In case any of you are sharp-eyed enough to pick out the Labour MPs who organized agains him, here’s Jeremy Corbyn getting a standing ovation after the election from his colleagues as he enters parliament:
Gosman, I see this as an exceptional result given the enormous tide of corruption and greed he stood against.
Lets not forget, the Westminster system is a FPP system and in reality the majority of votes went actually to Corbyn.
So really he did not loose but the people of Britain did.
“we might wonder why, when Northland is suffering deprivation and economic stagnation, Maraetai Drive millionaires are allowed to strip the province of its natural resources, tear up its wild places and reap outrageous profits while an apologist Government runs interference in the media.”
Despite the New Zealand Labour party being disgracefully quiet …. seemingly not endorsing or backing Jeremy corbyn and his amazing resurrection of democracy and left wing politics in the UK …….
Despite this rejection and lost opportunity by Nz Labour ….. The Nacts are exposed and weak in our coming election ….. after 9 years of dishonest rot……bare faced looting….compulsive cheating… and sloppy destructive greed …. they own all of the disgusting outcomes
“when sawn lengths of swamp kauri are offered for sale on the website of Wisconsin-based furniture company Ancientwood that measure 12 metres in length, it means that, assuming someone has followed the letter of the law, they have exported timber from a tree more than twice the width of Te Matua Ngahere, the widest known living kauri at 5.2 metres across.”
Clearly, a great many swamp kauri exports are a scam, but the Government seems unwilling even to send for a tape measure. The Northland Environmental Protection Society (NEPS) has repeatedly pointed out that MPI’s own records show that it regularly rubber-stamps such improbable transactions” ….
“Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy insists … we manage it very, very closely.” ……” Really? Documents obtained under the Official Information Act by the NEPS are claimed to show that in fact, mandatory information was missing from some 80 per cent of MPI intention-to-export notices processed in 2013.”
Lets repeat that …..” , mandatory information was missing from some 80 per cent of MPI intention-to-export notices processed in 2013.
Imagine if Winz did this …… or the ministry of health …../ or immigration …… 80% fucken non compliance in the paper work. ….. Lets call it what it is …. Govt collusion with Corruption.
But It gets better … or worse …
“That one of the prominent speculators in this grey market in taonga happens to be David Wong-Tung, husband of National MP Judith Collins, should rightly raise eyebrows, along with suspicions that her involvement places the Government in an awkward spot – again. Wong-Tung is a director in Kauri Ruakaka Ltd, formerly Oravida Kauri, which has stockpiled an estimated 80,000 tonnes of logs”.. ( worth 50-400 Million )
This is lazy economic vandalism. Northland needs more high-value jobs but instead the return is is going to places like Poland
This criminal enterprise … involving greedy Vandals and Govt departments ………should be stopped immediately ….. with sackings where appropriate.
As this scam is robbing Hones electorate . He should make it one of his bottem lines before supporting any govt/coalition…
that Judiths Orvidia logs will be compulsory purchased ….at a reasonable profit margin …. But only after they have proved they were harvested legally and in compliance with relevant laws ….., If laws were broken the logs should naturally be forfieted ….as unlike Nathan Guy, one should not reward law breakers .
Orvidias stockpile should be used for the local tribe …… Not greedy grasping Judith and other rich trash with sticky fingers
Once again ….. 80% non compliance by nathan guys ministry is scandalous …..
And this govt is riddled with piss weak bad laws and crap regulations…… which they ignore.
The lack of Ecan prosecutions for polluting and stealing water resources is another example of this …. lowered standards AND no prosecutions.
Pike river ……. Charter schools ….. Carbon credits/global warming …..Bio security …. sanctions for the benefit of nazis …etc etc etc
Lowered standards ….. cheating …… non compliance …..injustice and exploitation…. war crimes.
But for electioneering purposes ….I’d focus on three or four areas …..Enviroment, Housing , health & Education…. …. prime areas of weakness the Nacts should be hammered over..
They are weak because they are shit ……
Thats why Johnny Madeoff 😉 …. Winne was going to have his head in a wine box.
I think we should acknowledge Winne as a both a King and Knight slayer….
The gap between Tory and labour seats is larger than 2014, yet this election is called a win by Corbyn where he called 2014 a disaster, Looking to grow even larger in future with many labour electorates to disappear, up to 30 with population changes
People sleeping cars, 90,000 NEETs, the environment being stuffed by industrial dairy, house prices averaging a million dollars etc – but that’s all right because we’ve built a faster boat!
That’s all you talk about.
Saying nothing about the important stuff is taking the side of the oppressors.
It is clear from your actions you care more about sport than caring for the vulnerable in our society.
Your comment about the Americas Cup is a deliberate wind up. You know perfectly well that this site is not really a forum for sport and was bound to generate negative comment.
I am pretty sure you also know that most of the left commenters on this site would see the Americas Cup as an elitist sport (though that is much less true of the NZ team) that they would go out of their way to avoid. So you got a perfectly predictable reaction.
While I am fan of the Cup and watched this mornings races, I wouldn’t deliberately start a flame war on The Standard on the topic.
“left commenters on this site would see the Americas Cup as an elitist sport”
Well, it is Wayne and we get it morning noon and night, and it is taking precedence over other things.
Take TV1 News any night after about 5 minutes we are into sport be it the All Blacks doing this or that or America’s Cup that normally takes up at least 5 minutes or so of the news bulletin, to be repeated AGAIN in depth at about 6 45. Whereas other news items are either not reported or given about 10 seconds
As for being a fan, I was right up to the time it was decided the “red socks” that were originally made in the South Island, were suddenly made in China.
A good sporting gesture that was wasn’t it mate, after expecting New Zealanders to get behind and support their “elitist sport” .
James, you are well represented by National MP’s, here is one wanting to be on the harbour instead of her job representing people – yes Natz, disabled people are people too!
‘Rather be out on the harbour’ – National Party MP tweets from disability meetings
Ms Wagner slights the people she’s supposed to be dedicated to helping – what a very, very foolish thing to say and do. It’s little wonder National’s MPs are so often characterized as arrogant out of touch with ordinary people; in this case, extra-ordinary people. The “optics” here, as they say, are appalling.
‘Gary Farrow, a journalist and disability advocate who lives with a severe brain injury, says he is concerned about Ms Wagner’s progress with the portfolio if she is complaining about attending meetings.
“If our own Disability Issues Minister is subliminally complaining about attending meetings in Auckland, relating to exactly that portfolio, by openly commenting that she’d rather be somewhere on the harbour – which is inaccessible to many people with disabilities – then I fear for the amount of progress she’s actually aiming to achieve for the disabled community at these meetings.”
Special Educational Needs NZ posted its disgust to Facebook.
“That’s just such a thoughtless and heartless thing to say. I’m quite sure people living with disabilities wish they could walk away from what they face every day, but they can’t, and it’s the Minister’s job to support them.”
The Green Party’s spokeswoman for disability issues Mojo Mathers, who is deaf, told Newshub the tweet was appallingly shallow.
“It really makes me question her commitment to the disability community if she’d rather be out on the harbour than in meetings with them.”
Stupid ignorant folk who do not appreciate that there is a special class of boat designed for challenged folk to join her out on the harbour
twitering on twitter. URRRGH!
We have a full blown kleptocracy – the worst in the OECD. This can be resolved through our existing formal judicial processes, in ways that will not challenge your delicate sensibilities, or it will meet with informal processes.
Crooks must be punished.
No sign of functional formal process yet.
[RL: This site has a long standing practice of moderating threats of physical violence, implicit or otherwise. This is not something you will get any wriggle room on, and if you think about it from our perspective you will understand why.]
Awesome display by the Lions last night James. I see a 2-1 victory for them over the All Blacks. That, and not winning the Americas Cup should see soft National supporters in a gloomy mood come September, not pumped up at all by fake euphoria. Definitely looking very bad psychologically for the soft centre. Happy days!
So your half-full glass will be flowing up over the brim, will it Lames – I mean James?
I am an enthusiastic sailor, but reading eyewash from an ignorant wally like you makes me wonder if sport is nothing more than panem et circenses.
The James equivalent in the U.K. would have chastised you for being miserable and referring to the Grenfell Tower tragedy rather than blabbing on about the Lions rugby team.
But because you are obviously a bit thick with your comment – there are a few guys on the boat – but there are 100’s of people that are employed in the shore team, as well as the people who do the admin, make parts for the boat, paint it, are involved in the shops selling ETNZ gear etc etc etc.
It’s a play on the Marx original term religion is the opium of the masses, ie be happy been poor, the king is god appointed, obey and be happy with your lot, anything else is a sin and your rewards will come in heaven Not sure really if sport is a suitable replacement, more so boring, anti sport types simply getting in a tizz because somebody else is enjoying themselves and does not want to sit around debating Marxist dialectic materialism
Once again you have fucking missed the point haven’t you I knew all about that. Have you read Marx? I have and also other shit by Ayn Rand, she should have been locked up as a threat to mankind.
What this person was implying, keep the peasantry drugged on sport and we will fuck them over without them knowing. Our pathetic excuse for news on the media is a good example of that. Has that spelt it out to you in enough simplistic terms?
