This three to four week hiatus proves one thing.
The corporate media has very few investigative journalists left.
Without the daily spectacle of parliament, there have nothing to show us.
It appears it is too hard to travel around the country looking fora story on one of the following.
Drive north to Ruakaka to investigate the truth behind the pipe leak,
Explore the social issues behind our mental health crisis.
Measure water quality in Canterbury and complete an expose of industrial farming.
Investigate the use of migrant workers by our rural industries.
Investigate labour conditions in the cleaning imdustry.
When the river stops flowing it becomes clear how shallow the lake really is. All that’s left is inspecting rotting debris and cast-away rubbish that people didn’t want any longer.
Tamaki Regenergation
SCF
Sheepgate – or pretty much anything Muzza was involved in as he’s not got parliamentary resources to hide behind now.
Charter Schools performance
NZ Police – plenty of material here from roast busters to illegal search and siezures over political matters.
Just shows how owned they are and focused on the status quo, watch Inside Job on Netflix and see how rigged the whole show is.
Rachel Stewart pinpoints a key reason for our terrible road toll.
‘We are a nation of seething, simmering rage that finds full expression when we get behind the wheel.
We’re quick to blame tourists for accidents, but ask tourists what they think of us behind the wheel. The feedback is consistent. We are angry, tail-gating, intolerant, ill-mannered monsters who view our vehicles as an extension of our……selves.’
I’ve been thinking on that a bit over the last few years, done a lot more open road driving lately and have needed to reflect on my own driving.
I drive at the speed limit and very rarely do I encounter these (alleged) angry drivers. That either makes me one of them or the people complaining about angry drivers are driving slower than the speed limit.
If you choose to drive at say 80-90k on the open road you’re making a deliberate decision to prevent everyone else from driving faster. It’s that perceived pre-meditation which I believe makes most people angry on the road. It’s further reinforced when the slow driver speeds up at the passing lane, which in my experience 99% of them do. To the drivers behind they’re sending a big ‘fuck-you’ to everyone else.
In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.
Everyone has the right to drive at a speed less then a hundred km on the open road, however you still don’t have the right to drive more then that.
As for speeding up on a overtaking lane, i would assume that it comes naturally as finally there is a bit of space to feel comfortable. Many if not most roads in NZ are build for Morris Minors and Bedford Trucks, they are potholed nightmares near logging and dairy f arms, and even the forgotten highway has a speed limit of a 100 km.
So rather then complain about people that might not drive that well – newbie driver, that might get uncomfortable next to big logging trucks, that might drive a new car, that might don’t drive at all that much, how about you complain about the shocking state of the roads, the lack of speed diversity, and the lack of driver training in this country.
Cause if you mean this ” Quote” In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.” then you are one of these angry tailgaters that feel as if they are prevented from doing the Speed Target and thus are ‘made to come late’ or other some nonsense.
Someone long time ago once said, IF you have to go running to be on time you are already late.
You share the road with everyone, it is not your own. Maybe next time leave earlier so that you don’t have to blame someone for driving to their ability rather then your need for speed.
Everyone has the right to drive at a speed less then a hundred km on the open road.
Not entirely true Sabine. You can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic.
As I said, if you choose to drive below the speed limit you’re deliberately deciding everyone else’s speed as well. It’s that (perception of) arrogance presumption which pisses people off.
“As for speeding up on a overtaking lane, i would assume that it comes naturally as finally there is a bit of space to feel comfortable.”
Naturally? If you have traffic built up behind you the ‘natural’ thing to do is slow down further and let them past.
“then you are one of these angry tailgaters that feel as if they are prevented from doing the Speed Target and thus are ‘made to come late’ or other some nonsense. ”
I don’t tailgate, you know nothing about my driving style.
Yes, you can be ticketed for being below the flow of traffic, never mind one “Will” be ticket by going over the speed ticket. So someone traveling on the open road at 85 + will not get a speed ticket unless you want to ticket every single Truck, Campervan, Traktor, car/trailer thingy, old bike, old car etc – and oh my gosh what to do about bicyclists?
Yes, people should pull over to let those pass that are faster then them, sadly it seems that the slow bays are a thing of the past. It seems we had more of those in the past, and in many places we have non at all anymore. But maybe they should just drive in a ditch to let someone pass cause faster?
Yes, it is true i know nothing about your driving style. I based my comment on your comment having never met you.
This is what you said, this is what stood out to me and this is what i based my comment on.
Quote” In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.
Since it was me who said that Sabine I would assume you’d appreciate I do know that ergo I don’t get that angry at them. I certainly find them a bit frustrating but I don’t vent that on the road.
Anyway my point was that I don’t believe it’s speed per se that people get angry about. Its the (perceived) attitude of other drivers that I think causes the angst and slow driving is just a manifested symptom of that attitude.
“100 km is the Speed Limit
100 km is not a Target.”
+100 to that, it never fails to astound me how many people will sit on your bumper in wet conditions and poor visibility trying to force you to speed up a couple dozen kph because they’ve just got to get to the mall right now! Like you’re going to make them catch the gay if their mates find out they drove 83 on the motorway in their shiny Hot Wheels car.
It’s the people who don’t drive a consistent speed who ruin my drive. On long trips it’s nice to sit in cruise mode and let the car do the work, today’s drivers make that a bit too infrequent.
A lot of the claims about angry drivers don’t gel with me. I can tow a trailer from Auck to Whangarei and get bugger-all cars catching up to me. Those that do never have to wait long, there’s plenty of passing lanes and I let them go. Only rarely do I get anyone tailgating me even when I’m doing 90 with a trailer.
DH,
Come to Gisborne on highway 2 from Opotiki and try driving at 80-90 kms and you wont make it mate.
I never go faster then 80kms on that road as my wife would have kittens and we would have a fatal accident with many trucks using most of the road so please dont suggest that all dricvers must stick to 100kms.
