Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It was -2 degrees in Christchurch last night.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a car.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a container.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a garage.
Not very warm to be sleeping on the street.
The media may think John Banks’ ‘multi-million dollar Auckland CBD penthouse’ , Dagg’s ‘eureka moment’,and Kylie Jenner struggling with the Kiwi accent are all important news items, but they are not.
The majority of the media is doing everything they can to support Paula Bennett and move homelessness off the headlines.
“Try walking in my shoes, it’s not actually that easy.”
This was the challenge TA set to Prime Minister John Key. But really it’s a challenge for us all.
+1 Paul. Love how it was a US citizen that nobody had previously heard off and without a new trial, that got Banks off – justice seems so different for politicians than the Teina Pora case. sarc.
Banks also sold off the Auckland council housing when he was Mayor and pushed through Charter schools.
Lucky now with Keys 0% tax havens no question asked dodgy anonymous donations to politicians are so much easier!
No wonder Key is so popular around the world!
Although I have to say considering how ‘popular’ Key is supposed to be, he is surprisingly ineffective at getting any good deals for NZ or helping NZ citizens around the world.
He has never served the public. He has served the interests of big business – which he has desperately tried to be part of. He has been involved with small businesses, he was a co-owner of part of the Tony’s restaraunts when there were quite a few of them in Auckland, and he hit the headlines with connections to some bunch selling some sort of bee products. He has made money from business. I worked in one of his restaurants in the 1970’s. The chef had Sunday nights off and Banks used to come in and try and do the grill cooking himself. It was a drams ‘cos if he got more than 3 steaks on the grill at once – he panicked and gave everyone around him a hard time. Sunday nights we worked hard to recommend anything but steak.
Other delights from the New Observer – FL Homo Shootings: “Hoist on own Petard” or Cox Murder: Democratic Hypocrisy and Germany: Invaders Have Multiple Wives but my absolute fav is “Transgender” Mental Illness Spreads.
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I read the attachment. Following the uprising by the Syrian people the US lead by Obama was very consistent in saying Assad had to go. This email adds noting new to that narrative.
It was the Syrian people who started the uprising against Assad and it was he who has brutally put them down.
The Syrian uprising was not caused by the US, despite what Kevin Hestor says. This is just more disinformation by the Hilliary haters.
Kevin Hester needs to wake up. Assad is a mass murder. Who has secured Israel’s northern border and allowed his country to be used as destination for CIA special rendition for the purpose of torturing suspects held in CIA custody, because the US constitution forbids torture in the US.
Assad was the favourite of the West being the only Middle Eastern ruler to overnight as a guest of the Queen in Buckingham palace. For his service to Western imperialism in the Middle East, Tony Blair once tried to lobby parliament to give a British Night Hood to Assad.
Assad has been slaughtering his people from the safety of the air since 2011 after his people revolted and many of the army refused to follow Assad’s orders to shoot them down and instead joined the people and turned their guns on the regime.
This war could have been ended long ago if the west had allowed the Syrian people access to anti aircraft weapons. Instead the west has stood by while Assad has carried out his genocide.
Salisbury School facing closure: ‘My daughter has nowhere to go’
A parent of a pupil at Salisbury School has spoken of his anger and disappointment over the proposal to close the special needs school saying his daughter has “nowhere else to go”.
It follows the announcement yesterday that the Ministry of Education had initiated consultation over the future of the school, due to a declining roll and the financial viability of the residential Nelson girls school.
Matt Clayton, himself a secondary teacher, said Salisbury School was an “amazing” facility, that had turned his 14-year-old daughter’s life around in the year-and-a-half she had attended. He was “disgusted” the Ministry could consider closing it, he said.
……
“In my opinion, they’ve set this up from the beginning to close it, and I’m just disgusted with them,” he said.
“What kind of society do we live in where we’re always prioritising money over the welfare of the citizens?”
Ms Parata denied she had been intent on closing Salisbury School, or that she had tweaked the process to ensure its falling roll.’
Yes Paul. It was always going to happen because of the school having won the case to stay open in 2014, caused a Ministry backlash. Parata does not like being foiled so the Ministry made it almost impossible for new pupils to be enrolled. Hence the roll dropping to 14. This will justify the closure and as Smith says the land in a central location is very valuable. Money before the kids being front and centre.
20 billions dollars spent on ‘defence’ – and yet we have no homes to live in to be defended in.
‘Imagine the number of state houses and affordable apartments this country could build over the next 15 years with even half the $20 billion currently promised to the NZ Defence Force. Surely, in a democratic state, it is the adequate provision of health, education, housing and employment that should take priority over the vast sums required to purchase the most up-to-date weapons of war? If national defence does not mean ensuring the basic welfare of every citizen – then what does it mean?’