What’s the betting that National are hoping that we win the America’s Cup and The All Blacks beat the shit out of the Lions to make sure we all have the “Feel Good” feeling for the next election?
As for sitting around debating Marxists dialect well, I don’t know anyone who does that and who gives a shit if they do. Who are these anti-sports types who get into a tizz? I don’t know any but I know a lot of people who are not fucking brain dead and go into a trance every time the All Blacks or America’s cup is mentioned and can see through all the bullshit that goes with it and won’t buy into the hype.
How do you know anti-sport types are boring? I have been in the company of sports enthusiasts and frankly, as a sportsman myself I have been glad to get out of their company as I have been bored shitless with the dissecting of the game, the players, the ref, and all the fucking sundry cretinous crap that goes with it.
Nowhere near as exciting as when the government properly funds community groups who have been stripped of resources. Perhaps the boat bastards will donate a sizable chunk of the millions they win? No?
Good, I like that. “Fake speed.” I must try to use that argument during a sailing race next season. (Rowers could not use that argument, because they are all limited to looking backwards.)
“A vast majority of Americans understand that our current economic model is a dismal failure. Who can honestly defend the current grotesque level of inequality in which the top 1 percent owns more than the bottom 90 percent? Who thinks it’s right that, despite a significant increase in worker productivity, millions of Americans need two or three jobs to survive, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent? What person who claims to have a sense of morality can justify the fact that the richest people in our country have a life expectancy about 15 years longer than our poorest citizens?
While Democrats should appeal to moderate Republicans who are disgusted with the Trump presidency, too many in our party cling to an overly cautious, centrist ideology. The party’s main thrust must be to make politics relevant to those who have given up on democracy and bring millions of new voters into the political process. It must be prepared to take on the right-wing extremist ideology of the Koch brothers and the billionaire class, and fight for an economy and a government that work for all, not just the 1 percent.”
Suzie Dawson (Suzette Maree Dawson) is now the new ‘Leader’ of the Internet Party.
BEWARE!
This is what one of Suzette Maree Dawson’s key supporters Ben Cooney said about me on a live-streamed video of the 8 December 2012 anti-TPPA protest in Auckland – which was posted on Suzie Dawson’s PRIVATE website – Occupy Savvy.
This is why, in my opinion, decent people and genuine political activists should have NOTHING to do with either Suzie Dawson or Ben Cooney.
Penny Bright.
‘Anti-privatisation/ anti-corruption campaigner’
Political activist from 18 years old – now in my 63rd year.
Watch Theresa May tell a barefaced lie to the victims of the Grenfell Fire.
Starts at 5:23
Interviewer Emily Maitlis challenged May:
“This was preventable, wasn’t it? In 2013, a coroner had safety recommendations which included putting sprinklers in all these buildings. And it was never done. There was two types of material that could have been used in the cladding. One was flammable and one was fireproof. And the fireproof one cost £2 more. Was that not £2 worth spending?”
May replied:
“The fire service are looking are looking at what the cause of the fire was.”
Maitlis continued:
“But you were recommended this in 2013. You were in government there. And the coroner said you can stop this with a sprinkler system in every block.”
May responded with a lie:
“And the government has taken action on the recommendations of the coroner’s report.”
Two quotes for May ( regarding Grenfell) and English ( regarding Pike River)
“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”
On Radionz this morning on immigration the author of a book about NZ and immigration says something like ‘look all Auckland’s problems wouldn’t be solved if immigrants were unable to move there’. This didn’t seem to me to be an intelligent attitude to take to the problem of how many, whom, doing what, from where and other questions about immigration. The theme seemed to be laissez faire and they can help with the problems they cause. Housing shortage? Bring in workers to help build them. With incisive minds like this at work, I can see NZ’s borders being the subject of rorts and changeable policies, none of them driven by good thinking.
I notice that many of the initiatives being carried forward arise from the ideas, energy and enthusiasm of immigrants, recent or from late 1900s. But there are billions of people out there and there has to be some reasoned control. Of do we just divide NZ up into grids of 20 sqm and hock them off on the basis of a flyer of romantic views from the 1950s. We need to listen to the views of those pragmatic people who are concerned about now to 2050.
Audio will come up for – 9.35 Attitudes to immigration
David Hall is a senior researcher at the Policy Observatory at AUT and editor of Fair Borders, Migration Policy in the 21st century. He discusses New Zealanders’ changing attitudes to immigration.
We’re not blaming the immigrants. We’re blaming the governments gross negligence in not planning for the huge immigration that they’ve allowed or even asking questions about how many immigrants we can support. Yes, support, immigration is expensive in the short term.
That would depend upon how much of the resources we have available needs to be diverted to build up the infrastructure to support them. A diversion of resources is a real cost because it means that something else can’t be done.
A lot of the mess we have today is because the government hasn’t been building that needed infrastructure or even planning for it.
Refugees aren’t migrants. Totally different basket of fish.
And the second story was about immigration controls being imposed against groups that might cost money in the long term, so hardly evidence that all immigration is expensive in the short term, even if they contribute more overall in the longer term.
Funny, because I thought you meant “expensive in the short term” as in “costs more money than they bring in and produce”.
Because otherwise they’re not a cost, they’re a benefit – the opportunity cost of not having them is worse than the opportunity cost of “supporting” them.
If they bring children, it can cost more than the taxes they pay. 9k p.a. for free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds (no residency criteria for this, so they are all eligible), and for those children who are eligible for free public education (dependents of work visa holders), it costs nearly 6k p.a. for primary and nearly 8k for high school.
Not that I begrudge the education, but there are soberly costs that can outweigh the taxes paid.
The average immigrant is a visitor on a visitor visa, followed by working holidaymakers – since they pay GST, we come out well ahead fiscally.
If you’re talking about standard work visas, without family, we come out ahead as long as there are no serious medical problems or accidents. With families including children, it is based heavily on family income, but wages need to be well over 40K for taxes to pay for one child in primary school (this is complicated by GST).
Funny, because I thought you meant “expensive in the short term” as in “costs more money than they bring in and produce”.
Two point:
1. Far better to measure things in physical terms. Makes it far easier to measure costs than through our delusional financial system.
2. It does cost more in the short term than they bring in and produce. After all they don’t bring in anything and so we need to support them until they’re producing.
Because otherwise they’re not a cost, they’re a benefit – the opportunity cost of not having them is worse than the opportunity cost of “supporting” them.
Which is debatable considering the very real physical limits we actually exist within which you seem to be ignoring.
1: ok, so you have a “far better” measure, but still can’t actually answer the question
2: So now nobody imports cash or a container of goods or maybe even 20 years’ training and experience when they immigrate? Bullshit on that.
3: if it’s so debatable, why are you having so much difficulty supporting what was a pretty specific claim: that immigrants are a cost in the short term?
1. It’s complicated. When immigrants first come into the country they need to be supported from the resources we have and the infrastructure. If the infrastructure isn’t in place then it costs in ways such as higher drive times, over loaded buses and, of course, building the new infrastructure. These costs will go away over time as they’re addressed which is why I said ‘short term’. But when there’s ongoing excessive immigration, as we have now, then those short term costs exist all the time and get worse exponentially.
2. Cash is nothing – it only buys what we have available at that time reducing what’s available to everyone else and probably pushing up inflation thus is a cost. How many immigrants, as a percentage, come with a container load of goods? Doubt if it’s many. 20 years experience is great – once they start producing more than it cost to import them.
3. I’m not having difficulty doing that at all. Even Treasury, that bastion of neo-liberalism and high population and the immigration to get it now say that excessive immigration is costing us more than it benefits us.
So basically you don’t know how much they bring in with them, you refuse to count cash, and you’re just assuming that the costs outweigh the benefits in the short term.
And you’re appealing to the authority of Treasury, without backing it up.
So basically you don’t know how much they bring in with them,
No I don’t as I haven’t seen it published anywhere.
Have you?
you refuse to count cash
I don’t refuse to count it so much as consider it to have a negative effect according to standard supply and demand.
and you’re just assuming that the costs outweigh the benefits in the short term.
There are costs – I even listed some of them. In the short term those costs will outweigh the benefits. That’s just the nature of costs.
You’re assuming that there’s no costs at all which is ridiculous and dangerous.
And you’re appealing to the authority of Treasury, without backing it up.
It’s been reported several times in the MSM and here. My mistake in assuming that you, being the political animal that you are, would have seen it. Here you are:
The Treasury warned that record levels of immigration could push New Zealanders out of low-skilled jobs, depress wages and increase housing pressures.
All of those are costs that apply until they’re addressed (and Treasury either missed some or they weren’t reported). The problem being that they’re not being addressed and so the costs to our society keep going up.
So basically you don’t know how much they bring in with them,
No I don’t as I haven’t seen it published anywhere.
Have you?
No, but then I’m not the one who made the proclamation that one outweighs the other “in the short term”
you refuse to count cash
I don’t refuse to count it so much as consider it to have a negative effect according to standard supply and demand.
Yeah, you’re the first person I’ve encountered who thinks that bringing money in to the local economy is a negative.
and you’re just assuming that the costs outweigh the benefits in the short term.
There are costs – I even listed some of them. In the short term those costs will outweigh the benefits. That’s just the nature of costs.
You’re assuming that there’s no costs at all which is ridiculous and dangerous.