You are lucky to have a multi laned road but inthe provines we dont have that ‘luxury’ as the big cities take all the roading funds and leave us ‘diddly squat.’
Portugal and Argentina already have laws against street harassment and catcalling, and now France is going to pass a law against it as well.
When asked how to draw a line between street harassment and flirtation, Gender Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa replied: “We know very well at what point we start feeling intimidated, unsafe or harassed in the street,” citing as an example when a man “asks for your number 17 times” or follows a victim for several blocks.
Do people have to count to 17 before they call it harrassment, or 10, or 5? Sounds like exaggeration. A sharp negative and a threat to call the police should be enough. Being followed is creepy though.
If you look someone in the eye, give them a wink, a smile, is that harrassment? Is acknowledging someone going to be a crime? Can’t we cope with living and meeting each other as we move around? Do we have to carry a licence of good intent?
‘I’m not very proud’ – Taika Waititi speaks his mind on the environmental, poverty and housing issues hurting Kiwis
‘”I’m not very proud of coming from a place that everyone thinks is this pure green country, whereas in reality all our lakes and waterways are poison,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot to learn about our depression rates, our suicide rates, teen suicide rates, child poverty numbers and the housing crisis.”
To watch the full clip with Taika Waititi, go to the Marae’s OnDemand page here
Waititi also weighed in on foreign ownership saying, “we just make it so readily available to sell land – for foreigners to buy land.”
He says the first thing New Zealand needs to work on is social issues, not making money.
“To me they just seem like, ‘Oh, that’s what you should fix’ before you think about things like money,” he said.’
Anyone remember that dodgy business about Hillary single-handedly selling out US uranium to the rooskies? (never mind that a bunch of other agencies independent of the State Dept also had to approve it)
Here’s a bit more light on the tangled web behind that.
I looked at the article. I have no intention of debating the issue but I do want to remark on the use of one phrase which recalls for me the tortuous use of English to disguise and justify as used in political debate à la “this statement is no longer operative” or “we had to destroy the city (Hue) in order to save it.”
The phrase used was “used a confidential US witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather confidential financial records”.
In other words, a spy.
If anybody else uses such tactics it’s spying, but the FBI use “confidential US witnessing”!
“His illegal conduct was captured with the help of a confidential witness, an American businessman, who began making kickback payments at Mikerin’s direction and with the permission of the FBI. ”
So more like a cooperating conspirator, rather than a “spy”.
Wow must have pissed someone off with my post yesterday but they can go and get_________ .This is what i was writing last week Big Upps to Prince Charles for fighting for mother earth for 40 years. He is one of the people that swayed my thoughts to our environment and I think he should have more than just soft power to kick those neo liberal idiots asses to touch for there ideological worship of money and power over our grandchildren safe future a healthy mother earth.
I said yesterday that part of the reason we have high rates of suicide is broken familys.
Well this is the other fact If a culture is suppressed and discriminated to the point that some people denies there blood lines to that culture there you go they are ashamed to be Maori. Some people will say hes pissing in the wind yea right.
I have had many incidences were this has happened when applying for a job all good on the phone than in person They look me up and down and I can see there thoughts you are a dum Maori who will cheat and lie and steal from me We will get back to you ECO and they never get back to me.
Now we no that most employment is gained by word of mouth and this is an hindrance to us Maori as we no the all the good jobs have European bosses who only no people of the same ethnicity so all the good jobs stay with that group of people . A lot of Maori organizations would rather employ an non Maori .
And this is bullshit because we have good honest hard working Maori out there that just need a good person to give them a chance.
So I’m challenging these Maori Organizations to look after your own and higher the right Maori for the jobs you have you don’t have to higher some idiot who can’t do the job as there are test out there that one can use to find the right person for the job. And we have to look after our own as no one else will . And this discrimination
is always with us the intelligent people can see this an it weighs us down I have Been battling for my piece of paradise for 35 years and what have I’v got jack and I don’t waste my resources . We can the same thing happening to USA Indians many other colonized cultures around our world Kia Kaha
Glad to find someone else likes Charles – he used his privilege to educate himself until he became a responsible voice. Our institutions don’t produce these as often as they used to, and by golly we need a few more of them.
ecoMaori
I think that a good thing for Maori and NonMaori too, who are looking for jobs, is to establish an agency that can give a working person a reliable reference. At present the possible employer wouldn’t know who that person/business giving he reference is and how reliable it is.
The way I see it, it would take a dedicated, organised, reliable person to advertise and start off small with a process and system and grow as they get more people, and get better known and be interested in maintaining good relationships with both workers and employers. A job-seeker would register by putting down their name and giving info on past jobs, type, length of time employed and their own estimate of themselves, and if put off jobs, think and honestly say why they think that happened and not just that ‘someone didn’t like me’. They would start off with one star, and work their way up toward the highest of five stars. The agency would have a list of attributes that each star would offer and use halves as well so they could grade the person who would monitor their own progress and work towards getting 4 or over.
The client would report in with each job taken, and then when finished and why, and their own assessment and who to speak to at that workplace to get the employer’s feedback on the client. The agency would work with the client to improve their skills and attitudes and find ways to move them up the star chain.
It would be a give-take arrangement, as when starting off money wouldn’t be a big barrier, maybe as low as $20 to register and get started. But once working there would be a direct debit of $20 monthly to keep the money flowing to help the agency’s costs and wages, probably one trained person at first. That would help others get started and gradually grow, and help the agency to supply the skill advice and training opportunities which would lift the star rating. That would result eventually with improvement in jobs and wages that the agency-worker partnership would be going for.
