Open mike 19/03/2024
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6:00 am, March 19th, 2024 - 72 comments
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- Fact brief – Has human-caused climate change increased extreme weather?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Has human-caused climate ...3 hours ago - What’s Been Happening? Political Roundup
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Property rights – which enable decisions over tangible and intangible assets – are critical to an economy as Why Nations Fail pointed out. Not just private property rights for, as we shall see, they are more complicated than that. Neoliberals argue that private property rights lead to the maximum economic ...1 day ago - The Hoon around the week to November 22
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Following the 2022 Brazilian general election, election loser Jair Bolsonaro tried to do a Trump, attempting a coup to overturn the election. It failed. But unlike his American friend, he hasn't been allowed to get away with it: The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest ...1 day ago - Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...2 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
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Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...2 days ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...2 days ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...2 days ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
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- Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...2 days ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...2 days ago - The IPCA has failed
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- Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...2 days ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...3 days ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...3 days ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...3 days ago
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With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...3 days ago
- Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...3 days ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...3 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...3 days ago - Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...3 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...4 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
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- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...4 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
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The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...4 days ago
- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...4 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...4 days ago
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5 days ago - How should we talk about change?
A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...5 days ago
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5 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...5 days ago - Trying to defuse the tension
There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...5 days ago
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5 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...5 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
5 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
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- Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative
The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...5 days ago - In a Manner of Speaking
In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...6 days ago - Monday 18 November 2024
The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...6 days ago
- Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’
The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...6 days ago - A clearer network for the City Rail Link?
This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...6 days ago
- National’s support base is wobbling
If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...6 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...6 days ago
- Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...6 days ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...7 days ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...1 week ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...1 week ago
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Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...1 week ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
1 week ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...1 week ago
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The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...1 week ago
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- Are We The Waiting?
And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to November 15
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- First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?
Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.
Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024
Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...1 week ago
- The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free
You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...1 week ago - D-day for the government
The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...2 days ago - NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...2 days ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...2 days ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...2 days ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...2 days ago
- Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...2 days ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...2 days ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...2 days ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...3 days ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...3 days ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...3 days ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...3 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...3 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...3 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...3 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...3 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...3 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...5 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...5 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...5 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...6 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...1 week ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
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The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
I know roads aren't fashionable at the moment.
This is the latest update on Te Ahu a Turanga the Manawatu Gorge replacement road. It has a voiceover with the construction manager.
Due for completion in a little over a year, locals, especially a lot of Ashhurst folk, will be relieved when done. Having all those trucks traipse through the village to get to the Saddle Road has been disruptive.
It must be said, there is a railway line still running through the Gorge, which barring a slip or two has been uninterrupted…
That team is doing a sterling job. In particular strong mana whenua outcomes on the project.
The fly-through gives you a sense of what a rebuild of SH1 through the Brynderwyns is going to face up to.
So his orangeness isn't asset rich, cash poor, his orangeness is broke.
/
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump admitted in a new court filing that he cannot secure a bond on his $464 million civil fraud judgment.
In a Monday court filing, Trump’s legal team wrote that “posting a full undertaking is a practical impossibility.”
The filing explains that Trump is having difficulty finding any company underwrite a bond of this size, with his lawyers stating, “The amount of the judgment, with interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude.”
https://www.mediaite.com/trump/breaking-trump-says-paying-465-million-fraud-bond-is-a-practical-impossibility-in-new-court-filing/
I wish I was broke if this is what it means.
I imagine that Musk, Bezos, or even Zuckerberg would find it difficult to get anyone willing to guarantee the payment of a debt that size. Perhaps Arnault could help him out.
For Trump, who has made a career out of stiffing the people he employed, it will of course be an extremely hard thing to arrange.
My heart bleeds for him.
Perhaps the bloke who, after two decades abroad working with Kremlin-adjacent mobsters and money men turned up to run tRump's 2016 campaign, for free, will help him out.
Former President Donald Trump’s team is in discussions with Paul Manafort, his 2016 campaign chairman whom he later pardoned, to potentially help with the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, three sources familiar with the ongoing conversations told CNN.
