Open mike 19/01/2023
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6:00 am, January 19th, 2023 - 59 comments
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- A Sorry State Of Affairs.
Apology Accepted? “I dropped the ball on Friday, I was too slow to be seen …The communications weren’t fast enough – including mine. I’m sorry for that.”– Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown.HOW OFTEN do politicians apologise? Sincerely apologise? Not offer voters the weasel words: “If my actions have offended anyone, then I ...2 hours ago - Aotearoa New Zealand as a “little experiment”. The rights, wrongs & other wrongs of ...
At first blush, Christopher Luxon’s comment at the parliamentary powhiri at Waitangi this year sounded tone deaf. The Leader of the Opposition in talking about the Treaty of Waitangi described New Zealand as “a little experiment”. It seemed to diminish the treaty and the very idea of our nation. Yet ...3 hours ago - Brian Easton: Co-Governance
THE (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding. BRIAN EASTON writes: Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It ...5 hours ago - Waitangi before dawn.
A brief postscript to yesterday’s newsletter…Watching the predawn speeches just now, the reverence of those speaking and the respectful nature of those listening under umbrellas in the dark. I felt a great sadness at the words from Christopher Luxon last evening still in my head. The singing in the dark accompanied ...10 hours ago - Industrial marvel, bought with blood
by Don Franks While on holiday,I stayed a few days in Scotland with a friend who showed me one of the country’s great working-class achievements. It was a few miles out of central Edinburgh, a huge cantilever bridge across the river Forth. The Forth Bridge was the first major structure ...1 day ago - Chris Trotter: Blowing off the froth – why Chris Hipkins must ditch Three WatersTime To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic and ...1 day ago
- 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 29, 2023 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2023. Story of the Week Social change more important than physical tipping points 1.5-degree Goal not plausible Photo: CLICCS / Universität Hamburg Limiting global ...1 day ago - Making It Look Easy.So Long - And Thanks For All The Fish: In the two-and-a-bit years since Jacinda Ardern’s electoral triumph of 2020, virtually every decision she made had gone politically awry. In the minds of many thousands of voters a chilling metamorphosis had taken place. The Faerie Queen had become the Wicked ...1 day ago
- Who's afraid of co-governance?
Look at us here on our beautiful islands in the South Pacific at the start of 2023, we have come so far.Ten days ago we saw a Māori Governor General swearing in our new PM and our first Pasifika Deputy PM, ahead of this year’s parliament where they will be ...1 day ago - Misleading Headlines
The Herald’s headline writers are at it again! A sensible and balanced piece by Liam Dann on the battle against inflation carries a headline that suggests that NZ is doing worse than the rest of the world. Check it out and see for yourself if I am right. Is this ...1 day ago - My weekend reading and listening
Photo by Anna Demianenko on UnsplashTLDR: Here’s my longer reads and listens for the weekend for sharing with The Kaka’s paying subscribers. I’ve opened this one up for all to give everyone a taste of the sorts of extras you get as a full paying subscriber.Subscribe nowDeeper reads and listens ...1 day ago - Something for the long weekend
Hello from the middle of a long weekend where I’m letting the last few days unspool, not ready, not yet, to give words to the hardest of what we heard.Instead, today, here are some good words from other people.Mother CourageWhen I wrote last year about Mum and Dad’s move to ...1 day ago - The people behind Workers Now
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this year’s general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working people’s interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...2 days ago - Govt is safeguarding Treaty grounds (for $3m) but Hipkins may be embroiled in spat about when he can...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with Māori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...2 days ago - The week that was to Feb 4Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...2 days ago
- Cranky Uncle could use your help to learn more languages!Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...3 days ago
- 2022 updates to model-observation comparisons
Our annual post related to the comparisons between long standing records and climate models. As frequent readers will know, we maintain a page of comparisons between climate model projections and the relevant observational records, and since they are mostly for the global mean numbers, these get updated once ...3 days ago - Co-governance
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to ‘government’ on ...3 days ago - Jump onto the weekly hoon at 5pm
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...3 days ago - Climate Change: The emissions deficit
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...3 days ago - Unforced variations: Feb 2023This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...3 days ago
- Kelvin Davis takes us back to a battle in which the Brits took a beating but we are left bewildered ...Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...3 days ago
- Ask Me Anything about the week to Feb 3It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...3 days ago
- Political Roundup: 3 February 2023
CO-GOVERNANCE, WAITANGI, THREE WATERS Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters Audrey Young (Herald): What iwi leaders will tell Chris Hipkins about co-governance(paywalled) Michael Neilson (Herald): Waitangi 2023: PM Chris Hipkins and National’s Christopher Luxon to be tested by Māori leaders in ...3 days ago - The stagnant debates in our hermit kingdom of a political economy
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...3 days ago - Lies, damned lies, and political polls.
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...3 days ago - Weekly Roundup 03-February-2023
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...3 days ago - A New Day, a New Cease & Desist
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...3 days ago - Blowing Off The Froth: Why Chris Hipkins Must Ditch Three Waters.Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Minister’s direction of travel – already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta – must be confirmed by an emphatic ...3 days ago
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- Dawn Chorus: Classic middle class welfare to win 'Ford Ranger Man'In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...4 days ago
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- Dusk Chorus: ‘Bread and butter’ chosen over cutting emissions
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...5 days ago - Dusk Chorus: ‘Bread and butter’ chosen over cutting emissionsPhoto: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...5 days ago
- We never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...5 days ago - Garrick Tremain’s view…
... 5 days ago - Isn't this the rainy day we're supposed to be saving up for?Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...5 days ago
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- E-bike incentives workCurrently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...5 days ago
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- February Stars.
