn’t see the IDF there? WEINER: In Ramallah? No. In Nablus? No. Now can I tell ya there might be some people in this room who think Jerusalem is occupied. COHEN: Well hold on a second there, let’s stick to the West Bank. You’re saying there is no IDF presence there? WEINER: Yes.
Yeah, that’s ‘Neo-Conservative’/Lukidnik territory from Weiner.
As Norman Finkelstein recently said, among many Israeli apologists in the US, “…we enter the realm of unreason. We enter a twilight zone…they’re not only not up to speed yet with Steven Spielberg, they’re still in the Leon Uris Exodus version of history: the ‘this land is mine, God gave this land to me’, and anybody who dissents from this (quite simply) lunatic version of history is then immediately branded an anti-semite.”
Not that I’m suggesting the ‘Kadima/Israeli Labour Party’ version of things (favoured by most of the US media/political class) is much better or more honest. But at least they’re prepared to admit that there is indeed an occupation of the West Bank.
The fact that Weiner’s from New York interests me. New York’s always (rightly) been seen as a liberal-left bastion in US politics. But I read recently that in terms of the zionist politics of the American Jewish community, New York is, in fact, the Far-Right bastion. Probably something to do with the proportion of New York Jews living in overwhelmingly/exclusively Jewish suburbs/enclaves. Polls suggest that those living in all-Jewish neighbourhoods and for whom their Jewish identity is central to their sense of self are much more likely to be ultra-zionist. Those Jewish Americans who ‘marry-out’ (marry Gentiles) or who grew-up in much more mixed neighbourhoods, by contrast, are far more likely to be highly critical of Israel’s policies/44-year occupation/long-term ethnic-cleansing.
The Petulant Bean has been telling her electorate that somehow she and the wonderful visionary, Mr Ryall have managed to give West Auckland a “general” hospital.
Well she was too young to remember and probably running around the Taupo area when the efforts of Alliance MP’s and councillors championed the idea of a true Waitemata hospital against consistent opposition from “conservative” governments. And it was during the first term of the Labour / Alliance government and particularly the efforts of Jim Anderton that got the go ahead and funding for the Westies to have their hospital.
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I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A few days back I linked to the Global Commission on Drugs and here is a follow up by ex-President Jimmy Carter supporting their stance to treat drug use and abuse as a medical rather than criminal matter. Though still treating dealers etc as criminals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/opinion/17carter.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
I thought that this was an interesting post made by Washington’s blog.
It pays to remember that John Key had millions of dollars worth of shares in Merrill Lynch when he left the banking sector and that these shares have been converted to Bank of America shares making him probably the most compromised PM with the biggest conflict of interest ever to run this country so when this government speaks of privatising our national assets it is very likely that he will gain hugely while doing so.
For example it was Merrill Lynch (which after it’s demise became part of the Bank of America) which was the first to mention how the privatisation of ACC would be a veritable Bonanza.
According to a PDF downloaded from the government website Hon John KEY (National, Helensville) has interests (such as shares and bonds) in companies and business entities:
Little Nell – property investment, Aspen, Colorado
Bank of America – banking (Formerly Merrill Lynch)
Cauldron (sold 16 February 2010) – mining
So when he is talking about privatising assets this is what really happens:
American, Greece, Spain, Ireland and whether you believe it or not New Zealand are being raped by the international bankers and John Key is helping them do it here.
Wasn’t the question of Key shares in the Bank of America raised by Penny Bright in her face to face question at a public meeting? I think Mr Key deflated at that point.
She did indeed. She wanted to know if John Key would gain monetarily from the foreign debt and it is very likely that he will. She never got a reply on that written request for information on the matter.
Here is the link to the video of that occasion for those who haven’t seen the interaction.
(Iprent, the editor is a bitch for entering paragraphs)
Thanks for the link T! Best line from Key ‘Sadly I’m not (profiting from NZ’s indebtedness)’. Quite vile and I suspect it’s a lie anyway.
My pleasure, and yes the guy is lying and he doesn’t care whether we know or not.
He doesn’t care that he gets caught lying because the MSM will never to take him to task about it.
It freally hit me this week how completely and utterly scripted key is. The Monday press conference was ENTIRELY read word fro word. The guy is unable t speak off the cuff for a moment. Even his ‘Christchurch we will stand by you” stuff is all scripted.
Yeah, he’s terrible. He has no real public speaking ability at all, certainly far below the level required by a PM.