It would take a while but the prospective worker would give the employment manager the agency’s number and get them to phone to find out the star rating and a mention of the skills that the person had acquired with training and then they would know something good about them. This would be helpful in this 90 day trial regime. It would not be government funded. Government should not have anything to do with it, no funds allocated etc. It would be good if a couple of iwi could give it a kickstart, and some regular funding for wages and rent, especially when it was building up.
This government is mainly interested in big business, and individuals are like ants in their eyes. If the TW get in again, this will get worse, and humans tend to crush ants. So setting up a personal value system like this would be helpful to survive and advance.
Have you ever thought it has nothing to do with skin colour and that you weren’t the best candidate for the job?
Are there skills you’re missing? maybe the way you come across in the interviews is bad, like demonstrating lack of confidence or dislike for the person doing the interviewing.
Before you go down the racism path step back and analyse what you’re doing and make improvements first.
Employers insisting they need tens of thousands of unskilled migrants – but won’t employ an experienced local man? That ain’t meritocracy it’s prejudice.
Might not be race based – doesn’t make it any better.
Yeah Eco – do as BM says, just surrender to the power of your superiors and do whatever they require, there’s a good dog. That’s how you get ahead!
Alternatively as JIm Baxter famously said, “to shovel sh*t and eat it are different in the end” (Ballad of Stonegut Sugar Works)
“Oh, in the Stonegut Sugar Works
The floors are black with grime
I think they must have built it
In Queen Victoria’s time.
And all the sugar in the land
Flows through that dismal dump
And all the drains run through the works
Into a filthy sump.
And then they boil it up again
For the money in each lump.”
(Poet James K. Baxter briefly worked as a cleaner at the Birkenhead sugar refinery in 1969. He later recorded his impressions in a poem)
Can I join in, What a stupid comment. That’s a catch-all for all the niggly smart arse ones of people filling in time. But it keeps emptying out again so repeat. Belch. What a stupid comment.
National/English sold the election as a two horse race. It failed but left NZF in the “Kingmaker” position. Therefore English is responsible for the current position that they whine so much about.
If we still 7 or 8 parties there would be more diversity of power.
Drop the threshold to 2%.
Remove the coat tail.
Balance out Party funding.
‘I’m suggesting to voters they cut out the middle man’ – English issues blunt message on Peters
Two of National’s current support partners say Bill English is ignoring the realities of governing under MMP by telling people not to vote for the minor parties.
Two examples, found easily. What was that about alternative facts?
After the media made it all about Jacinda and ignored everyone else, English had no choice but to push National ahead of any potential coalition partner.
It all started with the media and how they framed the election.
Your guy had nine years to make himself electable, instead he and his party killed of all his ‘partners’ in during that time and yet even without competition at the right side of the aisle they still can’t win.
The National Party failed. Simply all by themselves without help from everyone they failed. They did not convince a majority (over 50%) to vote for them, they have no other coalition partner left then NZF and they have no one to blame but themselves.
The question is why did not enough people vote for them. Why did so many people abandon the N wagon, if the economy is so good, the lakes so swimable, the water so drinkable, the food so cheap, the housing so plenty and the jobs so well paid.
So BM, why do you think NZ’lers did not vote for the National Party and what can the National Party do to get the voters that it shed in this years Election –
either N- leaning but voting for the left or not voting at all).
To achieve a fourth term in NZ politics is rare, I actually though National did quite well this election, what let them down was Labour sticking a knife into the Greens.
If the Greens vote had held up Peters would have already signed a coalition deal with National, there’s no way he could have dealt with the Greens if they were still around 12% and had Turei running the Green party.
Because they’re so weak and insignificant now there’s a high chance Peters can work around them and basically form a two-party coalition with the same sort of power-sharing structure as a National/NZ First coalition.
As for coalition partners, Act and United Future have been one man bands since 2008, their failure to grow their party vote has nothing to do with National, both were on life support from the get-go.
I feel sorry for the Maori party though, Maori roll voters seem to have no idea how MMP works, they also seem to blinded by racism and only interested in the what party can provide the biggest handouts.
No wonder Te Ururoa Flavell was so distraught, that result must have shattered his faith in Maoridom.
“No wonder Te Ururoa Flavell was so distraught, that result must have shattered his faith in Maoridom.”
Oh please!!
Maoridom’s faith in Te Ururoa Flavell and the Maori party was shattered.
still trying to find someone to pin the blame for Nationals fuckuppery.
So you are saying that National short changed the Maori Party for its unwavering support during the last nine years?
Quote: I feel sorry for the Maori party though, Maori roll voters seem to have no idea how MMP works, they also seem to blinded by racism and only interested in the what party can provide the biggest handouts.
Again, if National would not have failed as badly as they did, if the country would have high employment, high wages, low house prices, low homelessness, affordable access to healthcare inclusive mental healthcare, good funded schools that don’t depend on ‘donations’ to make the end meet, children with shoes on their feet and food in their tummies, if our drinkwater were safe and affordable, if electricity were affordable, if our food were affordable, if our rivers were swimable then maybe People would not have abandoned them and their support Parties as they did.
If the only way for National to form a government is to eat shit, crow and humble pie while bending the knee before Winston Peters swearing allegiance, then all i can say is that it could not have happened to a nicer set of people.
After the media made it all about Jacinda and ignored everyone else, English had no choice but to push National ahead of any potential coalition partner.
RWNJ invents new reality to excuse the poor performance of his owners.
The media helped the English line but BM, lets not kid ourselves as to owns the line. Listen to the tedious line from Hosking compounding the “get rid of the Middle men.”
Be interesting to hear the new line though, should National win a new term.
When are NZ media going to cover Chair of Transparency International, Jose Ugaz’s call for former NZ PM John Key to be investigated over Panama Papers?
Where and when did the Chair of Transparency International Jose Ugaz state that John Key should be investigated over the Panama Papers?
1 August 2017, at Rutherford House, Victoria University.
How do I know?