Manafort, who was one of several individuals who ran Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was pardoned by Trump after being found guilty of several financial crimes in 2018.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/18/politics/paul-manafort-trump-reelection/index.html
I doubt he would be much help. According to the only source I found with Google he is only worth about $10 million.
Trump really does have some great friends, doesn't he? Why am I not surprised?
The ones I picked were because they were seriously rich, Arnault being the highest at $235 billion, according to Forbes. As far as I know none of them has anything to do with Trump though. Perhaps they are too smart to go near him.
I'm sure Mr Manafort will be able to arrange a
laundromatlender of last resort to spot his orangeness the lazy half billion he needs. For a price, of course.Putin might play? Trump seems to an admirer of his. Please God, don't let Trump get back into the Oval Office. I would rather have a forgetful Biden to a mad Trump who seems to think he is running against Obama.
The only way Luxon and co can deliver tax cuts – if they don't raise GST or some other meaningful source of revenue – is going to be by massive cuts and, most likely, a shock and awe campaign of privatisation. The whole thing will come bodyguarded with a zariba of culture war distraction, a trap which a lot of the identity politics crowd will enthusiastically wade into.
Zariba! Zariba!
Pretty soon one of them will use the "N" word, I'm betting!
Which one? There's at least two which are pretty incendiary.
Yes and winnie plays his part with his calculated comments.
Tamaki keeps getting oxygen for his anti diversity law breaking behaviour …..dressed in his own gang insigna.
Willis positioning with hand wringing so private equity can continue the march key/english begun with charter schools, running down health, education, housing etc.
Nowhere near enough gets written about the hollowing out and reduction in capacity the previous nact govt indulged in.
True tc, especially their sell-off of state houses to finance tax cuts…watch this space.
Listening to this link, I get the impression that the low and middle income earners he feigns to care deeply about will have their share of the tax-cuts wiped out by new "revenue sources" and it will be leave them worse off than they are now:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/christopher-luxon-not-ruling-out-new-taxes-or-reducing-promised-tax-cuts-as-fiscal-warnings-grow-analysis-finds-39-billion-hole/72BNFCMZWFGMVF2YBAFQXXYQWU/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20deeply%20committed%20to,when%20costed%20by%20Government%20officials.
On archivedotli
https://archive.li/N322k
Press conference (starts 25.30)
btw, don't read the comments
https://www.youtube.com/live/X4J4vvfD99Esi=MBTYF9uQKNPYKJxx&t=1533
Central government, i.e., this Coalition of Charlatans, will keep its ill-fated promises, especially to its core voter base. It’ll run an aggressive PR campaign to portray them as promise-keepers and saviours of our ‘doomed’ economy. At the same time there will be a running maul of steep rates increases by Local Government and deep cuts in ‘luxury’ services accompanied by an avalanche of rising costs moved progressively onto the users/consumers (aka users-pay) by the metastasising private sector. God save New Zealand.
See also https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/03/19/govt-must-find-1-5-billion-more-to-pay-for-tax-cuts/ [behind a subscription wall, for now]
The departments with big managerial strata include MBIE, NZTA, Housing. TVNZ and Health well gutted already.
When that 7% headcount cut hits, they will never ever recover back to that salary level.
How about raising the tax brackets for PAYE earners:
first $20k at 10.5%
$20k-$60k at 17.5%
$60k-$100k at 30%
$100k-$180k at 33%
+$180k at39%
How about lowering and eventually removing tax on work and place taxes on wealth and unearned income instead?
" unearned income instead?"
Financial Transaction Tax is good for that.
I cant imagine no tax being deducted from wages ever. I think we will always pay tax on wages and salaries.
only because we lack the political will to change. Why should hard work be taxed when you can let people keep all of their income from hard work and instead tax wealth and unearned income. And as someone mentioned above, a financial transactions tax on large volume transactions.
All of these things way more than make up for the loss of income tax.
A few years back a study was done and people were seriously talking about implementing a 0.1% financial transactions tax on large volume transactions. The bankers said nope.