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...5 days ago - Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Hipkins’ bread and butter reshuffle* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on “bread and butter” issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...5 days ago
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Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...5 days ago - Dusk Chorus: Mahuta and Little demotedNanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...6 days ago
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Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...6 days ago - Is Britain doomed (again)?
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...6 days ago - After The Deluge.On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...6 days ago
- Minister of Education (who might be replaced later today) left it to his ministry to apologise for i...Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...6 days ago
- The other ‘big one’: How a megaflood could swamp California’s Central ValleyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...6 days ago
- Tuesday's pick o' the links: Wayne Brown's WTF moment
Wayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...6 days ago - Tuesday's pick o' the links: Wayne Brown's WTF momentWayne Brown managed a smile when meeting with Remuera residents, but he was grumpy about having to deal with “media drongos”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: In my pick of the news links found in my rounds since 4am for paying subscribers below the paywall:Wayne Brown moans about the media and ...6 days ago
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And so the first month of the year draws to a close. It rained in Auckland on 21 out of the 31 days in January. Feels like summer never really happened this year. It’s actually hard to believe there were 10 days that it didn’t rain. Was it any better where ...6 days ago - Ani O’Brien: Luxon can’t afford to continue ‘small target’ politicsA ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...6 days ago
- Waitangi Day – a time to reflect and learn
Kia ora e te whānau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with Māori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...13 hours ago - Greens call on the government to end perpetual leases
The Green Party calls on the Government to end perpetual leases over Māori land so that Māori landowners can directly control their lands. ...2 days ago - Thousands more homes under LabourWe’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...3 days ago
- Time for Labour to deliver on No New MinesThe Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land. ...3 days ago
- Time for Labour to deliver on No New MinesThe Green Party is today welcoming reports of Government progress towards having no new mines on conservation land. ...3 days ago
- Greens join call for immediate rent freeze after floodsThe Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...3 days ago
- Extra cost of living support for New ZealandersWhen Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Government’s top priority – and this week, we’ve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...4 days ago
- Greens not on board with fossil fuel subsidyThe Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...5 days ago
- Urgent action needed to support familiesThe tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party writes to new Prime MinisterThe Green Party has written to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins outlining a plan for a fairer Aotearoa. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party looks forward to working with Chris HipkinsThe Green Party welcomes Chris Hipkins as the sole nominee for leader of the Labour Party, and the next Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens recognise Prime Minister Ardern’s serviceThe Green Party is today acknowledging Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s service to Aotearoa. ...3 weeks ago
- Advancing our relationship in India
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...1 day ago - Government Northland housing investment to spark transformational changeOver $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in Whangārei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...3 days ago
- Battle of Ohaeawai rememberedA memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between Māori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...4 days ago
- More Police deployed to the frontlineMore Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...4 days ago
- Further support for upper North Island regions hit by significant weatherThe Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. “We’re supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...4 days ago
- The Princess Royal to visit New ZealandPrime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. “Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...4 days ago
- Government and horticulture sector target $12b in exports by 2035A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said. “Our food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealand’s economic security. We’re focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...5 days ago
- Cost of living support extended for families and businesses25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 – reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...5 days ago
- More Kiwis in work as rising wages match inflationThe strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. “The Government’s economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,” ...5 days ago
- Government boosts fund for Auckland floodingThe Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...6 days ago
- New Cabinet focused on bread and butter issuesThe new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...6 days ago
- Prime Minister to meet with PM AlbanesePrime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...6 days ago
- Government makes first payment to Auckland Flooding fundThe Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...1 week ago
- Government steps up to assist Auckland during floodingAs the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...1 week ago
- Poroporoaki: Titewhai Te Huia Hinewhare HarawiraKa papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...2 weeks ago
- Enhanced Task Force Green Approved following Cyclone HaleCarmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...2 weeks ago
- General Election to be held on 14 October 2023The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...3 weeks ago
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces resignationJacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...3 weeks ago
- ‘Per my last email’ and other ways to be passive aggressive at work – in Māori
Sure, Scotty Morrison’s Māori At Work is a wonderful resource for Aotearoa’s collective te reo Māori journey. But is it judgemental enough for the modern office environment? First published September 12 2019 The growing strength of te reo is palpable across Aotearoa, with record numbers of people participating in Mahuru ...10 mins ago - With the training to diagnose, test, prescribe and discharge, nurse practitioners could help rescue ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Mills, Professor and Dean La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University Shutterstock It can be tough to access front-line health care outside the cities and suburbs. For the seven million Australians living in rural communities there are significant ...38 mins ago - Did China’s balloon violate international law?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University Chad Fish/AP Was the balloon that suddenly appeared over the US last week undertaking surveillance? Or was it engaging in research, as China has claimed? While the answers to these ...1 hour ago