Because I was at this meeting, and heard Jose Ugaz say this myself.
ESome people are trying to brand me as a evil genius I say the public should make there own choice .
1 I mow laws ?
2 do I have 50 od million ?
3 can I hide my emotions or have a blank poker face no
4 have I got a 10 million house I think that title should go to the right person shonky who well he just got a job as head of a bank. Have I abandoned my duty as a husband father grandfather I respect everyone I meet I won’t throw anyone under a bus
Genius well no intelligent may be but genius is just a ploy for these people they will say that I shit gold nuggets if this could undermine my credibility with you. And they are using this for a excuse because all there bull shit lines won’t stick to me and they are incompetent they created this so don’t blame me for what is happening now because I no what is happening an these people needed to no the truth
Ka Pai
Wow.
All the Harvey Weinstein stories coming out, and they appoint the guy with the history of ponytail pulling! Some may think the equivalence is absurd, but they’re just different points on a spectrum.
Actually Pete, I think it is Hosking who looks tired and depressed. Tedious and repetitive.
No good purpose would be served by the four big platers talking about their negotiations. But wait for the squeals from English and his voice Hoskings should it go against them. And again look at the effort English made to eliminate smaller parties. He caused the “problem.”
If Mr Peters could make his announcement any Friday afternoon so we miss the engaging Mr Espiner’s take on it all. At least until the following Monday…
This morning on radionz. A different viewpoint for a change – from Social Anthropologist.
politics
Audit Culture: the creeping problem of our age
From Nine To Noon, 9:27 am today
Listen duration 18′ :26″ Add to playlist
Professor Cris Shore has looked at the rise of ‘audit culture’ and isn’t a big fan. In fact, he calls the use of accountancy techniques and metrics to manage our universities, health services, and funding institutions, ‘the creeping problem of our age’.
He highlights this in a just published book called ‘The death of the public university – uncertain futures for higher education in the knowledge economy’.
Another example he points to is China’s social credit rating system, where by 2020, everyone will be enrolled in a vast national database with a single number ranking for each citizen.
You have to say that whatever way things go there are going to be some funny aspects.
Like the Speaker if it’s Labour. Like the Education portfolio if it’s National. And Paula Bennett.
If with National no doubt Bennett would lose her place and her mana. How sad.
If with Labour Hitchen would new broom Education.
Trevor has been fill-in Speaker and it is probably the only reason he has stayed on. No Speaker and he would step down and next on the List will be…
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Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
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The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
Come on Winston, make a decision ! This is not BreXit ..
A measured commentary on the issue.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/10/03/51319/mmp-how-does-new-zealand-stack-up
Take your batteries out Voltairie.
Best let this very complicated process get properly completed.
But why dont you ask the greens to show their hand here also?
Greeens are supposed to be completing their agreement with Labour too aren’t they?
Well, Davis has just guaranteed that it won’t be tomorrow.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98014240/labours-deputy-kelvin-davis-says-all-will-be-revealed-by-thursday-morning
This three to four week hiatus proves one thing.
The corporate media has very few investigative journalists left.
Without the daily spectacle of parliament, there have nothing to show us.
It appears it is too hard to travel around the country looking fora story on one of the following.
Drive north to Ruakaka to investigate the truth behind the pipe leak,
Explore the social issues behind our mental health crisis.
Measure water quality in Canterbury and complete an expose of industrial farming.
Investigate the use of migrant workers by our rural industries.
Investigate labour conditions in the cleaning imdustry.
But no…..
They copy and paste from the Daily Fail in the UK
or find salacious tales for clickbait
+100
Misuse and abuse of migrant workers
I’m sure a long list of issues could be explored.
Some more.
Racism in New Zealand
Foreign land sales.
But no….
Going to court and reporting dramatic crimes is much easier.
When the river stops flowing it becomes clear how shallow the lake really is. All that’s left is inspecting rotting debris and cast-away rubbish that people didn’t want any longer.
Tamaki Regenergation
SCF
Sheepgate – or pretty much anything Muzza was involved in as he’s not got parliamentary resources to hide behind now.
Charter Schools performance
NZ Police – plenty of material here from roast busters to illegal search and siezures over political matters.
Just shows how owned they are and focused on the status quo, watch Inside Job on Netflix and see how rigged the whole show is.
Rachel Stewart pinpoints a key reason for our terrible road toll.
‘We are a nation of seething, simmering rage that finds full expression when we get behind the wheel.
We’re quick to blame tourists for accidents, but ask tourists what they think of us behind the wheel. The feedback is consistent. We are angry, tail-gating, intolerant, ill-mannered monsters who view our vehicles as an extension of our……selves.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11933871
The corporate companies are keen on importing their own slave labour and nationall are welcoming this.
ummm what has that to do with the link? Plucking heck – bit eggy that one.
I’ve been thinking on that a bit over the last few years, done a lot more open road driving lately and have needed to reflect on my own driving.
I drive at the speed limit and very rarely do I encounter these (alleged) angry drivers. That either makes me one of them or the people complaining about angry drivers are driving slower than the speed limit.
If you choose to drive at say 80-90k on the open road you’re making a deliberate decision to prevent everyone else from driving faster. It’s that perceived pre-meditation which I believe makes most people angry on the road. It’s further reinforced when the slow driver speeds up at the passing lane, which in my experience 99% of them do. To the drivers behind they’re sending a big ‘fuck-you’ to everyone else.
In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.
just a reminder
100 km is the Speed Limit
100 km is not a Target.
Everyone has the right to drive at a speed less then a hundred km on the open road, however you still don’t have the right to drive more then that.
As for speeding up on a overtaking lane, i would assume that it comes naturally as finally there is a bit of space to feel comfortable. Many if not most roads in NZ are build for Morris Minors and Bedford Trucks, they are potholed nightmares near logging and dairy f arms, and even the forgotten highway has a speed limit of a 100 km.