We were watching it on TV, and quite confused when he started talking about a trade mission to India right on the back of talking about Christchurch. Took us about 10 seconds to realise that they were completely unrelated topics. He should have had a good 2-3 second pause and introduced a bridge like “Now turning to scheduled government business…”.
This news is very disturbing – Blubber Boy’s claiming that the Labour Party has the email addresses of the people who signed NZEIs postcards against Early Childhood Education changes.
Didn’t he also claim they had credit card details?
Frankly, if greasy cetacean claimed the earth was round I’d be out checking the astronomical measurements myself.
But he’s done nothing yet to suggest that he doesn’t have credit card details..
…and now the repeaters at the NZ Herald have picked up on the story about the email addresses
To all those saying that the “insurance issues” in CHCH can be quickly and easily sorted, and should have been sorted months ago:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/5161210/Govt-tipped-to-pick-up-insurance-tab
Reading between the lines, I get an ominous feeling that the government’s ultimate liability is going to spike much higher than $5b, and after the election (when this is announced) we’re going to be hit with a ratings downgrade.
What about the uninsured? Where do they fit in if their land is abandoned?
Lanthanide: Talking to Christchurch people in the building trade I get the impression it will be 3 times that, so the Nact’s will either be saving this as an excuse for asset sales or a hospital pass for the next government.
Layton Duncan (founder of ChCh based Mac software company Polar Bear Farm) writes a good blog post on the botched recovery in Christchurch.
http://laytonduncan.com/post/6636764628/from-natural-disaster-to-governance-disaster
The government should have just got in there and put things to rights and then sent the bill to the insurance companies. And who gives a fuck about credit rating downgrades?
Gerry presents the recovery plan
“take two tablets, but don’t call me again”
Wonder how stable would be his mount? Somewhere other than Christchurch?
Hah! Haha!
The question is – what will he do next with the two things in his hands?
..
Perhaps, like a good karate kid doing a public demo, he might smash them into his head?
…
….
There won’t be much to break.
No great loss.
Some startling stuff on Radionz interview this morning Kim Hill with author – 11:05 Amitav Ghosh: language and opium. Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke are first two books in a trilogy. He has written one of those powerful stories that is based on real history I think they call it faction. In the process he learned an obscure old language based on medieval arab or something and this was used as a lingua franca for sailing ships with mixed Asian Lascar crewmen. I think I’ve got that right. E&OE
Anyway he found a document advising the British government that the British Raj in India could not survive without dealing and growing opium. Then in China, the British fought them for the right to free trade. Yeah right. It was the right for them to control opium growing there as a monopoly. I knew that Britain’s past is not the bright shiny thing which is presented, but really the Brits are shabby, and we have to watch that we don’t allow ourselves to fall into such ethical pits covered by a fog of deliberate amnesia. We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness. Let’s work hard and be alert so we keep it that way.
China had products the West wanted, like the Middle East has oil the World wants. If Saudi Arabia says that it doesn’t want to sell oil anymore….
So its hypocritical to suggest Britain then is any different than us now, or even China now.
What is the modern drugs company, but selling the solution without any interest in prevention
rather the reverse.
If China had brought British goods and services, trains, then would China have been so gone backwards for so long?
I do think it was wrong, but we don’t have the high ground.
…an obscure old language based on medieval arab or something…
The language he learned was Judaeo-Arabic, a variant of colloquial Arabic written in the Hebrew script.
I knew that Britain’s past is not the bright shiny thing which is presented, but really the Brits are shabby,
After China’s unsuccessful attempt to curb Britain’s depredations, there were blood-soaked revolts against British oppression in (to name just a few) India, Burma, South Africa, Malaya, Kenya, and Ireland.
One of the punishments meted out to China after the Opium Wars was forcing it to cede Hong Kong to Great Britain until 1997. In the years leading up to the 1997 hand-over, the English governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, regularly delivered stern lectures about the need for China to “respect democracy” and “observe human rights”. The Chinese diplomats treated this hypocritical cant with withering contempt.
and we have to watch that we don’t allow ourselves to fall into such ethical pits covered by a fog of deliberate amnesia.
We’re in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. Our troops have been browbeaten into handing over captive Afghanis to torture and summary execution. We have a government that is devoted to fostering a fog of amnesia.
We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness.