As an Auckland Mayoral candidate – I strongly recommend that Auckland citizens focus disapproval of Auckland Council (and CCOs) performance, in the form of submissions to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on this latest proposed legislation to spread the CCO model and Council amalgamations:
Seize the moment!
Email your complaints and experiences about Auckland Council and CCOs directly to the ‘law makers’.
“Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2)
Should your local authorities work together more?
Does your community need more options when it comes to reorganising the council, and should councils make greater use of joint council-controlled organisations for services?
Tell us what you think.
The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 28 July 2016 ”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
“Activists – get things done.”
It seems that my nine year, one person ‘rates revolt’ for transparency in the spending of public rates monies on private consultants and contractors by Auckland Council (formerly Auckland City Council) and CCOs, is finally getting the attention from the lawmakers that it deserves?
“Conclusion
We would like to thank the OAG for its report on the governance and accountability of CCOs. The report provided us with useful information that helped us consider Ms Bright’s petition.
We also would like to thank the petitioner for coming down from Auckland to speak to us about her petition.
We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public. …”
Go Penny ! I think maybe when Ze-Good-Lord was handing out Ze-Balls he/she missed Ze-Non-Man-Key and you ended up wiv’ Ze-Balls meant for him. And Ze-Good-Lord made a very good choice……because why would you waste Ze-Balls on Ze-Non-Man-Key and further he/she knew that you would use Ze-Balls much better than Ze-Non-Man-Key. Whom he/she nevertheless bleezed wiv’ Ze-Defining-Arsehole. Go Penny !
Carbon dioxide has been steadily rising since the start of the Industrial Revolution, setting a new high year after year. There’s a notable new entry to the record books. The last station on Earth without a 400 parts per million (ppm) reading has reached it.
The Green Party held an AGM where they marginalised debate on climate change, in favour of a “Centrepiece Swimmable Rivers Campaign”
Ignoring the fact that warmer air holds more moisture and is responsible for record flooding events around the world which have turned normally placid rivers into raging deadly torrents. Will destroy all their efforts.
The Green Party need to wake up. As the climate crisis deepens, having somewhere nice to swim will be the least of our worries.
While the Green Party are busy wading in the environmental shallows, unseen and not mentioned on the signs warning against swimming, is a monster waiting to eat them whole.
The horses need to be scared, they need to be terrified.
That is, if we are to mobilise the forces we need to fight climate change. The sort of fear that saw society mobilise to fight terrorist bogeymen like Isis, or Al Qaeda, (remember them?)
The threat presented to humanity by climate change is far greater by many magnitudes than that presented by these little terror groups.
When it comes to climate change our political leaders are so, Ho Hum; cleaning up dirty rivers so that we can swim in them are our priority.
So who is going to supply it? not the Green Party who are busy prioritising swimmable rivers. Not National who are committed to business as usual. Not Labour who support deep sea oil drilling fracking and opening new coal mines.
“I am told that the Greens understand the true scope and crisis of the climate emergency we are facing…” Colonial Viper
Many years ago I remember reading a startling quote from a German intellectual and academic who had fled the Nazis.
He said that he could forgive even some of the top leaders of the fascist regime. (They were ignorant brutes). But, he said those he couldn’t forgive, were his fellow intellectuals and academics in the universities, who knew fascism was wrong, and could have spoke up, but said nothing and went along with it. Some of them even lending the regime false credibility they knew had no factual base.
In his opinion it was the educated intellectuals who knew better who should have been on trial at Nuremburg. Who because they knew fascism was all based on intellectual falsehoods racism and lies should have been the ones on trial and held to account.
When millions are dying from the extreme weather and climatic events predicted by the scientists, and if a Nuremburg type hearing is ever called to afford blame and try the guilty for this man made tragedy. Those politicians and leaders with foreknowledge old enough to have acted to prevent the tragedy, and who were in in a position to do so, but instead did and said nothing, these are the people who should be the first in the dock to be held to account.
I recommend this talk very highly – What happens to the people we save.
This is about gunshot wounds and the US and obviously relevant to recent events. It is also relevant to us here in this country because we also patch people up and send them off to fend for themselves. After trauma people need help – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually if they are that way inclined – families and whānau need help, communities need help, the people that support all of these people need help. EMPATHY via active and genuine listening. That helps.