- Scams, deepfake porn and romance bots: advanced AI is exciting, but incredibly dangerous in criminal...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Walker-Munro, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The generative AI industry will be worth about A$22 trillion by 2030, according to the CSIRO. These systems – of which ChatGPT is currently the best known – can write ...2 hours ago
- What’s the safest seat on a plane? We asked an aviation expertSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock When booking a flight, do you ever think about which seat will protect you the most in an emergency? Probably not. Most people book seats for comfort, such as leg room, ...2 hours ago
- As it happened: Hundreds gathered in dark for Waitangi Day commemorations
Politicians spoke at Te Whare Runanga as hundreds gathered in the dark before it on the Waitangi Treaty grounds. ...5 hours ago - Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Waitangi Day welcomes less politics, more commemorationPrime Minister Chris Hipkins has described this morning's Waitangi dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics. ...6 hours ago
- ‘I approached writing a TV series the same way I approached writing my Tinder profile’Screenwriter Dana Leaming’s debut comedy series Not Even is out now on Prime and Neon. This is the out the gate story of how it got there. Kia ora, Hi, What up? Up to? U up? …I’m Dana. I wrote and co-directed (with Ainsley Gardiner) the TV show Not Even ...7 hours ago
- Albanese’s Newspoll ratings drop but Labor maintains big leadSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Mick Tsikas/AAP A federal Newspoll, conducted February 1-4 from a sample of 1,512, gave Labor a 55-45 lead, unchanged on ...8 hours ago
- New Zealanders need a better understanding of the word ‘racism’, these reports revealThe Human Rights Commission, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, last week released two reports on racism and the impact of colonialism in Aotearoa. Among their many insights was the necessity of a wider understanding of how racism manifests itself. I was honoured to accept an invitation by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata ...9 hours ago
- The war in Tauranga, which pretends history never happened thereVincent O’Malley reviews a history of the battle of Gate Pā. First published February 5, 2019 Head up Cameron Road, one of Tauranga’s main arterial routes, a few kilometres out of the city centre and you drive over one of New Zealand’s most important historical sites. The road, named after ...9 hours ago
- How much has support for the Voice fallen? It depends on how you askSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murray Goot, Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations, Macquarie University Support for embedding an Indigenous Voice to parliament in the Constitution has fallen. The polls provide good evidence once you work out how to find it. However, the voters who have ...9 hours ago
- Which seat on a plane is the safest? We asked an aviation expertSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock When booking a flight, do you ever think about which seat will protect you the most in an emergency? Probably not. Most people book seats for comfort, such as leg room, or ...10 hours ago
- 200 experts dissected the Black Summer bushfires in unprecedented detail. Here are 6 lessons to heedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Libby Rumpff, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne David Crosling/AAP The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 were cataclysmic: a landmark in Australia’s environmental history. They burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly forests in southeast Australia. Many of our most ...10 hours ago
- You can’t fix school refusal with ‘tough love’ but these steps might helpSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Grové, Fulbright Scholar and Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Monash University Anete Lusina/Pexels School attendance levels in Australia are a massive issue according to Education Minister Jason Clare. As he told reporters last week, he hopes to talk to state colleagues ...10 hours ago
- How to save $4 billion a year: reform a fuel tax credit scheme with no real rationaleSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute Revising the generous fuel tax credits given to businesses should be a priority for the Albanese government, because keeping them would conflict with two other pressing priorities: reducing carbon emissions and repairing the ...10 hours ago
- Duncan Greive on stepping down as CEO of The SpinoffFor nine years he steered the ship he built, but last week Duncan Greive announced his surprise resignation as CEO of The Spinoff. He joins guest host, Jane Yee, to discuss how doing things differently took The Spinoff from an irreverent TV blog to a respected online magazine, and why ...10 hours ago
- Ranginui Walker: Te Tiriti and the abyss of meaningThree decades ago one of the giants of New Zealand thinking and writing, Ranginui Walker, published Ka Whawhai Tonu Mātou, Struggle Without End. The book, originally released in 1990 and revised in 2004, is a history of Aotearoa from a Māori perspective. It had a profound influence and today remains ...10 hours ago
- Time has come for free access to GPs and dentists
Health inequities between Pākehā and Māori are often framed as complex and difficult to change. But making access to GPs and dentists free will not only save money for whānau using these services, it will also save money for the health system and ensure Māori rights to good governance and equity ...12 hours ago - Young quick scores tricks from new Ferns coach
One of New Zealand's most promising fast bowlers, Molly Penfold, was surprised to get the call-up for the T20 World Cup, but she has a great support team around her, Merryn Anderson reports. She's only played one T20 for the White Ferns, and she's yet to take a wicket, but Molly ...12 hours ago - The political debate National and Labour can't agree on
Labour and National’s leaders came to Waitangi agreed on which areas need more investment in election year. But as political editor Jo Moir writes, the country is going to see a big debate on how Māori should benefit from it Prime Minister Chris Hipkins used his speech at Sunday’s pōwhiri ...12 hours ago - On the Māori cannibalism novel
A review for Waitangi weekend The bestselling novel Kāwai: For Such a Time as This by Monty Soutar feels like the story Matua Monty has been working toward telling his entire life. It aims for the loftiest mountain peak in a valiant attempt at the fabled Great New Zealand ...12 hours ago - Flood undermines multi-storey housing plan
Unfortunately the great flood of January 27 was not a one-off but a precursor to more emergencies likely to strike the city because of environmental effects of climate change. While the Auckland floods are proving devastating, costly and far-reaching, they have also had the strange effect of revealing Tamaki Makaurau's original landscape. ...12 hours ago - Live: Hundreds gather in dark for Waitangi Day commemorationsTe Whare Runanga is lit up as hundreds gather in the dark before it on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. ...12 hours ago
- Climate justice and the right to housing are the same fight
Securing the right to housing will require us to challenge the very systems and ideologies that are doing such harm to our planet. Opinion: The images of rivers running down our streets, cars floating down the motorway, houses flooded and half-submerged buses ferrying people across the causeway, will stick with ...13 hours ago - Daily crossword, Monday 6 February