Are you familiar with the history of Taranaki and Waikato? With the dispossession of the Ngai Tahu? With the campaigns against the Tuhoe people? With New Zealand soldiers rounding up and killing, with clubs and bayonets, more than 100 boys and old men in the Palestinian village of Surafend in 1918? With the catastrophic, murderous mis-administration of Samoa in the 1920s and 30s?
In fact, prism, we have committed more than our share of disgraceful viciousness. Although much of it is, as you suggest, unmentioned.
For goodness sake Morrissey if you are going to comment on points I make, don’t criticise those ones that you agree with in a spirit both pedantic and irritable. What’s the point of that? You chose for comment my statement – We’re not too bad in NZ and haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness.
I said, you notice, that ‘[we} haven’t been going long enough to rack up a large pile of disgraceful or unmentionable viciousness‘. I didn’t say we hadn’t committed any. My hope is that we don’t commit any more. So stop bashing me round the head from your high vantage point. I assess NZ as making efforts to behave fairly and reasonably to Maori as in the Waitangi Tribunal. Before you point out all the ways we are failing, I note the Tuhoe invasion by the police etc. There is room for improvement for sure.
Golly, prism! Sorry to upset you. I didn’t intend to upbraid you. I wasn’t even feeling irritable. I think your posts are considered and well written; I wasn’t trying to attack you.
I agree with you that New Zealand has done many good things. Mind you, so have Great Britain and the United States.
It’s not all bad, any more than it is all good.
Morissey – I’m really a bear of little brain like Winnie the Pooh. I don’t carry sets of facts in my head, but I try to know about what I am commenting on. There is an awful lot to know or even to try and grasp an idea of and if I’m off the mark I am happy to be put right on your specialist information or topic. But deconstructing my comments is a bit much when they may be just ideas I’m flying.
As for Gt Britain and USA, the problem about them is not that they fail to behave rightly all the time but that they largely seem to do what they like, while portraying themselves as noble and superior, and then when questioned about faulty behaviour deny wrongdoing. When it is shown that they have erred, then they say that’s past history, let’s move on. Thus little is learned from the past, and the self-interest of the powerful rules. We need better probity and thinking from our leaders than that.
Hi folks!
Seen this?
YOU TUBE: MUST SEE! ‘World Economy Collapse explained in 3 minutes’
– John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis
– A comedy routine.
(But what’s happening is NOT funny!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyePCRkq620
John Clarke and Bryan Dawe calculate the cost of the European debt crisis
– A comedy routine. It may seemed hilarious but this is actually what’s happening. Without all the financial jargon, any layman can understand what is happening to the current economy crisis.
How can broke economies lend money to other broke economies who haven’t got any money because they can’t pay back the money the broke economy lent to the other broke economy and shouldn’t have lent it to them in the first place because the broke economy can’t pay back?”
_______________________________________________________________________________
Cheers!
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
Hilarious
Again, its many a word spoken in jest. Brutally funny/true. It does seem a bit harsh that countries like Greece are forced to make those brutal cuts because another entity tells them to. Actually Japan also owns a great deal of the USA.
Meanwhile back in NZ our Government is making such cuts not because we have to, but because they have an ideological belief. The end result is probably the same.
This is Max Keiser talking (from Athens) to Alex Jones about the crisis in Greece and how and why it is happening. He also talks with two lawyers who want to take some of the banksters responsible for the scam that is causing Greece to have to borrow to court. This is not over by a long shot.
In a similar vein, you might like this diagram provided by Zero Hedge on the Greek Government restructuring
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/Greek%20reshuffle.png
so the government is going into urgency next week to remove the kiwi share in telecom?
how nice for all those mums dads and orphans who already own it and now have had to pay for it twice over efore its stolen completely.
lathanide, you say after the election as if it was a foregone conclusion. is it?
If National have any control over it, they certainly won’t announce the inflated costs before the election.
UK Tory: Use disabled workers to undercut wages
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/17/tory-philip-davies-disabled-people-work
Deny someone access to social insurance and then demand they take unsuitable work or suffer, is called slavery.
Now, demand people take unsuitable work and deny them access to social insurance, this is called the Future Focus policy change.
If a sick or disabled citizen has few choices, then how can the Future Focus policy deny them social insurance. If all the jobs require you to walk up stairs, then the threat that a wheel bound person to find such work would be psychological torture.
A nation of civil rights talks about the individuals and their rights to expand and grow.