So rather then complain about people that might not drive that well – newbie driver, that might get uncomfortable next to big logging trucks, that might drive a new car, that might don’t drive at all that much, how about you complain about the shocking state of the roads, the lack of speed diversity, and the lack of driver training in this country.
Cause if you mean this ” Quote” In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.” then you are one of these angry tailgaters that feel as if they are prevented from doing the Speed Target and thus are ‘made to come late’ or other some nonsense.
Someone long time ago once said, IF you have to go running to be on time you are already late.
You share the road with everyone, it is not your own. Maybe next time leave earlier so that you don’t have to blame someone for driving to their ability rather then your need for speed.
Everyone has the right to drive at a speed less then a hundred km on the open road.
Not entirely true Sabine. You can be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic.
As I said, if you choose to drive below the speed limit you’re deliberately deciding everyone else’s speed as well. It’s that (perception of) arrogance presumption which pisses people off.
“As for speeding up on a overtaking lane, i would assume that it comes naturally as finally there is a bit of space to feel comfortable.”
Naturally? If you have traffic built up behind you the ‘natural’ thing to do is slow down further and let them past.
“then you are one of these angry tailgaters that feel as if they are prevented from doing the Speed Target and thus are ‘made to come late’ or other some nonsense. ”
I don’t tailgate, you know nothing about my driving style.
Yes, you can be ticketed for being below the flow of traffic, never mind one “Will” be ticket by going over the speed ticket. So someone traveling on the open road at 85 + will not get a speed ticket unless you want to ticket every single Truck, Campervan, Traktor, car/trailer thingy, old bike, old car etc – and oh my gosh what to do about bicyclists?
Yes, people should pull over to let those pass that are faster then them, sadly it seems that the slow bays are a thing of the past. It seems we had more of those in the past, and in many places we have non at all anymore. But maybe they should just drive in a ditch to let someone pass cause faster?
Yes, it is true i know nothing about your driving style. I based my comment on your comment having never met you.
This is what you said, this is what stood out to me and this is what i based my comment on.
Quote” In reality they’re mostly just poor drivers with low confidence but the people behind them don’t know that so they react to the perceived aggression of the person deliberately holding them up.
Since it was me who said that Sabine I would assume you’d appreciate I do know that ergo I don’t get that angry at them. I certainly find them a bit frustrating but I don’t vent that on the road.
Anyway my point was that I don’t believe it’s speed per se that people get angry about. Its the (perceived) attitude of other drivers that I think causes the angst and slow driving is just a manifested symptom of that attitude.
“100 km is the Speed Limit
100 km is not a Target.”
+100 to that, it never fails to astound me how many people will sit on your bumper in wet conditions and poor visibility trying to force you to speed up a couple dozen kph because they’ve just got to get to the mall right now! Like you’re going to make them catch the gay if their mates find out they drove 83 on the motorway in their shiny Hot Wheels car.
its the champions that do 60 kmh in the corners on the highway then rapidly get up 100 + on the straights that fuck my normal zen state up
It’s the people who don’t drive a consistent speed who ruin my drive. On long trips it’s nice to sit in cruise mode and let the car do the work, today’s drivers make that a bit too infrequent.
A lot of the claims about angry drivers don’t gel with me. I can tow a trailer from Auck to Whangarei and get bugger-all cars catching up to me. Those that do never have to wait long, there’s plenty of passing lanes and I let them go. Only rarely do I get anyone tailgating me even when I’m doing 90 with a trailer.
DH,
Come to Gisborne on highway 2 from Opotiki and try driving at 80-90 kms and you wont make it mate.
I never go faster then 80kms on that road as my wife would have kittens and we would have a fatal accident with many trucks using most of the road so please dont suggest that all dricvers must stick to 100kms.
You are lucky to have a multi laned road but inthe provines we dont have that ‘luxury’ as the big cities take all the roading funds and leave us ‘diddly squat.’
Portugal and Argentina already have laws against street harassment and catcalling, and now France is going to pass a law against it as well.
When asked how to draw a line between street harassment and flirtation, Gender Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa replied: “We know very well at what point we start feeling intimidated, unsafe or harassed in the street,” citing as an example when a man “asks for your number 17 times” or follows a victim for several blocks.
http://www.dw.com/en/sexual-harassment-france-plans-on-the-spot-fines/a-40976521
Is there an actual law against it in New Zealand?
NZ Green Party supports #MeToo
Do people have to count to 17 before they call it harrassment, or 10, or 5? Sounds like exaggeration. A sharp negative and a threat to call the police should be enough. Being followed is creepy though.
If you look someone in the eye, give them a wink, a smile, is that harrassment? Is acknowledging someone going to be a crime? Can’t we cope with living and meeting each other as we move around? Do we have to carry a licence of good intent?
‘I’m not very proud’ – Taika Waititi speaks his mind on the environmental, poverty and housing issues hurting Kiwis
‘”I’m not very proud of coming from a place that everyone thinks is this pure green country, whereas in reality all our lakes and waterways are poison,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot to learn about our depression rates, our suicide rates, teen suicide rates, child poverty numbers and the housing crisis.”
To watch the full clip with Taika Waititi, go to the Marae’s OnDemand page here
Waititi also weighed in on foreign ownership saying, “we just make it so readily available to sell land – for foreigners to buy land.”
He says the first thing New Zealand needs to work on is social issues, not making money.
“To me they just seem like, ‘Oh, that’s what you should fix’ before you think about things like money,” he said.’
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/watch-im-not-very-proud-taika-waititi-speaks-his-mind-environmental-poverty-and-housing-issues-hurting-kiwis
100% Ed.