That's not 1%, but 1/10th of 1%, or 1/1,000th of the value of each of these transactions to be taxed. The bankers couldn't even bare to be taxed that miniscule amount on transactions that have figures in the billions and even trillions.
It was estimated that such a tax would be enough to end global poverty 'overnight'
All it takes is the will to stop being owned and commanded by the 'elites'
From an interactive stuff survey
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350211572/have-your-say-how-government-handling-cost-living-crisis
How is the Government handling the cost of living crisis?
Very well. 6 %
Well. 8 %
Okay 7 %
Poorly. 19 %
Very poorly. 54 %
Too early to tell 9%
TELLING
Planning to lay people off , to cure the cost of living crisis, economic geniuses they are not
Wrong! Shane Jones's proposed Resource Management Act rules (aka "Anything Goes") will see many new and wonderful projects get the green light.
Unemployment will disappear overnight, along with the environment.
I'm torn by the mining one,
Any one living a modern life relies on extractive industry, is it really right that we sweep that extraction under the carpet to another country?
Environmentally-friendly extractive industries on spaceship Earth – why not. But civilisation needs a sound 'just transition' path to solve the obvious problem of what to do when there's nothing left to extract – could space mining save us?
No
1. we're not even close to being able to do that
2. sustainably
3. if we were and we did it now, it would fuel capitalism and the climate/ecology crises, killing the planet.
circular economies are one solution. We don't need a new iphone every year, we need smart phones that are repairable with interchangeable parts so the bits of the dead ones can be used in keeping existing ones in good shape.
Probably some interesting programming challenges there. Has the work been done on how to upgrade iphones without replacing them? If we can send people to Mars… etc
We should be reclaiming and mining dump sites too.
What little honeymoon the COC had is over as the sheeple wake up to being shafted so the already well off can do even better.
Luxon cant sell the snake oil like the last bloke did. Good to see some in the media going in hard …..doing their jobs finally as they face the prospect of no job.
Now VERY POORLY IS 59%
What this tells me is that if Labour dump Hipkins (he is forever tainted by the bad election loss) and put in a new leader, the Left can win in 2026.
Who would you suggest as leader?
Parker…
Serious times need a serious/intelligent leader..
Parker has both..in spades…
..(..and he will get a geeky nickname..and probably won't do dog videos..)
Surely you jest? His last leadership bid didn't go so well. Parker is probably due to retire later this year. Can you see the average voter turning back to Labour if Chippy was gone and Parker was leader?
After the chaos this regime will create….yes..the mood will be for someone like him…
But if as you say he is retiring..my points are pointless..
Jimmy says "probably…"
Stay true, Phil 🙂
David Parker is da bomb.
Noted..
I thought as most people you would go with McNulty. Although Ginny Anderson or Carmel Sepuloni could be possibilities.
As mentioned above, I only think Parker may retire as he is surely nearing the end of his career and he didn't seem too happy with Hipkins reversing many policies. As mentioned he is not really an "exciting" person and thus the accountant comment!
Says it all – "Chippie" is a really dumb nickname for a leader who ought to be serious.
It is a nickname his school chums gave him and it has stuck to him ever since. It has nothing to do with carpentry although I gather it is a hobby of his. Nothing wrong with the nickname and it is used with affection.
McAnulty.
Speaks with a familiar vernacular.
Not a career politician.
Appears to be a little closer or relatable to the average worker.
Feels like he is in 'my corner'.
From the provinces.
I would agree that McAnulty is the best of the current bunch in gaining traction with 'ordinary' voters. Before his spectacular feat of self-destruction, I'd have said Michael Wood was a strong contender.
Parker has all the charm and relatability of an accountant (apologies to any accountants in the room).
I can see him as the money man – much as Roger Douglas, equally charm deficient, was to Lange (i.e. running the show behind the scenes) – but not as a leader.
That's not to say that there isn't a new Labour leader who's not currently in Parliament.