No, I merely asked you to back up your claim that any “costs” outweighed the benefits of immigration “in the short term”.
And you’re appealing to the authority of Treasury, without backing it up.
It’s been reported several times in the MSM and here. My mistake in assuming that you, being the political animal that you are, would have seen it. Here you are:
The Treasury warned that record levels of immigration could push New Zealanders out of low-skilled jobs, depress wages and increase housing pressures.
All of those are costs that apply until they’re addressed (and Treasury either missed some or they weren’t reported). The problem being that they’re not being addressed and so the costs to our society keep going up.
could, in the specific case of low-skilled migrants. So, basically, again not support for your claim that immigration is expensive in the short term.”
The problem with the planned economy is the plan is usually out of date the day the ink dries or predicated on dodgy data or to the benefit corrupt or idealogically driven select few of the ruling statist elite. The result a massive inefficient allocation of resources, The history of the Soviet Union, China ( the Great Leap Forward) are good cases in point, likewise Nz up to the last 5 years we had net negative immigration, ie people leaving under auntie Helens labour government to Australia, it is only the success of a nationsl government turning the exit around and now requiring time for the market and to a lesser degree the government to catch up I do agree if on the rare chance we get a labour government again this will fix the immigration issue but again making any grand plan redundant, further cementing my original point
The problem with the planned economy is the plan is usually out of date the day the ink dries or predicated on dodgy data or to the benefit corrupt or idealogically driven select few of the ruling statist elite.
That’s why plans always need to be updated.
National seems to be keen on dodgy data hence all the lies
National is king of corruption as well.
The result a massive inefficient allocation of resources,
Actually, the free-market does really inefficient allocation of resources. That’s why we have so much poverty, why 29 workers died in Pike River, why our health system is being under funded and why our electricity prices are going up.
likewise Nz up to the last 5 years we had net negative immigration, ie people leaving under auntie Helens labour government to Australia, it is only the success of a nationsl government turning the exit around
You really like lying to yourself don’t you?
The reason why net migration is up is because NZers are returning home because they’re no longer getting work overseas. Ten years later and the GFC is still having that sort of effect. It’s why Australia is busy kicking NZers out.
Nobody seems to be able to look at the facts and agree that there are too many people coming into NZ for our ability to provide the services all need.
Or that there is a chronic shortage of housing which is exacerbated by the many. Or that there needs to be opportunity for a place for those NZs who want to return home. Or that there needs to be fairer treatment of those encouraged to apply for immigration. The government has behaved abysmally to people caught up in rorts, to changes in policy that apply immediately and exclude people who are almost accepted, and who have paid huge fees. It is just a pig’s muddle and reading the comments picking up on various details and concentrating on one or two aspects indicates how hard it is for reasoned, thoughtful discussion and policy planning.
The guy wrote a book and was interviewed on the radio – he knows what he is talking about, perhaps more people should listen to experts instead of just thinking and saying it.
The type of experts that say that having massive poverty and wealth inequality is good?
Because that does seem to be the type of person who was interviewed.
I have trouble with experts who continue to advise policies that have caused more trouble than the good that the experts predicted. It tends to indicate that the expert is following ideology rather than reality.
I have trouble with experts who continue to promote policies that are obviously contrary to reality.
There’s a cost benefit ratio to immigration but if the costs aren’t met while immigration remains high then the problems mount exponentially.
For the last few years the government hasn’t met the costs and built the necessary infrastructure and so the problems caused by this have been spiralling out of control. From what I can make out they haven’t built enough infrastructure to support our own internal growth never mind the added growth from immigration.
Now that people are demanding that the government do address this we’ve got people, who are ignoring reality, saying that we must maintain those failed policies.
I do not see that DTBs view limited and it is fixed on the reality not some airy fairy kind hearted view or some practical view that sees immigrants doing wonderfully for NZ. A relative is in Wellington hospital at present and says that 50% or so of nurses seem to be Filipinos and how would the DHB which apparently has got rid of a big debt, manage without them.
This is our dilemma, that the whole system has got out of whack and if people keep jumping in and criticising anyone who critiques it, how can we turn it to a better level, we have to think and notch it down somewhat.
We are so close to being a third world country run by the porcine few who indulge themselves, usually colonials who like being petty dictators in their small pond.
Yanis Varoufakis has been working on the Democracy in Europe Movement, DiEM25 and has been working on a collective vision for promoting a representative democracy.
Just got around to reading the foreign trust registration articles from a few days ago.
Now I understand that these trusts essentially pay no tax in NZ so why is the taxpayer funding the IRD (NZH “officials here are providing support when they can,”) to help these trusts sort out their obligations.
I’d like to think the IRD is charging a swinging fee for the assistance or is this just another case of the poor subsiding some rich bludgers.
Part of me also regrets the lost opportunity of levying a solid tax on them before they depart.
And by the way what happens if they don’t register? How do we know they have stopped operating?
Of course they are. You don’t dogwhistle about brown students unless you’re trying to suck up to Winnie. And i know, i know, you’re going to say “it’s not about the students it’s not about race” but that’s exactly what Andrew Little himself has said – bad immigrants coming here living in houses taking jobs. Open your eyes.
You don’t dogwhistle about brown students unless you’re trying to suck up to Winnie.
It’s not sucking up to Winnie – it’s acknowledging that our high immigration rates are causing problems. The fact that Winnie has been saying this for years should have you considering that maybe he was right on this. Especially when Treasury, that bastion of neo-liberalism and promoter of immigration and high population, is saying the same thing.
It seems to be you who needs to open your eyes and rejoin reality.
Nope Little and Labour are not saying that at all Wainwright – but there is an issue with lazy immigration and congestion and housing shortages in Auckland, and looks like the public agree, because apparently Labour/Green past National in the latest polls. Someone has to do something, if you live in Auckland! National’s plan is to pretend all is well! Even if you are some neoliberal robot, productivity will be down as it’s taking 4 hours to get anywhere.
As for students, how about developing overseas students degrees outside of Auckland in places that could do with more people. REMOVE for every low level qualification a 25% chance of permanent residency. Let the course (NOT funded by taxpayers) speak for itself. If it’s a good course the overseas students will come won’t they?
The Auckland migrants themselves are saying there’s a big problem – are they racist too?
Don’t mind Winston on a lot of issues, but it’s a step too far to allow beating your kids to be legal again…. The people with the problem, can’t understand the nuances.
Come on MM ….it is not letting folk ‘bash’ their kids … that is emotional twaddle …. but rather sensible in the situation it occurs in … the discipline of children.
I experienced both stupid bad abuse and fair discipline in my youth but it would take too long to describe it. we need a law which differenciates between abuse and discipline.
+1 marty mars
With all of the problems that NZ is facing at the moment, there seems to be no logic in NZ First bringing this issue back which will do nothing to alleviate child abuse. A binding referendum would also be perceived as a waste of money Although NZ First might gain some votes from this, I think that they will possibly lose an equal amount. However they might gain more votes from National conservatives, and turn off potential voters straying from Labour/Greens.
It was Conservative Party policy at the last election so NZF are presumably hoping to pick up their votes. Hopefully it will lose them more votes than they gain.
The ice sheet is held back only by its fringing ice shelves—and those floating dams, braced against isolated mountains and ridges of rock around the edges of the basin, are starting to fail. They themselves don’t add much to sea level, because they’re already floating in the water. But as they weaken, the glaciers behind them flow faster to the sea, and their edges retreat. That’s happening now all around the Amundsen Sea. The Pine Island Ice Shelf, about 1,300 feet thick over most of its area, is a dramatic case: It thinned by an average of 150 feet from 1994 to 2012. But even more worrisome is the neighboring Thwaites Glacier, which could destabilize most of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet if it collapsed.
“These are the fastest retreating glaciers on the face of the Earth,” says Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Rignot has studied the region for more than two decades, using radar from aircraft and satellites, and he believes the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is only a matter of time. The question is whether it will take 500 years or fewer than a hundred—and whether humanity will have time to prepare.
“We have to get these numbers right,” Rignot says. “But we have to be careful not to waste too much time doing that.”
How about this for NZ polls status from The Daily Blog.
The latest UMR internal fortnightly Poll from Labour taken between 7th June – 15th June paints a completely different picture.
This was taken after the criticism of the budget and after Labour’s foreign student cutback policy.
The internal poll was being compared to a previous poll which showed an entirely different picture which has been explained by first euphoria from the budget which is now fading. Martyn Bradbury says: The latest TV3 Poll putting Labour on 26% and National on 47% would have been pretty depressing.
It shouldn’t be.
The Poll was taken in the sugar high of the fawning media’s description of National’s budget as left wing and family friendly before the real criticism of how National have actually underfunded health by the tune of $2.3 billion was out.
That puts some context on it. A big difference between the two. Poll watchers will be able to assess better than me.
And political watchers will have heard that Bryce Edwards thinks that young people aren’t going to be enticed to vote.
He told The Project on Friday that the youth vote could only make a difference “if political parties were actually giving out policies that engaged and attracted youth”.
Mr Edwards says it’s not young people’s fault that they’re not turning out to vote. Instead he says: “It’s actually the politicians that have failed, it’s the political system that’s failed and we should be pointing at them.