[FYI, it seems you’re among a clutch of commenters who are dropping into moderation (Hell, I’m dropping there myself if I’m not signed in!). Don’t know why it’s happening and won’t be around for the rest of the day to release stuff. Anyway, thought you should know] – Bill
“Nothing to see here……” as they say. Man made a mistake. Apologises. Effete Non-Man doesn’t have the balls to apologise. Course this will be seen differently by the MSM arse-suckers. But doesn’t alter the fact. Effete Non-Man doesn’t have the balls to apologise. Ever ! Oh, except to Slater Porn.
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – 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’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
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 ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
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. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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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. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It was -2 degrees in Christchurch last night.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a car.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a container.
Not very warm to be sleeping in a garage.
Not very warm to be sleeping on the street.
The media may think John Banks’ ‘multi-million dollar Auckland CBD penthouse’ , Dagg’s ‘eureka moment’,and Kylie Jenner struggling with the Kiwi accent are all important news items, but they are not.
The majority of the media is doing everything they can to support Paula Bennett and move homelessness off the headlines.
“Try walking in my shoes, it’s not actually that easy.”
This was the challenge TA set to Prime Minister John Key. But really it’s a challenge for us all.
Is it naive of me to wonder how a life time public servant like banks can afford a luxury apartment with silk wallpaper?
John Banks can’t recall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvRSZxqk_I
+1 Paul. Love how it was a US citizen that nobody had previously heard off and without a new trial, that got Banks off – justice seems so different for politicians than the Teina Pora case. sarc.
Banks also sold off the Auckland council housing when he was Mayor and pushed through Charter schools.
No wonder he can afford a plush apartment.
A lot of dodgy millionaires and billionaires appreciate politicians like Banks.
Lucky now with Keys 0% tax havens no question asked dodgy anonymous donations to politicians are so much easier!
No wonder Key is so popular around the world!
Although I have to say considering how ‘popular’ Key is supposed to be, he is surprisingly ineffective at getting any good deals for NZ or helping NZ citizens around the world.
But maybe that is not the point.
He has never served the public. He has served the interests of big business – which he has desperately tried to be part of. He has been involved with small businesses, he was a co-owner of part of the Tony’s restaraunts when there were quite a few of them in Auckland, and he hit the headlines with connections to some bunch selling some sort of bee products. He has made money from business. I worked in one of his restaurants in the 1970’s. The chef had Sunday nights off and Banks used to come in and try and do the grill cooking himself. It was a drams ‘cos if he got more than 3 steaks on the grill at once – he panicked and gave everyone around him a hard time. Sunday nights we worked hard to recommend anything but steak.
+1 Visubversa
John Banks is a capable businessman, he has owned a number of very successful companies and has accumulated wealth – there you go.
I understand his oldman was quite a business man as well .!!
Kevin Hester on Hilary Clinton.
http://newobserveronline.com/clinton-destroy-syria-israel/
Other delights from the New Observer – FL Homo Shootings: “Hoist on own Petard” or Cox Murder: Democratic Hypocrisy and Germany: Invaders Have Multiple Wives but my absolute fav is “Transgender” Mental Illness Spreads.
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I read the attachment. Following the uprising by the Syrian people the US lead by Obama was very consistent in saying Assad had to go. This email adds noting new to that narrative.
It was the Syrian people who started the uprising against Assad and it was he who has brutally put them down.
The Syrian uprising was not caused by the US, despite what Kevin Hestor says. This is just more disinformation by the Hilliary haters.
Kevin Hester needs to wake up. Assad is a mass murder. Who has secured Israel’s northern border and allowed his country to be used as destination for CIA special rendition for the purpose of torturing suspects held in CIA custody, because the US constitution forbids torture in the US.
Assad was the favourite of the West being the only Middle Eastern ruler to overnight as a guest of the Queen in Buckingham palace. For his service to Western imperialism in the Middle East, Tony Blair once tried to lobby parliament to give a British Night Hood to Assad.
Assad has been slaughtering his people from the safety of the air since 2011 after his people revolted and many of the army refused to follow Assad’s orders to shoot them down and instead joined the people and turned their guns on the regime.
This war could have been ended long ago if the west had allowed the Syrian people access to anti aircraft weapons. Instead the west has stood by while Assad has carried out his genocide.
Your plan is to give anti aircraft weapons to Islamic State? Of not them, then who?
Nobody seriously believes that, not even you
PNAC
Swiss Parliament terminates long standing EU application
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-17/switzerland-withdraws-application-join-eu-only-lunatics-may-want-join-now
I don’t blame them. Would you want to join the German Empire as things stand?