Anyone remember that dodgy business about Hillary single-handedly selling out US uranium to the rooskies? (never mind that a bunch of other agencies independent of the State Dept also had to approve it)
Here’s a bit more light on the tangled web behind that.
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/355749-fbi-uncovered-russian-bribery-plot-before-obama-administration
I looked at the article. I have no intention of debating the issue but I do want to remark on the use of one phrase which recalls for me the tortuous use of English to disguise and justify as used in political debate à la “this statement is no longer operative” or “we had to destroy the city (Hue) in order to save it.”
The phrase used was “used a confidential US witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather confidential financial records”.
In other words, a spy.
If anybody else uses such tactics it’s spying, but the FBI use “confidential US witnessing”!
“His illegal conduct was captured with the help of a confidential witness, an American businessman, who began making kickback payments at Mikerin’s direction and with the permission of the FBI. ”
So more like a cooperating conspirator, rather than a “spy”.
“A ‘stoolie’ or a ‘squealer,’ then, da doity rat fink!” all said in a Noo Joisey accent.
Or a brave whistleblower exposing a corrupt conspiracy they stumbled upon.
But could still be a spy – wno knows…
The fish rorts from the head.
Speaking of Hillary, it would seem she and Huma really do have the worst luck.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaSztRNBthF/?taken-by=martinamarkota
Well, that, or all the rhetoric about Trump’s moral failure seems somewhat self serving.
The good thing about Professor Mark Blyth is that he can explain complex ideas simply.
Here is the economic history of the world post WW2, in 8 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rxrjhWTdv8&ab_channel=TheDepthEffect
Wow must have pissed someone off with my post yesterday but they can go and get_________ .This is what i was writing last week Big Upps to Prince Charles for fighting for mother earth for 40 years. He is one of the people that swayed my thoughts to our environment and I think he should have more than just soft power to kick those neo liberal idiots asses to touch for there ideological worship of money and power over our grandchildren safe future a healthy mother earth.
I said yesterday that part of the reason we have high rates of suicide is broken familys.
Well this is the other fact If a culture is suppressed and discriminated to the point that some people denies there blood lines to that culture there you go they are ashamed to be Maori. Some people will say hes pissing in the wind yea right.
I have had many incidences were this has happened when applying for a job all good on the phone than in person They look me up and down and I can see there thoughts you are a dum Maori who will cheat and lie and steal from me We will get back to you ECO and they never get back to me.
Now we no that most employment is gained by word of mouth and this is an hindrance to us Maori as we no the all the good jobs have European bosses who only no people of the same ethnicity so all the good jobs stay with that group of people . A lot of Maori organizations would rather employ an non Maori .
And this is bullshit because we have good honest hard working Maori out there that just need a good person to give them a chance.
So I’m challenging these Maori Organizations to look after your own and higher the right Maori for the jobs you have you don’t have to higher some idiot who can’t do the job as there are test out there that one can use to find the right person for the job. And we have to look after our own as no one else will . And this discrimination
is always with us the intelligent people can see this an it weighs us down I have Been battling for my piece of paradise for 35 years and what have I’v got jack and I don’t waste my resources . We can the same thing happening to USA Indians many other colonized cultures around our world Kia Kaha
Glad to find someone else likes Charles – he used his privilege to educate himself until he became a responsible voice. Our institutions don’t produce these as often as they used to, and by golly we need a few more of them.
Charles is vilified. He’s one of us 🙂
I don’t know if you read the so-called ‘black spider memos’ https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2015/may/13/read-the-prince-charles-black-spider-memos-in-full but they fall well short of being the sinister works of evil genius some writers implied.
ecoMaori
I think that a good thing for Maori and NonMaori too, who are looking for jobs, is to establish an agency that can give a working person a reliable reference. At present the possible employer wouldn’t know who that person/business giving he reference is and how reliable it is.
The way I see it, it would take a dedicated, organised, reliable person to advertise and start off small with a process and system and grow as they get more people, and get better known and be interested in maintaining good relationships with both workers and employers. A job-seeker would register by putting down their name and giving info on past jobs, type, length of time employed and their own estimate of themselves, and if put off jobs, think and honestly say why they think that happened and not just that ‘someone didn’t like me’. They would start off with one star, and work their way up toward the highest of five stars. The agency would have a list of attributes that each star would offer and use halves as well so they could grade the person who would monitor their own progress and work towards getting 4 or over.
The client would report in with each job taken, and then when finished and why, and their own assessment and who to speak to at that workplace to get the employer’s feedback on the client. The agency would work with the client to improve their skills and attitudes and find ways to move them up the star chain.
It would be a give-take arrangement, as when starting off money wouldn’t be a big barrier, maybe as low as $20 to register and get started. But once working there would be a direct debit of $20 monthly to keep the money flowing to help the agency’s costs and wages, probably one trained person at first. That would help others get started and gradually grow, and help the agency to supply the skill advice and training opportunities which would lift the star rating. That would result eventually with improvement in jobs and wages that the agency-worker partnership would be going for.
It would take a while but the prospective worker would give the employment manager the agency’s number and get them to phone to find out the star rating and a mention of the skills that the person had acquired with training and then they would know something good about them. This would be helpful in this 90 day trial regime. It would not be government funded. Government should not have anything to do with it, no funds allocated etc. It would be good if a couple of iwi could give it a kickstart, and some regular funding for wages and rent, especially when it was building up.
This government is mainly interested in big business, and individuals are like ants in their eyes. If the TW get in again, this will get worse, and humans tend to crush ants. So setting up a personal value system like this would be helpful to survive and advance.
Have you ever thought it has nothing to do with skin colour and that you weren’t the best candidate for the job?
Are there skills you’re missing? maybe the way you come across in the interviews is bad, like demonstrating lack of confidence or dislike for the person doing the interviewing.
Before you go down the racism path step back and analyse what you’re doing and make improvements first.