“It’s the politicians that need to be more engaging, they need to be actually offering a product that youth want to buy if you like. They need to be actually stepping up to the plate and coming up with something a bit more inspiring.” http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/academic-predicts-a-youth-yawn-in-new-zealand-election.html
Dr Bryce Edwards is an academic expert and well-known commentator and columnist but nevertheless I think he’s omitted a few important things. [Disclaimer: the video didn’t work for me so I go on the written text only]
The so-called “Jeremy Corbyn effect” cannot be seen in isolation but should be viewed and discussed in the unique context that is, among other things: Brexit & EU, Theresa May, recent terrorist atrocities, snap election.
Secondly, I think there are plenty of policies on the Left that would appeal to young(er) voters.
Thirdly, youths have a very strongly developed sense of fairness and equality and doing the right thing for their fellow humans or the environment, for example; they are definitely not the moral vacuoli that they are often painted as. If they get sufficiently enraged this could act as a powerful trigger to get them to vote against what enrages them, e.g. the establishment and rage against the machine. With youth unemployment as high as always and limited prospects for improvement I’d like to think that the youth vote is for the taking.
Fourthly, it might now be more acceptable (‘cool’) for young people to vote and flex their political muscle and make a stand.
By not mentioning the Corbyn policy of eliminating student loans, Edwards helped to foster the illusion that Corbyn’s popularity with youth is some kind of mystical charismatic effect like Key’s. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A poll is only as good as its subjects being polled and more importantly how questions are framed …. I Anyway only an average of polls is likely to have any real meaning. Currently all polls are questionable from recent reading.
Martyn Bradbury in TDB The horror of Grenfell Tower is matched only by the rising fury at the way London’s working class, migrant, disabled and old were betrayed by failed capitalism and a mutilated welfare state.
The prophetic warnings of the Grenfell Action Group, were ignored.
The warnings of using this type of cladding was ignored.
And officials sat on reports that warned a fire like that at Grenfell could occur.
The abdication of responsibility by Government agencies to private contractors is done on purpose so that when these events occur no one is held responsible.
I bolded the really base point that we all have noticed and need to keep remembering about the iniquitous use of private contractors so that gumminit can curry patronage and influence with business, and keep their suits clean when the shit starts flying.
Statistics NZ figures released this week have confirmed that New Zealand is in recession on a per capita basis as the economy –
has declined –
for two-quarters –
when measured on this basis.
Mike Treen says:
The economy is simply not working or performing as expected.
The economy has been propped up by property speculation, growing household debt, together with strong immigration and tourism numbers. This has produced economic froth rather than a growth in the real economy.
And we are doing so well – how can that be. Nick Smith’s largeish advertisement in a Nelson newspaper says –
STRONG ECONOMY
NZ economic growth 3% and amongst strongest in the world
Nelson economy rated top performing region by ASB
100,000+ NZ job growth, average wages up by $10,000/yr
INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE
$20m for broadband in Nelson
$7.5m for seafood research (probably carved off closing Invermay, Dunedin)
Work on dam and to unclog roads to port
HELPING FAMILIES GET AHEAD
30,000 Nelson families gain by $26 week from tax changes
11,000 up to $100 week from Family support
4,000 households gain increased Accommodation (AS)
BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES
24 more police 39 more ambulance officers
1,000 Nelson caregivers extra $100 pw
DHB $16m more, $17m for ECE (NZ wide?)
That list sounds so good. If people believe in representative gummint that is, if they want to participate and be taken seriously there would be an informed and wary response to these figures.
Wonder what would happen if a peaceful protest against anti-democracy the imprisonment of writers and journalists in China happened on the dock.
I’m sure the Chinese wouldn’t open fire but I suspect the New Zealand Police would be directed to move the protesters on at the Chinese Embassy’s request.
Even though Pete George wishes the Pike River families would undergo an emotional lobotomy and give up their fight to have their questions answered, the media just won’t let it go. Bet he’s furious (if that are at all possible).
Interesting state of affairs in Turkey right now with respect to the ANZAC monument at Gallipoli.
The relationship between NZ and Australia and Turkey on this has been good recently but sometimes strained by dumb Kiwi and Aussie backpackers being dick heads at the site.
Now it seems with Erdogan becoming the new Mussolini there is a breakdown of that relationship and I wouldn’t be surprised if the commemorations are cancelled for good in the not too distant future.
Certainly you couldn’t expect the statesman-like Israel apologist, Gerry Brownlee to barge in there and fix it like he’s jumping an airport gate.
Nicely put. If the Turks do restore the full text, OK… But you might be asking a bit much for Jerry to jump a gate. He could perhaps manage a short leap over a very brief red carpet, but he will probably have tried to take a short cut through the wrong door, and be in the wrong place.
I hope for the best about future Gallipoli celebrations, but I fear that we are getting far too wound-up over them here in NZ anyway. Gallipoli is becoming a glorification of war, along with Anzac day. I have less and less inclination to buy that poppy..
“It puzzles me that even in the face of Bernie Sanders’ remarkable primary campaign in the 2016 US presidential election and UK Labour’s rise under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in the UK snap elections of a fortnight ago, that many in the NZ Left still cling to the (false consciousness) notion that centrist policies and identity politics are the way to play the game.”
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
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Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
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Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
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The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
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Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
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The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
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“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
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Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
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. ...
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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. ...
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Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
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Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
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Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
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Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
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, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
In case any of you are sharp-eyed enough to pick out the Labour MPs who organized agains him, here’s Jeremy Corbyn getting a standing ovation after the election from his colleagues as he enters parliament:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJgDm8whYoQ
Yet he still lost
Your point?
Gosman’s the Snide Sniper.
Gosman, I see this as an exceptional result given the enormous tide of corruption and greed he stood against.
Lets not forget, the Westminster system is a FPP system and in reality the majority of votes went actually to Corbyn.
So really he did not loose but the people of Britain did.
“we might wonder why, when Northland is suffering deprivation and economic stagnation, Maraetai Drive millionaires are allowed to strip the province of its natural resources, tear up its wild places and reap outrageous profits while an apologist Government runs interference in the media.”
Despite the New Zealand Labour party being disgracefully quiet …. seemingly not endorsing or backing Jeremy corbyn and his amazing resurrection of democracy and left wing politics in the UK …….
Despite this rejection and lost opportunity by Nz Labour ….. The Nacts are exposed and weak in our coming election ….. after 9 years of dishonest rot……bare faced looting….compulsive cheating… and sloppy destructive greed …. they own all of the disgusting outcomes
Corruption , arrogance and incompetence
.Exibit A) https://publicaddress.net/envirologue/swamp-monsters-the-looting-of-northlands/ .
“when sawn lengths of swamp kauri are offered for sale on the website of Wisconsin-based furniture company Ancientwood that measure 12 metres in length, it means that, assuming someone has followed the letter of the law, they have exported timber from a tree more than twice the width of Te Matua Ngahere, the widest known living kauri at 5.2 metres across.”
Clearly, a great many swamp kauri exports are a scam, but the Government seems unwilling even to send for a tape measure. The Northland Environmental Protection Society (NEPS) has repeatedly pointed out that MPI’s own records show that it regularly rubber-stamps such improbable transactions” ….
“Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy insists … we manage it very, very closely.” ……” Really? Documents obtained under the Official Information Act by the NEPS are claimed to show that in fact, mandatory information was missing from some 80 per cent of MPI intention-to-export notices processed in 2013.”
Lets repeat that …..” , mandatory information was missing from some 80 per cent of MPI intention-to-export notices processed in 2013.
Imagine if Winz did this …… or the ministry of health …../ or immigration …… 80% fucken non compliance in the paper work. ….. Lets call it what it is …. Govt collusion with Corruption.
But It gets better … or worse …
“That one of the prominent speculators in this grey market in taonga happens to be David Wong-Tung, husband of National MP Judith Collins, should rightly raise eyebrows, along with suspicions that her involvement places the Government in an awkward spot – again. Wong-Tung is a director in Kauri Ruakaka Ltd, formerly Oravida Kauri, which has stockpiled an estimated 80,000 tonnes of logs”.. ( worth 50-400 Million )
This is lazy economic vandalism. Northland needs more high-value jobs but instead the return is is going to places like Poland
This criminal enterprise … involving greedy Vandals and Govt departments ………should be stopped immediately ….. with sackings where appropriate.
As this scam is robbing Hones electorate . He should make it one of his bottem lines before supporting any govt/coalition…
that Judiths Orvidia logs will be compulsory purchased ….at a reasonable profit margin …. But only after they have proved they were harvested legally and in compliance with relevant laws ….., If laws were broken the logs should naturally be forfieted ….as unlike Nathan Guy, one should not reward law breakers .
Orvidias stockpile should be used for the local tribe …… Not greedy grasping Judith and other rich trash with sticky fingers
Once again ….. 80% non compliance by nathan guys ministry is scandalous …..
And this govt is riddled with piss weak bad laws and crap regulations…… which they ignore.
The lack of Ecan prosecutions for polluting and stealing water resources is another example of this …. lowered standards AND no prosecutions.
Pike river ……. Charter schools ….. Carbon credits/global warming …..Bio security …. sanctions for the benefit of nazis …etc etc etc
Lowered standards ….. cheating …… non compliance …..injustice and exploitation…. war crimes.