...14 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 February
Loading...(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...14 hours ago - What the party leaders said at WaitangiIt is hard to separate the politics from Waitangi, but the day party leaders were welcomed on to Te Whare Rūnanga was largely free of inflammatory rhetoric and political point scoring. ...20 hours ago
- Magic people: Te Pāti Māori and the power of symbolismRheive Grey pays tribute to one political party’s unapologetic commitment to markers of Māori identity, from hei tiki to waiata to tikitiki. I’m proud to be Māori. If you’re like me, it’s hard to read that sentence without singing it in your head. That’s either the power of good campaigning, ...23 hours ago
- The Sunday Essay: You can’t hide your prying eyesWhen I was a man my dick was only average size, but learning how to tuck it out of sight is a steep learning curve for a girl on a budget. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Illustrations: Sloane Hong The dick ...23 hours ago
- Higher interest rates, falling home prices and real wages, but no recession: top economists’ forec...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Australia’s Reserve Bank is set to push up rates once again at its first meeting for the year on Tuesday, according to all but ...1 day ago
- Papuan journalist award-winner Victor Mambor targeted for his reportsBy David Robie When Papuan journalist Victor Mambor visited New Zealand almost nine years ago, he impressed student journalists from the Pacific Media Centre and community activists with his refreshing candour and courage. As the founder of the Jubi news media group, he remained defiant that he would tell the ...1 day ago
- Mariameno Kapa-Kingi Poised To Take The Tai Tokerau Seat In The 2023 General Election
Today, Te Pāti Māori officially announced Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as their candidate for the Te Tai Tokerau electorate in this year’s General Election. The announcement was part of the pōwhiri for MPs at Te Whare Rūnanga o Waitangi. “Making the announcement ...1 day ago - Watch: Pōwhiri for parliamentarians at WaitangiPoliticians have been welcomed onto Te Whare Runanga on the treaty grounds at Waitangi today, with leaders of political parties making statements. ...1 day ago
- A spectacular fall from grace: the story of Charles MackayPaul Diamond’s book about the 1920s scandal that shocked Whanganui is on the longlist for the Ockhams (in the hotly contested General Non-Fiction category). Victor Rodger reviews. A closeted mayor with huge ambitions. A handsome, young, returned soldier with ambiguous motivations. A scandalous shooting that leads to a spectacular ...1 day ago
- Watch live: Pōwhiri for parliamentarians at WaitangiPoliticians are now being welcomed onto Te Whare Runanga on the treaty grounds at Waitangi. Watch a live stream of the pōwhiri here. ...1 day ago
- Recipe: Ginger-spiked plum jamAn easy, low sugar jam that tastes even better than the sickly-sweet stuff. Often jam recipes call for much more sugar that I think is necessary, resulting in a cloyingly sweet jam whose flavour sadly becomes lost. Where some recipes will call for equal measures of fruit and sugar, this ...1 day ago
- Reports on racism raise challenges in election year
Two reports on racism in New Zealand released by the Human Rights Commission land at a time when political rhetoric around racism is escalating again. Aaron Smale reports. The Human Rights Commission has released two reports that make a number of significant recommendations for confronting white supremacy and institutional racism. But ...1 day ago - Auckland’s emergency: a lesson in geography
Professor John Morgan offers a 'lesson plan' for Auckland children returning to school to help them understand what's going on in their city after the floods When Auckland schools go back, there’s a case to be made that geography teachers take over lessons for a day or two. Auckland’s ‘state of emergency’ ...1 day ago - SailGP pulls controversial dolphin deterrent
An acoustic 'harassment' device won’t be used to keep dolphins from high-speed boats, reports David Williams. Organisers of a super-fast boat race have scrapped plans to use an underwater noise device to scare dolphins in a marine mammal sanctuary. SailGP’s consultants, Enviser, lodged an application with the Department of Conservation (DoC) ...1 day ago - View from the edge: Ground Zero in Paturoa Bay
Flooding and land slides at her home in Titirangi have Zoe Hawkins sleeping in her running gear in case she has to flee. She shares her concern for others even more affected - and questions what the future brings. A week ago we lived on the edge of paradise. Our forever home ...2 days ago - Enshrining the Voice gives best chance for Closing the Gap, Albanese saysSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Enshrining a constitutional Voice to parliament will bring better practical outcomes and give the best chance for Closing the Gap, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will say in a major address on the referendum on Sunday. ...2 days ago
- Iwi leaders warn Hipkins not to bow over Three Waters co-governanceBy Jamie Tahana, RNZ News Te Ao Māori journalist at Waitangi, and Russell Palmer, digital political journalist Iwi leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have accused opposition parties National and ACT of “fanning the flames of racism”, urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on Three ...2 days ago
- PNG’s Education Minister slams UPNG ‘discrimination’ against Filipino studentBy Phoebe Gwangilo in Port Moresby Higher Education Minister Don Polye has condemned a decision by the administration of the University of Papua New Guinea to treat a PNG-born and bred grade 12 school leaver as an “international” student. Roselyn Alog, 19, whose parents are Filipinos, was born and raised ...2 days ago
- Anti-corruption agency probes Fiji’s ex-elections chiefRNZ Pacific Fiji’s former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem is under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption agency for alleged abuse of office and has been stopped from fleeing the country. The Fijian Elections Office (FEO) said Saneem was alleged to have “on numerous occasions . . . unlawfully authorised payments of ...2 days ago
- Waitangi: Political leaders appear to get go-ahead to speak at pōwhiriLabour's position has alternated over the past few days: first Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would speak, then he wouldn't, and then he would again. ...2 days ago
- Greens demand end of perpetual leases on Māori landThe Greens are demanding the end of perpetual leases on Māori land, labelling them an outdated and unjust colonial weapon. ...2 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori announce military neutrality as new transformative defence policyTe Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are announcing a transformative defence and foreign affairs policy which asserts the Mana Māori Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga of tangata whenua in Aotearoa at their Party’s ...2 days ago
- PM won't speak at Waitangi, respects organisers' wishes
The Prime Minister will no longer speak at Waitangi commemorations after the organising trust moved the political leaders to a panel away from the main event The Waitangi National Trust wrote to political parties last month saying they didn’t want political leaders to speak at the pōwhiri held on the eve ...2 days ago - PM will now speak at Waitangi after communication chaosThe Prime Minister once again has a speaking slot at the pōwhiri in Waitangi after earlier on Saturday saying he would respect the wishes of the trust organisers by not doing so The Waitangi National Trust has given the green light for Chris Hipkins and other political leaders to speak ...2 days ago
