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.
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Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,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, Friday 3 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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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.
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