Employers insisting they need tens of thousands of unskilled migrants – but won’t employ an experienced local man? That ain’t meritocracy it’s prejudice.
Might not be race based – doesn’t make it any better.
+1
Yeah Eco – do as BM says, just surrender to the power of your superiors and do whatever they require, there’s a good dog. That’s how you get ahead!
Alternatively as JIm Baxter famously said, “to shovel sh*t and eat it are different in the end” (Ballad of Stonegut Sugar Works)
What a stupid comment.
What a stupid comment.
“Oh, in the Stonegut Sugar Works
The floors are black with grime
I think they must have built it
In Queen Victoria’s time.
And all the sugar in the land
Flows through that dismal dump
And all the drains run through the works
Into a filthy sump.
And then they boil it up again
For the money in each lump.”
(Poet James K. Baxter briefly worked as a cleaner at the Birkenhead sugar refinery in 1969. He later recorded his impressions in a poem)
What a Stupid Comment!
Can I join in, What a stupid comment. That’s a catch-all for all the niggly smart arse ones of people filling in time. But it keeps emptying out again so repeat. Belch. What a stupid comment.
National/English sold the election as a two horse race. It failed but left NZF in the “Kingmaker” position. Therefore English is responsible for the current position that they whine so much about.
If we still 7 or 8 parties there would be more diversity of power.
Drop the threshold to 2%.
Remove the coat tail.
Balance out Party funding.
The media sold the election as a two-horse race, not English why do you think Peters has been laying into the media?
You Lefties and your alternative facts.
Two examples, found easily. What was that about alternative facts?
After the media made it all about Jacinda and ignored everyone else, English had no choice but to push National ahead of any potential coalition partner.
It all started with the media and how they framed the election.
Your guy had nine years to make himself electable, instead he and his party killed of all his ‘partners’ in during that time and yet even without competition at the right side of the aisle they still can’t win.
The National Party failed. Simply all by themselves without help from everyone they failed. They did not convince a majority (over 50%) to vote for them, they have no other coalition partner left then NZF and they have no one to blame but themselves.
The question is why did not enough people vote for them. Why did so many people abandon the N wagon, if the economy is so good, the lakes so swimable, the water so drinkable, the food so cheap, the housing so plenty and the jobs so well paid.
So BM, why do you think NZ’lers did not vote for the National Party and what can the National Party do to get the voters that it shed in this years Election –
either N- leaning but voting for the left or not voting at all).
+ 1 yep correct in every way. Nice comment to shine the light on the very valid points you make.
To achieve a fourth term in NZ politics is rare, I actually though National did quite well this election, what let them down was Labour sticking a knife into the Greens.
If the Greens vote had held up Peters would have already signed a coalition deal with National, there’s no way he could have dealt with the Greens if they were still around 12% and had Turei running the Green party.
Because they’re so weak and insignificant now there’s a high chance Peters can work around them and basically form a two-party coalition with the same sort of power-sharing structure as a National/NZ First coalition.
As for coalition partners, Act and United Future have been one man bands since 2008, their failure to grow their party vote has nothing to do with National, both were on life support from the get-go.
I feel sorry for the Maori party though, Maori roll voters seem to have no idea how MMP works, they also seem to blinded by racism and only interested in the what party can provide the biggest handouts.
No wonder Te Ururoa Flavell was so distraught, that result must have shattered his faith in Maoridom.
BM wrote “they also seem to blinded by racism and only interested in the what party can provide the biggest handouts.”
Do you understand, BM, with that generalisation that you commit that which you condemn?
“No wonder Te Ururoa Flavell was so distraught, that result must have shattered his faith in Maoridom.”
Oh please!!
Maoridom’s faith in Te Ururoa Flavell and the Maori party was shattered.
Poor BM,
still trying to find someone to pin the blame for Nationals fuckuppery.
So you are saying that National short changed the Maori Party for its unwavering support during the last nine years?
Quote: I feel sorry for the Maori party though, Maori roll voters seem to have no idea how MMP works, they also seem to blinded by racism and only interested in the what party can provide the biggest handouts.
Again, if National would not have failed as badly as they did, if the country would have high employment, high wages, low house prices, low homelessness, affordable access to healthcare inclusive mental healthcare, good funded schools that don’t depend on ‘donations’ to make the end meet, children with shoes on their feet and food in their tummies, if our drinkwater were safe and affordable, if electricity were affordable, if our food were affordable, if our rivers were swimable then maybe People would not have abandoned them and their support Parties as they did.
If the only way for National to form a government is to eat shit, crow and humble pie while bending the knee before Winston Peters swearing allegiance, then all i can say is that it could not have happened to a nicer set of people.
RWNJ invents new reality to excuse the poor performance of his owners.
Bazinga Arkie, BOOM…. sound of arkie dropping the mic
@BM……Aug 21, 2017 … Prime Minister Bill English describes the election as a “drag-race” between National and Labour …..
The media helped the English line but BM, lets not kid ourselves as to owns the line. Listen to the tedious line from Hosking compounding the “get rid of the Middle men.”
Be interesting to hear the new line though, should National win a new term.
BM = Biggest Muckup.
We could really use a political commentator with this level of irreverence:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/17/tory-power-sustained-cruel-confidence-tricks
John Key is going to be the next chairman of the board for ANZ Bank (NZ) Ltd.
See the 18/10/17 media release here:
http://www.media.anz.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=248677&p=irol-news&nyo=0
Glad I don’t with them then.
Wonder which bank the government uses? Is it ANZ? It should be Kiwibank.
Westpac I believe …. NZ First policy is to switch to kiwibank I think
I think that gummint has withdrawn from Westpac. But it would be to much like supporting one’s own to use Kiwibank, out of the usual trend.
Awesome, keeping the faith 🙂
yes Westpac won without a tender process which’s where Simon Power ended up
Yep.