- Rewatching Seven Sharp’s very first episode, 10 years onIt’s been exactly a decade since Seven Sharp first appeared on our screens. Remember the first episode? We’ve unearthed the tapes. On this day in 2013, a bombshell was thrown into the New Zealand television landscape. “Time for us to make way, because you’re here to see what everyone’s talking ...2 days ago
- The weatherman caught in the eye of the stormMetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris has fronted endless media requests and live crosses this week. Is he getting it right? Lewis Ferris is trying to find his weather map. “This week’s been so insane” he mutters as he closes multiple tabs on the three screens across his Wellington desk. He’s ...2 days ago
- ‘It’s important for Pride to be political’: Max Tweedie bids farewell to the festivalAfter four years, executive director Max Tweedie has stepped down from Auckland Pride. He tells Sam Brooks about shepherding the festival through a tumultuous few years, and where he’s going from here. This year’s Auckland Pride Festival is set to be the biggest one yet. Over the course of more ...2 days ago
- The communications machine broke down in the floods. How can we fix it?A flailing mayor was only the public face of a multifaceted flooding communications failure. Duncan Greive examines the mess, and asks what can be done to improve it. It’s a chilling timeline. Stuff’s Kelly Dennett catalogued, beat-by-beat, the 12 hours in which Auckland was pummelled by a catastrophic deluge, interspersing ...2 days ago
- Green Party Announces Candidate For Dunedin ElectorateThe Dunedin branch of the Green Party has selected Francisco Hernandez as its candidate for the Dunedin electorate in this year’s general election. Francisco Hernandez was the Otago University Students Association President in 2013. He has held a number ...2 days ago
- Fresh fighting over MPs' speaking rights at Waitangi
Waitangi organisers are trying to push political leaders to the side at Sunday's pōwhiri, but Labour's deputy leader says it's not for them to decide who speaks. Te Tai Tokerau MP and Labour’s deputy leader, Kelvin Davis, says the Prime Minister will speak at Sunday’s pōwhiri at Waitangi, in defiance of local ...2 days ago - The Week in Detail: Floods, eggs, and Carmel Sepuloni
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we spoke to an aid worker who had made the trip to the war zone in Ukraine, looked at why Carmel Sepuloni was picked to be the new deputy prime minister, visited the flood-torn streets of Titirangi in West ...2 days ago - Another crisis, another responsibility for schools
Schools play an integral but often unrecognised and unacknowledged role in helping communities respond to and recover from disasters Opinion: Schools in Auckland and other flood-affected areas are about to re-open after a delayed start to the new school year. Students will return to school having experienced wide-ranging impacts. While some ...2 days ago - The pā is a lonely place
A very short story for Waitangi weekend The pā is a lonely place nowadays. Gorse has marched on it like the British troops of old, consuming the hills and leaving the marae looking a bald patch on the head of the earth mother herself. Even the roads have worn thin, ...2 days ago - The Detail's Long Read: The School Away From School
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's The School Away From School written by Bill Morris and published in NZ Geographic's January/February 2023 issue. You can find the entire article, with photos from Lottie Hedley, on the NZ Geographic website. One hundred years since its ...3 days ago - Kayt Davies: AI will take media jobs but will free up time for fun stuffCOMMENTARY: By Kayt Davies in Perth I wasn’t good at French in my final year of high school. My classmates had five years of language studies behind them. I had three. As a result of my woeful grip on the language, I wrote a terribly bad essay in my final ...3 days ago
- Papua’s Jubi chief editor awarded Indonesian Pogau prize for courageRNZ Pacific Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and website Jubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism. The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights ...3 days ago
- Medicare reform is off to a promising start. Now comes the hard partSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute There was a lot of build-up to today’s National Cabinet meeting. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has long said Medicare is in the worst shape it has ever been, and the premiers ...3 days ago
- NZ Greens back call for rent controls after Auckland flash floodsRNZ News Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently. More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael ...3 days ago
- Iwi leaders warn Hipkins not to bow on Three Waters co-governanceIwi leaders have accused National and ACT of "fanning the flames of racism", urging the prime minister to be brave and not walk away from partnership on three waters. ...3 days ago
- Auckland flooding, one week on: Some interesting statsAbout this time last week it had become apparent that Auckland was in for a bit more than just a wet Friday. While the state of emergency remains in place for another seven days, it appears the worst should now be behind us. Last night, Niwa shared a fascinating thread ...3 days ago
- Greens back call for rent controls after Auckland floodsThe Green Party is calling on the government to stop landlords hiking rents in the wake of the Auckland floods. ...3 days ago
- It’s tradition: Indigenous designs have been on Australian money since decimalisationSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Shutterstock Indigenous Australians are respectfully advised that the following includes the names and images of some people who are now deceased. The Reserve Bank of Australia ...3 days ago
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- The Voice referendum: how did we get here and where are we going? Here’s what we knowSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999. We’ll be asked whether we support ...3 days ago
- Māori culture celebrated on American morning TVViewers across the United States were today shown a slice of New Zealand, with a reporter for Good Morning America broadcasting live from Rotorua. Robin Roberts, a co-anchor for the popular morning TV show, has been touring the country this week. During her visit to Rotorua’s Te Puia centre, she ...3 days ago
- Ingredient of the week: AvocadoThey can be environmentally unsound and are a symbol used to shame millennials, but everyone still loves an avo. I love avocados, always have, always will. The buttery golden-green flesh from a perfectly ripe avocado is a culinary blessing. Today I’d love to simply wax poetic about twisting open a ...3 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending February 3The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Penguin Press, $50) The beautiful ...3 days ago
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- ‘Fucking traumatic’: a first-hand account of Elton John’s flooded-out showA week ago, Elton John’s first Auckland show was called off at the last minute. What was it like getting there, being there, and trying to return home afterwards? Elton John has long been a blessing for our ears, but in recent years his Auckland shows have been cursed. His ...3 days ago
I don't know how many people listen to RNZ these days, but their first report on Morning Report today on the National and Labour retreats in Napier was an astonishingly bad piece of lazy "journalism" that sort of sums up why I switch the radio off these days.