Funny you should choose to word it that way…
Cruel, uncaring
Salisbury School facing closure: ‘My daughter has nowhere to go’
A parent of a pupil at Salisbury School has spoken of his anger and disappointment over the proposal to close the special needs school saying his daughter has “nowhere else to go”.
It follows the announcement yesterday that the Ministry of Education had initiated consultation over the future of the school, due to a declining roll and the financial viability of the residential Nelson girls school.
Matt Clayton, himself a secondary teacher, said Salisbury School was an “amazing” facility, that had turned his 14-year-old daughter’s life around in the year-and-a-half she had attended. He was “disgusted” the Ministry could consider closing it, he said.
……
“In my opinion, they’ve set this up from the beginning to close it, and I’m just disgusted with them,” he said.
“What kind of society do we live in where we’re always prioritising money over the welfare of the citizens?”
Ms Parata denied she had been intent on closing Salisbury School, or that she had tweaked the process to ensure its falling roll.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11658541
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11658541
Yes Paul. It was always going to happen because of the school having won the case to stay open in 2014, caused a Ministry backlash. Parata does not like being foiled so the Ministry made it almost impossible for new pupils to be enrolled. Hence the roll dropping to 14. This will justify the closure and as Smith says the land in a central location is very valuable. Money before the kids being front and centre.
+1 Paul – I hear Scenic hotels are short of money, like Sky City and Saudi Businessmen.
There is also plenty of money for convention centers in Christchurch that after 60 million still have not got anywhere in the build. NO problem!
Brighter futures for Real Estate NOT families
should be the Natz new slogan.
20 billions dollars spent on ‘defence’ – and yet we have no homes to live in to be defended in.
‘Imagine the number of state houses and affordable apartments this country could build over the next 15 years with even half the $20 billion currently promised to the NZ Defence Force. Surely, in a democratic state, it is the adequate provision of health, education, housing and employment that should take priority over the vast sums required to purchase the most up-to-date weapons of war? If national defence does not mean ensuring the basic welfare of every citizen – then what does it mean?’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/80986483/Chris-Trotter-How-many-houses-could-we-get-for-20-billion-spent-on-defence
20 billions dollars spent on ‘defence’ – to defend our sovereignty and yet we give it away by signing the TPP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYEVC08afDE
I predict this won’t be news in the western media.
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/06/new-chemical-weapons-attack-ghouta-syria.html
As an Auckland Mayoral candidate – I strongly recommend that Auckland citizens focus disapproval of Auckland Council (and CCOs) performance, in the form of submissions to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on this latest proposed legislation to spread the CCO model and Council amalgamations:
Seize the moment!
Email your complaints and experiences about Auckland Council and CCOs directly to the ‘law makers’.
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/make-submission/51SCLGE_SCF_00DBHOH_BILL69266_1/local-government-act-2002-amendment-bill-no-2
“Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2)
Should your local authorities work together more?
Does your community need more options when it comes to reorganising the council, and should councils make greater use of joint council-controlled organisations for services?
Tell us what you think.
The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 28 July 2016 ”
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
“Activists – get things done.”
Reposting this (from Paul the other day I think)
Ten Ways to fix NZ’s Welfare State.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11657642
2. Make the reduction of poverty the aim of social welfare, rather than the current focus on reducing the number of beneficiaries.
@ Paul exactly
How about the elimination of poverty
Fair point.
It seems that my nine year, one person ‘rates revolt’ for transparency in the spending of public rates monies on private consultants and contractors by Auckland Council (formerly Auckland City Council) and CCOs, is finally getting the attention from the lawmakers that it deserves?
“Conclusion
We would like to thank the OAG for its report on the governance and accountability of CCOs. The report provided us with useful information that helped us consider Ms Bright’s petition.
We also would like to thank the petitioner for coming down from Auckland to speak to us about her petition.
We agree that ratepayers should be able to easily access information about how public money collected through rates is spent.
We support the petitioner’s plea for transparency and standardisation of the information that Auckland CCOs provide to the public. …”
http://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-nz/51DBSCH_SCR69296_1/924613ec7fb831c4e74bd062f73287ac2ceb5081
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
“Activists – get things done.”
Excellent result, Penny! Here’s hoping Parliament acts on the recommendations and the council takes note, too.
Thank you te reo putake.
Kind regards
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
+1 Penny
Go Penny ! I think maybe when Ze-Good-Lord was handing out Ze-Balls he/she missed Ze-Non-Man-Key and you ended up wiv’ Ze-Balls meant for him. And Ze-Good-Lord made a very good choice……because why would you waste Ze-Balls on Ze-Non-Man-Key and further he/she knew that you would use Ze-Balls much better than Ze-Non-Man-Key. Whom he/she nevertheless bleezed wiv’ Ze-Defining-Arsehole. Go Penny !