But for electioneering purposes ….I’d focus on three or four areas …..Enviroment, Housing , health & Education…. …. prime areas of weakness the Nacts should be hammered over..
They are weak because they are shit ……
Thats why Johnny Madeoff 😉 …. Winne was going to have his head in a wine box.
I think we should acknowledge Winne as a both a King and Knight slayer….
You might have to eat your words Gosman, as it’s not looking strong and stable with the DUP, dare we say, looking more like a, Coalition of Chaos!
Yet paradoxically he got a standing ovation and Theresa May was greeted with icy silence.
Let your imagination roam free Gosman and ditch the dualism.
The gap between Tory and labour seats is larger than 2014, yet this election is called a win by Corbyn where he called 2014 a disaster, Looking to grow even larger in future with many labour electorates to disappear, up to 30 with population changes
What F**king Planet are you on?
The 2014 election was for seats on the EU parliament!
Oh! that’s right Planet Key.
Last general election then, settle petal with the language, it’s simply a date error
Seeing as you’re still wrong even after correcting yourself, I don’t really know what you’re on about…
You trolls need to be extra careful getting it right though. You open yourself up to all sorts of ridicule otherwise.
The Tories had a net loss of 13 seats and Labour had a net gain of 32 seats. In other words, the gap got smaller.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2017/jun/08/live-uk-election-results-in-full-2017
Exactly.
But you try telling that to Red.
It was close Gosman (1,1), very close. What was achieved by Jeremy Corbyn was amazing.
Corbyn shook the establishment, damaging the Tories, with the likelihood of Theresa May being replaced in the near future.
Leaving Wheresa May to balls up Brexit.
Team New Zealand take the lead in the Americas cup. Looks like we *may* have built the faster boat. It’s going to be exciting.
People sleeping cars, 90,000 NEETs, the environment being stuffed by industrial dairy, house prices averaging a million dollars etc – but that’s all right because we’ve built a faster boat!
How fatuously superficial can you get?
Hey – it is possible to enjoy something positive and not walk around in a constant state of misery.
You should try it – it will make your life a lot happier.
That’s all you talk about.
Saying nothing about the important stuff is taking the side of the oppressors.
It is clear from your actions you care more about sport than caring for the vulnerable in our society.
James,
Your comment about the Americas Cup is a deliberate wind up. You know perfectly well that this site is not really a forum for sport and was bound to generate negative comment.
I am pretty sure you also know that most of the left commenters on this site would see the Americas Cup as an elitist sport (though that is much less true of the NZ team) that they would go out of their way to avoid. So you got a perfectly predictable reaction.
While I am fan of the Cup and watched this mornings races, I wouldn’t deliberately start a flame war on The Standard on the topic.
Wayne, your comment is perfectly formed, like a well trimmed sail.
Foiling nicely Wayne.
Wayne said.@8.26 am
“left commenters on this site would see the Americas Cup as an elitist sport”
Well, it is Wayne and we get it morning noon and night, and it is taking precedence over other things.
Take TV1 News any night after about 5 minutes we are into sport be it the All Blacks doing this or that or America’s Cup that normally takes up at least 5 minutes or so of the news bulletin, to be repeated AGAIN in depth at about 6 45. Whereas other news items are either not reported or given about 10 seconds
As for being a fan, I was right up to the time it was decided the “red socks” that were originally made in the South Island, were suddenly made in China.
A good sporting gesture that was wasn’t it mate, after expecting New Zealanders to get behind and support their “elitist sport” .
James, you are well represented by National MP’s, here is one wanting to be on the harbour instead of her job representing people – yes Natz, disabled people are people too!
‘Rather be out on the harbour’ – National Party MP tweets from disability meetings
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/rather-be-out-on-the-harbour-national-party-mp-tweets-from-disability-meetings.html
She should resign.
Here are some twitter responses to her.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/rather-be-out-on-the-harbour-national-party-mp-tweets-from-disability-meetings/_jcr_content/par/image_336577672.img.full.high.jpg/v0.jpg
Ms Wagner slights the people she’s supposed to be dedicated to helping – what a very, very foolish thing to say and do. It’s little wonder National’s MPs are so often characterized as arrogant out of touch with ordinary people; in this case, extra-ordinary people. The “optics” here, as they say, are appalling.
‘Gary Farrow, a journalist and disability advocate who lives with a severe brain injury, says he is concerned about Ms Wagner’s progress with the portfolio if she is complaining about attending meetings.
“If our own Disability Issues Minister is subliminally complaining about attending meetings in Auckland, relating to exactly that portfolio, by openly commenting that she’d rather be somewhere on the harbour – which is inaccessible to many people with disabilities – then I fear for the amount of progress she’s actually aiming to achieve for the disabled community at these meetings.”
Ms Wagner has been contacted for comment.’
Bet she will be unavailable.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/rather-be-out-on-the-harbour-national-party-mp-tweets-from-disability-meetings.html
From the Herald.
Special Educational Needs NZ posted its disgust to Facebook.
“That’s just such a thoughtless and heartless thing to say. I’m quite sure people living with disabilities wish they could walk away from what they face every day, but they can’t, and it’s the Minister’s job to support them.”
The Green Party’s spokeswoman for disability issues Mojo Mathers, who is deaf, told Newshub the tweet was appallingly shallow.
“It really makes me question her commitment to the disability community if she’d rather be out on the harbour than in meetings with them.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11878665
Just a sample of the reaction on twitter.
‘Then resign and give your position to someone with integrity and compassion. Shame on you.’
‘Oh my gosh. Your my mp. From my area. You told me disability was your most important thing to you. You lied to me.’
‘Good idea. Please resign immediately and get out on the harbour. Stay out there.’
‘I suggest you step down then. Our communities deserve someone who wants to be there and makes a difference.’
Stupid ignorant folk who do not appreciate that there is a special class of boat designed for challenged folk to join her out on the harbour
twitering on twitter. URRRGH!
I’d rather she was out on the harbor too – [RL: Deleted. You are making a bad habit of this kind of thing. Last warning.]
We have a full blown kleptocracy – the worst in the OECD. This can be resolved through our existing formal judicial processes, in ways that will not challenge your delicate sensibilities, or it will meet with informal processes.
Crooks must be punished.
No sign of functional formal process yet.
[RL: This site has a long standing practice of moderating threats of physical violence, implicit or otherwise. This is not something you will get any wriggle room on, and if you think about it from our perspective you will understand why.]
Hey Stuart. I saw the comment before it was deleted and I laughed. It was searing black humour satire. Keep it up.
[RL Banned for one week. Moderation on this matter is not up for discussion or debate]
Awesome display by the Lions last night James. I see a 2-1 victory for them over the All Blacks. That, and not winning the Americas Cup should see soft National supporters in a gloomy mood come September, not pumped up at all by fake euphoria. Definitely looking very bad psychologically for the soft centre. Happy days!
I pick your pick is wrong. ABs will win the series – Americas cup still too close to call
I’m picking nat supporters will continue to be pretty happy – certainly a lot happier than the labour voters come September.
So your half-full glass will be flowing up over the brim, will it Lames – I mean James?
I am an enthusiastic sailor, but reading eyewash from an ignorant wally like you makes me wonder if sport is nothing more than panem et circenses.
I expect Bling is pretty nervous about the outcomes of these matches because his election hinges on it.
That’s the extent of the shallowness of the New Zealand the Nats have created.
The James equivalent in the U.K. would have chastised you for being miserable and referring to the Grenfell Tower tragedy rather than blabbing on about the Lions rugby team.
Bread and circuses.
And James loves circuses.
Not really I would have commented on it on the appropriate thread if I wanted to – this is open Mike.
What’s your view on our levels of child poverty in New Zealand?
How do we solve this?
Completely off topic and nothing to do with the subject. Poor troll attempt.
I was a yachtie but I still think you are correct Tony … but then I was interested in passage making not racing.
Good question, NZ aims to be the best at being fatuously superficial. We can and will be world class!
Especially if of your namesake is a fine sports broadcaster
How many Pasifika, Māori or women are involved in Team New Zealand?
Whats that got to with anything?
But because you are obviously a bit thick with your comment – there are a few guys on the boat – but there are 100’s of people that are employed in the shore team, as well as the people who do the admin, make parts for the boat, paint it, are involved in the shops selling ETNZ gear etc etc etc.
Thanks James. 5 women and at least 1 Māori out of 90 odd people according to the website.
http://emirates-team-new-zealand.americascup.com/en/team.html
Again so?
So I wonder what engagement\viewership is like with Māori and women then?
Are you inferring that women and Maori watching depend on the number of women and maori employed by the team ?
that’s a bit of a jump and pathetic race and sex baiting.
Women are perfectly able to watch a race without women being involved.
I doubt any Maori would say they they would like to watch but don’t because of the number of Maori employees.
james. Would you lead a haka before every cup race, if team nz don’t already do one? Say on a wharf– with all your tory mates.
Would I lead a haka? No.
And I am – thank you
Rod Emerson’s cartoon.
It seems the perfect message for you.
The message, if you’re ‘a bit thick’, is.. we are better than that.
.
https://mobile.twitter.com/rodemmerson/status/875789296728289280/photo/1
Who gives a fucking shit, and that is from a person who played a lot of sport and loved my sailing.