The narrative of modern political reporting is appallingly lazy, dumb and cynical.
First up we were told what to think ("What has Napier done to deserve these horrible people?") then it was couched as a horse race ("everything to play for") followed by a lazy fact ("Napier is a traditional Labour seat" Except for the six years it was a National seat… much better would have been HISTORICALLY Labour, but hardly a traditional seat these days) followed by some more horse race bullshit and then I had to switch off, but I assume the polls got a look in as well.
This is the quality of what passes for journalism on the publically funded news station these days.
If you want an example of something intelligent, watch this. A balm for the brain.
Rnz paid the price for being decent once key was elected in 08, griffin gets dropped in and the slide commences.
It's not so much lazy journalism I'd say filtered/targeted depicts it better which requires focus to ensure the spins as intended.
Another killer blow to three waters! Or not.
Also recently a TV news item (can't find the link sorry) about the 84 boil water notices in New Zealand, some going back as long as 20 odd years.
I like him too, he’s a prime example of an intelligent commentator who has a diverse range of opinions, that often runs counter to the conventional wisdom .You will not agree with everything he has to say., but neither should you
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11246381/PETER-HITCHENS-questions-wisdom-stoking-Ukraine-conflict-despite-threat-nuclear-armageddon.html
He’s also got conservative views on the family etc that I don’t 100% agree with , but he argues intelligently and rationally and is a pleasure to listen to.
I like to be challenged in that way
A most succinct appraisal of politics….
"It would be unfair to entirely blame the Labour Party for this situation. Global capitalism has had a similar effect on politics everywhere. Anyone who steps out of line is quickly subject to market discipline, which is the real locus of power in modern politics – not a bunch of MPs yapping and smirking at each other in Question Time."
A relatively long read that personifies the short (almost everything is) history of the left in NZ ….sadly there appears no happy ending.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/when-the-left-were-actually-left
One does have to be a little bit careful about Ms Locke's research. In one of her previous books she named 2 people who worked for one of the SUP "front" organisations associated with the TUC in Auckland as being members of that Party. Neither were. One is now deceased, and the other is still a member of the N Z Labour Party as they were at the time. These "facts" are still repeated in other publications – being quoted or received from her book.
One must also recall the frequently bitter rivalry between the SUP and the Workers' Communist League (dubbed the "Weasels") and the Socialist Action League (the "Trots"). That rivalry dates back to student activist days in the 1970's between the more CPNZ orientated groups and the SAL.
I was very proud to have been one of the just under 200 people who voted for Bill Andersen in the 1978 General Election. I found myself in the Tamaki Electorate at the time and joined what was probably half of Kupe St in voting for Bill and not for Muldoon.
Chris being brave promoting Judith, or is the talent so thin?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/01/national-caucus-reshuffle-barbara-kuriger-falls-judith-collins-rockets-back-up-list.html
”Collins, who was the unsuccessful National leader at the last election, is now ranked at number 10 and has been given the new portfolios of Foreign Direct Investment and Digitising Government on top of Land Information and Science, Innovation and Technology. She was previously ranked 17th.”
No doubt the new ministry of Foreign Direct Investment will be as chilling as it sounds. A whole floor of public servants dedicated to selling off what remains of the silver.
And in Pythonesque news, Barbara Kuriger, who abused her position to pressure authorities to drop an investigation into her son and husband for abusing animals has been given…Conservation.
Luxon is tone deaf, but muddle NZ lap it up because house prices.
She knows where all the skeletons are so best keep her elevated and busy or risk dissent and mischief especially with her connections to the oily one.
Old saying – keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!
Charming.
Taliban foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has told the Russian special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, that the group was listening to Moscow on forming an “inclusive government” and “human rights issues.”
https://kabulnow.com/2023/01/taliban-we-are-listening-to-our-russian-friends-on-human-rights-issues/
Is that the same Judith Collins now the opposition Science spokeser that in 2020 reportedly stated that the Covid 19 virus was nothing to worry about as there had obviously been 18 before it. Nothing like putting the best intellects on to this sciencey thingo.