Prisoners in NZ prison have such rights, also to adequate food, health and housing while incarcerated. But disabled and sick people under the new Future Focus
policy do not, if they don’t do as they are told, they will loose access to the social integration. They at any time can be called to undertake unsuitable work.
The shameful part of the policy is that it uses the needs of the state to fulfil its duty to Human Rights to integrate people in the community through work as an argument for the policy.
Without any recognition of the dignity and respect to the sick or disabled, also contradicting the mutual responsibilities on WINZ.
Strange that, WINZ never active explains honestly why they have to provide social insurance.
Strange since they expect open honesty from citizens.
Do they actually know? I’m betting that they don’t, like most people, understand that the economic theory that the global economy works under requires unemployment (around 6%).
Whale Blubber
I read something on Gotcha that I thought was rather amusing, Cameron Slater’s 13 rules of politics. Number six states; “Don’t mess with The Whale or Cactus Kate.” Really! Why is that I wonder? This is the usual drivel we’ve all come to expect from the blogger known as Whaleoil. I was amused because his arrogance is obviously in excess of his capabilities, and I’m not just talking about his physical and mental limitations here…
His rules are pretty lame, contradictory (7,2,5) and mostly not his. They also seem to be rules for politicians to follow, until they stop being that and become rules for ciizens/activists (11,12).
Were I to do a continuum on how I see the government in relation to the plight of those in Christchurch this is how my continuum would look.
expedient insurance refugee
with SCF——————————–reinsurance——————————–
The government were certainly expedient when it came to posting out checks with interest to those who had shares in SCF.
Insurance and reinsurance is the main obstacle. I was horrified to hear this morning on newstalkzb that if the EQC had not got around to assessing a person for the September earthquake a person was not covered for the February earthquake. Apparently in the fine print. This analogy was used, a car accident on 4 September and the repair had not been assessed, then a car accident on 22 February, no claim allowed for 22 February. Yet each earthquake is a separate claim and this is also the case with June 13.
A refugee is often a person who does not have a home due to displacement in their country. Tempoary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) is available for home owners whose homes are uninhabitable and their insurance cover for tempoary accommodation has or is about to runout. This is not means tested. I have come to the conclusion that people are living in uninhabitable homes because the land is uninhabitable and a basic amenity like a toliet is unusable, yet they do not qualify for TAA.
Thought it would get chopped.
On the left expedient with SCF. In the middle insurance/reinsurance. On the right refugee.
If you can fix it at your end please do so.
Grass
It’s what we grow best and is a cornerstone of the clean and green image that underpins New Zealand’s dairy and meat exports.
Whether those exports would find as much consumer favour if raised on genetically modified pasture is the alarm sounded by the Sustainability Council after it investigated Government funding for GM pasture research.
The Sustainability Council has used the Official Information Act to obtain consultants’ estimates of the net benefits if some or all of the GM grass strains being investigated were to succeed.
Its analysis, released exclusively to the Weekend Herald, challenges the estimated gains and argues that the risks of an international consumer backlash make taxpayer investment in high-tech – but non-GM – plant breeding methods a far better bet.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10733000
At the end of the day we can’t just keep pouring phosphates on to the land, often 99% of which get leached straight into our water ways anyhow.
Indeed.
Nevertheless, considering the comsumer backlash, GM grass is clearly not the solution .
Yes. It’s quite likely that more grass of any kind is not going to be much of a solution.
Dairy and meat are extraordinarily energy and water intensive industries. We are pushing past the carrying capacity of our land and it is being damaged for the long term.
Improved land and water management will allow us to overcome that hurdle.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/5092770/A-dairy-farm-to-impress-the-world
One of the kindest things you can do for the earth is not to eat beef according to the flick ‘How to Boil a Frog’ as cows suck up one third of the earth’s land surface along with fertilser for pasture or feed from grain in addition to inputs and emissions of processing said cows; and next to us and cars are the greatest emitters of carbon as they number 1.5 billion. The waterways that are destroyed through their effluent and fertilser run-off and effluent soaked land surely cannot be borne for much longer.
Cows also take in massive amounts of water during their lives and acid rain comes from cow urine.
Having only one child and reducing, recycling and reusing and avoiding Exxon Mobil oil were also promoted.
VINCE SIEMER ‘BLOWS THE WHISTLE’ ON THE DELAYED ‘OPERATION 8 SHOW TRIAL!
In my considered opinion, fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ Vince Siemer is New Zealand’s leading ‘Whistleblower’ exposing corruption, and the lack of accountability and transparency in the NZ judiciary and ‘justice’ system.