Someone said to me quite a few years ago that
“Sport was the opium of the masses”
I think it was a play on something Marx may have said. I am not going to look it up etc have no need
It has certainly got you well and truly you drugged up blinding you to what is really happening in this country and the world.
It’s a play on the Marx original term religion is the opium of the masses, ie be happy been poor, the king is god appointed, obey and be happy with your lot, anything else is a sin and your rewards will come in heaven Not sure really if sport is a suitable replacement, more so boring, anti sport types simply getting in a tizz because somebody else is enjoying themselves and does not want to sit around debating Marxist dialectic materialism
Once again you have fucking missed the point haven’t you I knew all about that. Have you read Marx? I have and also other shit by Ayn Rand, she should have been locked up as a threat to mankind.
What this person was implying, keep the peasantry drugged on sport and we will fuck them over without them knowing. Our pathetic excuse for news on the media is a good example of that. Has that spelt it out to you in enough simplistic terms?
What’s the betting that National are hoping that we win the America’s Cup and The All Blacks beat the shit out of the Lions to make sure we all have the “Feel Good” feeling for the next election?
As for sitting around debating Marxists dialect well, I don’t know anyone who does that and who gives a shit if they do. Who are these anti-sports types who get into a tizz? I don’t know any but I know a lot of people who are not fucking brain dead and go into a trance every time the All Blacks or America’s cup is mentioned and can see through all the bullshit that goes with it and won’t buy into the hype.
How do you know anti-sport types are boring? I have been in the company of sports enthusiasts and frankly, as a sportsman myself I have been glad to get out of their company as I have been bored shitless with the dissecting of the game, the players, the ref, and all the fucking sundry cretinous crap that goes with it.
Please, it was ‘opiate’ of the masses. Red, you pretend to know so much…
Nowhere near as exciting as when the government properly funds community groups who have been stripped of resources. Perhaps the boat bastards will donate a sizable chunk of the millions they win? No?
That’s nice for *us* jimbo.
Yeah nah, it’s a fake faster boat ‘cos this is the America’s Cup you know …
Good, I like that. “Fake speed.” I must try to use that argument during a sailing race next season. (Rowers could not use that argument, because they are all limited to looking backwards.)
…and a little well-earned post-British-election righteousness from Sanders:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/opinion/bernie-sanders-how-democrats-can-stop-losing-elections.html?src=me&_r=1
“A vast majority of Americans understand that our current economic model is a dismal failure. Who can honestly defend the current grotesque level of inequality in which the top 1 percent owns more than the bottom 90 percent? Who thinks it’s right that, despite a significant increase in worker productivity, millions of Americans need two or three jobs to survive, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent? What person who claims to have a sense of morality can justify the fact that the richest people in our country have a life expectancy about 15 years longer than our poorest citizens?
While Democrats should appeal to moderate Republicans who are disgusted with the Trump presidency, too many in our party cling to an overly cautious, centrist ideology. The party’s main thrust must be to make politics relevant to those who have given up on democracy and bring millions of new voters into the political process. It must be prepared to take on the right-wing extremist ideology of the Koch brothers and the billionaire class, and fight for an economy and a government that work for all, not just the 1 percent.”
… and Jeremy Corbyn,s post election speech in parliament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8gqWcJ_0k
Were it our leaders could speak so well, but that is the art of the British.
https://www.facebook.com/1261190663892805/videos/1743674342311099/
Suzie Dawson (Suzette Maree Dawson) is now the new ‘Leader’ of the Internet Party.
BEWARE!
This is what one of Suzette Maree Dawson’s key supporters Ben Cooney said about me on a live-streamed video of the 8 December 2012 anti-TPPA protest in Auckland – which was posted on Suzie Dawson’s PRIVATE website – Occupy Savvy.
This is why, in my opinion, decent people and genuine political activists should have NOTHING to do with either Suzie Dawson or Ben Cooney.
Penny Bright.
‘Anti-privatisation/ anti-corruption campaigner’
Political activist from 18 years old – now in my 63rd year.
Penny Bright (Penelope Mary Bright) still carrying on her weird campaign against Suzi Dawson.
Penny, i apologize for previous comments, I now understand your position here.
Very interesting talk about Afghanistan by Jon Stephenson yesterday.
That is interesting Ed give us the link. If you are going to convey every thought you have to TS at least give us info on the background details.
Link
https://gpjanz.wordpress.com/2017/06/03/hit-and-run-a-public-meeting-with-jon-stephenson/
He spoke about Afghanistan.
Thanks Ed
When I have more time, I’ll summarise.
But there is clearly more to come on this story.
Watch Theresa May tell a barefaced lie to the victims of the Grenfell Fire.
Starts at 5:23
Interviewer Emily Maitlis challenged May:
“This was preventable, wasn’t it? In 2013, a coroner had safety recommendations which included putting sprinklers in all these buildings. And it was never done. There was two types of material that could have been used in the cladding. One was flammable and one was fireproof. And the fireproof one cost £2 more. Was that not £2 worth spending?”
May replied:
“The fire service are looking are looking at what the cause of the fire was.”
Maitlis continued:
“But you were recommended this in 2013. You were in government there. And the coroner said you can stop this with a sprinkler system in every block.”
May responded with a lie:
“And the government has taken action on the recommendations of the coroner’s report.”
https://www.thecanary.co/2017/06/17/watch-theresa-may-tell-bare-faced-lie-victims-grenfell-fire/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftY1NlPk5YY
Ignoring the report so as to increase profits is an action.
Two quotes for May ( regarding Grenfell) and English ( regarding Pike River)
“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”
Elie Wiesel
On Radionz this morning on immigration the author of a book about NZ and immigration says something like ‘look all Auckland’s problems wouldn’t be solved if immigrants were unable to move there’. This didn’t seem to me to be an intelligent attitude to take to the problem of how many, whom, doing what, from where and other questions about immigration. The theme seemed to be laissez faire and they can help with the problems they cause. Housing shortage? Bring in workers to help build them. With incisive minds like this at work, I can see NZ’s borders being the subject of rorts and changeable policies, none of them driven by good thinking.
I notice that many of the initiatives being carried forward arise from the ideas, energy and enthusiasm of immigrants, recent or from late 1900s. But there are billions of people out there and there has to be some reasoned control. Of do we just divide NZ up into grids of 20 sqm and hock them off on the basis of a flyer of romantic views from the 1950s. We need to listen to the views of those pragmatic people who are concerned about now to 2050.
Audio will come up for – 9.35 Attitudes to immigration
David Hall is a senior researcher at the Policy Observatory at AUT and editor of Fair Borders, Migration Policy in the 21st century. He discusses New Zealanders’ changing attitudes to immigration.
He got the point that fixing the underlying causes of all the issues is the way to go not blame immigrants.
We’re not blaming the immigrants. We’re blaming the governments gross negligence in not planning for the huge immigration that they’ve allowed or even asking questions about how many immigrants we can support. Yes, support, immigration is expensive in the short term.
Really? How much does the average immigrant cost?
That would depend upon how much of the resources we have available needs to be diverted to build up the infrastructure to support them. A diversion of resources is a real cost because it means that something else can’t be done.
A lot of the mess we have today is because the government hasn’t been building that needed infrastructure or even planning for it.
“$20.190 million to look after 750 refugees last year”
https://thestandard.org.nz/how-much-does-new-zealand-spend-on-refugees/
“Migrants’ parents cost NZ ‘tens of millions'”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/315435/migrants%27-parents-cost-nz-%27tens-of-millions%27
Refugees aren’t migrants. Totally different basket of fish.
And the second story was about immigration controls being imposed against groups that might cost money in the long term, so hardly evidence that all immigration is expensive in the short term, even if they contribute more overall in the longer term.
Funny, because I thought you meant “expensive in the short term” as in “costs more money than they bring in and produce”.
Because otherwise they’re not a cost, they’re a benefit – the opportunity cost of not having them is worse than the opportunity cost of “supporting” them.
If they bring children, it can cost more than the taxes they pay. 9k p.a. for free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds (no residency criteria for this, so they are all eligible), and for those children who are eligible for free public education (dependents of work visa holders), it costs nearly 6k p.a. for primary and nearly 8k for high school.
Not that I begrudge the education, but there are soberly costs that can outweigh the taxes paid.
Ok, so in some cases it might. So how much does the average immigrant cost?
The average immigrant is a visitor on a visitor visa, followed by working holidaymakers – since they pay GST, we come out well ahead fiscally.
If you’re talking about standard work visas, without family, we come out ahead as long as there are no serious medical problems or accidents. With families including children, it is based heavily on family income, but wages need to be well over 40K for taxes to pay for one child in primary school (this is complicated by GST).
which is why we have a points system for long term immigration.
Two point:
1. Far better to measure things in physical terms. Makes it far easier to measure costs than through our delusional financial system.
2. It does cost more in the short term than they bring in and produce. After all they don’t bring in anything and so we need to support them until they’re producing.
Which is debatable considering the very real physical limits we actually exist within which you seem to be ignoring.
1: ok, so you have a “far better” measure, but still can’t actually answer the question
2: So now nobody imports cash or a container of goods or maybe even 20 years’ training and experience when they immigrate? Bullshit on that.