Where and when did she say that?
You can surely produce a link for the story.
My feeling is that it was another intellectual heavy-weight and all-round nice person. A former leader within the Nats, Michelle Boag. From memory she uttered that brain fart on RNZ's Panel.
Be careful what you ask for, here is a link for some reading. (It covers the 18 other Covids too.) As a reminder as to what an unsavoury character she has been.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/08-01-2021/the-insider-three-decades-of-amazing-michelle-boag-headlines-2
Oops, Barfly beat me to it.
You are mixing up your National Party lunatics Michelle Boag
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/michelle-boag-yes-that-really-happened/FCH2V4F6RWUWQAVVDOINLFBJ6E/
The Nats promoting Collins and Muller is like a dog returning to its own vomit.
Well, dogs do return to whatever they heaved up as a survival strategy so yeah, Collins and Muller as yesterday's upchuck.
That is Luxon’s "Talented Team" Muttonbird. Never mind "Bottom Feeders."… What about "Bottom of the Barrel?"
Judith will do the praying.
Todd Muller will do the worrying,
Yip the right live to frame leftwing politicians as career budgets but here we have 2 has been that can't find anything better to do, .
And all it took was a year of unrelenting barbarism and brutality. But spin away, tankies.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-17/kissinger-reverses-sheds-resistance-to-ukraine-joining-nato
https://archive.li/q2yuT
Jacinda is standing down.
Despite my political differences with her, I wish her well. Politics is a tough game, and I can’t blame her for wanting a life.
The PM is resigning from her job on Feb 7 and is not standing for MP at the 2023 election.
Basically saying she intended to but has not re-charged well enough during her break to return to the job.
An election on October 14.
Someone could have said make me acting PM to March and come back then … (GR is not seeking the leadership).
Does this mean that the Caucus, the Party members and the Unions will all get to vote in a drawn out campaign like the one that made Andrew Little the leader or have they switched back to having the Caucus alone elect the leader?
Can anyone who is involved in the Labour Party explain what the current rules are?
If caucus agrees they decide, if not it goes to party membership.
Goneburger. hahahahahahahaha
My comment from the 13th of December
Will Ardern make it to the next election?
Given the ways the polls it is likely that Labour will be the the opposition.
The PM will win the seat of Mt Albert but be in opposition.
Interesting times ahead for Labour. I must stock up on pop corn.
From the OMG files…
Apparently George Santos, liar, fraudster, fantasist, and avowed homophobe and transphobe, was a drag Queen in Brazil.
You couldn't make up shit as good as this about the wackos who inhabit the US Republican party.
What is odd about that?
Wellington had a rather famous Drag Queen who did pretty well in the Mayoral election in 1977. She finished fourth on election day, which is where Labour candidate Paul Eagle was when the polls closed last year.
She had a wonderful campaign slogan. It wasn't something boring and forgettable like "Lets keep moving". Carmen's was "Get in behind Carmen for Mayor"
I think we might be much better off if we had more Drag Queens in politics.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/69481625/carmens-scandalous-run-for-wellington-mayor—150-years-of-news
Carmen was a trans identified person – not a "Drag Queen". She had what they euphemistically call "top surgery" but still had male genitalia. She lived full time as a woman.
I'll take your word for it, although she was pretty routinely referred to by the term.
For example "An iconic drag queen from New Zealand, Carmen Rupe was well known for many things."
https://www.makingqueerhistory.com/articles/2019/10/20/carmen-rupe#:~:text=An%20iconic%20drag%20queen%20from,life%20was%20a%20full%20one.
I am so sad Jacinda has decided to leave.
Totally understandable though.
Do look at this as a liberation for her.
The very real risk of physical harm posed by the right of politics made the job a virtual prison for her and her family.
" We need to do politics better than this."
You mean like how you treated Chris Trotter late last year Greg ?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
please don't get personal. If you have a specific argument to make about how we do politics you need to a) make an argument, and b) quote and link to the things you are referring to. But you still cannot harass TS authors here, so choose your framing and words carefully.
Certainly Weka I was just pointing out the hypocrisy of one of your TS writers.
[lprent: Leading with an opinion is fine. But doing so with neither an argument nor a link nor even an explanation on what in the hell you’re talking about is not. Especially since you assertion appears to have nothing to do with the content of the post.
Especially when you’re personally attacking one of my authors with a unsubstantiated smear in a post that has nothing to do with it. Continuing to do it after being requested to desist by a mod is worse.
Do anything like this piss-poor behaviour again and I’ll ban you until November or permanently.
If you want to comment here, then you need to act less like a lazy fuckwit troll with a grudge and more like someone who can think and can argue with some description or evidence about what you’re talking about and why.
Otherwise go back to TDB comments or Slaters site where making up stories up is encouraged. ]
Anyone going through your comments would note how many times you have brought up the issue.
Hypocrisy would be posting here after what you say about the site over on TDB.
no you weren't, you were making an unsubstantiated accusations and I'm telling you to stop.
See my mod note.
Of Joy?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
[banned until 1 month after Ardern’s resignation date ie 7/3/24. You trolled once too often, after multiple warnings and we’re having a clear out for election year. We don’t need dickheads here flaming people. – weka]
GFY
mod note.
Comment was shifted from here https://thestandard.org.nz/jacinda-ardern-has-announced-she-is-standing-down-as-pm/#comment-1930896
POS can’t pronounce her name, but he has opinions about her policies….WTF they are.
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/entertainment/millennials-quit-workforce-in-record-numbers-after-being-forced-to-return-to-office-full-time/
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Did the moderator look at the photo or read the link?