It was fascinating to hear our (putative) Prime Minister bothsiding his (putative) deputy's remarks and calling for a return to civility in politics on RNZ National this morning.
Yet again, the right has proven itself to be incredibly thin skinned by getting all in a pother and manufacturing boatloads of faux outrage about being booed by a bunch of schoolchildren or getting called "dictatorial" when they ride roughshod over proper constitutional process.
Somehow, Luxon tried to make an argument that this cancels out Winston Peters calling co-governance Nazism. Because, of course, the two are morally equivalent.
How very much like National. When in power: insist on deference by the plebs. When in opposition: say whatever the fuck you like because that's just robust politics.
My thoughts too. Tries to lay the blame at the feet of the Opposition parties for Winston’s outburst. His tactics are so transparent. But I guess there's plenty of gullible folk around who fall for it.
Well said indeed Res.
Winston Peters has always been racist, but since the 2020 election in a bid to deprive A.C.T. of votes – Winston genuinely dislikes Seymour – he has gone full racist in ways that those who have followed his career for the duration he has been in politics whould be shocked by. The Nazi-era Germany comparison might be the lowest yet, but it is just the latest.
Is the "N" word out of reach? One would hope so. But if he has sunk this low, I wouldn't put the bank on it.
I attempted to watch Question time for the first time in a few years. It elicited the reaction of hysterical laughter alternating with nausea and dry retching. Is this normal?
I suspect you may have been disappointed if you did watch. It was a disappointing display all round from the opposition MPs. Labours new finance spokesperson in particular looked completely at sea.
I thought hipkins did ok..
Genter gets the most bored face award..during her co-leaders speech in praise of kiri te kanawa..
The mad-dog award goes to the act mp sitting behind/to the right of hoggard..he provides much humour..with his over-acting/snarling-antics..
..he has that angry old thin man..about to explode..vibe about him..
..I have him bookmarked as worthy of watching..
..and I noted that (the other) act mps don't smile..they smirk..
..they veer between faux-outrage…and that group smirk..
Lux-on repeated his deep concerns about low-paid nz'ers..
..if you didn't know he was talking absolute shite..you'd think he cared..
..he also repeated how he really didn't want to make the children of difficult tenants at kaianga ora…homeless..but he was going to…but he really really didn't want to..
..and that earned him today's big-whopper award…
..and he clearly doesn't like speaking maari-words..
..so he sez 'kay-ay'…eh..?
Oh good, I wasn't over-reacting then
Heve a joint before you watch..
.. it'll up your laughter quota..
I forgot the farcical-answer award..that the police minister romped away with..
He stood up and boasted about some raids where a phone number of plants were destroyed..
He went on to claim the destruction of these cannabis plants prevented many squillion dollars worth of harm to society..
W.t.f. has he been smoking..?
Could someone take him aside and tell him that cannabis is a prescribed medicine for many/for many needs..
And that the only reason it is not fully legal..
..is down to the gutlessness of the two major parties..
Very glad you watched it for me, Phillip 🙂
I lasted (somehow) the length of Q1. Luxon and his masterclass on how not to answer a question and how much he cared about me (a renter). That would explain the retching reaction…
The thing with luxon is that all of his expressed concerns…
..are faux-concerns..
..and yes..his concerns for renters does take the cake..can be nausea inducing..
I want a journalist to ask him how much the rents have gone up over the past few years..on his mortgage-free rental portfolio..
I am actually surprised no journalist has already had the wit/intelligence to ask that question..
An aspect of luxon I find quite fascinating…is how you know that pretty much everything he sez..is a big fat stinking lie..
..and it is so obvious…
… is down to the sucking up to the drug companies and Big Pharma.
"The mad-dog award goes to the act mp sitting behind/to the right of hoggard..he provides much humour..with his over-acting/snarling-antics..
..he has that angry old thin man..about to explode..vibe about him.."
Yes.
Hoggard? Oh my Goddard!!!!
No, Rose. The Opposition questions were fair and reasonable. The "answers"??
Watch what Luxon did and listen to what he didn't say.
And weep.