3: if it’s so debatable, why are you having so much difficulty supporting what was a pretty specific claim: that immigrants are a cost in the short term?
1. It’s complicated. When immigrants first come into the country they need to be supported from the resources we have and the infrastructure. If the infrastructure isn’t in place then it costs in ways such as higher drive times, over loaded buses and, of course, building the new infrastructure. These costs will go away over time as they’re addressed which is why I said ‘short term’. But when there’s ongoing excessive immigration, as we have now, then those short term costs exist all the time and get worse exponentially.
2. Cash is nothing – it only buys what we have available at that time reducing what’s available to everyone else and probably pushing up inflation thus is a cost. How many immigrants, as a percentage, come with a container load of goods? Doubt if it’s many. 20 years experience is great – once they start producing more than it cost to import them.
3. I’m not having difficulty doing that at all. Even Treasury, that bastion of neo-liberalism and high population and the immigration to get it now say that excessive immigration is costing us more than it benefits us.
So basically you don’t know how much they bring in with them, you refuse to count cash, and you’re just assuming that the costs outweigh the benefits in the short term.
And you’re appealing to the authority of Treasury, without backing it up.
Solid argumentation you got there /sarc
No I don’t as I haven’t seen it published anywhere.
Have you?
I don’t refuse to count it so much as consider it to have a negative effect according to standard supply and demand.
There are costs – I even listed some of them. In the short term those costs will outweigh the benefits. That’s just the nature of costs.
You’re assuming that there’s no costs at all which is ridiculous and dangerous.
It’s been reported several times in the MSM and here. My mistake in assuming that you, being the political animal that you are, would have seen it. Here you are:
All of those are costs that apply until they’re addressed (and Treasury either missed some or they weren’t reported). The problem being that they’re not being addressed and so the costs to our society keep going up.
No, but then I’m not the one who made the proclamation that one outweighs the other “in the short term”
Yeah, you’re the first person I’ve encountered who thinks that bringing money in to the local economy is a negative.
No, I merely asked you to back up your claim that any “costs” outweighed the benefits of immigration “in the short term”.
could, in the specific case of low-skilled migrants. So, basically, again not support for your claim that immigration is expensive in the short term.”
The problem with the planned economy is the plan is usually out of date the day the ink dries or predicated on dodgy data or to the benefit corrupt or idealogically driven select few of the ruling statist elite. The result a massive inefficient allocation of resources, The history of the Soviet Union, China ( the Great Leap Forward) are good cases in point, likewise Nz up to the last 5 years we had net negative immigration, ie people leaving under auntie Helens labour government to Australia, it is only the success of a nationsl government turning the exit around and now requiring time for the market and to a lesser degree the government to catch up I do agree if on the rare chance we get a labour government again this will fix the immigration issue but again making any grand plan redundant, further cementing my original point
That’s why plans always need to be updated.
National seems to be keen on dodgy data hence all the lies
National is king of corruption as well.
Actually, the free-market does really inefficient allocation of resources. That’s why we have so much poverty, why 29 workers died in Pike River, why our health system is being under funded and why our electricity prices are going up.
You really like lying to yourself don’t you?
The reason why net migration is up is because NZers are returning home because they’re no longer getting work overseas. Ten years later and the GFC is still having that sort of effect. It’s why Australia is busy kicking NZers out.
Nobody seems to be able to look at the facts and agree that there are too many people coming into NZ for our ability to provide the services all need.
Or that there is a chronic shortage of housing which is exacerbated by the many. Or that there needs to be opportunity for a place for those NZs who want to return home. Or that there needs to be fairer treatment of those encouraged to apply for immigration. The government has behaved abysmally to people caught up in rorts, to changes in policy that apply immediately and exclude people who are almost accepted, and who have paid huge fees. It is just a pig’s muddle and reading the comments picking up on various details and concentrating on one or two aspects indicates how hard it is for reasoned, thoughtful discussion and policy planning.
The guy wrote a book and was interviewed on the radio – he knows what he is talking about, perhaps more people should listen to experts instead of just thinking and saying it.
The type of experts that say that having massive poverty and wealth inequality is good?
Because that does seem to be the type of person who was interviewed.
I have trouble with experts who continue to advise policies that have caused more trouble than the good that the experts predicted. It tends to indicate that the expert is following ideology rather than reality.
You, like key, have trouble if the experts don’t agree with your preset view.
Have you read his book or listened to the interview?
Too harsh – I withdraw and apologize.
I have trouble with experts who continue to promote policies that are obviously contrary to reality.
There’s a cost benefit ratio to immigration but if the costs aren’t met while immigration remains high then the problems mount exponentially.
For the last few years the government hasn’t met the costs and built the necessary infrastructure and so the problems caused by this have been spiralling out of control. From what I can make out they haven’t built enough infrastructure to support our own internal growth never mind the added growth from immigration.
Now that people are demanding that the government do address this we’ve got people, who are ignoring reality, saying that we must maintain those failed policies.
Yes I know your argument. There are other views and they are mixed not just white or black. You are just one limited person with a fixed view.
If those views to not match reality then they’re not valid views.
It really is that simple. And so far I’ve seen very few that match the reality of our limited resources.
I do not see that DTBs view limited and it is fixed on the reality not some airy fairy kind hearted view or some practical view that sees immigrants doing wonderfully for NZ. A relative is in Wellington hospital at present and says that 50% or so of nurses seem to be Filipinos and how would the DHB which apparently has got rid of a big debt, manage without them.
This is our dilemma, that the whole system has got out of whack and if people keep jumping in and criticising anyone who critiques it, how can we turn it to a better level, we have to think and notch it down somewhat.
We are so close to being a third world country run by the porcine few who indulge themselves, usually colonials who like being petty dictators in their small pond.
Very good podcast on Under the Skin with Russell Brand, interviewing Yanis Varoufakis.
https://youtu.be/BX7JDLkYMWc
Yanis Varoufakis has been working on the Democracy in Europe Movement, DiEM25 and has been working on a collective vision for promoting a representative democracy.
Just got around to reading the foreign trust registration articles from a few days ago.
Now I understand that these trusts essentially pay no tax in NZ so why is the taxpayer funding the IRD (NZH “officials here are providing support when they can,”) to help these trusts sort out their obligations.
I’d like to think the IRD is charging a swinging fee for the assistance or is this just another case of the poor subsiding some rich bludgers.
Part of me also regrets the lost opportunity of levying a solid tax on them before they depart.
And by the way what happens if they don’t register? How do we know they have stopped operating?
NZFirst pushing to reintroduce a legal defence for bashing your kids. Great bedfellows Labour’s courting https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/q-and-a/clips/extras/10-years-so-called-anti-smacking-bill
You can’t beat a dog into obedience, what the hell’s wrong with these people who think you can do it to kids?
I’m pretty sure that Labour isn’t actually courting them but, ATM, the chances are that a Labour led government will include NZFirst.
Of course they are. You don’t dogwhistle about brown students unless you’re trying to suck up to Winnie. And i know, i know, you’re going to say “it’s not about the students it’s not about race” but that’s exactly what Andrew Little himself has said – bad immigrants coming here living in houses taking jobs. Open your eyes.
It’s not sucking up to Winnie – it’s acknowledging that our high immigration rates are causing problems. The fact that Winnie has been saying this for years should have you considering that maybe he was right on this. Especially when Treasury, that bastion of neo-liberalism and promoter of immigration and high population, is saying the same thing.
It seems to be you who needs to open your eyes and rejoin reality.
Nope Little and Labour are not saying that at all Wainwright – but there is an issue with lazy immigration and congestion and housing shortages in Auckland, and looks like the public agree, because apparently Labour/Green past National in the latest polls. Someone has to do something, if you live in Auckland! National’s plan is to pretend all is well! Even if you are some neoliberal robot, productivity will be down as it’s taking 4 hours to get anywhere.
As for students, how about developing overseas students degrees outside of Auckland in places that could do with more people. REMOVE for every low level qualification a 25% chance of permanent residency. Let the course (NOT funded by taxpayers) speak for itself. If it’s a good course the overseas students will come won’t they?
The Auckland migrants themselves are saying there’s a big problem – are they racist too?
Don’t mind Winston on a lot of issues, but it’s a step too far to allow beating your kids to be legal again…. The people with the problem, can’t understand the nuances.
Yep nzfirst are low scum. I never thought anyone would be into bashing their kids. These hurtful people deserve odium in the extreme.
Come on MM ….it is not letting folk ‘bash’ their kids … that is emotional twaddle …. but rather sensible in the situation it occurs in … the discipline of children.
I experienced both stupid bad abuse and fair discipline in my youth but it would take too long to describe it. we need a law which differenciates between abuse and discipline.
No. There is no need to hit children – no good comes from it ever imo.
If you use violence to discipline then you are way way off base.
+1 marty mars
With all of the problems that NZ is facing at the moment, there seems to be no logic in NZ First bringing this issue back which will do nothing to alleviate child abuse. A binding referendum would also be perceived as a waste of money Although NZ First might gain some votes from this, I think that they will possibly lose an equal amount. However they might gain more votes from National conservatives, and turn off potential voters straying from Labour/Greens.
Yep – some random at a meeting has had a go at whynee and he has decided there are votes in it – with luck it will sink them.