Looked at the title and photo, observed to myself that Jacinda spent much of the lock-down time in Parliament and was doing a lot of her work remotely prior to the lock downs when pregnant or with a young child.
It occurred to me that the comment was just a joke.
I also noted that the article was in entertainment which didn’t even interest me in the est-while topic. I read business and economics articles about the the struggle employers have justifying their office lease costs.
You hadn't provided any of your own opinion. Nor had you provided a reason for putting it up that related to the post. I didn't read the link because you hadn't provided me with any reason to do so.
This site is is for robust debate. That means that you as a commenter are expected to put skin into the debate and actually argue you opinion. Your comment didn't explain what your opinion was, nor why the link should be clicked into, nor why it was relevant to the post. In short, it didn't the site standard.
So I concluded that you must have mistaken this site for being twitter and generously moved the comment to our twit area.
BTW: Personally, I work from home, and have established a personal policy that a bikeable distance is the longest that I’m willing to tolerate as a commute. Since there is no bike path to Auckland’s north shore that isn’t less than 20km it means remote, central, south, or west fro 7km max.
Thanks for all your good deeds you have blessed Aotearoa with Jacinda nuf. said
Ka kite Ano
The contenders
GR to be acting PM, if Ardern is late back from her break, and after Feb 7 if the matter is not decided by then.
David Parker to manage the process (precedent as temporary leader during a previous contest and he is AG). He had earlier withdrawn from a contest to support Shearer.
1. Andrew Little who moved aside to make way for Ardern and it still there. For better and or worse is better known now than then.
2. Megan Wood, minister of a lot of stuff and occasional stand up partner of the PM
3. boy faced common stand up partner of the PM and minister of a lot of stuff and ready to go from shorts to trousers (but who wanted to wait till autumn).
4. Michael Wood, the new boy wonder
https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23016878?search%5Bi%5D%5Bcentury%5D=1900&search%5Bi%5D%5Bcreator%5D=Listener+%28Periodical%29&search%5Bil%5D%5Byear%5D=1986&search%5Bpath%5D=photos
5. Nanaia Mahuta, because the National adverts would take us all back to 1975 when we were young.
Wild cards the PM enables via a by election
6. The new MP for Mount Albert, Helen Clark (someone they would want less than No 5).
7. The new MP for Mount Albert, Phil Goff (who offers his UK gig to Winston Peters).
8. The new MP for Mount Albert David Shearer.
9. The new MP for Mount Albert David Cunliffe.
10 Labour forms a coalition with Greens, if they make Chloe Swarbrick leader.
I'd like to see that old analysis of neolibs, careerists, leftists.
10 has the same energy as JA coming to power during the 2017 election.
11 Kiri Allan
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BlackDimAtlanticblackgoby-max-1mb.gif
The most bold of the options. More a chance later in the year … if they lose (or 2026 if they lose again).
They chose Palmer for the 1990 “poisoned chalice” holder role (by then Anderton had walked), Moore lost in 1993 (the Alliance votes cost him victory), and Clark in 1996 was blocked by Peters campaigning for the opposition and keeping National in power.
A sad decade/bookend on the hopes of the 1984 election.
would prefer not to have flashing gifs embedded, thanks. (converted it to a link).
"5. Nanaia Mahuta, because the National adverts would take us all back to 1975 when we were young."
That… is comedy gold.
I'm actually a Mt Albert NZLP member. I don't think any of your prospective candidates are willing or likely to pass my perusal.
But it is going to be interesting to see who stands for the position in Mt Albert. They're kind of demanding about the quality of their candidates.
BTW: I'd hardly call Micheal Woods 'new'. I ran across him at a Wellington Labour conference or congress – pretty sure that was in the late 90s. He was very active (and competent) in Mt Roskill electorate back in the Clark government days when I was still active.
I'm not sure who I'd vote for if it goes to members – but he would be up in the top few.
It's just a roll call to identify the joke in David Parker saying he would support GR for the job this time round.
The PM is delaying her resignation to prevent the need for a by election.
And yeah its Megan Woods with seniority over Michael Wood.
Little and Woods in the Palmer mode, Hipkins in the Moore role and Wood and Allan in the future category.
So citizen Thiel was boosting bitcoin while he was dumping it.
/
Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, closed almost all of its eight-year bet on cryptocurrencies shortly before the market began to crash last year, generating about $1.8bn in returns.
The San Francisco-based fund made its first investment in bitcoin in early 2014 and went on to invest large sums in crypto. About two-thirds of its overall investment was used to buy bitcoin, said people close to the fund.
Founders Fund sold out of the vast majority of its entire cryptocurrency portfolio by the end of March 2022 — before the digital assets market became swept up in a crisis in May last year, said one of the people close to the fund.
The fund currently has no significant exposure to cryptocurrencies, the people said. The winding-down of its crypto bet has not previously been reported. Founders Fund declined to comment.
[…]
In April 2022, about the same time that Founders Fund sold out of most of its cryptocurrency holdings, Thiel said he was optimistic about the future of bitcoin. He told a cryptocurrency conference in Miami that “we’re at the end of the fiat money regime” and suggested its price — which was then trading at about $44,000 — could increase by a factor of 100.
https://www.ft.com/content/0a1d5597-7145-4035-987b-ff033bba3d75
Well that wiped Mr Luxon's reshuffle off the front page with gusto
And probably consigned their election planning to the bin as well.
Planning Graeme??? They have a simple plan. No to everything. It's a shambles. NZ is wrecked.
Saves having to detail and anything complicated.