When are NZ media going to cover Chair of Transparency International, Jose Ugaz’s call for former NZ PM John Key to be investigated over Panama Papers?
Where and when did the Chair of Transparency International Jose Ugaz state that John Key should be investigated over the Panama Papers?
1 August 2017, at Rutherford House, Victoria University.
How do I know?
Because I was at this meeting, and heard Jose Ugaz say this myself.
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption whistle-blower’.
ESome people are trying to brand me as a evil genius I say the public should make there own choice .
1 I mow laws ?
2 do I have 50 od million ?
3 can I hide my emotions or have a blank poker face no
4 have I got a 10 million house I think that title should go to the right person shonky who well he just got a job as head of a bank. Have I abandoned my duty as a husband father grandfather I respect everyone I meet I won’t throw anyone under a bus
Genius well no intelligent may be but genius is just a ploy for these people they will say that I shit gold nuggets if this could undermine my credibility with you. And they are using this for a excuse because all there bull shit lines won’t stick to me and they are incompetent they created this so don’t blame me for what is happening now because I no what is happening an these people needed to no the truth
Ka Pai
Winston would have Key investigation carried out as first policy.
Now we know why Key wanted a knighthood!!!! – to avoid any investigation?
Wow.
All the Harvey Weinstein stories coming out, and they appoint the guy with the history of ponytail pulling! Some may think the equivalence is absurd, but they’re just different points on a spectrum.
I realise Mike Hosking is vacuous but it is good to have him consistently reinforce that.
Petulance personified.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11934143
Actually Pete, I think it is Hosking who looks tired and depressed. Tedious and repetitive.
No good purpose would be served by the four big platers talking about their negotiations. But wait for the squeals from English and his voice Hoskings should it go against them. And again look at the effort English made to eliminate smaller parties. He caused the “problem.”
Threat of the gig economy needs urgent answers
Waiting another five years to address the problems the gig economy is bringing to New Zealand is not an option, writes Thomas Coughlan
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/10/17/53916/threat-of-the-gig-economy-needs-urgent-answers
West German federal election, 1980
CDU/CSU (Centre Right) 44.5%
SPD (Centre Left) 42.9%
FDP (Liberal Right) 10.6%
Govt formed subsequently = SPD + FDP
.
Meanwhile …
New Zealand General Election 2017
National (Centre Right) 44.4%
Lab/Green (Centre Left) 43.2%
NZF (Socially Con Centre Left) 7.2%
Govt formed subsequently = ???
Good point, there is clear pecident for political parties choosing the least complicated coalition.
Bob…and his pal, Weave.
Hah Happy planting Robert this Labour day.
Apricot and almond trees, grey, plums apples and peaches; happy days!
Did you know, “Jacinda”(Jacinta) is the Spanish word for hyacinth?
Well, it is!
Swordfish I think you will enjoy this one.
It’s a seat-by-seat interactive showing movements by party compared to all others.
Fun for all the family.
http://insights.nzherald.co.nz/election/#/party-vote/map/percentage/turnout/
If Mr Peters could make his announcement any Friday afternoon so we miss the engaging Mr Espiner’s take on it all. At least until the following Monday…
This Friday would be great: long weekend. 😛
Nah. Go for significance
Labour day
Heh!
HA! What a fitting start to a new coalition government, and you may well be right going by Winston’s latest utterance:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98014240/labours-deputy-kelvin-davis-says-all-will-be-revealed-by-thursday-morning
I haven’t been around for awhile. Is there a TS sweepstakes going on with what on earth NZF will do?
Perfect timing for Labour day eh!!!!!
“A new Labour lead Coalition Government”.
Anyone remember when we parsed major political speeches for meaning?
Hear’s one from Xi at the plenary, 30 minutes ago:
“Only with socialism can we save China.”
LiveBlog at Bloomberg here:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2017-10-13/china-president-xi-jinping-s-speech-at-the-19th-communist-party-congress
This morning on radionz. A different viewpoint for a change – from Social Anthropologist.
politics
Audit Culture: the creeping problem of our age
From Nine To Noon, 9:27 am today
Listen duration 18′ :26″ Add to playlist
Professor Cris Shore has looked at the rise of ‘audit culture’ and isn’t a big fan. In fact, he calls the use of accountancy techniques and metrics to manage our universities, health services, and funding institutions, ‘the creeping problem of our age’.
He highlights this in a just published book called ‘The death of the public university – uncertain futures for higher education in the knowledge economy’.
Another example he points to is China’s social credit rating system, where by 2020, everyone will be enrolled in a vast national database with a single number ranking for each citizen.
The University of Auckland Professor of Social Anthropology, has just been awarded the Royal Society’s Mason Durie Medal for his contributions to political anthropology and the study of organisations, governance and power.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018618291/audit-culture-the-creeping-problem-of-our-age
OK, sort of. At least the door has not been closed, and the process looks rather inclusive.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-10-17/afls-transgender-call-on-aflw-hopeful
“New Zealand’s technology sector has become the country’s third biggest export sector…”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/341841/nz-tech-sector-now-third-biggest-exporter
Guess I’m on a different page … perhaps should be commenting on the…… (Election)
You have to say that whatever way things go there are going to be some funny aspects.
Like the Speaker if it’s Labour. Like the Education portfolio if it’s National. And Paula Bennett.
Trevor Mallard will be a marvelous Speaker!
Yes Robert –tremble -tremble – think positive man-tremble- tremble.
I bet Trevor voted for the moa.
If with National no doubt Bennett would lose her place and her mana. How sad.
If with Labour Hitchen would new broom Education.
Trevor has been fill-in Speaker and it is probably the only reason he has stayed on. No Speaker and he would step down and next on the List will be…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/341858/it-s-a-spiritual-place-this-is-our-road