+1 Marty.
It was Conservative Party policy at the last election so NZF are presumably hoping to pick up their votes. Hopefully it will lose them more votes than they gain.
And that’s what the research shows as well.
A good parent rarely has need of it but it is there, or should be, as a final deterent and rarely used and not make somebody using it a criminal.
a final deterrent?
SMACK – I told you to stop hitting your brother.
SMACK – I told you to not go near the road especially when I’m on facebook and can’t concentrate on where you are.
SMACK – I have many anger issues which I am taking out on you my child – but hey at least I’m not hitting some random kid eh.
NZ First is trying to pick up the Conservative/ACT party hard right vote, swing right on law and order.
Personally for, NZF lost any chance of getting a vote from when they came out as being against the use of 1080.
Antarctica Is Melting, and Giant Ice Cracks Are Just the Start
How about this for NZ polls status from The Daily Blog.
The latest UMR internal fortnightly Poll from Labour taken between 7th June – 15th June paints a completely different picture.
This was taken after the criticism of the budget and after Labour’s foreign student cutback policy.
National 42% (down 2)
Labour 32% (up 2)
Greens 13% n/c
NZF 9% n/c
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/06/16/breaking-umr-poll-national-42-labourgreen-45/
That’s an internal poll, right? Are they seen in the same light as other polls?
Yes and yes.
The internal poll was being compared to a previous poll which showed an entirely different picture which has been explained by first euphoria from the budget which is now fading. Martyn Bradbury says:
The latest TV3 Poll putting Labour on 26% and National on 47% would have been pretty depressing.
It shouldn’t be.
The Poll was taken in the sugar high of the fawning media’s description of National’s budget as left wing and family friendly before the real criticism of how National have actually underfunded health by the tune of $2.3 billion was out.
That puts some context on it. A big difference between the two. Poll watchers will be able to assess better than me.
And political watchers will have heard that Bryce Edwards thinks that young people aren’t going to be enticed to vote.
He told The Project on Friday that the youth vote could only make a difference “if political parties were actually giving out policies that engaged and attracted youth”.
Mr Edwards says it’s not young people’s fault that they’re not turning out to vote. Instead he says: “It’s actually the politicians that have failed, it’s the political system that’s failed and we should be pointing at them.
“It’s the politicians that need to be more engaging, they need to be actually offering a product that youth want to buy if you like. They need to be actually stepping up to the plate and coming up with something a bit more inspiring.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/06/academic-predicts-a-youth-yawn-in-new-zealand-election.html
Dr Bryce Edwards is an academic expert and well-known commentator and columnist but nevertheless I think he’s omitted a few important things. [Disclaimer: the video didn’t work for me so I go on the written text only]
The so-called “Jeremy Corbyn effect” cannot be seen in isolation but should be viewed and discussed in the unique context that is, among other things: Brexit & EU, Theresa May, recent terrorist atrocities, snap election.
Secondly, I think there are plenty of policies on the Left that would appeal to young(er) voters.
Thirdly, youths have a very strongly developed sense of fairness and equality and doing the right thing for their fellow humans or the environment, for example; they are definitely not the moral vacuoli that they are often painted as. If they get sufficiently enraged this could act as a powerful trigger to get them to vote against what enrages them, e.g. the establishment and rage against the machine. With youth unemployment as high as always and limited prospects for improvement I’d like to think that the youth vote is for the taking.
Fourthly, it might now be more acceptable (‘cool’) for young people to vote and flex their political muscle and make a stand.
By not mentioning the Corbyn policy of eliminating student loans, Edwards helped to foster the illusion that Corbyn’s popularity with youth is some kind of mystical charismatic effect like Key’s. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Indeed, I thought it was bordering on bias by Bryce …
A poll is only as good as its subjects being polled and more importantly how questions are framed …. I Anyway only an average of polls is likely to have any real meaning. Currently all polls are questionable from recent reading.
Martyn Bradbury in TDB
The horror of Grenfell Tower is matched only by the rising fury at the way London’s working class, migrant, disabled and old were betrayed by failed capitalism and a mutilated welfare state.
The prophetic warnings of the Grenfell Action Group, were ignored.
The warnings of using this type of cladding was ignored.
And officials sat on reports that warned a fire like that at Grenfell could occur.
The abdication of responsibility by Government agencies to private contractors is done on purpose so that when these events occur no one is held responsible.
I bolded the really base point that we all have noticed and need to keep remembering about the iniquitous use of private contractors so that gumminit can curry patronage and influence with business, and keep their suits clean when the shit starts flying.
500 dead at Grenfell?
https://www.ft.com/content/33a32fec-52b3-11e7-bfb8-997009366969
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/06/17/525600/500-residents-died-in-London-tower-fire-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4lt889_F0
Statistics NZ figures released this week have confirmed that New Zealand is in recession on a per capita basis as the economy –
has declined –
for two-quarters –
when measured on this basis.
Mike Treen says:
The economy is simply not working or performing as expected.
The economy has been propped up by property speculation, growing household debt, together with strong immigration and tourism numbers. This has produced economic froth rather than a growth in the real economy.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/06/18/danger-the-economic-bubble-is-bursting/
And we are doing so well – how can that be. Nick Smith’s largeish advertisement in a Nelson newspaper says –
STRONG ECONOMY
NZ economic growth 3% and amongst strongest in the world
Nelson economy rated top performing region by ASB
100,000+ NZ job growth, average wages up by $10,000/yr
INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE
$20m for broadband in Nelson
$7.5m for seafood research (probably carved off closing Invermay, Dunedin)
Work on dam and to unclog roads to port
HELPING FAMILIES GET AHEAD
30,000 Nelson families gain by $26 week from tax changes
11,000 up to $100 week from Family support
4,000 households gain increased Accommodation (AS)
BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES
24 more police 39 more ambulance officers
1,000 Nelson caregivers extra $100 pw
DHB $16m more, $17m for ECE (NZ wide?)
That list sounds so good. If people believe in representative gummint that is, if they want to participate and be taken seriously there would be an informed and wary response to these figures.
Grey, just looking at your comments getting stuck in moderation. Are you always on the same device, or sometimes commenting from more than one?
Always same. And I do mean to carry out forensics.
It’s been going on for a long time.
Has anybody read “Dream Hoarders” by Richard Reeves?
“How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do about It”
The government has published a guide for overseas investors interested in profiting from the fast-growing Maori economy.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/93790386/investor-drive-key-to-lifting-maori-incomes-by-20-per-cent
Nicky Wagner will be on the naughty step for some time having distracted from Bling’s glorious tunnel opening.
I guess we’ll have to wait till 23 Sep to find out whether there’s light at the end of the tunnel that is costing us a lot more than $1.4 billion.
Have they come to protect their citizens’ New Zealand property rights?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11878768
Wonder what would happen if a peaceful protest against anti-democracy the imprisonment of writers and journalists in China happened on the dock.
I’m sure the Chinese wouldn’t open fire but I suspect the New Zealand Police would be directed to move the protesters on at the Chinese Embassy’s request.
Even though Pete George wishes the Pike River families would undergo an emotional lobotomy and give up their fight to have their questions answered, the media just won’t let it go. Bet he’s furious (if that are at all possible).
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/06/new-pike-footage-shows-no-sign-of-inferno.html
There already is a Furious Pete!
The Pike River story is so sad and just keeps dragging on; people need closure!
Interesting state of affairs in Turkey right now with respect to the ANZAC monument at Gallipoli.
The relationship between NZ and Australia and Turkey on this has been good recently but sometimes strained by dumb Kiwi and Aussie backpackers being dick heads at the site.
Now it seems with Erdogan becoming the new Mussolini there is a breakdown of that relationship and I wouldn’t be surprised if the commemorations are cancelled for good in the not too distant future.
Certainly you couldn’t expect the statesman-like Israel apologist, Gerry Brownlee to barge in there and fix it like he’s jumping an airport gate.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/06/turkish-government-says-it-didn-t-destroy-anzac-monument.html
Nicely put. If the Turks do restore the full text, OK… But you might be asking a bit much for Jerry to jump a gate. He could perhaps manage a short leap over a very brief red carpet, but he will probably have tried to take a short cut through the wrong door, and be in the wrong place.
I hope for the best about future Gallipoli celebrations, but I fear that we are getting far too wound-up over them here in NZ anyway. Gallipoli is becoming a glorification of war, along with Anzac day. I have less and less inclination to buy that poppy..
Pablo at Kiwipolitico says:
“It puzzles me that even in the face of Bernie Sanders’ remarkable primary campaign in the 2016 US presidential election and UK Labour’s rise under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in the UK snap elections of a fortnight ago, that many in the NZ Left still cling to the (false consciousness) notion that centrist policies and identity politics are the way to play the game.”
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2017/06/still-think-it-is-all-about-postmodern-identity/
Puzzled is he? Vexed by all that newfangled “postmodernism” guff?
Pablo needs a good talking to about why gradualist change, left or right, has been the New Zealand preference for 6 elections in a row.
And probably the reason why about a million voters didn’t see any reason to vote in the last election.
Oh and the video Pablo links to at bottom is an absolute doozy:
https://www.facebook.com/thedeepleft/videos/649061075299366/?pnref=story