That was extremely painful to watch. How is this sort of behaviour even allowed???
SNA – this needs a post, weka!
Have you heard what they've done???
didn't NACTF policy get stopped because it was unlawful? I haven't been following closely. Would you like to do a post? I can cross post if you find something good online too (with permission).
The brief interview in this RNZ article shows the malice of this Government's actions. It is unfathomable that funding for people with disabilities cannot now be used to assist them in accessing various regular activities which require transport with caregivers, or for caregiver transport and accommodation support when disabled people are away from home.
What sort of people would have devised such a cruel strategy to save the Government money, presumably to help fund the unnecessary, inequitable, unaffordable tax cuts? As the finance minister, Nicola Willis should be confronted with explaining this decision.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018930729/shock-over-changes-to disability-funding
"Shock over changes to disability funding
Parents and whānau of people with disabilities are in shock and extremely disappointed by sudden limitations to funding – stopping people from using it for transport, food or accommodation for support workers.
The department issued the new rules on Monday, surprising the disability community without consultation or warning.
The Ministry says the funding is not being cut, but what it can be spent on has been cut significantly.
Ian Perry's son is in a electric wheelchair and has significant disabilities.
Perry spoke to Charlotte Cook".
It's quite simple. Traditionally, people reliant on these services don't vote for the Right. So there's no votes to be lost.
Plus, we're up against a bunch of sociopaths. What else can you call people who can deliberately cause so much harm to so many people without batting and eyelid, and still sleep at night?
I can't quite believe what is coming out of the Disability Minister's mouth. It's like they just aren't even pretending to care now.
I'll revise that. I've just watched the press conference (rather than reading the news articles). I think she does care to an extent. But she just doesn't know what she is doing, she's making mistakes, now blaming the Ministry and previous government, and ultimately is obfuscating about it not being a funding cut. Still very bad.
Full press conference in the hall is here.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/19/minister-takes-aim-at-pedicures-for-carers-in-disability-funds-row/
Yes I wouldn't rely on the media re what they say about the coalition. They have been unrelenting in their attacks on the coalition right from after election night.
They come across as people who can't believe a solid majority voted for the coalition and their majority in the polls remain stable
"a solid majority voted for the coalition"
Not possible.
People vote for a party and a candidate, not a "coalition".
This sick-mix is nobody's choice.
This has galvanised the disability community profoundly.
There's been petitions, emails, letters, meetings, questioning the government and the activist groups & political parties are acting now.
This will be one of the factors for a new social movement and we must start now.
The iron is hot and we are the sword and the heat.
Rolling-on-Gravel, this is like a dystopian nightmare. So an uprising of rage is called for.
Is Winston Peters playing Goebbel's role? Propaganda Chief? Giving the reason for the 'removal of rights?" regarding "things Maori"
Even that does not explain the "cuts to school lunch funding or changes to access for disability funding, plus removal of housing as a primary need."
This coalition is removing "wellbeing" from their brief and putting "austerity" in as their answer,
They have a victorian workhouse view, or even the Nazi view "work will set you free" meanwhile they starve the worker.
That is an extreme view of what is happening
…. but dystopian means as bad as it can get. What horrors await in Willis' first Budget?
Are they using the money saved to
1.upgrade the homes to fully service the needs of those confined to them?
2.increase incomes to super levels (and free rather than half fare on the CSC public transport)?
According to Nine to Noon this morning – CEO Paula Tesoriero – the money 'saved' will be going to funding the physical equipment and house modifications [I don't know if that's true, but that's what she said]
It was hard to get a straight answer from her – but it sounded like the discretionary spending part of the budget blew out in December – and they put it down to Christmas and holidays – but the numbers kept climbing in the new year – rather than dropping down to previous levels.
Consequently, they had to pause/cap the expenditure, or risk not being able to pay for the physical accommodations outlined above.
She, notably, didn't give a good answer about why they need to spend millions with 3rd party contractors, in order to administer the funding to disabled people.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018930874/ministry-apologises-as-10-000-sign-petition-over-disability-funding-changes