The great news keeps a’comin.
We’re officially living in a new world.
Carbon dioxide has been steadily rising since the start of the Industrial Revolution, setting a new high year after year. There’s a notable new entry to the record books. The last station on Earth without a 400 parts per million (ppm) reading has reached it.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-co2-hit-400-ppm-for-first-time-in-4-million-years/?WT.mc_id=SA_TW_ENGYSUS_NEWS
396, 397, 398, 399….
400
Arbitrary values
The Green Party held an AGM where they marginalised debate on climate change, in favour of a “Centrepiece Swimmable Rivers Campaign”
Ignoring the fact that warmer air holds more moisture and is responsible for record flooding events around the world which have turned normally placid rivers into raging deadly torrents. Will destroy all their efforts.
The Green Party need to wake up. As the climate crisis deepens, having somewhere nice to swim will be the least of our worries.
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/a-climate-of-apathy/
Can you spot the missing two words?
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11651056
While the Green Party are busy wading in the environmental shallows, unseen and not mentioned on the signs warning against swimming, is a monster waiting to eat them whole.
I am told that the Greens understand the true scope and crisis of the climate emergency we are facing…
A citation for that would be nice CV.
CV even if you were to find a citation describing the Green Party’s understanding of the true scope of the crisis; (which I hope you can).
Understanding the true nature of the climate emergency is still not the same as wanting to do something about it.
When there is so much they could be doing….
The Green Party as an organisation have shown very little political will to face up to the climate crisis.
The Greens don’t wanna scare the horses?
The horses need to be scared, they need to be terrified.
That is, if we are to mobilise the forces we need to fight climate change. The sort of fear that saw society mobilise to fight terrorist bogeymen like Isis, or Al Qaeda, (remember them?)
The threat presented to humanity by climate change is far greater by many magnitudes than that presented by these little terror groups.
When it comes to climate change our political leaders are so, Ho Hum; cleaning up dirty rivers so that we can swim in them are our priority.
A sober look at the possibility of moving to 100% renewable economy.
http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/15/our-renewable-future-heinberg/
It seems that it is possible.
All that is missing is the political will.
So who is going to supply it? not the Green Party who are busy prioritising swimmable rivers. Not National who are committed to business as usual. Not Labour who support deep sea oil drilling fracking and opening new coal mines.
Many years ago I remember reading a startling quote from a German intellectual and academic who had fled the Nazis.
He said that he could forgive even some of the top leaders of the fascist regime. (They were ignorant brutes). But, he said those he couldn’t forgive, were his fellow intellectuals and academics in the universities, who knew fascism was wrong, and could have spoke up, but said nothing and went along with it. Some of them even lending the regime false credibility they knew had no factual base.
In his opinion it was the educated intellectuals who knew better who should have been on trial at Nuremburg. Who because they knew fascism was all based on intellectual falsehoods racism and lies should have been the ones on trial and held to account.
When millions are dying from the extreme weather and climatic events predicted by the scientists, and if a Nuremburg type hearing is ever called to afford blame and try the guilty for this man made tragedy. Those politicians and leaders with foreknowledge old enough to have acted to prevent the tragedy, and who were in in a position to do so, but instead did and said nothing, these are the people who should be the first in the dock to be held to account.
https://www.rt.com/news/347111-nazi-auschwitz-trial-hanning/
I recommend this talk very highly – What happens to the people we save.
This is about gunshot wounds and the US and obviously relevant to recent events. It is also relevant to us here in this country because we also patch people up and send them off to fend for themselves. After trauma people need help – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually if they are that way inclined – families and whānau need help, communities need help, the people that support all of these people need help. EMPATHY via active and genuine listening. That helps.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXSqOQ1odNI&w=560&h=315%5D
[FYI, it seems you’re among a clutch of commenters who are dropping into moderation (Hell, I’m dropping there myself if I’m not signed in!). Don’t know why it’s happening and won’t be around for the rest of the day to release stuff. Anyway, thought you should know] – Bill
thanks bill – I had noticed 🙂 made a couple of convos a bit difficult but all good – thanks
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11659052
“Nothing to see here……” as they say. Man made a mistake. Apologises. Effete Non-Man doesn’t have the balls to apologise. Course this will be seen differently by the MSM arse-suckers. But doesn’t alter the fact. Effete Non-Man doesn’t have the balls to apologise. Ever ! Oh, except to Slater Porn.