(Are you aware that New Zealand Judges have no enforceable ‘Code of Conduct’?
In NZ does ‘judicial independence’ actually mean judicial unaccountability?
Did you know that there is currently no statutory requirement for a ‘Register of Pecuniary Interests’ for NZ Judges?
Did you know that NZ Court proceedings are regularly not recorded?
How can ‘justice be done or be seen to be done’ – when there is no record in court of WHAT was done? How can a ‘court of record’ – not ‘keep a record’? )
_____________________________________________
The persecution Vince Siemer has been subjected to, (that I have personally witnessed), from the highest levels, simply defies belief………..
VINCE SIEMER ‘BLOWS THE WHISTLE’ ON THE DELAYED ‘OPERATION 8 SHOW TRIAL!
“After almost 4 years and over $10 million in taxpayer funds thrown at the prosecution, few Kiwis are aware of the evidence and court proceedings in the criminal prosecution of 18 New Zealand citizens intially labelled as terrorists, but whom the U.S. Embassy in Wellington was advised in 2007 by NZ Police would likely face only fines of up to $4,000.
The High Court has tried to shroud the proceedings in secrecy.
But you can FIND OUT THE INSIDE STORY AND FACTS at
http://www.kiwisfirst.co.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145845331
__________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
Good riddance to bad, bad rubbish!
See What Anthony Weiner Was Lying About in March 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoegoVVlorc&feature=channel_video_title
WEINER: You can see a difference in the development in the West Bank with 11 percent year over year growth, with no Israeli occupation there either, with increasing access to checkpoints —
COHEN: What about area C, D,
WEINER: Hold on, maybe this would be helpful
COHEN: No occupation in the West Bank? I’m sorry, did I hear you right?
WEINER: Yes.
COHEN: Have you been to the West Bank lately?
WEINER: Yes.
COHEN: You didn’t see the IDF there?
WEINER: In Ramallah? No. In Nablus? No. Now can I tell ya there might be some people in this room who think Jerusalem is occupied.
COHEN: Well hold on a second there, let’s stick to the West Bank. You’re saying there is no IDF presence there?
WEINER: Yes.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/03/04/148818/weiner-occupation-west-bank/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoegoVVlorc&feature=channel_video_title
Yeah, that’s ‘Neo-Conservative’/Lukidnik territory from Weiner.
As Norman Finkelstein recently said, among many Israeli apologists in the US, “…we enter the realm of unreason. We enter a twilight zone…they’re not only not up to speed yet with Steven Spielberg, they’re still in the Leon Uris Exodus version of history: the ‘this land is mine, God gave this land to me’, and anybody who dissents from this (quite simply) lunatic version of history is then immediately branded an anti-semite.”
Not that I’m suggesting the ‘Kadima/Israeli Labour Party’ version of things (favoured by most of the US media/political class) is much better or more honest. But at least they’re prepared to admit that there is indeed an occupation of the West Bank.
The fact that Weiner’s from New York interests me. New York’s always (rightly) been seen as a liberal-left bastion in US politics. But I read recently that in terms of the zionist politics of the American Jewish community, New York is, in fact, the Far-Right bastion. Probably something to do with the proportion of New York Jews living in overwhelmingly/exclusively Jewish suburbs/enclaves. Polls suggest that those living in all-Jewish neighbourhoods and for whom their Jewish identity is central to their sense of self are much more likely to be ultra-zionist. Those Jewish Americans who ‘marry-out’ (marry Gentiles) or who grew-up in much more mixed neighbourhoods, by contrast, are far more likely to be highly critical of Israel’s policies/44-year occupation/long-term ethnic-cleansing.
Why the BBC Trust is wrong to have found against Panorama (which showed young boys in Bangalore making clothes)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/jun/16/bbc-trust-investigative-journalism
The Petulant Bean has been telling her electorate that somehow she and the wonderful visionary, Mr Ryall have managed to give West Auckland a “general” hospital.
Well she was too young to remember and probably running around the Taupo area when the efforts of Alliance MP’s and councillors championed the idea of a true Waitemata hospital against consistent opposition from “conservative” governments. And it was during the first term of the Labour / Alliance government and particularly the efforts of Jim Anderton that got the go ahead and funding for the Westies to have their hospital.
The week that was 12 – 18 May
Winston just laid into Guys a Spinner about the egregious polling. Good job!